Happy Birthday Gabe!

Gabe turned three on the 20th. He was so excited. He got a sandbox and addition to his train set from Oma and puzzles and money from Opa. Manuel and I gave him a bike and after the first day he was riding it like a pro. We also gave him a bubble wand.

Gabe helped me make his cake and frosted it too. He wanted a soccer player on the cake and then said it was Daddy. After we celebrated we went to the aquatic center. Gabe and Paisley both loved it. Gabe was afraid to go down the big water slide but I talked him in to it and after that we couldn't keep him away from it. Then we came home and had more cake and ice cream.

Ever since Gabe turned three he has acted so much better (at least with me). He's still the same with Manuel. He wasn't a bad boy before, he just didn't listen as well and threw tantrums. Now he listens, reasons, accepts discipline, and helps with Paisley all the time. So far, three is great!

For Memorial weekend Grandma Bev is visiting. Yesterday she sent us to the mall to pick out some clothes and then bought them. That was very generous and we had a great time. Then afterwards we went to the Layton Surf and Swim for the first time. Gabe was scared of the waves at first but then once I talked him into jumping in them he loved it. It was a nice overcast day with a little rain. After that we went to our favorite restaurant (our second time this week) the Imperial Asian Cuisine by the Syracuse Wal Mart. It was the first day of my new fitness/weight loss plan and so I didn't have any. I'll write more about that later. Grandma ordered Chinese and Manuel ordered Japanese. The night before we had the creamy ginger salad, sushi, tempura, and sweet potato rolls. So yummy!! It comes with pickled cucumbers and miso soup. Yesterday my mom ordered the Imperial Chicken and was a fan right away. Everyone we take there becomes addicted to their food. My family always tells us that we have the best restaurants up this way.

After dinner Manuel and I went and saw Angels and Demons (very, very good!) grandma babysat. Despite the annoying kid sitting next to me who texted his girlfriend throughout the entire movie, we had a great time. When we left the theater it was raining and thundering and lightening. The perfect mood fitting the movie. It was such a fun day.

Today grandma went to church with us and made breakfast in the morning. Then she made lunch and is now making dinner. It's still raining but when it clears we are going to go walking at Jensen's Nature Park in Syracuse.

Happy Memorial Weekend!!

This Week

Ok, so not a whole lot of interesting stuff this week. Paisley has been crawling for the past couple weeks. It's nice because she gets to where she wants to go and entertains herself now. Gabe loves it and they have become the best of friends now.

This weekend we are getting our new patio. That will be nice. It's difficult to have a BBQ in the backyard on a 8x 8 foot slab of concrete. Yes, our backyard is slowly evolving.

Gabe will turn 3 on Wednesday. He's been telling everyone he's three since he turned 2. We are having a family party for him on the 30th. He's so excited.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday we went to a BYU baseball game with all of the family. Gabe just enjoyed running up and down the bleacher stairs and flirting with the college students in front of him. Grandma Bev took Gabe to get a drink and a German exchange student noticed Gabe's hat (which has Manuel's favorite soccer team logo on it)She went to hunt Gabe down to find out where he got the hat. She ended up finding Grandma Bev and asking her. So, Grandma Bev brought her over to meet Manuel. It happened to be her favorite soccer team too. What were the odds of that? I think it made her day.

Afterwards we went to the park and had dinner. We celebrated Mother's Day early and Uncle Todd's and Cameron's birthdays. Cameron turned 30!! Afterwards everyone played and we had dessert. Today Manuel and Gabe made me breakfast for Mother's Day it was nice. Manuel also straightened the house. What a great husband!! (Oh the dinner at the bottom is a German dish called Klose. Manuel made it on Monday night. It's our favorite!)

May at Last!

It's been a busy week at the Rietzsch residence. We are having our flowerbeds all redone and are extending our patio, getting our lawn serviced, our mortgage refinanced and securing a preschool for Gabe. Juggling all of this around the rain and our regular busy schedule has been an interesting process. Oh yeah, and Paisley just started crawling last night.

Gabe was invited to a fun birthday party on Saturday for James Peterson a friend in his nursery class. It was a construction themed party and so creative. "Rocky Road" ice cream, "dump truck cake"with gravel and gummy worms, "dynamite punch" which was koolaid with pop rocks, "traffic cones" for the ice cream and cute prize bags with construction gummies and stickers. Gabe had so much fun!!

We were so worn out by Sunday, I'm glad we could finally rest even though the house needs straightening. I swear we cleaned the house 5 times this week and you can't even tell. How does that happen??

Brother and Sis!

Gabe and Paisley have become really great friends. They know how to make each other laugh and they enjoy playing together. Gabe loves helping take care of her, changing her diapers, bathing her, getting her toys and anything that she needs. Paisley loves hanging out with him and making him laugh.

On Monday we went to the park and fed the ducks. Afterwards we went out for shakes and ice cream. Later on in the week we spent a lot of time playing in the yard.

California

I had the opportunity to travel through California last week to promote my book. I started in Palm Desert on Tuesday and went to L.A. then Sacramento and ended in San Francisco. I got to see a little bit if Napa Valley and other places along the way. I have a friend who lives in Stevenson Ranch and she went with me. I met a lot of interesting people and had a great time.

Manuel held down the fort and actually had Gabe 100% potty trained when I came back. The laundry and dishes were done too. What a great husband!

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