Finally Some Gymboree Pictures :)

Gaby has sooo much fun at Gymboree! She lights up as soon as we walk in the door and she hears the music. We have a really great instructor who plays the best music- even Mommy enjoys it:) Gaby loves walking to the middle of the mat and shaking her booty! She is most definitely not shy and loves being the center of attention. Most times she is the only girl in the class and has a blast keeping up with the wild and crazy boys. I just love watching her have so much fun :)

Gaby's 1st Haircut

Today, I finally decided to get Gaby's hair cut. As appalling as it has been to my mother, I just haven't wanted to do it until now. Pita's been bugging me for months to cut Gaby's hair, but I just love her wild and crazy curls! The longer it gets, the crazier it is!! What finally made me do it, though, is that when we go to the pool, Gaby's long bangs get in her eyes and bother her. Fortunately, Patty (Gaby's nanny) is going to beauty school so instead of spending about $20 to have someone trim her hair we were lucky enough to have Patty do it at home. And she did a super job! Gaby's hair looks soo cute :)

Here's the before shot:

Getting her hair wet...

The first cut...

Having fun, singing "The Wheels on the Bus"...

Long bangs...

A little off the back...

And after, it's hard to tell what it looks like while still wet...

Thanks, Patty :) !!

Time to Brag :)

Gaby finished her 2nd season of swimming lessons a couple of weeks ago. She loved it and did so great, but is kind of in an inbetween stage right now. So we've decided to take the summer off. She's was getting a little bored of her Aquababies class but might not be mature enough for the next level- The Aquatots. At the Aquatots level, there are only 4 kiddos per class and they are usually around 2 1/2- 3 yrs old. The kiddos are on their own without their mommies and basically have to sit at the edge of the pool waiting for their turn with the instructor. Her instructor said that skillwise Gaby is ready for the class, but we're just not sure she can sit on the edge and wait her turn. Patience is not a trait she's mastered quite yet :) Also I'm not sure she would be too hip on being there without me. So we'll wait the summer out and try to get into a pool as often as we can so we can keep her comfort and skill level up. We joined a gym with an awesome pool this past week and plan to take full advantage of it :)!!

Oh, and the bragging part...At the end of our last class they gave the kiddos purple ribbons for completing the course but Gaby got a yellow one instead. The instructor said the yellow ribbon was b/c she's an "Advanced Waterbaby"- That's my girl:)!!!

Here's me trying to be all "artsy" with my camera :)

New Developments in Gaby-land

Talking
Gaby's vocabulary is growing! She seems to say something new every couple of days. Although, "NO" still continues to be her favorite word. And yes this is still very, very frustrating. She still hasn't learned the word "yes" or "si" and even when she does want something she still says "no" first. A few of her words: mama, daddy, banana, mas, gracias, agua, all gone, bye-bye, hi, oh-oh, Gaby, mio, stop it, and puppy. As you can see it is definitely a mix of spanish and english. And then there's a whole slew of words that only she can understand:) Patty, her nanny, also taught her to do the sign for more/please. It is just too cute when she does it! Funny story- she started doing it one day and I knew it was some sort of sign language but I had no idea what it meant or where she had learned it. Took us a few days to figure it out. She must of thought we were idiots!

Tantrums
The princess is learning how to show her frustration and short temper. I thought it was called the Terrible Twos. She has little tantrums here and there and when we're in public it is pretty embarressing! It doesn't happen often but one time is too many in my opinion. She can achieve some impressive volumes though :) I've learned already that the best thing to do is just ignore her, if possible leave the room and -poof- she's over it. Gotta love a toddler's short attention span!

Whining
When Gaby doesn't know the word for something or just doesn't feel like saying it her favorite thing to do is whine for it until someone pays attention to her. It's this high pitched, screeching sort of noise. Utterly annoying!! Starts to sound like nails on the chalkboard. Give me patience, Lord!

Molars
Gaby's first molars are coming in! Yippee! I'm ready for her to be able to chew everything with no problem. Athough it is pretty amazing how much she can eat with just her gums. I'm talking chips, granola bars, toast etc. It's also very cute to watch her chew with her front teeth- just like a little old man :)

I love my daddy :)

Happy Father's Day to my sweet husband who has turned out to be a pretty great daddy! Gaby will always be grateful for the books you read and reread to her, for the tickle fights, for the bull rides, for the hours of puzzle tournaments, and especially for her nightly baths!

A Few of my Favorite Things

Sorting shapes... I have no idea at what age kids are supposed to be able to put the right shape in the right hole but Gaby's been doing it for about 2-3 months. She's a genius :)

Pushing my stroller...She loves walking away, pushing her stroller and blowing kisses. It's the cutest!!

Coloring...
She can sit for about 20 min concentrated on her coloring. Gives me a little time to get stuff done- like cooking dinner.

Reading...
Gaby grabs a book, sits in her chair and reads out loud to herself. Makes you want to kiss her to pieces!!