Ellington's Purple Party

Gaby's BFF had her 3rd bday party on Saturday. The theme was purple- Ellington's favorite color! It was at The Champions Academy where the kids had some gymnastics fun. Check out the group photo. See Gaby in the back? She was a little perturbed b/c there wasn't a spot right next to Ellie. So she decided to pout about it. That's my strong willed little girl ;)

Kayaking on Lake Austin

We've talked about it forever. But this past weekend, we finally got around to renting kayaks and going out on Lake Austin. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to be out on the water. Gaby was a little prissy about getting wet and bugs landing on her etc etc (She is DEFINITELY my daughter- heehee!) but in the end really enjoyed herself. I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was! And Suzy & Lulu absolutely loved it and I was so proud at how well they paddled and how strong they both were. This is definitely an activity we are going to start doing more often :) I just looooove this fun picture!!!

Lulu & Suzy in the House!

Lulu & Suzy spent the past week with us! Since they are on summer break now, I thought they could help me out with Gaby while I was at work. They are just the sweetest girls and took such good care of their little cousin. I'm pretty sure they had fun too, though :)

Here are some pics of the week.

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 :)