Our family photo shoot this summer. Gabe being his happy, fun, curious self!

Learning to ride the German tricycle that was passed on to him by his "cousin" Christoph. Daddy teaching him as dad's have done for generations.

"Got my floatees on and ready to swim in the lake! Ok, so it's pretty cold, so I'll just swim in the hot tub!"

In July our Preschool participated in a local parade. The parade theme was reuse and recycle and our theme was boats - with the slogan that our school is "powered by parents." Oh and by the way, we won first prize in our category - probably because the kids are so dang cute! Boy it was a hot day in Seattle (90 degrees) but lots of fun!

Sitting around the bonfire on Camano Island. Gabe loves bonfires.

This summer Daddy and Gabey visit the fire station with his preschool class. So fun to explore a real fire truck and wear a little uniform.

The Great Crab Hunt!

Crab hunting on Beach Haven beach with Corina, Kacie and Uncle Chris.  We had so much fun turning over rocks and finding little crabs - brown, green, red and funny ones with white shells.  We would collect a bunch then have crab races to let them go back to the rocks.  It was a great treasure hunt!

Orcas Island Vacation

Gabriel and his friend Alex (BeBu) having fun on the "bouncy boat" - no water needed.  Alex, Mama Nan and Papa Scott helped make our vacation so much fun!

Close Encounter with Cows, Goats and Bunnies, Oh My!

The summer solstice dawned sunny and warm so we headed to Forest Park to play with the animals, run around in the kiddy water park and romp in the playground.  The cows and goats thought Gabe was yummy!  

One goat even sampled his hair and gave him a new do!

Happy Daddy's Day!

We celebrated Father's Day at Remlinger Farms riding the ponies, train, roller coaster,  and rides with friend Marcus!  There were fun firsts this day - first pony ride and first ride on the roller coaster.  It was so sweet to see daddy and Gabriel sharing these experiences together!

Mommy's Helper

Gabriel is really enjoying helping mommy bake and helping daddy make shakes!  He loves pancakes and muffins and helps with the pouring and stirring.  If he had his way he'd eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  And sometimes he does have his way although we make sure he eats protein and fruit too!

My Whole Body is My Canvas!

Gabriel the artist!  It's more fun to paint himself than the paper!  He's always creative and finds new ways to do things.  He's very creative and quite a ham!

The First Hair Cut!

Well, it took over two years, but Gabe's hair was finally long enough to get a professional cut!  He got to sit in a race car chair and play with big keys and toys.  He didn't even seem to notice that his hair was being cut - he did great!  And he still has the curls in the back of his head.  We got a picture and the locks that were cut.  Both Mommy and Daddy were there and took pictures.  Afterwards we went out for burgers to celebrate.

It's Potty Time

Gabriel using his potty.  He was doing great until he got sick for a couple of weeks and he lost his momentum.  Now he is finding creative ways to use his potty - as a stool to get to his binkis, and as a face ring!  Well, it's still a work in progress and he'll get it soon.

BRING ON THE MARCHING BANDS!

This weekend we went to Wenatchee for the Apple Blossom festival to visit Uncle Jon and Aunt Terri and spend time with cousin Zoe and her parents Jessica and Zach.  On Saturday morning we went to the parade and found out that Gabriel loves marching bands.  He loves music so much and the marching bands were fascinating to him.  As soon as one would go by, he'd say, "mommy more meemee" (his word for music).  Luckily there were many marching bands in the parade.  Maybe he'll follow in his daddy's footsteps and be in the marching band in high school.  The next day we went to the fair and had lunch and listened to some fun rock music.  We had a great visit with family and it was fun to see Gabe and Zoe hang out and play together.

More news on the potty front:  Today Gabriel used his potty two times, both times telling me that he had to go pee pee.  The second time, he went into the bathroom on his own, lifted the lid on his little potty, sat down and went. 

I'm a Big Boy Now!

I can't believe I'm starting a blog, yikes!  But a PEPS mom friend said that it's a great way to keep a journal of some of the everyday stuff that that Gabriel does and says you want to remember, to post pictures and to share it with friends and family.  Sounds like just what I've been needing so here goes....

Today was a big day, Gabe woke at 5:30 am from is first night in his big boy bed.  Last night we put together is new pine twin bed and rearranged his room.  It's no longer a baby's room but a little boy's room.  It's bitter sweet for me, one more letting go and realizing that my baby is growing into a little boy.  

The other big news is that he went potty in the toilet for the first time today.  Lately he doesn't want to get dressed so this morning I gave up for a while and let him run around naked.  I told him to try not to go pee on the carpet and if he thought he needed to go pee, to tell me.  Well about 10 minutes later he came into the bathroom and said, "mommy, pee pee" and I promptly put him on the toilet.  After 10 seconds he said, "nope, no pee, pee."  Then about a minute later he came back and said the same thing to me.  I put him on the toilet again and we both watched as he started peeing.  After he was done he flushed the toilet and put the lid down and I didn't even ask him to. Of course Daddy and I made a big deal out of it and we called Oma and Nana to tell them.  He was so proud of himself and likes to know he's a big boy.  I'm sure we still have a long way to go but it was a good beginning!

And as you can see, he's started to enjoy brushing his teeth now that he can get on the stool and see himself in the mirror and brush with mommy or daddy.