Stunt Baby!! - "Tree of Life" Shoot

We had our first movie experience this morning at the "Tree of Life" shoot! We were at a personal residence in West Lake Hills at a pool with an amazing view of Austin.

There were three babies and they shot the girls swimming under the water with a very cool underwater video camera. Check out the viewfinder- you can actually see what he's filming!

The ballerina swim move:)

The girls very quickly caught on that they were not at their swim class and did not enjoy what we were making them do. Being the oldest, Gaby was the first to realize what was up and she did not want anything to do with this crazy "on demand" swimming. Needless to say, she was not very happy with me, but she still clung on to me for dear life!!

Gaby's one diva moment:)!!
The videographer thought he got some good footage. Hopefully, Gaby's shots will make the cut. We won't find out anything until we actually go to see the movie. The release date is sometime in 2010, so we'll have to wait a bit! It was a very neat experience, though. Also our little miss will get her very first paycheck- $50! Getting paid at 15 months- not too shabby:)

Now, all we need is an agent ;)....

She Got It!!

Can you believe our little princess got picked for the movie:)?!?!? They called us yesterday and want to film on Friday morning. They picked three little ones and will film us all to see who they get the best shots from. Sounds like they are going to be filming her underwater as she's swimming. We are sooo proud of our little sweetie and knew she could do it! Sadly, though, we will not be able to meet Brad, as he won't be at the shoot, but nonetheless we are super excited! I'll post more after Friday...

Hollywood is calling!!

11am
Today, at our swim lessons, we were asked to return this evening for a casting call! They are looking for little ones around Gaby's age who can swim to be in the lastest.....are you ready for this???......Brad Pitt movie!!!!!!!!! The Jolie-Pitt clan have been in Bastrop/Austin filming for the last month or so. So keep your fingers crossed for our little princess. Maybe she'll get her big break with Brad Pitt! Lucky sweetie:)!! Of course, she'll have to have a parent around at all times. Lucky mommy:)!!

7pm
Well, we went back for the casting call. They are looking for a baby to swim for one small scene of the movie, Tree of Life. Our competition consisted of about 14 other babies varying in age from 8-18months. I was worried Gaby would be tired and cranky but just the opposite. She was in a great mood and having fun the whole time. She swam great and was clapping and laughing. They filmed her doing about 4 jumps/swims and she did awesome! They plan on filming next week so if they liked us we should hear soon....

I just wanna love ya, cuz!

We spent Saturday at cousin Mia's house. Aunt Candie & Uncle Stevie babysat Gaby for us while we attended our friend's baby shower. The girls were both a little sicky with what we think are allergies but they were still in pretty good moods. Mia kept on wondering why there was someone getting into her stuff and taking things out of her hands. Mimi and Papa joined us too for some quality "grandbaby time":) As is becoming usual, with this gorgeous weather we've been having, we went to the neighborhood park. Check it out...




Mia's favorite thing about parks?? The mulch! Might she grow up to be an avid gardener??
Gaby loves her cousin so much and was always trying to show her affection. Unfortunately, Mia's not really into receiving Gaby's affection:) Here they are holding hands. You can see how tight of a grip Gaby's got on her. While Mia is trying to figure out how to get her hand back...
And here's Gaby trying to get a hug. Can you read Mia's facial expression? It's saying "Mom, do I really have to??"

Oh, we just have a blast watching these two together!! It's going to be hilarious once they can finally talk and we can actually hear what they are thinking.

Gymboree

I FINALLY enrolled Gaby in Gymboree! I've been talking about it for months. The truth of the matter is, though, that her napping schedule was not working with their schedule. Now that she's down to one nap a day it works out just fine. Today, was our third class. Gaby is in Level 3 with the 10-16 month olds. Let me tell you, she LOVES it! And since she is one of the older kids, she looks like a total genius when she's there. I love that! A good majority of the kids aren't walking and they don't get the concepts too much. For example, they have to put balls in the basketball hoop. First time, Gaby went straight up and dunked a few times and with everyone clapping for her she just kept on:) Bad thing is she takes the balls from the other kids to dunk some more- heehee! I have always said I didn't want her to play basketball (it's a boy sport if you ask me) but maybe she just has a natural talent ;) She's also really good at "clean up". Probably because she loves putting things in boxes or bags and then dumping them back out except there she doesn't get the chance to dump them back out. She's great at tunnels and sliding etc etc. I could go on but her tiny head is swelling:) I don't have any pictures b/c I didn't want to look like the dorky mom with the camera so you'll just have to use your imagination...

Finicky Eater

My former I'll-eat-anything-you-put-in-front-of-me baby is now a One-second-in-the-mouth-and-I'll-spit-it-out-because-I-don't-want-it toddler. This is VERY frustrating!! Gaby's newest word is "No" and she uses it very frequently. Everything now is "No" when it comes to eating. Before she would shake her head and that was kinda cute but the word "No" is, well, not so cute. The other day when she ended up eating cheese puffs and half a banana for dinner I began to worry about nutritional deficiencies. But I know that many kids go through this phase and I'm hoping it won't last too long. The good news is she does still love fruit. The bad news is we are definitely going through a veggie boycott. Do you want some peas?- "No." Green beans?- "No." Carrots?- "No." Etc, etc. So, I finally broke down and bought some "Chicken Fries" and of course, as any full blooded American kid would she devoured the yummy fried bits of (what I hope is) chicken. At least she'll get some protein, right??

The Kents In the House

My best friend from high school, Jessica Kent came to town with her hubby, Micheal and little man, Andrew. They both went to UT and were so happy to be back on their old stomping grounds.

Andrew is almost two and a half and is such a sweet little boy. He got along so well with Gaby and even let her play with his "Henry" train (from the Thomas the Train gang). Apparently, Andrew doesn't let anyone touch Henry so that made his sharing it with Gaby even sweeter:) Andrew liked building tunnels and bridges with Gaby's legos and Gaby liked taking them apart- heehee! He is such a great sport!
On Saturday, we took the kids to the park...

and that night we enjoyed a great meal (yummy, shrimp!) and listened to an awesome salsa band at The Belmont (my favorite bar in Austin!). We tried all weekend to convince the Kents to move to Austin, as we usually do with anyone who visits us. Can you blame us for trying??

Easter Weekend 2008

Happy Easter!!

Mr. Bunny

A few days before Easter seems like an appropriate time to introduce everyone to Gaby's bestest friend & long-time companion- Mr. Bunny. Mr. Bunny does not have a more creative name because Mommy can't really think of one:) Hopefully, one day the princess will decide to name him something cute. But for now it's just Mr. Bunny. Anyway, this little guy has been around since the day my sweet was born. He's Gaby's snuggle buddy when she sleeps and recently she's been taking him along to join her during the day. He's gotten so soft and cushy after just a year I can't wait to see what he'll look like a few years from now.

Here's Mr. Bunny at the hospital...

And here he is today! Don't mind the crazy hair:)

Quality Time w/ Mimi & Papa

Mimi and Papa came to town this weekend. Papa and Byron have their yearly high school basketball state tournament which they attend. So Mimi, Gaby and I had a true girls weekend.

Mimi and I had a nice lunch and spa treatment on Friday and Saturday the three of us headed to San Marcos for some outlet shopping :) It was so cute on our way out to San Marcos, Gaby was in the greatest mood- she was laughing, clapping, and grooving to the music. Mimi and I just laughed and enjoyed the cutest show ever!

Here are Gaby and I trying on bunny ears...

Even though the boys were busy all day long, they spent quality time with Gaby in the mornings and skipped some evening games to have dinner with us each night. Miss Gaby got an early Easter present from her Mimi & Papa...

Austin Kite Festival

This weekend was the Austin Kite Festival. There were so many people and soooo many kites out there. It was awesome! The wind was kicking up pretty good yesterday. When we arrived I realized my camera was out of battery. I was so bummed! But I took some pics with the camcorder. This is what we got...


One thing we have been finding out lately is that our daughter has not the tiniest bit of "stranger anxiety". She walks up to anyone, anywhere and just loves interacting with new people. She's especially interested if they have food:) This could become an issue later. Gaby loved the Kite Festival because we were out at Zilker Park and she could walk around as much as she wanted. I have this great video to upload but am having technical problems- sorry!

Signs our Little Baby is not quite a Little Baby Anymore:

CARSEAT---Last weekend, we finally moved Gaby to a forward facing carseat. Now, this may not sound like a big deal but, to me, it sure feels like it. There's just something about having her face forward that just signals the end of having a little baby and the beginning of having a "big girl". I removed the passenger seat headrest and she just loooves looking out the front and being able to see where she's going:)

NO!---It's been probably a couple of months or so, but Gaby has gotten the hang of shaking her head at me when she doesn't want to eat anymore or doesn't want a certain toy or doesn't want to be put down, etc etc. Let me tell you- my little sweetie already has a pretty strong will and knows exactly what she wants and what she doesn't!

UNDERSTANDING---It's amazing how much Gaby can understand of what you tell her! Poor thing is gettting bombarded with two languages all the time. So she knows some things in Spanish and some in English, but she sure does get alot of what we ask or tell her.

NAPPING---For the last couple of weeks, Gaby has gone down to one nap a day like a big girl. She decided to drop her afternoon nap so she could watch Oprah with Mommy:)

WALKING---Gaby is walking up a storm! She is definitely walking more than crawling now and sometimes even runs. Before when she would fall she would just start crawling as if to say- It'll be easier this way. Now, she just gets back up and keeps on walking. She looks like a little drunk person when she walks and loves walking with her hands up in the air. Her favorite activity is to chase the dogs in circles. Poor Rosko and Ozzie. On that note, she is also practically saying their names. It's the most adorable thing you've ever heard. It's like- "Othskoo and Othzeeee"!

I love my Cuz!!

Princess Mia came to Austin this past weekend! She brought her parents to celebrate her Unkie B's 34th birthday. The girls had a blast together!! We went to the park for a birthday picnic.
The girls enjoyed the swings...

...and really loved the slide.

Gaby's slides down the typical way because she gets to slide every week at her swimming lessons. Mia is more of a daredevil- face first, flat on her back, sideways. You name it, she tried it and had a ball doing it:). Those two are just so adorable together.
Back at home, Gaby showed Mia the art of climbing and going down stairs. Mia lives in a one-story house so doesn't get much practice but let me tell you- one weekend with the Gabster and she got the hang of it.
And those two little munchkins were walking all over the place. Although, they still prefer to crawl if they're in a hurry, there was no shortage of walking! After a long day, the girls needed to clean up before bed. This was their first bath together:)!!
That night Gaby's nanny, Patty, came over to watch the girls and us adults went out on the town. We ate at a Cajun restaurant at the birthday boy's request and had a yummy dinner, hit a few bars, and ended the night with a little dancing. Candie and I showed the younger crowd how to do the Running Man :) Heehee! Needless to say, we had a really fun weekend and were so happy that Aunt Can, Unkie Stevie, and Princess Mia came for a visit!!

Back in the Saddle Again...

Well, I survived my first day of work and everything went pretty well. Getting up at 6am was kinda tough. I've been so lucky that Gaby is a great sleeper and usually doesn't get up until 7:30-8am. So waking up when it was still dark was no fun at all! We all know how much I like my sleep:) Being back at an office was fine and everyone I will be working with seem really nice. I only saw a few patients and then spent most of the day getting acquainted with things and filling out paperwork. So during the downtime, I really had an opportunity to think about and miss my little sweetie. It was so weird to be away from her for so many hours. She's on a pretty good schedule, so I could imagine exactly what she was doing during the day. But thinking about her is so different than being with her. Her contagious giggles, her beautiful smile, her pure excitement at the the little things, her observant stare- need to be witnessed in person. I'm sure it'll get easier as time goes on. I just hope they'll keep me busy so the time goes by fast. I did enjoy a nice lunch out, though:)

The Time Has Come

Gaby's Newest Trick- Gaby has learned that if she brings us a book we will inevitably read it to her. Now at first this was just the cutest thing ever, but you can imagine that it can also be very frustrating for poor Mommy and Daddy. Of course, she has her favorites so I can't tell you how many times I've read "At the Zoo", "Sooo Big", "Touch and Feel Baby Animals", and "Where is Baby's Bellybutton?". I can recite them for you by memory, if you'd like:) I'm sure it'll be a great party trick one day. Good news is that our little sweetie will hopefully be an avid reader. Sometimes she'll sit and read out loud to herself. She's so smart:)

Walking Update- Everyone always told me- one day she'll just take off walking and there's no looking back. I'm finding that that is not the case with our little princess. Everyday she gets braver, tries more often, and walks one or two more steps than she did the day before. It really is so amazing to see it! It seems silly to get excited about it every time but if you could just see the look on her face, you would get excited too. You can tell she is just having a ball and that she herself can't believe she's walking on her own. You can't help but clap and cheer because she's laughing and clapping herself. She is so darn cute:)! I have been so lucky to be around to watch her!

On a sad note- I am going back to work. Yes, that is right, I will reenter the working world this week. I have mixed emotions. Some days I think it'll be nice to be out amongst adults again and other days I just want to hang out with my sweet and stay in my pjs until mid-morning. But the time has come. I've stayed home for 7 months now and the extra income will be greatly appreciated. I have found a really great nanny for Gaby and hope that she will work out long term. Did I mention I'll only be working two days a week ;) Don't feel too bad for me- heehee!

Happy Valentine's Day!

You gotta love having a girl !!

You can put gigantic bows on her head:)

Wheeeeeee!!!

This weekend we went to Gaby's friend, Logan's B-day party in Houston. It was at one of those inflatable wonderlands with big bouncey moonjumps and slides. Needless to say, Gaby had a blast! Byron took Gaby down the slide and I caught this picture. Now, that's a face of sheer joy:)!!!