The Floating Pool Lady

Sept. 2-3: This year Brooklyn was lucky enough to have had a visit from the Floating Pool Lady Barge. It's the coolest thing: a fabulous clean public free pool on a big barge in the East River. It was only around during the summer, so we didn't go as often as we'd have liked, so we really took advantage of these last couple of days! Gabe loved the water, even though it was a bit (ok, a LOT) cold, but he loved the water sprinklers even more. His very favorite part by far, though, was getting to see all the helicopters flying overhead!

Shoes

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sept. 2: Gabe has developed a bit of an obsession with shoes. Yeah, you heard right, SHOES! He just loves them. If he's not wearing them he will bring them to put on. Sometimes he likes to wear two pair at a time! We can only hope this won't turn into his father's sneaker obsession in 30 years!

Urban? Are you there?

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sept 1: Gabe and dad are busy talking to Urban about some concerns they have with the Gators. We sure hope he's listening.

Game Day!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Yes, it's finally here: College Football Season 2007! Gabe is ready to go with his Championship shirt and hammer. We might need the hammer this year, but we hope not!

Grammy in the house!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug 29-30: Grammy came to town this week to hang with Gabe! It was so fun for everyone to have her here, and Gabe especially loved walking around Brooklyn with her, taking her to the playground, and getting to play with his cool new play stroller! We all can't wait for Grammy to come visit again soon!

Mom's Last Day TOO!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 28: Well, it wasn't mom's last day quite yet, but we had a very fun lunch party with the Judge mom has worked for this past year. We all had a great time, and Gabe even said "Judge"! That was a pretty big hit.

Graduation Day

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 28: today was Gabe's last day of "school" at FedKids. He had such a great year there and we were all very sad to go, but we think the next school will be great too!

Just Cute.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 24: This picture was taken to send to Gabe's Grandpa for his birthday. Awfully cute, hunh?

Azzurri Gabe!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 19: This picture is very very overdue. When Gabe was born, our friend Michael gave him this awesome shirt to celebrate Italy's victory in the World Cup. It was especially great because Gabe actually watched the final game. Of course, he was rooting for Italia, despite some evidence in his early days to the contrary (it's a picture involving a Brazil jersey)! His Italia shirt is still a little big, but it's awesome. Thanks Michael!

"Coffee" to cool down.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 18: after lots of running and playing at the park, Gabe thought he'd cool down with a little "coffee." It's his current specialty, though he's pretty good at making "pancakes" too.

Getting ready.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 18: Today we headed to our local park to get ready for football season. Gabe is better at throwing than catching. For now.

What's on?

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 15: Tonight Gabe gets the remote. With that smile we just didn't have the heart to take it back.

Doing Dishes

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 15: Today Gabe got his hair cut. Again. These curls seem to be growing at a very rapid rate. To celebrate his newly short hair, he thought he'd do some dishwashing in his own kitchen. No, there's no running water attached.

Happy Birthday Harper!

August 11-12: This weekend (which is really so long ago! we can't believe we've been so neglectful of Gabelicious!) we went to Quogue in the Hamptons to celebrate Gabe's friend Harper's first birthday.
It was a beautiful weekend, and we loved swimming and playing on the beach with Harper and her family!


Plus, we got to spend some time with our friends Kelly and Susan, and Susan's brother Tom. Gabe keeps asking when we can go back and visit again.

Gabe's First Tantrum

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Wed. Aug. 8: It might seem odd to include this sort of thing, but since the whole idea here is to keep Gabe's fans apprised of all his doings, this seemed like as good a reason to post as any. We were having a such a nice day, which was a surprise. Turns out there was a flood in NYC and so the subways were all messed up. That meant Gabe got to stay home with Mom, and we had already been to our very first official playdate with Sadie. Then we headed out to the toy store and the playground. Unfortunately Gabe wasn't really ready to leave the toy store when Mom was, and the tantrum was the result. We're talking a REAL tantrum, with screaming, writhing, and stiff legs. The whole shebang. This picture is about halfway through. Nice, hunh? He survived though, and now we laugh about it. Really.

Happy Birthday Marc!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sunday Aug. 5: We all headed to Great Neck to visit our cousins, and to celebrate Marc's 1st birthday. It was a great party, and Gabe loved trying noodle kugel for the first time. He also loved the cupcakes (duh!).

Hot Stuff

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Gabe also got a brand new kitchen of his own, and he was so lucky that Suzki and Pops brought it here for him, and that Pops put it together. Now it's up to him to really make magic for dinner!

Suzki and Pops come to town!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Aug. 2-5: This weekend Suzki and Pops came to town! The first night they were here we had such a nice dinner out, and then Gabe showed everyone the way home from the restaurant.

Grandpa

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

July 29: We also got to see Grandpa. He took us to the Pancake House (YUM!) and Gabe got to try his very first apple pancake. It was a real treat, and he loved it. Plus, he got a lot of exercise walking all over downtown Bethesda. All in all, a VERY fun trip.

Brush it off.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

July 28: Not only did we see GG this weekend, but of course we got to hang out with Grammy, and who could pass up a trip to the playground near her house?? It was another great opportunity to work on "brushing it off." The hands, that is.

GG's new pad

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

July 28-29: This weekend we finally headed down to DC and Bethesda/Rockville to see GG's new pad. It's so awesome! And look how happy and healthy she looks. Plus, she's clearly still rooting for her Brooklyn teams! Gabe really loved her new place, and managed to get into pretty much everything during our short visit. We can't wait to go visit again soon.

Strolling Strolling Strolling...

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Yup. He's really walking. We went to a park near our apartment this weekend, and Gabe walked across the whole thing. Sure, he fell a few times, but he got right up and asked one of us to dust him off, and back on his way he went. He was quite a sight!

HE CAN WALK!!!!

July 15: We had seem some indications that it was coming soon, but we had no idea that THIS would happen today!

What's For Dinner Gabe?

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

July 15: Do you think Gabe might have some culinary leanings? We sure hope so. We went to our friends the Gessers' place for brunch today and he just loved Sadie's kitchen!

Perfect End to the Day.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

July 14: Today was Bastille Day, so the Shanoffs decided to celebrate by doing what lots of Parisians do: we walked. And boy did we walk! After a quick cab ride to Prospect Park, we walked all over that park! It's bigger than we thought! We even got to see some real live ducks and then an area called "dog beach." Well, you can imagine how exciting it was to see both ducks AND puppies all in about 15 minutes. That knocked Gabe's socks off, and wore him out. The playground with the water sprinklers didn't hurt either. But it was a beautiful day so we slowly but surely made our way back to Brooklyn Heights. Turns out it's a pretty long walk. Needless to say, we were all ready for an early bedtime today!

Red Hook!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

July 8: Today we went to Red Hook. For those of you who don't know it, it's in Brooklyn and it's on the water, which we desperately needed, because it was really hot today. And Red Hook didn't disappoint. We took the bus, which was really an adventure, and then we sat outside and had some yummy food from Fairway. We also got to see some of Margery's friends from DPW. All in all, a great day!

Summertime Sprinklers!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Look what we found! (OK, some friends told us about it a while ago, but we forgot until we got here.) Turns out one of the parks in our neighborhood has this great sprinkler to play in. This was a pretty cool day and so we didn't really go into the water, but boy oh boy is it a good idea for those really hot days. And Gabe loves the water. He kept leaning into the spray. He better learn to walk soon because it's a bit cold for Mom.

Sliding with Sadie

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

June 30: today we happened to run into Sadie and Brook at the playground. What a fun treat. Sadie was jumping for joy, and Gabe wanted nothing more than to climb up the slide. He did make it, but we didn't have a picture of that. Oh well.

Lucali's

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

With Grammy in town, we also decided to go try a new pizza place in our neighborhood. OK, not IN our neighborhood, but a nice walk away. Gabe certainly loved the pizza, and so did the rest of us. What a treat!

Some things really are black & white.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

OK. This blog hasn't been updated in WAY too long, so we're really sorry. This is a picture from when Grammy came to visit! Gabe spent the day with her and Dan walking around NYC while Margery was at a friend's bridal shower. He got to go see the basketball at West 4th St., which he really loves. Notice his Vermont Basketball t-shirt, by the way! He's ready for some hoops. And Grammy gave him his very first Black & White cookie. Look at that smile. It was clearly a hit!

Aunt Emily

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

We had so much fun with Aunt Emily in town over Father's Day weekend. Gabe loved playing with her, and we loved that she was willing to wake up early to play with him so we could sleep in! Such a treat.

T-riffic

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Here's a picture of the gift Gabe made Dan for father's day. Isn't it cool? And no, Margery didn't help him make it, though the puffy pen and personalized t-shirt is one of her specialties. This was a FedKids special. Yet another reason we love them!

Happy Father's Day!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

We're a bit behind in the posts these days, but here's a great shot of Gabe and Dan on father's day. We had such a great day. We took a really long walk, and then went to brunch, followed by a stop at the playground and then one of our favorites bars, and then finally back home. And making it all the better was the fact that Aunt Emily was here to visit! We had a great weekend.

belly

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Gabe is just getting so big! Especially his belly.

daddy's boy

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Since the teachers at Gabe's daycare were taking pictures in anticipation of father's day, we thought we'd join right in. It's a good one, right!? Oh, and this is Gabe's daycare. He loves it there. You can see some of the books and the art projects in the background.

mmmm. pasta.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Just thought this was too funny to leave out. yes, Gabe had pasta for dinner tonight.

Happy Birthday B!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

June 9: today we went to our friends the Connelly's house to celebrate Brendan's 2nd birthday. We all had a blast, but Gabe was especially excited to cheer on Brendan's third year. Though he easily could be cheering for that water table on Brendan's patio, which we had to literally drag him away from. Don't worry, we'll be back. And yeah, he's standing solo. Check him out!

One Year Shots

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Mon., June 4: Because Gabe was a bit under the weather at his one-year checkup. So today we went back to the doctor for some shots. Gabe also had some blood drawn. As you can see, some fun bandaids are clearly all he needs to feel better after such an ordeal. He looks pretty miserable, hunh?

Pool Party

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sun., June 3: Today we went to Jeff, Amy and Henry's house to play in Henry's new pool! It was so fun. Ella (and her mom Susan) came as well, and all the kids had a good time, despite the cooler temps and some drizzle. Gabe also tried strawberries, but he liked the teddy grahams better. Are we surprised?

When did Bono get here?

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Here's Gabe playing with one of his favorite treats from Ruby's party. And Ruby's dad Brad was right: He sure looks like Bono! Now if only he can sing like him too. Oh, and the fabulous G$ (G-money for those of you whose rebus skills are a bit rusty) shirt is from Dave. Thanks Dave!

So Many Firsts!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sat., June 2: After the Baptism, we headed back to Brooklyn for Ruby's birthday party. Gabe was in fabulous spirits (way better than at his own party!), and we all had a blast. Ruby is one of Gabe's first (and best) friends, and so it seemed fitting that their first kiss would be at her first birthday party. Here's to lots of great years to come!

Gianluca

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sat., June 2: We had a big day today. First we went to our friend Gianluca Fletcher Putek's Baptism. We were so thrilled to share this special occasion with Gianluca and his parents Christine and Michael. He did great, even though he and Gabe were talking sort of loudly to one another during the service. We hope they don't get into too much more trouble when they get older!

Punim

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Look at this face. Suzki and Pops took this picture at the playground, and it's clear that Gabe was having a blast.

Shopping

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

May 26: Gabe was also really glad to have Pops along when we went shopping. His lap was an awfully nice resting spot.

Gabe Goes to the Zoo

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

May 25: This weekend Suzki and Pops were in New York for a wedding. Lucky us. Gabe decided to play hooky on Friday and they took him to the Central Park Zoo, and then out for lunch. He had such a great day. He especially liked all the ducks he saw and also the animals in the petting zoo. He definitely liked touching the fake animals more than the real ones.