a Ross birfday and other updates.

I turned 24 on Wednesday, and had a fabulous day! Ben was able to take an unheard-of day off in the middle of the week, so we had a wonderful time just hanging out as a family without the usual 2 pm deadline. We went out to breakfast, played with the boys, then went out to dinner! Gabriel got a fit of the giggles at the restaurant, which transformed from cute and amusing (for the first few minutes) to downright alarming (went it morphed into a maniacal cackle for another few minutes) and then embarrassing (when he decided to lay down on the floor and continue laughing -hysterically- TWICE.) I've got to be honest- it appeared he was completely wasted on some illegal substance, and it probably didn't help that Ben and I thought it was hilarious. Anyways, I guess all the people around here probably already thought we were weird, so no damage done!

Eli has made some major developmental progress this week. He's been scootching around for over a month now, but decided recently to shock us all with some crawling! He's impressively speedy. He can also pull himself up to kneel and on occasion, to stand on his feet. This usually results in giddy, dimply laughing and ends with him crashing. It's a sad sight because he wipes out at least once a day and I curse the hardwood floors for hurting my little boy. I'm thinking of either hiring his own personal bodyguard or padding the entire house.

Gabriel is currently obsessed with the toy he's pictured with... some ultra-masculine tractor-digger thingy. It makes entertaining noises and keeps him occupied for long stretches of time. He's also discovered the cinematic perfection that is "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story." Ben and I love them too ("Put that thing back where it came from or so help me....!")

Speaking of "Monsters, Inc.", doesn't our friends' daughter, Ella, look just like Boo with her adorable pigtails?! We love having her over- she's a pleasant splash of pink and purple in a normally blue and green sea of boyishness. She has a cute little laugh and makes me feel like I'm not a freak of nature for liking ice skating.