One of those nights

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!

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

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

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

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....

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

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

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!!!

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

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.