So Gabe and I were on our way home tonight. Since it’s getting so dark so early, the stars were starting to shine. Our conversation went like this…
G: What’s that?
M: I think that’s a star, Gabe.
G: It’s not a star, it’s a circle.
M: I think it is a star, Gabe.
G: It isn’t a star, it isn’t a circle with points.
M: Gabe, I really think it’s a star.
G: Maybe it’s the smallest planet, Pluto.
M: *sigh*
So, I’ve been brainwashing Gabe by turning on “Elmo’s Potty Time” video when we are in the car. He’s been doing better with the potty lately, but it is with much effort on our part and being on top of things. Tonight, on the way home, Gabe was watching and giggling at the usual spots of the video, and he says, “mommy uses the potty.” I agreed, yes Gabe, mommy uses the potty. Then he says, “I use the potty.” To which I agreed again. He finally said “Daddy uses the potty. Daddy uses a book to go to the potty!” Why, yes Gabe, daddy does use a book to use the potty, and that made me giggle.
We went to the annual Fall Fest at Freddie Hill’s today. It was an absolutely beautiful day, especially since it poured all day yesterday. Gabe was so excited to find the biggest possible pumpking he could lift.
But he settled on something a little more manageable…
We got to go on a hay ride, where, as usual, Gabe tried to bury everyone in hay.
After the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, we came back and Gabe went through the corn maze with Dela and then down the big slide, which I think he would have done all day if we had let him (and had unlimited tickets to do so…)
And last but not least, we waited in line for the famous pony ride! That was the only way we could get Gabe away from the slide, but of course he loved it.
What a fun, yet exhausting day. We didn’t stay to see the pig races. That was too crowded, and we couldn’t get close enough to see anyway. Happy Autumn!
Ever since we saw that silly Chihuahua movie, Gabe goes around saying “Aye, Chihuahua.” It’s much less annoying than his “Oh, shoot.”
Gabe and I went down to NoVA for the holiday weekend. We left after lunch on Friday and got there around dinner time. Gabe was really good for the ride. He took about an hour nap and watched some “Land Before Time.” When we got there, Miss Miranda talked up the potty to Gabe, so he went right away. She is 3 months younger than Gabe and pretty much potty trained. We had a nice evening, yet filled with 2 three year olds who haven’t seen each other in a while and who were faced with the sharing dilema, so it was a little rocky in the beginning, but not too bad.
On Saturday morning, the two of them were up at the crack of dawn, so we put them in a double stroller and went for a long walk. We walked up to the park and let them play for a while before heading back. Gabe taught them a little about dinosaurs because there were 2 dino bouncy swing things. One was a t-rex and the other was a triceratops. We headed back home then because another friend was on her way down with her 2 kids and they did arrive soon after we got back. Once we all had a snack, we headed out to the pool for some splash time. The pool was a bit chilly, and Gabe was actually the first one to be “done” with it all. He got cold and had enough. We went home for some lunch and nap time.
For dinner, we had some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Yet another Hokie friend and his wife and son came over for dinner. It was a really nice time. After the kids ate, they all went downstairs to play which I’m so not used to. They amused themselves for probably an hour so we could actually have a little bit of adult conversation, although that didn’t last too long because the girls were ganging up on Gabe. They wouldn’t let him in the tent and he was upset by this. We had to break it up and it was eventually time to get them all bathed and in jammies for bed.
Sunday morning was yet another early morning, but Gabe did sleep till 7:30. We had breakfast and then played for a while. It was soon time to pack up and leave. We had a snack and then hit the road. The ride home was much easier than the drive down since we came back on Sunday and not Labor day. Gabe took a nap near the end of the ride and woke up as we pulled into the driveway.
Gabe did really well using the potty most of the weekend. I guess peer pressure works wonders! I didn’t change one poopy diaper!
All in all, it was a very good weekend.
Gabe had his first “real” visit to the dentist today. I say real because he was there twice before, but it was due to his mouth accident last Thanksgiving. He had his teeth cleaned and flossed and he did wonderful. The hygenist was really good with him. She told him exactly what she was going to do each step of the way, and he was cool with it. She let him pick what flavor toothpaste she would use, and of course he picked bubblegum, and then he got to pick what flavor fluoride she used and he picked marshmellow. He got to pick 4 prizes afterwards and he also got a Diego toothbrush for being such a star patient. He was such a good boy that she told him he could come back every week for a cleaning if he wanted. And to think that the receptionist gave me a hard time for wanting a 4pm appointment. She said they only do the 2-3 year olds in the morning because that’s just a better time of day for toddlers. I assured her on the phone that Gabe would be fine (crossing my fingers behind my back) and she finally agreed. Sheesh. All that fuss for nothing. We went to Friendly’s for dinner as a reward.
Now, I am packing because Gabe and I are off to DC for a Hokie weekend. Pictures when we get back!
On the topic of naps…
Gabe doesn’t nap much anymore, even though it’s painfully obvious on most days that he needs one. He occasionally falls asleep on the way home and sleeps through the night, which is definitely a sign of being over tired. That and his hyperactivity level when we get home.
Today, on the way home, I asked him why he doesn’t take naps anymore. I know… ask a stupid question, right? Gabe’s reply?
“I don’t sleep when the sun is out. I only sleep when the moon is out.”
How’s that for a well thought out reply?
Gabe, 4:41pm *yawn*
4:42 pm “momma, i not sleepy.”
mom “really Gabe?”
Gabe “yeah.”
4:44pm *zzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
We were out to eat at our usual Saturday night place when we were almost done and Gabe announced that he needed to poop! And he needed to poop in the bathroom! So I took him and sat him on the potty and he took care of business. I was so proud of him and he was so excited. He was so excited that he announced it to everyone in the restaurant. As we were walking back to the table, he shouted to daddy ” I pooped in the potty! I did a big poop!” Gabe got some applause and a high five and he was just giddy. It was a big moment in potty progress. He got to pick a special sticker for his potty chart when we got home. It may not be consistent progress, but I’ll take it!
On another note, bloodwork came back normal. Shocking, I know.
Gabe had his 3 year old well check last week. It went well, except for the fact that he isn’t exactly tall, and if you’ve met our family, on either side, that would be no surprise. The doctor recommended that I take him to get his thyroid function checked. This means a blood draw. I knew it was coming since it’s status quo to test for everything in the book to avoid getting sued. I mean, c’mon. I’m 4′10″. It’s not like I’m winning any height competition. I went through the whole family tree with the doctor and he assured me that it was just “in case” and he didn’t want anyone to fall through the cracks and have something get missed. I agreed, cursing under my breath, took the referral and got around to calling for an appointment a few days later.
We went for the bloodwork this afternoon. I had already prepped Gabe for it. Told him what they were going to do and what reward he would get for being a big brave boy. I told him again when we got there that he had to be brave and that he would get one of Nana’s special lolli pops when he was done. The boy didn’t even flinch. There were three other nurses standing and waiting for the kicking and screaming to start, ready to jump in and wrestle him to the ground to get a vial of blood. Gabe sat in my lap. I held his left arm against his tummy in a big bear hug, another nurse held his right arm and someone else drew his blood. He sat calmly and watched the whole thing happen. They put a cool band aid on his boo boo, he got a sticker and gave a high five to the guy who drew his blood. Gabe sat out in the waiting room and ate his special lolli pop and then we came home. He fell asleep on the way home, and is now napping in his bed. I’m so proud of my big boy.
So, Gabe and I checked out a new “coffeehouse/playground” this afternoon. It is at a local church, actually just a few minutes from Nonna’s house. It was a nice place, clean, not crowded, etc. Gabe ran in instantly and started playing on the equipment. Boys are so rough. The bigger boys were pushing him down and looking at him like he was crazy, because, well, Gabe is a bit quirky. He loves dinosaurs and loves to stomp around like a dino so I guess they just didn’t get what he was doing. Plus, he does this dramatic jump and fall to the ground thing. One of the kids watched him do this and said to one of his friends…”look, he just dropped dead!” Gabe was running up to everyone telling them “I’m Gabey!” (that would be my fault since I call him Gabey baby) During all of this action, this little blonde kid, who has a black eye and is probably all of 4 or 5, comes up to Gabe and starts calling him a loser. This, well, this pissed me off. Gabe has no idea what that means and this little boy was just being a punk brat. Luckily, one of the older kids ratted him out to his mother, and she came in and dragged him out. She told him he needed to apologize to Gabe, but he wouldn’t so he was put in a time out. Several minutes later, she brought him back in and he did apologize to Gabe (although Gabe had no idea what he was apologizing for), and he was then allowed to play again. I felt like the over protective mother that I am, because Gabe is just not used to this kind of interaction. He doesn’t go to daycare or preschool, so he’s not around kids all that often. I was just horrified at how brutal these little boys were. I know we’ll go back again because Gabe had a great time and he needs the interaction. Plus, it’s an indoor playground, so it’s great for these hot summer days. The ironic thing is that this place is in a church. I’m not ready to see my little Gabey being bullied by the bigger boys. I know he’ll always be the small one in class, but I’m just not ready for it!
So Gabe got a T-Rex hot wheels track for his birthday. He loves it. One afternoon, he was playing with it and one of the tracks came off. Gabe pestered me to fix it for him while I was making dinner. I finally did and he comes up to me and says, “thank you momma, I’m so proud of you!”
A couple weekends ago, Gabe helped me make some blueberry muffins with blueberries fresh from Nonna’s garden. He really enjoyed helping. I left them in a container on the counter and the next day, when we got home, there was an empty container on the floor with no signs of any muffins. Walk to the bedroom, and see two sitting on the floor, untouched, and Luci under the bed with this “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” look on her face. As soon as Gabe saw this, He cried out, with hands on face ala Macaulay Culkin, “oh no! we need to make more muffins!!”
The next weekend, we did make more muffins. Gabe helped again, and this time, we made banana blueberry muffins. Gabe scarfed it down, fresh out of the oven. The next day, I gave him one for breakfast, and looked at me and said “I don’t think I like this.”
Gabe has also started reffering to Natty as his cat. Not Goatee or Eris, or even Patches. Just Natty. That is his cat. Luci is his dog, too, and I think she is growing more fond of him by the day. I think he gave her 10 cookies between 6pm and 7pm.
Well, Gabe had quite a weekend. Friday we went to Build-a-Bear where he made “Elephant Guy.” That was Gabe’s naming, of course.
Then on Saturday morning, he opened a few presents from mommy and daddy…
Then it was time to go to the big party at the YMCA. The kids got to run around like crazy for an hour. I think they had lots of fun. It was like miniature American Gladiators.
There was some parachute play time…
And then we went to the party room for some snacks and Cake!
Fun was had by all. Gabe got lots of cool gifts. There was an overwhelming theme of dinosaur gifts! He should have enough dinosaurs to keep him occupied for a very long time! To cap off the birthday weekend, we went to see Kung Fu Panda today, which Gabe loved. It’s going to be a boring week after all that activity!
Happy birthday to our little Gabe. He is 3 years old today. I can’t believe where the time has gone. Three years ago today, our baby boy came into this big world and he has been on the go ever since. Gabe had a great birthday today. His Nonna and Nonno took him out to lunch where they sang to him and gave him cheesecake and he got to open some of his presents. Then, I picked him up and we went to King of Prussia mall with Nana to the Build a Bear store. Gabe picked out a Elephant to stuff and he named him Elephant guy. He picked a basketball outfit and sneakers for him to wear and we created his birth certificate. We then went to Ruby’s diner for dinner where they sang happy birthday to him and gave him a sunday for desert. It was a fun day. We got home late, and it was just after 9 when we finally got him to bed. He needs lots of rest because tomorrow is the big party at the YMCA. Pictures to come…
Gabe went to see Wall-E with daddy today. It was a great success as Gabe sat quietly on daddy’s lap for the whole movie and watched with extreme interest. When they got home, Gabe was excited to tell me about it and then said that we’re going to see Kung Fu Panda, too. I guess we’ll be going to the kiddie movies alot more often now.
Guess what we did today? Here’s a hint…
We picked our own strawberries today with Ash and Dela. Gabe had a good time, even with the heat. We picked probably close to 6 lbs. I’m planning on attempting to make some jam with it. We shall see how that turns out.
Edit: Strawberry Jam turned out yummy! A little thin, but still very flavorful. Gabe approved! I put some in the freezer for later…
