It All Started with a Little Skittle...

Friday we enjoyed a feast of crabs, Gabby even seemed to enjoy a few tiny bites of it; however, I believe she was more interested in the crabs ALIVE! She reached for one and thought it was hilarious how the crab raised it's claws when she reached for it.  Gabby enjoyed being the center of attention on Good Friday while the family sat around outside and watched Gabby play with Jade and bubbles.  Jade is about 10 years old and Gabby treats her like an adult, which just cracks me up.  She whines and pulls herself up Jade's legs insisting Jade hold her (when Gabby probably weighs half of what Jade weighs!). I think something special happened on this Good Friday, I think a true bond was formed between Gabby and Jade, it was fun to watch it grow.  Saturday we enjoyed buckets and buckets of crayfish while Gabby played with her cousins beginning to learn the skill of sharing, then Michael got sick and we quickly went home. Easter Sunday was a nice small(is...

29 hours and 30 minutes, the longest I have ever gone without my baby girl through her entire existence.  Michael was sick yesterday and we had to take him to the hospital for a CAT scan (don't worry nothing was wrong) so Grandma took Gabby while we waited endlessly.  Graciously Grandma agreed to watch Gabby over night since Michael and now I were both sick.  This morning I went to work because I was feeling better and I day dreamed about my sweet baby girl half of the day.  Luckily 5:00 finally arrived and my giggly, smiling baby girl was back in my arms.  She makes my world better in so many ways it is indescribable!  Oh how I missed you my Gabby girl!

Gabby enjoying her own airplane seat Gabby checking out the clouds The view from 30,000 feet Gabby checking out her honorary wings Gabby and Mommy went on their first airplane ride together when Gabby was 10 months old.  She was an angel on the way there and back (although she wore Mommy out!).  On the way there the plane was half empty (that is the optimistic view!) and Gabby didn't seem to care that or even realize we were flying, she was having too much fun playing on the floor almost the entire flight.  On the way back the flight was FULL, not an empty seat on the plane! Gabby was an angel and hardly made a peep the entire flight even though she was required to stay still and sit on my lap for two hours.  She stayed busy playing with a napkin with the 12- year-old girl sitting next to us, eating a whole banana, and feeding herself Goldfish.  We landed with no incidents, but Mommy was ready to kiss the ground!  Gabby was an amazing...

Once there was a tiny girl who really loved saying out. She loved the word so much that she yelled out and raised her hand every time she saw a door or her dog. Whether she wanted the dog near her or to keep his distance she would click her tongue and then excitedly yell, "out!" Quickly "out" changed from a new word to a distinct name. Every time Gabby wanted to feed her puppy bites of her snack or wanted to pet his soft fur she would gleefully cry, "Out!" It was more than just a word it was Gabby's term of endearment for her puppy. It came to the point where one day the dog unconsciously began answering to the name out. He excitedly ran up to tiny Gabby wagging his tail waiting for treats.  So in Gabby's small ever expanding dictionary "out" means "dog." Mommy and Daddy are to blame because we constantly yell, "Out!" whenever Ranger walks through the baby jail threshold (a story for another day)!

So as a mom it is very difficult for me to allow Gabby to be introduced to the favorite level of the food pyramid, the "other" section also known as "junk food."  However, today I let my hair down and decided to live on the wild side (although I still wrote down all of Gabby's foods and made sure she had all of her food groups). Gabby had a reasonably healthy breakfast, but still fun, we had a yellow breakfast: eggs and banana slices.  Then we had Chic-Fil-A chicken nuggets with Daddy and two french fries for lunch.  Gabby hasn't been eating well this week, but don't worry she scarfed her lunch while squealing with glee watching the children play.  Then mommy snuck in some healthy food for a snack: 'b' snacks that is...blueberries and bananas scratch that... strawberries since Gabby discovered them they are her favorite food!  She actually didn't have a dinner, half a peanut butter sandwich, some graham crackers (after she threw them on the f...

Gabby had a wonderful first birthday party.  There were tons of friends and family there to celebrate her first year of life. It truly amazes me how many people adore my little girl. I don't think she has any clue how blessed she is to have such a huge group of such wonderful people who love her!  Seriously, people traveled HOURS to come to a one year old's birthday party! Gabby should feel very special and loved.  I think everyone's love contributes to the sweet loving little toddler she has become. Nanny and Mommy stayed up until midnight preparing and decorating for the party.  Then we continued working from 9:00 in the morning until moments before the party started at 2:00 (I will plan better next time)! Grandma made pretty signs for the party.  Gabby received a plethora of gifts which included toys, precious clothes, and even money which we put directly in her savings account.  Thank you everyone for such lovely gifts. The party was great because...