Gabriel Titus, aka "Mighty Man of God"

Just a little over a week ago, Gabie had his 2nd birthday. It's so strange to think that two years ago, we were in Minnesota at Mercy Hospital with our little preemie. I'll never forget the day I went into labor. It was the first of those two days in January '06 that the temp was 50 degrees. I really wanted to take the kids outside, but wasn't feeling very well. I told them we would play outside as soon as we got back home from my doctor's appointment. So I went in, and they told me I was in labor. They said they probably couldn't stop it but it would be okay since he was only about 5 weeks early. I called Pete up and told him to come to the hospital. So I brought Vince, Dylan, and Faith along as I checked into the labor and delivery unit and waited for Pete. I told the kids that it didn't look like we were going to get to enjoy the unusually warm weather, but they would get a new baby brother!

As with most kids, the older Gabie gets, the more capable he becomes. Learning to open doors, climb on furniture, take and hide things, and emptying bins of toys definitely keeps me busy. Just the other day, I walked into the kitchen looking for Gabie and noticed movement through the crack of the pantry door. This is what I found:

Gabie had found a bag of animal crackers and helped himself. Judging from the look on his face and the way he pushed his hand out toward me, I think he knew he was being naughty! This was his reaction to me busting him:

(Notice the bulge in his cheek!) Another milestone included eating his first sandwich cookie. We bought the organic version of oreo cookies and without hesitation, Gabie twisted the cookie open and started licking the cream out. Now, mind you, we haven't had sandwich cookies for at least 6 months so we're still not sure how he knew to do this. I guess some things just come naturally!

Well, our schedule got a little messed up on Gabie's birthday, so he ended up taking a really late nap. When dinner was ready and Gabie was still sleeping, the kids went in and woke him up. They tried singing and dancing, but he was just so tired! Poor guy!

Birthdays around our house mean you get your favorite meals all day. For Gabie, that meant fruit and cheese all day long. We made strawberry cupcakes and fruit salad for dinner (among other things). Gabie doesn't care much for meat or veggies, so he stuck with the fruit and bread. The other kids got really anxious when Gabie wanted to make sure to finish eating his cupcake before opening any gifts.

Gabie finally decided the cupcake could wait and finished ripping open the gifts that the other kids had helped get started. Vince has been making things out of duct tape and made Gabie a really neat oversized bib with a catch pocket on the front-all out of duct tape. Gabie won't keep it on yet though!
We were definitely sad to not be able to have many friends and extended family

share this special day with us, but we were so blessed to have Papa (my dad) there.

Thanks everyone for the gifts you sent. Gabie especially liked the birthday cards!

We just pray that his name becomes the path for his life. We chose "Gabriel" because it is a name hand-chosen by God for one of his best and most loyal angels in the Bible and means "mighty man" or "man of God". If you read the short book of Titus, you'll see that Titus was a young but fiery preacher of the gospel in early Christianity. We know God has big plans for you little one!