Catch Up

Gabe is over 2.5 now, so I thought I should do an update on him for my memory's sake.

Sleep:
The last update in October, we were letting him watch the iPad for a little while before bed.  While this did help with me not having to sit in his view while he was falling asleep, the manipulation started back, and was just getting worse.  I could not take it anymore.  We made a drastic change to his bedtime routine, and it is A-MAZ-ING the difference.  Bedtime is quick and easy now.

1. Pee and brush teeth
2. Diaper and get into bed
3. Read a Bible story out of the Jesus Story Book Bible(everyone should get this)
4. Pray
5. Sing goodnight song
6. I then tell him I will check on him in 5 minutes.  He says, "night night, Momma."

I usually do not hear another peep out of him.  I keep my word and check on him.  Sometimes he is asleep.  Sometimes he is just laying there.  That routine normally takes 10-15 minutes total.  I was very firm with him about it from the get go.  When we first started it he tried to ask for more stuff, but I would remind him that we read, prayed, and sang, and that was it.  It took about 3 days for him to get it, and it has been about 2 weeks now, and we are going strong :-)

Potty Trained:
Oh yes!  It is official!  Hallelujah!  We rarely have accidents now. He now sleeps with out a diaper at nap time now too.  This is where the accidents are more likely to occur, but normally, he is golden.

Church:
He goes in like such a big boy now!  It is so much easier knowing that he is not crying the entire time we are there.

Speech:
He is finally starting to repeat songs. He is a shy guy, and is finally singing in front of Tony and me.  "Winkle, Winkle Little Star" is a favorite. He is getting bossy and tells us what to do all of the time.
Phrases he has been using lately:
"Wait a minute."
"Lie down on peeyow(pillow)"
"Sammel, it's not funny!"

Likes:
Gabe likes to go to CHOM and play.  His favorite areas are the farm and beaver/nature area.
His favorite movie is Aristocats. 
He loves being outside even when it is freezing.  It's hard to make myself get out there, but it keeps him away from watching a lot of TV.
New today, he really likes climbing trees.

Naps:
Sometimes don't happen. Ahhh!