Life with Gabe: Year 1

About a month after Gabe was born I started posting pictures of him with the hashtag #lifewithgabe over on Instagram (my social media of choice. There’s even a widget over on the right side of your screen with my latest photos.) They are exactly as it sounds, life with him. They are the in the moment/yes that did just happen, oh my goodness isn’t he cute! kind of photos. I’ve collected the year’s photos together and am compiling them into a small print book. It’s my way of doing a first year kind of album that I hope to continue doing each year. For posterity’s sake I wanted to post them to the blog.

In the process of gathering these photos together I learned a few things.

< Insert a bunch of text about searching hashtags on Instagram> Apparently things have changed a bit in the last couple of weeks and now the search works a bit better than it used to. 0_o
Because I’m doing print I need the full size photos this means going through Lightroom and pulling out the Instagram shots into a single folder. This also means I lose the filter it was posted with. Not that big of a deal but filters do cover a multitude of sins.
Quality of the photos. I love most of the photos I posted in the series. But what I don’t love is the quality of the photos. They simply aren’t good. I knew my MotoX was showing its age and I fought to keep it. And the result are low quality pictures. Having a good camera on me is important. Especially when talking about capturing the important moments of our family. In a lot of respects, my phone IS my point and shoot. All that to say, I am soooo much happier with the quality of my photos from my Nexus 5X.

This ended up being a very manual process to get all the pieces of data together: photos, date, and the caption. All of that is saved in two places, Lightroom and a google doc. I need to find a better way to collect this data for next year.

Anyways, here is a look at my life with Gabe.

So much deep thought is exhausting.

Giving our new carrier a test run.

Gabe in his “off roading” vehicle.

Like a true Californian, Gabe already has hanging out by the ocean down.

Eating…again.

Milk drunk. Now to get a burp out of this guy.

Diaper change by the sea.

Eating on the go.

Post bath & massage.

Someone likes his giraffe.

Happy 12wks little guy!

Lunch in the back seat if the car? Why yes, I think so.

Made it to the open space bluff top. Haven’t been up here in months.

Play time on the play mat.

Waking from the first nap of the day.

“Pinch me I’m cute.” Great find at Costco the other day.

Sitting up waiting for dinner.

My grilling partner.

This how Gabe does the park.

Having fun sitting up in a chair.

Finally getting around to decorating Gabe’s room. Decals are time consuming!

Ninja training.

Having something custom framed is one of those things that make me feel like an adult.

On nom nom. Pandas are yummy!

Calm snugglesaurus.

Trees are finished!

We are fans of second breakfast around these parts.

Enthralled with his discovery cube.

Cheeky little guy.

Picked up some used books at our fav local bookstore.

Oceanside napping.

Post bath attempt at a baby mohawk.

Didn’t find some of the things we need but instead found lots of clearance! These are all 9 months 😡

Bottom decals #1.

Bottom decals #2.

Bottom decals #3.

Another midday oceanside nap. If only I could nap as well.

Elf shoes in June? He wasn’t too thrilled w/them. These & accompanying items won’t make it to Christmas.

Feet up!

Cloth eater!

New jammies! Happy to have figured out that 12mo pj pants will fit over a super diaper (fleece liner, hemp liner, fitted diaper, & wool cover.)

Officially 5 months old! Can now roll from back to tummy. This is how we found him after his first nap today.

Gabe choose crab legs for his fourth of July eats.

Gabe’s way of helping with laundry. Hanger inspection.

Zebra feet are so yummy!

Walking through the forest.

Second breakfast

OSPO baby!

Nummy nummy giraffe hooves

Playing with his toes on a regular basis.

Playing on mom.

Someone got into the toy basket.

Rolling around in receiving blankets.

All ready to take daddy to the airport.

Uh-oh he is on the verge of learning how to escape the bouncer.

Homeboy enjoys being covered with shirts and then having them picked up and dropped on him.

Just like Kitty, wants to play with the basket rather than the toys. (Though he has since moved onto the toys.)

Chilling before bed.

Tickles with family.

Figuring out Ticket To Ride Europe.

Avocado face.

Six months and one day.

Meet Diffy: The kung fu code review cuckoo.

Uh oh. Homeboy just undid one side of his diaper cover.

Little beach dude ready to go to the beach.

Being silly with his pacifier.

Being a goober during a diaper change.

Hanging in the bouncer.

Starting to be a bit more interested in his blocks.

Morning snuggles

Having a drink at the coffee bar.

Bought some new bottles & decided to sanitize everything, pump parts & all.

Just hanging out in a side plank.

The spoon is just as yummy as the avocado.

Smiles.

Playing in his inner tube on the back deck whilst I clean out the fire hazard that grill has become.

Learning how to stretch out in the inner tube.

Someone has decided he likes avocado and has figured out that i will feed him some of mine for breakfast.

Crawling around with his diaper cover around one leg. 0_o

Breakfast in his new highchair.

Discovering the fun of a laundry basket.

Gabe wants to take pictures too.

Balancing on knees with support of the couch.

“Oh don’t mind me, I’m just hanging out eating my pants.”

“And while I’m at it I must climb over mama & fuss about it until I’m over.”

Back carry FTW! Loading & unloading was interesting but we will have it down in no time.

Water bottles are great fun… Till they roll away!

Swimming in a sea of cotton.

Not so sure about watermelon.

Playing with daddy.

9/15/15

Watermelon has moved up I the world. At least for teething purposes.

He often prefers tags to the toy itself. That’s a spotted stuffed pig by the way.

Up up and away.

Look who graduated from the car seat in the jogger! He loved the front facing view. The car seat adaptor served as a great foot rest for him too.

I’ve gotta admit, I’m a fan of boys fall clothing!

Giving him a taste of something he shouldn’t have till the one year mark. Needless to say, Gabe loved it.

His current favorite “toy”, my flip flops.

This little guy just devoured my homemade beef bone broth after eating spinach & sweet potatoes w/a side of butternut squash.

Packing peanut play.

Watching friends load up the truck.

Well that happened fast. Climbed up the stairs!

Happy good morning!

8 months old today! Made his first visit to Farmer John’s pumpkin patch.

This kid loves his bone broth! Now if we could get him to drink it from a cup.

The car sometimes has a way of putting him to sleep when you don’t want him to sleep.

Just holding a cup holder in his mouth.

Mowin down on some chicken, carrots & broccoli.

Raspberry blowing all the day long.

Happy birthday to… Wait… No…

So much more room in his new ride!

Cottage cheese and blueberries.

Falling asleep 10 minutes before arriving at your destination? Why yes, I think I will.

Loves him some hummus!

New bib? Must eat.

Somebody has learned how to take off his socks.

Father & son drinks.

Decked out in dinosaur duds.

Chillin at church.

Learning to play with Kitty.

Gabe in a box

Smoothie eater.

Helping mama by sorting his laundry.

Fingers have already been smushed twice.

Planning & measuring for my Christmas mantle project. Rolling up my DIY sleeves & going to make a large wooden Christmas sign to go on center & cover up the vents. Also playing around with some decor ideas to complete the mantle.

New shirts for @willnorris

“Picking out” a shirt for bed.

Clam chowder eating!

“Helping” daddy baby proof the kitchen.

He would rather eat them than wear them.

Wrapping with a 10 month old. I was able to get 3 things wrapped!

Thirsty boy.

In the nick of time.

Discovered some of the baking pans.

He then fell into the 8″ pan and wasn’t too happy about it.

“Oh, you’re posting on Instagram? I shall pull all the napkins out.” 🙂

Someone thought it would be funny to put a piece of duck on his head. It wasn’t us.

While apple cinnamon oatmeal is nice, avocado & chorizo has all the flavor!

Family bluff top walk. We finished just in time. As soon as we got home it started pouring down raining.

First time in a shopping cart too!

Trying sardines for the first time while at Costco? Sure why not!

Just folded a load of laundry. Where did they go!?

Something is not where it belongs.

It’s been a rough day. Upset at church, late nap short nap, one nap, falling into the coffee table, and a new set of teeth working their way in. It’s time to say goodnight to this day.