He sure is thorough

It's 10:10pm on Saturday night. Mark and I have to speak in sacrament meeting tomorrow. I've been done writing my talk for about an hour now. Mark will not be done for hours yet. I'm a little nervous about how things will be when he is in school and he has to write papers. I am afraid we will see him even less then we see him now and that's not very much. At least he's thorough. So, while I am sitting here I thought I would take the chance to write another post.

Last Thursday evening I went out to dinner with six of my friends from high school. We get together occasionally and catch up on one another's lives. I personally think that it is pretty great that we all still get along and care about each other. We had a good time.

My friend Audra asked me if Gabriel has hit the terrible 18 months yet. She said whoever said it starts at two lied. I absolutely agree! While generally Gabriel is a pleasant child, he is definitely becoming more moody. A week ago Friday was especially difficult. He woke up and said to me "who is it, Daddy?" (he calls Mark "who is it" because I use to ask him this question every time Mark came home. He has recently tacked on Daddy to the end.) He continued to ask for Daddy all day and he grew increasingly irritated with me when I couldn't produce him. He would not eat lunch at all. For those of you who have seen my son's belly (which he loves to show off) you know that skipping a meal is not normal behavior for Gabriel. He was just plain contrary. After his nap I still had not eaten lunch so I made myself a grilled cheese. I decided to make an extra one and formulated a plan. I told Gabriel "this is Mommy's and you can't have any". Of course, he ate an entire sandwich himself because of this statement. By the time Mark got home, I was exhausted emotionally and physically. It is amazing how a 17-month-old can wear you out so much.

One day this last week I was trying to get Gabriel to do something and he just wouldn't listen. Finally I said to him "am I just talking for my own entertainment?". He turned around, looked at me, and shook his head yes. I'll admit, I couldn't help but laugh. I guess better that than screaming, right? He is better about doing things for Mark, but the truth is he throws a huge fit when I leave. To be honest, I love that just a little. I just hope he does okay when we start leaving him in nursery in a few weeks. Wish us luck.

Here's some pictures of the last few months. I'll try to limit how many I post.

Halloween was fun. Isn't our little lion adorable? He won cutest boy costume at the church kids fashion show. This costume has been through all six boys on Sarah's side of the family.

Bringing home the Christmas tree, opening presents, and Sarah's siblings. Aren't they a handsome group?

I know how to handle food.

Walking around in Mommy's shoes. So cute!

And now I'm going to bed. Good night!