Elvis Lives!

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but around Gabby's first birthday, she spoke her first non-repetitive two-syllable word: Elvis. Now, anyone who knows Jason, knows that that moment competes with the actual birth of his firstborn child as his proudest moment as a father. The saddest part is that he wasn't the one who taught her, it was me. We have three magnets on our refrigerator - two of Gabby and one random Elvis magnet that Jason picked up in Graceland (yes, that is how big of a fan he is). Gabby loves to say the word "bébé"/"baby" so naturally she was drawn to her own photos. She kept pointing to hers and saying "bébé, bébé". Then she began including Elvis as a "bébé" so I had to correct her and tell her who that really was. I didn't think it out all the way. Below is the result:

November Catch-Up

I am not quite sure what happened to the last few weeks. I miss those days as a child when December actually seemed like the longest month ever. Now we somehow skip from November 30th straight to December 24th. Forgive me for throwing all of these pics out here at once, but I believe the missed highlights of November are in order:

Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo with Van & Ashley (and some very laid-back animals)

Mid-November, Jason had a conference in San Diego, so we decided to make a family trip out of it.

San Diego Zoo

Gabby finds a miniature horse just her size.

She considers joining in on meal time.

The elephants are her favorite, since she can imitate their sound.

We made it out of there just before the sun went down.

We drove up to LA from San Diego, where we caught up with old friends and celebrated Jason's birthday. (Or should I say Vladamir? - That is who the restaurant sang to that night.)

Gabby reunited with her former best friend, Izzie.

A day trip to the Seattle Aquarium, with Gabby's friends Josh & Van.

Despite our most valiant efforts, the kids were not so into posing together in front of the huge fish tank.

Gabby & Van are becoming best friends while their moms get a chance to work out in the mornings.

Okay, now it's time to start work on December....

No Barriers

A few days ago, Gabby discovered a new game: closing doors. First, she tried our bedroom closet. Too dark. Cries sounded from within. Second, she tried the bathroom. Too cold. Cries sounded from within. Third, she tried the laundry room, while Mommy was there to keep her company. Just right. She was up for the challenge. She reached for the door handle while on the tips of her toes and used the very tips of her fingers until she could pull the handle down better and get a grip. The rest was easy. Gabby now opens doors.

Photo Madness Part 2

Our family photo retakes were today and unlike previously, everything went smoothly leading up to the photo shoot. The problem is, it turns out that Gabby does not like to pose with her parents. I do not know what she has against us. After the first picture, she was finished and she let us know. She began screaming and refused to even let us hold her. This is generally not a good thing for family pictures. The photographer brought in someone to try to get Gabby to smile and they put in an amazing effort, just not a very successful one. By some miracle, we managed to squeak a few shots out. They may not be magazine worthy, but we are not about to go through that again, no matter how free.

Of course, after we gave up and let her roam free, she was as happy as could be. How in the world will we manage when we have more than one child??

Photo Madness Part 1

With Gabby's first birthday behind us, we decided that it was time to get our first family photos taken (and when I say "we decided", I mean "I decided"). All was prepared - Gabby's cute outfit, a 10AM appointment so Gabby would be in a good mood, and of course, flawless visions of poses I would request, props included. Here is how things really happened:

• Friday, 11:00 PM: I choose outfits for Jason and I that work well together with Gabby's dress while he falls asleep, confused at why the colors and mood of our sweaters are so important to me. After much pondering, different but warm complimenting colors are selected and I go to sleep in peace.
• Saturday, 7:00 AM: Wake up on time. I get in the shower. Jason goes for a run.
• 7:10 AM: I get out of the shower to Gabby crying. Nervous for her big day, she woke up an hour earlier than she has in the last several months.
• 9:15 AM: Having recovered from Gabby's early rising, we are set to leave as scheduled in 5 minutes. Hooray!
• 9:16 AM: Jason starts to get dressed and informs me that his outfit will not work. (The dress shirt + sweater combo will not fit at the same time.) Since he only owns one sweater (he is a warm-blooded kind of guy), our outfit plans go out the window.
• 9:17 AM: I freak out trying to quickly come up with a new plan with limited resources.
• 9:40 AM: We leave 20 minutes late (each in uncoordinated outfits) and forgo the cupcake pickup. (One of my random plans was to get pictures of Gabby with a birthday cupcake.)
• 10:05 AM: Arrive at our appointment.
• 10:07 AM: They call us back. As Gabby is walking to the studio, she trips and bumps her head pretty hard on the metal part of a stool. The fall doesn't phase her, but leaves a nice red mark on her forehead. Fabulous.
• 10:08 AM: Gabby suddenly turns hyper as we enter the studio and will not stay in one place for any of her solo photos. My plans for poses and personal props are forgotten.
• 10:14 AM: The photographer takes only a few family shots before Gabby has had enough and exhibits uncharacteristic fussiness. And the shoot is over.

All in all, Gabby had some cute solo pictures, but we don't especially like any of our family shots, at least not enough to hang up as an 8x10 in our living room. So we get to go back and try again on the family shots (thanks to Picture People's 100% satisfaction garantee). Jason is ecstatic. He loves posing for photos.

Not that you wanted to know all of this information about how weird I am about pictures, but I have never been good at omitting details. Alas, here are some samples....

Removing the bow that did not make many photo appearances,

due to her need to hand us what was on her head.

Party Time!

Gabby's first birthday party took place on Halloween. We followed the basic traditions - cake, ice cream, gift-opening and included toddler-friendly activities like making clay hand prints and grooving to Halloween tunes. It was a lot of fun!

Below is a video clip of Gabby's birthday cupcake and the process of her eating her first real sugar. She was so delicate about it, that it did not make for the most interesting of videos, but it is a requirement from the grandparents, so here it is. Later she dove into it a little more and ended up eating the entire thing!

We had "Icy Witch" ice cream cones. Somehow, the witch turned out looking more like a clown (especially since I couldn't find Oreo cones anywhere). Luckily, the kids were not too picky about the results.

Gabby had quite the party guest list - Dracula, Dumbo, Ladybug Fairy, Winnie the Pooh and Harry Potter (he has his invisible cape on in this photo). Apparently Gabby has only boy friends. We are going to need to have a talk about this.

Preparing for the lady bug hand print process...

Our lady bug at the end of her big bash. (The only time we could get her to keep her antennae on for a split-second.)

And then there was the after-party.... (Excuse the shaking camera. I was either laughing or very nervous.)

Gabrielle's First Birthday!

It is hard to believe that our little bundle of joy is 1 year old today! Below is a slideshow to show how quickly she has grown. (I stole the monthly photo idea from a friend.)

Gabby is learning faster than ever. She is literally learning a new word every day. Well, when I say word, I mean her version of a word (usually the first syllable of the word she is trying to say x2). Some examples of these include:

• "ma-ma" for manger/eat (no, not mommy - food takes first priority)
• "bwa-bwa" for boire/drink
• "bye-bye"
• "ba" for ball
• "pay" for pray (at the end of EVERY song in church, she thinks it is time to pray and clasps her hands, saying "pay")
• "shh" for chaussure/shoe

She also loves to "read" books. Here is a video of her "reading" yesterday:

Today, to celebrate the big day, Gabby and I were planning on going to the aquarium with some friends. However, we are both getting over a cold and somehow it hit me hardest last night with a little fever, so we had to postpone until next week. Sorry, Gabby! Luckily, we should all be healthy in time for her birthday party on Saturday. The kids will all be in their Halloween costumes, so we will certainly post some fun pictures!

Deep Reading

I promise I did not set up this pose. This is how I found Gabby.

Apparently she finds those colorful cardboard books about animals a bit dull....

Food Foibles

Gabby's first "adult" meal, eaten all by herself.

Gabby's life as an almost 11-month-old pretty much revolves around the consistent schedule of eating. No matter what is going on or where we are at, she knows every 4 hours she will engage her taste buds and fill her belly, invigorating her spirit. But with this lifestyle comes some predicaments:

Predicament #1: You may have noticed by the photos of our little cutie, that Gabby is not a picky eater. While many a mother takes her child to the doctor for check-ups concerned about her child eating enough, we worry that she eats too much. At her 9-month visit, she tipped the scales at nearly 25 lbs., putting her at basically the 99.99th percentile. The only food she has ever rejected is the plain pureed meats (which only shows that she is still sane - those things seem disgusting!). She outgrew her infant car seat at 6 months and even if her Baby Bjorn allowed for her weight, there is no way our backs could take it any longer. Luckily, her height is staying caught up with her weight, so she is not unhealthy. She just happens to be the size of a two-year-old.

Predicament #2: Gabby believes that she is a baby elephant. A few weeks ago, she decided that it is necessary to make an elephant noise every time that you take a bite. This causes food to spray out all over the provider. We have tried everything to teach her that elephants are not allowed in high chairs, but to no avail. While she usually understands the word "no" and is even frightened by it, while in protection of the chair "no" is suddenly a humerus word. Ignoring her or taking away her food also does not seem to deter her. I literally have to wear an apron when I feed her.

Below is a video clip of this process. The fact that I took a video is probably why she continues to do this (I know, I am a horrible mother, but I couldn't resist). But I do promise that this was taken on meal two of her new habit, before I realized just how long it would persist. (Excuse the camera work, I was trying to film with one hand and feed her with another.)

Predicament #3: Jason & I have taught Gabby some basic baby signs, to help her communicate until she is able to talk. Her first learned word was "plus/more", followed by "manger/eat", followed by "fini/all done". Do we see a trend here? They all have to do with food! (The latter she knows but uses less frequently for reasons explained above.) The problem is that when she does them, we want to follow through and show her the link between the word and the action, but at what point do we stop giving her more when she asks for it? Snack time could go on for quite some time with her appetite, so we do our best to distract her with something non-edible after she has learned the cause and effect of signing.

Predicament #4: Gabby's favorite song is "Tête, épaules, genoux et pieds" (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes). As soon as the song comes on, she begins touching her head. She also will touch her head whenever we ask her where her head is. Jason's favorite trick is to wait until her hands are all covered in food and then ask her where her head is. Gabby responds immediately, coating her hair in bananas or whatever else is impossible to get out. Then she claps, proud of herself for her accomplishment of making Mommy work harder.

Ah, the joys of feeding a baby!

Halloween Costume Poll

We need to solve a huge dilemma that is on my mind 24 hours a day: What should Gabby be for Halloween? (Alright, maybe it is not on my mind that often, but I really wanted to try out the poll option on Blogger.) In my minimal costume research, I have discovered that costumes are EXPENSIVE. $50 to wear something once? Yikes. But Target has some great toddler costumes for $12.99 (in the store, but for some reason $14.99 if you buy them online). We narrowed it down to two: A ladybug or a doctor. (Click on the links for the images.) I realize these are not as cute or creative as the image above (copied from www.comradechufood.blogspot.com) but I am not so sure that Gabby would sit (or fit) in a pot like that....

Gabby's favorite book is her ladybug book, so I figure she would not object to being a ladybug if she was capable. Plus, it is so darling! It is also girly, which is always a good thing when people always mistake you for a boy (despite being in a pink dress).

The doctor's costume is pretty much only because she looks so much like her dad. Why not make it even more so? It is cute, but she would definitely look like a boy. Should I care? The other thing is that we are considering making her 1st birthday party a Halloween party, where the kids can come dressed up. She wouldn't exactly look like a birthday girl in a doctor's outfit. (By the way, any thoughts on the Halloween birthday party? Would you want to take your 1 year old to a party dressed up or is that an inconvenience if you weren't planning on buying a costume?)

So, take the poll to the right and we will see which one wins! (I included "Other" in case you just aren't happy with any of my lame options.)

Jammin' with Mary

Gabby has a book that Mémé (grandma) gave her that plays "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in the highest pitch I've ever heard. (I am not sure if you can really appreciate the sound in the video because I believe the book was made for dogs - it's that high.) But Gabby loves it and will push the button over and over so she can rock out to the "beat". Below is a glimpse of that.

Also, since the last video of Gabby's first steps was basically a video of her falling, she requested that for her sake, I post one of her more recent wobbling. Notice the book that she remains attached to - lovely. (Note: I tried not to talk too much in these videos. Last time was a little embarrassing.)

29 + 1

I am officially old now. Age 30. Crazy. As a child, I thought you were supposed to be "grown up" when you were in your 20s. When I hit those 20s I decided it wasn't time yet and post-poned that title to the 30-somethings. Now that I am surprisingly here, I am starting to wonder if I should start acting like an adult. Aren't adults supposed to be mature, know everything and own their own house? Don't adults love every vegetable more than any sweets? Shouldn't they be done paying off student loans? I certainly do not fit those qualifications. On the other hand, over the past years I have managed to pick up a wonderful husband and even a child, somehow convinced a school to give me a master's degree, and at one point I am told I had a "real" job. Above all this, I am starting to listen to NPR more than music radio and am driving a crossover that if you look really fast, could have the appearance of a mini-van! When did all of this happen? Am I an adult now? Or does real adulthood begin at age 40...?

In memory of my long lost childhood, below are some photos of mini me:

Around age 1 1/2 with my parents

Around age 2

Around age 2 with my mom

Around age 6

Around age 7, with my sister, Kira, age 3

Around age 29. Okay, fine - 30. Celebrating my birthday over the weekend.

We went to Anthony's Pier 66, a great seafood restaurant that has panoramic views of downtown Seattle, including Mt. Rainier in the background. We sat outside along the water and watched the sunset as we ate.

We celebrated with Jen & her husband, John. Jen & I have been friends since about 2nd grade. Her birthday is only 4 days after mine. It was a great evening!