Patty Cake

We got a very cool new video gadget, and here's our first movie release. A little ditty by Gabe (it's patty cake, in case you can't understand him).

Grammy!

March 21-22: Grammy came to visit, and we had such a great time! Gabe especially loved reading to her, and he also loved his new book, Smash Crash! Grammy also brought Gabe a really special treat: A cool backpack with a construction hat, gloves, a level, and Gabe's favorite, "a smoother."
On Saturday morning, we stopped by the Brooklyn Heights Easter Egg Hunt. It was a pretty competitive hunt, and Gabe had no idea what was going on, since we hadn't discussed it with him at all, but he got right into the spirit, looking for eggs in the colors he likes best!

Slam Dunk

March 20: In honor of the first day of March Madness, Gabe did some shooting of his own. He's pretty good (in his own mind!).

Happy Birthday Mommy.

March 18: Today was mom's birthday, and it started with a great rendition of the song by Gabe, and also a really nice birthday picture! Later, Uncle Seth and Aunt Linnea came over for a nice visit. Seth came early to get a refresher course in picking Gabe up from Daycare, which was really fun. Gabe showed him all the trucks and cars on the way home. And when we got home, they did some coloring together. Seth also brought over his cool new computer, and Gabe got to use it. He's hooked (Gabe, that is... we all knew Seth was).

Happy Birthday Gianluca!

March 15: Today we went to Gymboree for the first time ever to celebrate Gianluca Putek's first birthday. We all had a great time. We loved the basketball hoop (boy are we ready for March Madness), the bubbles, and especially the birthday cake!

Walking Feet

Gabe is no longer really walking; he really prefers to run. This is often really cute, and leads many people to say "wow, he's fast." His teachers at daycare always are telling him to "use your walking feet." And it's a great way to tire him out on a cold but sunny afternoon like the one pictured here. It's not so cute, however, when you are trying to pay at the grocery store and he picks that very moment to "go outside." It's OK... I caught him. But he IS fast.

Happy to be Home

March 9: It was a great vacation, but we were happy to be home!

Suzki and Pops in the Hiz-ouse!

Feb. 28 - Mar. 4: This (LOOONG) weekend mom and dad decided to head out of town (out of the Country, actually) and Suzki and Pops came to stay with Gabe. A fantastic time was had by all. Gabe got to go to the NYC Transit Museum and drive the bus, and also to the Prospect Park Zoo where he saw that sea lions and kangaroos (which he is STILL talking about). And mom and dad got to relax in the sun in Mexico. Suzki and Pops were a little cold, having left their warmer home for the chill of NYC, but otherwise it was pretty much perfect. There are lots more pictures on Gabe's smugmug page.
Oh, and the way we know Gabe had such a good time other than his constant chatter about the weekend is that any time we do anything he doesn't like, he picks up the phone and yells "Pops? Suzki? hi!" We think he's trying to get them back up here as soon as possible!

Baby Walrus!!

Mon., Feb. 18: Today mom and dad both had the day off from work, and so the NYC Shanoffs headed to the NYC Aquarium, which is on the water in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It was our first time there, and it was a total hit! The big draw was the new baby walrus, which turns out to be one of the first born in captivity in a really long time. We found a nice warm place to stand and watch the baby play with the mommy walrus through some glass, and Gabe totally loved it. He also loved seeing all the fish, the penguins (who he saw eating their lunch!), and the sharks (who have really big teeth when you get close up). All in all a great day!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Feb. 16: Today is Daddy's birthday and we've had a really nice quiet day. This afternoon we headed out to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights to get some fresh air, but boy was it cold! It didn't take long for us to head home and just lounge some more on our new couch!

New Couch

Feb. 15: After a really really good run with our old comfy maroon couch, we decided to try something new. Those of you who loved the old fluffy one will have to get used to this new firmer model, but so far so good. Gabe sure likes it (and so does "Mr. Head").

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feb. 14: Today is Valentine's Day, and Gabe got lots of great treats. One of his favorites is his bath crayons from Grammy. He also loves his new alligator place mat from Suzki and Pops! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

On the Bus

Feb 9: Today we decided to brave the cold and rain and take a little adventure in Brooklyn. Gabe is into all things on wheels, and so we figured what could be better than a ride on the bus? Well, the waiting was tough, but once we got on it was great. We went to Park Slope to a great restaurant called Perch. We had never been there but now we're sure to go back! Plus we ran into our cousin Marisa there, which was a total treat.

Sports A to Z

Feb. 5: OK, this post easily could have been called "shameless Gabe-promotion," which we haven't done in (sort of) a while. This is a video (which we also haven't done in a while) of Gabe reading his current favorite book. His friend Dave gave it to him, and at the time Gabe didn't really seem all that into it, but boy have times changed. He LOVES this book, and we read it a lot. Really. A LOT. The upside of that, though, is that now Gabe can *read* it! OK, we know that he's not really reading, but we think this is pretty cute. Enjoy!

Block Tower

Feb. 2: One of Gabe's favorite things to do these days is to build a tower out of these blocks . . . and then knock it down. See that look on his face? He's wondering how long he should wait before knocking them over so that he'll "surprise" us!

Happy Blue Means Happy Gabe

Jan. 27: Today Gabe got a big treat in the mail from his Suzki -- HAPPY BLUE! Gabe calls Cookie Monster "happy blue" (long story... happy to tell you in person if you really want to hear it) and really loves happy blue, but it turns out he's awfully hard to find! They have pretty much pulled all his segments from Sesame Street (except a very brief letter of the day situation with Prairie Dawn), and it's almost impossible to find a stuffed Cookie Monster toy that doesn't shake or talk anywhere in NYC (OK, we decided to avoid the Toys R Us in Times Square - totally reasonable). The only explanation we've been given for this is a concern about childhood obesity; Cookie Monster has some impulse control problems! We think this is ridiculous, and are awfully glad the good people stocking the shelves at the Target in Gainesville agree. YAY Suzki! We love cookies happy blue!

Happy Birthday GG!

Jan. 23: This weekend we hopped in the car and headed to Maryland for GG's 89th birthday celebration. We weren't about to miss this par-tay. Gabe loved seeing his GG, Grammy, Aunt Annie, and his cousins (especially Julia and "baby Willa").



Plus, he LOVED his chocolate ice cream. DUH.








After the party we had lots of time to hang out with GG and spend some quality time together. Plus Gabe had to do a few more rounds of Ring Around the Rosie with Grammy.

To Fold or Not To Fold...

Jan 19: With all the excitement this weekend, Gabe thought it would be a great idea to show his visitors his clothes. ALL of his clothes. Once they were all out though, he realized it's not as much fun to but them away as it is to pull them out. Ahhh. Life lessons.

and Grandpa!

Jan. 19: Our other visitor was Grandpa! We had a great time with him too, with lots of reading and even a horsey ride!

Aunt Emily!

Sat., Jan. 19: This weekend we had lots of visitors, and first to arrive was AUNT EMILY! It was so fun to see her. We had a great time playing at our house in the morning, and then later we went out and met her and her friend Jenny at a bar (just like the old days when Gabe was a little baby!!) on Smith Street. It was great. As always, a great visit!