gifts transferred between petition and decree abso

The simple answer is yes, the disposition of assets can be taken into account or set aside 2 or 3 years down the line. It is the value at the time of the settlement which is relevant, not the original value. Does your wife know and agree to the gift?

My wife knows about these transfers, its part of inheritance planning. We have decided to share the remainder but it may take some time. My concern is that if some time down the road, we can't agree a financial settlement and go to court, would I be able to bring back these transfers back into marital pot?

It sounds like it will be important to be able to establish that you agreed that these joint marital assets were gifted to your children, otherwise I think (I'm not legal so you'd need advice) your wife could claim you were giving away joint assets without her consent. While I don't think you could 'get them back' to be part of the marital pot, what could happen under those circumstances, is you'd end up with a smaller slice when it comes time to divide up the assets, because you'd actively reduced the marital pot.

So, if you can get evidence that she knows and agrees to the gift, that probably shouldn't disadvantage you in the future, even if you can't then decide how to divide up the remaining marital assets in the future and needed court involvement.

Sure somebody legal can tell you what would constitute evidence (e.g. her jointly signing for things to be transferred, emails between you showing you'd agreed etc).