Gabriel's New Friends

Recently I met Arianna at Barnes and Noble book reading. She and I hit it off right away and have become good friends. She has two children Julian is almost 3 and Ivan is 1. We have spent lots of time together lately and the children have quickly become friends as well. Julian and Gabe get along so well, always running around screaming and laughing together. Their favorite game right now is shouting "Boo!" at one another and then running away. Little Ivan plays as well, but he is a bit slower on his feet than the other two so he is usually tagging along. Arianna is from Miami and she speaks to her children in Spanish as well as English. So Julian does the same to Gabe, but he just looks at Julian like he's crazy! But they do communicate quite well and it's so sweet to see them having their own "conversation". They also love playing with bubbles. These three eat all the time and are usually getting into trouble of some kind. Including the other night when Ivan stuck his finger in Gabe's mouth and he decided to take a bite. Oh, what a sad face! But Ivan soon recovered and they were friends again. I am so glad that Gabriel is comfortable around the boys and I love that he has so much fun with them. Arianna and I have begun a new mom's group, so Gabe will have lots of little friends soon.

Like Father, Like Son

Gabriel follows Jeremy around everywhere. It's so amazing to see how their relationship has grown and changed just since we have moved to Gulfport. When I watch them together it feels so great to see the bond between them. Gabe says Dada about fifty times a day and talks to the pictures of Jeremy around the apartment. And then when he gets home from work Gabriel is constantly trying to get his attention and show off for him. Gabe has also begun to copy little things that Jeremy and I do such as how we walk, laugh, tickle one another or how we sit. One afternoon Jeremy and Gabe were going to eat lunch in front of the TV. Jeremy had already laid down with his plate and Gabe followed suit. He placed his plate right beside Jeremy's and laid down just as his Dada did. Gabriel stared intently at the television and then would take a bite as Jeremy did. He kept staring at Jeremy to see what he would do next and then would look at me and say "Dada, Dada". I love these little moments!