Yes, We're Still Here!

Ok, so I've been like the worst blogger ever. I haven't updated in so long. Life has been so busy for us lately. Fall has been CRAZY busy. My photography business has really been picking up - I already have 2 weddings for the beginning of next year. And, when I say next year, I mean I have one on January 1st and the other on January 2nd! One of them is rather small, so it shouldn't be too much work, but the other one will be a full day. Am I nuts? Yes, I think so. The good news is, I'm learning more and more with each session that I take and I'm liking each session better than the one before.

Ok, now onto the Gabers! He's really growing and changing so much. He's saying things like "I have an idea!" or "I pet Jinxi so she more comfortable!". He is doing great potty training. We still put a diaper on him at night, but daytime, he never has accidents. Right now, he's REALLY into his M.A.S.K. guys. M.A.S.K. is a cartoon Greg used to watch when he was little. Honestly, the animation is pretty crappy, but Gabe (and Greg!) love it. I love watching Gabe play with Greg's old toys. Greg's mom had saved some of them and gave them to Gabe. He just loves them.

This year for Halloween, Gabe is going to be Woody from Toy Story. He looks SO adorable in his costume! We took him out to my mom and dad's tonight since my mom has to work tomorrow. He even sang, "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat... if you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear!" But Gabe says, "if you not, I don't care, I'll pull my underwear down!" Too funny.

Well, I did just want to get an update out there because it's been almost 2 months exactly since I've posted. I'll try harder. I'll make it a priority, I promise!! :)

Learning

I've written a lot of posts about watching Gabe learn a lot of new things. But, I don't know if I've really written much about the things I've learned since becoming a parent. So, I thought I'd share some of those things. I wanted to get them down for Gabe since (hopefully!!!) someday, he'll want to have children too.

• I've learned that I am capable of loving someone more than I ever thought I would. I had no idea that a smile on your child's face, can make your day 100% better. I had no idea the amount of joy your child could bring just by talking to you on the phone, or giving you a hug, or just saying "Thank you, Mommy" (Gabespeak: "Tank you, Mommy")
• I knew I would love watching our parents with Gabe. But I've learned that just seeing Gabe can make their day better. If my mom's had a bad week at work, seeing "her Gabers" she says is just what she needs. Or, when PawPaw H was in the hospital, his face lit up when he saw Gabe. Grandparents love their grandkids so very much!
• I've also learned that Grandparents give your child WAY too much sugar. They love seeing Gabe enjoying candy. Gabe knows Abba Piff (now Abba Piff instead of Abba Piss) will give him "tweets" and he knows where PawPaw H's treat drawer is. It's too cute.
• I've learned that God has really blessed us with sleep and renewal time. Meaning, you could've had a really rough day with your kiddo, but then when you wake up the next morning, the first person you want to see is him! When Gabe was a baby, I used to miss him when he slept. I still do now, but now, he and I sleep the same hours. And, I have to admit, naptime for him is downtime for me!
• I've also learned that each age comes with it's own challenges AND blessings. (Another God thing). When Gabe was a baby, the fussiness was hard, but the cuddling was my favorite. I loved giving him baths, I loved watching all of his firsts, and I loved feeding him. As a toddler, the tantrums have been tough, the "sassy talking" has been tough to control, and the timeouts haven't been fun. But, the hugs, the conversations, the "La U Mom"'s, and the joy of seeing him try new things have been so wonderful.
• I've also learned that you need to make time with your spouse. It's so important not to focus your entire world only on your child... I've learned you need to remember your relationship as a couple as well.
  

I could write and write about the different things I've learned. I am learning everyday. How to be patient, how to put my own stuff aside and read a book to my boy, how to play on a playground again, how to enjoy swimming again, etc...

No matter the challenges, no matter the hard lessons, I am loving this life - being Gabe's Mom. I was meant to be his mommy and he was meant to be my boy. That's not something I've learned, that's just something I know.

my reasons for lack of blogging.....

Life as we know it:

• Gabe's Dad gone on 2 week long business trips
• a bachelorette party
• 1 or 2 photography sessions each week
• a toddler full of energy
• processing pictures until I go to bed
• IM's
• Tiredness
• Nonstop at work
• No smoking (never promise something on your kid... especially when life gets stressful!)
• Nearly late to work every morning (I swear Gabe knows when I'm running late)
• 2 weddings down, 2 to go
• Did I mention tiredness?
• Dental appointments

Ok, now there have been some really great things happening too:

• Gabe and I have really been bonding more - cooking together, laughing a lot, reading books (Love You Forever is our favorite right now)
• I'm totally engrossed in the Twilight series and I can't stop reading at night
• Gabe and I have the following conversation:

Me: I'll love you .....

Gabe: Foreber.

Me: I'll like you....

Gabe: for alldays

Me: and as long as I'm living, my....

Gabe: baby we'll be!

Reading this book to my boy nearly makes me cry every time. I always sway him towards that one when he nods his head and says, "Mom, just one more book?" Well, ok.....

My little Gabey, I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, and as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

All my love,

Mommy.

Firsts

As a parent, you get the opportunity to witness a lot of "firsts". First bath, first word, first steps, first friends, etc... In the past couple of weeks, we've had a couple of firsts that I wanted to get down before I forget. Speaking of forgetfulness, this is one of the reasons I blog... I have a horrible memory. I think that's why I scrapbook too - I've got to get these things down so I don't forget to share them with Gabe. I don't want to forget these day to day things that have been so special in our lives together.

We took Gabe and his friends, Will & Patrick, out to Mrs. Hoobler's (she is the local preschool teacher that everyone had - everyone LOVES Mrs. Hoobler!!) because she had 3 baby ducks and several baby kittens that she thought the boys would like to see. First of all, I love watching Gabe with his friends. Will & Patrick are older than him, but Gabe doesn't let their age stop him. He's always keeping up with them, tagging right along. Anyway, back to the baby animals... It was so amazing to see Gabe hold a baby kitten for the first time. He was so excited to hold one, but when we finally gave him one, he got a little scared and didn't really want to hold it. So, we held one of them on his leg so he could pet it. That worked out a little bit better. It was such a neat experience to see him just sit still and pet the newborn kitty. He was very gentle and you could just tell he was being cautious and taking it all in. I remember holding kittens as a child. There's nothing like the warmth of a baby kitten and the soft sound of their cry and wimpers. It was very sweet to see my son experience that for the first time.

Tonight, we took Gabe to Walmart - which is always a gamble (you never know how a 2 year old is going to behave) - and he was excellent! He had a great nap today, which makes a huge difference in how he behaves. Seriously. At Walmart, we told him we would take him for ice cream if he was a good boy. So, we were getting ready to leave, and like always, I had to stop at the restroom first. When I came out of the restroom, Greg and Gabe were standing at the water fountain getting a drink. Gabe was facinated by the water fountain! I had to stop and just watch him because up to this point, I don't think he's seen us use a water fountain. He kept telling Greg, "More...More, Daddy drink". It was so cute to watch him - he thought it was the coolest. Then, Mommy had to have a few drinks, then Daddy again...

Then, we drove through the car dealership on the way home - just to look. It never even crossed my mind that Gabe's never been through a car dealership. He didn't understand why Daddy kept stopping the car and getting out. Then, Gabe wanted out.

I guess I had just taken for granted all of these little things that are new to you when you're a child. It has been a joy watching my son experience all of them. It's been a joy watching the look on his face when he gets a new concept, or when he really likes something, or even when he really dislikes something. As Gabe's getting older, I'm finding that each age is coming with it's own challenges, but also it's own really incredible new stages. I didn't know that I would enjoy his toddler years this much - I really do love it. Yes, the toddler years are challenging and you have the tantrums to deal with. But, you also have new things like, "La U too Mom" or "Gabe do it" or "Peese just one candy right now?"

I'm so blessed to get to experience all of it.

To You, My Easter Bunny

We had a great day today, buddy. Today we went to Abba Smith's work for their Easter egg hunt. You fell asleep in the car because it was right at nap time, so I carried you in. Everyone was ooing and ahhing at you as we came in because they thought you were so precious, asleep in my arms. I was really enjoying it because you don't stay still that long and want to cuddle much!

As soon as Abba saw us walk in, she woke you up to get you in with the other kids so you could find some eggs. You did great! You probably got 12-15 eggs. As soon as you found one, you wanted to sit down and open it up to see what was inside. Since they all had candy, you wanted to sit and eat it! We had to keep telling you to go find more eggs!

After the Easter egg hunt, we headed to Abba & PaPa's farm to go see PaPa and Uncle Dan. You had a great time with PaPa and Dan and talked them into giving you several treats. Including some chocolate-covered pretzels to take with you on the ride home. REALLY? Chocolate-covered pretzels IN THE CAR?? You can definitely tell when your parent has become a grandparent. Oh, and all of these treats right before SUPPER?? (I can definitely tell I've become a parent!) The treats didn't stop you... when we got home, you ate 3 pieces of pizza! All I can figure is that you're going through a growth spurt or something. Your appetite has really increased. Here are some of your favorite foods:

hotdogs
chips - you love chips - your favorite right now are baked BBQ
ce-dil (cereal) - you love Special K, Frosted Flakes, & Frosted Mini Wheats
Bacon - you LOVE bacon. This is a treat you like to have the most at Abba & PawPaw Herrmans.
Fruit - you still eat fruit very, very well - pretty much any kind
Ham
Pizza - pretty much a food you're guaranteed to eat.
Whoop - (Soup) You like Progresso's Chicken & Wild Rice - you can eat a whole can.

Those are just some of your favorites. Your appetite is increasing to more foods, but you love to snack. We have to keep a lot of animal crackers and those 100 calorie food packs around. "More Tweat Mommy!"

I love you little Gabers. Thanks so much for a great day together. As I say so often, "You make Mommy laugh".

Sugar Crash on the way home from the farm...

When we got home - you were all giggly - and chocolatey!

Love him.

Love him. Love him. Love him.

Long Overdue.

"See ya, Mom & Dad... I'm headed to Abba & PaPa's house."

Ok, I'm really sorry. After swearing to get better blogging, I have failed to do so. I'm having so much trouble finding free time for Flickr, Facebook, GabesMom, GregsWife... By the time I get to the computer at night, I usually only have time to work on my 365 picture for Flickr... I'm lucky if I always get that done!

Being a mom of a toddler has definitely been a lot of fun - all of the new things he's doing. Actually having a conversation with your kid - how awesome is that? For so long they can't talk and then it's like all of a sudden, they're speaking in sentences! I love being able to talk to him and hear the things he's thinking about. When he was a baby, I was constantly wondering what he was thinking. Now, he tells me! :) Another thing I like about this age is seeing him with other kids. It's especially cute when he's with older kids... He tries to act like them, to laugh like them - it's so cute seeing him try to be just like his older friends.

I have a few "just Gabe" things to share... The poor kid can't say "Smith". When he tries to say "Grandma Smith", it comes out as "Abba Piss". It's so funny!

Also, he is obsessed with directions now. If we don't turn the way he thinks we're supposed to turn, look out! Tantrum time! We hear, "No Mommy! Diff way!! (This Way) or No Mommy, Daff way!! (That way)". He knows the way to his grandparents' houses. If you try to take a different route, you're going to hear it all the way there!

Also, he can potty train all day at daycare, all day at "Abba Piss's" house, and the minute we get him home, he pees his pants. Then, he'll come get us and say, "Gabe did diss". One time, he peed on a book that was on the floor. Boys!

I promise to be a better blogger from now on... You believe me, right?

Random Thoughts on Being Two - to catch everyone up!

• Temper tantrums are becoming more frequent... and lasting longer...
• Bedtime is becoming a little more difficult - Gabe watches a movie in his room, but decides that would be the best time for a #2 diaper.
• We still can't shake that baba... even though it is mostly filled with water, he still wants it, scratch that - needs it.
• Hugs and kisses are becoming more frequent. Especially in the last week. He's been very affectionate! It's been so nice.
• He's started saying new things: "No Way!" when he doesn't want to do something. "Um, cuz..." when you ask him a question. "Why?" when he doesn't like the answer to a question (I thought this was supposed to happen later??)
• His pretend play is SO much fun to watch. I love watching him when he doesn't know I'm watching. It is so neat to watch him play with his toys and to actually hear him say what he is thinking.
• Potty training is going great - especially at daycare. He went 3 days in a row with no accidents AND waking up from his naps dry. At home on the other hand, he doesn't want to use the potty. We haven't been pushing it... we've heard when he's ready, he's ready.
• Gabe's appetite is pretty narrow. Lately, all he wants is hotdogs and "putchet" (ketchup). He loves Special K cereal too.
• He's recently taken an interest in drawing with markers and crayons.
• He knows the shapes hearts, circles, triangles and sometimes squares.
• Sometimes if he's in a bad mood, he tells me to "go away" and sticks his foot out and kicks. This was really, REALLY hard for me the first few times he did it. I found that if I let him see a hurt reaction, he knows he's found a weak spot. So, I just stand my ground and tease him and say, "No, you go away!" and then I tickle him and we laugh about it instead.

All in all, terrible 2's haven't been terrible, they've just brought on a whole new set of challenges. Even though it's a tough stage, I still love it. I love hearing my son talk. I love hearing him say "La Yu too, Mommy" when he goes to bed. I love watching him pray, and peek his eyes open every now and then. It was so cute the first time we saw him bow his head and then lift it up to see if everyone else was. Greg and I both asked each other after the prayer, "Did you see that? Were you watching him too?"

Even though this is tough, even though every day brings its challenges, I still find myself tearing up when I stop and think about how much I love this little boy. How when I stop and try and remember a moment without him, I can't. He's changed our lives so much. He's changed our hearts and our thought processes. He's made us a family.

Now that he's much more talkative, we've talked a little bit more about his birth mom. Every night before bed, I ask him:

"Who's tummy did you grow in?"
Gabe says his birthmom's name.
"Where did you grow with Mommy?"
Gabe says, "Mommy's heart."

In preparing for the adoption, we went through a lot of classes. We were taught to teach our children age-appropriate information about their birth parents. So, this is one way I've tried to approach keeping the adoption an open topic of conversation in our house.

One more thing about being two... With the introduction to underpants, Greg thought it would be a good idea to show Gabe how to put them on his head.

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.

Our Handy Manny

Just wanted to post a few more pictures of our little Handy Manny. He was so good for Halloween! He had a great time Tick or Teeting... He did great for not having taken a nap. However, he did fall asleep in the car between stops!

Eh Hem.......

We have a big boy bed!! After many, many (yes, many) nights of struggling in getting this big boy to bed, we broke down and purchased a big boy bed for him. Gabe was not liking his crib at all any more and always wanted to sleep in the spare bedroom ("daddy's bed!" as Gabe would say). Well, Mommy and Daddy sleep upstairs and the spare bedroom is downstairs. So, we'd let him fall asleep there, and then ever so carefully, I'd carry him upstairs to his crib. Most of the time I was successful in keeping him asleep. The nights I wasn't, he slept with me.

So, tonight is the first night in the big boy bed. Greg was gone when I put him to bed, so I took a few photos. When I showed them to Greg, he said, "That looks like a blog post to me!"... he knows me so well. Oh and guess what?! That bedspread is from Pottery Barn! I found it at a garage sale for $22 and it's in fabulous condition. And, it washes up great!

Also, I wanted to share a few "dactur" photos of my big boy. Notice here, he has the "bue dactor"... Ok, so it's really red, but all colors are blue, all numbers are 2's, and all letters are b's. I don't argue with him...

Anywho, this kid loves tractors. Loves them. My mom got him a small set from Big R and he seriously won't even put them down when he eats. He hates putting them up when he has to nap. We literally have to kiss them goodnight and put them up. Each one of them. It's too funny.

See these two little guys? One time, I pretended they were PaPa & Russell (Grandpa Smith and his hired hand Russell) while Gabe and I were playing. Now, he doesn't part with these either. At any given time during the day, he can be seen holding a mini pickup truck, a mini anhydrous tank, and these two guys. He calls them PaPa and Ussell. Can't wait for PaPa to hear that.

Well, better get to bed... Not sure if we're going to have a long night or not!

You Been Farmin' Long?

This has to be one of my all time favorite pictures. I love love love that Caleb's Mommy wanted to come out to the farm with us to take photos of the boys. They were SO photogenic (for toddlers!!) and we got some AMAZING pictures. I am absolutely thrilled with how they turned out. This season has been one that I've been waiting for. From the time Gabe was really little, I knew he was going to be into trucks and tractors - he's always been a true boy. So, I knew when he was old enough to be walking and talking, that harvest was going to be a fun one. And it sure has been. Thursday night, we surprised Papa and stopped by the field to ride a couple of rounds in the combine. Gabe didn't want to leave! Then, Friday, we took Caleb and Darci out to the farm to get some pictures. Here are a few more:

Hey, Papa's down here... maybe if we keep walking, we can hitch a ride back in the combine!

See, Caleb, when I'm bigger, I'm going to be a farmer like my Papa.

Couldn't resist trying to get a picture of the boys' feet in overalls. I was hoping to get one with them walking in the grass, but that didn't work out so well. I'm happy with this one! And, it's gotten the most Flickr views! That's kinda cool! If you want to see even more of these pics, you can visit my Flickr photos here.

Darci and I are so blessed to have these two awesome boys. These boys were prayed for together. Darci felt Caleb move for the first time on the day we brought Gabe home from the hospital. When Darci held Gabe for the first time, Caleb kicked. God has truly blessed us with having boys that can grow up together.

Cute Stuff

Excuse the poor quality of this picture, but it was taken through our very filthy front door. I've tried, but it is impossible to keep clean with a dog and a toddler. Gabe LOVES pears. We have a pear tree here at the new house and Gabe just loves them - skin and all. He walks around the house saying "apple" and holding it just like a grown up would hold an apple. He's so stinkin' funny.


Gabe also LOVES the movie The Lion King. Seriously... Greg and I probably have the first 20 minutes of that memorized - word for word. It is SO cute to see him sit there in a trance watching it. We usually play it in the kitchen while we fix dinner and he sits in his high chair in a daze. He also does some of the actions (holding the cub up to the sunlight, silly faces Nala & Simba make, etc...) He also says "Scar", "Daddy!", and "It is TIME..". I just love it. Sometimes I'll stand at our kitchen island and just smile and watch him. He has no idea... he is so entranced.

Well, Gabe's Mom is exhausted. That is all for tonight!

Gabers Mini Photo Session

One of my favorite things to do is to just grab the Gabers and go on a spontaneous photo shoot. Usually we take Daddy with us too so he can help me get Gabe's attention. Today, we went out to a farm and got some neat photos of Gabe by a wrought iron fence and in one of my dad's bean fields. He looked so ready for fall today in his brown courdoroy jacket. My little boy is growing up so fast. People say that happens, and some days it feels like they just grew by leaps and bounds over night.

I like this one - I just hope this is the only time I ever see him behind bars! :) I love the look on his face too.

Here, Gabe is tasting the beans to see if they're ready for harvest yet. We had to call PaPa tonight to let him know Gabe probably owes him some money for the beans! Gotta tease that PaPa.

I so wish I lived at this house - I love the wrought iron fence and the serenity of the place.

My lovely assistant, Greg, is doing his very best to get Gabe to smile for me. The tickley things work really well!

One of my favorites. My happy boy in the bean field getting ready for harvest. I can't wait to see him in the tractor with PaPa.

The little man.

And another favorite. Daddy taught Gabe how to pick flowers today - "you don't pick off just the petals - you pick them down lower and then give them to Mommy!" It was too cute to watch.

Gabe's Mom is Still Here!

Ugh... I have not been a very good blogger, have I? I'm still here... In the past 2 weeks, I've had the following things going on:


A hubby on a camping trip.
A wedding.
A Gabers with a cold.
Planning, preparation, and attending of the first annual Momma Getaway.
A jam-packed work schedule (our new girl resigned).
Getting garage sale items ready.



So, yeah... it's been a pretty busy time for me! Anyway, on to the Gabers! I hope the picture at the top has given you a clue about the post. When Gabe was just a baby - a very teenie-tiny baby - my friend Tami and I went garage-saling (Nah! Not US!) and found this awesome Radio Flyer bike for Gabe. We've had it put up in the garage and we finally took it down this past week to see if he would like it. He really wasn't too interested when he found out he had to work at it a bit and Daddy wasn't going to keep pushing him! He hopped off and returned back to the "cauk" (sidewalk chalk) he was playing with. I had not gotten my camera out yet, so we persuaded him with a juice box to get back on so I could capture this on my camera. Ah, the powers of parental persuasion... If only it always worked! Would you like to see that picture? I thought you might...He's so cute, isn't he? This weekend, I held the first annual (possibly semiannual!) Momma Getaway weekend. My fellow Momma friends and I headed to a nearby church camp to rent out a cabin-like building to scrapbook, sew, talk, eat, and sleep as much as we wanted for the weekend. It was so much fun. I was able to share the weekend with 5 of my dearest friends. They are just the best. We had games and prizes, we had a couple of really late nights (3:00 am!), and we had a blast. I love these ladies so much. God has truly blessed me with some amazing friendships - I am so fortunate that my closest friends could all be in the same place for the weekend. You can read more about it on my other blog Greg's Wife if you are interested. Speaking of which, I'd better go so I can update that blog... it's been even longer since I've posted to that one!

Introductions

Internet - Happy. Happy - Internet. This is Happy Gabe's favorite toy lately (well, depending on the day... he also LOVES his Handy Manny Toolbox and well, really anything he's NOT supposed to be getting into!).

Whenever Gabe plays with this bear, he brings it to me and says, "Happy!". He wants me to push the button. When you push the button, the bear sings Happy Birthday. The cool thing about this bear is that you can record your voice on it, so it says "Happy Birthday to _____". Well, when Gabe recorded it, he recorded "Mama". So, whenever he plays it, it sings Happy Birthday to me! Pretty sweet to have everyday as your birthday!
Internet - M&M mini's. M&M mini's - Internet.

Parents - I cannot stress enough, children (well, my child anyway) will do anything... let me rephrase... ANYTHING!!!... for M&M mini's. I've gotten this kid to pick up toys, put jammies on, eat dinner, etc... He loves these candies. Want to know a trick? Oh, this is bad... Only give them like 1 or 2 at a time and space it out quite a bit and they really think they're being rewarded a lot. And, one container lasts a few days. Is that bad? Only a few extra calories and sugars a day instead of a whole bunch. Oh, it is also a really good grocery store trick too! "You be good and we can get some CANDY!" I just hope I'm not enabling a sweet tooth...
Extreme close up... WAAAAAHHHH! Oh, yeah, and here's the Gabers! Isn't he getting to be so big?! I was trying to get him to lay on his belly and put his head in his hands, but he just kept getting really close to my second baby (um... my camera) and wanting to touch it. So..... This was the best I could do! He's so cute though, isn't he? Maybe I'm a little biased, but he's stinkin' adorable.

Gabe's Mom is headed to bed. Have a great holiday weekend!!

Found Pictures - Nice Surprise!

While we were at my parents' house visiting Monday night, I reached into my camera bag so I could snap a picture of Gabers and his Papa Smith. When I took the first picture... CRAP! No memory card! I had left it on our computer desk after taking pictures from it. But, then, I found one of the smaller cards that I used to use. One that doesn't have near the amount of room on it. So, I put it in my camera and snapped away.

When I got home, I put the card into my computer and found some pictures I'd forgotten I'd taken of Gabe before he was a year old. I'm guessing he was around 10 months old. Here are a couple of them:

What a pleasant surprise! He was so adorable, wasn't he? He still is... Now, he just looks so much more like a little boy than a baby.

I'm looking forward to a rather calm weekend. We don't really have any plans except for a cookout at my mom & dad's house on Monday. We always try to get together as a family on or around Labor Day - This is the anniversary of the accident my siblings were in, so we like to spend that time together. My parents invited my in laws too (including Greg's brothers and their wives & kids), which is awesome. I'm so fortunate that my family all gets along so well together. That's great for me and Greg, but even better for Gabe. Not many kids can have some of their holidays shared with both sides of the family. Greg's parents are always so great about including my family too. If my mom has to work a holiday, a lot of times Greg's parents invite my Dad and brother over to spend the holiday there, which is so thoughtful.

Gabe is really fortunate to have grandparents, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, & friends that all love him so much. Seeing your child loved is one of the greatest joys a parent can experience.

'Cuz I'm So Happy...

Concentration

I think my son has learned the cutest thing ever. I SO wish our video camera's battery was charged so we could tape this for you and play it because it is SO cute. I will work on that - we can't find the charger! Wanna know what he does? Today I bought him a Veggie Tales CD that has the most common Sunday school songs on it. It has the one "Down in my Heart" (way down in the depths of my heart *where?* Down in the depths of my heart...") Then they sing "And I'm so happy..." So, while that part was on, I started dancing and singing it to Gabe (yes, I'm thankful our video camera wasn't available for that part!) and Gabe says, "ah so appi!" Oh my gosh. Talk about the cutest ever. I ran us both downstairs and said "Daddy, Daddy, you gotta hear this!" Then, we called Abba and PawPaw Herrman and had him do it for them. Then we called PaPa Smith and left a message with Gabe saying it for him. Then, we called Aunt Ne.

Oh, this kid! Probably one of the most amazing moments is to know that your child is happy. I was able to see that quite a bit this weekend. Gabe's Dad took care of Gabe quite a bit this weekend to give me a little "me" time. I was able to get groceries, get the house picked up (it's already a mess again, but that's ok - it felt good while it lasted!), and even get some things planned for the Momma Retreat I'm going on with my girlfriends. I have the best husband. Seriously. He is so good with Gabe.

Today, Gabe's Dad let me go back to bed and they ran to town to get some things. They came back with an alligator pool that they got on clearance at Menards. $12 sure bought this kid a lot of happiness today. I bet it also had something to do with the fact that he was playing with his DaDa and PawPaw and Abba came to see him. Gabe's Dad also let me run with Tami today too. It was just nice to get out with my friend and have some spontaneous girl time. All of the pictures in this post are from the alligator pool. Wanna see some more?

Had to include this one too - this is how Daddy's morning started out! Yesterday, mine started with Gabe body-slamming me - WWF style.

Summertime

Last week, Little Gabers was invited to his first Splash Party. He had so much fun. So did I. I loved watching my little guy play with all the other kids. I loved watching him just stare at the older kids with amazement. He's so cute. Look at that little belly.

When we got to the Splash Party, Keith - the dad in charge - said, "Can I take him?" Um, yeah! Go for it! Keith took him down the slide, showed him all of the activities, and then when Gabe went to his garage door and said "Jucsh", Keith went in and got him a juice box. Greg often takes Gabe down to Keith's garage to visit - ya know, guy time. So, Gabe is used to going to Keith's for a jucsh box. I thought it was funny that he remembered where to go and that he knew exactly what he wanted at Keith's house. Keith's wife, Beth did an awesome job of organizing the splash party with games, snacks, and rules (because with 20ish kids, you need them!) I'm so glad Gabe was invited to have a fun summer day!

Lately, we've been dealing a lot with temper issues, hitting, and biting. Basically, when he doesn't get his way, he either hits or bites. Not fun. As a parent, the hardest thing so far has not been the lack of sleep, the poopy diapers, or the eating challenges. Nope, it has been disciplining. There are times when we say "no" and Gabe just looks right at us and does it anyway. There are times when we have to let him throw a tantrum and just ignore it - this seems to work the best. He gets mad, then gets really mad when you're ignoring it, and then he's over it. I figure as long as we're keeping him safe from harm, this is probably ok. I don't want to draw attention to the behavior because then he knows it gets our attention. Ugh. It's tough.

Last night, I asked him if he loved me & Daddy. Usually he says, "yeah" or "Cheyeah". Last night he said "uh uh". Oh, that was hard to take. He's never said that before. I realize now that he was just mad at us, but ouch. Ouch. I know, I know... this is the first of many times that our child will hurt our feelings. That's another hard thing about being a parent - you give and give, you sacrifice, you go without sleep, you put them above all of your needs, and then they tell you "uh uh." That's tough.

However, God certainly knew what he was doing when he made the relationship between a parent and a child. He blessed us with those tender moments - when little boys want to be held by their mommy, when children say "La You" for the first time, when parents watch their children sleep. These are the moments that make it all SO worth it. These are the moments we waited for. The stinkerness, the poopy pants, the hitting and biting are all phases (hopefully) and God gave us these little blessings to help us get through it. When I watch Gabe sleep, sometimes I am so overwhelmed with love for him that I almost feel like my heart is going to overflow. I tear up many nights watching him over his crib and praying for him.

Forgive me for rambling... Sometimes it helps me to talk it out.

Random Things I Didn't Want to Forget

• My son got his first pair of "big boy" Spiderman shoes the other day. They light up! He looks adorable in them.


• Gabers went to the doctor yesterday for his 18 month check up and he weighs 29 lbs, 1 oz. The doctor advised that we switch him to skim milk! (90th %tile for weight!)


• While at the doctor yesterday (Gabe, this is a story I promise not to tell your future girlfriends...) Gabe had a, how you say, BLOW OUT! All of the kids in the waiting area were looking at Gabe and laughing (ok, I was laughing too) because it was very audible. Seriously, it was loud.


• We are down to one nap a day. Ugh.


• Gabe's vocabulary has exceeded 30 words. He can now say baby, letter, football, puppy, and ow! Sidenote: he likes to say "ow" when he hits/headbutts me.


• He had one of his only time outs at daycare the other day... he pushed a little girl off the Little Tykes slide. Ugh.


• He's becoming more and more aware of going potty. He knows when there's something in his diaper. My friend Darci told me about this and I want to get it for him so badly... even though I know it could end up with poop in it... It's so cute!

Yesterday, I purchased the book The Girlfriend's Guide to Toddlers. So far, it has been pretty comforting for me. I get kind of frustrated sometimes how fellow moms don't admit how stinkin' hard being a mommy is. Especially a mommy of a toddler. It's tough. You love them SO much, but sometimes, you just can't wait for them to go down for their naps, or to go to bed for the night, or for them to play with Daddy when Daddy gets home for the day. I know... that probably sounds bad. But, during those times, you don't have to stop what you're doing every 3 seconds and make sure they're not into something! Like today, for example, Greg came home from work for a couple of minutes. I thought HE was watching Gabe and he thought I was watching Gabe. Greg came into the living room and Gabe was using his rocking horse to complete an Evil Knievil manuever onto the couch! Ugh. Boys.

I'll survive the toddler stage. Yeah, sure I will. No, really, I will! Really! Other people have made it.... :)