Oh how he's changed...

So I'm officially planning a 3rd birthday and a 1st birthday. It's going to be a joint birthday since we will {hopefully} will have new jobs and be moved into a different town, and well....I don't feel like having two parties back to back, especially since the people who will be coming--would have to travel for both. Their birthdays are 8 days apart. Sooo... a double party it is. It's a mickey and minnie party. I'm stoked for it too!

But alas...on with the title of this post right??

So I was making their month by month picture banners {Gabriel's is every 6 months} and it's so crazy to think how much he has changed. He used to be this little tiny baby...who than became a chunky big boy.... who now is this thin, but big boy. He's always been on the big side, and he's always been my little {big} baby, but he really doesn't look as big as he used to be... yet he's a whopping 40lb, 40+ inch toddler.

He's become this independent, free, want-to-do-it-on-my-own boy. Every day he learns new words. Heck, he used his fingers to count to 5....I didn't know he could do that. Crazy?!?! He amazes me daily... he frustrates me daily....and he shows me how much he loves me daily. I couldn't ask for a better son.

He has started to become a tad jealous of Kellie now. Not sure where it came from, maybe because she's more mobile now...maybe because she's getting bigger and he thinks he needs to show her who's boss, either way, it's frustrating. BUT, he always...and I mean ALWAYS will kiss her goodnight and tell her he loves her. When they are laying down by each other, he pats her on the head, as if to tell her "I'm here little sister, and I love you". I'm just hoping the jealousy phase goes quickly, because it's hard not to defend her and not make him feel horrible or burst out in tears.

He has some pretty good tantrums, to say the least. Most during bedtime, because he hates going to bed. Afterall there is just sooo much to do. Others are when he's trying to explore, and the exploring will get him hurt...so we stop him. And....first thing in the morning. Like me, Gabriel is NOT a morning person. Like his father if he is hungry, he gets irritable and angry.

Oh and did I mention the boy is potty trained {learned-which ever you prefer}... And now, he pees standing up... which is quite humorous, since he puts his hands on his hips and pushes his hips forward. And just stands there and smiles while he pees. He also will pee standing up, then turn around and sit on the potty to poop. Seems like that turns it into a long process, but hey...the boy does what he wants. He hasn't had an accident in I don't know how long. One proud mama right here :o) We still put a pull up on him at night, just because we don't have a waterproof cover on his bed yet... but he still doesn't pee at night or naptime {he doesn't wear one at nap time}. Soooo nice not to buy diapers {I bought a pack of pull ups over a month and a half ago}, well except cloth. But that's a different subject.

His favorite shows are Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and certain disney movies. He gets hooked on a movie for a month, then moves to another... The Lion King used to be his favorite, right now it's the "kitty movie" aka Puss N Boots.

He still takes his Tigger every where, but now he has a cat that he takes everywhere. He got the Cat from Build a Bear and he "built" it on his own. It's name is Cooper {which is also his pretend friend's name} but he doesn't call him Cooper now, he just says Cat. And he cares for him like it's a real cat.

Did I mention that he's a total sweetheart? He kisses boo-boo's, tucks in all his stuffed animals, snuggles when I'm sad, hugs and kisses Kellie out of no where. And while randomly tell me "I love you momma". Melt my heart.

He is also a clown. He loves to show off. He sings in the car, and will put on a show in the store for everyone...but the moment a little girl walks by he freezes and turns into jello. Silly boy.

He picks up random things from tv now too. We noticed when he watched "turtles" or TMNT that he would get more aggressive {yes, we stopped that immediately, and any other 'violent' types of shows} or he'll go explore and stop swipper with Dora. The cutest one though...he got one of his toys and "cracked" it open like the baboon off of The Lion King and stuck his finger inside and pretended to paint the goo on our foreheads like the baboon does to Simba. He did it to Kellie first, then to all his stuffed animals...then finally to Josh & I. It was sooo cute.

I tried counting all the words he can say...and it's impossible. It's got to be over 250-300 now....and that's the low end. He says about 3-5 new words a day, just out of no where...and I just look at him like "uhh huh... interesting kid". I just can't believe how much this little boy knows. It seriously amazing me.

Oh and another cute thing... He loves to pray. Which I love. We believe in God, we teach him that God is great... he has his own bible, but we don't go to church really... only when we go to my parents {I hope we can change that soon, I want them to go to church...I want to go to church}. Anyway, a 2 1/2 year old saying "Amen" and thanking God for everything is purely precious.

I plan to post some on Kellie sooner rather than later, but I had some time tonight...so I thought I would talk about how much this boy amazes me, and if you haven't figure that out yet...then you probably never will haha.