Happy 3rd Birthday Gabe!

Yesterday was Gabe's 3rd birthday, tears, tears, sniffle, tears, tears... It happens each birthday, mommy gets so excited for them and to celebrate and then come the tears! But this birthday is BIG, 3... I'm looking at the baby strollers in the garage, the swings in the attic... not knowing if I'll ever need them again. I told Jay last night, as we are pondering Gabe starting 3k this year, mind you Jayce will be in 5k a full day, I just cannot believe it is time for this. I have done this thing for 5 years now! It has been so hard some days, but oh how I've loved it! I guess I just thought they would stay little forever somehow. Those stages that seemed they would never end, the sleepless nights, the nursing, the baby food, the spit up, the waiting to crawl, the waiting to walk, the learning to talk... where did they go? I guess because I went directly from Jayce moving on, to Gabe getting into them it was easier somehow. Now that Gabe is moving on and I'm not going through them again, boy that's hard! At the same time, I realize I MUST BE PRESENT and excited in the stage we are in now! 2 boys, ready for sports, more traveling (maybe), movies (or at least sitting through half of them by now), eating out, riding bikes and tricycles around the neighborhood,t-ball, upward football... we've got some exciting things coming up! And I AM excited. But it does not make me any less sad to leave these baby years behind. I have been so blessed to be here with my boys for these past 5 years. I never knew how much a girly girl like myself could LOVE having 2 messy, loud, ACTIVE little boys!!! It can't last forever but oh how I want the memories of these 5 years to stick around for always.

Ok, less about me and more about Gabe... We had an great birthday party this year! I had a pool party for Gabe at his nanny's new pool! We had several of his closest little friends and their siblings and family of course! We had a great time! Gabe LOVES ice cream so I made him an ice cream cake and we had the ice cream truck come to visit the kids too! They played Happy Birthday to you as they pulled in the drive and the kids all got to pick their favorite ice cream treat! So we really sugared them up this year!

Yesterday we spent his actual birthday with the family back at Nanny's house for lunch after church. We tried to do the swimming thing again but Gabe was WORN OUT from the weekend and instead he came home to take a good birthday nap! Last night we went for a bike/tricycle ride and he opened his big birthday gift from us, his own real golf clubs! He practiced his swing with daddy!

Gabe at 3...
LOVES girls ... and thinks they are all "pretty"... He will say, nearly every time we pass a girl "Mommy look at that pretty girl!"

Has a HUMONGOUS crush on "Miss Anna," who is my age, and he sees at the gym...who Jay tells me I must get a picture of as she really must be something the way Gabe talks about her! I'll try to post one on here!

Loves to sing and dance, and THINKS he's got some rhythm!

Loves his "bubby" or "brudder" and cannot stand to be away from him for one minute... Which should make Jayce's full day at school very interesting!

Is a very picky eater... cereal, grated cheese, spaghetti, pizza, yogurt, applesauce, fruit, raisins, and any junk food he will gladly eat... other than this, good luck!

Loves noggin, way more than his brother did at this age... I really have to limit him! Favorites are Dora, Diego, Wonderpets and Backyardigans!

Is pottying MOST of the time, but still struggling with a few accidents a day!

Drinks ALL DAY LONG-could have something to do with his accidents!!!

Sounds so grown up sometimes, telling me "I love you mom"... yet at others, "I love my Mommy"-like this one much better!!! He told Jayce a few days ago, "Jayce you are so weird."

Is the life of the party and total entertainment at most family functions! He LOVES to be center stage! He is truly hilarious!

Is SO PRECIOUS and I want to freeze him in this stage forever! I asked him the other night while rocking him if he could stay little forever and he said "Ok mommy but my muscles are getting big!"