Our little mimic

Gabe is currently in the throes of mimicing our every move. It's a behavior that is adorable, impressive, and scary (he picks up on EVERYTHING!). He's saying a lot of new words now, picking them up on the first try and then remembering them. He also mimics our behavior. Since I shower at night, one of my morning rituals is wetting down the hair at the back of my head so it doesn't look like I just rolled out of bed (which I did). Gabe has always enjoyed sitting in the bathroom sink and playing with the water and toothbrushes, but now he says "hair" as he rubs water all over his head. He loves to wear our shoes (which he calls knees for some reason), pretend to drive the car, sit on the "big chairs" at the "big table," buckle his own car seat... the list goes on and on. It's pretty adorable. Here he is with Daddy and their matching Fedoras.



To satisfy Gabe's need to be like us, we made a weekend trip out to IKEA in Charlotte to pick up some little furniture for him. We actually set out to pick up a toddler bed (hopefully we won't need this for quite some time, but it's not going to be long before he can climb out of the crib and we want to be prepared if necessary) but ended up with a lot more. We picked up a little table and chairs and he loves to sit there at snacktime or when watching tv or drawing.



He also loved the armchairs and rocking chairs (but they were sold out). Here is Gabe enjoying the little rocking chair and spotting the black eye he got by falling into the corner of the storage shelves in one of the other display rooms. He was a big trooper though and despite the long car ride and time in the store, really enjoyed playing with all of the display furniture.



Last but not least, we finally bit the bullet and picked up a jogging stroller. We put it off for a year, mostly because we weren't sure if we'd actually be able to get out for a run with Gabe in tow, but also because the stroller is expensive! But we've already been on a couple of runs, Gabe loves the stroller, and we're wondering how we lasted so long without it. The Graco that came with his car seat now lives in the attic and we're not even sure we'll use it when it's time for baby #2 - the jogger is SO much better!



Happy birthdays to Sam, Moen, Sarah, John, and Emily.