"Gabriel! Gabriel! Gabriel! GABRIEL!"

That is what Aiden likes to yell in a very loud sing-song voice. Right in Gabriel's face. Usually while he is sleeping. When I try to explain to Aiden that no one likes to be yelled to in their face, especially while they are sleeping, he replies, "I sing the Gabriel song, mommy..." With an attitude that sounds like the word "Duh!" should follow. And so he continues. No matter how many times I tell him to reserve the Gabriel song for awake time, preferably several feet away from Gabriel's face, Aiden manages to sneak past my watchful eye and start the song fast enough to wake Gabriel up before I can get to them. Lucky for me, Gabriel is still a sleepy baby and when he wakes to his brother's charming song, he can usually fall back to sleep pretty quickly (as long as I get there fast enough). So far there has not been any jealousy on Aiden's part. He seems to genuinely love his little brother and has already made it his duty to look out for him. Whenever Gabriel cries, Aiden comes running, "Gabriel, are you okay?" he asks. And because Gabriel often gets fussy when I try to take his picture, Aiden has told me very matter a factly that Gabriel doesn't like pictures and that I shouldn't make him sad. My bad. Anyway, I would like to devote a little blog about Gabriel as several of you have asked what he is like.

Gabriel is awesome. In a lot of ways he reminds me a whole lot of Aiden when he was an infant. He's pretty chill for the most part. Like most babies, he enjoys nursing (which, although still an adjustment, is so much easier the second time around!), pooping (usually while nursing-- it's a good position I'm guessing), being held and walked around (I wouldn't get anything done if it weren't for my moby wrap-- thanks Serenity!), and smiling. Gabriel gave me his first social smile at two weeks. Yes, you heard me. I don't care what the experts say, I know a real smile from a gassy one, and it was real! Now at five weeks, his smiles are becoming much more frequent and cute as ever. He has adorable dimples, dark blue eyes (looks like they may turn brown), slightly darker skin tone than Aiden, and darker hair (though sparse at the time). When I first saw him I thought he looked nothing like Aiden, but as time goes on and I compare pictures, the resemblance is much clearer. They definitely have the same expressions. Gabriel has slightly smaller features, and I am told he looks a little more like me. Aiden looks a lot like Aaron, but with blue eyes and pale skin like me. Gabriel seems like he'll look more like me, but with darker eyes and skin like Aaron. We'll see.

Gabriel is a noisy waker. He doesn't cry much, but makes up for the lack of vocals with extremely loud grunting when waking from a nap. The deeper he sleeps, the louder he wakes. Perhaps I am biased, but I think it's pretty adorable. He gets all red, scrunching his face, twists his body, and makes a noise that sounds like a very disgruntled old man. It doesn't sound that cute reading it out, but trust me, it is. Currently Gabriel is a terrific sleeper. Probably because he sleeps in bed with us. I know, I know... but honestly I think the risk of me rolling over on him is much slimmer than the risk of me forgetting him in the car or something else crazy from not getting any sleep. I kept Aiden in the bassinet, didn't sleep for months (years), and almost had a nervous break down several times (banging my head against the wall, pulling my hair out, screaming curses to the ceiling-- maybe I did have a break down after all). So I just say an extra prayer each night, and we are all sleeping quite wonderfully. For the most part. I like to give Gabriel plenty of space from the edge, meaning I get nice and cuddly-close to Aaron, leaving Aaron the very edge of the bed.

Gabriel is pretty strong. He's been holding his head up quite impressively since he was born, and he rolled himself over just two days after leaving the hospital! Luckily he's not too rambunctious just yet, and has only rolled over twice (just enough to keep me being extra cautious with where I lay him). He loves to look around and can't stand it when I try to lay him on my shoulder facing a wall. He'll straighten his whole body and try to turn himself around in my arms so he can see. If someone else is holding him and he hears my voice, he immediately turns his head toward my direction and, as of recently, breaks into a smile. He's so endearing!