The Latest

I'm suffering from lack of blogging. I really wish I could post some of the fun pictures we've taken lately! You'll just have to use your imaginations, I guess. Here are a few tidbits from the last few weeks...

Gabe has discovered the childhood joy of staying up past bedtime. After he's tucked in, lights are out and door is shut, he gets up and turns the light on so he can read books. Erik is so proud - he's not willing to put a stop to it! Since I'm the one dealing with the tired and grumpy toddler in the morning, I am willing to say lights out time for sleep after about an hour. I will admit, part of me thinks it's pretty cool.

A few days ago, Gabe told us he had to go #2. We've struggled with this aspect of potty training, so we do all we can to encourage him. But, when he gets to the potty, he doesn't have much patience and won't go. So that day we gave up after a few attempts. A couple minutes later, Gabe came racing up the stairs with a huge grin on his face proclaiming that he went all by himself! I went downstairs with him, and sure enough, he had. I never thought #2 could be such cause for celebration.

The weather here has been so nice lately - I love fall in Georgia! We've taken advantage of the pleasant temperatures and spent several evenings at the park. Inspired by kite flyers and model airplane pilots there, Erik thought it would be fun for us to get a kite and join in. He and Gabe went in search of one with no success. I suggested a hobby shop I'd passed, and sure enough, they had kites. Had I been in the store before, I may not have allowed either of my boys inside! They were both in heaven, and by the time we checked out, we (and by we I mean Erik) had one heck of a kite, a model rocket and a set of 715 glow in the dark stars complete with a constellation map. (wow.) The next night, we went out to fly the kite. A few broken/lost parts and one spectacular 30 second flight later, we threw in the towel. Gabe was much more interested in playing in the dirt, anyway. A few days later, we went out to launch the rocket. We learned we'd have to get out of the house a lot earlier to find an empty field with no one around. So, the next morning we headed out bright and early (much to my delight, um, right - pregnant, tired and no breakfast) and found a launch site. Erik set it all up and gave us assignments. I was to make sure it was pointing straight up and Gabe was to push the launch button. We counted down and it blasted off. The look on Gabe's face was priceless. It was sheer delight! I can't say who had more fun - Erik or Gabe. Erik was thrilled to pass on something he loved as a child himself. Their excitement was almost tangible. They launched it two more times, never tiring of it and giving each other a play-by-play of how far it went, how close it came to landing in the busy street and how awesome it all was. I suppose witnessing such a bonding father/son moment was worth delaying breakfast for...

The other night, while I made dinner Gabe played with play-dough. In the midst of rolling a blue dough rock, he announced he needed to go upstairs to see something. A few minutes later, he came back down carrying a Buzz Lightyear costume I had hidden in a bag in the new nursery. Needless to say, he wore it the rest of the day. "Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! I'm falling with style!"

We went to the preschool open house tonight and learned that Gabe is doing well. He's learning to be polite (no, it's not ok to tell your teacher to "move!" out of the way of your truck) and how to avoid using the potty at school (just hold it until you get home!). His teachers are really sweet and we're happy with how it's going so far.

I wish I could post all the fun pictures that go with each of these tidbits! If I figure out a way to get them on this laptop, or when we eventually get a new computer, I'll have to back track. Until then, my little snipits will have to suffice. :o)