Playgroup Friends

I invited all my friends over on Tuesday morning, as we hosted playgroup this week after Nursery Rhyme Time at the library. It was a bit of a rough morning since none of the babies were able to take their nap before the library nursery rhymes and playgroup, so we're going to have to change our play time. Although we don't have a single picture with all the babies just yet, here are a bunch of us:


Gabi, Martin, Carter, Drew, Ava, and Kira,
with Ellie front and center.
As you may have noticed from the extended list of People I Know in the sidebar on the right, we now have a DeKalb Playgroup blog, where you can go to see all my friends. (If you're curious, we live in DeKalb county; and for those of you not from Atlanta, the L in DeKalb is silent.) On the playgroup blog, the very first post (so the last one listed in the Headlines section in the sidebar on the left) is a list of all my friends along with their birthdays. I'm right in the middle, which is just perfect!

Speaking of blog updates, there are so many posts on my blog now that Mama added a Favorites section to the sidebar on the right where you can easily find some of the cutest pictures of me over time to see how much I've grown.

Just Ducky

Gabi playing with her duckies.
(Notice those prehensile toes. We have video evidence of her grasping toys with her feet.)


Gabi really enjoys her bathroom duckies!
9/12/05

Gabi Lane

Gabi Lane is just a few blocks down from our new church.
9/4/05

Recently, Gabriella has noticed the various animals around her. There are numerous friendly cats in the neighborhood that she likes to watch when we take walks, and if one licks her toes she will laugh. Gabi has also discovered the two rabbits that live in our house, and she is amused when they hop around for her and will especially giggle if they do a stand-up trick to earn a treat. Last weekend, we stopped by Petsmart to see the puppies for adoption outside, and she loved it.


Gabi meets a puppy outside Petsmart.
9/4/05

Gabi also continues to be intrigued by reflections in a mirror. She and Papa played games with her play gym mirror last night.

Gabi gives her reflection a kiss.

Who's in the mirror, Gabi?

Furthermore, Gabriella has developed her own language so she can communicate with Mama. Most of the various vowel sounds are happy sounds. The "N" sound in particular denotes frustration. Here is a sample of Gabi-speak:

ooooommmmmm. mmm = I like that./I'm happy. gee geeee = That's funny./I'm happy. aaaahh aah = I want attention. uh! uh! uh! = I'm hungry. ah-nah-nanananah = I'm mad. nannnnnnnnn-nah! = I'm really mad.

When we visited the pediatrician yesterday, Gabi weighed in at 16 lbs 14 oz and measured 26.5 inches in length. Her head circumference is now 44.75 cm.


Gabriella is always excited to see her parents.
9/8/05
Today we will introduce either squash or carrots, adding one new food every three or four days. First Gabi will get to taste the yellow vegetables, then the green vegetables, reserving sweet potatoes for last. After she's tried all the vegetables, she can eat fruits. In another month and a half, we can give her some teether biscuits, and eventually on to table food. Oh, Gabi, there is so much to look forward to in the world of food!

1/2 Birthday: New Toys

Gabi is 6 months-old today! Come and see the new toys she gets to play with now that she's reached the recommended required age. Of course, all this activity made our little one a little sleepy... so she took a nap in Mama's arms...

We have so many fun things planned for Gabi, since she's getting so big. This weekend, we'll have to lower the mattress in her crib, as she's getting quite good at sitting and standing (with support), and she's likely to start pulling up any day now. In the same line, we're definitely going to have to start childproofing, as crawling could start up any day now. Also, she's going to graduate to the next size of clothes (6-9 months). It's hard to believe she's growing so much! Finally, check out the next post for Gabi's latest new skill.

1/2 Birthday: Rice Cereal

Gabi got a special 1/2 birthday meal today. Since she's now 6 months old, we decided to try introducing some new "solid" foods, starting with rice cereal. We weren't sure whether she'd like it, considering the fact that she's only ever had one thing to eat. But as you'll see, our first foray into the world of baby spoons went quite well.

Mama, having more experience with feeding Gabi, had the honor of giving Gabi her first bites of new food:




Gabi was having such a good time eating and using a spoon for the first time! Mama was skilled enough to get in 2 or 3 spoonfuls before Gabi knocked the bowl over (note the puddle of rice cereal beside her). After Mama had her turn, it was Papa's turn to have a go:




I must say that it was lots of fun to finally get to feed my daughter. But as you can see, Papa's inexperience led to an increase in messiness. Speaking of which, Gabi's meal was interrupted when the remaining contents of her bowl mysteriously ended up strewn about the table:



What a mess! Oh well. Bis nächstes mal.

Reading

We're making sure our little girl gets a head start on her literacy skills, and she really enjoys it. Gabi already has quite a collection of baby books, so we can keep story time varied.


Gabi checking Mama's email
8/2/05


Lauren reading with Gabi
8/6/05


Gabi reads her book
8/14/05


Mama and Gabi reading
8/15/05


Eventually, of course, everything goes in Gabi's mouth.
8/15/05

Swimming

Gabi went swimming for the first time! Really, it was more just being cuddled while Mama and Papa waded in the pool, but she liked it.


Papa and Gabi swimming with Lauren and Eric
8/2/05


Gabi plays with her ducks in the pool.
8/2/05


Gabi's first time swimming was a success!
8/2/05


However, Gabi did not enjoy being licked
by the 4-month-old longhorn at the zoo.
8/3/05

Come on, Gabi; this cow is younger than you are! Really, she was smiling and quite interested in the calf right before this picture was taken, but then the baby longhorn licked her arm, and she made this face as she recoiled. We tried returning to take another picture later, but she remembered the calf and got upset as soon as she saw it again. Oh, well. The rest of the trip to the zoo was fun.

Gabi's second trip swimming was a more soporific event.

Gabi, Papa, and Jessica 8/6/05

Jennifer, Jonathan, Gabi, and Papa

Although Gabi did have fun meeting more family at the family reunion, such as her second-cousin Jake and her more-remote cousin Gabriella.

Papa, Gabi, Nicole, and Jake 8/7/05

Two Gabriellas! 8/6/05

Four Generations

Gabi recently went on a tour de Texas to meet her great-grandparents. First, she met her great-grandmother Mama Marcia at a family reunion. Gabi is the 13th great-grandchild on this side of Mama's family.


Gabi with her Mama, Grampa,
Mama Marcia (Grampa's mom), and Gramma
8/6/05


Papa, Gabi, (Great)Aunt Peggy, Mama Marcia, and Kim
8/7/05

Then we visited her other greatgrandparents, who just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary! Congratulations, Greatgrandmother and Greatgranddad! Gabi is the 3rd great-grandchild in her maternal gramma's family, but the first great-granddaughter.


Gabi with Great-grandmother (Gramma's mom), Mama, and Gramma
8/10/05


Aunt Rita (Mama's Godmother), Mama, and Gabi
8/10/05


Visiting Great-Granddad and Great-Grandmother
8/11/05

Grabbing, Chewing, Sitting

Gabi playing with her rattle.
7/2/05

About a month ago, Gabi mastered the skill of grabbing attractive objects within her reach.


Gabi reaching for the fish on her swing.
7/19/05


Gabi grabbing a duckie during her bath.
7/26/05
Once she learned to grasp toys, the obvious next step is to bring them towards her and put them in her mouth so she can explore them with her tongue. She loves to stick out her tongue in anticipation of a new toy to taste, or perhaps her tongue is just trying to meet the toy half-way.


Gabi pulls the duckie to her mouth.
7/26/05

Gabi caught the butterfly on her bouncer. 7/25/05

Gabi playing with her greatgrandmother's coasters. (Gramma and Gabi in Hereford, TX) 8/11/05

More recently, our little Gabriella has been practicing sitting up all by herself! She is such a big girl. She's not completely stable sitting on her own just yet; I usually sit behind her so I can catch her in case she topples backwards.


Gabi is intrigued by her duck's dance to "Singing in the Rain."
8/14/05


Gabi sitting and playing with her blocks (and dress).
8/14/05

Luau!

Gabi went to her first birthday party a few weeks ago. One of my friends from Little Rock moved out to Atlanta with his family too, and his little girl turned 3. It was a fun luau-type party with lots of little munchkins running about, getting ice cream all over their faces... riding on my shoulders... getting ice cream in my hair...

Anyway, our little one was well behaved as always, especially because she got to be outside. But she wasn't really sure what to make of some new experiences:


Gabi's first hula skirt
...like dressing up in a hula skirt (obviously intended for someone a bit taller). Mama and I thought it was cute, but Gabi wanted to think it over. Note the pensive furrowed brow she is displaying in this picture.


Gabi rides in a swing
...she was equally unsure how she felt about getting to ride in a swing. She's never been a big fan of feeling the wind in her face. She much preferred getting to grab on to the chains (covered in protective rubber for decreased finger-pinching) and trying to get aforementioned chains into her little mouth. The lei she's modeling also became a favorite for "I wonder what this tastes like" exploration.

As a final note, for some reason, I seem to be achin' for some bacon (yep yep yep). Oh well, until next time, you can be a big pig too (ooh!).