gabe turns 4!

4 years ago our little man made his entrance into the world and forever changed our lives...for the better?!  well, given the rough summer we had, i'll still say it's been for the better :)

gabe's birthday always feels like a week-long celebration, but this year it's extending for 2 weeks!  on saturday we celebrated with the lok's for all the october birthdays, gabe's birthday party with his friends was on sunday (more details below), i had my preschool duty day today for his birthday celebration followed by a gabe & mom dinner date @ hi-genki, and then on sunday we're off to disneyland for a special 4th birthday celebration! sheesh, what more could a kid ask for?!?!

this year gabe was semi-involved in his party plans.  given his artistic abilities, i did plant the idea of an art party this year, and gabe van gogh was in full agreement!  he was allowed to pick the friends he wanted to invite (the ratio of 8 girls, 2 boys is a bit crazy but the story of his life), he helped pick the loot bag goodies, and he had some input for his birthday cake. in typical gabe-style, he wasn't impressed with his cake, and was hoping for a thomas cake :P  however, everyone else thought it was pretty cool to have your picture on a cake!

the party was held at pinnochio art studio along the heights.  gabe instantly liked the studio because of their outdoor sandwich board sign (he calls it "the pencil nose place!").  the activity was painting a scene (blue sky, green grass, brown tracks, white clouds) and then colouring a thomas stencil to glue on, as well as random stickers for embellishment.  the hour-long activity was a bit much for gabe...i ended up painting most of the scenery for him, but he really enjoyed colouring thomas!

after the activity, it was cake and snacks for everyone!  it was great to catch up with our friends...now that gabe has preschool on wednesdays, it cuts into potential playdates with friends.  but soon enough there won't be weekday playdates once they all go to full-day kindergarten! so now gabe and i are enjoying afternoons together running errands or playing games at home.

it's been a really busy week, and being out 3 nights in a row this week messed up my planning, so for gabe's preschool celebration, i ended up making rice krispy squares for his birthday treat...a definite hit with the kids!  fruit was also served and was equally popular :-)  since it was my first duty day of the year it was really great to see how comfortable gabe has gotten at preschool.  he didn't cling to me for the full class (neither did sofia for that matter!), and he was totally into doing his own thing.  i was tidying up during story time, and i made eye contact with gabe a few times and he didn't mind sitting without me.  and during his song (BINGO), he waved at me and was singing away.  melt my heart! the sweetest moment was at the end of class when they're dismissed through a song...he got to choose a buddy, and he chose emma and the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the cubby room.  sigh.  my little man, he really is drawn to the girls :-)

and in less than 72 hours we'll be at disneyland!  i don't know about gabe, but i'm pretty excited!  all i have to do is get through the work-day tomorrow, piano lessons, and a preschool classmate's birthday party.  the craziness never ends!