3 P's for the big 3

PETER PAN * PIZZA * PRESENTS

Gabe, Gabe, Gabe,

where exactly do i began?  

his favorite word is "why", his favorite color is..all of them, his favorite food is pizza with dip(ranch) his favorite drink is chocolate milk, his favorite past time is playing with/torturing Mac a moo moo. He loves riding his wiggle car, swimming, playing on his swing set, watching shows, wrestling, playing monster trucks, getting dirty, playing make believe with his pirate dolls, singing, talking, doing puzzles, coloring .... the list goes on and he wants to do all those things at the same time, right now!!!    

he challenges my patience every day!! he must have done some research before joining our family and found out that patience is NOT my strong suit, and then made it his life mission to teach me the in's and out's of the quality. 

i'm not a quick study but I like to think i'm doing much better. 

he finds pure joy in everything he does, its like his face literally lights up and he gets so giddy when he is excited, its hard to be frustrated for too long.

do you need a close up of this amazing cake? 

I thought so!

 my talented mom made it for Gabes birthday. Up until a week before the big day Gabe was dead set on having a MONSTER TRUCK cake!!! but of course he changed his mind after i had diligently pined numerous monster truck cake options on my "birthday party pin board"

Luckily my MOM came to the rescue!!..... as always.

 Weight: 45 lbs 100%

  Height: 41.5 in 100%

 this crazy little dude helps me remember all the things that growing up has made me forget and what i will need to learn with 3 little boys, like: 

farts, burps or any other bodily sound is funny, if you want to eat ramen noodles with your hands...thats ok, use your finger INSTEAD of a french fry to get the goodness that is ketchup into your mouth...go ahead, forks and spoons are for the weak. getting dirty for no other reason then the fun of it is sometimes the goal, chocolate milk is good at every meal, you can be a superhero everyday if you wanna, there might actually be gold up your nose so you better check once in awhile, dancing around is a great way to pass the time until you can fit going to the bathroom into your busy schedule.

and on and on...again another never ending list, but you get the idea, i have a lot to learn and a lot of opportunities to practice my new "patience" skills.

but most importantly... 

 in the last 3 years he's taught me so much more then the importance of being patient.

 he's taught me what unconditional no holds bar through myself in front of a bus for you love is.

  this little human has made me love harder and fiercer then i ever thought possible,

and has shown me the actual definition of what "mama bear" really means for anyone who threatens my little cub.  

as he continues to grow i'm sure the lessons he teaches me will out number the ones i teach him

but i look forward to every "inch" of his life, the good, the bad and the dirty.

 i love you my little Gabe. 

Happy Birthday!

Brief Moments

 Has it really been almost 2 months since my last blog post?! i don't understand why for the love of all that is holy i can NOT keep up with my blogging/scrapbook/journal! i mean this is for my posterity after all. 

My plan: send this blog to someone more talented then me to print and rearrange this collection of life events and send me a hardbound book of memories to cherish forever.   So i guess for my plan to work i'll keep attempting to do a better job at recording brief moments like the one below so i can look back and remember them amidst the more frequent moments of pure chaos that i seem to have recorded in abundance.  

So shall we play catch up again?

 Easter Came

 we dyed eggs, ate way to much sugar

and got matching jammies.

 Mac did not get an easter basket.. why? he was 8 months old, he didn't care, and mom and dad are cheap i guess. he did however catch up in size to his cousin Ivy who is 3 months older. 

spring was full of exciting times. 

  supercross with dad and all of his boy cousins and uncles...

 a nap under the bleachers, a sunburn...because dad was in charge of sunblock.

and one TIRED boy!

 

friends, friends and more friends...

The tree house museum 

Jungle Jims

 Mac fit in some relaxation

and gabe had a date with mom and dad to the spaghetti factory. 

 Summer crept up on us 

but we are doing our best to soak up the rays

summer seems to be a little indecisive if its going to stay around or not.

Both boys continue to grow at warp speed and get cuter and smarter and crazier and more work by the day!

 Lagoon Passes from grandma and grandpa Echols will be a big hit this summer

the neighborhood swimming pool is our happy place and frequented AT LEAST 3 times a week. 

 Bath time is not optional in the summer when you don't have grass yet and your two year old says "mom, i wanna go outside and get dirty" 

and sometimes when you are so tired at the end of the day and you think, i'll just wipe him down tonight, then you get close to him and he smells like a kindergarten class room after recess. 

yeah, you put his butt in the tub!

then you wrap him in a towel and he pretends to be all sweet and innocent, but he's not fooling you. 

he is a "lion" in "lions" clothing... hahaha

but sometimes when they don't know you're looking they give you actual proof that they can be as sweet as they pretend to be and you better whip out our camera before the moment passes!

 but its those brief moments that help me wrap my mind around the addition of 

baby BOY #3 to our family.

Due November 1st.

So if you are feeling nostalgic and want to relive what a high school locker room smells like

 come on over in about 3 years. 

Disneyland 2013

i've been wanting to go to disneyland for about the past 10 years and arron would never take me!! RUDE! 

he is not a lover of disneyland, or should i rephrase, he WASNT a lover of disneyland. 

however, take your kids to disneyland and not to sound completely cliché but it is amazingly more magical, and although he wont be sporting his mickey shirt on casual fridays or running out and purchasing a mickey mouse watch, he did catch the spirit of the happiest place on earth, 

and i believe he is secretly planning and making spread sheets for our next disney getaway in his CPA brain.

Ooooooh YES WE DID!!

we were "those" people with the matching shirts.

its really the only way to fit in. 

 and all the cool people are doing it. 

and if we ever go during the winter months we will buy some matching hanes sweat suits and matching disney iron ons and get us some fanny packs and you will wish you were us!

although i finally made it to disneyland after years of begging i was also 5 months pregnant so i couldn't 

 ride any of the good rides. {seriously, the disney gods are against me}

HOWEVER!!! just seeing cars land made it all ok. 

That place is AMAZING!!  you seriously feel like you are in the movie.

and it blew little Lightning McQueen lovers minds!!

this disney trip had been in the works for a year, we started planning it one night with our good friends the Jones family, and it was awesome to finally make the 12 hour trek with Gabes best friend and some of our favorite people. 

nana nancy and papa tim came to share in the magic for a couple of days.

which was code for "come and watch the kids while the adults play for a couple hours"

did that happen, no! but it was nice to have some extra eyes to keep track of 2 very excited little boys.

so there is a slight chance that we took gabe about 6-12 months too early.

 He loved meeting all of the characters, 

he did NOT love the rides.

he liked most of the kid rides once he got on them but the anticipation caused the poor kid some major anxiety accompanied by some tears and deep breaths. 

his favorite ride was toy story mania.

his least favorite ride...well i'll let the picture below do the talking. 

{i think its the BEST picture from the entire trip, that face is PRICELESS}

everyone should be able to dress up as their favorite super hero for a day, but something magical happens in DISNEYLAND when you put on those wings or brandish a wooden sword aka stick.

you BECOME them, and you get more attention and smiles and you might as well get an agent and manager because you are the star of the show.

at least thats what these two thought as they slipped into last years halloween costumes that were now 2 inches too short and took to the streets of disneyland.

peter pan found tinker bell and gabe found his stunt double and was kind enough to pose for a picture with him. 

Random people pointed, snapped pictures and oohed and awed at the 2 handsome little celebs.

one lady even asked gabe if he was going to be buzz light year when he grew up,

to which he replied "no, an accountant" .... hahaha

dont worry, there is still time to change his mind!

we had so much fun and cant wait to go back, maybe mac will be lucky and get to experience disneyland next time instead of being strapped into a stroller or to dad or asleep.

he was a little champ and i'm sure it was because he could feel the magic...right?

we love you Disneyland...to infinity and beyond!

until next time!