Just Thinkin'

Gabe,
Tonight, I had dinner with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. I sure talked about you a lot. You know why? Because I am so very proud of you. I love you so much, big boy. I had a great day with you today. It's been so much fun watching you enjoy new things, watching you grow, watching you learn, etc...

Being your Mommy has made my life one full of joy and happiness. You and Dad are my world. I love you both so, so much.

I was just thinkin' about that and wanted to tell you.

All my love,
Mommy

How to have a birthday party like a 2 year old:

1. You open up your presents! Gabe got a lot of really nice gifts from his family and friends. Some of them being: A Thomas train set, a Spiderman punching bag, a beautifully restored Radio Flyer wagon (that was Uncle Jeffy's and Uncle Jay's), a TV/DVD player combo for his room, some awesome clothes, bath stuff, a toddler to grown up chair, and many other things! Good think Aunt Keeker wrote everything down for me.








2. You get yummy treats! I put colored goldfish in a fishbowl and had cupcakes on a stand in addition to the cake.





3. You have punch. Oh, and decorations! Yes, this is fish tank gravel in these glass cylinders!

4. You have a birthday cake and candles! I made this Nemo cake with help from one of my very best friends, Tami Lyons. It was kinda stressful, but in the end I was really happy with it. The "seaweed" is white chocolate, colored & melted down and then piped out by hand to look like seaweed. I think it was pretty close! Putting the finishing touches on the cake was by far the best part of the process!

5. You blow out your candles and make a wish!

6. You have treat bags! I decorated these plain orange treat bags using my scrapbooking Cricut machine. It was a lot of fun. Next time though, I won't be putting names on the individual bags. I nearly had a panic attack thinking I was going to forget one of the kids and they'd end up without a bag. Or, that a kid would show up unexpectedly. Thankfully though, it worked out!

7. You eat cake - lots of it! Gabe did great with the cake this year - a lot less messy than last year! He really enjoyed it. It's fun to get messy and not have Mom & Dad worry about it! He kept dipping his Nemo into the icing so he could lick it off. It was pretty cute!

8. Make sure you get cleaned up! Gabe got started by licking all of his fingers off!

9. Have fun!!! Gabe got this "toodah" hat from Abba Herrman. She knows how much he loves Toy Story, so she wanted him to have a hat like Woody's. He looked so stinkin' cute in it!

We had such a great day with friends and family. We kept it smaller this year - only inviting immediate family, our Bible study group, and Gabe's best friends, Will & Patrick. It was still a house full of people. As I looked around that day, I was so thankful for every person there. They all love Gabe so much. I know I say this a lot, but as a parent, that's one of the greatest joys- seeing people who genuinely love your kid. Gabe is so fortunate to be loved by so many awesome people.

We've got a big weekend ahead of us! Tonight, we have my sister Lindsey's graduation from nursing school, tomorrow we have a surprise party, and Sunday Gabe's birth family is coming over for a visit. They were unable to make it last time due to the weather. It'll be a really fun weekend.

2 Years Old

Happy Birthday, my big boy. I love you so much.

Thought I'd share some fun facts about Gabers at 2 years old:

• Gabe is a snacker. He doesn't like a lot of veggies and he doesn't like pasta meals. He does, however, love fruit snacks, pizza, crackers, chips, pretzels, fruit, etc... He could snack all day long! We do provide him with mostly healthy snacks. If he sees Daddy with a pretzel, forget it... he's gotta have one.
• He loves Disney/Pixar movies. Some of his favorites are The Lion King, Cars, Ratatouille, and Toy Story.
• He also loves anything his buddy Will loves. Spiderman is big right now!
• He loves playing with Playdoh. I have to say, it is a special treat... I hate getting that stuff out. Ugh. It just makes a mess!
• When he wants something, he wants it right now. There's no "hang on a sec", or "just a minute", it's right NOW.
• He loves lining his treats up and saying "look Mommy!"
• He can pretty much repeat anything you say. And, most of the time it sounds pretty close to what you said! So, no more bad words!
• He's been going potty on the potty chair quite a bit... and on the floor.
• We're getting into the "No! Daddy do it!" or "No! Mommy do it!"
• He likes to talk on the phone - but he has to hold it.
• Frequency of meltdowns are increasing! He's getting a little temper!

We're having supper at Abba & PawPaw's tonight and then headed to Bible Study. I'm sure Gabe will have a great time hanging out with Abba & PawPaw and his buddy Caleb. I made cupcakes to take to small group. Party time on Saturday. More pictures to follow for sure.

2 Part Post - Jinx & Kicking

Jinx & Gabe. They are quite the pair. This is a very rare photo opportunity here. Normally, if Jinxi is laying down on the couch or chair, Gabe is right up in her face either trying to kiss her, tease her with a pretzel or cookie, or trying to get her to kiss him. He loves to antagonize this dog. Most of the time, Jinxi is pretty cool about it and just gets up from her comfy spot on the couch and flops down somewhere else. This morning though, Gabe and Jinxi were actually watching The Lion King together.

I love the look on Jinxi's face here - it's almost like, "If I can't beat him, I might as well join him". Either that or, "Not Lion King... Again...".

Poor dog. I know I've mentioned this before, but she used to be the baby. She used to get all the snuggle time in the world. Now, it just seems like she lays low until 8:00, and as soon as Gabe's in bed, she's up on my lap. I love this ol' dog. She's been a great member of the family.

Tomorrow night, Gabe's birth family is coming over for our Christmas/Gabe's Birthday visit. I'm very excited to see them. Gabe is too! Tonight before bed, we looked at the photo of all of us in his room and pointed everyone out. I didn't even have to remind him of their names... he did a great job. I also asked him who was coming over tomorrow and he gave their names! It was so cute... He said, "No kick M. & J.". He's on this kick lately (pun intended!) of telling us who he's not going to kick. Today, he told me "No kick church". A lot of times, when I'm on the way home from work, I'll call to talk to him and Greg. Here's how the conversation goes:

Gabe: Hi Mommy!
Me: Hi Buddy, how was your day?
Gabe: Baby no kick Will.
Me: No, we don't kick our friends.
Gabe: Baby no kick Patrick.

And on and on... I swear we go through Abbas and Papas, the babysitter, just about everybody he knows. I guess it's good that he knows he shouldn't kick... Sometimes he'll say, "Baby kick Will" or whoever. We just remind him not to kick anybody... and then we do it all over again multiple times a day!

Almost 2

It's so hard to believe it, but Gabe will be two years old on Wednesday. It seems like a lifetime ago that he became a part of our family. It seems like forever ago when this little boy was placed in my arms. Here are a few more photos:

Here, Gabe is 2 days old. We are at the hospital with him just taking in each moment with him. We had to remember that at any time, his birthmom could change her mind and decide to parent him, but we fell in love immediately. We couldn't not love this boy from the moment we saw him. He used to look for us in the hospital room. It's almost like he knew right away that we would be a family.

Here he is at 2 weeks old. Just starting to lose some of the blond hair he was born with. He was already starting to smile. He was already fulfilling every expectation and more of how it would feel to be a family. He made our house completely different. Our dog was a different member of the family now. Greg and I were changed. We were now "Mom & Dad" and no longer "Greg and Bri".

And, here he his on his first birthday morning. We made him his favorite breakfast at the time - pancakes with maple syrup bits. He was so cute, wasn't he? Still had some of that baby fat, still didn't have some hair... :o) He was so adorable. He was walking on his first birthday and already talking a little. I remember going all out for his birthday - not because I wanted to spoil him... I don't think spoiling is intentional - I just think you want it all for your kids. You just want them to have everything and be happy. I remember feeling really proud of him at his birthday and I remember watching him and thinking "wow... you are so perfect, so wonderfully made... So everything I had ever imagined and more."

Now, in 4 days, my baby boy is going to be 2 years old. I still just look at him and wonder how Greg and I could be so very blessed. I really believe when you have a heart's desire God will fulfill it. And, when He does, it's bigger and better than you could have ever dreamed. It surpasses all expectations of how wonderful you imagine it could be. I am truly thankful. Thankful.

My son wanted a hug and kiss in Walmart today. I noticed people walking by and either smiling widely or chuckling at how cute he was. He gives me a kiss and then he'll say "Ah Hug, Mommy!" Isn't that enough to make your heart spill over? I'm so thankful.

Gabe Fix

Last night, my mom called me because she and Dad needed some "Gabe Time". It had been a week and she was starting to go into "Gabe Withdrawals".

"I need to see my Gabers."

I'm very thankful that all 4 of Gabe's grandparents love spending time with him (what's not to love?? :) ) It really warms my heart any time I see him with his grandparents. I love watching them laugh at him. I love when Greg's dad teaches him to say things. I love when he goes to Abba Herrman's and he has a favorite toy. I love that he associates tractors and machinery with my dad. And, I love that he knows he can talk my mom into anything. ("More tweets, Abba")

This is one loved little guy. And, we are very thankful, blessed parents.

Guys Weekend

Gabers, I'm getting ready to head to Chicago for the night to see Wicked with Abba & Aunt Keeker. We're going to meet Aunt Ne and Uncle Rene up there for dinner. You and Daddy have already started your weekend together working in the basement. I'm upstairs getting ready and I can't help but chuckle listening to your conversations. You are such a good boy. Mommy's going to miss you while I'm gone, but I'm excited for you to spend time with Daddy.

Love you guys!