Gabriel turns two!!

My sweet, sweet Gabriel,

Two years old!  I still call you baby boy sometimes, but truth is you are a full-fledged toddler.  And while you aren't always a happy camper...

...you are such. a. joy.  I do my best to treasure every moment with you, and most of the time that doesn't take a whole lot of effort.  You are easy going, sweet, silly, snuggly, and just so much fun.

Clearly, the second year of your life brought a lot of changes.  I had good intentions of writing an 18-month post so I could at least get a snapshot of you halfway through the year, but here we are the end of it and that never happened.  So we have a lot of ground to cover!

You kicked off your second year with a trip to NC to celebrate your MorFar's birthday. 

At his surprise party, you clapped for the first time.

 It was just you and me that trip, which was different but special.  Your cousins enjoyed having you to themselves, and you seemed to enjoy their attention as well.

We got to go back to NC in the summertime with the whole family.  More fun times with grandparents and cousins.

And you got to visit the ocean and stick your feet in it.  Actually, once you warmed up to it a bit, you had a great time splashing in the water and got a little more than just your feet wet!

About a month after your 1st birthday, you started waddling around. 

You were shaky on your feet for a while, but you eventually got the walking thing down.  Truth is, you are a wee bit clumsy in general, but you are tough.  Most of the time after a fall or a bump, you are back at whatever you were doing without much ado.

Sometime during the course of your second year, your insatiable appetite seemed to be satiated.  At first, I thought it strange that you wouldn't down an entire burger patty plus sides at one meal.  But then I read something that reminded me that your growth was slowing down a bit compared to year one.  Yes, baby #3 and I still need to read up on baby development to know what's going on.  You have continued to be a picky eater and to this day will not eat any fruit or veggie that is not pureed or freeze dried...with the exception of the occasional banana or pea.  Of course, pureed and freeze dried produce are expensive and/or take more effort than I tend to expend.  So you probably don't

consume anywhere near the amount of fruits and veggies that you should.  Hopefully that will change.

You are less crazy about meat than you once were as well, regularly turning down previously coveted foods like salmon.  And you have developed a taste for sweets, which you lacked at the time of your first birthday.  At your first birthday party, you would not touch your cake.  When we tried to encourage you to taste it, you cried.  But halfway through your first year, when you were at your friend Elliott's first birthday party, we learned that you'd had a change of heart:

While you may be picky, you know what you want when you want it and will take it upon yourself to go after it.  Like, for example, the time I found you helping yourself to a snack in the pantry:

Or, later that same day:

You are a bit of a monkey, which could be inferred from the above photos.  In some situations you are cautious, but in others you are rather adventurous. 

On playgrounds, your adventurous side comes out most readily.  You love to climb whatever you can and you love to go down slides, however tall or curvy.  Swings are good too.

You and your big sister have a sweet relationship.  During the school year, you get to spend a little more time with each other than either of you get with Caleb.  Now that you are a little older, Lilah enjoys having more of a playmate in you.

And you're usually happy to step into her shoes, both figuratively and literally speaking...

Of course, your big brother adores you too, and you have a certain admiration for him.  Your big brother who can read you books and make you laugh and teach you new tricks.

It's so fun watching the three of you be siblings.  And while you certainly have your fair share of squabbles, you definitely enjoy each other's company.  I pray that you will always remain close and value the relationships that you have.

Your daddy has enjoyed the affection you have for him, which has been a little more forthcoming than Caleb's or Lilah's at your age.  You are often very excited when he gets home from work and give him the cutest welcomes.  You were sick in the photo below, but content in your daddy's arms...

You are pretty fond of Mama too,

but at the top of your list during this year of your life?  Definitely Grandma.

You LOVE your Grandma.  There have been multiple times when you've been disappointed to see Mama instead of Grandma.  Multiple times when you've looked devastatedly at me or Dada and said, "No!!!!  GRANDMA!!"
 

You are a super sweet kid, and know how to make others feel loved.  You give the best snuggles, complete with adorable little pats on the back.  When someone has a boo-boo, you are quick to offer kisses.

You are potty training.  I bought you some train underpants, put them on you, and told you to keep them dry.  Most laid back version of potty training to date.  Of course, you'd already been using the potty to some extent since you were 18 months.  Still, you seem to be catching on quickly!

In the above photos, while sporting your train underwear, you are building some train tracks.  On the floor next to you is a train book.  You LOVE trains.  So it was rather easy to decide the theme for your second birthday party.  We had done a train party for Caleb's third birthday, though he was nowhere near as crazy about trains as you are.  I couldn't help but repeat the cupcake train we made for Caleb's party because it was just that awesome.  But I didn't want everything to be the same.  So we changed the venue and had your party at Tiny Town, which is a fun little place up in the Evergreen with lots of kid-sized buildings and, of course, a train ride.  We kept the party small and simple.  I knew you didn't need lots of people there for it to be a fun and special time.  And it was!

You, my boy, are amazing.  I am so thankful for you.  You like to act all grown up sometimes, but I hope you take your sweet time getting bigger.  I'll keep you little for as long as I can!

And because I can't let this post end without including a slew of other adorable pictures of you, here there are all in one spot:

Love always and forever,
Mama