Update 1.5 to 2.0 or from Baby to Infant or 1st Birthday

One year already has passed! Gabriel has reached the level of an infant, the baby time is over! This was a reason to celebrate his birthday on the whole weekend!
Some facts so far:
Born: 11 September, 2008, 3am, 2830g and 48cm (one month earlier)
25 May, 2009: sitting alone
1 June, 2009: scrabble alone
5 June, 2009: stand up alone with something to hold on
17 July, 2009: stand alone without holding
29 August, 2009: first step alone
7 September, 2009: walking without help
to be continued............

Nothing more to say, see the pics of the parties!

Holidays in Austria

From August 19th to 23rd we decided to explore some more of our beautiful Austrian country! So we drove to Faaker See in Carinthia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faaker_See).
Besides the beautiful lake, beach and countryside, we also went hiking on the Dobratsch (link only in German: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobratsch).
Gabriel reached his first (but certainly not the last ;-) summit above 2000m!
After active days with cycling, hiking and swimming we also spent one day with sightseeing and shopping in Udine: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udine)

Mallorca

On June 13th we have made our first trip by plane with Gabriel, so we went to the next travel agency, booked an ultra-last-minute flight to Mallorca from June 15th to 21st.
We found out that Gabriel has no problem with flying, he was sleeping most of the time and for the rest he really enjoyed the nice view and the new situation. On Mallorca we couldn't stay the whole week on the beach, so we hired a car and explored the island.
I must say, besides the loads of German and English drunken teens, the island is really beautiful ;-)
However I can save a lot of words with the pictures below:

Our first holidays abroad

After a short stop-over at home we took our luggage and left for Italy on the next day. Our tour started on April 19th in the Toscana, in a small village called Vinci, the birthplace of the famous Leonardo da Vinci. On his footsteps we drove around the beautiful area between vineyards and olive groves, further on to famous cities like Pisa, Florence, San Gimignano, Lucca and Siena. Gabriel enjoyed the sightseeing tour in our carrier, so many new things to see….
The second half of the week we spent in 5 terre for hiking, the amazing coastal villages in the mountains. We decided to hike from Corniglia to Manarola, which is a nice 2 hours walk along the coast. After a short break we went on the “via dell`Amore” to Riomaggiore. Time has passed by too quickly and after an amazing week with lots of pictures (as you can imagine!) we had to leave Italy. Ciao, bella Italia, mille mille baci!



All pics: http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/09041925_Italien

Visit Leonie, Sabine and Mani

From April 15th to 17th we visited our friends Sabine and Mani with their cute 1 year old daughter Leonie. Unfortunately this was our first visit, because we have been in Japan while they build their beautiful house and got married. They live in the hometown of Sabine in Lower Austria in a nice city called Zistersdorf www.zistersdorf.at
We have spent a great time there! Thanks guys! Looking forward to spending some more time together!

Babyswimming

In January we started “Babyswimming” with Gabriel. First he was a bit suspicious about what’s going on, but now he’s already in the “advanced” course and has a lot of fun! Also we visited the Therme Lutzmannsburg which is specially designed for babies and children. http://www.sonnentherme.at/
Gabriel specially loves diving!





Find all pictures on the webalbum:
http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/0901160313_Babyschwimmen
http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/09041315_Therme_Lutzmannsburg

Hiking on Mt. Schoeckl

On Feb. 28th, 2009 we walked up the house mountain of Graz, Mt. Schoeckl. Actually it was the first time for Gabriel and me (shame!), and I must confess, it’s beautiful there! When ever you have the chance to visit Graz you also need to visit Mt. Schoeckl! Here are some impressions:




More on: http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/090228_Schoeckl_Wanderung

Christening Suit of Gabriel

Here you can see two more pictures of the Christening suit from Gabriel. The vest is from my half brother Kevin in Carinthia, thanks!

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

The hat was a Christmas present from Karin to me!

January 11, 2009 Christening

On January 11th, when Gabriel was exactly 4 months old, we have celebrated his christening. The celebration was in the church of our hometown in St. Peter with our families. The worship was framed with the music from our friends. As you can see the dress code was Styrian ;-)
Gabriel has already 6.7 kg and 65 cm.
All pictures can be found on: http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Von 090112_Taufe_Gabriel

Good Bye 2008 – Welcome 2009

Christmas, New Years eve, lots of parties…..and Gabriel in the middle, what a life!
By the way, did you know why Santa can fly? Below you can see that Santa is in normal life Superboy!

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

11 weeks

Gabriel just finished his 11th week. The last week was filled with astonishing news! First he made his first 360! Means the first complete turn by himself!
Than he reached the first 5000. Monday it was exactly 5020g and 59cm! So he nearly doubled his weight already within 11 weeks! Finally he cached his second cold :-( hope this will not last too long!
You can find some updated pictures on the Picasa-album:

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel and friends

If you are Facebook user, you also can get the video in better quality:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=34071624162

Gabriel the song

Some of you asked how we come to the name Gabriel.
We decided the name when he was already born while looking at him and listening to one of our favourite songs, and we found a perfect match!
Decide yourself!
Here is the video to the song.
(Just click the picture below – not working with Opera)

Von Videos

2nd month

Time flies! Already two months on earth! Two months of less sleep and wonderful moments. Gabriel is an angel in the morning, an active boy in the afternoon, and at night a dev….! However he’s lovely! We reached more than 4 kg and a length of 57 cm. He loves body contact and wants to be carried all the time. See some pics.

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Also updated the web albums:
http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/Gabriel2008
http://picasaweb.google.at/Gabriel.080911/GabrielAndFriends

1st month

Today we celebrated Gabriels first month on earth. Amazing how the time has been passing by. One month of great moments. At the beginning Gabriel lost some weight (which is normal for newborns), but after one and a half weeks he started to eat a lot.
Today he has had 3260g and already 52cm!
He is getting more and more active, can lift his head and somethimes looks at us with a big smile in his face. The rest of the days (and nights) he is eating and sleeping.
Here are some pictures:

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Von Gabriel 2008

Find more on our Webalbum:
Gabriel 2008



Gabriel and Friends

First pictures!

Want to share this amazing moment with you.
Little hands-grapping your finger, little nose-breathing fast, blue eyes-watching you, little feed-pedalling the air, small mouth-searching for the mother. AMAZING!

Here some pictures from Gabriel’s first day on earth:

Love is a person! And his name is “Gabriel”

11.September 2008
Love is a person!
And his name is “Gabriel”
On Thursday the 11th September 2008, 3am in the morning we firstly saw him!
Gabriel, wanted to surprise us a bit earlier than expected, exactly one month earlier.
However, he and his brave mother Karin are fine, and I am very proud of them! It was able for me to join the wonder, and was allowed to cut the umbilical cord. Gabriel was born with a weight of 2830g and a length of 47cm.
Here he is:

Vacation in Austria

10. – 14. August 2008

We have seen the whole world, but Austria was pretty unknown to us. That’s why we decided to have a trip around upper Styria, Salzkammergut, and Salzburg. We met good friends, like Roli, his wife, former Ski racer Mike Tritscher, his family and the major of the lovely town Schladming, Jürgen Winter with his wife.
It was a great time, and I really can recommend to everyone: visit Austria it’s amazing!
To view the complete album just click on the picture below :

Austria 2008

Week 32

04. August 2008
Karin stopped working last Thursday, now she can fully concentrate to become a Mum.
“Love” becomes more and more active, now it already hurts me when I’m close to Karin and “Love” starts kicking ;-)
The medical check this week showed us that everything is fine! “Love” has about 40cm and already a approximate weight of 1600g!
Time to enjoy the rest of your time in your nice warm housing, little Baby!
Just two more months to go!

Tierpark Herberstein

20. July 2008
This Sunday we have been to a favourite Safari Park called Herberstein in the north-east part of Styria. Shame on us, it was the first time that we’ve been there. However, it is really worth a visit!
See below:

Week 29

14. July 2008

Today we have changed our doctor and from now on we also can have 3D ultrasonic checks! “Love” has now 35 cm and is growing perfectly. Everything is fine, Baby and Mum are feeling well! Maybe some of you are interested what “Love” will be, Boy or Girl? Hmmm, we have absolutely NO idea! This will be a surprise for you and for us!
However, I already love “Love” a lot, no matter if he or she!

Birthday BBQ of Harald and Maria!

12. July 2008
Summer, birthdays, friends, BBQ, beer (not for Karin and “Love”).
That’s life!

Graz

June 2008

Graz, the city were we live on weekdays is sooooo beautiful in summer, you have to come and visit! Hundreds of cafes, restaurants were you can sit outside eat, drink and relax - Sunshine till 9:30pm.

We three love summer in Graz!