14 months old!

wow, gabe is 14 months old today! it's been a challenge the past couple of days. gabe's developed some dry skin along with nasty rashes on his body and we're not sure why. he's also got a diaper rash and the cream that used to work doesn't seem to be working for him. we're going to cut out the "junkier" food he's been eating and get back to basics for a few days and see if that helps. we've definitely gotten more relaxed with feeding him and let him eat almost anything without adhering to the 3 day rule. at the very least we have a doctor's appointment for his 2nd h1n1 vaccine, so he can get checked out then.

on top of the skin problems, gabe's cutting 3 teeth which has made our life miserable. at time he's in terrible pain and has trouble soothing himself to sleep (we've temporarily reverted back to baby einstein - at 3 a.m., i'll do anything to get back into bed!), and he's also having meltdowns at the drop of hat! anyone who knows gabe, knows he loves to eat! i have to tell you, it's mind-boggling to see him refuse food!

asides from those issues, gabe's doing great! his walking has progressed into faster walking and now trotting/running. when we're out-and-about, and he's had a taste of "walking freedom", he hates being carried or strapped into his stroller. it's hard being out alone with him now, because it's a hassle chasing him while keeping an eye on the stroller and our belongings :P

speaking of our stroller, the hinge covers for our maclaren arrived today. and being a responsible parent, i promptly put the "warning" label on and zipped on the covers (the only reason i've done this is if we decide to re-sell it in the future). i'm done ranting about the stroller, so here's what it looks like now:

gabe still hasn't said his first word yet, but he continues to babble and vocalize. his sign language skills are ridiculous! he will say "please", "thank you", "more", "poop", "bye-bye", and "milk". he doesn't associate waving bye-bye and hello as the same thing...instead, if someone says hi to him, he'll tilt his head and pretend to hold a phone. he's also learned to shrug his shoulders and extend his arms out to say "i don't know!". and his openmouth kisses are a real hoot! fortunately he's kept his tongue to himself :-)

he also responds really well to instructions:

"gabriel, please sit down to eat" - he truly is chinese...he`ll actually squat to eat :P

"gabriel, do you have to go to the potty?" - he'll walk over to the potty area (at our home or at my parents house)

"gabriel, it's time to eat!" - he'll walk over to his hairchair and wait with his arms up.

"gabriel, go give grandma/grandpa a hug/kiss and say goodbye" - this gets my mom in stitches, cuz gabe will get confused after doing it to one person and he`ll hug and kiss his reflection in the mirror :-)

ah, my boy!