Gabriel meets Sophie and Mac!

Some favorite photos from Nov-Dec.

When we visited WI for thanksgiving, we got to see Jake, Jessie, and Novi. Gabriel got to spend some quality time with his cousin. He loves her:) ....and he loves her feet....

He LOVED Nanna Gen's puppies. I have never heard him laugh so hard...

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas! Gaber's first Nutcracker

He really is such a goofball...

Halloween Recap

We definatley had fun turning Gabriel into a stuffed pumpkin....although he couldn't understand why he was in a straightjacket. His mobility was pretty limited so so it was pretty funny watching him sit their like a sedated pumpkin. We went trick or treating with Maria and Andrew and all the Niewald gang. So much fun.

Can you get any cuter than Charlie Brown and Lucy? 

And all these fairies? Scrumptious.

My yummy goddaughter:)

             Seriously?

Can I feed myself?

The first time we tried to feed Gabriel Rice cereal a few weeks ago it was like he had been eating it for months. He ate and swallowed all of it in a couple minutes. It was so funny. No spitting out or funny faces. Now he wants to skip to where he feeds himself....

The best trip ever to a pumpkin patch!

We had such a fun time this year at the pumpkin patch. We met the owner so he lead us to his private fields and basically told us to "load up as much as we want." sweet. So we filled our car.

Little Gaber didn't quite know what was going on...but his head blended in with all the pumpkins. Him and his daddy wore their flannels and vests for the occasion:)

Gabe saw it as a serious mission.......

I was literally sitting on pumpkins on the way home...

The girls were sporting their new hats...

My little old man....

Why we just can't get enough

Our "Ninja Turtle"

So we have lagged on our blogging....I blame it on summer, travel,and moving states...now I have too many great moments to capture on here, but I will try to post a few. Our little "ninja turtle" (appropriately coined by Aunt KSteph) is growing before our eyes, and seems so old already. I would say he lost his newborn look and has filled out into a mini version of his dad. I simply love being his mama. He is the sweetest baby, and his personality is so funny (we are partial I guess;) I always have my camera handy to capture the best moments of my day. Hmmm a few things about his personality lately...He loves to sit up on the couch next to us, he hates his carseat, he loves to be sung to, he is really curious, so he always has to crane his neck back to hear voices or sounds. His favorite toy right now is a crinkle book because of the noise it makes (He tries to eat it). He sleeps a ton, He loves talking to his daddy, and like father like son...does not like shoes....Here is a few of my favorite pics as of late:

3 month birthday surprise

Gabriel actually gave us the coolest gift on his 3 month birthday:) He got his daddy's laugh...so contagious.

Loudest pooper of his class;)

We can't get over how vocal Gaber is when he does his business. It gives us belly-laughs every time we watch him.....here is some comic relief for your day.

My Loves

I can't seem to catch my breath this year. It has been such a whirlwind, but every day this year I have woken up happy because I have a family. Its amazing how much love can be circulated in a family no matter how big or what type. My little family has given me the desire to become more self-less, more loving, more courageous, and Christ- centered. "My heart is restless until it rests in you, O Lord" -St. Augustine's quote has been my motto in life when I was searching for my vocation and trying to figure out what my life was meant for. These pictures I guess can explain in a small way why I have found complete happiness and rest...



4th of July Fireworks

Gabriel's baptismal day.

RE-LOCATING

We are heading out...for now. We are hauling our little fam to the Sunflower state, Beloit, Kansas to join my sister and brother-in-law in the land of cows and corn;) Well I hear there is more to it than that...
Gabe has accepted a job at St. John's school teaching religion to 6-12th grade. We feel blessed that God has been clear in leading us here, but we are so sad to leave all the wonderful friends we have made here and say goodbye to the city we got married, got our first home, and had our first baby. But in all things we trust in HIM, and allow God to continue to show us what is better for us anyways! A new adventure...and closer to family, which makes us so happy.

Summer dayz!

We went to a picnic with friends a few weeks ago and little Gaber wanted to be with his daddy but couldn't quite make it to the top of the pouch:) Makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Going to miss Atlanta friends.......
Our good friend Mike joined us for the game.

He loves being with daddy. Gabe had him in his Blue Crew Brewers colors so as not to be confused with a Braves fan!

The outfit he ALMOST wore to his first baseball game before daddy saw him in Braves colors...

Whenever I put him in my sling, he cuddles up and falls asleep. He loves it.



My handsome little man in his Sunday best....

I could spend hours gazing at him.....

FAIRY GODMOTHER ANGE!

STAYIN' SAFE IN THE SUN..

Nanna and Nanna

I was so blessed to have my mother come and stay with me after the baby came. I didn't want her to leave. There is nothing like a mother's care. I always feel like all is right with the world when I am with her. I also got to catch up on some much needed sleep as she bonded with her new grandson:)

Nanna Gennie came soon after (my mother-in-law) which was an incredible blessing. She did a lot of cooking, cleaning, and holding the baby. She calls him "Gabey Baby" :) It was so wonderful to have the help, love, and support of our mothers.....but especially to share our new pride and joy with them. These women are who gave us the qualities to be the parents we will become. Their strength, patience, and unconditional love has gotten us here. Now it is our turn to pass that along to our children. We thank God deeply for them. And we also thank them now that our son wants to be held all the time.....;)

Check up with the Doc!

This week little Gabriel had his 1 month check up:) We are happy to report that he is now:
10 lbs. 12 oz.
23 inches
He is in the 75-90% range for his age. Definately his father's son. (Daddy is VERY proud)
We Zuniga's never made it past the 10% range as babies!

We have literally watched him grow from day to day. Every day Gabe comes home from work and says, "He looks different today", and I respond,"I thought so too!"
I have started working from home part time again, but find it extremely difficult to focus when I have such a scrumptious little plum next to me that i just want to stare at and hold all day long. you know you are a parent when you find something like a yawn or a grunt extremely amusing...

Spontaneous Photo Shoot:)

This was little G.I. Joe's first photo shoot. Our dear friend, Christina came over one night to show me pics of a wedding she just took pictures for, and it turned into a fun little baby shoot session in our living room. These are the photos I will pull out when I need to embarrass him in front of his girlfriends;) He is just so precious and each day he changes so much. I value these photos incredibly because the sweet sweet infant days are so brief...