Three Years Old!

Gabriel turned 3 on the 25th.  It's still pretty astounding to me that he has become a little man with no trace of baby or toddler in him anymore.  I especially feel like he has grown up a lot in the last few months (no more diapers may have something to do with that! :).  He's using so many new words, in new ways, asking such interesting questions & even talking with different voices ;).  He's quite funny, dramatic, happy, helpful & physical (he loves wrestling & really any kind of sparring).  And he is quite good to his little sister & often asks, "Where's my Gemma?" We just enjoy him so much & feel so happy & blessed to have him!

We celebrated Gabe over several days, per Minster tradition ;).  We had some close friends/family over for dinner on the Sunday before his birthday & celebrated the 17th birthday of 2nd cousin, Tanner Sheppard, along with Gabe's.  Gabe had been talking for months about having people over for dinner out on our deck for his birthday (I think he either remembered last year or had seen pictures of last year's celebration.) A while before we even brought out the birthday cake, Gabe said, "Sing me the birthday song!" And he beamed as we obeyed.  

Both Gabe & Gemma LOVE Elmo.  This Sesame Street set has been very
popular over the past few weeks & is often visited by Darth Vader, his
Storm Troopers & other Star Wars friends.  

Gabe loves donuts, so why not a chocolate donut cake?
(Especially when I ran out of time to make the dinosaur cake I planned :)

Monday night, Gabe's birthday eve, we had a FHE where we talked about Gabe's birth & how beloved he is. Then he opened a present from Gemma: a pirate hat, patch, sword & earring.  Don't let the photo fool you, he was thrilled!

Cap'n Gabe says, "AAARRG!"

Gemma sporting the earring as Pirate Girl... also thrilled.  

I love her HUGE post-bath hair.  It's very tall & quite poofy!
(Her hair, not her head ;)

And then came Tuesday, his actual birthday...  This was a fun birthday, as it was the first year that he seemed to understand why he was getting presents & being celebrated.  We had breakfast together & Gabe opened his gifts before heading off to pre-school.  He was very pleased with his cards & gifts.  And again, he demanded the birthday song.  (When Patrick tried to change it up with another birthday tune, Gabe got upset & repeated that he wanted the birthday song!)

She's a very happy little lady... 90% of the time. 

Excited about birthday gifts... wearing his fun fireman birthday crown
from Grandma Shari

Birthday boy at pre-school... avoiding the camera.

We took Gabe & Gemma to Chucky Cheese that evening to close out the celebrations. And they both had quite the time!  They ran from ride to game to ride & we realized we had done well at choosing the right venue for unbridled 3 year old fun!

Riding a simulated roller coaster together :)

They couldn't get enough of this "Noah's Ark" & all the sounds it made.  

Lately...

Time to get back on the blog wagon that hit the road in July & didn't get very far!  ;)  The last few months have been busier than usual for us, but it was nice to get back on a schedule after a pretty care free summer with trips to Arizona & Utah, visits to the zoo & Fairtale Town, and lots of playtime at the park & swimming pools.  We finished a lot of little projects around the house that had been on my list for a while & whittled down the list significantly! Yea!!  

Gabriel had a birthday (more on that later!), got potty-trained (with a little bribery to hurry it along) & started preschool at Miss Becky's one week later... He LOVES it. He comes home with all kinds of tales about other kids in the class, especially the naughty ones! :)  He's been amazing with using the potty & has had only 3 accidents in 2 months (two were during the first week). 

First day of pre-school

Gemma has awakened to her love of shoes & clothes. If she doesn't have shoes on, she's in search of a pair.  And lately, she has been bringing me clothes, usually from her dirty clothes hamper (which just thrills me), to put on her.  On the day documented below, she had 4 layers on top & 3 on bottom.  And then she came to sit on my lap & fell asleep, layers & all.  I was a little worried she'd overheat during her nap, but was just fine.

  

Our latest trip to the zoo, just last week.  Gabe tried to scale every fence (as documented below), but was pretty good about stopping his climb once he knew I'd caught him.  Gemma made all sorts of loud growls & snarls as we made our way through the zoo.  Daddy & Gabe have taught her well.  

Gabe loves watching the River Otter's swim & wrestle!

Modeling the Hawaiian family outfits Mom & Dad Minster gave us for our birthdays last year.
My dress was a bit snug for modeling ;)

She talks & sings continually, though we understand
just a few words.  

It's a wonderful thing to look up from doing the dishes & see this
delighted face smiling at me through the window screen!  

One of Gabe's potty training rewards was his now-beloved Batman mask & cape.  He hasn't yet tired of it after almost 2 months & Gemma loves it too.  She puts it on & in her best low, husky voice says, "MA-MAN!" It's quite hilarious.  We always ask for an encore!