It All Started with a Little Skittle...

This year we went to Dallas for Thanksgiving and I am happy to report it is probably the best Thanksgiving(s) I've had in a really long time!  Our first Thanksgiving was on Wednesday at Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Donna's house.  We found out exciting news about some of Michael's family members, we got to catch up with relatives we rarely see, and Gabby showed her true personality to everyone rather than becoming overwhelmed like she usually does. Since Michael and I took a few vacation days we were lucky enough to have an opportunity to take Gabby and Emma to do something fun to celebrate Emma's birthday.  We decided to take them to a bouncy house place. Their favorite was a huge slide that they would take turns sliding down.  The girls had a blast and the coolest part is, now every time Gabby sees a picture of Emma she points and says, "Emma." Our visit with the family was wonderful! Traveling with Gabby would have been perfect since we left at night and she ...

On November 9th a momentous occasion occurred for the McIlroy family.  We officially became homeowners yet again! We bought a foreclosed home that needed hardly any work (new exterior locks, paint and two light fixtures). Michael and I painted and cleaned the house with help from my parents (thanks a million!) from the day we bought it until that Saturday when Michael, my dad and two amazing friends helped move all of our stuff in!  Surprisingly we moved in smoothly, but it is taking us a lot longer to unpack than I expected, because we moved from a 5 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom house.  We love that we live in a one story rather than a two story house and we are excited that Gabby will go to a good school now.  Our main concern with moving was Gabby's reaction because it took her a long time to settle in at my parents' house, but to our pleasant surprise Gabby instantly knew it was home!  She has slept through the night since the second day and she has been v...

So we are going to have some out of order blogs, basically because that describes our lives over the last three months! Our world is disorderly, turned upside down, and pure chaos. Gabby, Michael, and I moved out of our house on September 12th and officially sold our house on September 16th. It was a week of long days, with me packing and cleaning, Michael constantly moving, and Aunt Ellen helping us by watching Miss Gabrielle. When Gabby was at the house “helping” us pack she could unpack two boxes as fast as I packed one! Needless to say moving took us literally the entire four days we had (and we had been packing boxes and moving items to storage two weeks prior to the official week designated for “the move”). While being “homeless” we stayed at my parents’ house. Gabby loves going to Grandma and Papa’s but apparently is not interested in living there. The first 4 days we were there, Grandma and Papa were in Las Vegas, which was nice so Gabby could get used to living there. T...

Halloween morning Gabby was exceptionally picky about her breakfast choices.  I tried the usual: eggs, a bagel, cereal, banana, yogurt, but these were all unacceptable options...what did my little pumpkin desire? Mandarin oranges and a slice of American cheese.  She refused to eat anything but orange foods for the first half of the day, a coincidence....I think so, but still it's pretty funny.  After an orange lunch of macaroni and cheese and sweet peas (she picked out all of the sweet peas) she finally got over her "orange" binge, but only because she found desirable red candy !  She found a bag of Mars candy bars and littered the floor with her treasures. After about 45 minutes of working diligently to open a Kit Kat candy wrapper she finally was rewarded with the sweet chocolaty crunch that a Kit Kat bar indulges us with.  Gabby ate about half of it with no reservations and then enjoyed her sugar rush.  The rest of the day was uneventful (except ...

Today was a day of pride for Michael, because Gabby attended her first ever Texans football game. To celebrate I surprised Michael with a new red Texans shirt and even found one at Good Will for Gabby for $1.  You would be surprised how many battle red shirts I found there for such a low price.  I think Michael enjoyed Gabby and I fully participating in the event, attire included.  If you have never been to a professional football game, it is a day event.  We left the house around 9:15 and didn't get home until about 4:30.  Before the game we allowed Gabby to walk around to burn off some energy.  She danced and met three of the cheerleaders, who signed her shirt and took a picture with her and Daddy. Once in our seats Gabby was not too sure about the loud noises, but quickly acclimated when given (usually forbidden) snacks.  Gabby received a lot of attention including hi-fives and behaved surprisingly well throughout the game (e...

Today was Gabby's second ever visit to the zoo.  Natalie, Mia, and Alex invited to join them at the zoo.  We arrived before 10:00 a.m. and it was already very busy because of it being Zoo Boo! Mia and Alex were excited, but Gabby didn't remember the zoo so she was oblivious.  We walked around the zoo for about 3 hours and probably only saw about 8 animals, because we waited in line to do different things and got really lucky and were able to watch special animal events. The first animals we stopped to look at were the elephants.  There were three less than 10 feet away from us getting baths!  Gabby liked watching them so we stayed and watched them for a while.  The next animal we had a close encounter with was a chimpanzee.  For some reason there was one chimp who was literally sitting against the glass making faces and putting his hands on the glass.  So Mia and Alex sat there literally face to face with our friend Mr. Chimp....

About a month before we moved out of our house, I decided to have a Girl's Night In party for Gabby and all of the sweet girls in her life.  I thought the moms would enjoy the little memories and I thought it would be a fun way for Gabby to learn how to socialize with other children in a comfortable atmosphere.  All of the girl's ranged in age from 1 year to 11 years, which made me worry that all of the girls wouldn't have fun.  Luckily the older girls entertained the younger girls and everyone ended up having a lot of fun! They danced, ate chicken nuggets and ice cream sundaes, and played a game of hide and seek (which consisted of a lot of running, squealing, and giggling girls). Ice cream cones! Yummy party favors fit for a princess....Ring Pops! Sundae toppings: Dinosaur sprinkles, chocolate chips, homemade whipped cream, and the biggest hit: maraschino cherries. Gabby having her first ever box of popcorn.  She was so proud of herself wat...

Today Michael and I decided to have a fun day for Gabby since she had to go 5 days without much Daddy time since he was out of town for work.  Gabby has a birthday party to attend at Chuck E. Cheese's in a few weeks and sometimes she gets overwhelmed with new chaotic situations, so we decided to introduce her to the fun!  Gabby did well, but honestly, she enjoyed watching the chaos of kids more than any of the games.  When she was ready to go I told Michael to entertain her while I cashed in the tickets.  The two of them met me with their 125 tickets they won off of one spin (which was more than we had accumulated during our hour and a half)!  Gabby left with a koosh ball, lollipop, straw, and about 60 of her 90 tokens. Then we took Gabby to the mall play area where she simply stood in the middle and was continuously ran over by the overly energetic children playing chase.  Gabby didn't seem to like the play area as much as she usually does, maybe because...

Nanny came in to visit Gabby last week off before she starts her new job.  Nanny stayed at our house for the entire week and Michael was out of town so it worked out perfectly!  Nanny was kind enough to watch Gabby and spoil her rotten! Gabby was so sweet kissing her Nanny and playing with all of the visitors throughout the week.  It had been about 3 weeks since Lacey last saw Gabby and she changed dramatically in those weeks.  She now speaks in a few two word utterances and has made significant improvements in her ability to get her desires met.  We even went out to eat at a restaurant and she behaved well, which is a milestone I relish. For a week without Daddy there were no incidents.  Gabby was an angel and I thank Nanny for the distraction and fun she provided for Gabby and me.  We love you Lacey!

A few days ago Gabby was outside playing in the sand box having a blast pouring sand all over herself and naturally exfoliating her already baby soft skin.  When she was finished with her spa treatment and ready to go "outside" (meaning in the house) so I asked her, "Are you ready to take a bath?" Gabby proceeded to start rubbing both of her hands on her chest.  I thought it was interesting that she looked like she was bathing when making this motion so I looked the sign and sure enough she was signing bath! I didn't even know the sign for bath and Gabby knows how to sign it! I called my mom and asked if she taught Gabby the sign.  Mom AKA Grandma said that Gabby had seen a baby sign it twice on You Tube.  Gabby learned a sign after seeing it twice out of context! She is amazingly smart.  Calling her a sponge is an insult, she is brilliant!That is my bragging for the day at least.  She truly is the greatest gift a person could ask for.  If you a...

Everyone knows that being a parent is full of sacrifices and some are more difficult than others. So far being a Mom I have "sacrificed" my skin thanks to stretch marks, my youthfulness, thanks to the worries that cause the new wrinkles I notice weekly, my pretty legs thanks to the varicose veins I received during pregnancy that never went away, the comfort of sitting thanks to the back pain I have had ever since pregnancy, a good night’s sleep, and the list goes on... However, none of these things truly feel like a sacrifice (although I do miss sleep and my non-damaged body) they are just part of being a mommy and I wouldn't trade parenthood for anything! Today, however, a very difficult sacrifice was made, although I know it was the only choice. Ranger, the dog Michael and I had for 7 ½ years, was given to a new home today. He bit Gabby on her head when she was about 9 months old and then about a week ago he nipped at her and unfortunately that was the last straw. M...

Today is Michael and my 6th wedding anniversary.  We've had a great day!  Michael and I are officially Texan's season ticket holders and Gabby is in a wonderful mood (even though she woke up at 5:00 a.m.). We went out to eat for dinner and Gabby was a little ham.  She waved at the people in the other booths and adopted a few new grandparents.  Gabby had an entire table of elderly people talking to her as she blew kisses to them.  Then she played peek-a-boo with the man at the booth behind her and had the attention of the young guys at the table next to us.  Michael and I don't think we could have had a better day.  Gabby gave us the best gift ever, being an angel.  We had the best day ever! We don't plan on doing anything too exciting today, but having a day to relax and celebrate the family we've created sounds good to me! Happy Anniversary Husband! I love you! P.S. Thank you for being patient and agreeing to take pic...

The nickname "Stinkerbell" has been one of Gabby's top 5 and slowly continues to rise on her chart of nicknames the older she gets.  Stinkerbell is the perfect depiction of Gabby lately.  She recently turned 16 months, but I think she believes she is 2 years old...because the terrible two's have begun! Look out Mommy and Daddy, defiance and behavior issues galore are now our new usual.  Gabby is constantly testing her boundaries. Here is a snapshot of her recent behavior: she flips her bowl of food on the ground 2 to 3 times a day, throws herself on the ground crying when she doesn't get her way or pinches, scratches, and slaps you, when you tell her to stop doing something she will definitely continue to do it (and likely more often). When you try to discipline her saying no sternly, popping her hand, or putting her in the corner for timeout she simply laughs hysterically. This may sound terrible, but it's actually quite hilarious and difficult to stay s...

Gabby never seized to surprise me.  While her Grandma and Grandpa were here I was getting her to show off her tricks: the motions to "Wheels On the Bus" (her favorites, "shh, shh, shh" and "round and round"), the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Pat-a-Cake" and showing off her body parts.  I asked her where her eyes were and she touched them and said eyes, then I asked her where her nose was and she grabbed it.  Then Bonnie joined in and asked where her ears were.  I informed Bonnie that she didn't know that one yet, but to my surprise and great pleasure she touched her ear and wiggled it! So that night Michael and I probed her apparently she knows her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, feet and tummy!  She also learned how to make the motion for the baby on the bus go wah, wah, wah, in like 5 minutes, and she wanted to practice so she would take my hands and make the motions to make me sing that part of the song again. It's the little things tha...

Today is Gabby's Grandma's birthday! We were very lucky that we saw Grandma close to her birthday so we could celebrate together.  We all really enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa, especially Gabby.  It took her about 5 minutes to warm up to them, but then it was hugs, kisses, and showing off for the two and a half days they stayed with us.  We celebrated Grandma's birthday with a quiet dinner and a birthday cake; although it was Grandma's birthday cake, I think Gabby thoroughly enjoyed it more than even the birthday girl! Grandma graciously gave Gabby the large white chocolate square with her birthday greeting written on it.  Gabby took large bites into it and LOVED it! The day they were leaving Gabby and I took Grandma to Chik-Fil-A (to see Gabby in her element) for lunch.  While we all ate our chicken nuggets Gabby grabbed Mommy's drink and took big gulps, because she is too big for a juice box.  Then, once she was bored with her ...

So here is my third attempt to write this blog, which continues to be erased one time or another...so I am going to give you the abridged version! I was showing my mom pictures taken of Gabby over the 4th of July weekend and she made a comment that the 4th of July must be my favorite holiday. This comment resulted in making me reflect on our fun Independence Day celebration. I can positively say that Independence Day isn't my favorite holiday, but we did make it the most fun for Gabby possible because it is possible her favorite holiday. For about the last three months Gabby has been carrying around a miniature American flag waving it proudly as she walks from room to room. Since Gabby has this infatuation with the American flag her Nanny gave her for the previous 4th of July. Because of her adorable patriotism I vowed we would have a bash for the 4th and I followed through with that promise!! The Sunday before Independence Day we had a barbeque with Gabby’s friends and...

Gabby started cutting TWO teeth at one time; however, on this particular day I was not aware that her reason for being a pain was because she was in pain. She was an extremely unhappy baby all day long. She required me to hold her or listen to her whine every moment she was awake, but since the world doesn't stop when you have a cranky baby, I decided to attempt a few quick errands, in which we would be home in an hour or less. I simply wanted to exchange an outfit she was given that wasn't the correct size and pick up Daddy's Father's Day gift (because we were at Lacey's wedding the weekend of Father's Day). We went to the store to exchange the outfit, but of course they didn't have her size. They did however have a 70% off sale so Gabby was allowed to choose one toy which only cost $2 and put her in a magnificient mood. Then she began getting fussy in the car so I gave her a Goldfish cracker, but she kept yelling for the entire bag so I opened the ba...

UNCLE Patrick and Aunt Lacey are officially their own nuclear family now!! The moment Gabby saw Nanny she excitedly ran to her squatted down and exclaimed, "OH Wow wee!" She loved Lacey's dress and all of the beautiful details, especially the flowers. Gabby carefully examined the flowers while delicately touching them while jabbering away. Lacey laughed while Gabby told her nanny what she thought about her dress. When we arrived at the venue I said a quick little prayer asking that the wedding go smoothly and that Gabby would make it down the aisle without any incidences. Once the bridal party lined up and were ready to walk I started singing her favorite kid songs, doing the motions, jumping up and down in my 4 inch heels to make sure the two youngest flower girls were in a great mood as they walked down the aisle. And....apparently all of the stares and snickers from the non-parent bridal party members were worth it because Gabby made it down the quarter mile walk wit...

Swimming lesson #2 was a complete success! Although our morning started off rough I truly think Gabby has made significant progress in the pool. First, I put Gabby in the car and she literally fell asleep before I turned off of our street. So we arrive at the pool about 15 minutes before our lesson begins so I decide to allow her to have a 10 minute cat nap to hopefully rejuvenate her good spirit. After twiddling my fingers for the allotted time I scooped my little swim star into my arms hoping for a happy baby and was blessed with my wish granted.  Gabby played with a little 2 year old boy for 30 minutes. Thirty minutes? we were only supposed to have 10 minutes, apparently I was 40 minutes early not 10 minutes! Luckily Gabby was in a great mood throughout our swim lesson.  She went under 4 times and only cried the 4th time! She also learned how to walk on the edge of the pool with her hands and minimal help from me. The day I anticipated to be a disaster was a blessing in dis...

Today Aunt Lacey AKA Nanny is Mrs. McBride!! Gabby, Mommy, and Daddy get to get all dressed up and be part of the festivities.  Gabby will NOT steal the show but definitely will encourage people to be excited for Aunt Lacey as she lays flower petals to guide Aunt Lacey to the alter to (officially) meet Uncle Patrick.  Gabby has been practicing throwing flower petals, but typically unsuccessfully. There are a few scenarios that could play out: Gabby could sit down in the middle of the aisle and start taking the flowers out of her basket and delicately lay each petal on the floor She could have a tantrum and scream and cry because she wants the other flower basket as well so she can transfer her flowers to the other basket and then back again               OR She could actually throw the flower petals (which has yet to happen) Now those are only a few things that could happen not to mention our concerns with h...

Gabby had her 15 month doctor visit this week.  About the day before we went to the appointment I realized that Gabby had to get shots, AGAIN!  The power flickered on and off and then finally stayed off while we waited the hour in one of the doctor's rooms, while Gabby read a book, pointed to all of the pictures of the animals on the wall, had her diaper changed, played with the paper on the examination table, pointed to every doctor item in the room, imitated the monkey sound while pointed to the stuffed animal hanging from a pretend by from the ceiling, ate some snacks, got bored eating snacks, started throwing snacks, sang songs with hand motions, and began to whine from boredom !  All I could think about during the typical hour wait was, poor baby being tortured waiting to be tortured !  Surprisingly when the doctor walked in Gabby smiled at him (typically she screams from the moment her eyes meet his) but then he touched her and she proved there is nothing wron...

Gabby's favorite toys by far is her baby doll. She has about three or four dolls now, but only one has stolen her heart.  She carries her baby doll with her everywhere.  In the morning she runs to her doll as soon as she sees it, grabs it and kisses it repeatedly.  Then, she hugs her baby and pats it's diaper.  She constantly brings her doll to Mommy or Daddy and asks gives us the doll and her dress and we put the dress on, Gabby takes it off, and then the process repeats sometimes for 30 minutes. Last night she found a new diaper in her toy box and intently tried to put the diaper on her baby, but it just wouldn't work! Finally she suckered Daddy into putting the diaper on baby.  Then she found her bloomers and insisted they go on the baby too. Before the dressing of the baby was complete she had a diaper, bloomers, and another diaper on top of her clothes.  Although Gabby is a loving little mommy I have to say she gives her baby doll more concussions th...

Monday was Gabby's first ever swim lesson, and third time ever in a pool.  She is in a group with two other babies that are a little older than her. When we first walked into the water it was cool, but not cold.  She seemed fine entering the water, but quickly lost her enthusiasm once we started singing songs and touching her cheeks into the water.  She did not seem to like the water touching her face, but we followed the other children. During our first session we worked on kicking in the water, pulling herself along the wall (the choo choo train), floating on her back and getting her ears used to the water, pulling herself out of the pool, and when getting back in the water turning around and grabbing the wall (Humpty Dumpty).  The entire 30 minutes Gabby did not really care for the water and kept telling me "up" meaning she wanted out, but she never cried even when she went under water once.  The instructor informed me that babies don't like getting wate...

 Gabby Sharing her castle with Aiden Aiden guiding Gabby everywhere he thinks she needs to go Puppy Love My little girl has her first crush! She fell quickly and instantly decided he could be the king of her castle!  Aiden guided Gabby everywhere he wanted her to go and she happily ablidged.  We have been trying to teach her to hold our hand when she walks and she has always refused.  Thanks to Aiden she will now hold our hand when walking.   Gabby usually isn't very social around other children.  Usually she cries and wants to be held, but not with Aiden and Addision.  She followed them, shared her toys quite well, and tried to be just like them.  It is so amusing to see Gabby try to be a big girl like her friends.  Michael says next time Aiden comes over "they are going to have a talk."