We’ve had very spotty internet service for the past week, so we haven’t been able to post much. "We do apologize for the inconvenience," as they say. First things first, the big news of the day: Erica and Raul are engaged! They are planning a legal event in Quebec, a celebration of some sort in North America somewhere, and a celebration of some sort in Peru, Raul's homeland. Since this is a very recent development, details have yet to be decided. Whatever they do, it's going to be uniquely their event and will be very meaningful. It was no surprise which of them did the proposing... and Raul said yes. Of course, they're already common-law spouses by Canadian law, but they realized that to them, marriage is a whole different animal. We're so excited for them - they are a completely perfect couple, and it makes us happy to see them together.
And now for an update on the Chipster: Gabriel took his first flight of stairs today at Barnes & Noble. Once he realized that he could get up one step, there was no stopping him. And Mommy tried. We were set up in the children’s section so he could crawl around because he was getting antsy at the Starbucks that’s attached to the B&N, and he didn’t have any toys with him. One of the employees came by several times to play with him, and he even let him play with an Elmo doll and said that they can send it back if Chip drools on it. Now, we don’t think that’s the most ethical decision in the world, but it was sweet that the guy was letting Gabriel have the run of the place. He even let him flip through Harry Potter 5 (Nancy would have freaked out!) until Mommy brought over a more durable book, Guess How Much I Love You, which we know he loves.
Chip’s also becoming a cruising machine. He would let us walk him around all day, if we wanted to. He’s an expert now on pulling himself up on anything, even vertical surfaces. He’s also getting good at walking holding only one of Daddy’s or Mommy’s hands, even though he doesn’t feel very confident about it.
He’s doing a few other new things, too. He’s started pointing at things, which means that he’s ready to start learning words. He’s also been babbling a LOT lately, which means that he’s getting ready to start talking. His cutest sound is "oooooh." He learned how to click pens to get the ink part to come out yesterday, and don’t you know that he has made a few dots on the love seat as this is being written. At least we see these things coming... Anyway, he’s using his play cups to pretend to drink, and he imitates us when we yawn and cough. He loves coughing.
He’s also really inventive at peek-a-boo. This was most fun the other day at Target, where he decided that he isn’t interested in looking at our mugs while we’re shopping; he’d rather turn around and see where he’s going. Shopping cart seats should really be reversible. Anyway... We put him in the actual cart and let him stand up and lead the charge, as it seemed. He turned around and kept hiding behind the cart seat until we called, "Where’s Gabriel?" at which point he stood up and laughed, before hiding again.
We’re encouraging G to eat more grown-up food, and he’s started feeding himself toasted oats, or "Toasty Doats" as we say, which are like Cheerios. Today, he had some macaroni and cheese for lunch and actually ate some of it. That was a surprise, since he really hasn’t liked cheese before.
This month and next, all of Chip’s playgroup friends are turning 1. We went to Jonah’s party last weekend, and we’re going to Jake’s this weekend and Zoe’s next weekend. Except for the brief instant the above photo was taken, Jonah seemed to have a great time, and we know Gabriel did. We'd cry too if there were 50 people saying things to us that we didn't understand while there's a flame in front of our face! It’s so interesting to think how quickly these little ones have grown. It’s not so noticable with Gabriel, since we are with him all the time, but when we first got together, none of them could even sit up, and they certainly didn’t notice each other. Now, they’re playing with each other’s hair, (sometimes) sharing toys, and learning how to walk. Jake even knows a few words, and Jonah took a few steps at playgroup last week!
One more photo, this time of Gabriel helping Daddy put away the groceries (notice the magnet advertising a drag show next to the church bulletin). He loves to help...
