3rd Birthday!!!

I have to say, I truly cannot believe that the blessings with this little guy just keep on coming and that we have been given 3 incredible years with our little angel.
Gabe is 3 years-old already! Unbelievable! We had such a fun party. Mike and I stayed up until 12:30, on Saturday night, to create his cake. Mike, a.k.a. Mr. Talented, put his creativity to work and decorated the cake as I made the sails. We put everything together, and then just before the party began, we tore up some blue jello to make the waves surrounding the ship.
Our gift to Gabe was the blow-up pirate ship, which is a pool, but made for a great party toy as well as we filled it up with the plastic pit balls.
Our good friend Carole Grove made balloon swords to fight off bubbles as a few of us took turns huffing and puffing them out into the air. We all laughed sooooo hard as the swords popped whenever they touched the concrete or blades of grass. Some of those kiddos had the most shocked, yet hilarious, faces! Of course we laughed in their dispair! But, fortunately Auntie Carole made plenty of extras.
Gabe's god-brother Matt, even constructed a flag stand for the bed of his truck so that he could fly a pirate flag just for Gabriel!
Gabriel was given some very generous gifts and he loves them all! Thank you everyone for coming. You made his day, and ours by giving of your time and love to our most precious boy!

Day After the Party

Gabe sure enjoyed playing with all of his new presents the day after his big party. What awesome weather we had!

Birthday at School

Tball Practice Rainout

Last Thursday, April 2nd, was Gabe's first big Tball practice......or so we thought until the weather had a different idea. It POURED & POURED & POURED! I believe the picture of Gabe in all of his gear will sum it up for you as he's standing in the rain getting soaked.
Mike and I had bought him all the gear. He came bundled up with his helmet on and carried his bat around like he had been there, done that. We talked to him in the truck on the way to practice about being a good listener to his coach, answer questions by saying, "yes coach," and doing his best.
We showed up and huddled undercover with all of the other parents and players while the coach talked to us about the season and his expectations. Then he pulled the kids into the center to learn their names and talk to them a little before he released us all to go home without actually practicing.
As he wrapped things up with the kids, Gabe looked at him and asked with a quiver in his voice, "We play baseball now?" His coach looked at him and said, "Well buddy....." That's all Gabe needed to hear when tears welled up in his eyes, and his lip turned under as he fought back the tears. He was SO SAD! His coach gave a cheer and realized that Gabriel was disappointed and took them on a quick run in the rain. He cried the whole way home! So we put him in the bathtub with a ice-cream bar and the tears quickly went away.