Our little helper

Gabe is such a little helper these days! He has always loved to help me make dinner or cookies (dumping in each ingredient is so fun!) but now he is helping me unload/load the dishwasher, fetch ingredients for baking, and clean the bathrooms too! Seriously, how nice is this?! I'll admit that he isn't the most efficient worker yet (not for lack of trying though) but it feels great to have his sweet smile and helpful attitude around while I do my chores. He is just adorable when he tries to wait patiently for his turn with the rag while I'm cleaning the sinks in the bathroom. Hearing "is it my turn, mommy? Is it my turn?? Gabe's turn!!" the whole time is really a great motivator to work fast! And it is so sweet when he reluctantly but obediently gives it back when I remind it it's my turn now. I can tell it's hard on him but he will brightly say "Mommy's turn!" and then almost immediately start asking if it's his turn again! haha! I'm not the only one that is benefiting from Gabe's willingness to help! He is Daddy's little helper too as you can see! We went to Costco and bought some trees and plants for our yard and Gabe helped load them on the cart and push it out to the truck. Luckily I had my camera and could capture the moment. He LOVES to help Daddy - especially outside in the yard. Last night the three of us were planting trees in our backyard...in the rain, I might add. Eric was attempting to dig through straight rocks and clay (uh, where's the awesome soil I thought would be here?) and so Gabe and I were collecting the rocks and putting them in his little wheelbarrow. It was such an adorable picture of him hunched over in his rain coat, industriously picking up rock after rock and piling them up. What would we do without our little helper??!

*I have to add that yesterday as Gabe and I were weeding, he was helping me by placing the yanked out weeds in a pile. Every time I would hand him a weed, he would say "FANK you!!" as if I had handed him an unexpected treat! It was so darling! At one point I needed to use a shovel to get at a stubborn weed and Gabe stopped what he was doing, stood there watching me curiously and said: "What on earf you doing, mommy?" It was hilarious!! What a cutie pie!