The Bug and the Pox

The day has finally come where I have to handle a sick gabe. Except for a phlegmy cough when he was three months old, the little one has not come near any bout of sickness. I give all credit and glory to God who has been watching over him.

Today his temperature climbed to 38.5 degree Celsius. The doctor said it's just a normal flu condition. I hope the little grouchy one will start being his cheeky, smiley self again.

Oh, and he came into contact with a 7-month old friend who was diagnosed with chicken pox. Please pray he didn't catch it. Please pray for the little friend too; chicken pox ain't especially fun for both baby and parents at this age..

Gabe Says in "Dear Auntie Livingjoyfully"

Dear Auntie Livingjoyfully,

Remember this? We were out shopping together and had to stop to appease my growling tummy. But I'm sure you enjoyed your Pepper beef dinner too.

You were trying to coax me into an ahhhhh

That's dedication, mummy says. Look at your posture!

Maybe this will be clearer ;p

Soft Spot for Soft Toys

Gabe has come to a point where he seems to be able to differentiate between the regular hard plastic/ wooden toys and those that are softer and that have faces.

His latest favourites are a few soft toys, whom he reaches out for accurately when I call them out by "name". He'd also "hug" them by either burying his face into them, or just placing them on his cheek. Inspired by TaS's parents, who put a few into her playpen-bed for "companionship", I decided to try it out with gabe too. It has been successful, for many a time after waking from his sleep, I'd find him holding them and "talking" to them. For the record, gabe does a serious amount of jibberish through the day and the "talk" that is directed at these toys is usually more gentle in tone and really cute to hear.

Introducing Elephant.

And zhu zhu, giraffe and chipmunk. Fine, I'm not really creative with names...

This little pinkie is the apple of gabe's eye.

Artistic Attempts

Blabber Blabber

Since December 2007, gabe entered the realm of being understood linguistically. Yes! He can utter some "words" now. Though there are many times he seemed to repeat after the sound of specific phrases/ words, there are only a few constants to date.

You can count on him to say:
Pa..pa (Papa)
Ma! Ma...ma (Mama)
Maam maam (Food. Top of the list when it comes to clarity and loud exclamation)
Baa (Bus. Probably says this about 50-70 times a day)
Baw (Ball)

He made some attempts at "Gabriel", "bear" and "banana" but they are not regular enough to add to his list.

Hairdresser Me!

I've finally unleashed my creative skills on a head. Actually, it was the only head available. He had no choice; he didn't know choice. Even if he did, he probably had no choice either.

I've always imagined myself cutting my children's hair. The thought was so fun and after countless sessions of observing hairdressers cut my hair, I decided I was knowledgeable enough to manage the head of a baby. Yeah right.

For months I wondered if I should do it while he was sleeping or awake. The conclusion was that it would be impossible to get anything done properly in sleep mode. But awake? I'm sure the questions are ringing in your head as well. Here's how I did it, two weeks ago. *beam*

Gabe in bumbo. Give magazine. He flips through the pages. I cut. It was a breeze. I had hardly any interruption. Head was steady. Not a movement. Used a pair of scissors that has a rounded edge. For kids. Snip snip snip I went. Shred shred shred from his end. Clean up: hair + magazine bits.

I thought he looked quite alright, except it was obvious it ain't a salon job. But some relatives have jibed at the ugly outcome. Heck. Both father and mother think he looks fine. Looks like more motherly hairy sessions to come!

Gabe and His Papa

Some shots of gabe and his papa in his 10th month.

Monkey see monkey do. Wonder who's the big monkey.

Gabe kissing papa. "Kissing" means a wide-opened mouth splack on his face.

"I'm on the top of the world!"