Soccer

8 Months!

Gwen turned 8 months in June and is a happy little babe! She is sleeping SO much better and we are all relieved. She is sitting up on her own so well, a change that came just after she turned 7 months. She eating a lot more foods, tolerating and liking peanut butter, and insists on feeding herself most of the time. She is blowing raspberries A LOT and becoming very vocal. No clear words yet though. We think she'll be crawling pretty soon as she is making circles while sitting and ends up in places we didn't see her last! She has been camping 3 times so far, on lots of road trips and is a champ!

7 months old!

Gwen turned 7 months during our trip to the Grand Canyon. She is an easy going girl, likes to watch what others do and is giggling a lot. She is not sleeping well yet. She likes to eat veggies and fruits, and is taking more finger foods and seems to like this.

First Camping Trip!

We took Gwen to Lake Solano, just outside of Winters, for her first camping trip. We chose this location because it's close to home, only about 45 mins away, so if things go awry, we could head back easily. She did great! We did much of the same as we do at home and brought some key baby-holding items so we could unpack and make meals. She would often sit back in her pack'n'play and just watch us, or look up at the trees quietly. Friends suggested that she would sleep better at night due to the ambient noise, but this was not the case. She slept just as she does at home! It rained our first night, but we came prepared and we all remained dry. We have several camping trips planned this summer and can't wait to get back outdoors with her!

Look who's 6 months old!

At this age, Gwen is eating more baby food and likes carrots, peas and squash best. She is not a fan of bananas, it's the texture we think. She is also enjoying pears. We have made also some of our own baby food (sweet potato and broccoli). She is jumping in a boucer/jumparoo contraption which gives Mom and Dad a hands-free break to make dinner/go to the bathroom! She is doing fine at daycare, loves sitting up to watch all the other kids and enjoys outside time in the stroller. She is sitting up more on her own and reaching for her toys. We are working on getting her legs stronger to stand up more. She sure is cute!

Gwen's First Easter!

Today, we celebrated Gwen's first easter at home with family. James' sister and her family (Carrie, Cliff, Matthew and Salle Croxall), Marjory and Oma Susan had a casual brunch with us. The weather was chilly and a bit rainy, but we still managed to have an easter egg hunt in the yard. Gwen was all smiles and her usual sociable self.

March 2014

This was a big month for Gwen. She turned 5 months old and took her first flight to visit her Grandpa Ralph in Las Vegas. She did very well on the plane and we had a great time visiting Grandpa and some friends. It was a quick trip, but we will be back in May! Gwen also has started eating baby food! She loves carrots and is not so sure about green beans, but she is a champ at eating. She is now about 15lbs. She is very engaging, smiling and giggling easily, and she is very steady when propped up in the corner of the couch or with her boppy pillow. She is getting close to sitting up on her own! She is still not sleeping through the night, but we have given up on hoping for this... it'll happen at some point! We are learning to let it be

Finally, an update!

Hello again. We are still here... barely surviving! It's been a couple months since we updated and it's Gwen's fault. She takes up so much of our time! Bev has been back to work since New Years and the first month back was a real struggle. Keeping up with pumping to maintain breastfeeding while trying to stay healthy has really challenged her. We had no idea that Gwen would bring home so many wicked germs from daycare! We are finally all healthy (for now!). We had a trip to Monterey to meet Paul and Gayle and Marjory. We also got to see Zoe, Al and Sloane which was a treat. We had a nice weekend and actually got to relax some. Gwen did great on her first longer car ride there. We have since been spending the weekends as a family, taking it easy and sleeping whenever we can. Gwen is currently struggling with sleep, waking every 1-2 hours at night and not napping well. This is taking a big toll on everyone. But when she's awake, she is as happy as can be! She is nearly 5 months old. We are enjoying her smiles and giggles, they come easily now. She is using her hands to grasp and play, has rolled from her belly to back and back to belly (once so far!) and is sitting up well with just a little support. She weighed in at 13.3lbs at her last visit. She is on the petite side in weight, but she has some fat rolls! We are looking forward to a flight to Las Vegas later this month! We hope to update this more regularly... there are just so many photos to sort through!

First Christmas!

Gwen had a great first Christmas! She got lots of clothes and some fun toys. We enjoyed having Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Susan over, then later celebrated Christmas dinner with the Croxalls (James' sister). Bev is now back to work and Gwen has been doing just fine at daycare. Gwen is spending more time awake and likes to hang out with us on the couch, propped up in her boppy pillow. She has also recently started giggling! We are excited for what the new year brings as Gwen grows!

Gwen is 2 months old!

It's hard to believe that Gwen is already 2 months old! The months have gone by quickly, just as everyone said they would. Bev goes back to work soon (Dec 29th) and Gwen will be headed to a nearby daycare center for most of her days. This will be a heart wrenching transition, but we know she'll be in good hands. In the last month we are seeing spontaneous smiles (and lots of them!), good tracking and excellent neck strength during her tummy time (able to go 90 degrees!). She has lot of expressions, as you will see, and seems to be confused about her emotions, going from pouty faces to smiles in an instant. She's talking a lot to us (as we are to her), and we may have just started to see a giggle or two! She enjoys her baths now and is sleeping longer, up to 4-5 hour stretches at night. Our home is very festive for her first Christmas and we look forward to celebrating with her, even if she isn't quite aware of it all yet!

Visit with Grandma Bovey!

Bev's mom came by to spend time with Gwen and got lucky with lots of smiles and cooing! Gwen sure knows how to melt hearts... and ensure that she makes up for the sleepless nights and the fussy days!

First Thanksgiving

We celebrated Gwen's first Thanksgiving with what will be a Garber tradition, walking the 5k in the Run to Feed the Hungry. Gwen also participated in donating a turkey to the food bank earlier that week! We had a great Thanksgiving with her Grammie and Granddad Garber and Grandma Susan. James cooked the turkey in the BBQ and it turned out great. The day after, we went to Apple Hill to cut our Christmas tree, and then we spent the weekend decorating the house with lights and the tree. Gwen also got another full bath, this time enjoying it a little more than last!

Gwen's smiles!

Gwen is giving us social smiles now, which is such a reward for all the hard work we are doing! She also got her first Christmas present from Grammie and Granddad Garber, a play "gym", and is enjoying it already!

Happy 1 month, Gwen!!

It has already been one month! Gwen has started to establish night from day and is sleeping better (did I just jinx myself?!). She is showing some smiles and is good at lifting her head during tummy time. She loves rides in the stroller, the bumpier the better! As it is still quite early, we have good days and rough ones, but we are learning about each other more and more! Olivia (the cat) is still unsure of her and runs whenever she cries, but she is never very far, and likes to hover and observe from afar. Here are some photos from the last week...

Gwen smiling!

Here is a video of some smiles I was lucky to capture last week. Warning, there is audio and my voice is very high pitched and annoying. But a mother will do anything for a smile, right?!

Gwen's First Antique Faire and Bath!

This weekend we took Gwen to the antique faire and she did very well! She had lots of peeping eyes admiring her and she does well in her carseat and stroller. We also gave her the first bath, which was a daunting task! I had a feeling she wasn't going to love it. She seemed to like the warm water for a little while! She's still so small that she slides around in the tub easily, so we will probably reserve this event for when really needed or when she gets bigger. Lastly, she met her Grandpa Bovey! Dad is here for just a couple days and seems enamored with her! She stares at him (probably thinking "hey, he looks like me!") and is very calm in his arms. It's quite cute.