This Time One Year Ago .....

We met our sweet angel for the first time. I can remember it like it was yesterday. The moment that I had waited for had finally arrived and I could touch her and kiss her and not have to imagine through pictures what she was like. She was 10 1/2 weeks old and was soooo tiny (still less than 10 lbs).

Sometimes it feels like just yesterday and other times it seems a lifetime ago. I suppose it was a lifetime ago since our lives are forever changed.

Here are some pictures from that day.







A few more of the visit trip.

















And this is the face that I now see each and every morning.





Some more pictures taken today.Yes, that is a diaper she is playing with. Sometimes, it's the little things, you know??






Look at that Buddah belly!!



Here, I asked her where her belly was. She now knows her belly, head and mouth. Still working on nose and then we'll move on from there.


The sweetest face in the world.....

Perpetual Motion

Gabriella is definitely officially walking now. She walks all over the house. She still falls a lot, but if she slows down she can take a lot of steps without falling. It's a whole new ballgame now.

She loves to crawl under the desk and play while I catch up on my blog buddies :-)
Does this face not have mischief written all over it????






That's my girl.... carrying around her credit card.


We went to church this morning. Sadly, we don't go hardly any more because it's right in the middle of Gabriella's morning nap. I hate making her miss her nap, so until she drops that nap, we're just not able to go. She is wearing a beautiful dress that Ferdy's mom made for her. She hand-smocked it herself(click on the pictures to zoom in for the details). Thank you Grandma Maty!!



She grabbed hold of the pastor's wife's hand and mine and practically hauled us down the sidewalk!!! She would not take no for an answer.



She loves to walk around with toys in her mouth.










Oh Bing..... what am I to do with you????

Warming Up My Running Shoes

Gabriella is really starting to take more steps now finally. She will walk a good 10-15 steps on her own now. She's definitely improving daily. I'll be putting my running shoes on very soon.

Here are some pics from the last few days.



She doesn't sit much in her chair as it is much more fun to climb on it and stand in it.



She was carrying around the purse from her Build-a-Bear kitty cat.









She just loves climbing off and on her motorcycle now. It's funny though. From one side, she puts one foot on the base and hikes the leg right over just like anyone would to get on. But, she can't figure out how to get on from the other side. And she's not so graceful getting off. Nosediving is often the method. Supervision definitely still needed.



And from the Bing chronicles...



Bing likes to come in and supervise bathtime. And yes, we've had to revert back to the inflatable duck for baths. Gabriella absolutely refuses to sit down in the big tub. She's better in the duck, though not perfect.




Nice kitty ... She loves patting Bing and laying her head on him. He's so good with her.



He had had enough in this picture though - he's getting the heck outta there.



She's giggling away at him.



He's definitely a little miffed at this point. She was relentless.


And, the rare outing of Apple. Another kitty pretzel.


She has an uncanny ability to have her eyes closed for each and every picture. She sees that flash coming every single time.

Saturday in the Park

OK, I'm dating myself with the title. Anybody?????

We had a nice day today. We went to have some lunch and then took Gabriella to the park to swing for a little bit. They have an AWESOME playground that she is going to love when she gets a little older. The only bad part was the lovebugs were terrible. Ick... We ended up with them in the car when we left.

Gabriella had mac 'n cheese for lunch again. Man, she loves that stuff. Yeah, I know not the healthiest, but she eats much better when we're at home. But, when we go out it's not always possible.

So, first I give you the before - notice the nice clean hair.




During ......



And after. Her hair was nasty!! Ferdy took her in the bathroom and tried to clean her up, but it was a greasy mess the rest of the day. He says it's my fault because I had just, not 5 seconds before said she was going to put her hands in her hair before it was over. She does that a lot any more after eating. Yuck.





At the park




And a few pictures from yesterday. God, I love that smile!






She still won't take any more than a few steps on her own, but she practically runs if you hold her hand. She drags me all over the house and is very persistent about where she wants to go.