23 Things about Gabby Grace: 6 month edition


1) Let's start off on a good note. You are on a sleeping hotstreak. 5, possibly 6 nights of all through the night with very few peeps. We usually put you to bed between 7:45 and 8:45. (I totally screwed myself by typing this.)


2) We are still breastfeeding. Yay! You nurse about 5 or 6 times a day and are getting hard to handle as you get bigger.

3) You carry all your chunkiness in your cheeks and knees. It is adorable.

4) We are currently experiencing a bad case of thrush right now. You've had your mouth painted purple and are now on an antibiotic that we have to give you four times a day. I hope it goes away soon.


5) Things that make you laugh include: making fart noises on your legs and belly, the words "poopy pants," and raising your arms above your head or you above our heads.


6) You can SIT. As of about a couple weeks ago, you can go anywhere from 10-30 seconds sitting by yourself.


7) Anything and everything you see gets grabbed and goes directly into your mouth. I know all kids do this, but it's hard to read a book to a child that wants to eat it.


8) Speaking of your mouth, we started putting some solid foods in it. This is going to be a separate blog post, but you are MILES ahead of your sister in this category. You open your mouth like a hangar when the food comes your way and try to grab the spoon (see No. 7). Even daycare was impressed at you trying to feed yourself at the ripe age of 6 months.


9) I still haven't spent the night away from you yet. Or I could say you haven't spend the night away from your food source yet.

10) You have the cutest colic/tuft of hair that will not stay down for the life of a comb. I don't think you're going to have curly hair, but I think it's going to be thicker and longer than big sis'. I look forward to doing some braids -- no promises on how they turn out.

11) You've discovered Howie. And he's realized No. 7 and that you don't exactly let go easily. He yiped the other night and you had no idea that you were the reason he did.

12) Ahh, binkies. Nuks and MAMs save the day again. I am elated you take and love a pacifier. Ask me about this in 18 months.


13) Much to daycare's dismay, you like to be held. A lot. That's OK with me. I could hold you all day every day if I didn't need to shower, use the restroom or eat.


14) No teeth to report yet and I'm A-OK with that. We did buy you the teething toy Coco and you thoroughly enjoy gnawing on it. It's also a squeaky toy which confuses Howie to no end.

15) Dad had his first day out with two daughters and no mom. He took you to a TJ basketball game (even dressed you in a tutu with school colors). I may or may not have kidnapped you at halftime from said basketball game.


16) I hate to say much about Faith since this is YOUR 23 things, but man she loves you and goes to great lengths to make you smile. She thinks if she claps you'll stop crying. Sometimes you do stop momentarily because you're so startled by someone clapping in your face, but this is so helpful when I'm scrambling to get ready in the morning and you're getting ready for your first catnap of the day.


17) The car is your kryptonite. You cannot stay awake no matter the distance or time of day.
18) Nicknames I/we have for you include: Gabby Grace (not really a nickname I guess), GG, Gabbs, Gabby Girl, Gabster. I thought about choosing another F name when you were born, but you're such a Gabby and I'm happy it fits!


19) I swear you're going to start crawling tomorrow. You saw the remote the other day and started trying inch your way toward it. Luckily you can't get your belly off the ground yet or you would've changed the channel to Little Einsteins.

20) You like bathtime, especially when I get you out and wrap you in a big, comfy towel. It gets a smile every time.

21) Really the only time you cry is when you're tired. (Apparently, I don't let you get too hungry.) But man were you pissed the other day until we figured that out. Still trying to get you on a good nap schedule.

22) Being able to come feed you at daycare every day over my/our lunch hour has been a blessing. You are my mid-day pick-me-up. It's so fun to get to see your little face light up when I arrive.


23) Words that describe you include: loveable, huggable, kissable, undeniable :)



Bonus 24th thing: HALF A YEAR. It's so hard to believe how quickly time has passed. You've fit right into this family like a puzzle piece we didn't know was missing! Mom and dad love  you very much!


Faith Funnies



Me: "Looks like this recipe calls for one egg."
Faith: "How bout three cause I'm three?"

Faith: (randomly while we were driving in the car) "I like being a kid."

Rob, asking a rhetorical question: "Why am I the only one cleaning?"
Faith, not understanding what a rhetorical question is: "Because I'm not."

(a scream)
Me: Faith, don't scream.
Faith: It wasn't me. It was glo-worm.

Faith: "Am I pretty or crazy?"

Gabby: Achoo!
Faith: "Gabby just said, 'I love my big sister!'"

Gabby: "agagdeaagagaga"
Faith:"Gabby just said, 'Whatever!'"

Faith: "When your beard gets long, will you still be my dad?"

This isn't really a "funny" per se but Faith starts every sentence with, "How bout you say" and then follows it with something like "Oh no, the pony is going to get us." Girl loves to control the dialogue. And we're just fine with that. One of these days I'll be on the computer during one of her paragraph rants and will be able to type it up. Then you'll be in for a real treat!



Movember: and why my wife hates my facial hair

It's No Shave November. Movember. And this is the first time in my 30 years that I have participated. In fact, I got a head start the last week of October (but don't tell anyone).
The whiskers look like a shadow... 
But, as is obvious by my photo, I do not have the genes necessary for being a hairy man. I am a creature of habit. I don't usually shave on Mondays, I sometimes do on Tuesdays (if not Tuesday, then definitely by Wednesday), sometimes Sunday; and usually the small stubs of blondness fill in a patch here or there that more resembles an uninhabited plot of prairie struck by a drought.

My wife doesn't like my facial hair. I'll test her sometimes. I won't shave until she says something. It's never more than a week. She says it's itchy. More-so, I think she's jealous (tonight she said, "How would you like it if I just didn't shave my legs for a month?"). Point taken.

And also understand: I am completely aware of my lack of moustache-growing skills. But, on the back side of the Man Card, rule 27r. states: A man must give a valiant attempt at beard and mustache growing before the end of their 30th year. Or something like that.

But I have good reason this year. This week while I called my mom, I realized I hadn't told her something I'd thought I did. And it dealt with both my facial hair and men's health. And realizing that I hadn't told her until now, I figured it's a good time for everyone.

By the way, Movemeber has become a worldwide movement. Just check out the Movember official website. The site is doing it's part to raise awareness for cancer in men like the Pink movement has for breast cancer.

And I have had my scares (and been checked for) both testicular and prostate cancer in the past four years. Remember, I'm just 30. Both turned out clean. The following couple of paragraphs are void of the intimate details, but you will get the point.

It's a scary moment to find a lump. At first, I thought it was a mistake. So I checked every day for the next week, and it didn't go away. About the size of a peanut M&M (sorry if I ruined that candy for you, I still enjoy them), I told Nicole and we scheduled an appointment to get it checked out. After an ultrasound, it turned out to be just a mass of fluid that had hardened (poses no health risk, but I still have to check). Nicole and I had one worry - would it affect us having children? The answer is obvious.

The prostate cancer was actually something that I didn't even consider before I was checked. I had some weird swelling (I thought testicular cancer was a shoe-in here). WebMD had nothing on the type of swelling I had. So, Nicole and I called the doctor again.  They ruled it could somehow be related to prostate cancer... and I was checked (they didn't even buy me dinner first). Luckily, the docs ruled that out as well.

While I have been lucky (I'm hoping there isn't a third time), I am writing this post because something amazing has happened since I started growing this dreadful beard. People have asked me, "why would you do such a thing?" And Movember, No Shave November is the perfect platform. Because when people ask, I immediately answer that it is to raise testicular and prostate cancer awareness. And that's what I'm doing. Getting the conversation started, just to have you get it in the back of your mind to check. I'm not trying to raise money - although the website accepts donations.

The Gabs and I raising awareness, and our eyebrows.

So, while my beard isn't growing on my wife... well, growing in general... I will keep it going this month in hopes of raising awareness.

~Rob