Smithdahl Adventures » Cute

No more “I rub you” (with apologies to Annie Lenox)

ian — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:30:06 +0000

Gabriel now very clearly says, “I love it!” and “I love you.” I have this weird bittersweet nostalgia about it. On the one hand, I’m happy his pronunciation is getting better. But on the other hand, there was something excellent about “I rub it!” I’ve felt this a lot in my life as an ESL teacher … Oh, well. I he still says that when I clean his feet it “kickles,” and his most recent thing is that you can’t give King Julian a bath because the toy is “lelectronic.” So, I’ll enjoy his toddler speaking ways while I can. But “I rub it” was really one of the best.

Gabe discovers the secret to the pancake

ian — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:18:04 +0000

Well, Stephanie and I made a good go of it, that’s for sure. For more than a year now, Gabe has absolutely adored pancakes. We have a family tradition of Sunday brunch, and the little guy’s eaten pancakes, eggs and sausage for as long as I can remember. But, and here’s the trick, Stephanie and I have been keeping the syrup away from him. He’s been eating those pancakes plain — which is good for both his nutrition and his hygiene.Sadly, it seems that those days are over.This week, his awareness of people around him got just that much bigger. Even though I’ve been eating pancakes with syrup this whole time, only this week, Gabe suddenly realized that Daddy’s pancakes looked different than his pancakes. He got a taste of mine, and didn’t go back. Now he’s eating breakfast with his cousin Cami, and pointing at her syrup and asking, “I have this, please?”

Gabe doesn’t totally understand the point of hiding.

ian — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:05:36 +0000

“Gabey? Where are you?”			“…”
“…”			“I’m Hiding!”

All clear for take off!

Stephanie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:43:14 +0000

Maybe some of you have already noticed them, but this pictures truly captures Gabe’s wings. We generally love Gabe’s hair, being all curly and cute, but when his wings flare out is when we are truly delighted. We’re sure that his wings will develop as he gets older and be integral in his life as a super-hero!

Getting so Big!

Stephanie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:40:17 +0000

Gabe is growing so fast, it’s hard to believe. Here’s one of mommy’s favorite pictures of Gabe just playing and hanging out. What a pose! Maybe we have a Calvin Klein underwear model in the making!

Nothing is cuter than a baby caring for a baby

ian — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:27:22 +0000

One of Gabe’s presents for his turning-two birthday this year was a Cabbage Patch Kid, and he’s taken to caring for “Baby EJ” with a vengeance. He feeds her, puts her to sleep, changes her diapers, and, just today, went upstairs to the actual bathtub and gave her a bath. On the way up, he held just one of her hands and helped her learn to walk up the stairs, in exactly the way that Mommy and Daddy help him. He even said, “Good, Baby EJ!” several times and she wobbled and stumbled but kept trying her best to get up the stairs. And then when we got to the top, Gabey and Baby EJ had a wonderful bath together.

“Daddy Milk!”

ian — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:56:43 +0000

Stephanie was coming today with groceries and came home first with the soda. Gabriel proudly stood before the several two liters …

pointing at the Mountain Dew: “Daddy Milk!”

pointing at the Diet Coke: “Mommy Milk!”

lol

My Monk-ish child

ian — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:53:00 +0000

One of Gabe’s favorite shows is Monk (mainly for the theme song), which I think is weirdly appropriate because he can be extremely meticulous. Today he was trying to line up all of his cars, which is a common hobby of his. But he was trying to do it on the couch, and was finding it very difficult. He himself so worked up that he was on the verge of a tantrum! Luckily I was able to get the little things lined up to his satisfaction before he totally flipped out. But it was a close call.

“Let’s Rock!”

ian — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:37:37 +0000

Gabriel takes after Mommy and his Uncles Jeremy and Josh — he *loves* him some guitar hero. He’ll saddle up to Mommy and say, “Ready, Rock?” And then he dances while she plays… adorable!

Gabriel scolds his toys

ian — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:37:36 +0000

Ever since he was about eight months old, Gabe has had a real interest in turning the tables on Mommy and Daddy. He used to take his spoon and try to feed us. He often tells us very sternly, “sit down!” But now that he’s getting older and developing a more robust imagination, he’s got other options. We’ve both noticed that when he’s playing with his dolls he often takes on the role of the parent. He tells Elmo to go night-night. He stages fights between Cookie Monster and Captain America, and then tells them to stop and makes them kiss and make up. He feeds the doll he calls “girl” and gives her time outs. It’s all very cute, but also a bit disturbing because it makes me wonder if I’m not overly harsh with him. It certainly seems harsh when he’s doing it!