What did YOU get for Christmas?

Way too many people have been asking us what Gabby got for Christmas, so here's the run down. In essence, she was overly blessed with the generosity of her family and friends.

New Toys! (a.k.a. "new things to keep my daughter occupied")

Books from Uncle Brandon, Aunt Juli, Abbi, and Gage

Christmas Bear from Mourad Great-Grandparents

Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy (behind Christmas bear) from Great Grandma Alice

Aquadoodle and coloring items from Grandma/pa Coffman

Little People Bus from Grandma/pa Wilson

Fisher-Price Computer Software toy from Grandpa/ma Smith

Melissa and Doug puzzle and wind-up cars from Mommy and Daddy

Elmo/Zoe purse from Santa

DVDs from Emma (and one from Mamaw!

Bouncing Balls/Push button toy from Great Uncle Don and Erin

Baby Palm-Pilot from Great Aunt Denise/ Great Uncle Brytston and kids

Sesame Street Medical Kit from Aunt Sarah, Uncle Brian, and Moira

Purple Rody horse from Grandpa/ma Smith

Baby Stroller from Santa

Cardboard Bricks from Mommy and Daddy

Dora Bouncy Ball (behind Palm Pilot) from Santa

Dual Portable DVD player from Grandma/pa Wilson

Outfits/PJs from Grandma and Grandpa Wilson

Outfit on left from Aunt Johnna and other two from Susu
(Yellow one is SOOO adorable)
Toothpaste was one of Gabby's favorite toys in her stocking at Grandma Wilson's

Christmas with the Coffmans and Smiths

We spent Christmas Eve with the Coffmans and Powells. It was a VERY nice gathering of family at Great Aunt Denise's house. She made a lovely meal for everyone and we ate way too well. Gabrielle was unfortunately in a bad mood that night and clung to me constantly. She didn't feel well, was overly tired, and was not wanting to be away from home so much. We had driven home from Ohio that morning and she never really had an opportunity to readjust. Anyway, her clinginess did not allow me to take photos that night. Bryston, Brianna, and Emma were so adorable opening gifts and all of Kenton's family was way too generous in their gift giving toward Gabrielle. See the gift post for specific items.

Today we went to Christmas mass at 9:30 (THE mass to go to...not packed at all) and then over to Kenton's Dad's house. Both of Kenton's step sisters were there as well as Suzie's brother Kurt and his kids, Kaylee (3) and Owen (7?). Kaylee and Gabby got along too well and played like sisters. I have to apologize to Suzie for not getting any photos of her or Aunt Grace in the mix.

Smith Family Christmas Photo

Gabby showing Papaw the book she made him for Christmas.

Gabby and Kaylee bouncing on their matching "Rody" horses.

Check out Rody here.

Aunt Johnna and Owen.

Gabby and Mommy cheesin' it up.

Cutie Kaylee and Kurt watching TV.

Aunt Micki and Uncle Brian (the "other" Uncle Brian).

Beary Funny

Gabrielle's cousin Moira has a stuffed bear named "Beary" that she has taken a liking to recently. She especially likes to sleep with Beary and cuddle during the day. Unfortunately, Beary was accidentally left in Columbus this past weekend after Brian and Sarah went back to Cleveland. My parents, who apparently have WAY too much time on their hands, created this letter to Moira from Beary. Beary is having the time of his life in Columbus. Check out the attached PDF for a hearty laugh. If you are wondering who "Scary Molly" is, she used to be my doll when I was little, but she now just freaks my sister and I out. I remembered her name was Molly, so this weekend we coined the name "Scary Molly."

BearyFunny.pdf

The Wilson Christmas

Christmas with the Wilsons came and went too quickly. We spent a very lovely weekend in Columbus. Gabby continued her cough and has some raspy breathing, but overall felt good enough to open gifts and taunt Moira. Kenton spent half of the weekend in bed sick with a bad cold. We all received some super awesome gifts from Grandma and Grandpa as well as Sarah, Brian, and Moira. There were a number of highlights from the weekend, so here it goes...

"Moira, you're pretty hot stuff in your pj's! Like mine?"

"I love Aunt Sarah!"

"Hahaha! I'm not going to clean off your tray for you, silly goose! That's Mommy's job! Duh!"

Gabrielle straddling her Christmas present while opening it. Ride 'em Cowgirl.

"Yo, Moira! Have you seen my BIG teeth? I keep them pearly white with this toothpaste stuff. Try it out, but don't swallow the flouride kind!

Daddy helping Gabby open a present. So adorable!

My mother found an old box of my dolls and one was wearing this hat. Gabby thought she needed to wear it for awhile. Little Gabby on the Prairie she is.

Peek-a....

BOO!

"Gabby, just wiggle your butt a little like this and you will do the twist!"

Don't call CPS. Gabby found Buddy the dog's cage to be way too much fun to climb in and out of this weekend. See video...

Gabby and Moira being entertained by Grandpa.

Sickie Update

Thank you to all of you who have given me good fever advice and well-wishes for Gabby's speedy recovery! She woke up this morning with a fever of about 100, so it's better than before, but still existent. Her nose has been more of a fountain today than other days which is annoying to baby and Mommy, but at least the stuff that was congested in her head is draining out. Her cough is still really bad and she sneezes a lot. She refused her morning breakfast of a waffle, but did decide that bananas and yogurt were acceptable. For lunch she ate about 5 bites of some thin-crust pizza and a huge bowl of applesauce I have been trying to give her for a few days. The secret was to warm up the applesauce. It was so much more appealing that way! Gabby has decided that today is the day to play with her blocks (or more so the bucket holding the blocks) and watch TV. She hasn't been into playing with much else (except two refrigerator magnets...whatever!). Last night her godparents Travis and Sarah came over for a visit. Gabby received a lovely purple outfit and a neat new drum from them for Christmas. It was so nice to finally get to see them, as our plans to get together 2 times prior had both been cancelled due to weather and other things. I'll keep you posted on Little Sickie's condition.

Brunch at Panera

Again, I'm a little behind on my posts. Here are some photos from a brunch we had at Panera with Marielle and Madeline as well as moms Jessica and Erin. Gabby is such a lover. She just has to kiss EVERYONE! She loves to kiss her friends, especially the girls. Yeah, we sometimes raise an eyebrow, too. Just teasing.

"Hey dudettes! What's going on outside this awesome window?"

"What Madda? You want a kiss? One kiss, comin' up!"

"Mom, I'm going to pose for the camera in hopes of landing that Gap ad!" --Marielle

"Miss Emily, you are so funny! Can you see all of my teeth in your picture?" --Madda



Yes, we know. You would think that Gabby's blog has recently just been a blog to advertise how cute her friend Marielle is. This photo is just adorable. Take that Gap!

Another kiss from Gabby to Marielle. She's a lover not a hater.

Go IU!

So I'm a little late with this blog posting as well as a few others. On the 8th, we went over to Jessica and Marielle's for the IU game. It was a fun Mommy/Daddy/baby affair! Turns out only baby girls were there, so it was fun to watch them all play in their red and white. I got a number of cute photos that day, so I wanted to share!

"Hey ladies, where is Gabby?" "Yeah, I think her Mommy is holding her because she was too scared to sit by us." "Aw shucks!" (Madeline, Marielle, Rachel)

"Hey you. You think you're just SO cute don't you? Yeah, well maybe you are, but my Mommy tells me that I am the cutest of all, so don't even try to win her over." --Rachel

"Aww, Mom! Not in front of my friends!" --Marielle

Kenton playing with the girls. See how Gabby is sporting a little ponytail on top? Too funny.

"See Gabby. Just hold your hand right over the center and the balls won't hit you in the face."

Marielle and her daddy, Dave.

Tickle Monster! (Rachel and Mommy Lindsey)

Do you hear what I hear?

So Gabster was still feeling ill today and running a temp this morning of 101. She slept for 12 hours last night, which is long for her, but I was just glad she didn't get up at all during the night. She hadn't been pulling at her ears at all, but I had a feeling she had an ear infection based on what I have seen from my friends' kids who get them. Sure enough after a trip to see Dr. Ferguson, double ear infection. She said it was about a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10. I decided to bring Gabby home to let her sleep and then we will brave the cold again to go pick up her prescription. Will there ever be a day when I can run errands without a child in tow? Probably not. Dear Santa, for Christmas I would like a live-in babysitter that I don't have to pay and who is always nice and teaches my children like a pro. Maybe Jack needs to step it up and earn his keep! If only he had those opposable thumbs...

Sickie

Gabby woke up last night just after midnight with a fever over 102 degrees. We were eventually able to get her back to sleep in her crib about an hour later. Of course, that was short-lived and after 50 minutes of sleep, she awoke again. I ended up bringing her into our bed because she just wanted to be held since she didn't feel well. Gabby slept for about 2.5 hours on Mommy, but once it reached 4:30 am, Mommy hadn't slept at all and her back couldn't take much more. I took her to her room and settled her back in her crib. Poor thing must have really needed the sleep because she didn't get up until 9 am. This morning her fever was down to 100.5, but still there. We'll keep you posted on how she is feeling. Other than the fever, she has had a phlegmy cough and some sneezing--nothing that kept her away from watching The Wiggles this morning. ;) At least her priorities are in order.

Marielle and Gabby

Gabby went over to her friend Marielle's house this week for some playtime and photos. This was a funny little video of the girls playing in their "fort" under Marielle toddler table. Listen carefully for babbling and all the other cute things they do...especially little Marielle. She is so darn adorable!

So Much to Say, So Little Time

And we're back! So here's what's been going on the past few weeks (the abridged version)...

The first jumperoo photo that got left off of my last posting.

The second jumperoo photo that was left off. Gabby jumping at 4 months of age. Too cute!

Thanksgiving was fun! Gabby decided she could see more clearly with Grandma's glasses on.

Jack and his buddy, Buddy, had lots of fun chasing each other and playing. This photo was too cute to pass up. Now if only Jack would stop humping his friend.

Christmas card photo shoot opening shot.

Too beautiful of a photo to pass up.

"O HOLY NIGHT!"

Aunt Johnna and Gabby after her traumatic visit to Santa. Notice how there are no photos of Gabby and Santa. She pretty much put the death grip on Mommy, so Santa did not get to hold Gabrielle at all. Anyone surprised by this? Yeah, didn't think so.

Papaw, Susu, and Gabby after visiting Santa at Suzie's office.

Gabby in the Christmas dress Steve and Suzie got for her.

One of Gabby's new activities--coloring!

"Um, can I borrow the yellow mom?"

No More Posts Until...

No more posts for us until Kenton adds some space to our website. Because our blog is saved on Gabby's website, we have to add more space in order to continue adding photos and posts to the blog. If you haven't met my husband, he is quite possibly one of the busiest people ever. So when that space will be added, I don't know.... Honey? Please?

And We're Back

Sorry for the lapse in posts. I just had to take a blog break. It is great fun to read my friends' blogs and find out how their kids are growing up. However, a blog is a time-consuming thing to maintain! I just got to a point a few weeks ago when I didn't want to upload my photos and got lazy. I was feeling really tired and preparing for Thanksgiving. Then family was in town and the holiday came and went. So here are our updates since then!

Gabby decided that Jack's leash looks better on her than on him. She loves to walk around with it around her neck. Of course the dog thinks that he is going to go on a walk whenever she pulls it out. Look at the rather large belly hanging over her dinky waist. Gabby finally hit 20 lbs (with clothes on) yesterday. I really don't think she has gained anything in the past 2 months. This could be a little problematic, but we'll see what the doc says next month. So far, all of her friends weigh more than she does, including cousin Moira (not much more).

Recently Gabby showed a renewed interest in her Jumperoo. She especially likes to "help" Charlie bounce up and down in it. Thought you might like to see how she has changed from her early Jumperoo days.