It's A Boy

My close girlfriend Arianna, who is livnig back in Miami now, gave birth to another boy on May 28th. Marcelo Blanco was born at 2:38 pm weighing 8 lbs and 21 inches long. Arianna gave birth in her bathtub-how cool is that?? Baby and Mom are both doing great. CONGRATULATIONS to the Blanco Famly.

New PJ's

I love babies in pj's. We found some great sales at Old Navy over the weekend and each child got some new "pajomos" as Gabe likes to call them.

Gabriel

I know I have been giving a lot of attention to Shelby in these posts, so I thought I would give an update on the changes in Gabe's life. He has been saying full sentences lately and really picking up on things Jeremy and I talk about. He weighs 38 pounds and is quite tall. Thankfully, he is able to fit into all his shorts from last summer and his swim trunks. He still sleeps with his pacis, but that's quite alright with me. If sleeping with pacis means I get him to take a nap, I'll deal with it. He does take naps most days, but he does skip every once in a while. The naps are shorter but I am happy he still goes down.
Gabe is very creative and loves to imitate animals, play with paint and still his favorite, Play-Doh. Jeremy bought him several animal figurines from Wal-Mart and Gabe carries them everywhere and even sleeps with them. He really likes books and has been hanging out in his room more listening to books on CD. He is also learning his numbers and loves to sing nursery rhymes.
I am hoping to teach Gabe the basics of swimming while my mom visits for the next few weeks. He seems much more excited about getting in the water this summer and trying some new things. He already blows bubbles in the tub which he flat out refused to do last summer. I think if I am consistent with him, we will have a little fish on our hands before long.
Gabe loves Shelby, but picks on her all the time. He is either sitting on her, rolling her over or yelling because she is messing with his things. But he is sweet with her and gives her lots of love.
I am so pleased with the person Gabriel is becoming. He has such a warm heart heart and friendly demeanor. Of course, he can be wild and make me want to pull my hair out some days but that's to be expected. He is a great kid.

Sea World

Okay, I think I was a little naive to believe that we could spend a lot of time at this park, just the 3 of us. The kids didn't misbehave or anything, but it was 102 degrees and that park is massive. I had no idea where anything was so we wandered around. I wasn't able to get nearly as many pictures as I wanted to, but below are a few. Gabe loved looking at the shark and fish exhibits. He wasn't really impressed with the Sea Lion show. Next time I will have a game plan ahead of time so I know where i am going and what we will be doing. We are thinking of getting Jeremy a season pass as well so he can go with Gabe. But we had a good time and both kids took long naps this afternoon. And I will be going to bed early tonight. Tomorrow we are going to hit the pool here and then go to the Riverwalk in the evening. Sunday Gabe and Jeremy are off to the zoo again and then we are going to spend Memorial Day just hanging out together.

Teeth

Shelby has been cutting her first 2 teeth for about a week now. I am surprised she has behaved so well. The other day she seemed to fuss constantly, but it wasn't really that bad. I think she looks adorable.

Head Shaker

Shelby has started doing this in the past few days and it's soooo cute.

Presidian

This is Jeremy's company. Just wanted to add it so you all could see what he does.
http://www.presidian.com/. You may have to copy and paste the link.

The Weekend

Jeremy kept the kids today while I got to run errands and have some alone time. He told me tonight, "Sarah, you have to be tired at the end of a normal day cuz I am exhausted." I laughed and said that I usually am beat. But he and Gabe spent lots of time outside with some water guns and Shelby got to enjoy a ride in the sling. I love that Jeremy will wear that thing.
Today was really nice for me. I was able to explore some more of this big city and I feel a bit more comfortable now on the major interstates. The view from one bridge was beautiful, I could see over the treetops and straight downtown. And this evening Gabe and I went around trying to fins some bugs to put in his bug catcher. We didn't find any bugs but we did bring back some golf balls for Jeremy. It's funny how far off some golfers are from the actual hole.

Here is the view from our back porch. Pretty peaceful, huh? :)

Thumb Sucker

Shelby has sucked her thumb she was six weeks old. We soon learned she likes to hold things in her hand while sucking that teeny thumb. She especially loves Bebe's chain for her glasses. She wraps it around her finger and lays her head down on Bebe's chest. It's so sweet. So since Bebe is not close by :( Shelby finds some interesting substitutes. The other night she grabbed one of Gabe's plastic forks and began to suck away. It really calms her down and is precious to watch. She also likes to grab some of my hair in her hand along with a stuffed animal.

Gabe's Possessions

Since Shelby has begun to crawl, Gabe is having major major issues with his things being touched. Even if he is not playing with something, if Shelby is touching it he loses his little mind. Today she was going after his sandals and instead of Gabe picking them up and putting them on the stairs like I suggested, he thought they would be more protected on his feet. I couldn't help but get this photo opp. He had just woken up from his nap, that's why the diaper is still on. He wanted me to put on my shoes so Shelby couldn't touch them too.

The San Antonio Zoo

We visited the zoo last weekend and then this past Thursday. It is a really nice place and a great way to entertain Gabe. He and Jeremy ran around looking at all the animals and just having fun. Shelby was really good even though she skipped her morning nap. we got a good hour and a half in before the kids got cranky and then it was time to go. On Thursday i took the kids and we went through part of the zoo. Gabe listened really well and everyone behaved beautifully. These pictures are from when all of us went.


Gabe could not stop talking about the rhinos after we left, so I added the picture for him.

Just An Update

This week has been stressful to say the least. We do not have our internet service yet so I am "stealing" someone else's wireless service when I can. Our apartment has very old appliances and we have had several problems including the dish washer literally smoking. When we left Diamondhead, we left behind Keith's ladder and Cherie and Joel's lawnmower and gas can. We found out soon after we left that the items were gone, STOLEN. I am so mad about that. I cannot believe someone went over there right after we left and just took what they wanted.

Gabe has been acting out (that's putting it mildly) but seems to have some good moments too. Shelby is cutting her first tooth and crawling (slowly) all over the place. We went to the zoo today, which was fun but a bit difficult with 2 kids. San Antonio is pretty cool so far and we went to our first play date this past Friday which was a lot of fun. We met some nice moms and kids and hope to become more active.

There are only seven boxes left to unpack and then it will be done. I hope to get the kids to the pool this week, it's been in the 90's here.

Texas

We made it. We are safe. We are exhausted. And the kids are in their own rooms. YES-there is a merciful God. More later.

Crazy Shelby

This was last night. Shelby has a little case of diaper rash so I was letting her air out for a bit. She army crawled about 6 six feet and found this toy.

Videos

This is from yesterday when Gabe just couldn't get enough of Shelby laughing.



And this morning, Shelby began to "crawl". It is too cute seeing her scoot across the floor like that.

6 Months

Shelby is 6 months old today. Many of her new talents include getting up on her knees and rocking, scooting on her belly in circles, eating more food at one sitting, annoying her brother by touching anything that belongs to him and much, much more. She has begun to get more of an attitude and cries now when she is left alone in her bed. Her naps are still not air tight, one day she takes 2 long naps, the next day it's 3 short ones. The other morning she was up at 5:45 and this morning she didn't make a sound until 7. But thankfully her night sleeping has not changed at all. Shelby weighs sixteen pounds now, but still seems so small. I guess she is going to be a petite girl. When I look at Shelby I see so much joy and happiness in her. I cannot wait to see what she begins doing next.

AAAGGGHHHH

So, we still have not gotten a confirmation on the day the movers will be here next week. At least we have a place to live in San Antonio. We are slowly packing but will probably do a marathon this weekend. We have a family photo shoot Saturday afternoon and then I am seeing my cousin Eileen Sunday. I hope to see Debbie and Keith over the weekend as well. My car has had problems the past few days and Jeremy's truck has been out of commission for a few weeks now. Shelby is either teething or has a yucky cold and Gabe is still having some problems with the whole poop thing. I would like to see my friends one more time before we set off, so hopefully the car will be up and running by Friday. Thank goodness Jeremy's co-worker lives close by and can give him a ride to Biloxi. The kids and I have been taking lots of walks and staying busy with hide and seek and play-doh.

Needless to say, we are staying super busy and will not stop until we reach Texas.

Gabe's Continued Obsession

I think Gabe is going to do something in the art world when he gets older. The child is truly in love with Play-Doh. every chance he gets he is sitting at the table making animals, people, boats, whatever. It is a great wat to pass the time for him and myself. Although many times I get roped into making an animal that doesn't look remotely like it should. But Gabe is happy with the outcome so that's all that matters. He even sleeps with an animal he makes or a can of the doh. It's cute to see him holding onto it so tight while he takes his afternoon naps.

Shelby's Girly Pose

Shelby is so freakin' hilarious when she gets on her belly. She will scoot herself in a complete circle to try and get to something she wants. There have been some moments where she has gotten on her knees, but no crawling yet. But she has begun to strike this "girly pose" whenever she wants to see what is beside her or behind her. Jeremy and I laugh everytime she does it because it just looks so funny. She's showing off her first model pose (look out Baby GAP).

Just Some Cute Pictures

And no, Shelby's hair is not red. I think it's just the lights in the bathroom that make her hair seem different. She is still ash blond, although the back is getting darker.