My baby's three. Wow. It's harder than you'd think to keep a person alive that long. But definitely easier than a goldfish. Or a succulent. Good thing my kids let me know when they're parched.
Gabe spent the day running around at exercise group, helping me make his cake, watching a movie with Rubi, playing with marbles, enjoying apples and smoothies and hotdogs, avoiding accidents, not getting shots at his well-check, taking a long nap, opening presents, playing with play-doh and going bowling!
There are too many wonderful things to say about Gabe, so I think a short list is in order:
1. He's utterly brilliant. He finds ways to solve his own problems, and comes to get Phil or me only after he's done all the legwork and has exhausted all of his other options. He has an insanely intense ability to focus...on the things that interest him. Toward anything only mildly interesting to him, he remains somewhat apathetic.
2. Speaking of interest, he's had a strange one in my hair lately. He combs through it with his fingers, and then makes me move my head around so he can inspect the individual follicles at the top of my head.
3. He could drink every single one of his calories every single day. Milk, juice, smoothies. Yeah. That's pretty much it, but he loves them.
4. Here is the short list of things he likes to/will eat: apples, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, oranges, pineapple, pears, bagels lightly toasted with cream cheese, yogurt, pretzels, fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, noodles from chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, pbj, steamed crinkle cut carrots, hot dogs and a few other random things that he'll eat on and off. Yep. That's pretty much it.
5. He places my face in his hands at least once a day, looks right into my eyes, and kisses me.
6. He is slightly afraid of Rubi. Cautious. Cautious is a probably a better word. But, he is getting better at taking things to her and sharing with her. Granted, if I hand him two packs of fruit snacks and tell him to give one to Rubi, he'll take one single fruit snack out of one of the packs and give that to her. Oh, and part of the cautious thing, he always always puts whatever it is about two feet in front of her; he never actually hands something to her. Too close = potential maiming.
7. He loves to run. And slam into things. And jump on the couch and the bed and the chairs and on the floor.
8. He says one three-word phrase: "This is awesome." It's my favorite thing to hear. Period. It sounds more like, "disssisssAHHssss," and it's always hard to recognize it at first, but it's there.
9. If I see him butt naked, so what? It happens all the time. But, if I see him butt naked running with a piece of toilet paper, then I know I have to hurry.
10. He is so observant. And considerate. He picks up after himself. Occasionally. And he always seems to be aware when I might need something. For example, when he came to wake me up yesterday morning, he made sure to grab some clothes from the dresser for me (granted, they were Phil's clothes, but what other three year old thinks ahead like that?).
11. He seems to be a lot more sensitive to certain sounds. He'll cover his ears long before anyone else even hears the siren coming (yes, I gave birth to Superman), and immediately after he does something good, he covers them, anticipating my screaming and shouting praise.
12. His giggle is the best. It's hearty and high-pitched, and rare (although, it's been a little more frequent lately), and is that delicious sound every parent loves to hear.
13. He loves marbles. Or any other little ball he can collect. And playdoh brand new and straight from the container (he carries it around for hours, never smashing or manipulating it in any way).
14. He has a few favorite books. I know, even though he doesn't speak, that he has them memorized because even when I recite them from memory, say in the car, he starts smiling whenever I get to the "page" before his favorite page. And every book has a favorite page. Favorite books include
There's a Wocket in my Pocket (this unfortunate finally met its end...in the toilet. so much for giving him personal time with books as suggested by his doctor),
Green Eggs and Ham, Bigsby's Best Friend and
Bigsby's Big News (but, oddly not
Bigsby in the Big City),
Llama Llama Nighty Night,
Llama Llama Wakey Wake, Hoo Loves You, and
Pop! Goes Another Balloon.
15. He LOVES to bake. Whenever he's bored, he gets a mixing bowl and some measuring spoons out of the cabinet and drags a chair to the counter.
16. He has gotten really good at being super sneaky. He just inches himself toward whatever it is that he wants to "steal", puts himself in the vicinity, and waits. Never looks anyone in the eye, but he always knows where everyone else is looking. As soon as they are occupied with a task or conversation or leave the room, he makes his move. It works all. the. time.
There are about a million other loveable things that we cherish about Gabe, but this is probably enough for now. We love this little three-year-old!
