Historic Gruene

We have the cutest little town about 45 minutes away from us- Gruene, TX. It's right past San Marcos before San Antonio.

The San Marcos river runs through it and it's a prime spot for tubing down the river. Once Gaby gets a little older we plan on showing her what that's all about. So today, we had a Holt Family Labor Day outing and went to Gruene to walk around and have a yummy chicken fried steak lunch at the Gristmill (one of Byron's favorite places).

It was a beautiful day to stroll around and check out the cute shops. We had a nice, quiet Labor Day:) Hope you did too!

Pretty flowers

Dell Children's Hospital

We took a tour of Dell Children's Hospital this weekend. This is where Byron does alot of his work-AKA-This is the place that takes him away from us so much!

The very cool moving sculpture in the lobby...

The Cath Lab- Where all the magic happens :)

This is the first free-standing children's hospital in Austin and it happened to open the month before we moved here. I hadn't gotten a chance to visit yet since we moved, so we took the whole gang for a tour. It is really an impressive place- so new and shiny! I know Byron loves what he does and feels so lucky to have such a beautiful place to do his very important work.

MawMaw

Gaby had a very special visitor this weekend. Mimi & Papa brought over Gaby's great grandmother! We were so priviledged to have MawMaw come all the way to Austin to visit us from Louisiana. Since my grandma lives all the way in Colombia, it is so lovely to see Gaby get to spend time with one of her great grandmas.

Gaby's Chicken Dance :)

Transitions, transitions...

Our poor little Gaby is going through some serious transitions right about now.

1. Bottles are for babies:
Gaby has until a few of days ago always had her morning milk (her only milk of the day!) in a bottle *gasp*- yes, it's true. She has REFUSED to drink it out of anything else and up until now it was just a battle I didn't feel like fighting. Esp since we usually lay in bed and snuggle as she drinks her milk (good times!) But I decided it was probably time to quit that. So we've had "The Battle of Wills" these last few days and ladies & gentlemen, guess whose won so far?? A few days ago, I decided to be tough and give her NOTHING to drink until she drank her milk. I finally had to break down at about 3:30pm and give her some water. Two days ago, she sat in time out for 20 whole minutes and would not give in! The kid is stubborn! Wonder where she get's that ;)? She's breaking me down so I had to give her back her bottle today. She needs her calcium. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

2. Super Water Babies:
Gaby started her fall swim lessons in the Super Water Babies class where mommy doesn't get in the water with her. Needless to say, she was not too happy about that. It was heartwrenching to watch her scream and cry as the instructor took her in the water. Mind you, I was right there, a couple of feet away, cheering her on to help her get used to the idea. She did warm up at the end though after learning she would get a gummy bear every time she cooperated. Bribery is a wonderful thing :) I think she'll be fine after a few weeks. Guess who ended up all wet though?

3. Preschool:
This will be the final transition. Not too much for a little girl, right? Poor sweetie. I hope all goes well with school next week. You know I'll keep you posted.

Mia Playdate

Gaby and Mia had a playdate on Sunday. The girls hadn't seen each other in a couple of months but it was just like old times. They parallel played as usual and succeded in sharing a few times. We are wondering when they will really PLAY together? It'll be so cute :) The best part was when we went out to eat. We sat the girls next to each other in high chairs and they were feeding each other and eating off of the other's plate. It was hilarious! Of course, I didn't have my camera with me, but here's a few shots of them reading together...

Carlitos

My nephew, Carlitos, spent the last week and a half with us here in Austin. He wanted to spend his last free week before school started with his baby cousin. Isn't that sweet? He ADORES Gaby! He says he's her "protector" and if anyone ever bothers her that he'll beat them up. Tough guy! Gaby and I had so much fun having him around!

Being 10 yrs old, I figured he'd get bored after a few days of dealing with a toddler but the truth is he was sooo completely bummed when we left him. We drove him back to Houston this past weekend and he was so sad when we said goodbye. We were really sad, too, to see Carlos go back home but as I told him- we live in Austin, not Alaska!
Thanks for coming to visit, kiddo!! We'll see you real soon.

Gaby's BFF !

I guess it's b/c I'm always at work when she's at the house but, for some reason I just finally got around to getting a few pictures of Gaby's BFF.

It's Josie!

Josie is Patty's daughter. She comes over to play with Gabs on Thursday and Friday when I'm at work. She is 9 months older than Gaby and talks alot so I think she's been a big reason Gaby has increased her vocabulary so much. Gaby wants to be like her and loves trying to do what she does. Another plus? Josie has been potty trained for a while and definitely has made Gaby way interested in trying to pee in the potty too!
Patty and the girls...

There's always big elaborate goodbye kisses...

They have alot of fun together but, let's be honest, they like to fight alot too. It's just part of grasping the sharing concept, I guess. Especially, little Josie who has to share her mom. Patty is super, though, at sharing her time equally. I am very confident about that and am so happy they are both a part of our lives.

School, already??

The other day we decided that we should go and start checking out preschools for Gaby. She'll be two in January and it's pretty apparent she would love, love, love hanging out with other kids and getting her learn on. The kid is a sponge! And she sooo enjoys being with other kids and really gets a kick out of learning new things. You should see her at Gymboree. It's just too cute! She's the first one on the mat waiting to see what the instructor is going to do. She'll just sit, watch, and listen intently until it's time to get up and follow whatever he's doing. So I found this little school, El Jardin de Ninos- it's a spanish immersion school. That basically means they speak 100% spanish. We've decided that it's very important to us that Gaby is fluent in spanish. So I went to check out the school and thought it was great! The facility is so cute and seems like she'll learn alot and have a bunch of fun. So I got on the waiting list, was told they probably wouldn't have a spot until April (which was fine with me b/c we were thinking it'd be good to start her after her 2nd b-day), and planned on going to check out a few more schools. There are no other spanish schools in Austin, so I would just check out other preschools near us...

Well, today I got a call from the director of El Jardin saying that they had a opening in Gaby's age group starting in September. September?? That's like in two weeks!! It really kind of shocked me. I guess I needed time to get prepared to send my little sweetie somewhere by herself for almost the whole day (she would be going Tues/Thurs 9am-3pm). That's a long time to be away. You've got to remember that Gaby has never really been away from me and her home at the same time. When I'm at work, she's at home with Patty. She's never been "dropped off" anywhere. And I guess the thought of her learning new things without me makes me sad. My little baby is definitely growing up! But again, we believe Gaby is totally ready to go to "school". The kid will have a blast there and will learn so much more that I can teach her.

So we have decided to go for it!! Gaby will be starting on Sept. 2nd and we can't wait to see how it goes. We can always take her out if she doesn't like it, right?

Future Olympian?

This summer Gaby has really gotten so good at swimming. I know I'm a little biased b/c I'm her mom, but honestly everyone who sees her swim is truly impressed. These last few months she's become so fearless in the water. She jumps in by herself, dives to pick up toys, loves swimming from one person to the other, and can even change directions underwater. So with the Olympics on this year, and after watching the phenomenon that is Micheal Phelps and the super cute and talented Natalie Coughlin, I just wonder if they started swimming as toddlers too?

Here she is watching her future role models

Chuck E. Cheese, please!

Carlitos came back from Port A with us to spend the last week before school with his baby cousin. The other day we had a fun afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese...

Pizza & games- could you ask for anything more??

Port Aransas

Last weekend, we went to Port Aransas, TX with the Salazar gang. It was a very special occasion. My gorgeous, smart, sweet, funny and now grown up niece, Lulu's, 17th birthday!
We had alot of fun. Here's Gaby and Pito hanging out on the deck...

The weather was good- pretty hot, actually, so we spent lot of time at the pool and in the ocean. Gaby loved hanging out on the beach,
playing in the sand,
jumping waves in the ocean,
swimming in the pool,

watching the big kids fish, and especially saying "bye-bye" to the little clams that burrow into the sand after being washed up on shore. Let me tell ya, that was hours and hours of entertainment and not just for Gaby:)

We went out for a yummy birthday lunch for Lulu...
and played inside a gigantic shark.
We enjoyed a few days relaxing on the coast, but most importantly were happy to spend time with our family.

Zapapos

I just realized that Gaby has been saying a three syllable word for quite a few weeks now. I'm trying to keep track of everything she does but sometimes it just happens subtley and I don't realize it until someone else points it out! She's been saying "zapapos" (which is actually "zapatos") and as most of you know means "shoes" in spanish. I'm so proud of her for understanding the importance of the most fabulous accessory of all. Shoes are so great! They always fit. No matter what you weigh or if you're bloated a shoe will always fit. Not like a pair of jeans that used to fit just fine but then one day when you really, really need to wear them, it's suddenly like they were made for someone much much smaller than you. The betrayal is so deep and hurtful. How can they not fit?? They used to fit just fine and they're you favorite pair! Just because you had a baby and maybe you tend to snack with her all the time because her snacks are so yummy doesn't mean that all of a sudden they should be soo tight. But shoes, shoes always fit and always look good and always make you smile because they can be so pretty. They will never betray you!!!.......But, I digress. Anyway, little Gaby has already shown an affinity for wearing and trying on different shoes. Daddy better start saving now for the Gabriella Rose Shoe Fund:) She's also already mastered putting on mommy's flip flops and loves walking around in them.

What a cutie:)

Our Feathered Friends

The other day, Gaby and her good buddy, Carter, went to a farmer's market. Gaby got to check out some chickens. Being the city girl that Gaby is, this was her first time meeting chickens. It's so interesting to realize that chickens are something we've talked about and seen in books for months now but this is the first time she's ever seen them in person. It makes you take a second look and appreciate the little things a bit more. Needless to say, she thought they were very cool...
Reminds me that I haven't posted our duck encounter pictures. A couple of months ago, we went to the park and found some ducks. We had been looking for ducks for a while and had not been successful until then.
They came right up to us and ate bread out of our hands. Gaby loved it!

Moe...

According to my daughter, that's what the cow has to say. It's too funny! Where'd she learn that? Brooklyn??

We are diligently working on the animal sounds and have got a few down pat- the cow, sheep, horse, and kitty. We're having trouble with the puppy, duck and pig. If you ask me ,though, those are a bit more tricky...

Why??

The last two days we've been hearing this word! I'm not sure if she exactly knows what it means although at times it's been used appropriately. Maybe she's just saying the letter "Y"? Lord, I sure do hope that question doesn't start this early. Mommy, may start losing her mind...

Okay

This is my favorite. Everything is "ok". If Gaby's not saying "no", then it's "ok". For some reason, it's just soo funny to hear a tiny, little person saying "ok". I must say that word all the time for her to use it so often. We still don't hear "si" as much as we want to, but any affirmative is better than the evil negative word...

Mimi & Papa

It's hard to believe it's already August! Where has the summer gone?? It has been waaay too long since we've seen Mimi and Papa! For some reason, this summer, our schedules just haven't worked out for us (Daddy works way too much if you ask me.) . Anyway, lucky for us Mimi and Papa decided to come visit us and we were super excited. Even though Daddy was on call this weekend and actually gone alot, Mimi and Papa didn't care b/c they were here to see the princess. Miss Gaby acted a little shy at first but came along pretty quickly. Once she realized that they were here to spoil, love, hug and kiss her she was ready and willing for the attention. By the end of the weekend, we had her saying both of their names (which made Mimi & Papa extremely happy!) and she was giving away kisses freely. Here are some pictures of the fun we had.

We went to the pool so Gaby could show off her swimming skills....

We went to the park- it wouldn't be a right without a trip to the park :)....

Kisses for Mimi...

We enjoyed some margaritas on the lake...

Gaby and Papa watching all the cute turtles...
And Gaby getting spoiled with some presents...
It's always so great to see how much Mimi & Papa enjoy spending time with Gaby. And how much fun she has with them. We love Mimi & Papa!!