Splish, Splash, I was taking a bath!!!

Gaby's Mermaid Birthday Swimming Party

This year the preferred theme was Ariel, The Little Mermaid. So what better than a swimming party?? This is actually Gaby's last semester at Elmer Swim School so it was like a last hoorah at the place we've been going every year since she was 6 months old. With a bunch of her friends and classmates there Gaby had a blast swimming, bouncing in the bounce house, eating dinner together and of course blowing out the candles on the most beautiful Ariel cake (made by my sweet friend Becca!) It was a pretty great party for a very special little 4 yr old :)

Gaby's 4th Bday

It's so hard to believe that our little cutie just turned 4 yrs old!!!!

She is still and always has been such a fantastic little girl. She makes me laugh every single day! Her genuine interest in everything is so contagious. Her sweet dispostion- the way she is so thoughtful, helpful, funny and loving makes her so much fun to be around. We are so very lucky to have her in our lives. As with any 4 yr old, though, of course she has her sassy moments. But honestly its usually hard to keep a straight face when she's sassy. It's funny to see a 4 yr old acting like a 14 yr old.

So the night before her birthday we had a little family celebration which of course included some cake...

Happy New Year!

I know it's a little late but Happy New Year!! I'm not sure I've ever taken such a long break from the blog!! I guess things have been busy since the holidays and honestly I've been taken down by Cedar Fever this whole month. I am tragically, debilitatingly allergic to Cedar and here in the Hill Country it is so very prevalent this time of year. The inability to breathe is so horrible and has just been so exhausting to deal with. But besides that, there have been alot of exciting things going on around here including Gaby's 4th birthday so I need to get to blogging......

Christmas 2010

This year my family came up from Houston to celebrate Christmas. We had a fun, relaxing time eating, opening presents, watching movies, and just hanging out. Gaby's excitement over Santa was contagious. It's so fun to see the holidays through her eyes!

Ice Skating-Take 2!!

We took the gang to Barton Creek Resort to check out the ice skating. It was fun but coooooold!! Gaby was so excited to go back out there!! This time I let her daddy enjoy the ice and I stayed on the side lines. Turns out this was Byron's first time ice skating (how did I not know that??) He did great for a first timer but of course according to him- "I'm an athlete. I can do any sport well." Well, excuuuuse me ;-) Can you tell poor Pita was freezing?? Gaby really got the hang of ice skating now and keeps asking to go back. Too bad this rink is only seasonal.

Christmas in Orange 2010

Our annual early Christmas in Orange can be summarized in a few words: lots of great presents, Mimi's famous fried chicken dinner (YUM!!), hot chocolate, naps, homemade candy, playing with our new toys, keeping up with a very mobile Tanner, and hearing two little girls adorable giggles and deep conversations!!

Christmas Show

Gaby's preschool put on a little Christmas show tonight. They did mostly spanish songs but also some english versions. She is definitely getting used to being on stage. She did great and they all sang so well! Very cute :) Gaby with her classmates waiting to go onstage... A rousing rendition of "Feliz Navidad"...

Ice Skating!

I took Gaby ice skating for the first time today!! The Barton Creek Resort has set up this very neat indoor ice skating rink. We were excited to try it out and see if Gaby would like ice skating or not. Gaby's best bud, Ellington, and her mom joined us! There were, of course, a couple of falls....

Which Gaby did not like very much... But overall she did really awesome for her first time on the ice! She ended up skating about 4-5 feet from the wall to me all by herself. We had a great morning! Of course, finishing it off with some s'mores didn't hurt at all :) Hopefully we can go back again soon!!

Santa Photo 2010

This year there was no fear going to see Old Saint Nick. Just the tiniest bit of shyness at first but really more excitement than anything. Gaby was very happy to give Santa her letter and tell him what she wanted this year. The girl taking the photo only had to take one shot and it turned out so darn cute :)

Here's Gaby's letter to Santa....

I love the fact that she doesn't grasp how much she could actually get if she asked for it. The truth is the bicycle was my idea. All she really wants is nail polish and another barbie. Oh, the innocence and sweetness! I'm sure in a few years the list will be pages and pages long. We should cherish this moment. *sigh*