Gabriel's nickname

Occasionally, someone will ask me if it's OK to call Gabriel "Gabe," and I always say I don't care, it'll be up to him, though everyone calls him Gabriel. But the one person who's taken to calling him Gabe, without permission, is Julian! I don't know where he came up with this, and he doesn't say it all the time, but sometimes when referring to Gabriel or addressing him, he says just "Gabe." It really is up to Gabriel, but I hope "Gabe" doesn't catch on. I like Gabriel.

I have some reservations about Gabriel's new preschool, but overall it's a definite plus. I don't like that you have to pass through one room to get to another; they're all connected by an open doorway and it's disruptive to each class to have to pass through. Also, I get the impression it's more a daycare than a preschool, as when I asked today how everything went, the main thing they told me was about what he ate. All that said, Gabriel's teacher said he's adapting very well; some kids don't eat for a few weeks, or cry a lot, and he's fit right in. She said he doesn't seem to know any of the songs they sing -- I don't doubt that. Monday he requested a "car song," and she also commented that he mostly wants to play with trains. Yep, that's Gabriel.

When I dropped Gabriel off this morning, I left him in the company of three other 4-year-old boys, and when I picked him up, he was running around happily in the play area in the back. Mostly on his own, but if a group of kids started running, he'd leave me to join in. The main thing I wanted him to get was more social interaction, and he's getting it, so I'm happy with that.

More and more often, I hear a new ominous sound from afar: giggling. Total silence, of course, triggers the biggest Mom alarm, but laughing together...? That can't be good. But, today, it was innocent: they'd brought pillows and a blanket into the sunroom, surrounded themselves with toy vehicles, and declared they were taking a nap in the "garage." It is so delightful to see them making up a game and laughing together, thinking they're hiding from me or outwitting me. Little partners in crime!

Later, Julian playfully pushed me, and I told him to try again, and dodged him at the last moment, causing peals of laughter. This quickly transitioned into a chasing game with both boys chasing me, laughing so hard they almost couldn't run straight. That was a lot of fun. I love making them laugh.

A few blog notes: I just changed the template format since Mom was reporting horizontal lines through the text. Dave also noticed some font problems, and also suggested using a different one. I still consider this blogsite experimental, and so haven't publicized it to all family members and friends. I'd like a way to password-protect the posts, and also archive posts onto my own computer. If anyone else has any comments, observations or suggestions, please tell me!