Standing, Coughing, and Laughing - Oh My!!!

Lots to report since my last update…

Gabby’s beginning to stand on her own. That’s not to say that she is actually standing up on her own, but rather pulling herself into standing position using inanimate objects. It’s quite a development. Last Thursday, B called me at work and told me how G grabbed the orange top to her “Fisher-Price Classical Chorus Gym” and pulled herself up. I had a tear in my eye. Seriously!

Two weekends ago – after we returned from Warsaw – G and I attended a class at our local new baby school, Isis Maternity. It was called, “Time for Dads.” I’d attended a class several months ago, but since that class was on a weeknight at 7pm – G did not attend. I just could not fathom getting her out of bed, and bringing her to an activity when she should be sleeping. It seemed incredibly selfish – so I flew solo. This time, the class was on a Saturday morning, so G gladly accompanied me. Nice!

We dressed in matching longhorn outfits – thanks to Luke’s 'rents. We were so adorable. I admit that without G I would be very far from adorable, but a baby does wonders for me.

Later that day, Bobie visited with G and had a wonderful day. That was the night that Gabby came down with croup. She started barking like a dog and coughing like a seal at 1 in the morning. It was clear that she was having difficulty breathing. After a late night scoot to the nearest 24 hour pharmacy and some time in the steamy bathroom…I was able to soothe her back to sleep (in her car seat to ease breathing). She visited the Children’s Hospital the next morning, and I really appreciated that we live 5 minutes from one of the best children’s hospitals in the world. To make a long story short, she fevered up then her fever receded and I worked from home on Monday to keep her sick bum company. She’s such a trooper.

We had another development on Croup Sunday. Gabby has started to babble. It is so wonderful… da- da-da-ta-da-da-yee-ba. Awesome.

I’m sure I’ve missed something, but I’ll report on what I recall.

Last weekend, I had Gabby all to myself. B had a much needed break and visited with her “Friends Girls,” in Nashville. I picked her up from day care on Friday afternoon to begin our weekend of fun. We headed straight to my friend Keith’s place. We had oreo’s, bbq, beers, and played cards! G won $50!!! Boo-ya, Gabby. But seriously, folks – I put Gabby to sleep at Keith’s then I partook in some gentlemanly fun. All good.

After a pleasant night, G and I had so much fun playing on Saturday. She is so funny when I get her to laugh uncontrollably. Her laugh resembles the sound of an old man who smoked too much trying to eject a hairball. Couple that with her wonderful smile… It’s enough to melt an ogre’s heart.

On a trip to the grocery store, Gabby – while sitting stylishly in her floppy seat – reached behind herself and into the basket to palm a large bag of chips. She then used her kung-fu grip to snag the bag and bring it into her seat for easy chewing. Amazing. She did it the first time while I had my head in the freezer section, so naturally I asked her to repeat the feat in my presence. She complied…and complied…and complied. Too funny.

Bobie visited late Saturday, and accompanied us to Med and Marie’s place on Sunday. We had a great time visiting with the Guadiz family and seeing old friends. Gabby is especially fond of Marie’s Filipino cooking. MMMM.

More developments: It appears that our little girl may one day soon prove us all wrong. She's beginning to try out the lunge forward that will become a crawl. She sitting on her bum...reaches forward over her left leg and uses her arms for support. 9 times out of 10 she eventually returns to her seated position...but every once in a while she ends up on all fours. Then she's lost. A little fussing and playing before she either rolls over or complains incessantly. But she's getting there. In fact, B reports that she was able to coax two crawling steps from G the other day. (They were backwards steps...but steps nonetheless). There you go.

After her pediatrician first told us, at 4 months, that he could see/feel her teeth and she'd probably be teething soon...4 months later, I am happy to report that lil miss G has officially presented us with the tip of her first tooth. If you place your finger on her lower gums you can feel the sharp tip of her left front tooth. She's going to look so different with teeth.
I suppose that’s about all to report for now. Gabby reached the 8 month mark last Friday and she’s coming along just wonderfully.

Later y’all.