A fun romp around the house

I've got one more thing to share with y'all. Last weekend, Gabby was upstairs and had her milk and sunglasses. She asked us to go up there and help her down. She confuses some pronouns, and when she wants to be carried, she says, "I carry you." It is so cute. Anyway, we told her to go ahead and come down by herself, and be careful. We didn't think she'd be able to carry both the milk and the shades with her, as she desceneded the stairs. Let me tell you, I was more than overcome with laughter when she came down the stairs looking like she did. It's the first picture in the web album below.

Later that day, I was tasked with getting her dressed for the playground (a favorite destination). Halfway through, I decided that she was ready to go...to the barnyard that is. That's the rest of the pictures.

Gabby 1022

Click on the picture to open the photo album. Enjoy!

Mmmm, Ribs

Hey y'all

It's been a beautiful weekend down here in Austin. The weather was a treat, and so was my lil G. Before I get into all that, let me share a video with y'all. The little slideshow below was captured last weekend at Myer's in Elgin. We didn't plan on this happenning, but sometimes when you're introducing new foods all the time, you occasionally hit a home run. and with no further delay...I present to y'all...Gabby:

That was awesome. No? She devoured that rib. Cleaned the bone like her Daddy. She also takes after me with condiments. As her local aunts and uncles can atest, she indubitably enjoys a little dip dip... She dips her bread in her soup, eggs in ketchup, lettuce in salad dressing, and fingers in everything. As the saying goes, food is good, but it's better with a condiment.

Let's switch gears. This morning, we spent at least 2 hours at the playground. The weather was spectacular, and I was so thankful that we were able to move down here. Gabby is so happy when she's running around outside, and that was something, that we couldn't give her back in Boston. Anyway, she got a call from her Sabah, and then from her Bobie. It was during her Bobie's call, that I started laughing. She asked to hold the phone herself, then proceeded to walk around the playground, while climbing, sliding, and scaling a wall - all while holding the phone to her head. My Gabby's a gabber.

That's all for now. I've got more pictures, but those will come later. For now enjoy this nice shot of our Oompa-Loompa.

Pumpkins!

Today we went to Elgin to check out Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm's Pumpkin Days. Gabby had fun picking out some pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.







In this picture she's showing us how she "lets go" of Daddy's head. (She's getting very good at understanding opposites, and for 5 minutes, alternated between "hold on" and "let go."













Gabby hung out with Auntie Marta while we escaped from the mosquitos in the pavilion.














Then, not to be shown up by her buddies Luke and Martin, Gabby did a little dance for us.




After that, she visited with some goats and a donkey.












Then we all took a tractor-pull ride to the tree area for a "Pumpkin Hunt" where kids (and some of us grown-ups) picked mini pumpkins that are hidden in the Christmas trees. In this picture, Gabby's riding with Uncle Shaun, Auntie Sally, and Gayla.

Swimmingly

Hello out there, loyal readers. I just wanted to drop y'all a quick note about our doctor visit today. B had the 20 week ultrasound and everything is a-ok. The baby was kicking and stretching and even waved hello. Seriously. When you visit our new pad we'll show you the video, it's only 40 minutes long. Seriously.

Also, G's starting school tomorrow. We thought it would be a good idea to reacquaint her with the finer art of classroom experience even though B is still job-hunting. She'll go 2-3 days a week for now, and we'll see how things go from there. Later!

Here come the ABCs

See Luke and Gabby Play

Gabby rules the house

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to talk to all y'all personally, but let me tell you a few things Gabby's taught me about our new house.

1 - A toddler can get lost in there. It's freaking huge!
Shortly after moving in, we learned that in a large home, Gabby will go everywhere she can. We quickly lost track of our little munchkin, and actions needed to be taken. "Marco!" "Polo!" She learned quick, and now we can find her, if she lets us...

2 - Gabby can open and close doors with handles.
Within minutes of entering the house with Gabby for the first time, she went to a door, pulled the handle down, entered the room, and closed the door behind her. Yikes! She's got control over unlocked doors. That means Gabby-proofing every room in the house, pretty much. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!! Twice in the first few days, Gabby went to an undeadbolted front door, opened it, and walked right out. That's a problem. Don't worry, I've since installed some nifty auto locking handle thingees.

3 - When given the opportunity to run laps, Gabby will.
From the kitchen to the dining room to the entryway to the living room to the kitchen, etc.
or
From Gabby's room to the bathroom to the baby's room to the game room to Gabby's room, etc.
or
Round and round the couch and ottoman.

4 - Gabby wants to go potty, sometimes.
About a month or two ago, Gabby started asking to go to the bathroom to pee or poop. Now, we thought it was cute and all, but didn't really take her seriously. One day, I dropped her pants and her diaper, and placed her on the toilet. I looked away and sure enough, she fruitlessly went for it. Well she's come a long way since then. (one day she's kill me for writing about all this...if she finds it...Gabby, remember that Daddy loves you :)) She now has two potty adapters and sits on the toilet solo. When she wants to go, she asks us to bring her, and then instructs us to leave her in there alone. We wait outside until she declares, "All done." She can't get onto or off of the seat herself, nor can she drop or lift her pants. It time...

5 - With full access to a carpeted staircase, Gabby will ascend and descend the stairs at will...
We've installed a gate at the top of the stairs, but it hardly seems necessary.

6 - Gabby prefers to eat at the table to using her tray.
We've been pushing her booster seat to the table and having her eat with us on the table, sans tray. She seems to dig it.

That's all I've got for now...it's late. Night night.