Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Gabriel's Great Big Busy Day

We had a great but very busy day today. We started at Tanglewood Farm. It has all miniatures breeds of animals - ponies, sheep, goats, etc. - except for Tiny, the thirty pound Flemish rabbit, not to be confused with Welsh Rabbit, which is something quite different (and has nothing to do with rabbit).

After a nap, we went to Greenwood Gardens, an assisted living facility in Marietta, to visit our friend Ms. Goodhart, who is having her "23rd" birthday on Sunday. We celebrated both birthdays together with some of the other residents and the activities director, who realized that she'd met Matthew once at a get-together, coincidentally.

Our next stop was Chuck E. Cheese's, where "Bam" and "Pa-Pa" were waiting for us after taking the end of the day off from work. We thought Gabriel would stick to the rides, but it turns out that he is quite the air hockey player! He instinctively knew exactly how to play and went on to beat his Daddy soundly. He then took on Skee-ball and actually scored some points. He opened a few presents, and then it was off to our next stop.

Since today is Wednesday, we had a softball game to attend. We figured that Gabriel would love to go, so M decided to play even though it was the Chipster's big day. He did have a blast, although we could tell that he was starting to tire.

He wasn't too tired, however, to eat some Sweet Cream ice cream at Cold Stone. He gulped down his kid-sized cup while we were waiting for the rest of our order, and we took ours to go.

At home, Gabriel opened a couple more presents. His main present from us is his own Craftsman workbench. He got right to work with his new tools and installed a few bolts onto the bench itself. He took some time to play with some of his other birthday gifts, and he and Mommy had a little jam session.

You can see our entire album of digital photos from today here.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Happy Birthday To Our Big Boy

Here is a list of the ten things we love most about Chip:

  1. He notices things we never would. It makes our world so much richer.
  2. He is funny. He keeps us laughing all day.
  3. He is so darn smart. He finds ways to communicate even when he doesn't know the words, and he already knows how to use a screwdriver and how to unload the dishwasher (even the knives!).
  4. He is a gifted athlete. In 18 years, ESPN will be showing videos of him when he was a one-year-old playing baseball.
  5. He has a way of lighting up a room. On our worst days, he cheers us just by being there. We think that this is one of his special gifts.
  6. He is adorably cute. Even if we weren't his parents, we would love his sun-kissed hair and bright blue eyes.
  7. He is beautiful from the inside out. He has a good soul, and it shows.
  8. He is a good dancer. He likes the Ramones, too!
  9. He is so affectionate. He gives the best kisses, and when he wants to be silly, he tricks us into leaning close and then licks our cheeks.
  10. He is inquisitive. He reminds us every day of how amazing the world is.
  11. And he's ours!!! (Did you really think we would only list ten?)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Matt's Wish List

Yes, there's one on Amazon, but forget that. This is what he really wants. Okay, so Matthew is not writing this. Can I have a wishlist, too?

...but really, five minutes?! And just in case you miss the warnings, not only do they repeat, but they appear all together at the end. Just remember, "never soar higher than you are willing to fall." Now that's an important lesson for life, not just the Manta Ray®!

Big Head

Not The Most Flattering Photo...

...but here we are after the big race.