Recap: Fall 2011 in photos

I finally got around to downloading photos from the camera (and deleting all of the photos of the floor that Gabe took), so now I get to give you a quick recap of highlights from Oct-Dec. You can find the whole album on Google+.

October 2011:

Bubbie and Papa came to visit. One of the highlights of their trip included taking Gabe to a corn maze. He was more interested in the hay ride than the maze; we did that twice :)

Auntie Erica visited for a long weekend. She and Gabe built a LOT of Lego towers, and she got to celebrate Halloween with us at Team B. 

Mike got the sewing machine out of storage and made some awesome Harry Potter robes for Halloween. He was adult Harry, and Gabe was Harry's son James. I was going to be adult Ginny, but Halloween beat us to the punch. Maybe next year!

November 2011:

We spent Thanksgiving in Myrtle Beach, SC visiting Uncle Jason, Aunt Jennifer, Cousin Alaina, and Auntie Chanda. Bubbie and Papa also drove up from Dallas. We had a great time eating (of course), playing outside, celebrating my birthday, and going to the bounce house.

December 2011:

Auntie Meg came to visit from Norway (actually on her way back to Norway from Antarctica), and we had a great time hanging out. She also introduced Gabe to the joys of advent calendars!

We're having another baby boy!

Gabe would say "I told you so"; he's been telling people "I have a baby brother in mommy's belly." Today we had our big anatomy scan ultrasound and officially found out that we're having another boy. Now we have to come up with a name :) That's proving to be more difficult this time around!

Everything at the ultrasound checked out wonderfully. It turns out that baby boy 2 also got Gabe's stubborn streak; it took a solid 20 minutes to get the the right view of his head so that the sonographer could finish her measurements. He just wasn't interested in moving out of his cozy spot.

Twenty weeks down and twenty more to go!

Here we go again

Baby Friedman #2 at 7 weeks

You may have noticed (by the fact that I just posted about a camping trip in October) that we're a little behind on the blog. There's a reason for that, though. At 12 weeks in, I think it's fairly safe to say that Gabe is going to be a big brother somewhere around June 29. It's been a pretty crazy fall, though - between editing and teaching on my end and teaching a load of new AP classes on Mike's end (and chasing the never ending energy source that is Gabe on both of our ends), we've been pretty exhausted. I've also had a much different pregnancy this time around; things were completely by the book with Gabe, and although everything is on target and progressing normally, the side effects this time around have been a lot more intense. I'm hoping that as the first trimester comes to a close, we can put some of that behind us.

We went in for an appointment today and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time since our seven-week ultrasound (although as you can see, there's not much to see that early); at 159 bpm, it was a wonderful sound to hear, and it brought me back to the first time we heard Gabe's heartbeat. Gabe, by the way, is very excited about becoming a big brother; I'm not sure that he completely understands the ramifications, but he asks me every day about the baby, gives my belly hugs and kisses, and asks when his new baby will be here. It's super sweet.

We're all looking forward to a relaxing Christmas break with the family. Next year brings another round of craziness - I'm going to be teaching the 400-student introductory biology course at UNC, Mike has a pile of AP tests to prepare his students for, and we're hoping that once the market picks back up in the spring months, we can finally sell this house and move somewhere bigger in time for us to be a family of four!

Backpacking 2: Raven Rock State Park in October

Hiking to camp

We were less conservative for our second backpacking experience. Equipped with better packs, we again headed off for a cousin adventure to Raven Rock State Park. This was a much more traditional experience; the hike to the site was 1.7 mi (via an actual trail and not the flat, wide trail at Falls Lake), and we stayed in the canoe camping site, which had only 6 sites. The end result was a much more primitive (and quiet!) experience. We were right on the Cape Fear River, which is slightly misleading because the bank is so steep, it was a 5-min walk to the actual river. Again, Gabe did really well. He walked somewhere between a half mile and a mile on the way in (which was good considering that we got there after his dinner time), and we got to the site in time to set up camp and start a fire. I was impressed to see Gabe actually devour his dinner (a rarity in our house), but bedtime was not so easy. After we were all settled into our tent, Gabe decided that he wanted to sleep "at home in my own bed right now!". Not an easy feat when you're 1.7 mi from the car and an hour from home beyond that. Luckily, some Thomas videos on the iphone calmed him down, and we all had a good sleep.

Home sweet home

Daddy and Gabe relaxing

Sunday was a lot of fun. The kids spent some time exploring the site, relaxing with the dads in the hammocks, and playing card games. We had a leisurely breakfast and relaxed until it was time to tear down camp and head home via Raven Rock (you can't not see a namesake!). The actual rocks were on the river bank, which was 150 stairs down from the trail. Gabe (who hadn't been so eager to hike on his own) eagerly trekked down (and back up) all 150 stairs! However, between that, the mile hike to the rock, and the fact that it was past his naptime, he rode the last mile to the car on Mike's shoulders (and fell asleep in the process).

Exploring the campsite with Eliot

Cape Fear River with Mommy

Rock formations

Hiking back to the car

In all, it was a successful trip, and we're excited to try out some new parks in the spring.

Summer recap: backpacking

Gabe exploring camp

My cousins have been begging us to go camping with them since they moved to NC. I camped fairly frequently as a kid, and Mike was a Boy Scout, but I don't think he's camped much since, and I haven't been since undergrad. Ben is of the opinion (and I can't fault him) that if you're going to camp, you should see some good scenery and not the backs of cars and RVs; therefore, instead of slowly getting our feet wet with some car camping, we dove in with a backpacking trip and a toddler.

During the last week of May, we ventured out with Team B for a night of backpacking at Shinleaf at Falls Lake State Park. It was a pretty short hike into the site (somewhere between a quarter and a half mile), but we picked a site close to the lake (and the vault toilet, which was critical with 2 kids under 6). Gabe walked most of the way himself (backpack and all), and we managed to get a fire started and the tents set up before it got dark. We had a short first night; by the time we got the kids to sleep, we just went to sleep ourselves.

After the early night, the kids were up early, so we spent the morning hiking to the lake and relaxing in the hammock. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and snack and then packed out before lunch. Gabe barely made it back to the car; I carried him most of the way back, and he was asleep for a late nap before we even left the parking lot. In all, it was a great first experience. We managed to stay tick-free, and Gabe didn't run (too far) away, although he was very interested in going out onto the trail "by myself".

Gabe and Mike at Falls Lake

Checking out the wildlife at Falls Lake

Summer recap: potty training

I neglected to mention that Gabe is now potty trained. We had been talking about it for a while during the spring, and even though he was on the young side (just over 2), we decided to let him give it a shot while we were all home during the summer. We wanted to wait until after our first trip to Dallas (2 days after Mike finished teaching) because we couldn't imagine flying (with layovers) with a potty-training toddler. During our trip, Gabe told everyone who would listen all about how he would wear underwear when we got home. In retrospect, the process was pretty painless. I did some reading, but mostly followed the advice from a friend whose son potty trained during the previous summer at about the same age.

Essentially, we went cold-turkey from diapers to underwear. Day 1 was fairly novel; Gabe was excited about his new (Thomas and Mickey Mouse) underwear, and he (generally) dutifully sat on the potty every 20 minutes when Mike's alarm chimed. We had a couple of accidents and a couple of tantrums when sitting on the potty got old, but overall it was a good day. Day 2 was not as good. The morning was ok, but after naptime, Gabe refused to sit on the potty at all. After a huge crying fit, we decided to revert to diapers for the evening. I thought it was the sign of a failed attempt (which we were ok with; we knew it was early), but it turned out to be the revitalization that Gabe needed. Day 3 saw many fewer accidents (and Grandma and Grandpa came to visit!), and on Day 4, we drove out to the coast to spend a week at the beach. The vacation turned out to be the perfect potty-training destination; Gabe was completely distracted by the new house and lots of family. We got over our cabin fever from not leaving the house for three days, and Gabe had a perfect toilet: the ocean! By the time we got back home, Gabe was completely potty trained - talk about a productive vacation!

What we didn't expect was that Gabe would night-train himself two months later. I guess he just didn't like wearing pull-ups; by early September, we were completely diaper free. So... who needs size 4 Pampers? :)

Rock star

Gabe has been really into singing songs lately. His favorites are most of the TMBG "Here Comes Science" album, but he also loves "Hey Oh" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and "Dynamite" (except he sings "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, Galileo, Galileo..."). Thursday after Mike picked him up from the babysitter's house, I found him singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" into the USB car charger "microphone".

We have officially entered the "why" stage

Gabe has changed in so many ways since the beginning of the summer; he falls asleep on his own, is potty trained (even at night), participates in group classes, helps out around the house, and tells funny jokes and stories. He's always been inquisitive and wanted to know how things worked. However, last night at bedtime, he stalled with an endless stream of "no, but why"s. Some highlights: "Why can't Red Robin come to Chick-Fil-A with us?" "Where does Red Robin sleep?" and "How will Red Robin open the elevator?". Oh boy. Also, can you tell where we've eaten out lately?

We went to two different REIs this weekend to pick up Gabe's new shoes and some backpacking gear. He was thrilled because he could ride elevators and 2-wheeled bikes and play in tents.

Summer recap

You can tell we had a busy summer because I haven't posted since May. Yikes! I guess now that it is September (and although it's been in the 90s all summer, the high tomorrow is 60), that means fall is almost here.

We stayed busy all summer. We took 2 trips to Dallas to visit Bubbie and Papa (one fun and one so that Mike could attend an AP Calculus teaching conference), spent a week at Carolina Beach with the extended family, spent another week with Grandma and Grandpa in NC, put the house on the market (including painting, flooring, and a full storage unit), and spent a lot of time with Team B. Mike is teaching 3 new classes this year, and I am editing full-time until I start teaching in October.

I've posted some representative photos and videos below. You can see albums from the first and second parts of our summer, and our vimeo channel has a lot more random videos from the past year. Mike also has some funny stories to relate, so look forward to that shortly.

Feeding the ducks on Father's Day

Gabe's favorite part of the Dallas Zoo

Gabe's second favorite part of the Dallas Zoo

Playing on the iPad with Larry and Sam

Snuggling with Stella at the beach

Camping during Hurricane Irene

Spinning on the chair and singing with Papa

Riding his bike all by himself

Creativity

We've always known that Gabe was creative, but he's just gotten to the point where it really expresses itself in a way that we understand. On Tuesday, I took Gabe to story time at Barnes & Noble. After the story, he decided to play in the little corner of the kids' section where the toys are; the area has different flooring, a couple of pillars, and a roof. He explained to me that he was riding the elevator (his favorite thing in the world right now). He showed me that the doors were between the pillars, and that he had to push the button to go "down, down, down." 

Next, it was my turn to ride. Gabe got very frustrated when I wasn't properly pushing the buttons (I thought it was just an arbitrary spot on the wall). As he later demonstrated, the elevator's functions were controlled by a set of paints that he'd found in a display on the wall. The red paint was for down. I'm not sure what the others did :)

Later that evening, Gabe and Mike were playing with Gabe's favorite toy: my old little people camping set. He'd put the daddy laying down in the back of the jeep, with the mommy standing outside. (Side note: before swimming lessons, we change Gabe into his swim diaper/swim trunks while he stands in the cargo area of Mike's SUV. It's a lot easier than dealing with the locker room, and it's become a part of his summer routine.) He explained to Mike that mommy was changing daddy's diaper. He then moved the people to the front seat, so that they could drive to work. Once at work, Mike found a little person to be the boss, and when I came downstairs, Gabe was pretending that the boss was talking to mommy and daddy. What does the boss say? "Blah, blah, blah, blah, get to work!"

Last night, I tried to explain to Gabe that I needed to go downstairs and work on my slides for the guest lecture I was giving in Developmental Biology. Later, Gabe explained to Mike, "Mommy has to go to work and ride the slide." Great, now he thinks that I work at a magical playground. To make matters worse, this morning in the car, Gabe asked for a special treat (which, among other things, means the tin of mints in my car). The mint tin was empty, but I have a stash at work, so I told him I'd bring him a special treat when I picked him up in the afternoon. "Mommy will go to work and have special treats." He must think I'm a horrible parent, dropping him off every day so that I can go have fun for hours without him! :)

Happy April birthdays to Ann H, Megan, Colton, and Quinn. Happy May birthdays to Ted, Eli (1 year old!), Uncle Cliff, Maddox, Deb, Phil, and Josh. Also, we have two more babies to welcome: congrats to Kurt and Geneva on baby Charlotte and to Danny, Sarah, and Mia on baby Jack!