Christmas Eve Hilarity

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We wish peace, love and prosperity
to you and yours this Holiday Season
and in the coming year!!

Computer Woes...

Let me extend my sincerest apologies to all of our faithful blog followers for not updating sooner. Technical difficulties are going to serve as my excuse this go-round. We are having major issues at home with our internet service provider/modem/computer - who knows the exact culprit. I think it's Verizon, Verizon says it's the proximity of the modem to the computer, Eser thinks it's the modem....

Holiday preparations are in full-swing at the Colón household, although slightly delayed. The tree is up and decorated, and the shopping essentially done. Baking and wrapping have yet to occur, along with the addressing and mailing of Holiday cards. I had good intentions of getting the cards out this past weekend, but a looming deadline kept me in the office until the wee hours of the morning. We even missed the East Clan Holiday celebration due to my work schedule. Sorry everyone - we miss and love you and hope to see you soon.

Julian and his super-sweet puppy, Samson, are home for the holidays. Julian is enjoying the brief hiatus from the wrestling season via indulgences such as pizza and ice cream. Gabe is quite happy about this as well, because Gabe loves pizza! It's probably a sign that we order in a little too much, but when the doorbell rings, Gabe runs to the door exclaiming 'pizza, pizza'!

So, funny thing happened over the weekend. Bear in mind that with Gabe around, funny things are constantly happening, but I really don't have the time to write a novel here. Gabe and I were sitting in the living room and Eser was upstairs getting ready to go the Chameleon. I called to him to ask him a question, but didn't get a response. Gabe called as well going 'Da da!' in his sweet little voice. Still no response. I looked at Gabe and said, 'call him again, sweetie'. Gabe looked at me, and then at the top of his lungs exclaimed, "Eser!" I about died laughing. Needless to say, we got a response out of Daddy that time.

I have a ton of photos that I need to upload from my camera and share, but I can't seem to remember to bring the cord along with me to the office (in case you're wondering, I'm blogging from the office on my lunch break now that the aforementioned deadline has been met). So this post isn't a total disappointment, below is a great pic sent to me yesterday by my good bud Liz.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Gabe is all about imitating us lately. He tries to snap his fingers like daddy, wash his face like mommy, dance and jump around the living room like daddy, do his hair like mommy...

By the way, when I take videos/pictures with my cell phone, Gabe can see the image on the front of my screen. His new thing is opening his mouth as WIDE as he possibly can when he sees himself. Silly monkey.

Wipeout!

A nasty stomach virus wiped out the entire family last week. It all started with Gabe waking up Tuesday morning around 4:30 patting his round little tummy saying, "boo-boo". That was swiftly followed by mommy wearing the tater-tots that Gabe ate for dinner on Monday, as well as a significant amount of breast-milk. Luckily, Gabe was done throwing up by 8:30 that morning, and was back to his normal, playful self by evening. Wednesday, I was struck down. I was out near Gettysburg doing a site visit for a new park design project. I got sick on the way home, attempted to keep driving, but it was hopeless. I got to within about 15 miles of York and sat on the bathroom floor of a Rutters convenient store until Eser came to my rescue. Then, Thursday morning, it was his turn... Fun times. Aren't you glad that there aren't any pictures to go along with this post.

Adventures in Pudding

Gabriel is becoming increasingly independent every single day. His big thing now is feeding himself. He is all about feeding himself. He'll let me help a little, but gets frustrated if I get in his way. He is fine with his fingers, and slowly getting better using a utensil. The fork is fine, providing that it is piercing the item of food he is attempting to ingest. The spoon isn't too bad as long as the food is of a consistency that it doesn't easily slide off of the spoon, aka pudding, that is until Gabe gets excited and starts flailing his arms about. When that happens, nothing is sacred. Here are a few pics of Gabe eating chocolate pudding. You can decide whether or not it was a successful venture...

Maestro in the Making

Need I say more???

Did I mention that he climbs up on the stool by himself whenever he wants to play? Kari, when do the lessons start?

Playdate!

Here are a few pics from Gabe's playdate with his bud,
Ayden, over the weekend. Enjoy!

New Order

Finally! A bit of organization in the toy strewn chaos we call our living room! We went on a family excursion to Ikea yesterday in a quest to restore order to our lives, at least the living room anyway (the bedroom and basement are next!). We found this great little shelving unit where Gabe can organize all his leisurely belongings in a colorful, festive fashion.

Off and Running!

Liberty University's wrestling season officially started last evening with a dual meet at home (Lynchburg, Va) against Gardner-Webb. Julian's first time out as the teams starter in the 157 lb. weight class was quite the success. Just to prove that he's not messing around, he pinned his opponent in 2:35 during the first period. Go JULES!!! Here are a couple of pics from the match; click on the link under 'Links We Love' to view more.

More Bathtub Pics?!?!?!?!?

What can I say, he's incredibly cute in the tub! Not that he isn't cute other times - we all know that's not true, but it is easier to get good pics when he's contained in a tub of water. The pictures that follow were taken by my little sister while we were visiting her new (temporary) home this past weekend. Jessie and Jason are house-sitting for some friends of theirs for the next year or so, while they are out of the country. It's a beautiful new (HUGE) house outside of Martinsburg, WV. We met my mom down there for a belated birthday celebration. The entire family went, Gabe, Eser, Cheyenne and Zippy. Both our dogs got along just fine with Jess and Jason's new dog, Butters. Zippy was even kind enough not to terrorize Jessie's rather old cat, Romeo.

Playing Catch-up

Being preoccupied with work, politics, and life in general, I've been neglecting my responsibilities as far as posting current pics of everyone's favorite not-so-little chunky-monkey is concerned. Here are several recent shots taken over the past week or two. Enjoy!

Halloween 2008. For those of you wondering what Gabe in concentrating on so intently, it's chapstick, his new favorite thing.

Recognize the sweater, Aunt Kathy??

The Lion Sleeps Tonight... Let me tell you, trick-or-treating is tough work! Did I mention that this is Gabe at our first stop of the evening...

Play Time with Daddy

Budding Artist

What do you think fellow teammates? Shall we have Gabe pinch hit for the Dipco Hangovers next season??

Political Afterthoughts...

I just want to say that if McCain had run his campaign with the compassion and sincerity that he displayed in his concession speech last evening, the election may have had a different outcome, but we'll never know will we? I am deeply moved and overjoyed at the results of yesterdays election. I think it was a shining moment for our country. Despite your race, your religion, your sex or you political affiliations, I think we can all find inspiration in what Barack Obama has accomplished over the past 2 years. It's time to put all our differences aside and work together to heal our ailing country.

Hope and Change

Friends and family, please do your part tomorrow. It means more now

than it ever did before.

Congrats Julian!

Julian won his wrestle-off this week to secure the starting position for Liberty University's wrestling team at 157 lbs. Congrats, Jules!!

Here is a little write-up from Liberty's website about the bout:


Shaun Smith and Julian Colon took to the mats next in one of the closest bouts of the exhibition dual at 157 pounds. Smith held a 2-1 lead after the first period, as the junior took an early lead with a takedown. Smith chose to open the second down and quickly escaped, but Colon battled back and tied the match at 3-3 with a two-point takedown before the second period buzzer sounded. Following Smith’s second-period lead, Colon scored a one-point escape point during the opening ticks of the third period and was able to evade several charges by Smith to secure the 4-3 decision and pull the Red back within four points, 10-6.

Spiders...

Ya know, despite being a self-proclaimed nature-lover/environmentalist , I’m just not a big fan of them. I know they are good - they eat the other creepy-crawly things that I don’t particularly care for. None the less, they pretty much freak me out. I blame it on this old black and white movie that was repeatedly shown on the Sunday Matinee where there was this giant spider living in a cave that ate humans. Hmmm… maybe I should blame my phobia on my parents for allowing me to watch cinematic horrors at such a tender age. Anyway, my dearly departed grandmother never harmed a spider in her 96 years of life. Gracki always went out of her way to gently escort any spider that had lost its way back outside. The old me stomped, smushed, dropped a shoe on and ran, or called someone else in to do the deed whenever confronted with an arachnid. The new me, and this new me has only come about since the death of my grandmother, in her honor, has not intentionally killed, harmed or asked someone to harm any spiders. I won't even let Eser kill one if he comes across one. I was put to the test last evening when, while cooking dinner, I turn around to see the biggest spider (half-dollar size maybe, maybe smaller, but they always look bigger) I have yet to find in our new house. I had the urge to call Eser to deal with it, but he was upstairs shampooing the carpet, and who am I to interfere with that!?!?! My first instinct was to take the empty pasta box that I was holding in my hand, set it on the floor in front of the spider, then attempt to shoosh the spider into the box and carry it outside. After carefully placing the box on the floor, I thought to myself, this is nuts – the spider is going to be super-fast and crawl right out of the box and end up on me. No way, Jose!!! Plan B. I decided to sweep the spider out the door. I very slowly opened the door to the back yard, praying the spider didn’t move because the door actually had to swing open over the thing. Holding Gabriel’s little broom, I tip-toed over the spider, ready to jump at the slightest movement. I pushed the screen door open as wide as I could, and WOOSH, swept the little bugger right out (followed by quickly slamming the door shut and locking it, both the knob and the deadbolt). Am I overreacting a bit, maybe, but because of my Gracki, another spider lives on…

Bath Time Fun!

Bath time is officially one of Gabe's favorite daily events. When our evening draws to a close, I will look at Gabriel and ask him if he wants to take a bath. He stops whatever he's doing, runs to the bottom of the stairs, and starts climbing the baby gate exclaiming, "Bath! Bath!" As soon as we reach the top of the stairs his focus shifts to, "Bubbles! Bubbles!" The boy loves his bubbles!

Gabriel will probably scold me for sharing this picture when he gets a little older...

A video message for daddy while he's at work

New Arrival

I guess one could say that I am now officially an aunt (besides by marriage). Jessie and Jason are the proud parents of a one-year old terrier mix named 'Butters'. They recently adopted her from their local animal shelter and brought her home this past Saturday. Welcome to the family, Butters!!

They even have the same color hair!

Teething Woes

Well, it's been a rather long week here in the Colón household. Poor little Gabriel. I think his canine teeth have decided to break through, and according to all of my mommy friends, and as made obvious buy the little guy's actions, these are by far the worst. He has never been a fussy baby, even when the first few teeth broke through he was generally pleasant. He got a tad fussy with the molars, but nothing to write home about. Well, let me tell you, he has not been a happy camper this week. The beginning of the week, it was like pulling teeth (yes, pun intended) to get him to eat anything. He'd muster up the willingness to eat the first bite or two, but that was it. He was even pushing away his favorites, like Grandma's applesauce and hot dogs. He always eats for Ethel, no matter what, and, to my dismay, she wasn't having any luck. Night's haven't been a picnic either. Gabe has been waking up at least 6 times a night (I quit counting at that point) with tears in his eyes, and he hasn't been easily consoled. Gabe has also been a total 'mama's boy' this week. He runs over to me, looks up and goes, "up, mommy, up". This is particularly fun while I am attempting to put on makeup or pack lunches. Gabe has even been crying for me when I drop him off at Ethel's in the morning - talk about pulling at your heart strings! He's usually fine right after I leave, but still.

Yesterday, I worked through lunch in order to get home at a decent hour to take Gabe for a jog in the stroller. I was in dire need for exercise - I haven't done a thing since running the Hands-on-House Half Marathon last Saturday (where, sorry, but I have to toot my horn a bit, I improved upon my previous half marathon time by nearly 11 minutes!!). Anyway, point of the story, I took Gabe upstairs with me to change clothes, and he was trying desperately to climb on our bed while saying, "nite-nite, nite-nite". Well, I laid down with him and he was asleep 5 minutes later. Needless to say, exercising has yet to occur...

The Pros of a McCain/Palin Administration...

...four years of watching Tina Fey at her best.



Okay, definitely not a good enough reason to elect them, but hey, at least it's entertaining.

The Obsessions of a Nearly 16 Month-old...

"Vacuum!"... "vacuum, vacuum, vacuum"..."VACUUM!!!!" Have I mentioned that Gabe is slightly obsessed with the vacuum? As I carry him down the stairs for breakfast in the morning, "vacuum?". While eating breakfast, Gabe sees daddy coming down the stairs, points in the general direction of the vacuum and says, "vacuum, vacuum". He is completely mesmerized by the thing. I don't know how many of you have seen the Disney Pixar movie, Finding Nemo, but in the movie there are these seagulls that go "mine, mine, mine, mine..." whenever they see a fish that looks yummy. Well, sometimes Gabe says "vacuum" that fast and repeats it that many times. We will get it out for him and let it sit in the living room where he can play with it. He likes to carry the attachments around and press all of the buttons. Well, as soon as you turn it on in an attempt to use it, it's an entirely different ball game. He watches intently, but won't get within 3 feet of the thing. As soon as it shuts off, he's all about playing with it again. Last night Eser and I were going upstairs to put laundry away, and Gabe cried the whole way up the steps because he wanted the vacuum. Upstairs, with tears streaming down his face, he stood at the baby gate crying, "Vacuum!" He would then thunder into the bedroom like a little baby elephant, look at us longingly and say, you guessed it, "vacuum?"...

Today, Tomorrow, and Always...

I give you this ring as a symbol that I choose you,

To be my lover, my partner, and my best friend,

Today, tomorrow, and always.

Sorry for the delay everyone. It would be an understatement to say that things have been a little hectic since returning from our brief matrimonial trip to Cape May. Let me tell you, we had a perfect weekend. The weather (the day of the wedding in particular) was phenomenal - couldn't have been better. It was a gorgeous day, a lovely ceremony, a delicious dinner, all shared with a couple of our closest friends. What more could you ask for?

Before I start posting pictures, just a little update on the stats from Gabe's 15 month checkup. The "not-so-little" man weighed in at 26 lbs. As far as height is concerned, he was almost off the charts at 33 1/4 inches tall. That puts him in the 97th percentile, basically the height of an average 23 month old. No wonder I'm having to buy 24 month and 2T clothes for him.

Now, what you've all been patiently waiting for...

And now for some non-wedding related pictures...

The Rythm is Gonna Get You

What can I say, the boy loves to dance!!

So, Gabe and I went for a jog this morning over around School Lane Hills, which is by far the most affluent neighborhood in Lancaster. We scored a couple of great finds at a yard sale that we happened to run past. Needless to say, we had to jog home and then drive back over to pick up our goods, but it was well worth it. Gabe, who loves to clean (always trying to get the vaccuum out of the closet or playing with the broom), now has his very own cleaning cart. It came complete with a bucket, rag, dust pan and brush, mop, broom and operational cannister vaccuum that has all the bells and whistles. Not a bad find for $5. The other item that we scored was lawn furniture. We got 3 sturdy little outdoor chairs for Gabe, and his friends of course, that just happen to match our "big people" deck furniture quite nicely (also $5). Not bad for a days work...

Sad Day

Well, folks, today is a sad day in our household. Little Gabriel has outgrown his "Wee Squeaks". I noticed a tiny blister forming on his big toe, and then realized that he had absolutely no room left at all. I mean, it's perfect timing with the weather starting to get colder - time to put the sandals away and break out the closed-toed shoes. But I will miss the little squeak that came with every step. I will really miss knowing where he is at all times without having to turn around and look. They were like little tattle-tails - the faster the squeaks, the higher the probability that he was heading towards something that he wasn't supposed to. Sigh...

The Cutest Bedhead Ever!

Nothing exciting to share verbally, I just couldn't help but post this

picture that I took this morning!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

So... where exactly did this summer go?!?! September 8th already??? The kids (and Eser) are reluctantly back in school, Halloween candy lines the seasonal aisle at the grocery store, pumpkins are adorning the tables at all the roadside produce stands, and this unprecedented, historic mad dash for the White House is officially underway (O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!)... It all seems absolutely impossible to me. Equally unbelievable is the fact that the wedding is less than 2 weeks away. Now that's just plain crazy. Though we didn't go to the trouble of hiring a photographer, I have specifically asked (and if I didn't ask you, consider this my asking) the few guests attending to bring their cameras and snap away. I'll make sure not to dilly-dally as far as posting the photos is concerned.

This is Eser's second full week back in school, and we are slowly getting into a routine. Gabe now spends the majority of his day with Ethel and Carl. I drop him off at 9:00, and Eser picks him up at 4:00. I know that I have said this before, and I'm sure I will say it again and again, but we are oh so fortunate to have Ethel and Carl. Gabe loves them so much, and I know the feelings are mutual. The first thing Ethel said to me this morning was how much she missed Gabe over the weekend. He has so much fun over there, and rarely (it might have happened once or twice) gives me a second thought as I walk out the door. He reluctantly gives me a kiss, says "bye-bye" in his sweet little voice, and then runs off to look for Carl. He just can't get enough of Carl. If Carl is around, no one else exists - it's as simple as that.

To my dismay, Gabriel is becoming quite the big boy. He is climbing onto and over whatever he can. Not only does he climb, but he does so with lightning speed. One minute he is playing in the kitchen with the magnets on the refrigerator, and the next minute he is in the living room on the couch digging through my purse. He has recently discovered how to twist things, such as lids and caps. If it isn't specifically a childproof lid, then it definitely needs to be kept out of his reach. He's quite the strong little guy as well. I have held on to Gabe's walker for the purpose of keeping him in one location in order to feed him if we happen to be eating in the living room. Before, I would keep one foot on the base of the walker to prevent him from scooting around while he ate. Occasionally that still works, but now Gabriel picks up his walker and runs around the living room carrying it (thank you, Eser, for teaching him this little trick). Refer to the footage below...

Well, speaking of big boy, we went out and purchased Gabe his first "big boy" bed yesterday - an adorable little toddler sleigh bed. We are slowly working on transforming his room back into just that, his room. When Eser's mom had her accident in Mexico, she came to stay with us for a bit. We turned Gabe's room (since he pretty much still rooms with us anyway) into her room so she didn't have to go up and down the stairs to use the bathroom. Anyway, Gabe is reclaiming his territory. Besides the new bed, I am in the process of going through his clothes, putting away what he's outgrown, and moving what he currently wears into drawers that he can't open. I feel like folding laundry is a lost cause sometimes - I fold it and put it away, Gabe opens the drawers and takes it all out. It's a never ending battle. Anyway, once we get through the wedding and such, we are going to work on changing his room from the current jungle animal theme to an aviation theme. Gabe is absolutely amazed with helicopters and airplanes. For those of you that don't know, our house is almost directly across from where the emergency helicopters land on the roof of Lancaster General Hospital. Whenever Gabe hears one coming, he's eyes light up and he gets terribly excited. Eser usually grabs him and they make a mad dash for the front porch where Gabe stares in amazement while his dark little curls blow in the helicopter's breeze.

Well, time to call it a night. Gabe's next doctor's appointment is the 23rd, so, while I'm sure we'll "talk" before then, check back in for the chunkey-monkey's latest stats.

Birthday Wishes

Gabriel just wanted to take this opportunity to wish his Grandpa a very, very happy 63rd birthday!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!!

Picnic Pics

Well, I don't have a lot of time to post right now, but I wanted to share some pictures that were taken this past Saturday at the TCA (Thomas Comitta Associates - the firm where I work, for those of you that aren't 'in the know' on this one) company picnic. What made the day especially fun for Gabe is the fact that there are two babes in the West Chester office that are his age. Owen, the little guy with the most gorgeous head of red hair, and Anika, the tall beauty fascinated with Gabe's hair, are both 2 weeks older than Gabe. Good times were had by all.

Bedtime Routines

Apparently, experts say, the key to getting your child to be a good sleeper is a well established bedtime routine. Bath, book, bed - that's what we attempt. Unfortunately, the time that this routine begins varies from day to day depending on work, dinner, softball, running, how late the afternoon nap was, you know how it goes. None the less, we still attempt our routine.

The bath is always fun. There are toys, and bubbles, and splashing, always intermixed with a few squeals of delight. My favorite part comes after the bath. I barely have the little monkey out of the tub and wrapped in his cuddly towel when he smiles the biggest smile and exclaims, "Teeth! Teeth!" I've never seen anyone enjoy brushing their teeth so much. I give him his little purple and green whale toothbrush (or his yellow Elmo one, depending on which toothbrush's whereabouts are currently known) and then he runs off into the bedroom, his little naked butt cheeks jiggling with every step. The latest addition to his little routine is that he now picks up the diaper he had on prior to his bath, carries it with him to the bedroom, and puts it in his diaper pail. He's such a good little helper at times.

An exciting event occurred during story time last night. As we were reading 'Good Night Moon', we noticed a tiny little speck moving about on the ceiling. I immediately thought, great, it's a spider, but low and behold it was a tiny little ladybug. Well let me tell you, Gabe could have watched her all night. He stood on the bed and pointed up, saying, "Bug! Bug!" We even had to have daddy come up so Gabe could share his new discovery. It's so much fun watching him find delight in the simplest of things. We can all learn a lot from children...

Back by Popular Demand

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Colon Family Circus' inaugural post. I've decided that this might be a more convenient (for me) way to keep everyone up to speed on the everyday trials and tribulations of "Monkey-see, Monkey-do", aka Gabriel, formerly known as 'Chunkey-monkey'. I hadn't quite realized the enormous popularity of the monthly newsletters, that is until I was chastised on numerous occasions for no longer writing them. While I had only planned on doing newsletters for the first 12 months of Gabe's life (and I know, the 12 month newsletter is still MIA), it seems people want more. So here I sit, typing away, back by popular demand.

Rather than attempt to give a play-by-play of the last 3 months, I'll just hit a couple of the highlights. If I retold everything Gabriel did that astonishes me, inspires me, or makes me laugh, lets face it, I'd never stop typing.

Gabe officially started walking about a week and a half prior to his first birthday. For a birthday present, we got him a pair of shoes called 'Wee Squeaks'. They have tiny little squeakers in the heels, and we can hear every little step that our tiny monkey makes. Hmmm... annoying many might think, but let me tell you, they are amazing. We know exactly where he is at all times. If you don't hear squeaking, then you know he's into something, and most likely its something he's not supposed to be into. Gabe had a wonderful 1st birthday party, complete with his own cake to destroy, despite the fact that it was held on the hottest and most humid day of the year. A very large umbrella, a baby pool, and a sprinkler made the event a bearable occasion.

Gabriel has the gift of gab, and for those of you that know me, yes, he gets it honest. He's literally a parrot right now. You say a word, he looks at you and tries to say it too (hence "Monkey-see, Monkey-doo") . His vocabulary grows by leaps and bounds everyday. Peas, cheese, baby, doggie, kitty, meow, bird, turtle, chicken, agua, teeth, leche (milk), fish, cracker, juice, no, dirty, bye-bye... New sounds and syllables are constantly coming from his cute little lips.

He is having great fun spending his summer days hanging out with his daddy. They play and sleep, and eat, and sleep some more, and play, and go for walks... Boy, do they have it rough! One of Gabe's favorite activities is to go downtown to Binns Park to play in the interactive fountain. He loves to run to the edge, stick his hands in the water, and then run away, squealing with glee. Talk about lucky! This boy will walk through the middle of the fountain, bend over and peer into the tiny holes in the concrete where the water shoots out from, or even stand directly on a hole, and he still doesn't get wet. It's maddening at times. We just shake our heads in disbelief, pick him up, and stick him in. Then, miraculously, it's usually one of us that gets got.

**YAWN** Oh my, it's getting late. This is one of the glories of blogging as opposed to the newsletter - I can just call it quits this very second instead of trying to come up with some clever and witty closing paragraph. Check back in soon for new pictures and updates.