Miscellaneous Updates

So, this evening's post is going to be an amalgam of  updates. Things that I don't have any pictures of, but I want to record.

Gabe has been playing with his Mickey Mouse shapes and colors flashcards. So far, he's got Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Daisy down. He's completely oblivious to the fact that in addition to each character there is a shape and color he's supposed to learn. Mickey Mouse is his favorite, but he also gets pretty excited about Daisy.

Today Casey taught Gabe he has a shadow. He has fun pointing at it, calling it by name, and chasing it.

Discipline is becoming an ever more frequent word in this house. Gabe spends a lot of time testing his limits. So far, he's been pretty responsive to time outs and actually serves time outs without leaving his spot on the floor until we tell him to do so. In just the last couple of weeks he has finally begun saying, "I'm sorry." at the end of time outs. He may only be nineteen months old, but he certainly knows the difference between right and wrong in a lot of ways. Here at home he's most often put in time out for hitting. Which leads me to the next update.

He's a huge fan of "fives" and "fist bumps". Any time you give a boy permission to hit you as hard as they possibly can they are excited to oblige at every opportunity. He is highly amused by people's reactions to his high fives and fist bumps. It's when those "fives" turn in to a slap across the face that he begins to get himself in trouble.

He's obsessed with boats, buses, and bikes. It's impossible to drive down the road without hearing a chipper little voice in the back calling out things like "Bye boat!" "Bye Bus!" "Bike! Bike!". And, generally he does not use the terms unless he sees it. Often times he'll see a bus, boat, or bike and Casey and I will have to look very hard to find the bus, boat, or bike. This evening on the way home (in the dark) he was calling out "Bye boat!" "Bye Brysie!" "Bye Bus!" "Bye Nana!" "Bye Zayah!" (Isaiah) and then repeating the whole list again.

He loves to copy our words. For example, this evening we pulled up to the softball complex and one of the girls was walking by and I shouted out to her, "Hey Mace!" and what do I hear in the back seat but a little voice calling out in perfect pronunciation, "Hey Mace!". The way his brain works just amazes me. Another phrase he loves to repeat is, "Hush Libby." Libby is our yellow lab who whines to indicate she'd like to go outside or come inside.

Gabe also does a lot more whining than he ever did. For no particular reason. It's just a lot of fake crying to see what kind of attention he can get. We try to ignore it as much as possible, hoping that no attention will deter him from using that tactic. Then, I remind myself he's nineteen months old and this is just the beginning of years of whining for one reason or another.

All in all Gabe is a wonderful child. We enjoy him every day. Even on days that are mostly filled with fake crying and lots of discipline. It's hard to put into words the enormity of joy, pride, and love I feel for that kid. So, I'll just put it simply.

Gabe is a joy to have.