does this make me look fat?

* 9 Months *

weight: 23 lbs - 85%

length: 29 3/4 - 95%

lets be honest who really cares about the head circumference?

as you can see our little man has dropped in weight from the 95th percentile to the 85th! 

the strict diet and cardio routine we have him on is really paying off. 

you can tell by the picture above how slender he is looking! ;-)

a little bit country.....

This post just would not seem right if i didn't give a shout out to my friend who is more then just "a little" bit country! She would be so proud of my little country store outing!

(its you amgar, in case you weren't sure)

I have always wanted an excuse to go see the spring chicks, and now that i've got a little dude, i can totally justify an outing to the local country store for no other reason then to get my country on and soak up the simple things in life. 

Gabe couldn't get enough of those little yellow puff balls, at first he wasn't sure about them but then he wanted to "cuddle" them. however, to avoid a scene from Of Mice and Men, we observed the {do not touch the chicks} sign.

you know your in a country store when the cost to ride the mechanical horse is a whole 10 cents! i mean one measly dime, are you kidding me. i felt like i was ripping someone off. i gladly dug through my wallet for the silver. Of course i couldn't catch a smile on camera, but he loved the ride.

as we strolled through the country store i found myself wishing i owned a pair of cute cowboy boots. i've always thought of myself as.... a little more "rock'n roll, if you will, but lately i wish i could slow down time, because it seems to be rocketing past me at a break neck pace. Gabe is already 9 months old, he has been out of me for as long as he was in me, and THESE past 9 months have seemed like the blink of an eye, compared to the prior 9. So for now the only thing i can think to do is adopt the country way of life, it seems slower and calmer and those are two things i could handle a little more of.

.... and a little bit Rock n' Roll!

you can still be country and wear an AC/DC hoodie and monster energy motorcycle beanie right?

its always the same question...

.... what is your favorite stage?
and up till now, the answer has always been. "this one"!! i've loved every stage of "Gabes growth and development." But these past few weeks... my answer is about to change! so go ahead ask.....
Q: so what is your favorite stage so far?
A: this one.
Q: i thought your answer was going to change?
A: this is also my least favorite stage.
Q: huh?
A: .....

Gabe turned 8 months old and has been going non-stop. i swear he learns something new everyday.

 But... he has been sick a lot as well! The RSV bug found us at our house and he was not a happy little guy for a few days. this is him cuddling up to his mamma at the doctors office at 8 PM. he is such a sweetie!

he is really good at playing by himself...

but he is curious about everything. and i mean everything....hahaha! 

... but then sometimes, he doesn't want me out of his sight, so he is right there being my little "helper", making my 2nd job as {maid} a little more difficult.

 he finally started flipping himself over and sleeping on his belly, i love the butt up in the air, isn't that just the most classic sleeping pose of all time. 

 he started "parallel" play. you know when they just sit by another kid and they take each others toys, but just play by themselves. 

{my smart friend tiffany taught me that term} 

and that just happens to be her delicious little paisley "playing" with gabe.

 Oh, and Yes!!! thats a tuxedo T-shirt. he likes to party, what can i say.

he is supposed to have "stranger danger" but he pretty much just gives you the death stare if he isn't sure about you. this is his Great Grandpa Wilson. he knows him, he is just wondering why he has more food on his face then he does.

he still loves the bath, i've given him a wash down in the kitchen sink a couple times and he LOVES it, splashing and making as big a mess as possible is his goal!!

...goal....achieved!

he started drinking out of a straw, today actually, and it was so stinking cute. he was so proud of himself.

 he's started to eat a few little finger foods, and has even managed to get a cheerio in his mouth on his own. although it takes about 5 tries to find that little "O" in his big fist and get it into his face.

he LOVES his dog. oh my heck, he just see's bo and starts laughing. in turn, it makes me laugh. He has not learned to crawl quite yet, but any day now he will be on the move, changing that poor dogs lazy lifestyle as he knows it. 

Q: i thought this was also your least favorite stage?
A: he is just so much work right now, he wants to be able to do things on his own, like crawl around but cant yet, he is sleeping less, which means he is awake more! and so i have to entertain more, sing more, play more, i feel like a one man primary song broadway musical somedays. and its exhausting. I know all you moms out there with older kiddos are just thinking.. "exhausting, you don't know exhausting" and i'm sure you are right, but as for this moment in my life. this little 8 month old is running me ragged! So like i said, its my most favorite and my least favorite all at the same time.

is that crystal clear?

**SpLiSh sPLaSh**

well if anyone knows how to post pictures with this new layout that blogger is using please let me know cuz i cant figure out how to get my pictures how i want them.

and..... if you cant tell i'm a little obsessed with bath time pics. :)

cleaning debt...

you know that feeling when you have enough money for your bills but thats it and you just wish that some one would plant a money tree in your back yard so you could get rid of the debt that your not touching.

well thats how i feel about cleaning right now.

ive got enough in me to clean my house, keep it presentable in case an unexpected visitor shows up. i even have enough in me to shine the mirrors and dust the 6 inches of dust off the fans, ive cleaned the bugs out of light fixtures and scrubbed toilets. but that goop in the corners of the shower that i cant get to go away with out a good dose of elbow grease is not going anywhere (i was even taken in by the Kaboom commercials and went out and bought a bottle, but have yet to try it out). or the blinds!!! where to begin? ive wanted to get the dust off of those since before i was preggers and now my little dude is 7 months old, but lets be honest, i've lived in this house for 5 years now, and NEVER, i repeat never cleaned my blinds. (you may want to reconsider coming over if you have a bad dust allergy)...and the floor boards... the shower glass. all these things that i keep hoping will magically go away....dont. I even really do love to deep clean, that feeling when your house is all sparkly and happy and smells like pine sol.

but you see,

i've gotten into cleaning debt and i cant seem to get out, so if i could just get back "zero" and start with a "clean" slate, i swear i would keep up.

**family pics**

ready or not...

...its a new year!

gabes first christmas was...well.. like every other day of the year except with toys! of course he had no clue what was going on so he only had one present under our tree, but before you go thinking the poor kid got gypped, just know that both sets of grandparents took care of him and although he loves playing with all of his new toys he would be content to lay underneath the tree and stare at the lights for hours but i think that might be considered bad parenting if i left him there all day. (as you can tell by the quality of pictures, mom didn't get a new camera for christmas) :(

on new years eve we hosted our 4th annual new years eve bash, with bunco, prizes, wii dance party, food, friends and more food and as always it was a blast. the little guy rang in the new year with china, then turned in, while me and daddy-o rang in the new year in style!!!

2010- you've been good to us, you brought us the most perfectly round little chubbawabba of love and he makes us smile every day. you've brought us health & happiness and we are very grateful, however i think you accidentally dropped off some some extra weight that i'm sure was not meant for us. so i will try to return it as soon as i can. please take us off that particular mailing list, you seem to make the same mistake every year. thanks in advance.

Love the Echols. :)

what a difference 6 months can make!

For most everyone else in the world today its christmas eve. and yes we too are celebrating the birth of our savior, but for our little family it marks the 1/2 birthday of this "little" man. i cant believe that he has been around for 6 whole months. i cant and never want to imagine my life with out him. he makes every day better then the one before. i love love love him and the new life we now enjoy as a family of 3 (plus the dog) :)

and because anyone who has a little munchkin reserves the right to spread a little cheese across the cyber world i am invoking my right to do so. so hopefully nobody loses their christmas cookies. ;)

When you were just a little boy you laid against my chest

your head tipped to one side, i could feel your every breath.

i lived to watch you sleep,

i loved to hold you close.

i knew one day the time would come and i would miss that most.

you'd grow up way to fast and then you'd move away

and rocking you to sleep at night would feel like yesterday.

each tear, each smile, each little yawn would melt my heart away,

the smallest things would make me smile every single day.

but, right now i get to hold you.

right now you're still so small.

right now i get to find your hand prints on the wall.

growing up. it comes to fast,

i know its not that far.

so ill slow down and breath you in exactly as you are.

******************

so for now merry christmas to all and to all a good night!

the REAL santa!!

Gabe could not get enough of the big jolly man. he just kept staring at him. no tears, no smile, just complete awe!

and for all of those who may not be a "believer" you have obviously never met the real santa, he and mrs. clause are currently taking christmas orders at the dickens festival. so if you haven't got around to mailing your letters off to the north pole you might want to stop bye. besides, this way you get a free candy cane, i mean what more could you possibly want. plus you save on postage!

all i want for christmas.....

....... i got 6 months ago. So Santa if you find your sleigh is a little full this year and you cant possibly fit one more thing {even for someone on the very tip top of the nice list} you can leave my presents behind.

how could i want anything else under my tree. this bruiser is the best gift i could ever get, and he just keeps on giving!

he wasn't to sure about cereal at first.

but add some prune juice to the mix and he is ALL smiles.

this picture is just random and very unflattering, but that's how we do it around here, some days we stay in our jammies and some days we just leave the pants behind all together.

but every day feels like christmas with this little dude around!!