Gabbie's World

5 years ago we received our referral of a tiny baby girl

2011-09-13T20:49:00.006-05:00

And here she is now!

Hard to believe 5 years ago to the day we received the call that we had a baby girl and now that girl is 5 years old and amazing! Gabbie's birthday was September 1st. For the first time she had a birthday party with friends from her class and had a blast. The theme was Barbie. She wanted Ju$tin Bie-ber but I talked her out of it.

Some facts about Gabbie:

1. Ju$tin Bie-ber - She loves him. We listen to his CD's, watch his movies, and now even have a poster that will be hanging in her room shortly.

2. High School Musical - She loves these movies and the characters. Gabbie happens to look a little like the main girl Gabriella and they share a name so it became an instant hit.

3. Barbie is still one of her favorites. For her birthday she got the Barbie Dream House and it has made her one happy girl since then.

4. At her 5 year visit she weighed a whopping 37.5lbs (she is normally more on our home scale though) and was 41.25 inches. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. Consistent and petite!

5. Gabbie wears a size 10 shoe and a 5 in pants, dresses, and 5/6 in shirts.

6. Gabbie loves fish sticks, mini waffles, bacon, carrots(if she is eating a veggie), and popsicles. She also loves chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk.

7. Gabbie loves school. She is in pre-k at her school. She missed the cutoff to go to kindergarten by a little over a month but that is totally okay with me because she is my baby. There is no rush! We are still debating and researching schools for next year. That decision makes me nervous.

8. Gabbie loves to watch icar-ly, victor-ious, Fre$h Beat Band, $hake it up, $o Random, and Go0d Luck Charlie. She still likes cartoons too but these are her favorites.

9. She has a puppy named Twinkie. He is 18 months old and they are best friends.

10. Gabbie is full of attitude. She is a total girly girl asking if her hair looks okay over and over again. She loves lip gloss and purses.

11. Gabbie loves to go shopping. We do girls days at the mall. It makes me so happy!

12. Gabbie has her mommy and daddy wrapped around her finger. Yikes!!!! I dread the teenage years if the 5's are any indication of how things are to come!

13. She is so sensitive and smart. She catches on to everything.

14. Gabbie does gymnastics and takes private swim lessons.

15. She loves to swim and loves the beach. We recently took a vacation to Captiva Fl0rida and she wanted to swim the whole time. At the beach she constantly made sand castles. She loved Fl0rida!

Hard to believe it has been 5 years since she was born in our hearts. I think about her first mom or belly mommy as we call her, all of the time. Gabbie is amazing. I am so sad she is missing out on this wonderful, perfect girl. I know she would be proud of the little girl she has become. I hope for now she somehow realizes how much we love Gabbie and she has peace in her heart as that is what she asked for. Hopefully one day we will have the chance to meet her.

Coming out of retirement on a special day

2010-09-13T20:15:00.009-05:00

Four years ago tonight we received the call that changed our lives forever. Our daughter to be was born. We waited for what seemed like an eternity to get pictures from our agency director. I stared at my email for nearly an hour straight. I will never forget that moment opening the first picture and seeing her there. It truly was such a special moment. I absolutely cannot believe it has been four years. I feel like she has been with us forever yet it seems like just yesterday. There is no doubt she was meant to be our child. I truly wish her first mom in Guatemala didn't have to make the decision she did but I thank God every day that I was chosen to be her mommy forever.

One of the first photos we received of Gabbie. 9/13/2006

9/13/2007 - 1 year old

9/13/2008 - 2 years old

9/13/2009 - 3 years old

9/13/2010 - 4 years old

I love you Gabbie.

Update post for Thanksgiving, first movie, and Santa pictures

2009-12-24T22:44:00.015-06:00

It has been well over a month since my last post. We have been very busy. Thanksgiving came and went in a flash. In December we took Gabbie to see her first movie - The Princess and the Frog. It was a really cute movie and she had so much fun! We went to see Santa twice. The first time she refused to sit on his lap but the second time she actually did and we got pictures!!!!

Just a week ago a parent at Gabbie's school drove her car into the building and it happened to hit right where Gabbie was sleeping on her cot. The wall broke and knocked her a few feet still sleeping on her cot. Her teacher apparently ran up to her and had to wake her up. It just so happens that we arrived 3 minutes after it happened for the Christmas party for her class. Nothing like pulling up to your child's school to see a car has hit the building at your daughter's room and finding out she was sleeping right there where it hit. Fortunately no one was hurt. Gabbie slept through it all so she doesn't remember! I think the staff was a little more shook up but hopefully this long break will help! Now for pictures.

My gorgeous baby girl

Thanksgiving before Maw Maw's house.

Thanksgiving at Maw Maw's

My princess with her princesses

Gabbie with her super cute PJ's from Maw Maw!

Gabbie before her very first movie with her Tiana shirt on

Gabbie and Peyton before the movie

One of Gabbie's lovely faces - She has some good ones!

After the movie. I couldn't get her to turn around for a picture for anything! Little stinker!

Another lovely Gabbie face

Gabbie before Santa pictures

Hard to believe but here it is!!! An actual picture with Gabbie alone and not screaming on Santa's lap!!

And another one! They aren't the best but we will take them!

A party for Jack and random photos

2009-11-15T21:48:00.015-06:00

Today we went to Jack's 3rd birthday party. It is hard to believe Gabbie and Jack are now 3. It seems like just yesterday they were both like this.

And this....

Look at them now. Where has the time gone? Crazy!

I think a great time was had by all at the party today, especially the kids! Seriously there were enough kids there for a daycare center! I know Gabbie had a blast! Happy Birthday Jack! Here are a few party pictures.

Here are the adorable Green twins. This was the best photo I could get of the two of them together. They are both walking and constantly on the go! They are too sweet.

Gabbie and Jacob playing with the dragon toy.

This was taken on Steve's birthday. She looks like such a big girl!

Two photos of my happy girl with that gorgeous smile!

Gabbie on Halloween 2009 as Snow White.

Gabbie and the dwarfs

Finally my birthday was on November 12th. Look at the awesome cake Gabbie picked out for me! Daddy let her pick one and she selected a princess one. How shocking!!!! I loved the cake and my princess balloon:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY

2009-10-11T20:20:00.003-05:00

Today Daddy is 34 years old. Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you.

Apple picking

2009-10-04T21:17:00.018-05:00

Yesterday we went apple picking. It was my first time ever going as well as Gabbie's first. We took a ferry across the river from MO to IL. That was a first for us too. It was somewhat scary to be sitting in your car floating across the river. On the way there Gabbie wanted nothing to do with it. She refused to get out of the car even though Steve, Peyton, and some of our friends were out looking. She sat on my lap clinging on to me. Fortunately on the way back she had a change of heart and we got the full experience! Apple picking was fun. We even went pumpkin picking too. The girls had a blast!

Gabbie picking her very first apple.

Here it is! She was so proud!

She started to get in the swing of things and was throwing apple after apple into the bag.

Here is Steve giving his friend Dave a lift to the top of the apple tree. Silly men!

I love this picture! Mia and Peyton were carrying their bags over their shoulders and Gabbie had to do the same thing. Her bag was heavy but nothing was going to stop her from being like the big girls!

Mia, Gabbie, and Peyton with the huge pumpkin

Here is Gabbie riding Peppermint the pony.

My strong man holding Peyton and Gabbie

I love this one too. She had such determination when jumping!

The girls again

Gabbie and Peyton with their pumpkins

Silly boys again! I do like this picture though!

Here we are on the way back on the ferry. Not the best picture but it works!

Peyton came over after apple picking to play a while.

My happy girl

I love her beautiful hair! Her hair is so long and her curls are so pretty.

Gosh I love this child!

Birthday party, football, and extra pictures

2009-09-20T21:12:00.016-05:00

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for the Green twins. It is hard to believe they are a year old already! Here are some pictures from the party.

Gabbie and Jack - these two are so cute together. Anytime Jack was out of Gabbie's sight she asked where Jack was!

Another cute one of Gabbie and Jack

Daddy and Gabbie started playing football outside while the kids were playing kid games!

Daddy going back to the high school days hiking a ball but this time to his baby girl.

Is she going to catch it?

Of course:) Okay not really but she got it and started running like a pro.

Here she is again running for the ball.

And bringing it back

Here are the birthday boys enjoying their cake!

Gabbie at the park a couple of weeks ago.

Gabbie on her Daddy's shoulders as happy as can be!

We took Gabbie to Dis-ney on Ice two days after her birthday. I think she was kind of shocked through the whole thing. We had 2nd row seats that were incredible! She enjoyed it a lot and still talks about it and asks to go back!

Belle and the rose

3 years ago tonight

2009-09-13T20:42:00.007-05:00

We received a call that would change our lives forever. We had finally been matched with this baby girl. We were fortunate to have her home less than 5 months later!

This was her on her 1 year referral anniversary. She was so cute and chunky!

This was her last year on her 2 year referral anniversary. She had changed so much since the year before.

This is Gabbie today. It is hard to believe it has been 3 years since our lives were changed forever and we finally saw our daughter's face. I am tearing up thinking about it. Gabbie's birthday is very important, but to me this is her true "birthday" to us. As cheesy as it sounds this is the day she was born in our hearts forever.

One the eve of Gabbie's 3rd birthday....

2009-08-31T22:26:00.007-05:00

this was the scene in our house.

Yes it is official. She is a big girl now sleeping in a big girl bed! Okay it is a toddler bed but definitely a step up from the crib! She is actually faking it in the above picture but she did fall asleep at 10:00pm which isn't too bad for her first night in this ever so lovely princess canopy bed! Daddy tried to talk her into the model without the tent but she wasn't having any of it.

Anyway, tomorrow's the big day. The pink cupcakes with sprinkles are ready to go to school for her birthday. Is she really going to be 3? Can I freeze her tonight?

Finally daddy reading her princess story book. Surprise surprise I know! This child is all girl and all princess. Notice how she even has her legs crossed!

A princess party

2009-08-30T20:11:00.026-05:00

Gabbie's 3rd birthday is in two days. We had her party yesterday and it was a blast. The weather was absolutely perfect. The theme was Dis.ney Princesses. Gabbie got a ton of gifts and had a wonderful time! It is hard to believe my baby will be 3 years old in just two short days. More later on that. Now for pictures.

I rented this thing for $200 for the entire day. It was the best $200 spent let me tell you! The kids had a blast all day and night in this thing!

Daddy showing the bounce house to Gabbie

We let Gabbie try it out a little before nap

The kids are here! Gabbie and Jacob jumping!

The Green twins - the have a birthday coming up in 2.5 weeks!

Some party guests

Gabbie at cake time being so patient

Gabbie and Jenn right before presents laughing about something

Gabbie opening up Belle's horse from Terri and Tim

Princess shoes

Gabbie opening her Cinder.ella castle from Maw Maw!

Looking at her Cinder.ella dress from The Harpers

Gabbie in her Sn0w White dress that Aunt Sherry made with the help of a friend. Amazing isn't it! I can check Hall0ween costume off of my to do list!

Jack hitting the pinata. As always the pinata was a hit!

Sherry adjusting the dress

More jumping time! Maw Maw even got in on the fun!

Gabbie and Joe hanging out after most of the guests left

Putting the castle together

Gabbie this morning in her new night gown, shoes, and jewelry.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER!!!

2009-08-02T21:13:00.008-05:00

Today is Jennifer's birthday. For those of you who don't know, Jennifer has been my best friend since we were 4 years old. We lived a few house away from each other and spent nearly all of our time together. Jennifer is also Gabbie's Godmother. I was always a little jealous growing up because Jennifer got to do everything first because she is 3 months and 10 days older than me. Now Jennifer is turning 35 first and I am not jealous!!! Wahoo, I am still 34!

We went to Aunt Terri's to celebrate today and had a blast. Thanks Terri and Tim for your hospitality and the delicious food!

Seriously though, because I know Jenn is not excited about turning 35, and I am dreading it too, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Jennifer. We love you!

How cute are these two? I think this is my new favorite picture!

Jacob is moving in! Gabbie likes to hold hands with boys. We are in trouble!

Nah... Back to Jack she decided.

Time for cake

Baby Jordyn helping blow out the candles

Congratulations Uncle Steve!!!!

2009-08-02T20:53:00.004-05:00

This post is a quick congratulations to my Uncle Steve, which is Gabbie's Great Uncle Steve. Uncle Steve has been studying hard for many months for his GED test. He has been going to classes every week, tutoring with my husband Steve, and studying on his own as well. He took the test two weeks ago, which lasted literally an entire Saturday and was very nervous to get back the results. He didn't think he passed but he did!!! Not only did he pass but he scored really well. Well enough that he may just get some free college classes! We are so excited for him and very proud of him!

We had a little graduation party at Maw Maw's last night for him to celebrate.

Gabbie was super excited for Uncle Steve too! Here she is jumping on the bed!

Gabbie's favorite things

2009-07-19T21:55:00.014-05:00

One of Gabbie's favorite things to do is dress up. She is a huge girly girl. She loves dresses, skirts, tutus, shoes, princess shoes, purses, and probably the most jewelry! Every day she gets dressed up. At Maw Maw's today she wore her tutu skirt and a pretty necklace. She would have worn more but they get tangled and I told her only one necklace. We left the house to shopping and she realized she forgot her necklace. She was not happy. So, Maw Maw fixed that really quickly by buying necklaces and hair pretties (what Gabbie calls them) to match. Gabbie was super happy then.

Gabbie was even happier today when we hit the shoe section of the store. I came around the corner and there was Maw Maw sitting on a bench and Gabbie on the floor trying on a pair of princess shoes that had lights on them. They were discussing how they were too big. Gabbie took them off, put them back in the box, and walked them over to the correct section to put them on the shelf. She then started shopping for more shoes. I ended up finding the princess shoes in her size so she walked out with a new pair of princess sandals with lights that she loves!

Last night we were at a friend's house who has a 3 year old girl. She had 5 pairs of shoes for Gabbie that her daughter barely wore and had outgrown. Gabbie was happy as could be with her new shoes. She looked at each pair, held each shoe, and talked away about them until we got home.

Finally jewelry has really become her main love lately. I will let the pictures do the talking for this gypsy girl as my mom calls her!

She is serious when it comes to putting her jewelry on!

My beautiful girl at Maw Maw's house today.

Gabbie loves Maw Maw's new fairies.

My first communion veil! Gabbie loved it!

Tonight before bed in her Belle pjs from Maw Maw. (please ignore the box full of pictures on the left)

Soccer Time!

2009-07-12T21:07:00.009-05:00

Soccer started last week. It is a parent and me class so Daddy did it with Gabbie since I have absolutely no athletic ability (shocking I know!) Gabbie did pretty well for the most part. She is definitely shy to new situations so at first she wanted Daddy to hold her. After a few minutes she got down and started kicking away. She loves to score goals. She kept losing focus and running back to Maw Maw and me but for the most part she did great considering it was her first night. Jack is also in the same soccer class so they both had a blast. Now for pictures.

Goal!

My little runner!

When Jack first got there

Gabbie liked to hold the ball a lot. I am guessing Jack is explaining the rules here!

High 5 after the big lesson

Aren't they so cute?

Gabbie was going in for a kiss right here!

Gabbie and Jacob

4th of July

2009-07-12T20:37:00.013-05:00

We spent the 4th of July at Maw Maw's house. Gabbie loves the fireworks. She definitely loves them a lot more than me. When I was little I couldn't stand them. This year they were a little better because I got to watch the excitement in Gabbie's eyes and see her reaction to each one. I love watching her see and experience new things. She ended up having a fabulous 4th of July.

Notice how Gabbie is holding Joe's hand. She sure loves her cousin!

Fish lips and tired eyes

Gabbie and Uncle Steve

Gabbie watching fireworks!

A few oldies

2009-06-27T20:50:00.008-05:00

I am sure everyone is wondering where we have been. My camera broke a couple of weeks ago. I am shopping for a new one so no new pictures have been taken lately and no updates provided. I hope to have a new one soon and new pictures to follow.

As for us, nothing really new is going on. Steve and I went to see The Hang0ver today while Gabbie stayed at Maw Maw's. After the movie we went to the 0live Garden and then did some shopping. Gabbie had a blast at Maw Maw's. Maw Maw was caught when she said "Gabbie tell mommy what color popsicle you had" and Gabbie's response was "one, two, three of them". Maw Maw knew then she was busted. Oh well that is what grandma's are for I guess.

Gabbie is now in underwear all of the time. She pretty much always woke up dry so about a week or two ago we tried underwear through the night and so far, no accidents at all. She is such a big girl.

Driving home from Maw Maw's today we were discussing how perfect Gabbie is and how much we love her. I said to Steve that I know he thought I was crazy when I first brought up the idea of adoption and he agreed that he did wonder what I was thinking. When I reflect back to the time of picking an agency I was stuck between two. I had someone I worked with recommending one strongly and something in my gut telling me to go with another one. In the end I decided to go with my gut feeling and thank God I did.

Since I don't have any recent pictures I will post a couple of ones that are old favorites of mine which probably haven't been posted on the blog before.

She was such a chunk back then! You surely can't tell now!

Gabbie and Jack - it is hard to believe how much they have grown. Gabbie was close to 7 months old and Jack 5 months old. I have always loved this picture!

First carnival

2009-06-07T22:05:00.016-05:00

Yesterday we took Gabbie to her first Carnival at our church. The first half hour or so she was kind of quiet and not brave when it came to the rides. She wouldn't ride anything and wanted to be held. The rides shut down for mass so we went and had a funnel cake - yummy! Then we saw a family with a child that looked like he was from Guatemala so we went to talk to them. We had seen them walking in our neighborhood so we kind of thought they lived where we did and we were right. Their son Jacob was 3 years old. He was kind of shy too so they really didn't have anything to say to each other but it is still exciting to see that another child from Guatemala who is Gabbie's age lives a couple of streets over.

We then ventured into the school gym where they were raffling off a Yorkie puppy. For the next 15 minutes then Gabbie said over and over again she needed to take the puppy home. I took her potty and I kid you not she said it nothing short of 15 times. The lady in the stall next to us was cracking up. Finally Gabbie listened to us telling her no because then she started saying "I not take the puppy home because I have Sydney." She even got on the phone with Maw Maw this morning and told her that. At least this time she accepted no for an answer! After the rides started back up Gabbie got brave and started to let loose. She rode quite a few rides, one of which nearly gave mommy a heart attack. Not Gabbie though, she had a wonderful time! Gabbie saw 2 friends from her school/class and rode the swing with one of them. She jumped in a bounce house and stood there screaming and crying when it was time to get out while a line of about 15 kids waited patiently for their turn to get in. Then it was obvious it was time to go. Now for pictures.

Peyton and Gabbie - This picture makes me think ahead to about 10 years from now when Peyton turns 16. I can hear Gabbie now begging to go for a ride with Peyton. That is a scary thought!
I love this picture. You can see how happy they are together!

This one is for Maw Maw so she can see the thin rope that held my baby girl in on this ride. Let me tell you, I ended up recording most of this ride and don't think I was able to breathe until it was over. Gabbie on the other hand.... (see next picture)

Gabbie was happy as could be riding with Peyton! The ride was going so fast she slid over to Peyton's side.

Wow just looking at this one still gives me a weak stomach.

Gabbie was so excited with her necklace, frog, and baton.

My sweet baby girl. I love how happy she is in this picture.

Look at her jump!

This was taken back at our house. Gabbie loves to run and race.

Even though this picture is blurry I love it! It is the big race. Look at daddy's face. He was serious!

I told them to get together and smile for a picture and Gabbie went next to Peyton to put her arm on her. I thought that was so sweet.

GG's Birthday

2009-05-31T21:57:00.010-05:00

We got together this weekend to celebrate GG's birthday. Gabbie just loves going to Maw Maw's house. She ran around for hours running the house and barking orders at Joe Joe. He is such a trooper and does everything she wants. He is definitely her favorite. Poor Maw Maw gets ignored when he is there. She tried to get a hug or two in but Gabbie wanted Joe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GG! We love you!

Gabbie giving Maw Maw one hug. I think this was before Joe was there!

Gabbie and Joe

Gabbie helping GG blow out the candles

Eating cake and ice cream!

One last picture of Gabbie and Joe

Zoo time

2009-05-26T20:06:00.007-05:00

Today the rain held off and we made it to the zoo with Maw Maw! Gabbie had a lot of fun. I think her favorite animals were the elephants that were playing in the water. We ended up leaving and going to lunch. We had a ton of fun today with Maw Maw! Now for pictures.

My little diva princess

2009-05-24T20:18:00.020-05:00

Oh my goodness Gabbie is a diva full of attitude! When it is time to get dressed for school she gives us attitude. When it is time to leave she gives me attitude. When it is time for dinner or time to go inside we get attitude. Finally, when it is time for bed we get major attitude. After we put her to bed last night I heard her shouting over and over again "I can't go to sleep, I can't go to sleep". Sometimes I find myself wondering how I will survive these years much less the teen years! I hear it starts earlier for girls now too. Yikes!!!

She really is a sweet princess too. Yesterday morning daddy was gone so Gabbie and I were laying in bed watching Dora and cuddling. She looked at me and said in the sweetest voice "I so happy mama". I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up after that one.

I took an extra day off on Tuesday. Gabbie, Maw Maw, and I are supposed to go to the zoo but it looks like it might rain:( That is a big bummer because I have been telling Gabbie about it. Hopefully it will hold off and we can make it for a while. Now for pictures.

It was PJ day at school last Thursday.

Look at this attitude. I bought Gabbie a pair of princess shoes and let's just say she loves them.

She loves to close the door on you.

Yesterday Gabbie and daddy planted flowers.

Gabbie dusting her hands off

This cracks me up! Look at that face reacting to the worm!

Gabbie is a fast runner!

ATTITUDE - check out that face. I know Maw Maw will like this one!

more attitude

Helping daddy get the pot ready for more flowers

clean up time - such a big girl!

Finally a little more attitude after bath yesterday. That's my princess.

A jumping party!

2009-05-17T19:49:00.017-05:00

Saturday we went to Jacob's 5th birthday party at Pump It Up. Gabbie has been there two other times and each time had a blast. This time was no exception! After a few minutes of clinging and she was ready to go! We had a great time!

Today we went to Maw Maw's house. Gabbie played outside, went to see the neighbor's turtle, jumped on Maw Maw's bed, drank sprite and even some of Maw Maw's diet coke, and got some candy on top of it. No wonder she likes going there so much!

Gabbie and Jack - He hugged her so big they both went falling down to the ground. They are so cute together.

Steve and Jacob

Gabbie, Baby Jay, and Abbie jumping

Jay - check out the mohawk! He is so stinking cute!

Will - look at this gorgeous boy and his teeth!

The Birthday boy! I think he had a great time. Happy Birthday Jacob! I can't believe you are 5!

Gabbie and Jordyn enjoying their suckers

This was taken at Maw Maw's house 1 year and 2 months ago

This picture was taken today. I can't believe the difference in her! She has gotten so big. This slide now looks tiny.

Hmm.... Mommy doesn't approve of this but Gabbie seemed to weasel her way in for a drink over and over again.

Gabbie getting some love from Maw Maw

Gabbie and some Fun Dip for the ride home!

She is a fan!

A night out and mother's day

2009-05-10T20:49:00.017-05:00

Last night Steve and I actually went out without Gabbie and stayed out until 11:00! We had a wedding to go to so we got a real babysitter who is a teacher from Gabbie's school. It was expensive, yet very nice to actually go out together and not have to worry about entertaining a two year old. Gabbie did great playing with the sitter and even went to bed for her like a big girl! This morning when she woke up she was calling her name from her room because she thought she would still be there. When I went in to her room I got a huge 'mommy' and she jumped up in my arms and gave me the biggest hug. She told us all about her night last night and from what I can tell she had a great time. I should say Gabbie has been home for over two years and this is the first time we have ever left her with a real sitter, so this was a big night for her and us! I am so glad it went well.

This morning we went to the park for an hour and then came home to get ready to go to Maw Maw's house for Mother's Day. We decided to let Gabbie skip her nap so we could head to my mom's early but Gabbie ended up falling asleep quickly in the car. She had such a good time at Maw Maw's as always.

All in all this Mother's Day was a nice day. Gabbie kept saying over and over again 'Happy Mother's Day' to me. It was really sweet and cute. I thought a lot about Gabbie's birth mom in Guatemala today. I am so blessed to be Gabbie's mommy and nothing makes me happier but part of me is so sad that her mom is missing out on spending time with this wonderful, amazing, child of ours. I only hope and pray somehow she has found happiness and will get to experience this joy one day.

Now for pictures.

Angela and Tyler - I have worked with Angela for 5 years now and she has become a really good friend of mine. Long story short, I actually missed the wedding because apparently 38 minutes isn't enough time to get from the entrance to Forest Park to the Jewel Box thanks to traffic and road closures. So while she was getting married I was sitting in my car tearing up that I was missing it. There was nothing I could do but the fact that I missed her wedding upsets me so much. Anyway, congratulations to them! They are a great couple and I couldn't be happier for them!

Gabbie at my mom's today. Daddy hung her upside down and Chloe was kissing her. She was laughing so hard.

Gabbie and Maw Maw

Can you tell how crazy these two are about each other?

Gabbie and Maw Maw dancing away

Gabbie and Joe - They are crazy about each other too!

Joe was playing a game and Gabbie was cheering him on!

It was a pretty intense game apparently.

Look at her all comfortable in his arms.

Fun weekend

2009-04-26T20:26:00.021-05:00

We had a great weekend. It was short but definitely a lot of fun! We went to Maw Maw's Saturday morning and then came home to take a nap before Pat, Katelyn, and Taylor came over for taco night and a celebration to their engagement. Gabbie loves playing with her new cousin to be!
Sunday morning we headed to the park around 9am. Gabbie played and played. This park actually has 3 playgrounds all together for different age groups and she loved it. We stayed for almost 2 hours and then came home for lunch and a nap. I went to lunch with Jenn and we made plans to head to the park later again with all of the kids.

So Maw Maw came over and we headed to the park to meet the J family for some more fun. Gabbie of course had a blast at the park with everyone. I am amazed at how fearless she is now at the park. She even went down a super tall twisting slide all by herself. Of course I was quite worried but she did it over and over again and pretty much had no fear. Now for pictures.

This picture was taken Saturday evening. I think Gabbie looks so grown up!

Going to the park walking with daddy

She loves these things. I remember doing them when I was little too. I couldn't even pull myself up once now if I tried!

Gabbie running to daddy

Running from daddy. We did this over and over again.

Jack - He is getting so big. He is two months younger than Gabbie but officially a lot taller. I knew the time would come when he would pass up my petite girl.

Gabbie and Baby Jordyn or her little sister as Gabbie would call her.

My little monkey hanging again.

I love this one!

Gabbie went down the slide over and over again with her drink.

This was taken two years ago about two months after Gabbie came home. She was almost 7 months old. She was such a chunk!

This was take this morning.....

and this afternoon! I am amazed at the difference. She still has that amazing smile though.

Finally Gabbie and Maw Maw. Of course ONLY Maw Maw could push Gabbie. She told me to go away. I am chopped liver when she is around:)

Random pictures from last weekend

2009-04-23T21:34:00.008-05:00

Here are some random pictures from last weekend.

Gabbie is a princess that is for sure. She loves girly things and gets so excited about getting her nails and toes painted! I love it!

Gabbie and Joe - look at that smile on her face. When she is with him she is always smiling. He is such a great cousin to her!

Gabbie decided she didn't need a nap at home on Sunday so on the way back from Maw Maw's house she started zoning out. It was about 6:30.

I asked her to smile and this is what I got:) I love it!

Out a couple of minutes later.

One big update

2009-04-12T21:21:00.017-05:00

It has been a long time since my last post. Not a whole lot is going on to be honest. Gabbie has been giving us a terrible time going to bed so we have been dealing with that. She was waking up super early but knock on wood she is doing better and has actually slept past 6:00am the last 3 days!!!

Easter was today. I think she got as many presents today as she did for Christmas. She is definitely spoiled.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks and today.

I love this sweet face:)

Easter eggs at Maw Maw's house

Gabbie and Joe

Gabbie sure loves her Cousin Joe.

We took Gabbie to the park yesterday. I think daddy enjoyed this ride more than Gabbie:)

Here is what the Easter bunny left Gabbie

Gabbie loves clothes. Here she is getting her Hello Kitty shirt.

Her Barbie vet puppy

Easter egg hunt today

Gabbie and Maw Maw

Gabbie looking at her basket from Maw Maw

Chloe wanted her picture taken too

Gabbie opening up Air Buddies from GG. Gabbie loves the movies with the Buddies in them. So far she has Snow Buddies, Space Buddies, and now Air Buddies. Daddy was just so excited to add another one to our collection!

Finally Gabbie and GG

Easter Pictures

2009-03-22T19:57:00.010-05:00

Friday we took Gabbie to get Easter pictures. I think they turned out pretty good considering I was afraid we wouldn't get any! Gabbie now loves me taking pictures but is very stranger shy. It normally takes her 20 minutes to warm up with someone she doesn't know. She hopped right in for these though and we even managed to catch several smiles!

I am really mad at myself because I did not take any pictures from the birthday parties this weekend:( We had a great time at both. Gabbie especially had a wonderful time with all of the kids.

Here are some of the pictures. Don't worry, we bought the CD and have the release!

Notice the boo boo on her arm. A little boy pushed her down on the playground, or so she says, and she got a boo boo. At first I didn't like this picture because of it but now it is one of my favorites!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAW MAW!!!

2009-03-19T21:23:00.017-05:00

Today is Maw Maw's birthday. Since Steve and Cousin Joe are off for spring break this week Maw Maw and I decided to take off work today so we could have a fun filled day and that we did!

Steve, Gabbie, and I went and picked up Maw Maw and Joe at 9:15 and headed out for our day. We first started off with a trip to the City Museum in Saint Louis. It is this super cool place for kids of all ages. Gabbie had a blast. Such a big blast that after being there 3 hours she was crying when we told her it was time to go. She was not happy at all. She wanted to keep going down the slides and running like a wild child. Gabbie found quite a few areas of the City Museum she was fond of. There is an aquarium that had sharks that you could pet along with a bunch of other animals and reptiles. I also saw two ant eater type animals doing things kids shouldn't be watching. It was quite disturbing.

After leaving the City Museum we headed to have lunch and then back to our house to have some fun. Steve and Maw Maw went to a computer store and got Maw Maw a new computer. She is finally the owner of a computer at her house after all of these years. We all played outside with our cool new potato guns. We bought 2 at the museum. When Joe wanted them I thought he was crazy but to be honest we had a blast with them and I am wishing we would have bought more now. They made us all act like kids. Maw Maw was really into it until she wiped out in her back yard and was a muddy mess. Too bad I didn't have my camera on me for that! Finally we went to Maw Maw's house and set up her new laptop. Gabbie ended up only taking a 30 minute nap in the car on the way to Maw Maw's so we left there at 7:30 and Gabbie was fast asleep at 8:15.

It really was a fun day for all. Very active, but also very fun. Happy Birthday Maw Maw!!! I am glad you had a great day! Now for pictures.

Gabbie was really excited on the way to pick up Maw Maw and Joe!

Gabbie and Maw Maw - the color is off on this picture but I still thought it was a good one.

Gabbie and Maw Maw going down one of the slides. I love this picture! The look on Maw Maw's face is great!

Daddy and Gabbie

Mommy and Gabbie - I am so excited I had daddy actually take a picture of us! Not the best but it will work.

Gabbie going down another slide

Gabbie in the germ infested ball pit. Obviously you can tell by the over excited look on her face that she liked it!

Gabbie was quite brave. She climbed up this thing all on her own. A few times I thought we were going to have to rescue her but she did it. I kept worrying her crocs would get stuck in the bars though. I think mommy was more nervous than Gabbie! I was so proud of her though.

Gabbie, Maw Maw, and Joe in the aquarium.

Gabbie dragging daddy around.

Joe in the stinky suit! He said it smelled in there.

She sure liked this ice cream cone at lunch.

Gabbie and Joe playing at our house. She is crazy about her Joe Joe!

One last picture of my big girl. She is so fun to take pictures of now that she smiles away. Tomorrow we get Easter pictures done. Wish us luck!

Finally Happy Birthday to Papa and Baby Jordyn too! They all share the same birthday! We have their parties this weekend.

Flu, potty training, and yoga around the house

2009-03-10T21:27:00.015-05:00

These last couple of weeks have stunk:( Last Monday night Steve and I became ill with the stomach flu. It was horrible, nasty, gross, everything bad! Yesterday I finally started feeling like myself and today I am feeling close to 100% normal. Fortunately the good news is so far Gabbie has not gotten sick!!! We are hoping it stays this way!

Gabbie is doing great with potty training!!! We are still using diapers/pull ups at naps and nights but a lot of those times she is even dry then. It is amazing how easy potty training her was when she was ready. We tried around Christmas but it didn't work. This time it worked! Also, I love how I don't have to buy diapers anymore and can spend more at tar-jay on other things instead!

Now for a few pictures. Gabbie was insistent on taking a lot of pictures last weekend. She even made Steve take pictures of the dog food bowl and chair. I guess she saw art in them? Maybe she will have a career in photography. I will spare you the 'artistic' photos for now.

During this photo session Gabbie was going all over the family room smiling a huge smile for the camera. She is so funny now how she loves to get her picture taken. It is like a dream come true for me! Well maybe not that great, but it is nice!

This starts the stretch of yoga around the house photos. She seriously had me follow her with the camera and take 10-15 photos of her doing yoga in different areas of the house. I was laughing so hard.

More yoga - look at that cute booty:)

Yoga by the table

Yoga on the landing of the stairs - okay you get the point!

My sweet baby girl

One last big cheese photo

I gotta go potty weekend

2009-02-22T21:17:00.012-06:00

Gabbie was sick with belly problems all weekend and it was not fun. We have noticed her belly has been hard and bloated. He bowel movements have been a bit odd (trust me you don't want the details.) Friday night around 10:00 she had diarrhea and she didn't go back to her bed until 12:45 and asleep until around the 1:30am. She was up promptly at 6:30am. It was not fun and we were all tired Saturday. She took a short nap only to be woke up by yet again more diarrhea. She is better today thankfully.

Now for the good news. Potty training is going quite well! Even with the terrible stomach problems she went every time (which was a whole lot) in the potty except for the 2 times in her diaper while in bed! That was quite impressive and quite appreciated by mommy and daddy! She is doing so good in her big girl underwear!!! The only bummer is last night at 11:30 she started saying "I gotta go potty mommy" over and over again so I got up, took her to the potty, she went tinkle, and back to bed. While I really appreciate her telling me, she had a diaper on, and I would have appreciated sleep more!!! Oh well as my friends said today, I can't have it both ways! We are restricting her right before bedtime drink so hopefully she will not wake us up to go tonight.

Now for some pictures. Even though she didn't feel good she managed to be playful and smiley.

It was a tutu weekend. She literally wore this thing all weekend. When she puts it in she spins and spins.

The tutu gives her attitude (not that it is needed)

We celebrated Joe's birthday at Grandma's house Saturday night and of course she had to wear the tutu there. She pranced around that house all night full of tutu-tude. I know what you are thinking. Nice outfit, right!!!

Of course she wouldn't cooperate for even 1 picture with Joe. Little stinker!

Instead of giving Joe a card with money in it my mom always gets him a can of ready whip, wraps it, and tapes money to it. Joe loves ready whip. Guess who else does:)

GG and Gabbie. GG had surgery on her feet about two weeks ago and Gabbie is so great with her. She is gentle and lovable. She just hopped right up into GG's chair and cuddled. She always knows how to make people feel better.

Today Gabbie mixed her Tinkerbell PJ's with basketball, and her tutu. What a combo!

She's got mad basketball skills! She loves to dunk.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T22:44:00.013-06:00

Tonight we went to a friend's house for Valentine's Day. We had 8 adults and 8 children. Let's just says there were kids running everywhere! As always Gabbie had a blast, especially because baby Jordyn, Will, and Jay were all there. Now for pictures.

This picture was actually taken yesterday morning before Gabbie went to school. She was so excited to get her picture taken in her new Valentine's shirt!

Baby Jordyn

Jack and Gabbie - Aren't they adorable!

My big girl! I love how she now poses for pictures:)

Baby Jay

Baby Will

Gabbie and Gabe

Will, Gabbie, and Jay

Jay and Will

Home two years and potty training

2009-02-08T13:40:00.017-06:00

Two years ago today we returned home from Guatemala with Gabbie. She was exactly 5 months and 1 week old. The pick up trip was rough to say the least. She had a hard time separating from her foster mother. Pretty much the whole trip was spent with her crying and Steve walking her around in the carrier to calm her down. The flight from Guatemala to Dallas was really rough. She cried the first hour and finally fell asleep. Poor Steve had to hold a blanket up for over an hour to keep the noise and commotion to a minimum while she slept because we were in the last row of the plane and right by the restroom. It was quite noisy there.

I will never forget getting off the plane in St. Louis with Gabbie and seeing our family and friends waiting. It was such an emotional moment. It was so obvious to me how much Gabbie was loved even though no one had met her until then. I think it is pretty safe to say she has brought us more joy than we ever could have imagined.

Now Gabbie is 2 years, 5 months, and 1 week old. I don't really know how that is possible. She has grown and changed so much. The newest thing is potty training. She has been wearing underwear since last Wednesday or Thursday (I can't remember) and she is doing great!!! We tried this a month ago and it failed miserably but I think she is ready now. We are so proud of her and love her so much.

Now for the pictures.

This was the first photo I took of Gabbie in Guatemala. It is one of my favorites of her.

This was taken the morning of her embassy appointment. I normally don't do frilly dresses but I did for this occasion and she was such a princess.

Steve and Gabbie in Antigua. This was pretty much her way of transportation this entire trip. She was happy facing out and kicking her legs. Look at how little she was!

This is the last picture we took in Guatemala. Steve and I wanted a picture with Guatemala on it somewhere but couldn't find one in the airport. We were running out of time so we hopped in front of this and had one of the workers take it. Not the best picture but that's okay.

These next pictures were taken back at our house the night we returned home.

Grandma was pretty happy to have Gabbie home!

Peyton and Gabbie - Apparently Peyton ate something blue that night and in all of the pictures she has a blue mouth! Peyton was quite excited to finally have her cousin home. I think we have it on video but at the airport she first said to Gabbie 'hi Gabriella I am your cousin Peyton". How cute is that!

Here is daddy bringing Gabbie up the steps to see her new room for the first time.

In her crib for the first time. She liked it and thankfully still does! I loved this perfect little shirt!

Finally these were taken this morning. My baby is getting so big. Ignore the lack of pants. It is easier to get undressed and on the potty without them!

My little snow angel

2009-01-27T20:29:00.007-06:00

Today was a snow day. Unfortunately I had to work but daddy's school was cancelled so he got to stay home with Gabbie. Around 10 they ventured out to buy her first sled. Apparently she loved it! Also during sledding she dropped to the ground to make snow angels. We watched something on TV a while back where 3 people were making snow angels and she remembered and even told daddy what she was doing and what he should do! He denied her request though as he did not want to get wet.

I was very sad I missed her first real time playing in the snow but fortunately daddy took some pictures so I feel like at least I got to see some of it. From the looks of it I am thinking she had fun!

Snow angel time

I think she is closing her eyes to be silly.

Check out those new boots. I bought these for Gabbie a couple of months ago but besides wearing them around the house once or twice this is the first time she actually wore them out. Apparently when they went to buy her sled she had to walk around the store because of her new boots. This kid likes new shoes let me tell you! Daddy took this picture to show how snowy her booty was. Once they came in he bundled Gabbie up in warm clothes and they had princess chicken noodle soup!

My silly princess

2009-01-25T20:59:00.006-06:00

Gabbie is really silly. Steve and I find ourselves laughing at her all day. She knows how to push our buttons and make us laugh. I always say to her 'Gabbie you are something else". She responds with "no you are something else mama". We can go back and forth for 4 rounds of this. That's my baby girl.

Not a whole lot going on. In two shorts weeks from today we will be celebrating Gabbie's 2 year homecoming anniversary! I cannot believe that much time has gone by. I would love to freeze her at this age for sure if I could. She is growing and changing so much. It is great to see her blossom but sad that she is now a little girl. I didn't think it was possible but every day I love her more and more.

Here is my silly princess. This weekend's outfit consisted of PJ's with a tutu on top.

Cousin Peyton came over to play Saturday and the girls had a blast.

I'm here

2009-01-22T21:32:00.013-06:00

I am still here. I am fortunately feeling 100% better but Steve is sick and has been for a couple of weeks. I have been telling him to call the doctor for over a week but he hasn't. Tonight he finally said he guesses he should call the doctor. Hmm... I do recall a genius wife mentioning that a while back.

Gabbie is sick now. We had kind of hoped after this last set of tubes and getting her adenoids removed she wouldn't get sick as much but I guess that is not happening. I took her to the doctor today and somehow she has an ear and sinus infection. The doctor said the ear infection is a weird one too. The fluid isn't draining like it normally does. She is coughing a lot and not sleeping too well so it stinks. She is now on 3 meds so I am hoping by the end of the weekend she will feel better. On a positive side she was such a big girl at the doctor and didn't cry at all. When we went to Target to get her medication filled she landed popcorn, an icee, a princess ball, wonder pets phone, and 2 Dora snow princess babies. All she had to do was cross her hands and say please! She is getting good at playing us let me tell you!!!

Other than that nothing is really new. We are coming up on a very special anniversary which is Gabbie's 2 year homecoming. I cannot believe she has been home 2 years already. It seems like just yesterday. I cannot imagine my life without her.

Here are a couple of pictures from last weekend. They are not the best as Gabbie was a little sick but it's all I got. We went to visit the J family. Of course Gabbie had a blast playing with all of Jack, Jacob, and Jordyn's new Christmas toys.

Sweet baby Jordyn. She is already 10 months old. That is crazy!

Gabbie waiting patiently for play dough.

Gabbie and Jack

The party's over and I'm sick

2009-01-04T20:21:00.007-06:00

Vacation has come to end. It sure is going out with a bang as I am super sick. I cannot stop coughing and am really congested. To be honest it is gross and tomorrow I return to work. I am praying a miracle occurs overnight and I wake up feeling better because this has to go soon. Fortunately I can shut my office door but with the walls being paper thin I am sure to gross someone out. Also, the constant coughing is killing my stomach and back.

Now for a couple of pictures. One day last week we took Gabbie to Monkey Joe's which is a jumping on inflatables type place. At first she was not happy because daddy couldn't jump with her. Eventually we got her to go on the toddler jumper and she loved it. She even tried a couple of other ones too and when it was time to leave she didn't want to go!

Jack redefining the cool-aid mustache! He sure liked that slushy!

I love being on vacation!

2008-12-29T21:15:00.010-06:00

I absolutely love being on vacation with my baby girl! We haven't done anything spectacular at this point but we are having a great time and enjoying our time together. Steve and I are even more enjoying staying up late. Now that Gabbie has been going to bed later she is sleeping until 7:00-7:30 which means mommy and daddy are sleeping in too! Getting back on schedule next week is going to stink but I am enjoying it now:)

Here are two pictures from Saturday night. Gabbie had her new Hello Kitty shirt from Grandma on that she loves.

Today we went to the golden arches with the J family. Gabbie and Jack had a blast together. They are so absolutely cute to listen to and watch. Now for some pictures.

Terri and Tim - told you guys you would make the blog:)

Gabbie playing on the germ breeding grounds at lunch.

Jack or Baby Jack as Gabbie calls him

Gabbie and Jack on the computer at the golden arches. Seriously they have computers for kids at McD's now!

Doesn't she look guilty of something.

Gabbie and Jack again on the computer. Jeff also making a blog appearance.

Christmas

2008-12-26T22:14:00.010-06:00

Christmas was a blast. Gabbie seemed a bit overwhelmed Christmas morning with all of the presents Santa brought her but she managed to open them all and got a little play time in before it was time to go to Grandma's for yet again, more presents! This child got so many presents I couldn't even begin to count. Tomorrow is clean up and get organized day!

Now for pictures. I took 200 pictures this Christmas! I won't bore you with all of them though!

Gabbie opening her house.

She loves her house! We made the mistake of letting her open it first though which meant at the beginning she wanted to open all of her presents in front of the house.

Gabbie's Tinkerbell pillow. This is her first real pillow.

Tinkerbell shirt

Playing with her house- this house is so cool if I may say so myself. It came with almost everything you would need for a house, except a couch. Isn't that odd?

At Grandma's house opening her Tinkerbell slippers

Here is Gabbie opening her Hello Kitty radio from Grandma

Crazy Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:12:00.010-06:00

I cannot believe Christmas Eve is almost over already. This has been one quick and crazy night. To sum up the night there was a lot of food and a lot of presents. Gabbie was too funny. She opened up a little pink computer from Uncle Pat and didn't want to open anything else. She just wanted to play with the computer. Fortunately that passed and she went to town opening the gifts. It was so fun to watch her excitement. I cannot wait until tomorrow morning when she sees her gifts from Santa!

When we first got to Steve's parent's house Gabbie was really crabby. Steve put her down for a nap at 12:30 and she decided to play in her crib instead of sleeping. She finally fell asleep at 2:30 and we had to wake her at 3:30. She was not happy. This is the crabby/sad/sleepy face.

Another sleepy face.

After dinner she perked up especially when she found out it was present time!

Gabbie loved these Hello Kitty hair pretties (what she calls them) from Grandma.

Her pink computer from Uncle Pat and Peyton

Of course one of her favorite things to do. Play with the dog! She chased him in circles for quite a long time. Buddy is a great dog and tolerated her torture!

So close yet so far away

2008-12-21T21:36:00.007-06:00

We went to see Santa today. Wait let me rephrase that, Steve and I actually saw Santa. Gabbie instead clung on to Daddy and refused to even look at Santa. We were so close, it was our turn, and I thought it was going to happen but nope Gabbie had other plans. Needless to say I got nothing in the way of Santa and Gabbie pictures. The funny thing is the Santa picture helper girl asked before the picture what package you wanted. I told Steve I wanted to see the picture before I decided. Ha ha did I really think I would get an actual picture??? At least we can say we tried.... She did save us a lot of money!

I did manage to take a couple of pictures before we left to go see Santa. Here is one of Gabbie with her snowflake tights that I love! I got them on ebay brand new. The brand is Gymboree. Let's just say I paid nearly as much for them as I did for her Gymboree dress she is wearing for Christmas! I waited until the last minute to get her dress and got an amazing deal! Can't say the same for the tights but I guess the 2 together kind of balance each other out!

I am sick again. Seriously, I am so tired of having a sore throat. Hopefully it will be gone by Christmas. I am so excited for Wednesday at 1. My office closes at 1 and then I am off until Jan 5 on vacation! That is 11 whole days. I haven't been off that much in a row since we went to Guatemala to pick up Gabbie. I can't wait!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and Merry Christmas!

One super fast extended weekend!

2008-12-14T20:54:00.015-06:00

I am amazed at how fast this weekend went by. Gabbie is doing great. We were actually able to go to a friend's house on Saturday night and another one today!

Our friends Abbie and Joel had twin boys back in September so today we went to see them at Jenn's house. They are so cute and have grown so much since I last saw them. Gabbie was happy because she got to see baby Jordyn, Jack, and Jacob! Now for pictures.

Gabbie and Jack. They sat here and colored for a while. They had an actual conversation which was too cute. Gabbie said something about her baba and Jack asked her if it was chocolate milk and they talked about that. It was so cute. Here are the pictures from their big conversation. It is so neat to watch them grow up together like Jenn and I did!

Jacob and Gabbie playing together

This is Will (I think). The twins are not identical. Jay looks more like Joel so when they are next to each other I can obviously tell them apart but alone it is harder.

The Green family. They are great babies but I can't imagine having twins!!!!

Gabbie is still obsessed with baby Jordyn. She kept saying 'come on baby Jordyn, come here baby Jordyn". Baby Jordyn would sometimes follow her too. It was cute.

Gabbie's left eye is looking so much better today! You can hardly tell she even had surgery.

Guess who wouldn't cooperate???? Gabbie of course. She absolutely refused to sit near anyone but instead wanted to stand. This child has a mind of her own that is for sure! She is stubborn. I wonder who she gets that from? Hmm.....

Jay is on the left and Will on the right. Aren't they adorable!

Gabbie and Jack were so cute tonight. They sat here and colored.

Look at that booty! I loved these PJ's!

Our big girl is okay

2008-12-12T20:11:00.004-06:00

Gabbie got her surgeries today. The morning started off bright and early. We got to the hospital and played, played, and played! Gabbie went for wagon rides, colored, jumped on the bed, watched TV, and did all other sorts of things. Then the anesthesiologist came in and said he would give her something to calm her down a bit. 15 minutes later she could barely keep her eyes open and when the doctor came to get her instead of her screaming for mommy and daddy she fell right asleep in his arms on the way to surgery. I must say I was completely relieved as the separation moment was the one I feared the most.

An hour later all 3 surgeries were done. She got her adenoids removed, new tubes (thankfully because we learned the right ear was loaded with fluid), and her chalazions removed. Coming out of anesthesia she was very disoriented and freaking out but according to daddy the nurse got her to calm down a bit with some morphine and asked her if she wanted a slushy and she was happy! Heck who wouldn't be with morphine and a slushy! Mommy on the other hand was waiting in the room feeling sick to her stomach but luckily by time they brought her back to the room I was better. Gabbie then fell asleep on me for around 45 minutes and when I switched her to daddy she left behind a 5 foot long piece of drool and a pool on my shoulder sleeve. Yummy!

After 5 hours at the hospital we were released and she was doing quite well. It has been touch and go today. One minute she wants something and the next she is screaming that she doesn't want it. Last year with the tubes she was fine by night but I guess even though these were all little surgeries 3 at once must have been a little harder on her. She was such a good and brave little girl today. She sat completely still when the nurse took the IV out of her arm. She let me take the eye bandages off at home. I am so proud of her.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Hopefully tomorrow morning she will be even better.

Surgery update and a video (hopefully)

2008-12-09T20:19:00.004-06:00

We went to the ENT today. Gabbie needs tubes and her adenoids out. She will also get the chalazions under her eye removed. There was a cancellation so surgery is scheduled for this Friday!!! I am so relived to get it over!!!

Now for the video. Here is Gabbie playing the part of Annie singing a little Dumb Dog. She normally gets the words a lot better as she knows all of them but during this version was just fixated on the I ain't gonna feed you part. I still thought it was cute though. She is so passionate about her Annie songs. Of course every puppy is named Sandy now. She is really into Annie!Will she be the first Hispanic Annie one day? Never know:)

Two years ago today....

2008-12-07T20:35:00.014-06:00

this was the scene.

We were in Guatemala meeting Gabbie for the first time. I will never forget walking into that tiny room and at first not being able to find her. Then her foster mother, who was back in the corner, held her out and there she was. She was so little and so gorgeous she took my breath away. It was surreal. We spent a short amount of time learning about her schedule with her foster mom and off we went to spend four short days with our baby girl.

That was then and this is now. Unbelievable! She still takes my breath away. This child is all I ever imagined and then some!

Loving on grandma's dog. She loves this dog so much.

Did she really say that?

2008-12-03T21:46:00.002-06:00

Gabbie has really been saying some funny things lately. I am not sure where she gets some of this stuff. It is funny too because many times she knows she is being funny. Anyway, Monday night it took Steve and me together to get her diaper changed and pajama's on. She was not having any of the getting ready for bed routine. So, we both are putting her pj's on and she starts screaming 'no guys, no guys, no guys, no guys' over and over. We busted out laughing so hard. Since when did we become guys????

Dinner is one area we need supernanny for. Gabbie wants to get up and walk around. So a couple of nights ago Steve was holding her while he was finishing eating and told her she needed to go sit down so he could get more food. She proceeded to tell him no. He told her again that he was going to put her down or she could go sit with me or on her chair. She proceeded to look directly at me and say 'get food now'. Apparently she realized if I got it then he would not have to put her down. For those that know me well, they know that is hilarious. Usually Steve is the one serving me, not me him!!! We laughed so hard again and get this, I actually got the food.

Finally tonight Grandma came over and we all watched Rudolph on TV. It was Gabbie's first time seeing it and she seem to like it a lot. Grandma was leaving and we were all say bye and as grandma walked through the garage Gabbie said 'be careful'. It was truly so sweet. I often say this to my mom because she has a 35 minute ride home but tonight Gabbie totally beat me to it.

Nothing gets by Gabbie

2008-11-29T11:01:00.001-06:00

Gabbie seems to have reached the age where I can't lie to her anymore about things. For instance we were sitting here a couple of minutes ago eating pull and peel twizzlers. We each had an entire rope. I had put the package up high on our dresser so she couldn't see them and wouldn't ask for another one. Well after she ate hers she asked for another one and I told her they were all gone because we ate them all. So she got off of my lap, went in to our bedroom, came back out to me and said "I show you mama come here". She grabbed my hand and took me in to our room and showed me the candy standing far enough back to see on her tippy toes. Nice huh? So, I broke it in half for us and she proceeded to attempt to sword fight with it.

We decorated for Christmas last night. It is amazing to me that an entire year has gone by already since last Christmas. Gabbie was so cute with the tree and ornaments. Grandma came up and brought Gabbie a Tinkerbell ornament which is perfect since Gabbie is in love with the movie and everything Tinkerbell. In our house Annie and Tinkerbell rule!

Eating cheetos before decorating. This child LOVES cheetos!

Being a little stinker

Putting an ornament on the tree. I have all of my old ornaments from when I was a child. It is funny because Gabbie likes some of the characters now, like the care bears and disney princesses.

Such a big girl!!!

Now the fun begins, trying to keep her from constantly touching the decorations!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

Today was a great day. We started with breakfast at Steve's parent's house, played some w i i (thank goodness no one took pictures because I am pretty sure I made some crazy faces), came home and napped. After our naps we went to Grandma's house for dinner and after dinner played some competitive Family Feud which I was on the winning team!

At the end of a busy and fun filled day I am feeling rather grateful. I have had a rough past few days and was slightly down going in to today but tonight I am focusing on the positive. I have a wonderful family, an incredible mom, a roof over my head, a full belly, a great husband, an amazing daughter, Gabbie's birthmother and foster mother, a good job for now (I work for that insurance company on the news all of the time), a car, another car in the shop with thousands of dollars of repairs needed and an extended warranty that should cover it but the company is trying to screw us over (oh wait that is not good), clothes, clean water, heat, medicine, love and so much more. I am truly one blessed person. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Gabbie and Chloe

Gabbie and Uncle Steve - They had fun playing tonight!

My big girl - she is growing so much but....

Still has that sweet baby face

Gabbie and Aunt Sherry

Gabbie and Uncle Steve again or as I have her saying Uncle Stevie- it is so cute when her little voice says that!

Cousin Joe and Gabbie - Joe was an A+++ cousin tonight. Gabbie put these beads on him and took them off over and over again! She made him stay in a back room and watch Dora, Diego, and Wonder Pets. He didn't complain one bit. She had so much fun with Joe or Joey as she calls him. It was too cute.

Uncle Steve had to do this over and over again!

Cousin Joe and Gabbie doing piggy back rides. He ran through Grandma's house 20 times with her on his back. She is sure crazy about him. I think he is pretty crazy about her too!

Thanksgiving Part 1

2008-11-23T20:25:00.000-06:00

The new antibiotic for Gabbie's ear infection (see previous post) is giving her stomach problems so tomorrow I have to call the doctor for a different one. Even with the stomach problems Gabbie was in a great mood all weekend. She was nearly a perfect angel except for a few moments last night before dinner. Today was a total lazy day. We watched Tinkerbell and Annie, all took naps, and didn't get out of our pj's until late afternoon. Somehow I am still tired though!

Last night we did Thanksgiving at Steve's parent's house. The food was delicious! Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of the entire year and I don't even eat the turkey!!! Gabbie had a blast last night playing with Peyton and her toys.

I cannot believe the holiday season is here! I cannot wait to put up the Christmas tree on Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

Gabbie and Buddy - Gabbie loves dogs and she spent 50% of her time last night chasing poor Buddy around.

Gabbie having a fit over something

My mom and I spent 50% of the night laughing at Steve and Uncle Pat playing Wii. They are like kids!

Gabbie and Peyton

Gabbie loves this rocking chair.

fake smile time

Gabbie had to get in on the action. Notice Steve's face! He was so serious.

Boo hoo tubes again:(

2008-11-21T21:13:00.000-06:00

Gabbie is sick again. Steve took her to the doctor again and it appears she has yet another ear infection, which makes 2 in 3 weeks. She got tubes in August 2007 but one is already out and apparently that is a problem. Also the pediatrician recommended we get that bump under her eye removed as it tends to flare up and her inner eyelid gets really red. Good news is her 2 doctors have coordinated surgeries together so we should be able to get these both done at the same time. So Monday I call the ENT and we go from there.

This past Wednesday night we had Gabbie's parent teacher conferences. I had no clue we would have these at just 2 years of age but we did. They went well. We found out she is leading the class in potty training so that is good. Her teacher said she is far ahead. We plan on trying out underwear around Christmas time when we are home with her for a straight week. That should be fun!

This picture is from Monday morning. I showed Gabbie her hat and gloves for school and she was so excited to show daddy but he had already left for work. I told her we could take a picture instead and she smiled really big.

Jack's Birthday Party

2008-11-15T20:36:00.000-06:00

What a day is all I can say. Gabbie started off at 5:00am. The last 3 days she has woke up at 5:00am so we are not exactly well rested. She took a 10 minute nap in the car around 10:45 and apparently that was enough for her. We tried again for another nap at 1pm but let's just say that didn't go well:( For now I will leave it at that as this is a messy story which I won't post for public viewing.

After the fiasco we headed to Jack's party at 2:45. Gabbie had a blast of course playing with the kids and toys.

After this crazy day we are staying inside tomorrow. I am hoping and praying Gabbie sleeps past 5:00am. She actually fell asleep on the way home from Jack's party so we had to keep her awake by driving with the inside light on and E L M O music blaring. We got home, ate dinner, and Gabbie was fast asleep within a couple of minutes of putting her down.
Now for pictures.

The birthday boy!

Gabbie and Jordyn

As always obsessed with Jordyn!

Gabbie really liked this easel. Lucky for her I hear she is getting one for Christmas.

Jenn had this birthday cake made for me! Thank you Jenn!!!!

My sweet baby girl.

Jack's poor cheeks have to hurt from blowing so hard to get the candles out. He did it though!!!

Gabbie and Grandma

Baby Jack is 2!!

2008-11-10T21:48:00.000-06:00

Tonight we went to Baby Jack's house to celebrate his birthday! I can't believe he is now 2. Gabbie had an absolute blast. I am pretty sure she didn't want to leave. The kids were so cute playing together and sharing toys. I hope to have pictures soon (hint hint Jenn) as I forgot my camera.

As always Gabbie was obsessed with Baby Jordyn. She even sang a couple of Annie songs to her (Gabbie is obsessed with the movie Annie). She sang Tomorrow and Dumb Dog. Her singing to Jordyn was quite cute if I may say so myself!

Saturday is Jack's actual party and we can't wait.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!!!!

Gosh I love this baby girl!

2008-11-09T20:03:00.000-06:00

Another weekend has come to an end. I am amazed at how fast it was. Gabbie was really terrific this weekend! The hitting is so much better. She seems to finally be adjusting to the time change - hope I didn't jinx it by saying that!!! Last week she was waking up between 4-5:15. We have been putting her to bed this weekend at 7:45ish and both days she has slept until at least 6:00. I feel so well rested!

We had a great weekend. I got to go to lunch with my mom for my birthday which is Wednesday. Mom and I then went to the toy store and I scored an incredible deal on a dollhouse I wanted for Gabbie for Christmas. It was $150 and I got it for $105!!!! Tonight we went to dinner for my birthday with Steve's parents at one of my favorite local restaurants. I am stuffed but it was so delicious. It was a great weekend.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in less than 3 weeks and then Christmas is around the corner! I can't wait! Mom and I were just talking about how we used to dread the holidays since my father passed 10 years ago but now that Gabbie is home they have a whole new meaning! We are both excited! I love it!

Now for pictures. Tonight Gabbie was hiding from daddy and he asked -where's my baby. She said promptly - right here. Then he asked her over and over again teasing her and she shouted - I'm right here. We laughed so hard. She is growing up so much.

Her hiding spot!

Before dinner

My sweet girl.

She was running from me here and laughing so hard.

Trick or Treat Time

2008-10-31T20:18:00.000-05:00

Gabbie was a fairy princess for Halloween. She wasn't completely cooperative with the costume and kept removing her crown but she still had a blast! We have been talking to her about trick or treating and what to say. She had the 'trick or treat' part down. She said it at every house and gave a prompt thank you after receiving candy. I think it is safe to say she had a lot of fun and loves trick or treating. I think she loves the candy too. We had better hide this stuff!

Please note the princess bucket she had to have. Gabbie loves princesses especially Ariel. We found this bucket at a Halloween store for $9.99. Ridiculous, I know! Especially when I was at the grocery store a couple of days later and it was there for $1.99. Oh well at least she was happy:)

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Can't wait to check out all of the blogs and see pictures!

My princess looking down showing daddy her costume.

Gabbie had a couple of tootsie pops before trick or treating! She LOVES them.

Such a big girl:)

Excited about something!

Yes that is a tootsie pop in one hand and a Reeses peanut butter in the other! This girl likes candy. I have a feeling tomorrow she is going to be asking for it all day.

Nice.....

2008-10-27T17:40:00.000-05:00

Steve picked Gabbie up from school today and said she looked horrible. So horrible he called his brother to get our pediatrician's number, made her an appointment for today, stopped by a friend's house for diapers, McDonalds, and headed to the doctor (what a dad)!

Diagnosis: Infection in eye (not pink eye, but kind of a cold), right ear infection (hoping this doesn't get out of hand because I believe that is the ear that the tube is out), and get this a BAND-AID stuck up in her nose! Gabbie has been getting a few bloody noses here and there. I thought for sure it was allergies, weather changes, etc... Steve said the doctor said she had something stuck up her nose and pulled out a blue band-aid which I am assuming is a Care Bear one. Nice isn't it! I am just hoping this will stop the bloody noses some!

So now we are on band-aid lockdown. Wish us luck! She gets bee-otchy(is that a word?) without her band-aids!

Last week of October

2008-10-26T21:09:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe October is almost over. This weekend was super fast as usual. We took Gabbie to get a long overdue haircut. It had been months and months and with her curls if we don't keep them short it is a frizzy out of control mess. They took a lot off but I really like it. It has brought the curls back to life!

We went to visit the J family Saturday evening. Gabbie is obsessed with baby Jordyn. It was quite cute.

Today we went to Grandma's house. Gabbie was wild as usual. Her allergies are bad again. She is all snotty and coughing. Poor thing:(

Now for pictures from Saturday.

Poor kitty. Gabbie has been torturing this kitty since she (Gabbie) came home. Gabbie is obsessed with kitty cats. Too bad daddy is allergic. Grandma is too so it would never work.

Jack getting in on the action.

My sweet baby girl. I love this child more than I could have ever imagined.

I wish I could get rid of the crazy looking eyes in this picture. I need a new camera.

The kids all played so well together. Gabbie sure had a blast.

Hug from Jacob.

Jacob was so sweet. Gabbie was carrying this around when it was time to go. She was being a brat and not wanting to leave but Jacob kept telling her she could take it home. I think it was a new toy for him too. How sweet is that. Most 4 year olds wouldn't say that.

Pumpkin Patch Time

2008-10-18T20:41:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch with Grandma, Cousin Peyton, Uncle Pat, Katelyn, Jennifer and Jack. Gabbie left with 2 big pumpkins and 2 baby pumpkins. I think the pictures show that she had a good time!

Now for the mother load of pictures. I even included some from last year when we went with Jennifer and Baby Jack. Back then Gabbie was 13.5 months and Jack was about 11.5 months. Now Gabbie is 2 and Jack will be 2 next month. The difference amazes me!

Here is Gabbie showing Grandma the deformed ugly pumpkin. They had quite a few that looked like these. Yuck!

Gabbie and Jack waiting patiently with their tickets to ride the pony. We kept trying to get them to sit together. They finally did and we told Jack to give her a kiss. Well he did and kept doing it over and over again. We laughed so hard. They are just so cute together.

2007 Gabbie and Jack in the tire swing

2008 in the tire swing I can't believe the difference!

2007 with Steve in the tire swing. Look at how cute and little they were.

2008 - Look at them now!

They have grown so much.

Jack kept kissing her over and over again.

2007 Gabbie on the pony

2008 Gabbie on the pony with Grandma. She has grown and changed so much.

Gabbie and Jack went from pumpkin to pumpkin pulling off the stickers. At one point they each had a hand full and were stuffing their pockets.

Gabbie going down the slide after Peyton. Gabbie loves slides! She is a dare-devil when it comes to slides.

Excited again over the slide!

It took literally 5 minutes to get them both to do this. We were cracking up. We would get one in there and the other would take off. It is hard photographing two 2 year olds.

Here she is with her two baby pumpkins.

Zoo Time!

2008-10-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

Today Gabbie and I went to the St. Louis Zoo with Grandma. It was a beautiful day outside and we had a lot of fun. Gabbie was so good and stayed in her stroller the whole time except for the few times Grandma took her out to get a closer look at the animals. She really was great! She actually fell asleep in her stroller when we were leaving which she hasn't done for a long time. She took a huge 20 minute nap in the car and was ready for the rest of the day which made for a crabby Gabbie but we managed!

Before the zoo waiting for Grandma!

Gabbie and Grandma looking at the zebras.

Gabbie liked the penguins. At one point they started splashing water at Gabbie and Grandma and they both ended up wet. Gabbie then decided the penguins were okay but she was ready to leave. She sure likes to talk about the penguins going boom and the water on her hair and maw maw's face though.

Gabbie sitting on Grandma's lap on the train. This was her first choo choo ride. She liked it but was so tired at this point.

Wiped out on the way home.

HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY DADDY!

2008-10-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

Today is Daddy's 33rd birthday! For one full month Steve and I are the same age so I am really happy. I am older and will be 34 next month:(

I took these pictures last night of Gabbie and Daddy being silly.

Cheerleading moves!

The landing! I think she is going to be a gymnast.

Yoga - look at that belly!

More yoga! They are still doing yoga at school.

She is growing up.

No more pictures mommy

We went to Kohls last night and when we walked in daddy said Gabbie couldn't have any of the stuffed animals (they have the $5.00 ones for children's hospital). Of course I said she could have one. Well she decided on 2, a monkey and a dalmation and carried them around the store. Daddy kept saying she wasn't getting any of them and I said she could have one. Well what do you think happened? While checking out she tried to grab all 4 but daddy talked her in to these 2. So she of course walked out with 2 animals even though at first daddy said none. This little girl has him wrapped around her finger.

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you.

Like Father Like Daughter

2008-09-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

I really don't have much to say. Gabbie was a little sick this weekend. It appears to be allergies so we are back on the Allegra. Poor baby gets to coughing so much she vomits. Tonight I had the honor of catching some of it. So it has been a blast around here. No pictures from this weekend. I took the camera to grandma's but never took any pictures. Gabbie would probably have had snot on her face and I am not a fan of snotty pictures. Ever since Gabbie's birthday party she has been obsessed with water balloons. She is still addicted to band-aids but water balloons are a close second.

These were taken last week. She loves to take the water balloons in the tub. Silly girl and silly daddy!

Please ignore the tile around the tub. Steve is remodeling this bathroom this Spring. He just remodeled our master bath and did an amazing job! Soon he will start on Gabbie's and the half bath downstairs.

Have a great week!

Balloon Races

2008-09-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

Saturday we met up with some friends and took Gabbie to the balloon races in Forest Park. Every year in September at the park there is a balloon glow on Friday night and the race is on Saturday. There are 60-70 hot air balloons which take off little by little with a goal to land closest to the Bunny balloon.

This was actually Gabbie's second year going. She had a lot of fun eating, playing, and watching the balloons. She was really so good. We stayed in one spot with chairs and a blanket and she played right on the blanket the whole time. I was nervous she would try to wander off, especially when we got there and the first announcement I heard was to look for a 3 year old boy who was lost! But surprisingly enough Gabbie was great and we had a really good time.

Now for pictures. The first two are from last year.

She had only been walking a few weeks when this was taken last year.

This year! I am amazed by the change. She is still my same baby girl but she is growing up.

She was so intense at times watching the balloons.

Playing with daddy

On daddy's shoulders watching the balloons.

Here is the bunny balloon which is Gabbie's favorite of course. Unfortunately this year it didn't fly. But they did inflate it so all of the kids got to see it.

Gabbie had such a good time. We left the house at 1 and didn't get home until 7:30. She was so good until after waiting in traffic for about 20 minutes when she decided she wanted to get out of her car seat and she wiggled her arms out. Daddy got in the back with her and buckled her in. We then promised McD's and she got better. Once she got her fries and milk she was just fine!

Two Years Ago Today Referral Anniversary

2008-09-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today I was recovering from a tetanus shot. It was HORRIBLE. My arm was aching and I was running a fever. Two years ago today we were also waiting for our referral and our patience was wearing thin. Everyone kept saying that the perfect baby was just not ready and we would get our referral when she was ready, yada, yada, yada. Honestly I was getting sick and tired of waiting and the tetanus shot wasn't helping. There were three of us from our agency who had also been waiting for a baby girl since the end of June. One mom (michellesmiles) spoke with her caseworker earlier that day and pretty much got the feeling that we would be waiting longer. We were angry and disappointed to say the least.

Two years ago today imagine my surprise when the phone rang at 9:10pm and FTC came across the caller ID. I remember feeling like crap from the shot. I was getting ready to go to bed and when the phone rang I wasn't happy about getting it. I checked the caller ID, saw our agency, and answered the phone shocked. The agency owner asked if she woke me up. All I could say was no. There aren't many times when I am speechless but this was one of them. I was silent, wondering could this actually be it. I had played this moment over and over again in my head prior to receiving the call. I thought I would be excited and screaming uncontrollably but instead I was shocked and silent.

She then told us about a 'beautiful baby girl named Ana'. The rest of the conversation is a blur. I remembered her saying something about an email with the referral documents and letting her know if we would accept (duh of course we would!). Steve came up stairs and we immediately called our parents. I called my mom who was sleeping. My mom doesn't have a computer so she wanted to drive out to our house which is 30 minutes away. I was worried about her driving since she was sleeping and told her no. She decided she would go to the neighbors. Steve's parents came over to see pictures. So we waited and waited for the emails which seemed like an eternity. Finally they came through and when we opened up the first picture of Gabbie our lives changed forever.

This is one of the pictures we received that night:)

She was so tiny and perfect. In the pictures she was 3 days old, 5lbs 1oz and just 16.7 inches long. There she was our baby girl we had been waiting for.

This is Gabbie last year on 9/13/07 in her bed right after waking up. Excuse the bed-head!

This is Gabbie this year on 9/13/08.

She is still petite at 23.4 pounds, 34 inches and still our perfect baby girl. There are so many things I love about adoption. One of my favorites is celebrating all of the anniversaries. We have the referral anniversary (9/13), first time we held her anniversary (12/7), out of PGN anniversary (1/18), the day we held her forever anniversary (2/5), and the day she came home forever (2/8).

Today we celebrate the referral anniversary. It is such a special day to me. I cannot believe it has been two years already.

HIspanic Festival and Grandparent's Day

2008-09-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe the weekend is almost over. Why is it the weekends fly by so fast yet the week days at work are slow as can be? We had a really good weekend. Gabbie's hitting is better. It is surely not perfect, but definitely is getting better! I think I only got hit in the face twice this week, so I will take it!

Saturday we went to the STL Hispanic Festival. There was one booth with all Guatemalan stuff so we got a necklace, bracelet, a couple of hair things, and a ball for Gabbie. The lady at the booth asked us if Gabbie was from Guatemala and when we said yes, she said bless us a couple of times. Of course we have already been blessed with Gabbie but it was nice to meet someone from Guatemala who was truly happy for us and for Gabbie especially with all of the adoption rumors swirling around! I almost scored a Guatemala soccer jersey for Gabbie but the sizes were a bit too big. There are so many things I wish I would have bought while in Guatemala for her including a soccer outfit and more dresses, but I cannot find them anywhere:(

Today was Grandparent's Day so we went to grandma's house. We ended up going to a home store and IHOP. We normally don't take Gabbie out to dinner anywhere anymore as we have had quite a few meltdowns recently and once I even had to leave with her while daddy finished eating. She was pretty good though. I had to get up twice with her and take her to the lobby. Each time I warned her to calm her body down or we would leave if she didn't stop. Both times she stopped almost instantly and we returned to her behaving okay, or shall I say like a normal two year old! This morning at church she was an angel and even kneeled and crossed her hands like she was praying at one point! It was stinking cute! Now for some pictures.

Gabbie and Jack with her kitchen on her birthday! Notice how they are both on their tippy toes!

Gabbie and her monkey! She rocks it to get it to stop crying.

Hugging her monkey

Gabbie at the Hispanic Festival

Big time cheesing for the camera!

Gabbie at the store today on the rocking chairs

My favorite picture of all! Gabbie and grandma rocking. If you want this for your frame mom let me know. I love this pic!!!

It's Official Gabbie is TWO!

2008-09-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

I can hardly believe Gabbie is 2 years old today. As I got her out of her crib this morning and wished her a Happy Birthday my eyes filled up with tears for her birth mother. I cannot imagine the pain she must feel not just today but everyday. She was able to leave Gabbie some final words and based on these, I know there is no doubt that she loves Gabbie very much. She prayed Gabbie would have a family that loves her and she has that exact thing. I just wish her birth mother knew that.

I received a beautiful email from Gabbie's foster mother today. She always remembers these special occasions! Today we hung around the house and played with new toys. Gabbie took a 3.5 hour nap after being up so late last night. Tomorrow at school she still has one more birthday celebration and then it is officially over!

A couple of answers to the birthday party comments. The tutu is from your favorite place Rhonda, Gymboree! The whole outfit is from there actually. I already had the shirt and went in looking for the hair things when I saw the Tutu!

The cake was definitely not made by me! I can hardly make a grilled cheese!!! The cake is from a lady who makes cakes out of her home. She does a great job! Gabbie loved it!

Now for a couple of pictures of the birthday girl from today.

Happy Birthday my sweet Gabbie. We love you!

Wow! What a party!!!

2008-08-31T21:48:00.000-05:00

Today was Gabbie's birthday party. Tomorrow she will be 2 years old. Let's just say today she had a blast! She was the princess of the party and knew it! I cannot even believe the gifts. She got an insane amount of presents!!! She is truly so loved! What an amazing day!!! Now for some pictures.

We had water time for the kids. They had a slide, pool, and water balloons which I think Gabbie popped 90% of! She likes water balloons!

Gabbie and Jack

Here is the birthday girl!

Gabbie loved her birthday outfit. After I got her dressed and did her hair we looked in the mirror and she tilted her head side to side and smiled so big at herself.

Gabbie and her Elmo cake

Blowing out the candles

Gabbie and Grandma

Gabbie got a big truck full of cars which she loved from Grandma in addition to a very large gift card to Baby Gap!!!! Mommy can't wait to go shopping!

Here she is with her cash register from Great Uncle Steve. She loves this too!

Here she is with her tool box!

Pinata time! The kids and adults loved this!!!

I love this picture even though it is from behind.

Gabbie and cousin Joe on the tricycle from Boom Boom and Pa Pa. Joe pushed her around the house over and over again.

I just realized there are no pictures of her kitchen. Let me tell you she LOVED it. Gabbie normally goes to bed at 7:30 but was up tonight until 9:15. She did not want to leave that kitchen. She kept saying mine to daddy and hitting him so he would go away. She is 2!!!!

The look part 2 and a video!

2008-08-26T20:37:00.001-05:00

Ah how I loved being slapped in the face, on the head, on the leg, anywhere and everywhere actually! I am hoping if I keep saying it I will believe it eventually. Seriously the whining, hitting and temper tantrums are coming daily and frequently. The wrong question can set Gabbie off. The good news is so far I don't 'think' she is hitting the kids at school but instead just us. We are trying to be consistent with timeouts and not giving in but it doesn't seem to do anything to her. Any recommendations???? Please tell me this will end soon! On the flip side she is just so sweet it is sickening. Seriously she is the biggest cuddle/love bug. When she is happy her personality shines. But when she is mad, watch out!

Now for a video. This was taken a couple of weeks ago. It is sideways though which stinks so just tilt your head to the side when you watch it. Also please ignore my annoying munchkin voice. Thanks!

Cousin Peyton and More Temper Tantrums

2008-08-23T21:14:00.000-05:00

Last night cousin Peyton came over to play with Gabbie and they both were perfect. It was so cute to watch them. Today cousin Peyton came over again. Unfortunately Gabbie's terrible two phase was in full effect and after about 30 minutes of playing together with no problems Gabbie began throwing one fit after another. It was crazy.

This whole 2 year old thing is getting rough. Sometimes I cannot believe the fits. They are normally for nothing but turn into something! I have been smacked across the face 4 times this weekend. Two times when I went to get her out of timeout. One would think she would be happy her timeout was done but nah, not Gabbie. Instead she whacked me twice. YIKES!!! So needless to say the fits have not been good. Where oh where has my sweet baby gone?

Here is a cute picture of Gabbie and Peyton pre-tantrum. These two are just so cute together. They are COMPLETE opposites. Peyton is tall, blonde hair, blue eyes. Gabbie is petite, black hair and black eyes.

Waving at the camera

Sweet again

Playing in Gabbie's room

My sweet girl

Still sweet...

They were cracking me up here. Gabbie was jumping so high on Peyton.

Giving Peyton a hug for jumping too much on her. How sweet:)

Still sweet

Adorable....

Let the temper tantrums roll!

This pretty much sums up the rest of the night:(

Yoga and the terrible twos

2008-08-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

A little over a week ago Gabbie started doing a move where she bends over and lifts one leg up. I remembered reading on her Goddard paper that they did yoga that day so I asked her if she was doing yoga. She kept doing it over and over again and now if you ask her to do yoga she does it immediately. It is hilarious! She loves her yoga!

Another thing she is loving lately is screaming and throwing fits when she doesn't get her way. It has been awesome! Seriously I have never seen a child go from smiling and sweet to kicking and screaming as fast as her the second she hears the word no. She is really something else! At our visit trip when she was just 3 months old we knew she was going to be feisty but wow she has surpassed all of our feisty expectations! Actually there was a photo our agency sent even before our visit where my mom said she could see the attitude in Gabbie's face. She definitely has attitude! I think we are in for it. It can only get better right?

Here is Gabbie doing yoga. She was apparently a little lazy today with it though because normally she is up on her hands and feet but I thought these were still funny. And yes that is a bandaid on the bottom of her foot. More info to follow on that a few photos down.

More yoga

Doesn't she just look so sweet here?

Aw and here? Sweet again - looks are deceiving!

Finally we seem to be cutting back *some* on the bandaids. She normally has about 4 on each day with two being on the soles of her feet. For some reason she INSISTS on wearing two of them on the bottom of her feet.

Oh no Elmo!

2008-08-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

Gabbie will be 2 in just two weeks two days and her party is two weeks from tomorrow. For her first birthday we didn't do a themed party. Her cake was yellow with polka dots and flowers. It was just girly instead of a character theme. She really didn't know any better last year so we were able to do what we wanted.

This year is different! She knows better therefore she is having an Elmolicious birthday party. YIKES!!! Once I committed to buying the custom photo invitations I knew there was no turning back. I must admit, this year though I am kind of excited for her Elmo party. I can't wait to see her face when she sees the Elmo cake, decorations, and Elmo pinata. I know she is going to be so excited and there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing Gabbie excited and happy. So in some odd way I am actually excited this year about an Elmo party. Weird I know....

Today I went to a friend's baby shower. She is having twin boys, God help her. I cannot imagine having 2 Gabbie's right now but luckily these are her first children and therefore she won't know anything else but two at once. I took a couple of super cute pictures of baby Jordyn at the shower. When I whipped out the camera she started smiling non stop. She was too cute! After the shower I went to meet up with Gabbie, daddy, and cousin Peyton. Gabbie and Peyton had fun as usual!

Now for pictures.

Baby Jordyn - She will be 5 month old in less than a week. Gabbie was 5 months old when we brought her home. It is hard to believe now she was once this little.

The soon to be two year old dressed by daddy today:)

Gabbie and Peyton

Once again dressed by daddy:) Just kidding - great job daddy!

London bridge with daddy's legs.

We made it to Peyton's party!

2008-08-10T20:09:00.001-05:00

We made it to the party yesterday. Gabbie had a blast. She loves that place! Steve and I were both dragging. We are still feeling poopy today. My body is not aching as much but my throat is hurting and it is horrible. Steve was still feeling yucky today and took a 3.5 hour nap! This bug has been horrible! I will be glad when we are back to normal. Now for pictures from the party.

Here is Steve and the birthday girl Peyton

Here is Peyton opening the ipod we gave her for her gift. This child is 5 years old and has an ipod and a wii, none of which I have!

In most of the pictures of Peyton opening her gifts there is always a little Guatemalan girl standing to the left. Gabbie HAD to be up there with her. It is so cute how she looks up to Peyton.

Gabbie licking her sprite

This is Gabbie's new smile. She smiles really big and closes her eyes. Lovely huh! I am just so thrilled that most of the smiling pictures are with Gabbie's eyes closed now!

Good news and bad news

2008-08-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

Good news is Gabbie is feeling better! She is back to her playful, silly, little stinker self! Bad news is Mommy and Daddy have been hit with whatever it was she had and it is horrible:( Last night I started aching in my neck and just not feeling right. I woke up this morning feeling horrible but determined to go to work which I did. Steve complained of an achy neck and I told him he was getting it but he insisted he slept funny. Well once again this woman was right. This woman is always right, maybe one day he will get that!!!

Steve called me on the way home from work to get Gabbie and he was aching from head to toe just like me. I left work and returned home at 4:30. He was laying on the couch moaning and groaning. I was kind of annoyed to be honest because I didn't exactly feel great but he was so bad off I had to care for Gabbie. Thank the Lord she was so good tonight and pretty much a perfect angel! I got Steve 4 Advil and 2 Tylenol and within 45 minutes to an hour he was feeling better which was a good thing because it was about to hit me! Next thing you know I am moaning and groaning just like he was and he was caring for Gabbie. Thank goodness the worst part hit at different times for both of us. I took 4 Advil and 2 Tylenol and finally started feeling better around 8:00. About an hour after the Tylenol and Advil my fever was down to 103.9. This has been horrible. I feel so bad for Gabbie that she felt this horrible.

I am hoping and praying we both feel better tomorrow and the fevers are gone. Tomorrow is cousin Peyton's birthday party at Pump it Up and she would be so disappointed if we all don't go. Even my mom is coming to Peyton's party!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I will leave you with a couple of pictures of Gabbie before the illness hit. I cannot believe she will be 2 in three weeks. Gosh I love this child!

Sick baby:(

2008-08-05T21:58:00.000-05:00

My poor baby is sick:( I got a call from school today saying Gabbie was running a 102.5 fever. I went to pick her up and she was miserable. We went straight home and had some Tylenol and cheese-its. I put her down for a nap at 12:45 after about 15 minutes of rocking and right after I had taken the last bite of my lunch she woke up. So Gabbie ended up having a 30 minute nap which is not cool! We went to the doctor who said this is likely a virus and that normally kids who go to a new daycare/school get sick in the beginning with a respiratory virus which is what she has and a diarrhea type illness. YIPEE!

Somehow tonight though Gabbie did better than what I thought she would on just a 30 minute nap! She obviously doesn't feel well but there were some happy/dancing moments of which I was able to capture on camera. There were also a lot of screaming/crying/clinging sick moments too but no pictures of those to share.

Her new school has a sick kid policy which may keep her from attending tomorrow so it appears I will likely be home with her. Hopefully she will start feeling better soon because cousin Peyton's birthday is Saturday at Pump It Up and Gabbie loved that place the last time we went. Now for pictures.

This was taken during one of her happier moments. Gabbie was dancing away. This kid loves to dance.

Smiling even though she felt like junk.

More dancing with a little attitude. I think her pigtails make her feel sassy. Everytime I put them in she looks in the mirror and smiles at herself and also shakes her head back and forth so they move. We really get a lot of comments on how cute they look. The nurse said something at the doctor's office today and Gabbie just smiled as she walked by. She had some serious tude. I could tell she was thinking 'thanks but I already know I am cute."

Look at my tall girl reaching the door knob!!! She was only on her tippy toes a little bit!

Gabbie's latest obsession, aside from bandaids, is taking her socks off and putting them back on over and over again. On the way to the doctors she started screaming and getting really mad because she could not get one tennis shoe off. I pulled it off for her and she was happy as could be because she took her sock off and then put it back on. She is so impressed with herself when she does it!

More sock action

Puppies and Joe Joe

2008-08-03T21:14:00.000-05:00

Today we went to a pool party at a friends house. Cousin Joe came with us. Let me tell you this was Gabbie's perfect day. She was outside most of the time, with two puppies, Jack, baby Jordyn, Jacob, and cousin Joe. She had a blast! She really wasn't much for the pool though. We tried once and she was not having it. Instead she ran around the pool putting water in cups and buckets and pouring it out. She also chased after the dogs over and over again. Once we returned home Gabbie had an amazing time playing with cousin Joe, or as she refers to him Joe Joe.
Now for pictures from today.

This was taken when Jack got there. Notice Gabbie hugging the puppy. She really is pretty good with them. She is gentle most of the time and only needs a few reminders.

This is when Jack noticed Gabbie. They are so stinking cute together:)

Another Gabbie and puppy picture.

Gabbie's cheeks get so red from the heat. We covered her in sunscreen from head to toe but the heat always gets her face and makes it look like she has a bad sunburn when it is just the heat.

Gabbie loves baby Jordyn. She is always wanting to kiss and hug her. She is pretty gentle with her too. Jordyn doesn't look too impressed though!

Trying to kiss the dog through the door. This picture cracks me up!

I cannot believe how...

2008-08-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

grown up Gabbie is starting to look. Today we went to grandma's house and of course she had a blast. She gets to do pretty much whatever she wants there and gets so much attention it is crazy so of course she has fun.! Here are some pictures from today. One a side note please ignore the bandaids. She had to wear today not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six bandaids. Yes you heard me right she had four between her two arms and one on her leg, and a final one on the top of her foot. So I encourage you now to go buy stock in Hello Kitty and Dora bandaids!

Here is Gabbie today staring at a picture of herself.

Eating a healthy chip! She actually had chicken breast, peas, carrots, and cauliflower tonight for dinner! She likes her veggies!

being silly

I love this sweet face:)

being chased by Uncle Steve

Gabbie is all about writing/draying with pens and pencils lately. Hopefully she won't take after mommy with her art skills:)

chilling on GG's chair

One of those nights

2008-07-31T20:52:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have one of those night where you just feel like the luckiest person in the world? Like you have been blessed beyond belief? Like you have hit the lottery, even though the bank account doesn't reflect it? Well I had one of those nights tonight. Gabbie has been acting quite two-ish lately. She will be 23 months old tomorrow which means in just 1 month she will be two. What does this mean for mommy and daddy you ask? It means hearing the word 'no' over and over again. It means temper tantrums when things don't go her way. It means kicking and screaming because she is just not ready for bed or doesn't want to get her diaper changed even though it is full of crap, literally! I could go on and on....

Tonight though none of that happened. Daddy was working on the master bathroom (remodeling it completely and I must say it is looking awesome) and mommy and Gabbie got to spend some much needed alone time. The night was absolutely perfect! We played, read books, watched a little TV, cuddled, sang, took pictures, and had an absolutely perfect night. Gabbie didn't throw one fit. I even got a couple of 'love yous', hugs, kisses, and Gabbie got to stay up 30 minutes late.

It is crazy to think two years ago we were waiting, wondering when our referral was going to come, who our daughter was going to be, literally crying every time it didn't happen (I was super emotional). Back then I had no clue what was in store for me. Now as I sit here tonight I feel so incredibly blessed. My joy and happiness cannot be measured. I love this baby girl more than anything in the world. I am amazed that I have been chosen to be Gabbie's mommy.

Now for some pictures of my baby. Will she always be my 'baby'?

All smiles tonight!

Here she is cleaning away. She was really serious about her work.

Drinking her Sprite from McD's. Of course this made her happy!

Getting ready to vacuum her room!

Finally settling down and reading books.

Thank you for the comments!

2008-07-31T12:15:00.001-05:00

Thank you for the comments! Gabbie actually did pretty well yesterday. She did freak out at drop off with daddy but ate a decent amount of food and actually napped from 12:30-2:50!!! She slept the longest out of any of the kids in her class which is amazing considering we didn't think she would nap on a cot with others in the room at all, much less nap the longest! When Steve got there to pick her up she was still eating snack while the other kids were playing. She is a super slow eater and prefers grazing to actually eating so this isn't surprising. Her teacher did say in her defense she was the last one to get up so the last one to start snack. Anyway, I am feeling much better about this transition. Mornings are rough and she cries and screams but at least we know once we leave she is okay and enjoys her day.

Boo hoo

2008-07-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

Well drop off this morning did not go so well:( It all started when we left the house. She wanted to take a monkey with her which daddy ended up sneaking out of the car because she really isn't supposed to bring toys from home. It causes issues with sharing, possessiveness, etc... which I completely understand however her crabbing all the way to daycare stunk. Next problem is her cup. Gabbie is addicted to her cup. We literally cannot go anywhere without her having her cup. Normally in the morning on the way to the sitters she would finish off her drink and then take the cup inside for the remainder of the day. This morning though I tried to get it away from her before getting out of the car and she was not having any of that. So I let her take it in which her teacher said was fine and she would take it from her later.

So we walk into the room and she is holding on to me for dear life. I sat with her to do a puzzle (Gabbie LOVES puzzles) but once I got up she grabbed on to me and held on again for dear life crying. Finally I handed her to her teacher, told her I loved her, and walked out. I could hear her crying near the door on my way out. It was really loud and heartbreaking:(

I know it is going to take time but that was rough today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

***Update***
Gabbie did fairly well today. I am not sure how long she cried for when I left but when Steve got there she was eating snack and pretty happy. She ate all of her meatballs (yikes nasty!) for lunch along with broccoli and fruit. Apparently the kid likes meatballs unlike her vegetarian mommy! She only slept 1 hour which isn't great but isn't too bad either considering that is her first time ever sleeping on a cot with other people in the room. She fed a baby doll, played with tools, painted, learned a song, tossed bean bags, and went outside. So all in all it sounds like she had a decent day post drop off.

1st day

2008-07-28T09:22:00.001-05:00

We just dropped Gabbie off for her first day at her new school. We have been pumping her up all weekend talking about it and her new friends/teachers. We only stayed about 5 minutes because one of her teachers asked her if she wanted to look outside for bunnies and Gabbie went right to her. Gabbie loves bunnies so this teacher said the right thing.

Here is a picture from this morning on her first day. Notice we actually got out the door with just one bandaid on instead of the usual 3 or 4!

Play date at new school

2008-07-25T18:32:00.001-05:00

Today we took Gabbie to Goddard to visit since Monday is her first official day. Like normal, Gabbie was shy at first. It usually takes her 10-15 minutes to warm up anytime we go to an unfamiliar place. Today after about 10 minutes of being held she was ready to walk around and explore her new daycare. After about 15 minutes it was pretty obvious she is going to love it there! She did puzzles and had snack with her new friends. They were all showing their bellies which Gabbie and chatting away. It was so funny to watch her socialize and be the new kid but I was relieved that she jumped right in and did great.

After daycare we were supposed to go to the park with Jenn, Jacob, Jack, and Jordyn but it was raining so we went to Jenn's house and the kids played a while. After that we went to McDonalds to eat lunch and let the kids play. I was one nervous mommy watching Gabbie climb in the tunnels up in the air. At one point we hadn't seen her for a couple of minutes and I started to get super nervous when I looked up and there she was banging on the glass looking at us and laughing. Whew! Maybe it is because she is my first child but I swear that trip about put me over the edge! Fortunately we made it out when no injuries. Gabbie enjoyed her ice cream cone on the way home (to keep her awake) and once we got home we all took super naps. Now for pics.

Gabbie and Jack - they are just too cute together!

Gabbie loves baby Jordyn. She talks about her all of the time. She was so good holding her.

She even gave her a kiss.

Gabbie and Jacob

She sure enjoyed this ice cream cone!

Shh don't tell Gabbie but....

2008-07-20T19:39:00.001-05:00

we bought her 2nd birthday gift today, a kitchen. Her birthday is not until September 1st but we received a 20% off any regular price coupon in the mail from T-R-U and Steve had to go there anyway to get a life jacket for Gabbie to go swimming in grandma's pool. The best part is not only did he get to use the 20% off coupon but it was also 20% off so when it was all said and done a $160 kitchen was only $100!!! I am not sure why they let him use it considering it said regular priced item but I am sure excited about it regardless because this means I can buy even more presents! Right now it is in a box in the basement. I cannot wait to give it to her because I know she is going to love it but for now I will have to be patient for the next 1 month and 12 days.

Friday we took Gabbie to the doctor to have her eye checked. She has two chalazions under her left eye which haven't gone away and have been there nearly 4 months. Well the pediatric opthamologist said they are pretty much just a nuisance and he felt they should go away. If not we can bring her back to get them removed but they aren't causing her any problems so at this point it would just be cosmetic which is definitely not work the risk of anesthesia. Gabbie was such a good girl and didn't cry or freak out at all at the doctor's so we took her to the toy store where she got an Elmo backpack which she loves, a Dora lunch box (free with purchase of a backpack), and a Dora doll with a bottle and Dora's twin baby siblings.

Today we went to Grandma's to swim in her pool. At first Gabbie wasn't have anything to do with the pool. Daddy and Grandma were both in but she was still clinging to me. Finally I handed her to Grandma expecting her to freak out and me to take her back but she was surprisingly okay. She wasn't exactly having a blast but she was not upset either. Finally they put her on the 'boat' (what she called it) and she floated around with the puppy and actually enjoyed it. Now for pictures.

Gabbie and her backpack. Notice the short hair. Gabbie got another haircut Saturday.

smiling for the camera

I love this picture! She just looks so sweet and innocent. Ha ha looks are deceiving!

Today at Grandma's house with Grandma's puppy

Gabbie loves this puppy.

Gabbie was ready at this point to get off the 'boat'.

Finally it isn't a day at Grandma's without the slide! Gabbie loves this slide. Notice the bandaids... They are not from boo boos. Gabbie now wants bandaids on each of her legs every day. So she gets 1 Dora and 1 Hello Kitty and she is happy.

Weekend Update

2008-07-13T20:52:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe another weekend is over. We are already in the middle of July and just 5 months away from Christmas. Gabbie is turning 2 in just 1.5 months. I am not sure where the time is going.

Gabbie will be starting at the Goddard School in just 2 weeks. We always said when Gabbie turned 2 or 2.5 we would start her there. I am nervous about this transition for some reason since the others have gone so well so prayers and positive thoughts would be appreciated. I am sure she will do well and I know in the long run this will be better for her but I am still a worrying mom. Is this whole worrying thing ever gonna end???? I can hear my mom saying nope right now as she is reading this...

Last night Steve and I actually went to a wedding without Gabbie. I know this may sound crazy but this is the first time we have left her at night. We have left her a couple of times to go to dinner or do Christmas shopping but we were always home before bedtime. It was nice last night to get out and hang with adults but we missed her. My mom and aunt watched her at our house and of course it went extremely well. They played, watched Happy Feet, ate dinner, and she went to bed without a fuss.

Now for pictures. Today we went to grandma's while Steve worked on the bathrooms. He is remodeling our bathrooms so we took off while the destruction was going on.

Gabbie was so excited to see Chloe today. Here she is sharing her fries.

I cannot believe how big Gabbie looks in these next 2 pictures. She is growing! She is still petite but definitely getting taller.

This was her new thing. She would go down the slide and stop towards the bottom, stand up, and jump off. She is a dare devil!

It looks like it is time for another haircut! I would love to grow her hair out but when it gets long it is so wild. Any hair taming product recommendations out there which are kid friendly? She really has beautiful hair but when it gets long, it gets crazy!

Her sprite kept her happy all of the way home.

The Look

2008-07-04T21:41:00.000-05:00

Gabbie has this thing she does that we call 'the look.' She used to give it to us when we did something she didn't like and her sitter said she gives it to her quite often. Once Steve and I started noticing it we named it and started asking her to give it to us at random times. It is amazing how this child can go from laughing to giving the look in two seconds. We kept trying to get her to do it at my mom's today and finally she did it and I caught it on my camera! This child is a stinker!

Now for pictures from today. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Gabbie sure did. She literally went non stop at my mom's for hours and hours. She had so much fun!

Look at this sweet face.... It's about to change.....

Now for the Look

Grandma had to take Gabbie around the yard over and over again in this wagon. She loved it!

Gabbie and Grandma

This is one of my favorite pics from the day. Gabbie really is such a happy girl. This picture shows it!

Here is Gabbie with a toy that was my mom's when she was her age. It is a dog that squeaks when you squeeze him. She loves this thing. She treated it like it was a real puppy.

The neighbor has a huge fat beagle and which just wanted to lay in the yard and be alone. Gabbie kept going up to the fence wanting it to come over but it wouldn't. At one point she grabbed this fake dog and put it right at the fence on the ground and kepy saying 'puppy' to the dog next door hoping it would come over and see the fake dog. It was the cutest thing.

Here she is trying to talk the dog into climbing in the wagon for a ride

Here she is trying to take it for a ride.

Finally here is Gabbie's with a real dog Chloe. She loves this dog! Everytime we come to my moms she chases it around and tries to give it hugs and kisses.

My baby is back!!!

2008-07-03T19:32:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness Gabbie has recovered from Roseola! That is one illness I wouldn't wish on anyone. She truly was miserable. She barely ate anything for days and one night spent nearly 6 consecutive hours crying while mommy and daddy held her trying anything to make her happy. Yesterday she turned the corner and started feeling better sleeping through the night with no problems at bedtime. Today my mom watched her and Gabbie actually ate a fair amount of food! Tonight we went to Chevy's for dinner and although she barely ate her chicken strips and fries at the restaurant, when we returned home she gobbled down almost 2 chicken strips and a large amount of her fries. She has been her smiley, happy, lovable self tonight.

Now for proof of illness. This was a couple of nights ago. She was being silly with a marshmallow stuck to her lip. Look at her poor eyes. They were droopy and slightly swollen.

Look at her tonight! Her beautiful eyes are wide open again!

Cheese!

Roseola

2008-07-01T19:20:00.000-05:00

Gabbie has been sick and crabby the last 4 or 5 days. It started last Friday morning when she woke up with a fever. I stayed home from work and basically carried her around everywhere. Then Saturday morning the fever was down some but by 2pm it was back up to 102.5. We went to the Urgent Care who said they saw fluid behind her left eardrum so it could be the cause of all of her pain. By Sunday she was becoming increasingly crabby and Monday was downright horrible and a rash was developing on her stomach. Steve took her to the doctor today and she was diagnosed with Roseola. The doctor said a lot of people say their children are crabby and irritable. He said it is likely she had a headache and achy joints. Thankfully she is already acting like she feels better tonight! Unfortunately the rash has spread all over and even on her face:( But I am so happy she seems to be feeling better and even went to sleep tonight without any screams or cries.

A nice weekend

2008-06-22T20:16:00.000-05:00

It was a beautiful weekend here in St. Louis. The weather was super nice, in the 80's. Cousin Peyton came over Saturday and we went to DSW where I scored 3 new pairs of shoes. We then went to dinner at Red Robin where I had the kids grilled cheese with a salad. I am officially on Weight Watchers and every Wednesday am getting weighed in at work. WW has this program called Weight Watchers at Work. They come to our office for meetings so it is super convenient and I have no excuses! I did pretty well this weekend and even refused one of my favorite foods, cake!

Saturday we also received our fabulous Missouri Adoption Tax Credit check in the mail! Thank you Missouri!

Today we went to baby Jordyn's baptism and to a party after at Jenn's house. Gabble slept in this morning until 7 which was beyond wonderful as well as she normally gets up around 5:30-5:45!!!! Now for pictures from the weekend.

These two had so much fun together. They are 3 years apart but still can play great together!

today at Jordyn's baptism party

Gabbie and Jack

Gabbie and Jordyn. Jenn and baby Jordyn came to our house Saturday for a while and Gabbie loved on Jordyn so much. Today she did the same. She is actually pretty good with her and only needed a few reminders to be gentle.

Look at how good they are playing together. It wasn't always this good!

Hence this picture! Gabbie was upset because Jack pushed her down the slide. They are 2 months apart and although they play well together they fight together too! It seems when one of them wants a toy the other has to have it. They are still cute together!

A final sweet picture of Gabbie.

Ouch and a new name

2008-06-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

Gabbie has been crabby lately! Poor baby, one minute she is laughing and the other crying and screaming. She is super clingy and sometimes while she goes through these crying sessions she holds on for dear life and others she doesn't want to be touched. We are starting to think the culprit is the 2 year molars. I looked in her mouth and it looks like the bottom ones are starting to make there way to the surface. I read these are supposed to be so painful. I just feel so sorry for her.

Here is a picture from last weekend. She wasn't herself then. Look at this serious face.

Onto the new name. About a month or so ago I wrote about Gabbie's new name for me, Mom. After about a week or so she dropped that and I became mama again. Well the past couple of days she has given me a new name and it is truly the sweetest in the world. My new name is Mommy! I am consistently mommy. Per dada (he is a little jealous because she will not say daddy for anything) she said it constantly until I got home from work. Honestly there is nothing better in this world than to hear your baby girl say mommy over and over again. My heart is just melting away. Here is my silly girl from tonight. This is her cheese face. Now when she sees the camera she flashes a goofy grin.