Little Ballerina

Gaby's dance class:

Carter, Caroline, Hampton, Gaby

Reese, Marie Claire, Maddie

What a bunch of cutie-pies!!!

First Dance Recital

Gaby had her first dance recital yesterday. It was a pretty big production with about 30 dances. The show was at the high school auditorium which has quite an impressive stage. Gaby's class danced to a song called "Goodness Gracious" and they wore the cutest red and white costumes. Here she is backstage with her buddy Isabel who was also part of the show... And her friend, Reese, who is in her class... The girls had to wait backstage until the second act and unfortunately had never gotten a chance to see the stage before they went on that day. As you can imagine, I'm sure it was a little overwhelming getting on that stage and looking out at the dark audience. Now, no one cried but most of them just stood there during their preformance, our Gaby being one of them. They were still pretty darn cute, though. We weren't allowed to take flash photography during the show but I was able to take a couple bootleg shots. Here's the least blurry one. Gaby is on the very end...
After the show, Gaby's daddy gave her flowers which she was very happy about. Did I mention, Pito and Pita were there?? And Gaby's cousin, Suzy, and Tio Billy! That's our sweet little ballerina striking a pose... Even though Gaby didn't dance, we are so proud of her for getting out on that big stage. It was a fun morning and so cool to see what the future has to hold for our little ballerina. All of the dancers did such a great job!

Girl's Weekend Photos

Gaby had such a fun time at her cousin Mia's house. Everytime we called (which was 3-4 times a day) she was busy either playing dress up, singing & dancing, or running around outside. She was always short and sweet with us on the phone b/c she had better things to do ;)

One great story is that the first two nights Candie put the girls to bed at a respectable hour, 9pm, in Mia's room together. And both nights at around 11pm she had to finally separate them to different rooms b/c they just kept chatting away. They would talk about what princesses they were and their favorite toys and colors and other very important topics that would keep one up two hours past one's bedtime! Is that not the cutest thing you've ever heard??

Love ya, Cuz!!!

Buffett, baby!!!

Byron says I'm very hard to surprise. And actually, I think I might be. It's the planner in me that makes me ask a lot of questions and usually find out about things before I'm supposed to. But this year, Byron actually pulled off a surprise for my birthday! It's not until Thursday, but this past weekend Byron surprised me with an impromtu trip to Dallas for the Jimmy Buffett concert! Now, if you've ever been to a Buffett concert you know that it is much more than a show, it's more about the entire day leading up to the show. We, along with our good friends, The Davis', rented an RV and spent the entire day hanging out with some friends and all of the other "Parrotheads", eating, having cocktails and just enjoying the weather. It was quite an experience! And such a fun surprise... Can you tell who had a few too many hurricanes?? ;)
Byron had even planned for Ms. Gaby to spend the weekend with her cousin Mia. It sounded like they had a blast! I'm still waiting on some pictures of their "girls weekend"...

(Hint, hint, Steven.)

My Little Gymnast :)

With her best friend, Ellington...

The Champions Academy

Gaby has been taking gymnastics at a different Champions Academy since January. We moved to the new location mainly for two reasons: 1) She would be in class w/her BFF, Ellington and 2) She would be in a class that didn't require parent participation. Now although we had fun playing together at the other location, I felt like here she was really learning more actual gymnastic skills. And of course, learning more independence. We have finished this semester and Gaby did so great and really enjoyed herself. I'm pretty sure we'll be back in the fall. It's really hard to take good pics b/c they are constantly moving but here are a few...

Quick Visit

Mimi & Papa came in for a quick 30 hr visit to get themselves a Gaby fix. We are always so happy to see them and Gaby was super, super excited! We managed to do a few fun things while they were here.

We had lunch on Lake Travis at our new favorite restaurant, The Iguana Cafe...

Mimi brought Gaby these really beautiful headbands and we all got to look like princesses with them on...

A walk around Town Lake...

Mother's Day

I feel like such a lucky mom. I have a such a great kid.

Even though, at times, dealing with a 3yr old can be challenging, the grand majority of the time is filled with all these amazing memories we are creating. I truly have so much fun with my beautiful Gaby.

I am so blessed to be able to spend so much time with her and watch her blossom into such a unique and special little person.

I am honored be your mommy, my sweet Gaby Rose :) Here we are on Lake Travis for our Mother's Day dinner :)

Ralph's World

This morning we went to a concert at Stubb's. The band is called Ralph's World and they play this really fun music for kids. And it's actually pretty entertaining for the adult's too. Gaby and her pal, Isabel had a blast dancing and grooving to the music.
They even got to go on stage to help sing the last song. Living in the Live Music Capital of the country, you really must learn at an early age to enjoy a good show. Gaby is off to a good start :)

Cinco de Mayo Part-ay!

We all know that Gaby goes to a Spanish Immersion school. The majority of the teachers are from Mexico so the big school event every year is their Cinco de Mayo party. There were Mariachis... This year Gaby's class danced "La Raspa" a very traditional Mexican dance. Here's Gaby in her cute outfit... Walking on the stage... The kids did so well! But just like last year once Gaby got on stage, her finger went into her mouth and it didn't come out until she was offstage. It's funny b/c she doesn't suck her fingers any other time in her normal life. Just when she's in front of an audience. Alot of the other kids were doing it too. Weird.

Anyway, the party was fun and the show was super cute!

Atlanta

This past weekend, I took a little trip on my own- for the first time, in a long time. My good friend, Lesley, and I went to visit our good friend, Laurel, in Atlanta. Laurel's latest addition, Wyatt, is seven months old and we got a chance to spend some time with the sweet little man and his two older brothers, Cole & Brady. Lesley and I got a glimpse of what life would be like with three little boys under the age of 5!! "Non-stop" is a good description :). Laurel is such an amazing mom and makes it all look so easy. I am amazed by her!!
Since I was gone, Byron and Gaby got to have their first (yes, I said first- ever!!) daddy/daughter weekend. It sounded like they had so much fun! And Byron just LOVED having our sweetie all to himself. There was some pancake eating, grilling, bounce house action, napping together and lots of other good stuff. Since they had such a great weekend together, I think that maybe I should go out of town more often ;-)