Gabey is one!

Our little baby has already turned one year old!  Time has flown by and we can hardly remember when he was a newborn.

His birthday was last week on Thursday, June the 6th.  We decided to do a mini-celebration on that evening and then later in the weekend, to do another one with his grandparents.  So on Thursday, we got some cupcakes that we keep frozen in the freezer just for such occasions and the girls started to decorate them.  That's half the fun, right?

After dinner, we cleaned up and lit a candle for him.  We all sang Happy Birthday, which he thought was pretty exciting.

The girls obligingly helped him blow out his candle.

 Gabriel's cupcake didn't have icing on it.  At first, he wasn't sure what to do with it.  Was it a new toy?

 Like all things, including all new toys, he tastes them first...

Gabriel is a quick study when it comes to food.  It wasn't long before he was stuffing it into his big mouth.

Afterwards, we have him his present from Yeh-yeh and Nai-nai (Elvin's parents.)  It's a Wahoo inflatable dog.  Little kids can sit on its back and bounce up and down.

He is not ready for the dog and doesn't like to sit on it for very long.  

But the girls, on the other hand, are getting lots of enjoyment out of it.

Here's another video of the girls pouncing on the dog toy the second Gabriel gets off of it.

On Saturday, we were planning Gabriel's next party.  The girls were excited that Grandma and Grandpa were coming over and as time approached for them to arrive, they waited expectantly by the front door.

They finally arrived at last!  Gabriel's grandparents got him a little scooter.  Assembly required, though, so Grandpa was assigned the task of doing that.  The girls decided to "help" him.

 Elvin and Eliana helped make dessert.  They made brigadeiros, which are little chocolate bon bons that are traditionally eaten in Brazil at birthday parties.  They're make with sweet condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder, then rolled in chocolate sprinkles.  Eliana LOVES them.

She helped roll them in the sprinkles and enjoyed licking the sprinkles stuck to her finger when she thought Daddy wasn't looking.

But they weren't allowed to eat them until after dinner.

 For dinner, we had pulled pork fajitas, corn, and--Gabriel's favorite food--watermelon.  He kept looking over to see what Grandpa was doing.

 Afterwards, we opened presents.  He got on his bike but wasn't sure what to do.

Grandpa tried showing him how it's done.

He also got some books and a stuffed animal dog, with lots of taggies sticking out of it, from his Aunt Jen and cousin Jace from Colorado.

 Then time came for us to sing Happy Birthday again!

 This time he made quick work of his cupcake.

Like most of Gabriel's possessions, he has to share whether he wants to or not.  In this case, Karina has helped herself to Gabriel's new trike by giving her baby doll a ride on it, and is also taking his dog out on a walk.  Notice the green bag she has hung over the dog's left ear.

So there you have it!  Our little Gabriel is one year old!