I have finally gotten around to blogging about Gabriel's birthday. He turned two on February 16! Yes, I know...we are in May now, but there is no way that I can not blog about his special day.
Gabriel had such a blast on his birthday. For a few weeks before his birthday I kept telling him that he was going to be TWO soon, so that when people asked him how old he was on his birthday he would be able to say his real age. It was so cute, because he totally did! So the day started with us singing happy birthday to him when he first woke up. HE LOVED IT. He was not sure where all this attention was coming from, but he loved soaking it all up. Gabriel has always had a special love of songs and he just thought the birthday song was the coolest. We sang the happy birthday song all day long as a special treat to him. His formal celebrations included a trip to Chuck E Cheese with my family. He was in heaven. I was surprised at how perfect of a place it was for a two year old. He played and he played, and when it was time to go, he was really sad. He was sad to leave Aunt Josselyn and he was sad to leave Chuck E Cheese. He got some pretty nice gifts, and they were all related to his love for Thomas & Friends. He is a true fan of trains. But, more important than the gifts he got, we got to shower him with lots of love from lots of people. We are so grateful that we can celebrate Gabriel's second year of life. He is the light and love of our life. Our world revolves around him.
Gabriel as a two year old is talkative, happy, and mischievous. He definitely practices some "selective" hearing sometimes. I'm so happy he has a sneaky side, because it makes things fun. He is very loving and kind. He adores all things train, in every part of life. He has a really long attention span, and devotes a lot of concentration and time in his projects. It's amazing to see, and it definitely surpasses the attention span of an average two year old. He looks forward to playing with friends and going to their houses. He is usually upset to leave play dates, we have to negotiate pretty hard to leave! He also has a great memory. He remembers things from ages ago, and randomly brings them up sometimes....it always catches us off-guard. How can that be? He is just so in tune with every day life. He is also very sensitive, it melts my heart. He is in tune with every emotion in the room. If I'm having a rough day, he knows it, and trys to make me laugh. Whenever he thinks he is in trouble because he did something wrong (even though he is not in trouble, we are just letting him know not to do something) he takes it very personally, and like it is the saddest thing that ever happened to him....that is what I mean by sensitive. He also "pretends" to be sad sometimes, but then cracks a smile, when he notices that we are not being fooled. He is just such a joy at 2.
His transition to his toddler class was rough at first. I think he missed the special relationships he had formed with his previous teachers Erica and Dana. They were amazing with him. It was a really hard time for me, to see Gabriel sad at drop off. It killed me. I communicated and advocated for him a ton, and felt like things were going no where. AND THEN, he got an amazing new teacher, Cintia. I love her and Gabriel went back to being himself at drop off. He would run and give her hugs and goodbye kisses. She instantly expressed her love for him, and how he loved how smart, sweet and kind he was. Once she said that to me, I knew that she understood and loved my child, because that is totally his character. Cintia is from Brazil, and she brings all the authentic warmth that exists in the latin culture. She is such a comfort to my life! When I drop him off at school, I know he is in caring hands, and I can tell because Gabriel is himself around her, when I am in the room.
We are so happy for our two year old, and how he keeps us on our toes! Life would not be the same without him.
His birthday outfit from uncle D.
Curious about Aunt Josselyn's gift.
Celebrating with some of his friends at school.
