Gabe is TWO

GABRIEL BRYAN
Gabe
Gabey
Gabey Monster
Punky Butt
Social butterfly
Very causious
Horrible eater (like his mom was at that age)
Big Blue eyes
Two chunky cheeks
His smile brightens everything
With those little toofers
all 12 of them
Pulling at my hand (he is very strong) saying "ome on" (come on) to show me everything
Loves to fake cry because he knows that he can make me laugh by doing it
My baby.
My boy.

He did it, he turned two. (April 6th, 2009) Despite all my whining and begging him not to, he just went ahead and did it.
I can't believe 2 years ago I was absolutely DYING of anticipation waiting for this little arrival. I wanted to meet this little boy and hold him in my arms as soon as possible. Here we are right before and a couple days after he was born...little did we know how much joy this little boy would bring into our lives.

2 day's old

1 years old (chunk)

2 years old

I looked through all Gabe’s old photos/baby book and reminisced about how amazing this kid has always been. We are so darn lucky to have him.
I have to say I didn't really understand how birthday parties can be too much until this year. I am worn out from the 3 little parties we had in a little less than a week. I don't think I can keep doing it. lol

Monday April 6th, I got to spend the whole day with him. We got up and snuggled, ate breakfast together watching cartoons, got ready to go to the zoo with Jenny and Daphne, but it was a BEAUTIFUL day, that day and everyone else in the City had decided to go there too. We didn't want to bother with the parking so we ended up going to Washington park for lunch and play time. It was a blast!

We came home and Gabe took a nap and daddy got home early so we sat outside and enjoyed the sun more. Gabe rode his new tricycle from Uncle Minny. It's amazing when the sun comes out and it gets a little warmer how much you just want to be outside.

That evening we wanted to take him to Red Robin for dinner, a sundae and a couple gifts from us. My family wanted to join us, so it made it all the more fun! It was a perfect day!!

Smiling at the peeps that were singing to him

I can't believe he kept the balloons on lol

Wednesday we went to his 2 yr Dr. appointment. NO SHOTS...he was up to date WAHOO!

Baby (I mean big boy) Stats

• Age: TWO YEARS OLD!
• Wt: 28 pounds
  
• Ht: 36 inches tall
  
• Clothes size: 2T-3T
• Diapers: size 6, hopefully this won't last TOO much longer
• Favorite Phrase: "uh-huh!" and "ome onnnn" (come on)
  
• Eye color: blue
• Best Friend: Jaden and all his new cars from the "Cars" movie
  

Seriously-- what happened to my baby? He just seems like such a big boy these days and it really feels like it happened over night. Here are some Gabe-lights (highlights).

-Current favorite foods: He likes his carbs, most muffins, bread, PB&J's or PB&honey sandwiches, crackers, fruit bars. The only fruit I can get him to eat are 100% natural freeze-dried fruit and some baby food fruits. Chicken pot pie (but he's starting to eat around the veggies now), CHIPS (like his mommy...have to avoid buying them which is good for all ;o), fries, and milk

-Vices: 1. Binky, 2. TV (ahhh- Like all of us, I swore I'd never be a TV mom) 3. Cars (the movie, the "cars" cars, the books about the movie "Cars"

-Words: "hi", "hello", "mommy", "daddy", "ball", "doggie", "kitty", "cow", "duck", "horsey", "sheep", "bird", "frog", "turtle", "monkey", "fishy", "no", "ameeeen", "airplane", "train", "car", "peace" (please), "potty", "poop", "diaper", "hand", "calyeeee" (Calie), "friesssssss", "gama", "gampa", "oulie" (Julie), "Jadin", "Nate", "Jenny", "moon", "hunry" (hungry), "Elmo", "Mickey", "Minnie", "Goofy", "Tiger", "Pooh", "Ernie", "Bert", Big Bird", "cheese", "mine", "cookie", "milkkkk", "water", "m-n-m", "yight" (light), "on", "off", "up", "down", "out", "baby", "eyesss", "nossse", "ear", "teeeph" (teeth), "hair", "tree", "spoon", "fork", "bath", "toys", "socksss", "pantsss", "shoessss", "rock", "door", "cracker", "balloon", "hot", "cup", "bee", "keysss", "boxxx", "kiss"
I am sure there are some that I am missing. He has been talking a lot more lately. He over emphasizes his S's on most words. It's SO cute.

-Phrases: "uh-huh", "ome onnn", "thank ou", "let's go", "uh-oh", "I wove ou" (kind of sounds more muffled though), "I sorrry"
He'll say more with prompting and is saying more new ones on his own...still a little muffled but, the other day when I was changing his clothes he was looking at his Lightning McQueen car and saying "car" over and over again and then all of the sudden he said "McQueen, this is Mommy." LOL

We had a party on Wednesday night with my uncle. He works graveyard, so it's hard for him to do anything on weekends. We had dinner at Olive Garden and then my mom did a Cars theme party.

And we had the "main" birthday party on Saturday. Grandma and Grandpa Wangsgard came to celebrate with us along with the rest of the family and friends. We had a baseball themed party.

The invites (this was really fun to put together. I took a baseball from the dollar store and wrote the details on it with a permanent marker, added 2 pieces of bubble gum and tied the little plastic bag together with a shoelace and a card that said "Take me out to the ballgame"):


The Cake:
The Food:

• Hot Dogs
  
• Chips
• Popcorn
• Peanuts
  
• M&M's
• Soda
• Lemonade

It was a really fun party. We ate lunch, opened presents and sang to the birthday boy!

Yummy for my tummy

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and 1 cup light-brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully combined between each addition. Add vanilla, and beat to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until fully combined. Remove from mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats (nonstick French baking mats) or parchment paper.
4. In a small bowl, using a rubber spatula, stir together peanut butter and remaining 1/4 cup light-brown sugar.
5. Using a 1 1/4-inch scoop or heaping tablespoon, drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Make a thumbprint in the center of each cookie. Fill thumbprint with 1 teaspoon peanut-butter mixture. Top with a second scoop of dough, and carefully mold dough to cover "surprise."
6. Bake until firm, about 12 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to racks.

Leap Frog

We LOVE these videos!!!

These are Gabe's favorite videos right now. My mom had the Letter Factory at her house and she bought Gabe the Talking Words Factory for Christmas. He never really got into them until just recently. HE LOVES THEM! (we borrowed Letter Factory from mom for awhile)

As we're trying to limit how much TV we watch (especially with me being home full time) these are the videos we're watching over and over AGAIN. lol

Gabe has learned A LOT from them. He knows what every letter of the Alphabet sounds like/says. His vocabulary has shot through the roof in the last month too. Course you know how it goes that you as the parents know what your child is saying whereas to others it may sound like the Peanuts Parents.

High Heels and the fartmaster keychain

Our little copycat

Gabe is starting to repeat everything we say. It's funny, but it shocks me too. It's a real big eye opener...Here's a couple of instances lately:

Last Sunday we went on a drive. We had a great time together as a family.
Bryan was talking to me and Gabe started talking too. They both kept getting louder and louder as to try and be the one who was heard. I was driving and about ready to pull ALL of my hair out and screamed "OH MY GOSH!" They both stopped and all of the sudden we heard a small voice in the same tone as me in the back seat repeat "OH MY GOSH!" Bryan and I had laughed so hard.

Bryan and Gabe were in the office and Bryan and I were having a conversation. Bryan said "Gotcha" and Gabe repeated it.

Today I dropped something and said "oh man" and long behold he walks into the kitchen saying "oh man"

So it begins...

"Be Still"

I was so inspired by someone's blog that I read recently about her new "word" for the new year. She picks a word each year as sort of a theme and tries to live it throughout the year. I know it's a few months past the New year, but I think I sort of already picked my own out and have been thinking a lot about it lately.

Back in December, I was having a really hard time leaving Gabe. It's always been hard for me, but it seemed to be getting extra hard and I was FRUSTRATED all the time. Pastor talked a while back about "letting go" of your kids, giving them over to God and that's what I feel I had to do every day was give Gabe to him...I couldn't be in control so I prayed that I would be able to "Be Still" while I was working and I wrote it on my white board at work to help remind me to do just that. However, how could I "be still" when I was so darn frustrated? Things got so busy, I got so overwhelmed, I got in late, frantic mode, and even if I was reminded to "be still" I was already in the thick of the frustration and it's tough to get rid of it!

I got frustrated that everything in the house seems to be falling apart.

I got frustrated that I was doing other things more then I was able to be with my baby.

I got frustrated that Gabe would act out/bawl/scream/kick/arch his back when I would pick him up after work and I wanted to take him home so that I could be with him before he went to bed.

I got frustrated when I tried to carry too much in from the car and ended up dropping a trail of things along behind me.

I got frustrated when we got home it was already 5 or 6 and I still needed to make dinner, empty the dishwasher from the night before so that I could clean up the dishes that were left in the sink, pick up and put stuff away, pack for the next day, feel guilty for leaving my dog home alone all day...

I got frustrated that laundry never seemed to end.

I got frustrated that I couldn't stretch myself thin enough to cover everything that needed to be done. It just wasn't physically possible. And that frustrates me, because I feel like I should be able to "do it all."

I got frustrated when Bryan left pairs of shoes or dirty socks or clothes or radom papers strewn haphazardly around the house.

I get frustrated when I'm in the middle of trying to feed Gabe I realize he's dumped it over onto the floor and walls and now Calie is struggling to get all of it when she isn't the kind of dog that can have whatever she wants.

I got frustrated that Bryan couldn't read my mind and help me do EVERYTHING without me having to tell him.

The list could go on forever...

SO I think "my word" for 2009 is going to continue to be "Be Still"...well yeah, it's two words, but you get what I mean. And now I want to live it even more fully. I've just always loved those simple, specific words. "Be Still" in my mind is so perfect because when we are "still" we can feel, sense, be things we couldn't if we let the commotion of the world get in the way. And let's face it, we have a lot of commotion going on.

Someone said it helps to imagine yourself as the "eye of the storm"...if you can just be calm while everything is whirling around you you're in good shape. But I wasn't the "eye." I was whirling around like crazy with everything and everyone else. I needed to figure out how to "be still" and know that it's ok. Tomorrow has to be better. And I needed to go look at my famiy while they're sleeping and let their sweet expressions and quiet, gentle breathing (or snoring lol) turn my heart to mush again so I can start all over loving them to pieces in the midst of the storm that's coming tomorrow. Because, despite all the frustration and not having the ability (yet) to completly "be still" amidst the mayhem, there's nowhere I'd rather be than right here. Right now. Storm and all. Because it means I'm a mother. And a wife. And I'm blessed beyond what I ever thought possible.

Since the lay off happened I feel like the storm has calmed down that my frustrations have taken a back seat if you will. I do still get frustrated, yea, but it feels different, I'm different. If I do have to go back to work and the storm gets crazy again I just pray that I can take it day by day and continue to learn to BE STILL.

Library

Gabe goes through phases where he's loving books and where he wants nothing to do with them. I've realized that those things aren't always worth worrying about... when they don't seem to be picking up the things we're SUPPOSED to be teaching them. They always seem to come around in their own time--I do hope that Gabe will enjoy reading. :)

We went to the library yesterday to pick out some books and he was SO excited! He was yelling throughout the children's area "BOOK, COW MOO, DUCK, HORSEY, BOOK" and laughing really loud. I could not get him to be quiet. It was actually pretty funny. Needless to say we picked some books out quick and got out of there. lol

Lately...

Bryan has...

• had a daddy/Gabe weekend while mommy was away at the beach with the girls
• become an uncle x2
• had the flu
• been working at Nike
• been running every Saturday morning and working out
  
• started MMA training with Dave
• been looking for more freelance work

Jenny has...

• had a fabulous weekend at the beach with friends, great teaching from Jody and lots of processing and prayer time
• become an Auntie x2
• had a good b-day with Family (thank you mom for the fun party)
• got to hold her beautiful tiny niece
• been laid off from her job (time for change)
• been praying for direction
  
• had a fun b-day dinner with her good friend Marcia
• had an awesome time getting to be a SAHM for the time being
• been looking for opportunities to work from home
• been looking for jobs
• gotten a lot of cleaning and organizing done
  
• been doing a good job at meal planning and cooking dinners
• spent WAY too much time on Facebook
  

Gabe has...

• spent a weekend with daddy
• been talking a lot
• giving kisses
• been a stinker
• had lots of fun times with cousin Jaden
  
• met his new cousin Audrey
• got to have his mommy home with him full time
  
• gone to OMSI for a playdate

Beach trip (Women's Retreat 09)
Traditional dinner at Bill's on Friday night (No Kate wasn't drinking BTW lol)

(left to right: Jenny, Moo, Ronna, T and Laura)

Waiting for the session to start

Good times

Baby Audrey
Born Feb 14, 2009

Found Gabe sleeping like this one night

Gabe and Jaden Wrestling

Fun at OMSI

A little case of the 24 hr flu

We had such a great time last weekend...it was BEAUTIFUL on Saturday so we went to the park. It was chilly but SO nice. It felt like spring.








Gabe woke up on Monday morning feeling fine. He seemed in good spirits and happy. We dropped him off with my mom and left for work. My mom got the brunt of it...all of the throwing up happened with her.
He threw up all of his milk and breakfast and then he played quietly for a while before going down for a nap. When mom went to get him afterward he then proceeded to throw up all over her. :o(
Mom brought him back to our house and was able to get some toast down him and some water. He took another nap and woke up just wanting to be held.

When we got home I pretty much held him for the rest of the night. He didn't throw up again but he was so weak and he had a temperature of 102.5. It was so sad.
At one point he was lying next to me in bed and he said very weakly "water". :o(

Not feeling so good...


Glad that is over and he's back to my happy baby!

I want this...