another shot of my little guy. not the best photo (no natural light, dim yet harsh overhead lighting, no flash, high ISO)... but sometimes you can't wait for the perfect conditions to capture a smile like that! also, i briefly considered photoshop-ing out the drool but decided against it since it's such a huge part of who he is at this age. after over a month of incessant drooling and hand gnawing, he finally cut his 1st two teeth last week.

chad saw me making googly eyes at gabriel the other day, and i must have looked particularly lovestruck because he teased, "and you were so worried that you wouldn't like him..." i suppose i should explain that comment. it's no secret that my original hope was that maggie would get a little sister. i've never imagined myself as a mother to sons - only daughters (4 girls to be exact). crazy, i know. but when i found out that i was pregnant with a boy, i was truthfully a little disappointed.

however, whatever doubts i had about being the mother to a little boy ceased to exist the second i laid eyes on my gaby baby. it is impossible to not love him. i swear he came out of the womb with a smile on his face. we went to the new giant eagle market district a few weeks ago, and a nice old man came over to tell me that g had been cooing and smiling at him for the past several minutes (i hadn't noticed because i was too busy ogling the enormous beer selection). and right on cue g gave him another huge grin and a giggle for good measure. the guy thanked me and said that g had made his day. so different from his big sister who at that age rarely smiled at strangers. she was always such a serious baby.

also different from his sister, and in true 2nd born fashion, g is pretty mellow and easy-going. that is, as long as you never ever ever ever leave his sight. the kid hates to be alone. but what's nice is that he prefers the company of his big sister more than anyone else's, and i can typically bribe her into at least staying in his vicinity while she goes about her own agenda. gabriel absolutely adores maggie. usually the feeling is mutual.

so while i dreamed of giving maggie a little sister who would be her best friend growing up, i am certain that i gave her someone just as good and maybe even better.