Toddler's Halloween Manifesto

I had to post this link.

It's just too funny.

One of my favorite bloggers, The Yummy Mummy, wrote this article.

Check it out...

We're getting.....

.......excited about Halloween! Can't wait to show ya'll Gaby's costume :)

Ya-Yu

When Wuwu and Calos were here about a month ago, they taught Gaby how to say "love you" or as she says it "ya-yu".

Those might just be the sweetest words any parent can ever hear!!!

She's been saying "amo" for a while. But I think, now, she's actually starting to realize what they mean and that we just loooove hearing those words. So every night before bed we get a "t'amo" and "ya-yu" and both Byron and I just want to eat her up in little pieces.

There is nothing sweeter. Life is good :)

Roadtrips

Thursday night, I drove to San Antonio for the American Dental Association Meeting to meet up with my former partners and good friends from St. Louis, Suzanne Watson & Michelle Rega. My good friend Tracie Davis was there also. It was so great to catch up again and enjoy a couple nights wining and dining in my old stomping grounds. Saturday, we came back to Austin so I could show off my new town,- it was Suzanne's first time here. It was a beautiful day to walk around and we took a little trip to the capital. They are both loyal blog readers and were hoping to make it on the blog :) So check us out.

Michelle, Brian (Suzanne's husband), Suzanne, and Me

Byron decided since I would be gone that he would take his first solo father/daughter road trip. They headed to Orange to visit with Mimi, Papa, Aunt Candie & Mia. Byron did mainly night driving but said that Gabs was the perfect passenger. When she wasn't sleeping she just sat back reading books or looking out the window. That's my cutie! It sounded like the girls had fun together and played well together. Although, Gaby still needs some improving in the sharing department- there was alot of "It's Gaby's" and "Mine":)

The weekends adventures included...

Pumpkin fun...

Storytime...

Picking berries...

A little "cousin love"...

Going for walks...

It's been such a whirlwind the last couple of weeks with the Tahoe trip and then going to San Antonio. It's been so weird to be away from my sweet baby for so many days. I look forward to getting back into our normal routine.

My Little Astrologer

Gaby's has recently discovered the moon, the stars and the sun and it is all that she can talk about. She loves going out on the deck in the afternoons and since it's fall and the moon likes to show itself pretty early, we get to have it pointed out to us over and over and over....and over. No, really it is the cutest thing ever!! And what she actually says is more like "da-moo, da-moo, da-moo"! So when Byron and I were away from her in Tahoe, and we were walking around at night we'd say "Look, da-moo!" and just crack up at how adorable our sweet baby is. You've got to love the pure excitement they get out of discovering basic, everyday things.

South Lake Tahoe

We're baaaack!! And we had an awesome time. South Lake Tahoe is simply gorgeous! It is nature in all it's glory.

The air is as crisp as can be and the water was the most beautiful shade of blue. The night before we got there it had snowed so it was pretty darn chilly. I'm talking low 20s when we arrived- brrrr!! But it got progressively warmer each day so we just peeled off the layers. Truth is though, it was a nice break from the heat and made us feel nostalgic for St. Louis. Byron and I did alot of hiking. Yes, people, I actually participated in some physical activity and really enjoyed myself. My calves are sooo sore today!! Check me out- I'm the little speck in the middle of the picture...



The salmon are spawning right now and seeing all those fish hanging out in one small area was so incredible!!!
We got to see a bear running in the forest and we trekked up to some waterfalls. They weren't very big though since there hasn't been much snowmelt yet. But the overall views were just amazing!!

Check out this huge tree with it's trunk hollowed out...



After hiking, the rest of the afternoons involved eating at great restaurants and just relaxing. One night we ventured over to a casino and after six hours at the blackjack table Byron and I both walked out winners with a grand total of $600! I get why people have gambling addictions. It is soooo fun to win :) Byron and I definitely enjoyed our little vacation but we really missed our little sweetie and talked about her non-stop!
It sounded like Gaby and Mimi had a lovely time together. They played and played and played! Poor Mimi was so exhausted by the time we got home. They did have a little drama though because Gaby had a fever for a couple of days and then Mimi had her work cut out for her with a cranky toddler. But they both survived and seemed to be best friends after four days of non-stop togetherness. Thank you so much, Mimi for hanging out with the princess and indulging her every whim and fancy!! We love you!

See ya!

Byron and I are going on an adult vaca tomorrow. Lake Tahoe. Yipee! Mimi will be hanging out with the princess. Won't be blogging for a few days....

My Little Fish

Bad Mommy. Super Daddy.

The other day, I hurt my own child. I didn't mean to, of course. But I still did and I feel awful. Terrible. Sick about it. So here's what happened...We were in the garage and Gaby started running towards the street. Now, we live in the hills in Austin so it's kinda steep in our neighborhood and people like to drive their cars faster than they should on our street, so I ran out to stop her and quickly grabbed her by her arm. My little cutie likes to do this thing when she doesn't want to come with you- she lifts both feet off the ground and basically ends up dangling from one arm. That's it. That's all that happened, but then of course Gaby was throwing a fit b/c she didn't want to come into the house. So I tried to distract her with other things but she wouldn't stop crying. And then it seemed like she didn't want to move her arm. Oh-oh. That's when I realized that maybe something was wrong with her arm. I noticed she wouldn't lift it up and really didn't want me touching it. So the first thing to do of course is call Byron. And wouldn't you know it, it just happened to be an evening that he had plans with his friends. He seemed a little aggravated to have me "bothering" him but when he understood that I really wasn't exaggerating and there quite possibly was something wrong with his precious princess, he came right home. Turns out I had pulled Gaby's little elbow's ligament out of whack. It's called "nursemaid's elbow" and Byron says it's very common. But still, to know that I was the one that caused such pain to my poor sweetie just made me want to puke! So he did a magic doctor twist, pull and push maneuver and just like that Gaby was waving at cars, pointing at the birds in the sky and laughing again. Back to normal. Byron saved the day! And he probably saved us a few hours in an ER. I can't ever express how lucky and grateful I am to have a pediatrician for a husband. It gives me such peace of mind. You're the best, honey!

Guess who...

...napped at school yesterday and had no problem?? My brave little sweetie, that's who!! Way to go, kiddo!