It All Started with a Little Skittle...

Since Gabby was very small we've had difficulty getting her to go to sleep without a lot of tears from her and heartache for us.  We've tried Super Nanny tactics, my doctor's recommendations, a thousand ways we've read about on the internet and still it's the same fight every night even though Gabby has had the exact same routine for a year and a half (which is 75% of her lifetime) and the result is always the same, a crying baby.  (There is one way to get her to soundly go to sleep and that is allowing her to go to bed with milk, but I would rather her cry a little each night than to have teeth with cavities.) A few nights ago something finally clicked in my head. I try not to be too much of a speech pathologist to Gabby because I am her mommy and she is developing normally so I try to think in mommy mode rather than SLP mode.  Desperate I thought what would I recommend to another Mom at work and it clicked.  Any time a parent is having a serious difficulty wi...

Gabby has a gift from her Nanny and G.G. waiting to be opened this morning.  Thank you both for the thoughtful gifts! It will make her Valentine's Day special.  She will have a second Valentine's Day when Michael and I celebrate with her in a few weekends. P.S. I you are curious I made this free on Picasa. I just took a picture and added the hearts and made it look like a Polaroid to have plenty of room for my personalized message.  If you want you little one to "blow kisses" make it a fun game.  Gabby is actually blowing a leaf out of her hand.

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 ...

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 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...

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 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...

I can't believe that my little girl turns one today.  It feels like just yesterday that I met her for the first time.  The joy that comes with having this little angel, and by angel I mean gift from heaven, grows more and more everyday.  I tell Michael all of the time that I cannot believe how much more I love her every day and he feels the same way. Our love grows for her as fast as she grows!  We love you baby Gabby! You are the most amazing person in the entire world.  Happy First Birthday! Love, Mommy and Daddy Milestones Gabby has met by her first birthday: Walking Running Playing "pat-a-cake" and "itsy bitsy spider" and "singing" along by clicking her tongue Says: "dada, mama, uh-oh, cat, hi, cat, pretty, yeah, oh wow" and I am sure more that I am forgetting. Calling the cat and dog by clicking her tongue and putting her hand out (cutest thing ever!) Turning the pages and pointing to pictu...

Michael and I went out New Year's Eve and left Gabby with Grandma and Papa. She didn't have to worry about fireworks, enjoyed bringing in the New Year with her grandparents, and Mommy and Daddy were lucky enough to have a date night! The new year brought Gabrielle the desire to learn new things every week; I suppose that was her resolution (and so far she hasn't broken it).  She has learned to give high fives on demand, climb onto the couch, suck from a straw, crawl up stairs, take a step, stand while playing with objects, and how to listen on the phone.  She also has begun showing her sense of humor.  She is aware when we laugh or think something is funny and she will do it over again to make us laugh more. She also got her first tooth on her 10 month birthday!! Gabby also says "mama," "dada," and "cat."  I can't believe it's possible, but Gabby becomes more and more fun every day!  Here are some pictures of my favorite past time: ...