earlier this month gabe had to miss our chinese new year activity that i signed up for since i was brutally sick that day. fortunately gabe was healthy enough to go to his valentine's event with my parents. it's amazing how much they can do in 1.5 hours - gabe made 4 pieces of artwork using paint, food colouring, and various arts & crafts items, plus he got to ice a sugar cookie (definitely more icing than cookie - just the way mom likes)!
gabe's still struggling with music class...he only enjoys the activity portions (i.e., using the rhythm sticks, shakers, drums and instruments), and all the singing/dancing/repetition is just lost on him...he faces away from everyone, burying his face in my shirt, or else he just goes and stands by the wall. it's a little frustrating. i also noticed at aly's birthday party that gabe refused to participate in the circle activities. he just wanted to keep playing by himself and didn't care that he was alone - it was almost like he preferred the solitude. at megan's party, he was a bit of a loner for awhile...playing "kitchen" by himself, but he eventually he warmed up to the others kids and started running around with nora and tyler. i'm really glad he starts preschool in september and he'll have to interact with other kids.
gabe has FINALLY strung together his first words...for MONTHS my mom's been working really hard at getting gabe to say "ta (thank you) for food". he always says "ta", but the rest of it is just starting to come together and sounds like "ta...ffffff...ffff...ooo....d". literally, it's a 10 syllable production. ridiculous. in other word development, he can now say "hi", and he's said "bye" on one occasion. i know i obsess over his communication skills but there's one thing in particular that drives me nuts. gabe can say "d", "dad", "dada", but he won't say "done" (as in "all done"). instead, he says "all'one". i've tried repeatedly to break it down for him with the consonant, but he just can't (or won't) say "done". it's the same with "please". he leaves the "pl" off and says "ease". but he will say "puh....(long pause)...ease!" it's incredibly frustrating because he knows his d and p letters but won't use them consistently. i did talk to our doctor today about it, but since gabe CAN talk and he fully comprehends english, he doesn't worry about gabe's development. the 3 year mark will be the real test...that was the deadline the doctor gave me if gabe is still not able to put words together.
this month has been a step back in potty-training. gabe is still not ready for full potty-training, and he's had MANY #2's in his diapers. it's disappointing to take a step back, but my mom keeps putting it in perspective...he's only 2 years old! a lot of kids (never mind boys) don't even start training until they're 3 years old. i know i wanted to train him over xmas, but that never happened, so we'll do it over the summertime. he HAS to be trained before he starts preschool in september!
onto happier times...february marks chris and my 13 year anniversary since we started dating, and my 9 year anniversary at (aon) hewitt. my parents recently booked their october cruise around asia, so we've been talking about their ports, and it's hard to believe that it's been 6 years since chris and i spent our month travelling around hong kong, southern china and thailand!
