Jake and Angie Boone: June 2008

Sometimes it seems like life is going by so slowly; each week meanders by, each day is filled with a thousand jobs, chores, and errands. It takes forever to make dinner, an eternity to drive across town, and the trip to the grocery store takes ages. And then I turn around and my sweet little baby has turned into a sweet little boy! When did that happen? How did he grow several inches overnight? When did the nighttime routine turn into a relaxing and joyful moment that I look forward to and linger over? How in the world did Gabriel learn to empty the dishwasher, set the table, and drink from a big boy cup? We still have temper tantrums and separation anxiety and selfishness and occasional nap refusals, but this phase we are in is so loving and peaceful that I simply can't even imagine it getting better or richer, although I know it will! It's been such a joy getting to know our little "Butter Bean," and we still feel so blessed by all the wonderful things he's brought to our life!

Tonight was especially nice. We had a fun day outside at the park, pool, and on the swing reading books and being silly, so Gabriel was really sleepy and ready for bed. We hopped over next door for a moment (he loves our neighbors on both sides - lucky us!), and he got to play with their little poodle while I had a cup of real Colombian coffee - yum! Gabriel even got to taste his first dogfood... yuck! Okay, he liked it but we all said yuck. Anyway, we finally got him bathed and booked and to bed (with a lot of giggling and snuggles), and Jake and I sat outside on the swing to enjoy the breeze after the sun went down and watched the lightning bugs and the lightning and thunderstorm. It was awesome! We are finally feeling like this is home, and this is where we are supposed to be in this phase of our life. Tonight just made us feel so cozy and at home and at peace.

As for new news, not too much to report. We had a very chilled out weekend. We went to Linganore for the Wine and Jazz Festival which was great! The music was really good, and we met up with some other Stroller Strides families. Gabriel just had a blast and thought he owned the place. He went from blanket to blanket visiting the other families, playing with toys, eating their goldfish, and dancing like a star! We tasted a few of their wines, and found some that were really nice. It's lovely and if you come visit we'll take you there :). I am still running and planning to run a 10 miler in August. Last Thursday I was supposed to drive 15 minutes east of here to meet up with some girls for a hilly run... I got lost and ended up halfway to Baltimore! It took me an hour and 15 minutes to find the place, and the girls were well finished with the run. I ran the route alone anyway and really enjoyed the challenge. It lifted my spirits and boosted my confidence. We'll do it again on Thursday, and I hope to actually make it on time this time!!!

G is just talking away. He now says a few more words: yuck or it's yuck, truck, dark or it's dark, step, stop, and a few others. He can make monkey sounds and a modified fish face. He's almost reaching the pedals on his tricycle, and he can occasionally make it move a bit! He still loves watering the flowers, but he's eating less of the soil and is no longer afraid of the worms. We still smell every flower. He likes to help me clean up and copies everything. It's so fun to see him be silly and we all get the giggles! Tonight he was yelling, patting his head, slapping his knees while crouching, then cracking up -- it's so great!!! There are a million little things he does that are just so big-boy. Our little baby is not much of a baby anymore, but boy we love him!!!

It has been a fun month for us, but busy. We started out the month with a visit to Texas to watch Jake's sister graduate high school. It was a nice few days, but Gabriel's favorite part of the visit was definitely Pippy the puppy. They became great friends, and they loved to kiss. Okay, it's kinda gross, but very cute. Pippy would run up to Gabriel, and G would open wide for a big kiss and giggle like crazy!

We had a layover in Austin, so we had a quick visit with some of my family as well. I got to see my little sister, my mom and my step dad. We also drove up to Rogers to see my Grandma, and Gabriel got a quick visit with his cousin, Aubrey. Gabriel loooooved feeding her cookies!

Although it was a quick trip to Texas, Gabriel grew in leaps and bounds! He did great on the planes (we rode 6 planes in all!) and he slept very well in his pack and play. He loved on everybody and showed off his tricks! He even learned to make bubbles with an electric bubblemaker and a bubble wand and he walked up a small flight of steps without holding on or climbing!!! In Wimberley with my parents, Gabriel got his first little red wagon and he looooved it! We rode around and watched the deer (although G tried his hardest to abandon ship and run after the deer). We even took a little trip down to the river and played on the rocks and in the water. Yay!

Once we got home, we went to our first strawberry farm and picked berries in the scorching heat. Gabriel got a little fussy, but then he realized that all these red things we'd been picking were edible!!! He was much happier after he discovered that!