napping is for the birds

We are going through a slightly fussy stage, right on time for the 8 week developmental spurt that Wonder Weeks talks about. Gabriel is fine at night, thankfully, but refuses to nap in the daytime. REFUSES. He will fall asleep breastfeeding or in my arms, but as soon as I attempt to put him down, he is wide awake with that look on his face that says, "Who? Me? I wasn't sleeping!"

This is the third day in a row that he goes without any type of lengthy nap, even though I make a valiant effort to get him to sleep. Have you ever heard of a 7 week old that doesn't sleep allll day? It makes for lots of singing and dancing and walks and sitting in the bouncy seat and looking out the window. If you have ideas for entertaining almost 8 week olds, please pass them along. I thank my lucky stars that he is still sleeping well at night, 5 hours in a row and then 3 hours and 3 hours, with only a brief wake-up to eat in between.

We have had our fair share of excitement around here, when my father in law slipped on the ice in our driveway on Thursday, landing flat on his back and slamming his head onto the concrete. Turns out that he broke 5 ribs, two of them compound fractures, and had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. We were terribly upset about his fall and subsequent stay in the hospital, but we were also terrified because he fell on the side where he has his remaining kidney (he lost the other one to cancer a few years ago). Thankfully, everything seems fine. It was also disappointing because my in-laws were visiting to spend some time with Gabriel, but of course with my FIL in the hospital, both Josh and my MIL spent loads of time with him. Gabriel and I stayed at home, since we're rather nervous about germs and all that. Spending time with his grandparents will have to wait for our visit to Florida in April, when he'll meet his cousins and have a week to play with the whole family.

Besides that, things are great. Gabe changes so much every day, it is hard for me to keep track. He smiles often now and loves it when we sing, he'll even try to sing along! He coos at me and at Josh and will gab happily to himself when we set him down. Today he has been trying to shove his whole hand into his mouth, and seems intent on accomplishing his goal. This has been going on for a couple of hours, and he just gagged himself into spitting up a few minutes ago. I shouldn't laugh, but I do.

One of his favorite things appears to be his chats with Josh, where he becomes animated and talkative. It is truly something to watch, and makes me cry a little every day. Did you also get a load of his cheeks? They are something to watch as well. I'm anticipating another monstrous weight gain at his appointment next week, based on the back pain I'm experiencing from hefting him around in the car seat and the carrier on our walks. They are delicious to munch on, however.