Gabriela shows us her mad stacking skills, shows us her tongue, blows raspberries on her mama, tries to put on her shoe, goofs off at dinner with her daddy, and is helper of the day with the laundry.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Best Husband Ever!
Last night I said I'd help settle Gabriela down for the night and then freeze peaches. I even thought we could maybe watch a movie. Instead I totally crashed until this morning.
Lane had washed all the dishes, including Gabriela's bottles and dishes that I usually wash early in the mornings. AND he made my lunch for today so I would have a little extra time to get ready.
Little things like this make a big difference, and they're extra thoughtful! Thanks, honey!!! XOXO
p.s. stay tuned - I hope to post some overdue videos over the weekend.
Lane had washed all the dishes, including Gabriela's bottles and dishes that I usually wash early in the mornings. AND he made my lunch for today so I would have a little extra time to get ready.
Little things like this make a big difference, and they're extra thoughtful! Thanks, honey!!! XOXO
p.s. stay tuned - I hope to post some overdue videos over the weekend.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Peaches
Peaches are $2.19/lb at farmers market.
"seconds" peaches are $0.99/lb at farmers market. You know, the ones with a teeny tiny bruise that no one wants. No one except me. But wait - It gets better.
You can buy a whole box of them (25 lbs worth) for $10. That's $0.40/lb!! I am telling you, the steal of the deal gets me every time! It was such a good deal, I had to buy them! Now I have 25 lbs of peaches I have to figure out how to use up!!
Last night I baked a pie and made a cobbler. This morning I made oatmeal for Gabriela with lots of fresh peaches cooked in it and I brought some to work to eat. I think we're going to have to freeze some and maybe make another pie or two or three.
"seconds" peaches are $0.99/lb at farmers market. You know, the ones with a teeny tiny bruise that no one wants. No one except me. But wait - It gets better.
You can buy a whole box of them (25 lbs worth) for $10. That's $0.40/lb!! I am telling you, the steal of the deal gets me every time! It was such a good deal, I had to buy them! Now I have 25 lbs of peaches I have to figure out how to use up!!
Last night I baked a pie and made a cobbler. This morning I made oatmeal for Gabriela with lots of fresh peaches cooked in it and I brought some to work to eat. I think we're going to have to freeze some and maybe make another pie or two or three.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Weekend Fun
We have been busy every weekend since Gabriela’s birthday party. Some weekends have been less fun than others (emergency room visits and moving shenanigans). But this month has been filled with fun. Last weekend our friend Becky had a bbq and poolside birthday party.
The fun this weekend started early Saturday morning with my dear friend Katie. We chitchatted over breakfast at the Corner Bakery Café as it drizzled outside. Gabriela and her little friend Keady were planning their own get together but it got too late in the day. We postponed until next weekend. After some grocery store shopping in the pouring rain, and thanks to some major help from Lane, we had a fabulous early evening dinner on Saturday. We roasted a lamb in a little red wine that had been marinating in a yogurt mint and cumin mixture. Lane made the most decadent mashed potatoes ever, with ladles full of the lamb juice, and I sautéed some fresh green beans.
Saturday afternoon we also gave Gabriela a haircut. She has the unfortunate habit of pulling her own hair out of her head. She has managed to pull all the long wispy baby hairs out of only one side, leaving her with just one side of longer hair. It was certainly not easy, considering how much babies move around - even when strapped into her high chair! We were pleased with the results.
Later on, we headed off to the Gibson’s house for a much needed game night. It’s been a long time since the last one. I am pleased to report that our gaming skillz have not been hindered by the lapse in gaming. Lane and I were on the same team for the first time in ages. He SCULPTED a faucet and I guessed the celebrity – Farrah Fawcett. We weren’t allowed on the same team after that.
After a delicious breakfast of tomatillo pork and eggs, we drove down to Southern Maryland to visit my cousin Jen and her lovely family. They took us to Solomons Island where we had a tasty lunch by the water. We walked along the pier and stopped at a specialty shop for some homemade key lime pie. After we headed back to their home (which is beautiful), we changed into our swimsuits and went to their community pool.
Michele and Banana Baby
Cousins.
The fun this weekend started early Saturday morning with my dear friend Katie. We chitchatted over breakfast at the Corner Bakery Café as it drizzled outside. Gabriela and her little friend Keady were planning their own get together but it got too late in the day. We postponed until next weekend. After some grocery store shopping in the pouring rain, and thanks to some major help from Lane, we had a fabulous early evening dinner on Saturday. We roasted a lamb in a little red wine that had been marinating in a yogurt mint and cumin mixture. Lane made the most decadent mashed potatoes ever, with ladles full of the lamb juice, and I sautéed some fresh green beans.
Saturday afternoon we also gave Gabriela a haircut. She has the unfortunate habit of pulling her own hair out of her head. She has managed to pull all the long wispy baby hairs out of only one side, leaving her with just one side of longer hair. It was certainly not easy, considering how much babies move around - even when strapped into her high chair! We were pleased with the results.
Later on, we headed off to the Gibson’s house for a much needed game night. It’s been a long time since the last one. I am pleased to report that our gaming skillz have not been hindered by the lapse in gaming. Lane and I were on the same team for the first time in ages. He SCULPTED a faucet and I guessed the celebrity – Farrah Fawcett. We weren’t allowed on the same team after that.
After a delicious breakfast of tomatillo pork and eggs, we drove down to Southern Maryland to visit my cousin Jen and her lovely family. They took us to Solomons Island where we had a tasty lunch by the water. We walked along the pier and stopped at a specialty shop for some homemade key lime pie. After we headed back to their home (which is beautiful), we changed into our swimsuits and went to their community pool.
Michele and Banana Baby
Cousins. I love how when people see us they automatically assume the cousin relationship is not between the girls but that Lane and Chris (our husbands) are cousins. Next time we are getting a picture with them together.
The pool there is awesome!! The kiddie pool starts out just inches deep and gradually goes to ½ foot, and then 1 foot. They had these teeny fountains and a big slide and Gabriela loved it all! Every other time that we’ve taken her in the pool she has cried, so it was a big deal to see her actually enjoying herself. She kept walking to the stairs of the water slide and just splashing around.
After pool time, we walked like 3 minutes to the park in Jen’s complex where her neighbors had organized a Mexican food potluck. Everyone enjoyed their food while the kiddos all played in the park. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day.
I was so prepared, charging my camera battery the night before so I would have tons of great pics from the day. I was really disappointed when I realized that a fully charged battery doesn’t do much good when there’s no memory card in the camera!!!!!
The pool there is awesome!! The kiddie pool starts out just inches deep and gradually goes to ½ foot, and then 1 foot. They had these teeny fountains and a big slide and Gabriela loved it all! Every other time that we’ve taken her in the pool she has cried, so it was a big deal to see her actually enjoying herself. She kept walking to the stairs of the water slide and just splashing around.
After pool time, we walked like 3 minutes to the park in Jen’s complex where her neighbors had organized a Mexican food potluck. Everyone enjoyed their food while the kiddos all played in the park. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day.
I was so prepared, charging my camera battery the night before so I would have tons of great pics from the day. I was really disappointed when I realized that a fully charged battery doesn’t do much good when there’s no memory card in the camera!!!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
13 Months Old
This has been a big month for Gabriela! She celebrated her birthday and really started walking! Now she almost never wants to be held. She especially loves trying to walk up steps. It's so sweet when she stops what she's doing and holds her hand up to Lane or me because she wants our support.
Gabriela is still signing away. She loves playing with the tupperware, and is so proud of herself when she manages to put the lid on something. She also recently became interested in her little stacking toy and works so hard to stack her tower. We'll try to get some video up soon.
Gabriela is extremely friendly. She waves hello to nearly everyone that walks by us, getting even the grumpiest looking people to smile back at her. She especially loves other little kiddos her size. She gets so excited! The other day we saw a 4 month old baby and she held her arms out to the baby like she does to us when she wants us to hold her.
Gabriela is also starting to show off some dance moves. When we turn on the music in the car she moves her head back and forth and claps. Gabriela knows where here eyes, nose, and tongue are. She points to them when you ask, and also recently discovered that her nose has, not one, but two holes in it!!! She understands more and more every day. Just the other day, I told her it was time to take off her shirt, and she took it right off all by herself.
Gabriela is still signing away. She loves playing with the tupperware, and is so proud of herself when she manages to put the lid on something. She also recently became interested in her little stacking toy and works so hard to stack her tower. We'll try to get some video up soon.
Gabriela is extremely friendly. She waves hello to nearly everyone that walks by us, getting even the grumpiest looking people to smile back at her. She especially loves other little kiddos her size. She gets so excited! The other day we saw a 4 month old baby and she held her arms out to the baby like she does to us when she wants us to hold her.
Gabriela is also starting to show off some dance moves. When we turn on the music in the car she moves her head back and forth and claps. Gabriela knows where here eyes, nose, and tongue are. She points to them when you ask, and also recently discovered that her nose has, not one, but two holes in it!!! She understands more and more every day. Just the other day, I told her it was time to take off her shirt, and she took it right off all by herself.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Some New Videos
As most of you already know, we've been teaching Gabriela sign language to help her communicate with us more effectively. To do the sign for please you actually rub the palm of your hand in a circular motion on your chest. Gabriela does it slightly differently - she puts her hand on her chest, raises the other one and kind of shakes around. It's pretty damn cute. Her sign for please is so much like dancing that we couldn't resist the temptation to dress her up in a Hula outfit (given to us by Malia Taylor) and have her do the sign. I know, I know, we're terrible parents - but it's going to be great to watch this when she's in High School and she brings over her boyfriend for dinner or something. See for yourself. (Never mind the little cough at the end - she's a little congested)
Here's another video of her walking. This one is much better than the last one. You can see how much she's improved in just a week!
Here's another video of her walking. This one is much better than the last one. You can see how much she's improved in just a week!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
It's Story Time!
Gabriela loves reading. We put different stacks of books in different rooms for her. She just surrounds herself with a pile of them and starts browsing. She listens very well to story time also. We're so happy to share our love of reading with her.
Here she is doing the sign for book. Sometimes she does it first thing in the morning. We give her books to read on car rides too, and she just flips through the pages looking at all the pictures.
Some Recent Pics
Mom & Dad, thanks for buying this big comfy bed just for me!
Figuring out how to use the step stool (oh, joy)
Enjoying lamb chops
mmm.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Videos coming soon and weekend update
I finally got some video of Gabriela walking and doing her "please" sign/dance. You'll know what I mean when you see the footage. I'm going to do my best to post them within a couple days.
In other news, Gabriela really started walking this weekend. Before she'd just take a few steps and resort to crawling. Now, she's taking many more steps at a time, and when she plops down she gets right back up to keep walking.
We had a nice weekend. We went out for Thai food on Friday and enjoyed the warm evening weather. Saturday we hung out by the pool with some friends and enjoyed some summer bbq action. Lane and I made a grilled corn salad with sweet onion, tomato, a fresh basil dressing, and the secret ingredient - bleu cheese crumbles. An instant favorite!!! Add some garlic rosemary grilled potatoes and lamb and red wine for our fabulous dinner. After arriving home, Lane and I had fresh peaches and ice cream for dessert on our balcony. Delish.
Sunday we got rid of all the empty boxes, unpacked more, tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out our living room furniture arrangement, and then went off to a tamale making potluck where we supplied the tamale meat. Our friend Laura has some friends who are great cooks. People made mango salsa, luscious corn pudding, a fresh avocado salad, and a homemade tres leches cake!!
We've had two weekends in the past three that have been full of socializing with friends. Could it be that our little family is (finally) emerging from the baby fog???
In other news, Gabriela really started walking this weekend. Before she'd just take a few steps and resort to crawling. Now, she's taking many more steps at a time, and when she plops down she gets right back up to keep walking.
We had a nice weekend. We went out for Thai food on Friday and enjoyed the warm evening weather. Saturday we hung out by the pool with some friends and enjoyed some summer bbq action. Lane and I made a grilled corn salad with sweet onion, tomato, a fresh basil dressing, and the secret ingredient - bleu cheese crumbles. An instant favorite!!! Add some garlic rosemary grilled potatoes and lamb and red wine for our fabulous dinner. After arriving home, Lane and I had fresh peaches and ice cream for dessert on our balcony. Delish.
Sunday we got rid of all the empty boxes, unpacked more, tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out our living room furniture arrangement, and then went off to a tamale making potluck where we supplied the tamale meat. Our friend Laura has some friends who are great cooks. People made mango salsa, luscious corn pudding, a fresh avocado salad, and a homemade tres leches cake!!
We've had two weekends in the past three that have been full of socializing with friends. Could it be that our little family is (finally) emerging from the baby fog???
Monday, August 3, 2009
Almost There
What a crazy weekend we had moving to a new apartment with a one year old!! While we aren't completely moved yet, the kitchen is all set up. I even cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner in there yesterday. Lane donated our old bedroom set, our dining room set, and a bookshelf and file cabinet yesterday with the help of our friend Sean. Our new bedroom set arrives sometime toward the end of this month. I can't wait.
Lane has been a super-star mover. I spent most of my time holding Gabriela or feeding her or helping her settle down for naps so I wasn't the most helpful mover.
I love that Gabriela has her own room. It's mostly set up. We can let her play in there and know she's not going to get into anything that's not safe for her. The best part is that the room has french doors so we can always see her. The first night, she slept in her room until 6:30 am. Yay, Gabriela!
This morning we got internet. I had breakfast on our balcony. I have done a bazillion loads of laundry. I just can't get over the fact that I don't have to go down 12 flights of stairs to do laundry. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon. We have to finish unpacking the living room and bedroom and try to get better organized still.
The good news is that in the process of moving, I found our camera and video camera. Expect pics of the new digs coming soon and hopefully some video footage of Gabriela signing "please" and taking some steps.
Lane has been a super-star mover. I spent most of my time holding Gabriela or feeding her or helping her settle down for naps so I wasn't the most helpful mover.
I love that Gabriela has her own room. It's mostly set up. We can let her play in there and know she's not going to get into anything that's not safe for her. The best part is that the room has french doors so we can always see her. The first night, she slept in her room until 6:30 am. Yay, Gabriela!
This morning we got internet. I had breakfast on our balcony. I have done a bazillion loads of laundry. I just can't get over the fact that I don't have to go down 12 flights of stairs to do laundry. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon. We have to finish unpacking the living room and bedroom and try to get better organized still.
The good news is that in the process of moving, I found our camera and video camera. Expect pics of the new digs coming soon and hopefully some video footage of Gabriela signing "please" and taking some steps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
