6 Month Photos

We had Gabe's 6 month photos taken today. We've included one below but you can find all of them on our Flickr site. He did so well! They even asked us if they could use Gabe as a model. Sometime soon you just might see Gabe up on the walls at Picture People, or in their email adds. He's such a cutie!

Gabe is 6 months old

Gabe is getting bigger and bigger every day. He is doing all sorts of new things and I find myself cheering him on just waiting for him to reach his next milestone and also hoping he'll stay this small forever. Every time he smiles and laughs my heart just melts.

We haven't had his 6 month pictures done yet, so below is a video of his first time swimming. He's a natural and loves it!

A whole new world

Gabe is now 5 months old and is doing all sorts of new things. Gone are the days when I could put him in one spot and expect him to stay there. His hands are always in his mouth unless they are playing with his new favorite toys, his feet. Below are two videos of him that I took today. Playing in his jungle gym and rolling over and laughing. It's amazing how much he learns and changes everyday. I'm so glad I am home to experience it all with him.

Gabe Rolling Over


Gabe Lauging, doesn't get any better than this.

Gabe is 4 months old

Gabe turned 4 months old on the 6th and we had some photos taken of him yesterday. When you compare them to those taken at 1 month, it's just amazing how much he's grown.

Gabe at 4 months


Gabe at 1 month


That's the same monkey with him in both photos. Gabe has just about doubled in size. We can't believe it!

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Before you have a baby you try to make as many plans as you can without really knowing how your life is going to change. Thankfully, Chris and I made a lot of great decisions and have had a lot of help from family and friends which has made the last few months with Gabe the best in our lives. However, two of our best laid plans haven't worked out quite the way we thought they would. It's not a bad thing, it's just a change in expectations.

First was the decision to breastfeed Gabe. There's no arguing with everything you read or hear about feeding your baby: the absolute best is breast milk. With that in mind, we did everything we could to make it work for us. So, why the change in expectation? Well, we were a little too successful with the breastfeeding. So much so in fact that not only will Gabe not take a bottle of breast milk, he won't even take a pacifier. This leaves me feeding him from the breast only and without a break for more than about two hours at a time. As you might imagine, that makes it a little difficult to go out to dinner and a movie which was virtually a weekly ritual in this household. It also brings us to our second change in plans.

Prior to Gabe's birth, I was planning on returning to work part time. Now, however, it's not really practical for me to do so until next year(ish). We intend to reassess the situation when Gabe is 1 and eating solid food. This wasn't an easy decision to make. Yes, being home with Gabe is wonderful but deciding to stay home for at least a year was a hard decision for me. Work would have been a good outlet and a break from being home. Also, I had some fantastic, loyal customers who I can't help but feel I'm letting down (if you are reading this please feel free to contact me and we can work out some hair care at home if you don't mind Gabe coming along for the ride. becca.j.thompson@gmail.com). I just thank God that Chris and I are able to make things work without the contribution of my income.

Being home with Gabe this year is going to be the most difficult but also the most rewarding job I will ever have. I'm looking forward to it, I just wish he wouldn't grow up so fast!

Having said all that, are there any moms out there who want to set up some play dates?