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

Caleb turns eight!

Oh my Caleb,

Eight!  Eight is halfway to sixteen.  Double your life span and you'll be starting to drive!  

Because I see you every day, it's hard to notice the changes sometimes.  But when I look back at photos of you from a year ago, you seem so much older.  Eight.  Eight means you will start third grade in the fall.  Eight is the year you will move from the Primary School to the Intermediate School.  Moving to your next school makes it seems like you are really growing up!  Here are your first and last day of school pics from 2nd grade:

You are still crazy about reading...

and sugar...

and sports.

You are playing baseball again, but in a different league.  This season is definitely more serious than your last two.  They actually keep track of strikes and outs and runs.  And it seems like you were ready for the challenge!  It's cool to see you be stretched a bit and tackle the challenge with apparent ease.

These days it seems you are more daring...challenging yourself in new ways.  Yet there remains a degree of cautiousness in you that will hopefully continue to keep you out of the emergency room!  You did have your first "major" injury this year.  You chipped your front tooth on the playground at school.  You were running forward while looking back at a friend.  When you turned around again...BAM!  You hit your tooth on a pole.  This was the result...

 Arcades are one of your favorite places to be these days.  If you get to choose a special place to go, your first choice is usually a place that has arcade game.  Thanks to a somewhat rainy vacation in NC this summer, you got to go to one with your cousins!

 You are a sweet big brother.  Your sister adores you, and loves having you around.  She is thoroughly enjoying your summer break because it means more time with you.  Of course, you have your share of squabbles, but you really do like having each other.

  You are super sweet to your baby brother, though you also like to annoy him from time to time.

You like to be silly, and especially like having an audience for your silliness, which your siblings are usually happy to provide.

 This year you participated in the Science Fair for the first time.  It was A LOT of work, but you got 1st place in your division!

You also had a piece in the school art show.  Okay, every student had a piece in the show, but I really liked yours!

You did a Wax Museum project, which involved learning all about a famous historical person and then dressing up as that person and reciting a speech about "yourself" at the Night of the Wax Museum.  You were John Glenn, who you had recently learned has some ties to your relatives and was almost distantly related to you!  You did an amazing job.

 We celebrated your 8th birthday with a Ninjago party at a local parkour gym.  It was lots of fun!

This year had its struggles, but through them I have learned more about you and more about myself.  Since before you were born, you have stretched me and challenged me.  I am on a constant journey toward becoming the best mama I can be to you.  This year has led me to understand you better and treasure you more than ever.  It has also helped me to realize that I haven't tried to really know and understand you as much as I want to.  I know that these years will be fleeting, and I know that you feel loved when you get to spend quality time with me.  I need to take advantage of that for as long as I can!

  Caleb, you are sweet, creative, funny, athletic and incredibly smart.  I am so thankful that I get to watch you grow into the awesome young man that you are becoming.  I have a feeling that year nine is going to be a good one!

Love always and forever,

Mama

Lilah turns four!

My sweet girl,

You are FOUR years old today!  You are such a joy.  I am so thankful that God made you a part of our family. 

You are sweet, silly, and so much fun.   You have the cutest giggle.  And you say the cutest things.  You bring countless smiles to our faces.  There is a joy about you.  An enthusiasm that is contagious and so fun to watch.

Recently, someone we don’t know well and see only about once every couple of months or so (a receptionist at our chiropractor’s office) commented about how you were one of her favorite kids that comes in the office.  I was surprised because she’s only gotten a few glimpses of your personality, but I thought it was a good example of how special you are.  There have been countless times when your dad and I have glanced at each other and smiled because you’d just said or done something completely adorable.  We adore you.

You still like to make silly faces.  Your baby brother seems to have picked that up from you and your big brother. 

Speaking of your baby brother, you are crazy about him and like to give him snuggles.  You have been a sweet big sister. 

You and your big brother are buddies and play well together…in between the bouts of sibling rivalry at least.



You also can play by yourself for hours, it seems.  Except, in a sense, you are not by yourself.  You are usually chatting away to your dolls and stuffed animals and other imagined friends.  But you are perfectly content to do just that.

You started preschool a few months ago!  You are doing an at-home preschool co-op with a couple of your friends.  You love it.  You are so excited to go each time. 

You are a budding artist.  You love to color and do other art projects.  

You are also really good at puzzles!  And when Caleb is playing with his Legos, you'll join right in and create with him.

You got your first professional hair cut this year.  I figured since we waited until you were three, we might as well go all out.  So we went to one of those fancy kid places with cars to sit in, and you got your hair styled and sparkled and your nails painted and even a new ring to take home.  You enjoyed it and perhaps I set the bar a little high.  But hey, you won't need haircuts nearly as often as your brothers will, right?

This summer your Tia came to visit from Bolivia.  You have a sweet relationship with her.  Sometimes I tell people that you take after her more than you take after your dad or me.  There is just something about your personality that reminds me of her.  This visit it took you a little bit to warm back up to her since you hadn't seen her in a while.  But just a little bit.

In November, I took you to see the Nutcracker.  It was a condensed version put on by a local group of dancers.  You got a little bored, really.  But you were definitely intrigued by the ballerinas that you saw.  And in the following month, thanks to Nutcracker music played often (mostly on your granddad's phone), you became a little ballerina yourself.  You would dance around the playroom to the music and Gabriel would join in, spinning right alongside you.

For your birthday party this year, you wanted to have a Frozen party.  You’d been talking about it since shortly after your 3^rd birthday party.  I wasn’t sure it would stick for an entire year, but it did!  We got you an Elsa dress as a birthday gift.  You wore it for your party and loved it.  You didn’t want to take it off when we were leaving the house and you wanted to wear it all day the next day.  

You really hadn’t had any dress-up clothes before then.  I guess that can happen when you have a big brother.  We had a couple of superhero costumes in the house, but definitely not any princess dresses.  But you tend to find things to dress up in.

You are a delight, Lilah Jane.  I am so thankful to be your mama and am excited to watch you grow and to figure out more of who you are and who you will become.  

But, no rush.

Love always and forever,

Mama

p.s. Since I couldn't seem to fit enough photos of you into this blog post...