Further proof he's growing up.

I still remember the excitement of setting up the crib for Gabriel when I was pregnant. From picking out his bedding and actually assembling the crib

and then putting him in there for the first time when we came home from the hospital after he was born.

Then there was the times he started standing at his crib, and sleeping through the night.

And then...he started climbing out. And one day he climbed out and fell on his arm, which lead to a visit to the ER. We thought he broke his arm, long story. But it was fine, except we knew that it was time to get rid of the crib and go for a big boy bed. After looking for a bed, we decided to get the Step2 Stock Car convertible bed. It's a toddler bed that converts to a twin size and we figured he would like that it was a car (his room already had the car theme going on) and we thought it would be an easier transition for him. My in-laws basically wanted to that to be his 2nd birthday present from them so we went ahead and ordered it. It finally came in on Saturday and Gabriel was so excited when he saw it. He loves his bed, and surprisingly it only took him 45 minutes to get to bed. I thought it would take longer because he would be getting out and playing but he was fine.

Naptime has been a little harder though. Today was the first day that he actually napped since he's had his bed and I hope that he does stop his no-nap strike soon. Still, I love going into his room at night and seeing him sleeping in his big boy bed. I guess it's just further proof my little baby boy isn't a baby anymore.

Sick boy

Yesterday Gabe woke up under the weather, I just KNEW he would be getting sick. He had is 2 year well appointment, weighed 37 lbs and was 37 inches tall. Baby boy is huge! He also got his flu shot so I knew his cold would be full blown by the end of the day since he always gets sick after his flu shot. And of course, he did get sick. We're taking dripping snot, watery eyes, dry cough, massive sneezes and of course, clingy-ness and fussiness to the extreme. Last night he woke up at 11:30 and would not go back to sleep so we brought him to bed with us. He HATES sharing a bed but he cuddled up and fell asleep right away. Poor little buddy, he's so pitiful when he's ill. I hope he gets better soon!

TWO!

First off, I pretty much suck at keeping up with my blog. I try to get myself to write but I always get sidetracked. That's another story though, this time I am actually motivated to write something.

Yesterday was the kiddo's second birthday. Crazy how two years have passed since his birth, since the first time I held him in my arms and saw his face. I honestly remember it like it just happened, I don't remember the labor pains (although, I think I tried to block that out of my memories) but I do remember how I wanted him out, I wanted to hold him and kiss him. I couldn't stand the anticipation of seeing who he would look like and if his little face would match the boy I was dreaming of all those months. I remember thinking how perfect he was, how relieved I was to see he was an overall healthy boy. I remember being shocked at how big he looked. I remember how much in awe I was when I saw him. He was finally here, after all those months of waiting and dreaming of him, he was here. And he was every bit as perfect as I had imagined.

That was two years ago. Last year I remember looking at him the last few minutes before he "officially" turned one (11:47am) and realized how amazing he was. He had grown so much, but he was still a baby. Today I can't say the same. He is a boy, a free-spirited, silly, train-loving, giggly, helpful little boy. I remember how much everyone would tell me to savor every moment. I'm glad I did because time really did fly. Yesterday it really hit me that two is a whole lot closer to three, three is a whole lot closer to four and five which means a whole lot closer to kindergarden. Yes, I'm getting ahead of myself, but already I can picture me bawling on his first day of school, taking six billion and one pictures to document it all because by that point I will be thinking of his high school graduation and how fast that will come. My husband thinks I'm ridiculous, I just think I'm being a mom. A mom who is scared that her "baby boy" really isn't a baby (even though people have been telling me that for months!) anymore. He is so self sufficient. He doesn't want to be fed, "I do" he says, he finds ways to solve his own problems and entertains himself and you can just see that he's anxious to try something on his own. We have no more bottles in this house, his toddler bed should be arriving sometime this week, and he is just crazy over boy stuff like trains, cars and airplanes. I love my baby boy, and yes, to me he will always be my baby boy. Sometimes I wish I could stop time in its tracks and enjoy him a little longer, because despite my efforts to keep him a baby, I have no more baby, I have a little man in this house..a toddler! Yikes!

But anyway...

Sunday was his birthday party which was of course, Thomas themed. And of course, I stressed out and went overboard despite me saying that I wouldnt. All in all, it was a great party and Gabriel had a ton of fun. He was so tired by the end of the day but he had a blast and that's all that matters to me

On the day of his actual birthday (yesterday), we slept in late and then had a nice breakfast and then went out to Benihana's for lunch. Gabe had a blast and he got his own plate which came with some chicken, rice, corn and also some shrimp. He had never had shrimp and although he wasn't a huge fan, he did like it enough to not throw it on the ground. His meal also came with an ice cream and the servers sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I'm not sure what he thought of that, he just kept giving them the evil eye.

In the evening, I made a nice pasta dinner and both mine and my husband's family joined us for dinner. Gabriel got to unwrap some presents and he spent some time with some of his favorite people. My mom got him some really cute stacking toys and sorting toys which he has been playing with non-stop.

He had a great birthday, and I love seeing the little man he's turning into. Lets see what this next year brings us!