Surf's Up!

Gabriel had his first visit to the beach this past weekend!!! He loved watching the waves at Surfside Beach on the Gulf Coast here in Texas. The weather was perfect for a day at the coast, but we just stayed for a short visit before meeting my Grampy and dad for lunch. I took some pictures, but we have to wait for them to be developed. I'll add them to the post later. Sorry.. we're not quite all digital yet!

This past weekend, Gabriel's fourth tooth finally showed up. Gabriel was a little wiggley and fussy, but he handles new teeth very well. He wakes up a bit more in the night, but with a little cuddling (and sometimes chewing), he goes right back to sleep. Yea!

In exciting developments, Gabriel is just on the verge of crawling. He'll do a little crawling on the bed, but I think the carpet hurts his little knees. He definitely likes to push up onto his hands and knees to rock or reach for a toy, but he would rather inch worm from place to place when he needs to travel. He's so cute! And how 'bout a round of applause? Gabriel just learned to clap, and anytime he wants attention he starts clapping. We get excited and clap with him, so it has turned into a fun game for all of us!

Every week I try and teach Gabriel something totally new and exciting. Sometimes it's baking bread or cookies, other times we just experiment with new textures. I'm going to start adding a picture or two each week of our new experience, both to show all of you what he's learning and to document it for myself! I hope you enjoy the pictures this week of Gabriel playing with water in different containers and learning about what a water hose does!!!

Following in Daddy's Footsteps...

...With his first laptop! Djojie and family came for a visit and brought Gabriel the perfect present: "My First Computer!" Djojie works with Jake, and they first got to know each other in Africa (Equatorial Guinea). Now they're both here in Houston, working on the same project again. Gabriel loves his computer, although it frustrates him a bit. He loves to close it, but he hasn't figured out how to open it up. We'll keep practicing!

Djojie and his son, Joshua, went with Jake and his dad to the Aggie game last weekend. As Djojie is from Manila (the Philippines), this was his first football game! His wife, Ann, as well as their one year old, Maryann, came with Gabriel and me to College Station. We had a very nice time, and I hope we can all be good friends now that we have all finally met!!! I do have to mention that Gabriel had his first kiss from our exotic foreign visitor. Maryann and Gabriel were fast friends, and both love to give kisses. Uh-oh... we're in trouble already!

In Gabriel news, he now officially has three teeth and a fourth is just getting ready to make an appearance. He's getting very verbal, and he's on the verge of saying 'mama.' He can say 'mmma' but hasn't added that second syllable yet. He likes saying 'abu' and 'aboom,' but we aren't sure what they mean quite yet. He definitely knows what a bath and a kiss are, as those are two of his favorite things! His most recent acheivements are learning how to turn off the lights with a lightswitch and turning on and off the closet light with a pull string. He is so proud of himself!

Other than that, we just spend our time walking around the house with Gabriel, as he loves to practice walking. The weather is so nice in the mornings that we often go jogging with the jogging stroller. If Gabriel can stay awake, he is fascinated with all the birds, clouds, trees and squirrels we see on our jog. He doesn't know what to think about the horses and goats, but he wants to touch them and find out! I can't wait to see what he thinks when he finally has his first ride on a horse!

Gig 'Em Aggies!

Gabriel is practicing for Maroon Out already! As Jake was going to the game last week, we decided to tag along to College Station and have lunch with friends and family at Freebird's. If you haven't been there, they make the best burritos anywhere, and Jake and I ate a ton of them when we were going to A&M.

As for baby news, Gabriel is growing in leaps and bounds. He can play sitting up by himself, he has learned to tilt his head to the side -- left only, of course -- and he is extremely impressed with feet. His new thing is rubbing his feet together, which is especially exciting when he has shoes on and can make lots of noise! He looks like a little cricket! We listen to a children's Spanish CD with stories and songs about a cricket (Cri-Cri), so it's very appropriate! Gabriel's face just lights up with excitement when we turn on Cri-Cri!!!

Gramma and Pops came for a quick visit yesterday, and I think they brought magic fairy dust. Gabriel started babbling just before they left, and he hasn't stopped. He is making so many new noises all of the sudden, and is sooooo proud of himself. Thanks for the fairy dust! He is hilarious, but talks as if we should understand him. It's great, and I can't wait until he finally says his first real word!

I hope all is well with everyone. I am sorry I took so long to post, but Gabriel is teething again, and not falling asleep very easily. He is just about to have a third tooth, and a fourth one is not too far behind. He was eyeing our burritos at Freebirds... we had to tell him that just because he has 2 1/2 teeth, it doesn't mean he's ready for humongous burritos!

BritBoons

Back in April when we still lived in London, Angie and I took Gabriel to see where his Boon ancestors lived before they immigrated to America in 1828. (There was no 'e' on the end of our surname before my great grandfather.) It's a little town called Appledore, not too far from the coast in Kent, England. A member of the local historical society showed us around and pointed out houses that the Boons owned or leased from about 1700 to 1830.

Below is a map of all the houses, with the pictures placed exactly where we took them. You can zoom, scroll, and click on the pictures in the map below, click here to see a larger version of the map, click here to view the full-size pictures in the online album, or download the Google Earth file here.



Angie's ancestors through her mother are from England as well, but we didn't even think to look for them while we were there. Guess we'll have to go back someday!

Blogging Buddies

Speaking of buddies, Gabriel has a new buddy! His name is Baby Bear (it says so on his tummy), and he was a gift from Gramma Alice and Pops, who we went to visit in Wimberley, Texas last weekend. Gabriel loves his new little friend, and his little face just lights up when Baby Bear comes out to play. The hill country was beautiful, and Jake and I had a blast going jogging and walking in the great outdoors. We had such a relaxing weekend that it was hard to come back to the real world of working and cleaning house! Unfortunately, Gabriel isn't sleeping well in his travel chair/bed anymore, so I guess it's time to start shopping for a pack 'n play. Any advice anybody???

Now for the real reason for the post: blogging buddies. Along the right column, I've added a list of blogs I like to peek at from time to time. I'd like to especially mention The Edney Family's Tuesday Tips. Anitra has taught me a ton of little hints and shortcuts, and I just discovered her blog last week! She is an old friend from Camp Balcones Springs. I really have so much respect for her and the example she sets for kids and peers alike, although I do have to admit that I mooned her once -- sorry Anitra... it was totally Michelle P's crazy influence!!!

Speaking of Michelle, her Travels of a Lost Texan are great to read about. She always has neat stories of people she's met up in D.C.

I found Sarah Johnson Online while researching on the internet, and I really like her articles. She is described as "a London-based journalist, a mother of four children and also a birth doula and birth educator. She is writing a book for Christian parents called The Christian Parents' Toolkit."

The other blogs are of good friends and lots of baby pictures. Erich has some pretty Colorado pictures that totally make me want to go camping and hiking!!! I am way jealous, so hopefully we can do some camping with Gabriel when the weather gets a little cooler.

That's all for today. Thanks for all the pictures, advice, and stories, fellow bloggers! Have a great week, and stay clear of Hurricane Dean!!!

Cookie Monster

We had a surprise waiting for Jake when he got home the other day: cookies!!! Gabriel helped me make a batch of cookies (Cinnamon-Chip Oatmeal Nut, one of our favorites) for the first time ever! He loved putting his hands in the batter, and it was such fun to chew on the silicone spatula. No, I didn't let him taste any yet... he'll have to wait a year or two for that. He enjoyed it so much that he started to cry when it was over -- until he realized that he got to play in the sink! I had to strip him down and rinse him off from head to toe to get all the cookie dough off!


Here's a funny photo of Gabriel brushing his barely-there teeth. It's a new favorite hobby, and we have to pry the toothbrush out of his hands at bedtime!