My second first birthday - the BIG day!!!

It's my birthday and I'm so excited... This is my "really excited" face.

My grandparents from California flew up to join in the celebration, and my Seattle grandparents and Uncle Matt were there, too.

Yay for Veggie Tales! I love listening to music. Apparently I have great rhythm already.

At last! A meal that I can really get my hands into - a banana cake with just a teeny bit of sugar.
What? Is it photo time? Just start without me, please. I'm busy.

My First First Birthday Party

A week ago my group of friends and I celebrated all of our birthdays together (since we're all born within a month of each other) at Carkeek Park here in Seattle. It was loads of fun and we got to play with bubbles, eat cake, and pose for tons of photos. These few shots are compliments of one of the moms in the group, Mara.

BREAKING NEWS!!! Photo to follow soon

Today my parents brought me into Childrens Hospital for a consultation with the "helmet guy", Russell. I recently reached the 4 month mark for it and had to get a second opinion about how my head looks now. He declared that I was finished with therapy and wouldn't have to wear it again!
My parents were thrilled, though with a little trepidation as I'm tearing around the house, getting into all sorts of mischief... and banging my head on things, without getting hurt. That will all change now since the helmet has been retired. Uh oh!
I'll be sure to post a photo of me soon so that you all can see how handsome (and symmetrical) I look.

Tooth Update

I don't need to wait until Christmas. Two days after I posted my wish for two teeth on top, my mom discovered two already exist!!! What more to wish for...???

All I Want For Christmas...

...are my two front teeth (on top). I offically have two great looking chompers on the bottom row after months of drooling and crankyness:

Here I am contemplating my new grown-up "look" with pearly whites whilst lounging at our local playground:

London - Part Deux

Ok. I can't post all the photos I want at the same time due to storage with this program, so here are some more shots of things we did and saw in London.

Auntie Rabya and mom on the "Eye" with Parliament, Big Ben and the Thames behind them:

Grandma and I cruising around town in a London Black cab. You can see Harrods department store way in the background behind us (far left). It was only 2 blocks away from the flat where we were staying. Great neighborhood:


This artwork is how time felt in London - we all had a lot of adjusting to do with the eight hour time difference. I didn't like to sleep much at night so that I could play with my toys and watch Baby Einstein. My mom was pretty tired...

*Incidentally, this is a statue based on one of Dali's paintings that was on display near the London Eye:
Here were are in St James Park the day before we went home - we ate at a very nice little spot called "Inn the Park" right nearby. The Palace of Whitehall is right behind us in the photo, with Buckingham Palace at the other end of the park:

There were tons of ducks and swans eagerly eating bread from a gal near us. I loved watching them swim and fly around.

East or West, Home is Best!

My mom, grandma and I returned from London a few days ago and certainly are thrilled to be back in the States, though we did have our share of fun in London.

We got to meet Auntie Rabya for the first time (my mom and I) and did a little bit of touring around town in between my naps.

Here we are at Westminster Abbey...I'm taking a rather nonchalant pose:

I like getting out of my stroller and into my mom's arms:

We also dropped by Piccadilly Circus for a photo-op with the millions of tourists. Kind of reminds me of Times Square in NYC, but it wasn't quite as crazy and loud:

One morning, while I took a nap at the flat we'd rented, mom, Auntie Rabya and Uncle Andrew went to ride the London Eye:

Here is Auntie Rabya and Uncle Andrew enjoying the view:

London Calling

It's farewell for now. I'm leaving tonight for 10 days in London. Cheerio!!!

I've decided to become a vegetarian

Just joking, dad!!! Today my mom and I met my girlfriend Lily Joubert and her mom at Cafe Flora in Madison Park, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant. The Jouberts are visiting from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. What a great meal. I got to eat some delicious sweet potatoes, fresh bread, and of course, my mum mums. I certainly will consider this vegetarian thing in the future...


Here is Lily and her mom, Auntie Dene', after eating lunch...


Lily is such fun! I wish we could have play dates every day!


She thinks that I stink and have cooties... (why is this underline feature on?)


I think that she's pretty cute stuff! I'm giving her a "come-hither" look.


She told me to get serious and grow up. Ah, come on....Maybe she doesn't have a thing for boys in helmets...

A preview of summer in Seattle

This past week, the weather was fantastic here in Seattle. Temperatures in the 80's and loads of sunshine, and one day I wore only a t-shirt and a diaper - no pants! I thought that summer was here to stay, but alas, it's back to the rain and shades of gray that mark much of the year.

However, I did get to go swimming THREE times this past week. My mommy decided to sit out once and take photos with her camera phone instead. Here I am with my Grandpa Prout and Uncle Matt. I had more fun than the expression on my face seems to indicate. I even got dunked!!! And kind of liked it.

More from Mother's Day in California

Oso is my buddy and doesn't mind if I grab his ears or nose...

After our turn on the swings, we watched a trick kite overhead whizz by...

Uncle Kevin took over the helm of the stroller and did a great job...

Three cheers for Tiburon! Hip, hip, hooray! I want to come back soon!

Celebrating Mother's Day (also "Grandma's Day")

What a fun May I've had. Lots of sunshine in Seattle and warm temperatures, too! Just about 77 degrees outside right now. And, best of all, I got to fly to California with my parents to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Tripp in Tiburon to celebrate Mother's Day. My Uncle Kevin and Aunt Katie also came to town from Phoenix so I got to meet them for the first time.

Here we are in downtown Tiburon after a lovely brunch at the legendary "Sam's" restaurant. Well, my meal was ok (sweet potatoes, peaches and mum mums), but everyone else seemed to enjoy their food.

Grandpa picked us up at the airport in San Francisco and before we went to Tiburon, we stopped off for a photo-op at the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Pretty cool!


Grandpa Tripp took his furry friend, Oso, to the hillside above his home to play ball and get a good workout in.

I like this dog. He's much more cuddly and friendly than my cat, Sydney. And, he fetches.

Sunday morning we walked down to the park for a few minutes of swingin'. Grandma and I had a terrific time in the playground on the swings.

PS - what's that on my head?

You may wonder what crazy thing I'm wearing on my head these days. I'm not shooting off into space on a mission or joining the NFL, but rather I have a somewhat common condition called plagiocephaly which means my head looks kind of funny in back. So, my parents decided that I could wear this helmet the next 4 or so months and after which, I'll have the best looking head around! I don't mind it too much - in fact, it doesn't keep me from partying one bit (see the bottom photo).

Delinquent blogger - but with good excuse

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated the blog. My parents have keep my really busy with fun activities and a great trip to NYC. I'm almost nine months old now (in a week) and they thought I was old enough to handle the lights and crowds and excitement of that crazy town. I loved it, esp the madness of Times Square after dark. Here I am in front of the ABC studios:



While my dad worked during the day, my mom and I went on some field trips to places like the Empire State Bldg...

...the Metropolitan Museum of Art (this is the Temple of Dendur in the Egyptian section) ...

...Uncle Ezer and Auntie Jan on the Upper West Side where we had dinner one evening...

...MOMA (Museum of Modern Art in its new building), shopping in SOHO, exploring Central Park and watching people operate little sailboats in a pond, and LOTS of good naps at the hotel.

Not long before we went on the trip, my parents introduced me to the holiday of Easter which was really fun to celebrate. I got together with some of my buddies at my friend Orlando's house for a Easter egg hunt, though Matthew seemed to be more interested in pulling off my ears...

That's about it for now. We're going to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Tripp next weekend so I'm sure I'll more to write about after that trip.

What people from Seattle do in February... flee to the tropics!

Gabriel's first flight

Gabriel and Dad in the Ocean Lagoon at Ko Olina

Gabriel trying to figure out waves on the beach

Gabriel wondering where his feet went

Gabriel looking cool and goofy

Gabriel checking out the action at Lagoon 2

Mom and Dad at sunset at the Fia Fia Celebration