Crayola's Biggest Fan

We just can't get her to stop--coloring. She loves it! Apparently she has made Charlie a convert, too, because all he has wanted to do all day is color, too! Gabrielle is finally old enough that she can sit by herself for long periods of time (30 minutes+) and sit and color. She loves to just open her Sesame Street coloring book (compliments of Grace Weseli) and go to town. So if you ever want to give my kid a gift she will love--coloring books and art supplies are at the top of her list! Just make sure you buy the lefty scissors, as I have a feeling being a "righty" is not in her future. Time shall tell.

Merry Maid

Just call her "Alice!" She's up for hire, by the way.

She does drink on the job...

But reads labels carefully to ensure she knows how much she is drinking.

She cleans with a smile

...and a bit of silliness!

Last May...

I was recently digging through a bin in our front closet and came across the flash card to a camera we no longer use. Out of curiosity, I popped it in to the computer and found a few great photos from last May that somehow never got transferred to our hard drive. That is almost one year ago exactly. It's amazing how much she has changed in one year. Some of these photos were on her blog, but a few have not ever been publicly released (Do you like the sound of that? It's like unpublished photos of Angelina Jolie or something!).

Jeh-wee!

Gabby asked for some "jeh-wee" (jelly) for breakfast today, so I had to take some photos of her jelly mouth.

Yesterday she was posing with her milk on the chair...

Feverishly Cute

She gives me fever with her adorable face. She's cute even when she is sick!

We're Sick

Yep, tis true. We're sick. Okay, so I'm not sick, but Kenton has been battling a sore throat and Gabby has been running a fever since this morning. She woke up with a temp of 102.7 and had sweat through her "jammies" (as she calls them). A good dose of Motrin took her temp down to normal, but it crept back up to 100 before I put her down for her nap. Looks like we will be battling a virus this week. Keep your fingers crossed for some healthy cootie-fighters to invade her body and take over!

I don't have any current "sickie" photos, but the one above is from when Gabby was young sickie. She sure looked happier while sick back then!

Darn it, dag nabbit, madame it...

You can probably tell where this posting is headed. Last night, Gabby slid herself off the couch (which normally isn't a problem for her). This time, though, a couple of her wind up cars were beneath her and she landed directly on top of them. She cried for a couple of seconds and then said it - d@mnit. Plainly, clearly, and in context. We looked at each other in some disbelief that Gabby had just said what we both thought and knew she had said. Then, she confirmed it by repeating it. We also tried to surpress the outburst of laughing and snorting that ensued. Daddy tried, but failed to keep his composure when the last time was followed by Gabby pointing at the freckle on her leg and telling us what it was. Note: Gabby's not hooked on phonics yet, so the vowel sound in freckle is /ah/ with more of an /er/ at the end. In combination, definitely something your 20-month-old daughter probably shouldn't be saying. Needless to say, we covered the freckle with pajamas and blamed the d@mn dog.

Gabby and Gracie

One of Gabby's BFF's is little Grace Weseli. Grace is 6 months older than Gabby, but they love playing together. In a few years, those 6 months won't mean anything (except a different grade in school). Kelly posted a picture recently of the two girls playing at the church playground and it reminded me that the girls are getting way too big. Gabby loves her friend Gracie so much and appreciates Kelly babysitting her from time to time too! It's been great getting to know Grace and Kelly, no not "Grace Kelly," but Grace AND Kelly (and not to forget Clare). Check out the changes in the girls since last August.

Gabby and Grace on Wednesday.

Gabby and Grace 9 months ago.

Say What?

Gabby's many faces...

Her model "stare-off-into-the-distance" pose.

Her "You-talkin'-to-me?" pose.

Her "that-carousel-video-was-too-shaky" pose.

Chah-lie

Just thought I would share some recent pics of Gabby and "Chah-lie" as she calls him.

Happy "Dir-day" Daddy!

Today is Kenton's 31st birthday and boy is he tired! Living for 31 years just isn't easy! He had to work today, but when he got home, he received visits from both sets of parents. Kenton's mom and stepdad came over for dinner, too. I attempted to try a new recipe for "Rootbeer Float Cake" for the birthday cake. Sounds awesome right? Yeah, not so much. It didn't really taste anything like rootbeer, so that was a disappointment. Thanks, Better Homes and Gardens, for the crappy recipe. I'll make sure to try all of the rest of the sucky recipes in your summer issue. Ha!

Gabrielle impressed us with her vocal skills tonight by singing Happy Birthday to her Daddy. It sounded a lot more like "Happy Dir-day" than "Happy Birthday," but it was so cute nonetheless. Once she got going singing, we couldn't really get her to stop! She was such a little show-off! Gabby pulled out her own versions (or "arrangements" one could say) of "Twinkle, Twinkle," "The Alphabet Song," and even "Brown Girl in the Ring" (a Wiggles classic). She counted from one to eleven for Mamaw and only skipped over 9. Not bad! Check out the video of her singing "Happy Birthday" to her favorite Daddy ever (not that she had a choice in daddies, but you know what I mean).

Sleep My Pretty, Sleep

6:45 am. 6:30 am. 6:15 am. This is a list of the various times my daughter has been getting up over the past week. Considering her normal wake up time is between 7:30 and 8:15 am, these times aren't good. She hasn't been napping well (45 minutes to an hour and half on a good day) and just isn't getting enough sleep. And you all know what happens when Mommy and baby don't sleep well--pandemonium! Gabby has been grouchy, temper-filled, and downright unpleasant at times (and in turn, so has Mommy). Last night at dinner with our friends, she refused to get in the high chair at the restaurant, so she spent the better part of dinner standing next to the table eating off her plate (the small portion of food she actually did eat). Last night I was adament that we get her to bed early (around 7:30). By the time we got back from dinner and got her ready for bed, bedtime came at about 7:50. It didn't take her long to fall asleep at all. Gabrielle woke up crying at 7:15 this morning, but fell back asleep (and so did Mommy). I woke back up at 8 and she was still asleep. 8:30--still asleep. 9:00--still asleep. I actually laid in bed and read for awhile before I finally decided to wake her up at 9:15. I really can't remember the last time I got to "sleep in" or the last time Gabby got up after 9 am (Heck who are we kidding? After 8 am!). It was a pleasant surprise and I hope doesn't ruin her naps for the rest of the day! Overall, baby and Mommy have been SO much happier and nicer to one another today since we finally got to sleep! Ahh, sleep. Where have you been hiding?

Coo-kies!

Just like Gabby's favorite blue monster Cookie Monster says--Coo-kies! For Mother's Day this year I asked for Martha Stewart's newest cookbook simply titled, "Cookies." Kenton had to special order it, as it was out of stock in most bookstores in the area. I received it in the mail yesterday and spent a good portion of last night and today thumbing through it. There are a number of things I love about this book. First of all, there are photos of every cookie in the book right next to the recipes. I really love recipe books with photos, especially photos of yummy cookies. It is a sweet-toothed girl's dream. Second, there is a photo guide in the front of the book with small photos of each cookie, the page to find it on, and then they are all categorized on top of that--chewy, crunchy, fruity, etc. Each page of the guide is titled with one of the categories and then all of the cookies are listed underneath. So cool! I suggest you go out and buy this book immediately if you are even remotely a fan of baking cookies. It is the only cookie cookbook you will ever need.

Warning--you may get sick on this ride!

To update you from this past week when blogger and I were not friends, Gabby and I took a fun trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum with my friend Erin and her daughter, Madeline. The girls had a blast (both older and younger) and topped the day off with a ride on the carousel on the 4th floor of the museum. Here are some photos from our day as well as a really sickening video. Erin started the shooting of the video, and I commenced it all. If you are pregnant, prone to motion sickness, or have a fear of carousel horses, you may not want to watch it. Spielberg would be appalled.

Madda and Gabby yelling "Clock!" at the big clock in the front entry of the museum. Unfortunately, neither of them can say their "L's" very well. You figure it out.

Some little punk whose mom wasn't watching him decided to close the doors on the box that Erin and the girls were hiding in.

Piggy-tailed Madda playing in the water table. She loved it! Gabrielle talked about playing at the water table all morning long. Then when we got there, she refused to put the water apron on, so we just played at the sand table instead.

Gabby was trying to be a pilot like her Uncle Brian. I hope Uncle Brian's planes have a few more safety features than this one.

Mommy and Gabby on the sickening carousel.

Madda and Erin on the carousel as well. The girls loved it. Gabby kept yelling "Horseys!" Okay, it really sounds like "herseys" but you get the idea.

Where Are We?

So you might be wondering why we haven't posted in awhile. Well, it hasn't been for lack of trying! Blogger has not been cooperating in uploading my pictures and videos. SO, we will keep working on it. It is quite possible that we ran out of space on Gabby's website again, so Kenton will need to add more space or remove some of the older posts. Ahem...Kenton. Keep checking back in every once in awhile! We'll be back up and running in no time!

Fun with Photoshop Actions

As per The Pioneer Woman's suggestions, I played around with Photoshop Actions a little today. I was trying to spruce up this slightly soft photo of Gabrielle and her Papaw that I took last night. I haven't gotten a cute photo of them lately, so I wanted to get some good shots. Of course my model was only cooperative for a few seconds, but here's what I came up with. I used Pioneer Woman's Soft and Ethereal Photoshop Action then took out the red eye and boosted the blue in Gabrielle's eyes. What do you think? They're kinda cute aren't they? Not only are they pretty and rosy, it gave Steve a cool tan! Ha!

Before:

After:

Here are some others of Gabby from the night that I doctored up. I still need to adjust the lightness on them a bit.

Come On Now

Last night Gabby's Grandma Deb ("Mamaw" as she calls her) came over for dinner to celebrate her *ahem* 55th *ahem* birthday with us. After a lovely meal and some present opening, we went into the living room to sit for awhile. Gabrielle really wanted to watch TV, so she picked up the remote and kept aiming it at the TV trying to get it to turn on . Button after button, she pushed and poked, but nothing would turn it on. She aimed it once more and then said, "Come on now!" loud and clear. It was so funny. Of course, she has to place the emphasis on "now" instead of "on" like most people, so it sounded even stranger. Kenton and I were laughing so hard. She has been saying "Come on now!" for awhile, but she hasn't ever really used it in context yet. Can't wait to see what funny things she says today!

A New High

We knew that people would enjoy reading about Gabby's daily antics when we started this blog, but we had no idea how many hits her blog would get on a monthly basis. Back when she was little, she had a few months that ranged in the 19,000 hits mark (meaning that people viewed her blog 19,000 times in one month...some of those clicks could have been multiple viewings per user). This past January, Kenton viewed Gabby's stats and there were 83,000 hits in that one month. I am not sure what was so awesome about January's postings, but apparently Gabrielle was very entertaining that month. Now that I look back, I guess there were a few good posts in there--some very cute videos, the horrendous car crash Suzie was in, and Gabby's photoshop fun with the Schenher family. So here it is...I apologize for my lack in posts. I had no clue Gabby was so popular, but will try to do better at updating. She is just so interesting now (and quite the handful), it is hard to find time to dedicate to the web vs. my kid! Surely you, our loyal readers, understand because you visit here everyday....and we have the stats to prove it.

Happy Talk Keep Talkin' Happy Talk

Gabrielle was in the most chatty mood this weekend. You can tell in these videos. The first one was random as she was cleaning up dirt off of our kitchen floor (shouldn't be hard to find). Gabby loves to bother the dog while he is eating and we keep trying to stop her from doing so. She thinks she needs to have her hands in his bowl and move his food over to his water dish while he eats. Luckily Jack doesn't care that she is touching his food, but I know dogs generally don't like this, so we try to watch her carefully and keep her out. You can see in the first video that she is dying for Jack to finish eating and come out and play! She recently started calling him "Jackie" or "Jackers," two of the most common nicknames that Kenton and I use for the dog. It is so cute!

From time to time when we are in the car, I will look back and see Gabby mouthing the words to some of her children's songs. She is getting particularly good at "Ring Around the Rosy." I thought I could capture some of her vocal skills on video, but she wasn't as vocal as she normally is. Good thing her doll Molly didn't mind participating, too!

Gabby is such a ham and Charlie is starting to pick up on that. Charlie got a big kick out of Gabby's fake sneezes last week. She is going to be such a performer when she grows up! Her future sibilings will love having such an entertaining big sis!

Superstar

I've often thought Gabby could make it in "the biz" for some kid-related product. Although the hasn't signed with an agent, she did perform well in a recent shoot. See what you think...even if it was for her daddy's company!

A Fun Night...Finally

Gabby has been getting her upper molars in recently and, consequently, enjoy whining, crying, and disobeying more than anything else these days. This can cause a very frustrated mommy by the end of the day, or noon, or 10 minutes after she wakes up. I digress. So today Charlie came over and spent his normal Friday with us. My friend Erin visited with her daughter, Madda. It was great to have some company while I had two toddler in tow.

The morning began on a positive note when Gabby was playing with something in her room that I wanted her to put away and she actually put it away (after I threatened time out, but she normally completely ignores those threats even when I follow-through with the consequence). So I thought that was a little break-through in discipline in the sense that she ACTUALLY listened to me. It wasn't just a fluke because later in the morning, she closed some cabinet doors in the kitchen I kept asking her to close. What a good girl!

Kenton had a busy night of DJ'ing and schoolwork, so I knew he wouldn't be home to spend the evening with us. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do to entertain my daughter, especially after she had only taken a 45-minute nap in the afternoon. I decided to be adventurous and take her to see "Spring Sing" at Mt. Vernon HS (where I used to teach). Spring Sing is the big show choir concert of the season. I didn't know how good Gabby was going to be or if she would pay attention well. Before the concert, I had to get a really quick dinner in her, so we went to McDonald's and ate in the restaurant (which we never do). I was too lazy to get a highchair for Gabby, so I just let her sit in an adult's chair. She did great! She ate the ENTIRE hamburger, a few fries, and a container of applesauce (applesaw as she calls it). I kept calling her a piggie and she would oink. SO funny! She looked so cute eating her hamburger and was REALLY well-behaved at the restaurant. Then we went to "see the kids" as I kept telling her we would and she loved it! She would say "More! More!" at the end of each song. During one of the final numbers, some boogie fever medley, she was jumping up and down on my lap laughing, clapping, and dancing with the high schoolers (who were in the aisles around us). I was enjoying watching her more than the older kids, and so were the people sitting around me!

I couldn't believe how well-behaved Gabrielle was throughout the whole night. It was one of those nights when I came home and just thought about how much fun I had with my daughter, even though she can't even carry on a conversation yet! We haven't had a day or night like that in awhile and needed it a lot. I now remember why I love her so much. JUST kidding. I never forgot that, but when Satan enters her body on a regular basis, it is easy to become frustrated with a clingy, overtired toddler! I hope those molars finish coming in soon. I know I often complain about Gabby's moods and temper, but she really is the love of my life and tonight helped remind me what a sweetheart she can be!