It All Started with a Little Skittle...

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...

Gabby had a great adventure her first time traveling by plane.  Gabby and Mommy got to the airport two hours early (as recommended by the TSA).  We went through the checkpoints with Gabby's stroller and our two carry on items. Then we had an early dinner and waited for our plane.  The flight to Amarillo was only 1 hour and 38 minutes (not including the time we waited to take off and to unload from the plane).  Since I was super nervous about how Gabby would behave on the airplane, I strategically dressed Gabby in an adorable outfit.  When we arrived in the area to wait for our plane you could feel the stares and resentment from all of the people around.  It was an area where about 16 planes have the same waiting area and it was like the lottery...Everyone was hoping to win a plane without the baby.  Luckily the plane we boarded was only half full; therefore, we had one man in the seats directly in front of us and no one behind us or next to us....

Gabrielle is now 11 months believe it or not!  As an 11 month old Gabby has changed from a baby to a kid in what seems like a blink of an eye. She believes she is a big girl because she has one tooth.  She no longer crawls as her main source of transportation; instead, she walks (although sometimes uncoordinated). Her vocabulary increases daily.  She has about a eight word vocabulary which includes: mama, dada, cat, hi, uh-oh, eye (while poking you in the eye of course), and in the last two days she added "wow" and "bye."  She spontaneously looks at books, turns the pages, and points to pictures in her books.  She can now put objects back in boxes or buckets as well as taking them out. She also has an obvious preference for objects and sometimes will cry if you do not give her what she wants.  She also will cry if you tell her "no" or sometimes when she knows better and wants to try to do something she knows she is not allowed to do....

It is only 9:30 and I am laying in bed with both of my loves sound asleep! At 9:00 when I realized they were both asleep I ran a very deep, very hot bath and relaxed, contemplating what I should do with the first "me" time it seems I have had in 10 months. First I thought about working on the chores needing to be accomplished around the house, but I quickly vetoed that thought. Then I thought about finishing one of my books, but then I realized they are like Pringles, "once you pop you just can't stop." I would be highly disappointed when I remembered how much I love reading and how much I miss having time to curl up with a good book.( I still haven't figured out how to be an awesome mom, wife, sleep, and an avid reader). Then I thought about giving myself a pedicure, but I am too tired to put in that kind of effort for something so trivial. So here I am laying in bed writing to you on my husband's I phone. It is nice to have a moment to myself to do as...

Today was Gabby's first Super Bowl party.  It was a small gathering, Gabby, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Papa, Nanny, Mr. Grand, and Mrs. Chelsea.  Before the party, first thing in the morning, Mommy and Daddy sat on the floor playing with Gabby.  To our surprise she took three steps from Daddy to Mommy, and then from Mommy to Daddy, and then a little to excited tried to run and fell down! We clapped and cheered for her long coming accomplishment (more than any cheering that went on during the Super Bowl).  Gabby wasn't shy about her new ability, she walked to everyone at the Super Bowl party that evening.  It was precious, she does great the first two times she walks a few steps, but then she gets too excited and tries to walk to fast with her head moving to far ahead of her body causing her to tumble.  By the end of the night Gabby was walking up to 8 steps at a time! I know I will quickly forget that the Green Bay Packers won the game, but I will never ...

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: ...

 Santa was in a hurry, he left a mess!   We love our girl  A happy family  Christmas morning was a busy time...actually the entire days was very busy.  Gabby woke up, we woke Daddy, and then went down stairs to see what Santa brought.  Gabby instantly knew the gifts from Santa were for her.  She went directly to a small one, picked it up, and began tasting the wrapping paper and playing with the tag.  She played with her wrapped gifts while mommy got dressed and cooked the homemade cinnamon rolls.  Once everyone began to arrive an hour later, we opened gifts from Santa, a few from mommy and daddy, and Grandma and Papa.  Then, Gabby took a long nap and then graced us with her presence.  We instantly began opening gifts when she woke up, but the sea of gifts was still overwhelming.  We continued to open gifts ALL day long.  We started opening at 9:00 in the morning and officially finished a...