Gabriel Ryan Moore

Today is Gabriel's 2nd day as a big 3 year old and I just wanted to write a little bit about him and what he is like these days. First of all, let me say this: he is a very special, unique little guy and I am BLESSED beyond belief to have him for my son. Being a mommy is the best gift that GOD has given me in this life and each day I just thank HIM for this gift.

Our Gabriel:

* Loves four-wheelers, monster trucks, trains, mo-mos (aka motorcycles, and pretty much any kind of vehicle. He can tell you the model of many cars and recognizes them on the road.

* Is fearless. Will climb up and jump off of ANYTHING and scares me to death all the time. This year at Kool Park Pool he wanted to jump off the high dive, which is WAY WAY up in the air and he probably would have done it if we had let him. I am sure he will want to do it again this year if we go and honestly you probably should be 10 to even think about doing this. The boy has NO FEAR.

* Is very very organized. Wants his toys in the right box and is always asking me for a zippered ziploc bag to put a particular group of toys in (ex: the animals that go with his Noah's arc, the animals for the zoo, his fighting guys, etc.) If you try to put something in the wrong place he will say "now mommy, you know that doesn't go there"....wonder where he got this type A trait from????

* Has an incredible memory. He will ask me about something that happened so long ago I have forgotten it...Then he will keep going with it and eventually will say something that makes me remember what he is talking about and yes, in fact it is something that happened.

* Loves books! I am so happy that he is a fan of reading just like me and his daddy! He gets hung up on particular books at certain times and will want to hear them over and over...Right now he likes "Pirates Don't Change Diapers", before that it was "Mickey Mouse's Picnic" and the list goes on and on. I hope his love of reading lasts a lifetime!

* Is a big talker--again, wonder where he got that from? Well, his mommy is a Speech Language Pathologist, so I guess he gets it honest! He will talk to anyone and everybody, no matter where we are...from the waiter in a restaurant to his doctor at the doctor's office, to up front in church with the rest of the kiddos for the children's sharing time. He always has something to say and wants you to get it! If for some reason you don't understand him (which is RARE), he will not give up and will find another way to explain it until you get it! His language skills are extremly advanced. Of course he is my child so it is hard to be objective, but this is my area of expertise so I do feel qualified to say that :)

* Is so inquisitive. I should count the number of times per day he says "why mommy, why". He sometimes asks things I don't even know the answer to and I have to check into it and get back to him. He also will ask you the meaning of things that he doesn't understand. For instance, when I was pregnant with Miss E and very emotional, he would want to know why I was crying. I told him I was an "emotional wreck", then of course had to go about trying to explain the meaning of that one!

* Loves going to church and has been going up alone for the children's sharing time for months now! Several weeks ago Bob was talking about the story of Daniel. Gabriel (the youngest child up there by far) pipes up about it, telling Bob that the other people were jealous of Daniel and that is why they didn't like him. He knew the entire story and was able to relay it orally. Such a proud mommy at that moment! My mom swears he is going to be a preacher when he grows up and she may be right! Other children leave the service after the kids time, but not Gabriel. He stays for the sermon and listens very intently.

* Loves junk food like his daddy, in particular Cakesters, fruit snacks of any sort, and ice cream. But he does like some healthy snacks too thank goodness..Some of his favorites right now are carrots with ranch, raisins, apples, pears, cheese, and yogurt. I have a hard time getting him to eat his veggies, but he will usually eat corn and peas. Hates rice and mashed potatoes, who hates mashed potatoes??? Will hardly eat for several days, then eat all day long the next day.

* Sleeps with Spiderman the bunny (given to him by Aunt Janie this past Easter and named Spiderman for some reason), Sparky the teddy bear (he was given this bear by our preacher and his wife at the baby shower for Elizabeth) and Sparky's blanket (one of Gabriel's blankets that he has designated as Sparky's. He likes me to wrap Sparky up in a swaddle at bedtime, so cute!

* Is such a people person. Loves to be around others and I think he would love it if all the people he love could just live in one huge house so he could be around them 24/7.

* Loves to play with his toys in the floor and loves you to get done in the floor and play with him. Right now some of his favorites are his vehicles, emergency rescue stuff, Little people sets, fighting guys, and his Thomas stuff. He also is really into puzzles right now and can do really hard ones almost all by himself!

* Enjoys watching movies. His favorites right now are Ghostbusters 1 and 2, Cars, The Polar Express, and others. Likes Handy Manny but really likes commercials on TV more than shows. If he hears the music for a commercial he likes, he will come running into the room and make you rewind it. Thank goodness for DVR!

*Has a passion for music. He just loves music and we have it playing all the time at his request. Seriously the boy needs his own MP3 player, I think we could teach him how to use it! I am really hoping that we can get him some music lessons sometime in the near future so that he can learn to play an instrument. He loves to sing and can pick up the words to a song so quickly! Now let's just hope he has a voice like his daddy....

* Is a mommy's boy. Yes he is and yes I am glad! He will take up for me if he feels someone is challenging me and I swear if anyone ever tried to hurt me, he would seriously try to beat the heck out of them, no matter their size...remember he has no fear! But he loves his daddy too and I love watching the two of them together. They love to wrestle around and roughhouse with each other. He is always so happy when his daddy gets home from school!

Gabriel, we love you so much and I can't wait to see what you are like 3 years from now...but please oh please don't let the next 3 years go by as quickly as these past 3 have. I just want time to slow down a little bit. Sometimes I wish that I could just bottle you up and keep you in this moment, at this age. But I know that what lies ahead will be even better than what is now. I love to lay next to you while you are asleep and just breathe you in. Your hair, your skin, your breath. I love you my child!