Our little baby is seven months old now! He is doing new things every week. He has recently learned how to clap and (sort of) does it on command. Eliana especially likes it when he claps at her suggestion. His weight is leveling off as well. He is hovering around 24 pounds and hasn't gained weight in a while, although he's gotten a little taller.
He is playing independently by himself for longer periods of time now. Here he is chewing on a foam toy. He is sitting on his older sister's bed, which is why the pillow behind him is a decidedly girly color.
If there is one thing that fascinates Gabriel, it is toilet paper. He looooooves pulling on the paper. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that when he had a wad on his lap, he then tries stuffing it into his mouth.
We were recently hanging out in Emily's parents' house for a dinner. Gabriel got to spend time with his cousins. They enjoy holding him.
The curious thing about Gabriel is that he will not let anyone hold him who is not his Mommy or Daddy or what he considers a "kid", like his cousins. If his Grandma tries holding him, he cries the second she touches him. But there's an exception to the rule that we recently discovered...he doesn't mind much being held by men. In the picture below, his Uncle Charles is holding him. We recently did an experiment when we had some friends over and asked the men to hold him, and two guys were able to hold him for about 15 minutes each. (Although after that, they did complain that their arms were tired because he's so heavy.)
Here he is on Cousin Millie's lap. He is trying to tear her face off. He does this all the time to his parents too.
Gabriel's big sisters will spend time with him and entertain him while Mommy and Daddy are in the kitchen preparing a meal.
Here is Eliana playing with him early in the morning.
Gabriel has a very infectious little laugh which changes into a chortle if he's laughing hard enough. He likes it when Elvin blows bubbles into his belly.
So our little baby is growing up fast. We can't wait to see the new tricks that he learns this month.
Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! The air is crisp here. The geese are migrating south which is a sure sign that it's Christmas season here.
Eliana's preschool took a break for Christmas. On their last day, Eliana's class did a little performance while wearing their reindeer costumes. Each kid had their nose painted red like Rudolph.
In the days leading up to Christmas the girls each had an advent calendar. They opened up the little window corresponding to the day, and a little chocolate treat would be waiting for them. Nothing like chocolate for breakfast!
Elvin took the girls (with some friends) to a Festival of Lights done every year at the Grotto, which is a Catholic chapel and wooded conference center in Portland. The lights were pretty, even in the pouring rain.
So the girls each carried an umbrella. Karina's cap sometimes did not cooperate and ended up blindfolding her.
The Festival of Lights had a petting zoo, which Eliana and her friends enjoyed.
The smell apparently was not agreeable to her, though.
We then went into the chapel for a choir performance.
The choir was fun to watch and the acoustics were great.
Overall, we liked the experience and will probably go back next year. Maybe on a night that is less wet.
Then we set out to get a Christmas tree. We had a gift card to Home Depot so went there. After picking out our tree, we were amazed that even though Home Depot carries dozens of varieties of power saws, the Home Depot staff spent 5 minutes with a hand saw trimming off the bottom of the tree.
They were helpful in tying up our tree.
So we began decorating the tree, which Eliana really enjoyed. She loves putting up the lights, and garland, and ornaments.
Karina, on the other hand, was not so interested in the tree. Rather, she discovered the little glockenspiel that we brought back from Germany on our honeymoon, put it together, and enjoyed spinning the little fan round and round. Over and over.
Here Eliana is contemplating which stockings should be hung up on which hook.
And here is Karina playing with the glockenspiel again. She was fascinated by it and carried it around under her arm for the whole day.
We then set up Eliana's miniature tree in her room. She got this tree last year from Grandma.
Karina helped out a little bit.
And the next morning, it was time to put the topper on the tree. Karina had the honor since Eliana has done that the past two years.
She was quite proud of herself.
Here's little Gabey baby. He didn't really know what was going on, but was enjoying himself anyways. You can see that the tree in the background is getting filled with presents underneath.
And then came the long awaited Christmas day! Eliana woke up early, but had to wait until her siblings were up and also until Grandpa and Grandma came over.
We opened our stockings first. The girls got Hello Kitty necklaces and bracelets. They also got Beanie Babies in the shape of "Ni Hao Kai Lan" characters. This is a show on Nickelodeon that the girls like watching.
Gabriel got a Beanie Baby too, which he promptly tried stuffing into his mouth.
Gabriel also got some books. They are called "Indestructibles" and made of the same Tyvek stuff that the post office uses in its overnight envelopes. He loves pulling on it and chewing on it, and the book is designed to withstand all that, and can even go in the washing machine!
After opening stockings it was time to take a break and eat breakfast. Eliana had requested that on Christmas morning, our breakfast should consist of cinnamon rolls, hard boiled eggs, and bacon. So that's what we had.
Everyone enjoyed the food, even the hard boiled eggs.
With breakfast over, the present opening commenced again. Santa brought Emily a Kindle Fire HD for Christmas.
Eliana made Daddy a little present--a frame with a picture of herself in it.
Gabriel got some foamy toys in the shape of animals, which promptly went into his mouth.
Grandma and Grandpa got framed photos of the kids.
And Karina got, among other things, a little fold-out house with lots of doors and compartments. She loves playing make believe with little figurines.
And here is the aftermath of the present opening frenzy. The kids had a great time. And that night, we went to Emily's parents house for Christmas dinner.
A couple of days later, we were supposed to go on a 5-day trip to San Diego, to meet up with Elvin's parents and brother's family. Unfortunately, all three kids came down with a bug and we ended up cancelling the trip! Karina's nose ran so much that her lip under her nose got a little raw from all the Kleenex wiping. She remedied that by putting a band-aid on where it hurt.
Lots of Tylenol, boxes of Kleenex, long nights, and trips to the pediatrician later, our kids are all feeling much better. Gabriel ended up getting a double ear infection; he had his ears checked yesterday and the doctor finally declared that the infection is gone. Then Emily got the cold and is on the tail end of that, too.
So things are finally getting back to normal in the Yuen household. We had a low key New Year's Eve and Day. The highlight was a dusting of snow--to Karina's and Eliana's delight--on New Year's Eve to usher in the new year.
