Duck!

One of Gabe's best new tricks now that he is one is that he can say a few words. His current favorite is "buh-bye," though he doesn't always use it correctly. Well, maybe in his own mind he does, and we just don't want to admit that sometimes he is finished with a conversation before we are. But he also has learned to say "duck" to actually describe a duck! Check him out.

Want to share my sandwich?

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

May 20, 2007: Today Gabe got to hang out with Great Great Aunt Esther for a while. He even offered to share some of his grilled cheese with here. Now that's love!

Happy Birthday Gabe.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

UPDATE: Thurs., May 17: Weighing in at 23 lbs. and 31.3 inches, the newly one Gabe Shanoff!

Wed., May 16: We have wished Gabe a happy birthday a few times on this blog, but those were sort of "fake" birthdays compared to today's biggie. What's a month here and there now? That's right. He's ONE!

Just think, a year ago, we were sitting in our room at St. Vincent's Hospital looking down Seventh Avenue and enjoying some yummy Charlie Mom Chinese food. Gabe was only 7 lbs., and all he did was sleep. Since then, he has changed so much. He's somewhere around 23 lbs. (we'll find out as his checkup tomorrow). He smiles, laughs, and today he even showed us that he knows how to stand on his tip-toes. He can say "duck" and "buh-bye" (and this one he can do while waving!). He loves to read, especially Brown Bear and Moo Baa La La La. And he has a mean dunk shot.

But a lot hasn't changed. He is still an amazingly sweet little guy who is friendly, happy, and loves to be tickled and kissed. And he still is an absolute joy. Here's to next year!

Bye Bye 1477

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Tues., May 15: today we headed to 1477 E. 17th St. for another rendition of Brown Bear - one of Gabe's favorite books. We also went to say goodbye to the house. GG is moving to Maryland and we're sure going to miss having her in our neck of the woods.

Happy Birthday Gabe!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sunday, May 13: Today was Mother's Day and it was also Gabe's first birthday party. The party was at one of our favorite parks in Brooklyn - it's in DUMBO between the Brooklyn end of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. It was a beautiful day, and even though Gabe was a bit under the weather and it was a bit windy, we had lots of family and friends join us for some snacks, beach balls, and, of course, cupcakes. Gabe loved the chocolate with vanilla frosting the most, though he was hardly picky. But really, who is when it comes to cupcakes?

Gabe and his mom and dad felt very lucky to have been surrounded by so many people who have loved Gabe so much this year, and sure missed those who were here in spirit!

There are tons more pictures from the party and the whole weekend on Gabe's Flickr site. Check 'em out!

Celebrate!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

To celebrate the haircut success, we went out for a family dinner. Chicken wings... Yum. Just kidding. Gabe really wanted to hold this so we let him. He didn't really like it, though he sure did like the french fries and ribs.

Gabe's First Haircut

Sun., May 6: Today Gabe got his first haircut. A lot of people have expressed
their concerns that he would lose his awesome (albeit a bit wild) curls in the process.










But fear not. Geraldine was amazing, and in about 12 minutes Gabe came away looking awfully cute (yes, it was possible for him to get even cuter, if we do say so ourselves), and still curly. He also loved the firetruck seat, and didn't mind the clippers all that much.



And look at how great he looks!

Playground Time

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Sun., May 6: We went to the playground today, and Gabe is loving his newfound ability to stand (still assisted, of course, but now he's one-handed). It means he can enjoy so much more of the playground. Here, he's trying to get past Mom to head down the slide.

How big?

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Wed. May 2: Today we took Gabe to get his feet measured. He's cruising around all over the place, so we're going to have to get him some new shoes! He didn't love the measuring, but maybe that's because he's a beach kid at heart. No shoes necessary!

Lions and Tigers and Bears...

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Saturday, April 28: Today Gabe went to the zoo for the first time. We went with his friend Daniel, and Daniel's mom Susan. We had a great time. Gabe liked the Sea Lions best, because they kept popping out of the water and making funny noises, though the peacocks were also quite a hit. In the petting zoo, he thought he wanted to pet the cow, but it turns out he didn't really want to. OK. You live and learn, right? Maybe next time!

Charleston, SC!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

The whole gang hit Charleston, SC -- the Isle of Palms, to be exact -- to celebrate Grammy's birthday. Missing from this picture are the Pratt Goodmans, who arrived the following day. A great time was had by all. There was beach time, pool time, sight-seeing, and lots of general hanging out. What a treat to all be together in such a lovely place!

Eleven Months (and one day)

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

April 17: as much as we've been trying to take a family photo on each of Gabe's one-month birthday, we haven't always been successful. So, here's a picture of Gabe all by himself. Admit it, though: that's what you're really on here for, right? So he's eleven months and one day old today. WOW! That means he's almost a year old. We can't believe it. He's crawling like crazy, eating all kinds of new things (see post below), and is generally a ton of fun to be around. He loves to play ball, to pull himself up on ANYTHING he can get his hands on, and he absolutely loves his books. Right now his favorite book seems to be The Three Bears, though Blue Hat, Green Hat and Time For Bed are also pretty popular. And while he certainly likes it best when we read the books to him, he's also pretty happy to just eat the pages or throw the books around the room so he can crawl over and get them. We can't wait to see what the next month, and the next year will bring!

MMMMMcDonalds!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

August 15: Because of the terrible weather in the NE, our flight home from Pittsburgh got canceled. But fear not. Dad got us safely home, and Gabe got his first road trip! We were lucky enough to have Marisa with us to keep us company and especially to help keep Gabe happy! She also got to share Gabe's first trip to McDonald's with us.

Hey - judge us if you will, but no road trip is really complete without some junk food deliciousness. Gabe especially loved the fries (shocker), but he also tried a Filet-O-Fish and a burger. Oh, and don't forget the Dairy Queen Blizzard for dessert. That's right. A Blizzard!

Slumber Party.

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Gabe got to spend the night with Suzki and Pops while in Pittsburgh. He had a great time. Look at how well rested he looks! For them he slept until 7 am. Would sure be nice if he did that for his parents!

To PIttsburgh!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

April 14: This morning Gabe and his parents headed to Pittsburgh to celebrate Margery's cousin Lauren's wedding. As you can see, Gabe was very excited to get on the plane and get to the party!

Look at Gabe's New Chair!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Thursday, April 12: This morning Gabe got his second birthday present, and this one's green too! Our very good friends Kristin, TJ and Brendan gave Gabe this awesome chair, which is just like one Brendan has at his house. You can't see it, but it even has his name on it so Mom and Dad don't get confused about who should sit in it. He already loves climbing in and out of it all the time. We are all awfully lucky to have such great friends!

Picture Day

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

April 11: Today was picture day at Gabe's daycare ("school") and he got all dressed up for the occasion. Doesn't he look great? His teachers told us that he wasn't really into smiling for his picture; he was really going for the strong serious look. We'll have to see how that went. We think he looks awfully cute even when he's in a more serious mood. Besides, who knows what kind of important thoughts he's thinking... he could be curing cancer in that head of his!

Sip this!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

As most of you know, Gabe is getting very close to turning one year old. We absolutely can't believe what a big boy he's turning into, and this is just one indication: the sippy cup is in the house. Gabe actually likes the straw cup more than the sippy, but it's really a distinction without a difference to anyone except him (and his mom, who has spent entirely too much money on variations on this exact cup, but is very very relieved we finally have one that he likes!). Anyhow, we're so proud, and he seems to be too!

Feet UP!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

Now that we have these nice new ottomans, isn't it nice that Gabe and Dad can both put their feet up and relax?

mmmm. french fries!

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Originally uploaded by Gabe Shanoff.

April 8: This morning Gabe, Mom and Dad finally went out after a pretty miserable weekend with the stomach flu. Nothing gets your appetite back up like a french fry. And now that Gabe can hold them himself, there's nothing stopping him! It didn't hurt that we ran into his friend Ruby and her parents, and Ruby not only loaned Gabe her special seat, but she gave him her balloon when she left! Lucky kid.