Birthday Vacation -- Part II

Wow... Gabi is already 13 months old and I'm just now posting the rest of the pictures from her birthday vacation!

After a week in Little Rock for Gabi's birthday celebration, Mama and Gabi spent a week in Texas. Gramma Jane gave Gabi a pot and a spatula, which Gabi played with for hours, pretending to stir and stir.

Gabi stirring in the pot.
2/28/06
Gabi loves flowers. They are so colorful and pretty! When we were in Little Rock, we went out to eat, and Gabi so enthralled the waitress that she brought Gabi a rose to take home. This is one of Gramma Jane's flowers. Today (3/27/06) we went on a walk around the neighborhood, and one of the neighbors saw Gabi pointing at her flowers and picked two from her flower bed to give to Gabi -- Gabi is certainly starting early in getting gifts of flowers!

Gabi smelling a flower.
3/2/06
Gramma Jane and Mama took Gabi to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History to play in the hands-on learning room. We had lots of fun exploring, watching kids make bubbles, spinning discs on a rotating table, making colored shadows, digging for dinosaur bones, and other activities.

Gramma and Gabi at the Science and History Museum.
3/2/06


Mama and Gabi in front of a dinosaur.
3/2/06
We went to visit Gabi's second cousins (and Mama's cousin Jennifer) one afternoon. Jonathan is just five months older than Gabi!

Benjamin, Jennifer, Jonathan, Gabi, and Gramma
3/3/06


Gabi and Jessica playing piano.
3/3/06


Jonathan and Gabriella
3/3/06
Of course Mama had to see some high school friends, including Sydney. Here, Gabi is reading her new Tails book, specifically looking at her favorite page with the shiny peacock feathers.

Sydney and Gabi reading a book.
3/3/06
Gabi loved to look at the figures of birds that Gramma Jane has decorating a bookshelf, and she and Gramma Jane would go outside to listen to and watch the real birds every day. Gramma Jane even taught Gabi how to kiss the little bird. Mama and Papa are very thankful for this, because now we get kisses, too!

Gabi kissing Gramma's bird figure.
(You can see Gabi's two little teeth in this pictures, too!)
3/4/06
Gabi loves to type on the keyboard when someone is working on the computer. One day, Gabi managed to delete one of Uncle Brian's files! Uncle Brian was very good-natured and just laughed.

Gabi playing on Uncle Brian's computer.
3/5/06
Grampa, Gabi, and Mama took a trip down to Austin to visit Uncle Scott and Uncle Stephen, and we got to meet Scott's girlfriend Amy, too. We spent the afternoon at the park during the kite festival, watching the people and the dogs as well as all the kites.

Gabi and Uncle Scott
3/5/06


Gabi and Amy
3/5/06


Uncle Stephen, Gabi, and Mama
3/5/06


Mama and Gabi watch a puppy.
3/5/06


Gabi petting the puppy.
3/5/06


Gabi points at the kites with Uncle Stephen.
3/5/06


Gabi, Amy, and Uncle Scott at the park.
3/5/06

Birthday Vacation -- Part I

Well, since Gabi is almost 13 months old, it's about time I get her birthday pictures up. :)

Gabi has learned how to do so many new things; I doubt I could list them all here, but I'll give you a few examples. Just before her birthday, she started whistling, standing unsupported, and pointing. As always, she loves music and dances joyfully to any song she hears. She also mastered a number of new signs, most of them animal signs (fish, dog, and bird, in addition to her rabbit sign).

We took a vacation for Gabi's birthday. We spent the week before her birthday in Little Rock with Papa's family, although we had a long layover in Dallas due to inclement weather and took that opportunity to visit with some relatives in Mama's family.


Mama Marcia (Gabi's great-grandmother), Grampa,
Mama, and Gabi during our layover in Dallas.
2/18/06

Mama and Gabi at the Little Rock zoo. 2/24/06

Papa and Gabi at the Little Rock zoo. 2/24/06

Cousin Steven pulling Gabi in a car he made.
2/24/06


Gabi showing Uncle Brian her cup.
2/25/06


Ninang is impressed as Gabi plays drums with the tinker toys.
2/25/06


Gabi tastes her birthday cake.
2/25/06


Gabi eating her birthday cake.
2/25/06


Gabi with icing all over. What a mess!
2/25/06


Gabi makes a surprised face when she opens a present.
2/25/06


Gabi sharing her cheese.
2/25/06


Gabi standing unsupported.
2/25/06


Gabi and cousin Julienne reading books.
2/25/06


Gramma Jane and Gabi watch the fish at Chi's.
2/26/06


Gabi thinks Lola's food is yummy.
2/26/06


Gabi is a big girl, with her own plate of rice!
2/26/06


Lola gives Gabi some rice (made into a ball like kalo-kalo).
2/27/06


Lolo and Gabi before we leave Little Rock.
2/27/06

One Year Old!

Happy First Birthday, Gabriella!

Look for more birthday pictures in this space later today! Feel free to leave your well-wishes and expressions of amazement at how much our little girl has grown up already.



Gabi's learning how to stand up all by herself! (Sorry we don't have any better pictures of this yet.... She only does it for a few seconds at a time and it's hard to catch her on camera.)

From the Aquarium to Snow

Here are a few pictures from our most recent trip to the Aquarium (2/3/06). It's cold outside, so the aquarium is a favorite outing these days.

Gabi pointing to the golden trivali.

Gabi making a fish face at the giant Southern ray.

Gabi loves the colorful tropical fish.
Did you know that they feed these fish bok choy?


Gabi sticking out her tongue
as she crawls to investigate the tropical fish.


Gabi discovered the little sharks swimming overhead.
(Gabriella must be a true Filipina; she's pointing with her lips!)


Gabi at Grayson's first birthday party.
2/4/06
Last week, Martin came over to play.

Gabi strikes a pose. 2/10/06

Gabi and Martin playing with her door.

Martin and Gabi play with the walker.


Gabi loves to flip the pages in her books.
2/11/06


Gabi's wild hair reminds us of a peacock
when she first wakes up.
It snowed in Atlanta! Yesterday, we saw snow flurries in the air, but it didn't stick. Apparently a bit accumulated over night but melted early with the sun. This morning, we awoke to find snow dusting the yard! (Yes, the ex-Indiana resident in me is laughing at myself, but I'm back in the South and this may be Gabi's only chance to see snow until we take her up to an ND game.)

Mama took Gabi outside before breakfast
to get pictures before the snow melted.
2/13/06


The neighbor's garden had more snow than our yard.


Gabi laughs at Doc, a neighbor's dog, as he walks past.


I had to bribe Gabi with string cheese
to get her to pose for these pictures.


Gabi contemplates the string cheese,
oblivious to the snow.


But now, even a pirate ducky cannot distract Gabi from her distress.
It's cold! Take me inside!

A Tooth and More!

After two weeks of little to no sleep, we can finally announce that Gabriella has her first tooth! It appeared on Tuesday, January 31; Mama noticed it about 5 AM when she was feeling to see if that is what was keeping us up all night.

Gabriella has also mastered two signs: more and finished. Currently, the more sign is very specific; it means "More food, please!" She has generalized the finished sign very well, though--"I'm finished eating" and "I'm finished having my nose wiped" and various other reasons that she wishes to signal "all done!"

Gabi showing off her wrinkly-nose smile as she eats Veggie Puffs. 1/3/06

Gabi stands up to reach the star on her door. 1/18/06

Gabi and Ella bundled up
outside the coffee shop after music class.
1/18/06


Gabi eating a tomato slice.
Finger foods are fun!
1/18/06

Gabriella walking and talking; she has so much to say! 1/31/06	Gabriella loves to walk with her walker. 2/1/06
Gabi signing more to ask for more string cheese. 2/2/06	Gabi signing more again; she's so good at communicating!
Mmmm... string cheese is yummy!	Gabriella playing with her door --it's her favorite toy. 2/2/06