Tornado

Well, we have survived another tornado.  This one wasn't as bad as the infamous Good Friday tornado of 2011, but this time it was a little different.  With the Good Friday tornado we felt the pressure drop in the house and saw the trees bending, of course we were standing at the kitchen window watching the whole thing.  This time we headed straight to the basement as soon as Scott got home from work.  We knew the storm was coming and it was going to be a bad one.  We were right.  We lost power around 8 and then the power flickered for the next 10 -15 minutes before staying on for the night.  Although we had power, we lost our cable/Internet connection.

So what do you do with a 3 1/2 month old during a tornado?  We bring out the Jumparoo and show him that he can stand.  Then we sway him to sleep and then mom and dad quickly pass out while watching a movie.



Overall, we just had down branches in our yard.  The cable and Internet came back on sometime Saturday evening.  Although, just a short drive from our house, on the Rock Road, there was a down power line and trees pulled up by their roots.  I think we missed this one by 5 miles.

Sitting

Yesterday I left work early due to a water main break in front of our building.  I hurried to pick up Gabe from Nana and Grandpa's house.  While I was there, I set him on the couch and he just sat there like a big kid.  Like it was no big deal.  So when we got home I brought up the Bumbo seat for him to try out.  At first he wasn't too sure about it.  Then Reily started walking around and his eyes just followed her.  After awhile he just hung out and enjoyed sitting.

[caption id="attachment_3078" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Look I'm sitting[/caption]

 

 

Omaha Fun

Gabriel's first trip to Omaha was a bit of a whirlwind, but all fun.  He met a lot of Aunts and Uncles and cousins.

Once we arrived at my aunt's house we had some play time before we headed out to the rehearsal dinner.  Gabe played with Grammy and Aunt Pam while dad went for a run.  Then it was time to get dressed up and show off his outfit that Aunt Pam bought him.

You can tell that Gabriel is crazy, excited about posing for this picture.  Hopefully that's not a sign of things to come.

We went to the rehearsal dinner in Elkhorn.  It was a quaint, little restaurant that had some amazing food.  Gabe met more cousins(that he will be running around with in no time) and more aunts and uncles.  He managed to be really good until my uncle started giving the blessing.  Then Gabe had had enough and I quickly ducked out and found the a/c.  Scott was not too happy that I left him.  We managed to get Gabriel to sleep while we quickly ate.  Then we head home for a great, freezing night's sleep.

On the wedding day, we planned on taking Gabriel to the Omaha Zoo.  They have an amazing zoo in Omaha and I wanted to share it with Scott and Gabe.  By the time we got there, parking was limited and somehow I found a great spot and could see the car from the zoo entrance!  Go me!

[caption id="attachment_3063" align="aligncenter" width="225"] He likes to dress up for the zoo[/caption]

We checked out the bears, monkeys and aquarium before it was time to go.  It was starting to get a little toasty and Gabe was ready for a nap.

[caption id="attachment_3064" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Entertainment while waiting for an elevator[/caption]

We did manage to get a couple decent family pictures while were at the zoo.  We were in the Jungle and with all the monkeys swinging around it was hard to pick just one spot.  Although, it was kinda warm in there, and I think Gabriel started getting tired.



[caption id="attachment_3066" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Looking at the monkeys[/caption]



We even made it to the aquarium for a very quick walk through.  It was very cool to see the sharks swimming around.  St. Louis zoo needs to get one of these.

[caption id="attachment_3069" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Checking out the Penguins[/caption]

After the zoo we stopped for lunch at Goldbergs for day 2 of great burgers.  Gabe slept through almost the entire lunch.  We managed to back to my aunt's house in time to clean up and head to the wedding.

One of my youngest cousins, Nick was getting married.  The ceremony was held outside at a park.  It was a very pretty ceremony and it was a little warm out.  Gabe was awake for the whole thing.  We did a couple diaper changes during the ceremony and I don't think Scott or I minded hanging out in the back with the kids.

After the ceremony we headed down to the Old Market (downtown Omaha) for the reception.  Gabriel was still a hit with his aunts.  And he was all smiles until he couldn't stay awake any more.  He and I hung out by the entrance during the father of the bride speech and blessing(there were a lot of blessings).  He finally went to sleep and I was able to eat and visit with my cousins.  By 8:30 we finally got our food and cake and decided it was time to head back to my aunts to get some sleep.

[caption id="attachment_3073" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Weddings are fun[/caption]

On the way home Gabe work up for a bit and we managed to get one picture of him in his awesome tie/bib that Nana made for him.



On Memorial Day we woke up to storms!  It ruined our plans of stopping in Kansas City to catch some of the Cardinals/Royals game.  Instead we headed home.  We were making great time until Columbia and then everyone decided it was time to leave the lake and head home to.  It made for a fussy baby for the last hour of the drive.  But for 6 hours we had this:

Road Trip!

We went on Gabriel's first road trip this Memorial day weekend.  A quick weekend trip to Omaha for a cousin's wedding was just what we needed to test the travel waters with a 15 week old.  And Gabe did great!  He mostly slept and played in the car.  He was only fussy when he needed to be changed, and really, who can blame him?

[caption id="attachment_3054" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Road Trip![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3055" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Driving across Missouri is hard[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3056" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Just looking out the window[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3057" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Just playin'[/caption]

 

 

 

Play Time

Gabe has been enjoying play time.  We try to play with him as much as we can in the evenings when we get home.  He usually has had enough play time by 6-6:15.  Then it's dinner and bath at 7, followed by bed time.  Lately, he has become very active and takes everything he sees in.  On Sunday morning I was playing with him in the basement while watching soccer.  Gabe would just hold his links but his eyes were focused on soccer.  Not that he really cared what was going on, but he focused on the colorful jerseys.

[caption id="attachment_3051" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Watching the soccer game[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3052" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Gabe's View[/caption]

 

 

1st Mother's Day

We celebrated my first Mother's Day this year.  My boys did a wonderful job on cards, gifts, and the day.  Scott let me sleep in after feeding Gabe.  And sleeping it was wonderful.  I didn't realize how tired I was until I was able to get some good rest.  We did mange to get a little family snuggle time in before getting ready to leave.



Once we cleaned up and packed up the car, Gabriel had to show off his onesie from my mom.  Grammy did a great job in picking out his Mother's Day outfit.  Too bad it was too cold for him to wear it out.



We headed to Starbucks for some lattes and quick breakfast.  Then we drove to Missouri Botanical Gardens.  Another cool day and Gabriel was bundled up in his stroller.  The Garden was really busy, but we managed to find places to walk around without being over crowded.







After MoBot, we headed down to Scott's parents house for some lunch.  It was a rain check to watch the Cardinals game and get some awesome, Garvey's wings.  Although the Cardinals didn't win it was a fun afternoon.

We got home and it had warmed up enough for Gabriel to put on his Mother's Day outfit.  It was a wonderful Mother's Day!



 

Gabriel's First Cardinals Game

We took Gabriel to his first Cardinals game.  We have been counting down since last summer when I found out I was pregnant.  Taking him to the right game was a big deal.  About a month ago we were offered to buy tickets half off and help Collinsville baseball.  I figured I didn't want to pay full price when I knew I would not stay for the whole game.

We arrived at Busch Stadium just a little before the start of the game.  We headed to the outfield to watch the players warm up and get a couple of pictures. 



You can tell Gabe is completely thrilled with being out in the sun and having all these people around him.  He was actually pretty content in his Baby Bjorn.  We then walked all the way up to our seats.  They were higher than I had thought, the good part of our seats was that we had the last row.  The bad part about our seats were that it was very windy and cold in our seats.  Even with the sun out, it was still just too cold for Gabe up there.  We managed to get a few pictures in before heading back down.



[caption id="attachment_3036" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The view from our seats[/caption]

And of course what trip to Busch would not be complete without a visit to the Stan Musial statue.

3 Months

Gabriel turned three months old yesterday.  Since we do not have a three-month doctor's appointment, I do not have his length and weight stats available.  I do think he is at least 15lbs and probably 24-25 inches long.



Gabe's new tricks are:

Sticking fingers and hands in his mouth (he has fully found his fingers and loves them, it's a fight for the hands and food)

Squealing - whether it's laughing or with his crying, his squeals are multi-pitch now

Smiles - this boy loves to smile



Raspberries - he loves to hear his mom or dad make raspberry noises

Tummy Time - he is getting better at tummy time and is reaching for his toys



Toys - he loves his colored link chain that my mom got him, even loves the rattle noise.

Swing - he is finally big enough for his swing to be fun



And how did we celebrate this boy's 3 month birthday?  We took him to his first Cardinals game!  What a lucky kid!

After all the fussing over the kid, Reily wanted in on the action...



 

St. Louis Blues

The Blues are 1 game away from being eliminated from the Stanley Cup Finals.  They have played strong, most of the series against the Kings, but game 6 is back in LA and I just don't think we have it in us to win it out there.  Since last nights overtime loss was a must win game, Scott and I wanted to watch as much as we could.  And of course, Gabriel wanted in on this action.  He would not go to sleep at his normal 7:30-8PM bedtime.  Instead we let him lay in bed with us while we watched a little hockey (at least the 1st period).  Wouldn't you know it, the kid likes watching hockey.



[caption id="attachment_3015" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Watchin' the Blues with my Dad[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3016" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Let's Go Blues![/caption]

 

"Me" Day

I didn't realize that I needed one of these.  I knew I was a little tired and really enjoyed the weekends, but I was given a "Me Day" this past Saturday.  My husband took my son and dog and left me home alone to do whatever I pleased.  It was nice.  I went back to sleep after they left, slept till 11:20.  I tried to run to the bank and open a savings account, but was too late.  Then I did some laundry without having to worry about Gabriel.  The best part was that I was able to get my first manicure/pedicure since before Gabriel was born.

After my relaxing day of only doing laundry and getting mani/pedi, Scott and I went out on a much-needed date night.  Gabriel and Reily were with Nana and Grandpa Ron for evening.  Scott surprised me, kinda, with dinner at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse.  It was wonderful.  Our table was in the wine room and there were only 3 tables in the room.  It was nice to have a quiet area to have a peaceful dinner.  Well, it would have been much more quiet had the couple behind us not talked to everyone that walked into the room for minutes on end and be as loud as possible.

Once they left, it was very peaceful and quiet.  I had my first glass of wine in a year, it was fabulous and an amazing filet.  Ruth Chris does know how to make a wonderful evening.  I can't wait till our next date night!

First Tub Bath

Gabriel had his first bath in the bath tub last night.  He has gotten big enough and strong enough to sit up in the plastic bath tub that we got to fit in the regular tub.  At first he hated being placed in the water.

[caption id="attachment_3004" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Not liking the bath[/caption]

In his defense it only went up to his belly and it was his first time in there.  After we poured water on him and started to clean him up he was in a daze.  He started kicking a little and was really calm.

[caption id="attachment_3005" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Relaxing[/caption]



It was a great first bath experience and introduction to water.

[caption id="attachment_3007" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Happy Bath Time[/caption]

Grammy's Visit

My mom came up for Gabriel's baptism and decided to stay for a week and half.  It's was a good visit.  My mom was able to fill in and babysit Gabe a couple of days that conflicted with Scott's mom's sewing retreat.  The timing could have been more perfect for that to fall into place.  Gabe and Grammy did a lot in her visit including trips to malls, sewing shops, Volpi's, indoor soccer, meeting the Green's, walks in the stroller, trying to sit up, bath time, snuggle time, nap time, taking and picking up mom from work.  It was a very busy visit.  I'll let the pictures show the fun.







[caption id="attachment_2995" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Fur Grandbaby[/caption]







[caption id="attachment_2999" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Rocking the baseball hat[/caption]

Gabriel can't wait to see Grammy in a month in Omaha for his first wedding.