Little Miss Manners

Last night at dinner, all by herself, Gabriela signed the following, "More - Water - Please"

She is so polite!! We are so proud of Gabriela- not only for her good manners, but also for her ability to put together so many signs to tell us what she wants!!

As soon as I find our video camera, I'll try to catch her in the act. The actual sign for please is a flat hand moved in circular motion on your chest. Gabriela puts her hand on her chest and then shimmies her shoulders back and forth. It almost looks like a dance move. Too cute.

Our Weekend Minus the ER Visit

The rest of our weekend was actually quite fun! We had dinner on Friday with our friends Bill & Julie, who we haven't seen in a long time. We went to our new apartment to take measurements and ran some errands. We ordered new bedroom furniture. Yippee!!! Torin & Greg stopped by to hang out on Saturday evening. Sunday we tested mattresses at Macys and then had a lovely dinner with our friends Adam and Becky.

We saw so many of our friends we couldn't believe it. It was almost like a pre-baby weekend (minus the ER visit).

1 Year Dr. Visit and more...

Gabriela had her one year vaccinations on Thursday. She weighed in at 19.3 lbs. and is 30.5 inches long. Gabriela continues to be very tall and very skinny. She did pretty well for her shots.
But the next morning, we noticed a few red welts on her back. We weren't really sure what it was, but considering that she'd just gotten her shots Lane took her to the doctor that morning. They said she was having an allergic reaction and advised us to give her some over the counter allergy medicine to help out.

Now, after a whole day of giving medicine would you imagine that Gabriela would get better or worse? Imagine how we felt waking up to THIS baby:

The rash had spread all over her entire body. It was bright red and the skin was swollen like little welts. Off to the emergency room we went. Our very first time! We decided to go to the Children's National Medical Center in DC. We were there forever, but we came prepared with lots of books and baby snacks.

One thing we were grateful for was that Gabriela was her normal happy self. She was giggling and playing and didn't seem to be bothered by the rash. When the doctor finally saw us, she said that Gabriela was definitely having a reaction, however there really isn't a way to pinpoint what it is in response to. Usually rashes that happen in relation to vaccines don't appear until a week later and hers came the very next day. Gabriela was recently taking amoxicillin, so it is possible that she reacted to that, but it's also possible she could be responding to something totally different. When she's older, she can go to an allergist to be tested, but for now, we need to tell the doctor that it is possible that she may be allergic to amoxicillin.

The good thing is that Gabriela didn't have anything else going on. The doctor told us it was a great sign that she's happy, playful and has her appetite. Sometimes kids can get sores in their mouth and have problems with their joints, and Gabriela doesn't have any of these symptoms. She just advised us to continue giving the allergy medicine, to keep her out of the sun or anything else that could further irritate her skin, and also said that the rash could last as long as a week. Thank goodness she confirmed that it isn't anything contagious either.

Unfortunately, we missed Francesca's birthday party to hang out in the ER all day. We are glad that it isn't anything serious though, and also that we had this adventure this weekend instead of next Saturday when we will be moving!!!

Mina the Birthday Girl

Mina, our sweet little niece, turned 2 yesterday. We love you so much Mina, and wish we could have been there to help you celebrate!

Auntie Theresa told me what Mina requested for her special birthday dinner, and I was so confused. MOLLIES. What the heck?!?!? She then explained to me that meant tamales!!! Seriously, what two year old requests tamales for their birthday dinner?!? My cool Mexican niece, that's who!

So cute. We are proud of you Mina. We miss you bunches. We hope you like the special birthday song we sang you yesterday over the phone :)

To Commemorate Her Birth Day...

Gabriela decided to take some steps. On July 19th, she couldn't be bothered to try stepping somewhere if she couldn't hold on to any furniture. On her actual birthday, she started taking a mini-step here and there.

But yesterday, Gabriela took like 4 steps in a row! Of course, she didn't do it anymore that evening so there isn't any video footage. I can't believe how she went from showing no interest to taking a series of steps in two days. I'm afraid this little munchkin just might be unstoppable once she gets the hang of it.

Gabriela's Actual Birthday

Today Lane and I stayed home with Gabriela on her special day. Nana and Papa were also in town for the party and the big day. We strolled around Old Town, took a boat trip on the Potomac from Old Town Alexandria to Georgetown and back and then feasted on Afghan food together. We are so lucky Nana and Papa were in town to share our special day with us.

More Birthday Pics

This is actually my mother's day present. But I thought I'd post a picture since it's so pretty and has the birthday girl's name on it.

Birthday flowers

Here is one of the desserts from Gabriela's party. It's a chocolate cake with different sized M&Ms. We also had carrot cake cupcakes with orange ginger cream cheese frosting, and of course, Lane's favorite Special Dessert. This was the dessert we gave Gabriela, since it is her Daddy's favorite b-day dessert.

Gabriela's Birthday Party

I was nervous about us pulling off Gabriela's birthday party - last minute party day shopping, cooking and prepping all the food, getting all the supplies downstairs, getting the place decorated and set up, getting the two of us ready, and trying to make sure my apartment wasn't a mess when my parents arrived.

Gabriela, of course, did not know she was having a party. But she DID know something was going on, and that she couldn't bear to miss it. This is why she didn't nap in the morning like usual. We spent at least an hour just trying to get her to go to sleep. She woke up 20 minutes later. Gabriela was very well behaved at her party. I just wish she'd slept (much) longer because she was quieter and shyer than her normal little self.

My one huge downfall was that I forgot to ask someone to take pictures for us. I am usually the crazy photo documenter. But I was running around like crazy. So if you have some totally awesome photos, please email them to me!!

I had these great plans of photographing Gabriela with each of her guests so we could send pictures to everyone. Oh well, maybe next year. Thank goodness my mom and cousin shared their pics!

We had delicious food, great time with our friends, and Gabriela enjoyed playing with some of her little friends. It was a great celebration for our little one year old!

Happy Birthday, Gabriela! Happy Birthday to You!

Our little princess is one whole year old. We can't believe how quickly it's gone by and much Gabriela has grown. We couldn't ask for a happier, sweeter, or more darling little baby. We love you to pieces, little sunshine!

One Year Old Info

Words Gabriela Says:
Mama, Dad (she’s so grown up), Dog, Book, Done, On, and of course, NO. She has said banana before, but not consistently

Signs:
Milk, More, Water, Book, Airplane, Bye-Bye, “I Hear It”, All Done,

The only sign Gabriela pairs with the word consistently is BOOK. She loves to read and asks for books all the time. We are so proud of her

Facts & Figures:

• Gabriela has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom
• She weighs just over 19 lbs
• Gabriela has still not shown a preference for one hand or the other – she switches hands to give signs, suck her thumb, or eat which ever way is most convenient.

Gabriela Loves:

• To be worn- she crawls excitedly to us the moment we pull out the baby carrier
• Finding all the light switches and turning them on and off
• Going for walks and stopping to watch the birds and touch all the flowers and leaves on trees
• Dogs!
• Reading

Gabriela Doesn't Like:

• having her teeth brushed or her face wiped
• The big exercise ball - she's terrified of it.
  

Favorite Foods:

• all kinds of berries
• smoothies
• cheese
• Thai food :)
  

Good Mail

It's a good day when you get tons of mail AND a package and NONE of it is junk mail! It helps when your birthday and your daughter's birthday are two days apart.

SB Grovers,

We got your awesome package and delightful notes. Gabriela loves her new outfits and books, as well as her fancy homemade blankie from Claire. Claire, I'm jealous that you learned how to sew before me! Great job! We especially love the tag!

What's Cookin', Gabriela???

Gabriela got a ton of birthday packages today including a new kitchen!! I don't know who was more excited, Mommy or Gabriela! Gabriela got right to work stirring and tasting and opening and closing things. It's just perfect for her!Auntie Theresa got her the cutest set of pink pots and pans and utensils as well as a fancy tea set. As you can see, Gabriela loves these too.

Am I a total cheater for letting her open her packages a couple days early?!?! We were just so excited! She doesn't know about the whole b-day thing. Next year she can open them up all at once. Okay fine, I guess I am admitting it. I am a total cheater. But we had so much fun last night!!!

Thank you, everyone!

Monkey Baby

Being sick doesn't stop this baby from climbing around like a little monkey. The doctor said Gabriela is fine to be around kids 24 hours after her antibiotics are started. Phew, that means she can go to daycare tomorrow and we don't have to worry about canceling her first b-day party. How awful would that be?!?

What? You mean I'm not supposed to climb up on top of the coffee table like this? Not even when I make this angel face?!?!?! You're no fun, Mom.

P.S. Cousin Andrew, thanks for making my super cool tie-dye shirt. It finally fits and I love it!!!

XOXO

Gabriela

Proud New Home Owner!

Not us, silly. Gabriela! We picked up this little house for her over the weekend and she LOVES it! We love it because we got it from Craigs List for less than half the price.

P.S. That cutie patootie outfit is from Taryn and Parker, the kids I used to nanny for.

MMM, Tastes Like Summer!

Tonight we had sweet farmers market corn for dinner along with fresh farmers market tomato sandwiches on kalamata olive sourdough bread from farmers market with a little fresh basil and roasted garlic mayo. We also ate some fresh cherries and goat cheese. It tasted just like summer! The only thing better would have been if we'd eaten dinner outside.

Since I'm talking about food, can I just say how proud I am of Gabriela and her little tastebuds?!?! She loved the goats milk brie cheese, can't get enough jalapeño cheddar bread, gobbles down Thai curry and munches happily on Afghan Kubideh. What a good little eater!!

Our ordinary weekend

On Friday, Daddy picked up Gabriela from daycare and took her straight to the park for fun times while I had some girl time with Katie.

We decided to go out for Thai food when I got back. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful evening weather. Gabriela enjoyed pineapple fried rice and panang curry. She also helped herself to some cucumber on the plate and went crazy! We have found a new favorite food. Then Lane decided we should go out for family ice cream. Gabriela votes two thumbs up on Coffee Ice Cream with Heath bar and caramel. We found another new favorite "food".

The next morning Monkey Baby climbed down from the bed all by herself. I was in the other room and all of a sudden she appeared! I asked Lane if he put her on the floor and he didn't! Sneaky Monkey Baby.

Lane and I watched a movie on Saturday night. Actually I mostly channeled my inner Martha and made b-day decorations while the movie was on. Check them out!

Gabriela was a good sport while we picked up b-day party supplies and got groceries. She's had a fever on and off all weekend. Today I'm home with her and taking her to the doctor. This little princess needs to get better before her b-day party!!

Here Comes the Tickle Monster!!!

This is, hands down, my favorite sound in the whole wide world!!

El 4 de Julio

We spent a lazy Fourth of July together. We baked a nectarine crisp to take along to a party in DC where we grilled it up, and enjoyed some celebratory beverages. When it was time for fireworks, we all went up to the roof top where we had a spectacular view of the DC fireworks show, without the massive crowds. Someone brought up a stereo so we could hear the National Symphony as they played along with the fireworks show. The view was awesome. We had a 360 degree view of all the surrounding city fireworks as well.

I was really upset with myself that I didn’t think to bring our video camera or regular camera up to the rooftop. By the time I realized it, the show had already started and I didn’t want to miss it by going down and back up three plus flights of steps. But Gabriela stayed up for the show. We thought she’d be putting her hand to her ear like crazy with all the noises she’d hear. Instead, she clung as tightly as possible to daddy. She was nervous, yet in awe. She watched the whole show with those great big brown eyes of hers while sitting on her daddy’s shoulders and once in a while even pointed to the show. It was precious.

And I just want to end this post with a little note to self.

Self,

Next time you attend the fireworks extravaganza in DC and you notice a number of fire trucks converging upon the very metro station you are approaching, think twice about going down the escalator and trying to board a train. You might walk downstairs and notice a bunch of smoke. As the firefighters walk back and forth and not one single train shows up, your husband might volunteer to check to see when a train is coming, but he might be prevented from going back down the escalator to you. You might have to go back up, exit the station, walk past all the fire trucks that are still there, and walk to another metro station all together, only to find that someone had the “bright” idea to set off fireworks INSIDE the metro station. And THIS was the cause of your commuting delay. SERIOUSLY, people?? Fireworks IN the metro stations???? Classic.

Bop

Gabriela has started saying BOP regularly, and with purpose. It’s a shame we have no idea what she means. Between bath and ball and bye-bye and button and bubbles and book and bird and belly, it could be anything really. For sure she says it for book and ball, but we think she might mean something else also. Only Gabriela knows.

Friday

Our LONG baby and her daddy admiring the jelly fish
Sweetest little baby Gorilla

On the way to the zoo

We were so happy to have an extra day off from work this week. Lane and I still got up early and tried to arrive at the zoo before the masses. We succeeded. We spent the whole morning at the zoo and were leaving just as stroller after stroller after stroller after double-wide stroller arrived. We just can't get enough of the baby gorilla! We checked out the animals, took a little break for snacks and diaper changes and crawling, and then Gabriela napped the whole way home.

We played together and then spent some time later in the evening by the pool. What a relaxing and enjoyable day together.

Kisses For Daddy

Gabriela Feeds Herself

Yesterday, I put Gabriela's lunch on the table and ran back in the kitchen for a second to grab something. By the time I got back, Gabriela had reached across her highchair, grabbed the spoon, and started feeding herself. I haven't really tried letting her feed herself before, so I was surprised she did so well.

Here's a video of her in action, as well as learning how to make water squirt out of her sippy cup. uh oh.

All Grown Up

Do you mind, Mom?? I'm on the phone.