Look at my fancy cup!

For Gabe's first birthday, Grandpa Owen got him a silver drinking cup from Tiffany's. We were explicitly told that this cup was to be used, not put on a shelf. So we handed it to Gabe and he took to it like a natural.

Mind you, the cup was completely empty at this time. I am quite certain that when it is full of something dark and staining, he will instead find that he likes throwing the cup much more than he likes drinking from it. Hmm....sorry Owen, maybe the cup will have to be put on a shelf until he turns two?

One year old and oh, so fancy!

First Birthday Party

For Gabe's first birthday, we decided to have some friends and family over. Now, if it was a party for me, we would send out 50 invitations and have, oh, I don't know, six people show up. Little did we know that people actually like Gabe, and wanted to come to his shindig.

So, yeah. We ended up with close to 50 people showing up. Casa de McMillon was standing room only. Gabe was more than a little overwhelmed. Mind you, he's been in crowded places before. Just never in a crowded place where everyone wanted to pay attention to him. He was pretty happy overall, but there were a few times when he was on the verge of freaking out.

The party was a rousing success, and I think everyone had a good time. Needless to say, I don't expect a similar turnout on my birthday.

Look at all this loot!

Il re delle rose

Today is Gabe's birthday. So all you identity thieves looking to impersonate a one year old with no credit or money to his name.....here's his birthday.

For friends and family, it has been a great year. We have been blessed with all of your love and attention, and look forward to sharing many more adventures in the year to come.

The king is one! Long live the king!

Gabe's First Haircut

So, Saturday, we went to Daddy's barber and got Gabe's first haircut. Those curls in the back had gotten so unmanageable and his bangs were more than half way down his forehead. He looked a bit raggedy, but is all cleaned up now, and by a real pro...An actual "old time" barber shop!
Here he is in the big boy barber chair with Daddy holding him for support. He was SO GOOD. He only cried a little when they trimmed over his ears to shape it up, but the rest of the time he was all smiles, typical Gabe.
**Refer to 'At The Table' post from Feb 7, for a good "before" shot of those out of control curls.

This FIRST Haircut thing is gonna be a piece o' cake!

 

Snip, Snip

 

Good Boy

Here is the barber trimming up the back and as you can see, Gabe is being SO well behaved. Daddy was very proud. We even got a FIRST HAIRCUT CERTIFICATE when we were all done.

Looks Like a Little Man

Here he is wrapping it up and getting the real shoulder duster brush and doesn't he look handsome?! We'll see how long it takes to grow those little curls back. He looks like such a little man with his new haircut.

 

Look at Me, Look at Me

Gabe is standing up unsupported and he wants to walk desperately! Here he is with
Daddy in the play yard standing up without any help! We are so thrilled. Wonder if he'll walk by age 1?? We will keep you posted.

 

Favorites

Gabe loves to feed himself and is getting really good at picking things up between his thumb and first finger. He loves fruits and vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A recent fave that we have discovered is Beanie Weenies! He makes a huge mess, but he says mmmmm after every bite and he loves to pick them up and eat them. Can't argue with him there!

Mmmm, doesn't get any better than this!

 

At the Table

Gabe is learning so many things and it seems like they are happening all at once. Tonight, he was reaching for the spoon while he was eating mashed potatoes and loving them. He got frustrated with me (as usual) because I was loading the spoon and scooping the potatoes into his mouth. He reached for the spoon again and so I loaded it and placed it on the high chair tray in front of him. He immediately picked it up and flipped it over and wiped the potatoes into his mouth. He was so proud of himself and Mommy and Daddy made a big deal out of it! Now, he wants the spoon for himself every time but the foods have to be ones that "stick" to it or they just fall into his lap when he flips the spoon over. He's growing up so fast.

 

More fun

Here's Gabe crawling through a big tunnel at Gymboree in their play room. He kept crawling away from the larger group and getting into all sorts of things on his own. He loved the climbing equipment and the slides and anything he could crawl in or on.

 

Hoopin' it up!

Gabe loved this game that we played at Gymboree. He wouldn't even give the hoops back to the teacher when the other babies turned theirs in and the song was over. She let us keep ours for a bit and Gabe and Katie (our nanny) really had fun playing with them. He just laughed and laughed.
They played a parachute game at the end of our session and he liked that alot. The teacher also blew tons of bubbles and he reached for them and tried to pop them so we bought some just like them to take home with us too. Boy, did he nap great after we left there!! We ALL can't wait to go back.

 

Belly Surfing with Mum

This week we signed Gabe up for a free month at a local play place called Gymboree. He was in a class with other 6-12 month old babies and he was a 'whiz' so they are moving him up to the next level which should be fun. He will now be in a class with 12-18 month olds and we are hoping that proves to be a better age range for his abilities at this time.

He is crawling all around and pulling up to stand. He can stand on his own (if he's distracted) but he hasn't let go and taken off just yet. We expect it anytime. He is certainly a busy boy and into EVERYTHING!! He opens drawers and cabinets, empties laundry baskets, throws things out of his play yard area, talks up a storm, claps, laughs, gives kisses, etc. We are amazed every day at all the things he is doing.

We are hoping to start going to Gymboree once each week and we can go to a music class there too that's geared just for babies and toddlers. He loves music and singing and they also have lots of equipment for him to play and learn. Here we are interacting to a song and "belly surfing".

Wheeeeeee!

Beautiful Baby

OK, all you friends and realatives out there, we are officially seeking a contest to enter this kid into!!! He's too cute to keep to ourselves any longer!! ;)
He smiles and laughs all the time and he has 8 teeth now (4 on top and 4 on bottom). He is talking some more too and says about 8 words. We are so proud....can't you tell.

Check local baby magazines for cover shots!!