Gabriel's Birthday and a busy week

We've been so busy lately that I've barely had time to sit, let alone write a blog. By the end of the day I'm just ready for bed. On Sunday we had Gabriel's 1st birthday party. We had 19 people over. It was a full house, but I think things went pretty smooth. About half the people were kids. They played very nice too so that helped. Gabriel was fussy, he'd slammed his finger in the door the other day and his nail is still sensitive. He will probably eventually lose the nail, it's still oozing. He's also teething molars, plus he wanted a nap. He did finally nap up until it was time to eat. He still wasn't very amused with the birthday thing though.

He didn't want to stay in his chair for eating cake, so he sat on my lap and had a few little bites.

 He was more into opening presents, though with each one he wanted to play with it instead of move onto the next thing. A confusing concept!

 Dawson helped open gifts.

 The best part, a big bow

 He likes his hippo ball toy.

We've been watching my friend's son Bali a lot this week. On Sunday after the party, Megan started having shooting pains down her back and was very shakey. We drove her to town and her mom brought her into the ER so she could stay with her. She was admitted, so we kept Bali overnight. The boys all did great. He was happy to be with his baby, Gabriel. He is rather attached to him. Thankfully Megan was able to go home in the morning, and I gave her the day to rest and brought Bali back to her place in the evening when she was rested and feeling better. We went to the park before bringing him back. He was good and tired when we returned him.

Dawson was excited to be at the playground

 Gabriel and Bali both love the swing, and cuddling

 Dawson likes the sand.

 Monday morning we went to a playdate in honor of Tyler and Gabriel's birthdays. Tyler's got rescheduled, so we just decided to combine them. I had Bali that morning, and also picked up 2 of the girls to bring along too. These two are only a month apart and really enjoy having eachother around. Rain says she's going to marry Dawson, when she's older. We asked her how old and she says 5. She had found a play wedding dress and then ran to find Dawson, so of course I had to take pics.

 Dawson is so sweet, he often gives all his friends hugs and kisses on the cheek.

 Tuesday I took a break from other kids and decided I needed a nap. Gabriel usually naps in the afternoon so I figure I had until Dawson got home. Of course Gabriel decided not to nap until just before the bus came, so that left no time for a nap. Figures.

Today Megan texted me and said she has to drive her mom back to Iowa. Something came up and she had to get back. I offered to keep Bali here, since nobody enjoys a 10 hour round trip with a 2 year old. He was much happier playing with the boys and relaxing here. He easily fell asleep too. Everyone loves this bean bag. They were both laying on it watching cartoons this evening.

 Then Dawson decided to join them too.

 Gabriel is such a stinker. He likes teething on Bali's bottles, so he is often taking them away from him. Bali is too sweet and doesn't take them back either. A couple times Dawson went over and took the bottle away from Gabriel, told him "no Gabriel, that's Bali's bottle!", then gave Gabriel his sippy cup.

 Dawson has been mentioning Tyler more often now. Trying to figure out how to get him back. Often it is the plea that Tyler is cute. Now Dawson wants to fly to the sky to be with Tyler. If Tyler was able to do it, surely he should be able to as well, right? :(

I'm excited for Friday! I'm going to donate all these toys to the kid's cancer floor at Children's where Tyler was. It's my first time back there. No doubt it will be difficult, but it will feel good giving to the kids. We're also meeting a family while we are there. Siena was diagnosed with infant Leukemia at 10 months old and will be inpatient for a while. They live 3 miles too close for RMH and are in need of childcare. So we have offered to keep her with us until they are able to bring Siena home. If anyone wants to follow their journey, her caringbridge is www.caringbridge.org/visit/sienawolcyn  If anyone wants to donate some snacks or anything to their family, I'd love to be able to deliver some things to help them out. Just get them to me by friday. You can also paypal to gpxchick@hotmail.com with Siena in the title. They will be inpatient for quite a while and could use the help. The dad is back to work, but the mom is no longer able to work.

 I just hung these up today. The sign is by the entry closet and the frame is around the corner by the boy's room door. The sign says "Cherish every memory. Love every moment. Embrace every possibility." It was only $3 at Walmart and we need those uplifting reminders sometimes!