First Christmas

We officially had our first Chrsitmas with Gabriel Lucas! So much fun, and I know it will only get better. This year he was mostly interested in the paper and the ribbons. Of course we couldn't let him play with the paper too long since it went straight to his mouth! Here are a couple pictures...

I know it has beena while, but we have had lots of sickies around here. It started with the Norwalk virus (or something like it) a few weeks ago and we are still fighting off the remnants of a cough and wheezing. This weekend Gabriel did some shopping coupled with some naps and dancing with Daddy. Here is a brief summary in pictures...

Today, I could hardly believe it when I walked in to the Family Center to pick up Gabriel and he was sitting up by himself playing with toys...no support! Our boy is getting so big I can hardly stand it! Here is his picture in his Christmas outfit from today after we got him from work. What a little champion!

Just call me Suzie...

That's Suzie homemaker! I just finished making some new foods for Gabriel Lucas's. He will be starting with green beans or carrots. I also got squash to make, but didn't get to it tonight...maybe tomorrow night! Doesn't it look yummy? It tastes better than it looks...I tried it.

Sunday with dad...

Today was our 6 year anniversary, but those of you with kids know how that goes.... Anyway, today was also the first time that William got to feed Gabriel. Really the first time since he actually likes the food.
This afternoon we went to the mall. It was pretty busy for a recession! Here you can see the boys hanging out. As soon as I pointed the camera, Gabriel sported his smile...so funny! I caught part of the smile. They had fun and dealt with mom dragging them in and out of girly stores. Gotta train 'em right!

Mi lengua

Gabriel Lucas found his toungue a few weeks ago and he loves to stick it out. Here is our boy in a very common pose these days.
I just love this smirk we caught on camera. I had to share it. What a personality!

Gabriel Lucas's first solids...

Gabriel Lucas is going to be 6 months old on November 24th. He has been nearly 6 months on only mama's milk. But, the time has come for him to broaden his pallet. He has been expressing his interest in everything that mommy and daddy are eating. So, this morning Gabriel Lucas got his first solids, rice cereal. Here are a couple pictures.

He did pretty good. We tried to put the rest in a bottle and allow him to eat that way. He took more, but not all of it. More to come...

My New Toy...

Today, Gabriel Lucas got a new toy. He doesn't quite fit in it yet, but he will soon enough. You can see how he already loves it! It is a Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo...

Mops' Visit & Halloween

A little bit has happened between the last post and now. Mops came to visit Gabriel Lucas bearing gifts including Buddy (below). Buddy sings Old McDonald had a Farm..., counts his fingers, and asks questions about the animals he is holding. Gabriel Lucas loves Buddy!Gabriel Lucas has recently found his tongue. Here is a picture of what he likes to do...stick out his tongue. It's so funny. We call him our little lizard!

This picture is great! Mops and her boy stickin' his tongue out. Too bad Mops isn't sticking her tongue out. Now that would be funny!!!

Last week we had few cool days...cold for South Florida. In the morning, it was 53 when we left the house so I bundled up Gabriel Lucas in a jacket and put on his little hat. He was so adorable. But, I must say that I am glad it is not a regular occurence even though he looked so cute. That is a lot of clothes to put on one little boy! Of course, he was a trooper...even with the hat!

Now for Halloween...Gabriel Lucas was dressed like his daddy, a doctor. He had his scrubs on and a stethoscope around his neck. Very cute! Mommy's costume is not complete...a little further down the page....

Halloween at the office is a big deal. Major competition...this year our department did Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Here are a couple of pictures.

Drs. Arce in da house...

William was working from Saturday morning at 6:30 AM to today (Sunday) at 2:00 PM. So, today, Gabriel Lucas and I went down to Miami to see William. And since he fits into the scrub set that Lynna Runge gave him, I dressed him to match daddy. Here is our little guy all ready to go see his daddy.

And, here are both of my guys. Gabriel Lucas doesn't do much without his finger in his mouth!

Found my feet...

You must agree that Gabriel Lucas is the cutest baby boy you have ever seen! Okay, so I am a little bias, but he is amazing! Daddy came home today from being in Miami working all week and couldn't believe how much Gabriel Lucas changed. He is growing so fast!

Today I was taking a couple pictures of Gabriel Lucas in his little hoodie. I think it is for the beach, but we didn't go to the beach today.
Hanging out in the bumbo. Gabriel Lucas likes to lean over and grab his feet which are a new discovery this month.

Whereever he may be lying on his back, Gabriel Lucas loves to throw his feet up in the air like this. Most of the time he is grabbing his feet, but I didn't catch that in this photo.

A few more beach pictures since we try to go every weekend.

This is one of my favorites. You can see his new bathing suit that I had to special order on the internet. It is pretty difficult to find a bathing suit for a little guy. The disposables don't fit him since he is still too small. That's okay because this little bathing suit is so darn cute!

Okay, now William will kill me for posting this picture, but I had to laugh when I saw this picture and then compared it to the next one. Look at daddy's expression in this picture.

Now look at Gabriel Lucas' expression in this pictures...

Priceless!

Well, it has been a while since the last posting. Busy, busy, busy...but we have managed to get some fun times between school and work. This first picture is of our growing boy dancing with his daddy. As you can see, Gabriel Lucas loves for his daddy to dance with him.


Of course, we try to get to the beach as often as possible. We try to go in the late afternoon to protect the new skin of our little guy. Even though he has Colombian blood, his skin is not so dark, yet. I love this picture of father and son in front of the massive ocean!

Gabriel Lucas met his cousin, Alejandro last week. Alejandro's friend brought Gabriel Lucas a blanket and this yellow duck. He loves the duck!

Back to the beach! This time Gabriel Lucas got his hands in the sand. He enjoyed it as expected. He didn't try to eat the sand, but I'm sure that will be soon. What can a little sand going to hurt???

I think he likes the sand between his toes. He is a real Floridian!

Here is Gabriel Lucas with his night-night toy. This little seahorse lights up and plays music for 5 minutes and then turns off. He has watched it the past few nights before he drifts off to sleep. I laughed at the advertisement that that said your baby will drift off to sleep after 5 minutes...but it really worked for Gabriel Lucas!

That's about it for now. I just took my midterm and is glad that is over. Only 5 more weeks of this class, then only 3 classes to go! Time is flying! Gabriel Lucas will not even be 1 year old when I finish. What a nice feeling it will be to be finished with school...never thought I'd be back!

First day at the beach...

Today we took Gabriel Lucas to the beach for the first time ever! ...And he LOVED it! Here are a few photos from our experience! We'll definitely be doing it again!

Gabriel Lucas loved the sand between his toes. If we let him, he would have had his hands in it too! I'm sure that will come soon enough!

This face shows it all. He was smiling and laughing every time a wave came up to us. Mom was plowed over by a wave and Gabriel Lucas got soaked including his face! He was a real trooper and actually liked it!

Thanks to Carolee Kohlhepp we have our baby tent with UV protection! Extra protection since we also had our UV protecting umbrella up to cover us all. After the water and his diaper soaking wet, we let him be naked in his tent...no poop! He only had a little pee-pee, but it wasn't in his tent.

And, then it was naptime...

And, playtime again. I just love this look!

Here is how it all ended. Exhaustion!

A great day at the beach. We'll definitely be doing this again. I see sandcastles in the future!

Stylin' in blue shoes

This week Gabriel Lucas has been stylin' & profilin' in his blue shoes! This is the first time he has worn his shoes to school and I must say he is the best dressed little boy there! Of course, the cutest, too! Here are a couple of pictures of Gabriel Lucas in his shoes.

Slow start to the week...

Since my last posting, Gabriel Lucas got sick for the first time ever. It only took a week of being at the Family Center to catch the cold which included sneezing, cough, and stuffy nose. Suctioning the snot out of his nose really helped motherhood sink in! Actually, he is amazing and doesn't even cry...no need to be jealous, I'm sure my time will come!

Anyway, he passed his sickness on to me and I passed it along to William. I think William got the worst of it. We've all been pretty low profile this Labor Day weekend, trying to get as much sleep as possible. Now for some pictures...

Many of you have seen this one, but this is a great shot of what we call Gabriel Lucas's "shy smile." William's favorite! He really draws you in and steals your heart with this one.

One of his favorite things to do is his "tummy time." He is really good at it and holds that head up very high. Here is Gabriel Lucas having tummy time on the couch next to William. Some serious drool being produced!

Here is one of our angel sleeping. He loves his left index finger!

And for some quality time with daddy on Saturday morning. William took Gabriel Lucas on a walk behind the condo close to the golf course...not too close, of course, since Saturday is a pretty busy morning for golf.

Finally, here is Gabriel Lucas with his new and most favorite toy! I picked it up at target so I could have something to put on the car seat while he is by himself in the back of the car. He loves it!

Gabriel Lucas's is all about talking. I have a feeling that once he starts, he isn't going to stop!