Baby and Bunnies!

Gabi has recently gotten interested in our pet bunny rabbits. Those of you who are up on your Gabi-trivia will recall that we have two bunnies:

A little boy bunny named Cody... Cody is a Netherland Dwarf.

and a little girl bunny named Merlin... Merlin is a Mini Rex.

You may remember them from this post, when Gabi was much smaller. The rabbits haven't grown much since March, but Gabi certainly has.

	March 2005	September 2005
Merlin	5	5
Cody	2	2
Gabi	8	17

Table 1. Comparison of bunny and baby weights (in pounds).

We try to give our baby and our bunnies some time to get acquainted every day. It usually starts out with both parties being equally interested in each other, as demostrated by Cody's "bunny kisses" in this picture. Cody, being much more curious (and having an underdeveloped sense of self-preservation), needs no coaxing to come say hello. Really, the curiosity on the part of our bunnies probably stems from their desire to get a treat. But Cody's interest and the impending treats are usually sufficient to get Merlin, our wiser if more reticent rabbit, to come out of hiding.

Unfortunately, Gabi is too interested in putting things into her mouth to be allowed to handle apple treats. This prevents us from sharing pictures of the bunnies eating out of Gabi's hand. But we do hate to disappoint our bunny friends...


"Cody, stand up!... Good bunny!"
The "stand up" trick is usually well-received by Gabi, who rewards us with delighted cooing. Having brought the rabbits up to the front of their cages, we then give Gabi the chance to Pat the Bunny. This normally goes well as long as Gabi is gentle and the rabbits are still chewing their treats.


Invariably, however, our little 6-month-old (going on 7-month-old) gets a little over excited and will frighten the little bunny away. Rabbits are prey critters, you know, and they may not realize that the loud, bigger-than-a-bunny creature is not a predator. Then again, I'm sure that, given the chance, Gabi would put a bunny ear in her mouth.


Where did that bunny go?

Bedtime

When Gabi is ready to sleep, she is much more cuddly than when she wants to play, which makes sense. Little Gabriella also rubs her eyes when she is fatigued; it is always amazing to me when Gabi does something on her own which, for adults, is considered the quintessential action for whatever emotion she is experiencing. More atypically, for some reason Gabriella finds tugging at my hair to be comforting when she is tired.

At night, Gabi snuggles up to my chest, sticks two fingers from her right hand in her mouth, and holds onto my hair with her left hand. When she's feeling a bit fidgety, she will pull my hair until her fingers run through to the end (often retaining a few detached strands in her fist) and then she'll reach up to try again. Other times, Gabi decides to suck on the same fingers she is using to grasp my hair, or perhaps she just likes the way my hair tastes.

Not only does this hair-tugging routine signal to me that it is bedtime for Gabi, but somehow it is immensely calming for Gabi and helps her fall asleep.

Mama, I'm tired! 9/14/05

Gabi trying to suck on Mama's hair.

Gabi's favorite sleepy-time pose.

First Vegetables

	Mmmmm, carrots. We're still working on eating solid foods. Gabi gets really excited about the prospect of eating when I bring the bowl and spoon to her, and she really likes the first few bites; she says "mmmm" and smacks her lips and sticks out her tongue to taste some more. Here she's sucking all that yummy carrot off her fingers--she actually licked those fingers clean!
	I can feed myself! (Not really, Mama says.) Gabi quickly gets bored with repeatedly opening her mouth, which does make it more difficult to get food in there. At that point, tugging at her diaper usually becomes much more interesting. Here, Gabi captured the spoon before Mama could retreat with it. At least she's focusing on eating...
	Yeah! Rice cereal! 9/13/05 So far, Gabi has tried rice cereal, squash, and carrots. She likes rice cereal best and seems to prefer carrots over squash. Regardless of what she eats, she makes quite a mess!

Mama said I needed a bath after that dinner.

Gabi in the mirror! 9/13/05

Playgroup Friends

I invited all my friends over on Tuesday morning, as we hosted playgroup this week after Nursery Rhyme Time at the library. It was a bit of a rough morning since none of the babies were able to take their nap before the library nursery rhymes and playgroup, so we're going to have to change our play time. Although we don't have a single picture with all the babies just yet, here are a bunch of us:


Gabi, Martin, Carter, Drew, Ava, and Kira,
with Ellie front and center.
As you may have noticed from the extended list of People I Know in the sidebar on the right, we now have a DeKalb Playgroup blog, where you can go to see all my friends. (If you're curious, we live in DeKalb county; and for those of you not from Atlanta, the L in DeKalb is silent.) On the playgroup blog, the very first post (so the last one listed in the Headlines section in the sidebar on the left) is a list of all my friends along with their birthdays. I'm right in the middle, which is just perfect!

Speaking of blog updates, there are so many posts on my blog now that Mama added a Favorites section to the sidebar on the right where you can easily find some of the cutest pictures of me over time to see how much I've grown.

Just Ducky

Gabi playing with her duckies.
(Notice those prehensile toes. We have video evidence of her grasping toys with her feet.)


Gabi really enjoys her bathroom duckies!
9/12/05

Gabi Lane

Gabi Lane is just a few blocks down from our new church.
9/4/05

Recently, Gabriella has noticed the various animals around her. There are numerous friendly cats in the neighborhood that she likes to watch when we take walks, and if one licks her toes she will laugh. Gabi has also discovered the two rabbits that live in our house, and she is amused when they hop around for her and will especially giggle if they do a stand-up trick to earn a treat. Last weekend, we stopped by Petsmart to see the puppies for adoption outside, and she loved it.


Gabi meets a puppy outside Petsmart.
9/4/05

Gabi also continues to be intrigued by reflections in a mirror. She and Papa played games with her play gym mirror last night.

Gabi gives her reflection a kiss.

Who's in the mirror, Gabi?

Furthermore, Gabriella has developed her own language so she can communicate with Mama. Most of the various vowel sounds are happy sounds. The "N" sound in particular denotes frustration. Here is a sample of Gabi-speak:

ooooommmmmm. mmm = I like that./I'm happy. gee geeee = That's funny./I'm happy. aaaahh aah = I want attention. uh! uh! uh! = I'm hungry. ah-nah-nanananah = I'm mad. nannnnnnnnn-nah! = I'm really mad.

When we visited the pediatrician yesterday, Gabi weighed in at 16 lbs 14 oz and measured 26.5 inches in length. Her head circumference is now 44.75 cm.


Gabriella is always excited to see her parents.
9/8/05
Today we will introduce either squash or carrots, adding one new food every three or four days. First Gabi will get to taste the yellow vegetables, then the green vegetables, reserving sweet potatoes for last. After she's tried all the vegetables, she can eat fruits. In another month and a half, we can give her some teether biscuits, and eventually on to table food. Oh, Gabi, there is so much to look forward to in the world of food!