And finally, some Bing....
Worn out from the sun.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Splish Splash
We went in the pool today and Gabriella LOVED splashing in the water. She even accidentally dunked her whole head in and didn't really freak out. She coughed a bit from the water she inhaled, but didn't cry.
And finally, some Bing....
Worn out from the sun.
And finally, some Bing....
Worn out from the sun.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Soooo Close
Gabriella is so close to walking. If she would just trust herself, she could! She will take one, maybe two steps and then either sit or dive.
Her favorite toy in the world is the TV remote. You have to hide it or it's hers.
She is still not talking(hardly even says dada any more), other than a whole 'lotta babbling(she has quite the conversation sometimes!!). But she is really starting to show that she understands a lot. Just this week, I've taught her to point to her belly and her head. Still working on nose and mouth. She's not quite getting those yet. And yesterday I asked her where the ball was(it was about 10 feet away) and she looked right over at it. She knows that both a small football and a regular round ball are both balls. I then asked her where the ducky was(a rubber ducky that was on the floor) and she looked right at it. Tonight, I asked her where they were and she pointed right to them. I am pretty sure she looked right at her chair when I asked her where that was, but we'll have to test that one a bit more. She has a bath book with Ernie and Rubber Ducky and if I ask her to give Ernie a kiss, she will kiss the book(sometimes anyway - gotta be in the kissy mood). It's so cute.
She really loves to laugh now whenever she hears anyone laughing. We can be out in a store and someone will laugh and she'll laugh. It's a very deliberate funny laugh that she does too - a two-syllable cackle really, not her normal belly laugh if you tickle her or something. If I close my eyes and open them, she copies me.
It's really so amazing to see them grow and learn.
Her favorite toy in the world is the TV remote. You have to hide it or it's hers.
She is still not talking(hardly even says dada any more), other than a whole 'lotta babbling(she has quite the conversation sometimes!!). But she is really starting to show that she understands a lot. Just this week, I've taught her to point to her belly and her head. Still working on nose and mouth. She's not quite getting those yet. And yesterday I asked her where the ball was(it was about 10 feet away) and she looked right over at it. She knows that both a small football and a regular round ball are both balls. I then asked her where the ducky was(a rubber ducky that was on the floor) and she looked right at it. Tonight, I asked her where they were and she pointed right to them. I am pretty sure she looked right at her chair when I asked her where that was, but we'll have to test that one a bit more. She has a bath book with Ernie and Rubber Ducky and if I ask her to give Ernie a kiss, she will kiss the book(sometimes anyway - gotta be in the kissy mood). It's so cute.
She really loves to laugh now whenever she hears anyone laughing. We can be out in a store and someone will laugh and she'll laugh. It's a very deliberate funny laugh that she does too - a two-syllable cackle really, not her normal belly laugh if you tickle her or something. If I close my eyes and open them, she copies me.
It's really so amazing to see them grow and learn.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
We're Back
We're back from Miami. We got back around 6pm. All-in-all Gabriella did very well considering totally messing up her routine and schedule for 2 days and sitting in her carseat for like 7 hrs total.
Yesterday(gosh, was it only yesterday we went down and we're already back??) we left a little before 10. Gabriella usually naps around 9:30 am, so I figured she conk out right away. Wrong... she slept for about 20 minutes and was awake.
We first stopped in Palm Bay to visit with George and Gladys, some family friends of Ferdy's from waaaaay back in Puerto Rico when he was in high school. We had a nice visit with them for a couple of hours. We were so surprised when they told us they had lunch all cooked for us. YUMMMMMMM. Puerto Rican red beans and white rice, some beef with potatoes and carrots and some delicious plantains cooked with butter, cinnamon, vanilla and rum!!!!!! I got the ingredients, so I'll have to try it out sometime.
A couple of pics from our visit(Gabriella is holding the stuffed cow they got for her):
We were back on the road around 1:30 pm heading south. Gabriella took another very short catnap and that's it. I was really surprised that she didn't crash as she usually sleeps well in the car. We got to Miami around 4 and checked into the hotel.
We had to be at the yacht by 6:30 pm, so we had a little while to hang in the room and try to entertain Gabriella. We brought a few toys, but of course a hotel room is not very baby-friendly, so we had to really watch her.
We all got changed and headed out to the yacht which was only about 5 minutes away. The weather had been really iffy all day and was VERY, VERY, VERY windy and chilly. Let's just say, even though my dress was long, it was hard not to give people a show. It had stopped raining thank goodness though. They had to make a call at the last minute as to whether or not to have the ceremony on the top open deck as planned or move it inside. They went ahead and did it outside and it turned out perfectly. The sun actually came out as the yacht was leaving and the ceremony was about to start.
I sat in the very back so that I could stand up with Gabriella if needed. There was so much going on around us that she actually sat in my lap for most of it. That, my friends, was an absolute world record. She literally has NEVER sat in my lap for more than a minute before(usually more like a second and I'm not exaggerating).
The beautiful bride
Like I said, it was windy!
Gabriella had a blast looking at herself in the mirror. The seats were soft, wide bench type sofas around the outside of this deck on the yacht and she was just jumping up and down, throwing herself down and having a ball.
Can you believe we didn't get someone to take a picture of the three of us all dolled up???
Mommy and daddy had to do shifts to eat since there was no way she was going to put up with sitting in her stroller. It was about 8:30 by this time and she was tired, but too stimulated to sleep and was getting fussy. She finally caved in and was so exhausted that she fell asleep around 10pm. We laid her down and she was out. There were a couple of babysitters who sat with her and mommy and daddy went to join the party. Unfortunately, about 45 minutes later, I came back in and I think she heard me talk and she jolted awake and was freaked out about where she was and so that was the end of that. The boat docked soon anyway. By the time we got off and went across the street and waited forever to get our car from the valet and got back to the hotel, it was midnight when we got her to sleep. She did cry a bit at first, but she was so exhausted she went to sleep before long. It was really noisy in the hotel though, with people coming and going and doors slamming shut until about 3:30 am. Yes, I know when because I couldn't sleep at all with so much commotion. I guess people are there to party in Miami Beach. Gabriella slept pretty fitfully and ended up waking at 8am instead of sleeping in as I had hoped. After a few minutes of disorientation she was in a good mood though.
Mommy, what's in this bag???
Aha, my sippy cup - but there's nothing in it!!!!
Today, we went to Coconut Grove to walk around and get some lunch.
When I was growing up, my grandmother and aunt, uncle and cousins all lived in Miami, so we made frequent trips down. I have so many memories of going to the beach at Crandon Park there, so we drove over there today. The water was pretty rough from the wind, so we didn't let Gabriella get her feet in the ocean for the first time as I didn't want her soaked.
Gabriella really has a fascination with leaves and today was no exception. And boy oh boy, these leaves are big!!!
More big leaves!!!!! I'm in heaven, can we come back here????
Phew, that was a long post!!!!!!! Are you still awake??
Yesterday(gosh, was it only yesterday we went down and we're already back??) we left a little before 10. Gabriella usually naps around 9:30 am, so I figured she conk out right away. Wrong... she slept for about 20 minutes and was awake.
We first stopped in Palm Bay to visit with George and Gladys, some family friends of Ferdy's from waaaaay back in Puerto Rico when he was in high school. We had a nice visit with them for a couple of hours. We were so surprised when they told us they had lunch all cooked for us. YUMMMMMMM. Puerto Rican red beans and white rice, some beef with potatoes and carrots and some delicious plantains cooked with butter, cinnamon, vanilla and rum!!!!!! I got the ingredients, so I'll have to try it out sometime.
A couple of pics from our visit(Gabriella is holding the stuffed cow they got for her):
We were back on the road around 1:30 pm heading south. Gabriella took another very short catnap and that's it. I was really surprised that she didn't crash as she usually sleeps well in the car. We got to Miami around 4 and checked into the hotel.
We had to be at the yacht by 6:30 pm, so we had a little while to hang in the room and try to entertain Gabriella. We brought a few toys, but of course a hotel room is not very baby-friendly, so we had to really watch her.
We all got changed and headed out to the yacht which was only about 5 minutes away. The weather had been really iffy all day and was VERY, VERY, VERY windy and chilly. Let's just say, even though my dress was long, it was hard not to give people a show. It had stopped raining thank goodness though. They had to make a call at the last minute as to whether or not to have the ceremony on the top open deck as planned or move it inside. They went ahead and did it outside and it turned out perfectly. The sun actually came out as the yacht was leaving and the ceremony was about to start.
I sat in the very back so that I could stand up with Gabriella if needed. There was so much going on around us that she actually sat in my lap for most of it. That, my friends, was an absolute world record. She literally has NEVER sat in my lap for more than a minute before(usually more like a second and I'm not exaggerating).
The beautiful bride
Like I said, it was windy!
Gabriella had a blast looking at herself in the mirror. The seats were soft, wide bench type sofas around the outside of this deck on the yacht and she was just jumping up and down, throwing herself down and having a ball.
Can you believe we didn't get someone to take a picture of the three of us all dolled up???
Mommy and daddy had to do shifts to eat since there was no way she was going to put up with sitting in her stroller. It was about 8:30 by this time and she was tired, but too stimulated to sleep and was getting fussy. She finally caved in and was so exhausted that she fell asleep around 10pm. We laid her down and she was out. There were a couple of babysitters who sat with her and mommy and daddy went to join the party. Unfortunately, about 45 minutes later, I came back in and I think she heard me talk and she jolted awake and was freaked out about where she was and so that was the end of that. The boat docked soon anyway. By the time we got off and went across the street and waited forever to get our car from the valet and got back to the hotel, it was midnight when we got her to sleep. She did cry a bit at first, but she was so exhausted she went to sleep before long. It was really noisy in the hotel though, with people coming and going and doors slamming shut until about 3:30 am. Yes, I know when because I couldn't sleep at all with so much commotion. I guess people are there to party in Miami Beach. Gabriella slept pretty fitfully and ended up waking at 8am instead of sleeping in as I had hoped. After a few minutes of disorientation she was in a good mood though.
Mommy, what's in this bag???
Aha, my sippy cup - but there's nothing in it!!!!
Today, we went to Coconut Grove to walk around and get some lunch.
When I was growing up, my grandmother and aunt, uncle and cousins all lived in Miami, so we made frequent trips down. I have so many memories of going to the beach at Crandon Park there, so we drove over there today. The water was pretty rough from the wind, so we didn't let Gabriella get her feet in the ocean for the first time as I didn't want her soaked.
Gabriella really has a fascination with leaves and today was no exception. And boy oh boy, these leaves are big!!!
More big leaves!!!!! I'm in heaven, can we come back here????
Phew, that was a long post!!!!!!! Are you still awake??
Friday, April 20, 2007
Wow - Thank You Secret Blog Pal !!!
I received a package today from my SBP. In it I found a beautiful handmade photo album with purple fabric and a cute wooden butterfly on it. If it weren't enough, a little something for the kitties to play with too!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
Crystal, here's your Gabriella fix for the day!!!! Sorry I haven't taken many pics this week. Bad mommy. Bad blogger.
She loves this book that has animals with furry and fuzzy stuff to touch. Her favorite is the long hair that the doggie has. Thanks to Paolo and his mommy and daddy Fran and Carlos for the book!
We are leaving tomorrow to go to Miami Beach for a wedding. It remains to be seen how this plays out. The wedding is on a yacht that will cruise Biscayne Bay for the evening. I plan on bringing the stroller and praying that Gabriella will fall asleep in it. She's never missed her 8pm bedtime by more than about 30 minutes since we came home and since we don't get back to the dock until 11pm, it could get interesting. There is going to be a babysitter available, so hopefully that will allow mommy and daddy a little time to relax and enjoy.
Moving her to the car and then into the hotel and in a crib there should also prove a challenge. It could be a long night for all involved. But, maybe she will surprise us.
She's never been in the car for more than about an hour at a time either. We bought a portable DVD player which she will hopefully find entertaining. She never watches TV because that would require sitting in one spot for longer than 30 seconds, but since she will be stuck, maybe she'll enjoy it.
Crystal, here's your Gabriella fix for the day!!!! Sorry I haven't taken many pics this week. Bad mommy. Bad blogger.
She loves this book that has animals with furry and fuzzy stuff to touch. Her favorite is the long hair that the doggie has. Thanks to Paolo and his mommy and daddy Fran and Carlos for the book!
We are leaving tomorrow to go to Miami Beach for a wedding. It remains to be seen how this plays out. The wedding is on a yacht that will cruise Biscayne Bay for the evening. I plan on bringing the stroller and praying that Gabriella will fall asleep in it. She's never missed her 8pm bedtime by more than about 30 minutes since we came home and since we don't get back to the dock until 11pm, it could get interesting. There is going to be a babysitter available, so hopefully that will allow mommy and daddy a little time to relax and enjoy.
Moving her to the car and then into the hotel and in a crib there should also prove a challenge. It could be a long night for all involved. But, maybe she will surprise us.
She's never been in the car for more than about an hour at a time either. We bought a portable DVD player which she will hopefully find entertaining. She never watches TV because that would require sitting in one spot for longer than 30 seconds, but since she will be stuck, maybe she'll enjoy it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)