Growing Up Fast

So Gabriel decided that he wasn't done surprising us last night. He sat up on his own! We sort of tricked him into doing it by making him reach for his lotion bottle (who needs toys?) off to the side, and then by putting it in front of him. He usually tries to sit straight up, which is hard even for those of us who practice Tae Bo. We're trying to get him to understand that he needs to get onto his side or belly in order to sit up. Earlier in the day, we had let him practice by putting a chair in his playard. He fell and hit his head on the wall (no tears from the little tough guy), so that ended that.

Chipdip's new favorite hobby is blowing raspberries. It's replacing growling, which is nice. He seems to do it more when he is ready to sleep.

In other news, he spent a good deal of time wheeling around the apartment today. He's becoming quite a good walker. He went right for the hiking baby carrier. He has good taste. Later, he went to his favorite organic food - the plant. That poor plant is not going to last long with this little guy around, but it's good for him to explore something green. Goodness knows he doesn't get to see much in the way of trees and plants.

We started him on another solid meal today. We're going to nurse him for his two morning feedings, give him solid food for lunch, nurse for supper, and give him solid food for dinner. That way, Mommy can go places with him during the day and doesn't have to worry about finding a private place to nurse. Of course, the nap schedule still has to be considered...

Tomorrow, Tony is bringing his Alabama "family", the Coopers, to visit. Last time he was in Birmingham, we went to visit them and this time they're coming here to see us. They are a great family and we can't wait to see them again tomorrow. The two Mini Coopers, Katie and Abby, are in love with Gabriel. They all like to hike, so we might take them to Stone Mountain to try to walk up to the top. Maybe we'll take the skytrain down for fun.

Patty is considering going back to work. We'd rather have one of us home with the Chipster, but financial considerations might have to take precedence right now. We'll see what happens.