Dear Gabriel - 5 / 6 months old

Dear Gabriel

You have turned half a year old already! It's crazy to think that we would be celebrating your 1st birthday in exactly 6 more months!

Your biggest milestone in the past 2 months is that you have succeeded in turning from your back to your front!





To be honest, the night before you made that huge developmental step, you had one of the worst nights since you were born. You cried so much and for no apparent reason that Daddy had to sleep in another room cos your cries became unbearable.

We prayed so hard over you and even asked for prayer support from friends because we had no idea what had gotten over you. Besides a persistent cough, you didn't seem like you were sick. However your cries sounded so horrible that we actually thought that you were in pain!

Could you imagine what a relief it was when you slept well the following night? :) :) :) And you actually learnt how to roll to your stomach the following night!

We also started you on solids when you hit the 6-month mark.

So far, you have sampled potatoes, carrots, bread, banana, wholemeal mash as well as whatever we have for dinner. Since most of your nutrition still comes from breastmilk, Mummy is more relaxed about feeding you solids - a plus from being the second kid in the family!

You sleep from 8pm to 8 / 9am with at least 3 feedings in between. Mummy doesn't mind it most of the time but it would be nice if you started sleeping longer stretches baby. Having said that, Mummy still does cherish those quiet wee morning feedings since you obviously are hungry and drink a lot!

Last month, Mummy went to the mall together with you and your brother, Sammy. You were such a trooper! You slept for the first part of the shopping trip, during which Mummy could have some peace and quiet shopping by myself. When you woke up, you continued to coo and observe your surroundings without demanding to be picked up.

Retail therapy was soooo good for Mummy!!! Thanks for co-operating so that Mummy could get 3 new jeans from Zara as well as 2 new tops for you and big brother! Everything was massively discounted so you can imagine Mummy's joy at snapping such great bargains!

You seem to be a kinesthetic learner because Mummy noticed that you're often using your hands / sense of touch to discover new objects, feel new textures and even to explore Mummy's face! It's actually quite fun feeling your little hands on my face and hear your little giggles while you do so!

Your chilli padi personality continues to shine through such that there are days when Mummy had seriously considered getting one of the noise-cancelling headphones! We think that most of your angst comes from the fact that you're very often stuck! You're unable to crawl, so when we leave you in a room by yourself, you hate being immobile and often cry to be picked up.

Also when you see your big brother helping Mummy to cook, you very often want to be part of the action and so you express your displeasure (ie. scream) if you're unable to see what we're doing. Mummy realized a simple solution to this - by putting you on the car seat and placing you on the kitchen counter next to us!

We are able to prepare ingredients to cook but are unable to do the actual cooking because of a lack of space when you're on the kitchen top with us. Still, we know that it's only a matter of time before you can do the things that your brother can do. Hopefully by then, you'll be crying less as you gain mobility.

You went for your maiden dip in the swimming pool! You loveeeed the water! It was so nostalgic holding a little baby like yourself in the baby pool again! Time simply zooms by too fast! We just want to treasure you in this baby phase as much as we can!

The past month has also seen a couple of incidents when God's hand of protection was evident upon you and the family! Thinking of these harrowing incidents, Mummy is so grateful to have a God who has everything in control and who sends us guardian angels to watch over us.

We love you lots little one and we know that God has a special plan and purpose for you!

Muaks!
Mummy & Daddy

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Gabriel at 5 months old

Grabbing your toes

LOVE that cheeky little grin!

That how the 3 of us go for walks on a sunny day!

Rare shots of the 3 of us... usually your brother barges into our photos

You're such a lean baby!

Meeting your friend, K for the first time. She's half-Singaporean and half-German, just like you!

Gabriel at 6 months old

Meeting Paulina! Sammy's godparents' first baby!

Love your dazed look here

All that glee eating your food! And all that mess too!

Your brother trying to carry you and looking like he's gonna break his toddler chair in the meantime

Your excitement just before you got your first dip in the pool!

Too cute!

Hey world! How's it going!

Looking like a mini Chinese emperor! Mummy was using her shawl to cover your ears!

You two DO look so alike here!

My absolute favourite collage so far!

Loving your onesies that say the day

Evidence of us at the mall and eating lunch together

You're like a mini Mummy!

Hanging out with Tante Tina and Onkel Frank at the mall

Love the cool fresh air in Germany

You got trapped trying to turn!

Too funny! You enjoyed looking at the world on your belly instead