18 Months of Love

As promised, I am attempting to stay current with Gabriella's daily activities...She cracks me up.  She never ceases to amaze me with her curiousity, with her intelligence, with her love.  Here are a few of the things she's doing now:

She is really enjoying Mickey Mouse Clubhouse now.  It is the only thing she actually watches on TV.  She calls it "Mouse" and Mickey is her favorite character now.  She says Daisy, Duck, Woof Woof and of course, Mouse when she sees the characters on the screen.  She can sort of say Minnie, but she's still working on it.  She loves to do the "Hot Dog Dance" at the end of the show and when Mickey says goodbye, Gabby waves and says, "Byebye, Mouse!  Byebye!" It is just precious. 

She has learned several new words - I can't remember all of them, but here are a few:

*Buckle *Hair *Ear *NightNight *Eat *Feet *Sock *Boot *Shoes *Grilled Cheese *Bite *Mommy (Instead of Momma/Momba) *Grace *Bible

Those are the ones I can think of right now. 

Gabby Kay - 16 months, 3 weeks

I've been so bad about documenting Gabriella's progress and milestones. My weekly Baby Center email came this week....When I opened it, it said she is 16 months, 3 weeks! She's going to be 18 months before we know it!!! I realized then, that she has been doing so many new things that I truly need to sit down and write about what's she's doing. So, here I go.

Her vocabulary - Words she says regularly:

Reindeer (who happens to be her BFF and snuggle buddy)

Bear (Her other BFF and snuggle buddy)

Baa (Another one of her stuffed animals - a fuzzy sheep!)

Dada

Momma (and Momba)

Papa (which she uses for my Dad, Ean's Dad and Ean's Papa)

Nana

Mimi

Jor (As in Uncle Jordan)

Aylah

Lillian (I can't type it how she really says it, but it is adorable!)

Jack

Mouth (More like Mouf)

Eyes

Nose

Yeah

Yes

No

Hello? (She loves to pick up the phone and say hello!)

Up

Down

Book

Ball

More (Sounds kinda like Mo)

Juice

Please (Kinda like pease...)

Cat

Ishes (Fishes)

Woof Woof (which is what she calls dogs)

Cheese

Egg

Cake


Animal Sounds:
Dog - Woof Woof

Cat - Mow (Kinda like meow...lol)

Pig - (She snorts like a pig)

Cow - Mooooooo

Chicken - Bawk Bawk Bawk

Duck - Quack Quack

Sheep - Baaaaaa

Tiger - raawrrr

Lion - Roarrr (Very slight difference from the tiger...ha)



Behavior - Things she is doing:

Oh my. Gabriella learns something new every day it seems...Today she learned to climb out of her crib. Thankfully there was a futon mattress on the floor! Her favorite thing to do is sneak to the kitchen table and try to climb on the chairs onto the table top before Mommy catches her. (Which doesn't happen very often!) Gabby has been introduced to time outs this month...(mainly because of the climbing thing!) She loves to do things that she's not supposed to do and then look at Mommy and smile...She's quite the strong willed little girl. Gabby is always stealing Mommy's iPhone and "talking" on it. She also has a tendancy to text people. :) I think even a couple of times she's used Hey Tell and talked to Mrs. Tiree! She figured out how to unlock the screen and knows how to scroll back and forth. Just this past week I found my favorite book, The Poky Little Puppy, as an iPhone app! So this week, Gabby has been discovering my childhood favorite in a brand new way! It's quite exciting...Of course, I don't know who is more excited - her or me. Lol. :) Gabriella LOVES our kitty-cats and dogs...But I think the kitten is her favorite. She loves watching her run around the house and play with Kitty (the big cat). She giggles uncontrollably and claps when they start wrestling. She pets them and tries to snuggle with them.

Gabby doesn't really watch tv, but the one thing she does pay attention to is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But only for a little while...And really only for one particular character. She adores Pluto! Whenever he comes on the screen, she grins, looks at me, points and says "Woof, woof...WOOOOOOOF, WOOOOOOF!" It's adorable.

Last week, Gabriella helped her cousin, Aylah, build a gingerbread house. She really did a fantastic job! I was afraid she would try to eat the candy, but she just watched what Aylah did - and followed her lead! It was so precious watching them work together. She sat on Mommy's lap so she could reach, but she put the candy right where she wanted it to go!

When Gabriella gets REALLY excited or sees something that really catches her attention...She starts saying, "Ooooooo.....OOOOOOOoooooo....OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" I wish I could get it on tape, but it never seems to work out.

Anyway...I know I'm forgetting TONS of things that she does and says...But these are the things that really stand out. One of my favorite things that Gabby and I do every night and almost every nap time is "Gabby Burrito Time." It sounds silly, but it's our special song and snuggle time. She falls asleep faster when she's wrapped in a blanket, so I made up a song because I always felt like I was wrapping her up like a burrito. So I start singing Gabby Burrito and she comes running to her quilt and I wrap her up! Then we get Reindeer and Bear, sit in the rocker and she drinks her soy milk before bed. It's just a special time that we have together. A lot of times after she finishes her milk, she grabs my face with her little hands, pulls me in close and gives me a kiss - or just looks at me until she drifts off to sleep (which is never very long). It's magical. So thankful the Lord has entrusted Ean and I with such an incredible little girl.

Black Friday Madness

So, I never go out shopping for Black Friday. I am content to eat my leftover turkey on a sandwich and wash it down with another piece of pie. But I am fascinated with the phenomenon that occurs with the day after Thanksgiving. Leading up to the big turkey day, we focus on what we have and how grateful we are. We are content. We're satisfied and happy with what we have. But then something begins to happen. Something almost sinister in nature. And it happens quickly. Black Friday.

When I was little, stores would open at - gasp - 5 am for early bird sales and what not. I thought people were crazy then to wake up and fight for their purchases. But then...as time marched on...the opening time was pushed back. Now even 3 am is too late. We gotta start shopping at midnight people!! Let's get this show on the road!!! Enough with the being thankful crap, I've got to get more STUFF!!!!!! Now, I hope you all know that I'm writing this as more of a satire than anything. I'm sickened more by the actions of a select few people than the whole. I opened my Drudge Report app this afternoon and the headlines talked about a woman using pepper spray to have an upper hand at shopping....An elderly man being trampled by the crowd...teenage girls punching each other over yoga pants...I mean, really people? 24 hours ago we were thankful for what we had...what happened?

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." (Philippians 4:11, 12 NASB)

The Cost of Discipleship

This has been weighing heavy on my heart lately.  It seems that many people who call themselves Christians are confused at what that truly means.  The Bible is VERY clear about what it means to be a follower of Christ.  We don't get to pick and choose what we want to listen to.  We don't get to say, "Oh, well I'll sacrifice this, but I don't want to give up that because I enjoy it too much."  And when someone confronts us on it we say, "Whoa buddy!  Don't judge me!  You're not perfect and what I do is between me and God!" 

It drives me crazy!  No, no one outside of Jesus is perfect.  That much is true.  But Jesus Himself defines the cost of following Him and it's not cheap!  In Luke 9:23-26, the Bible says, "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to comes after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's and of the holy angels.'" And later on in Luke 14:26-33 Jesus talks more about the cost of discipleship.  He says in verses 26-27, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." 

Those are pretty incredible demands, don't you think!?  "Bearing one's cross" was really just requiring total and utter commitment to Jesus.  The cross was a form of death.  Jesus is calling us to die to ourselves on a daily basis - to die to OUR wants, desires, hopes, dreams, etc and to focus on Him.  Eventually, our wants, desires, hopes, dreams, etc will become more like His.  To be honest, there are days when I have to die to myself on an hourly basis.  Ha.  There are days when I have to pray for Him to help me quiet my my wants and desires just about every few minutes!  But that's another story! So if you're going to CLAIM to be a Christian, you need to understand what that really means.  Jesus said that no one really starts a project without first counting the cost....So, don't start calling yourself a Christian unless you really understanding what the sacrifices really are!

Anyway.  It's hard to put what I want to do aside because let's be honest...what I want to do is fun.  What I want to laugh at is fun.  What I want to joke about or talk about is fun.  But it's not what God would have me do - or laugh at - or joke about - or talk about.  And EVERYTHING I do needs to honor Him.  Everything I put in my body needs to honor Him. And people are watching, whether I know that or not.  I am an example.  They're listening.  They're watching.  The Bible says that unbelievers will know I am a Christian by my fruit (in otherwords, how I act, how I talk).  So am I different?  Do I talk different?  Do I act different?  I sure hope so.  Because I'll be held accountable for everything I say. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:35-37.  That's steep!  Every awful thing I have said and ever will say, I will have to give an account for to Jesus on the day of judgment.  GAAA!  That's humbling.  Anyway.  I have just had all these things weighing so heavy on my heart the past few weeks and needed to get it out somehow.  So I decided to blog.  Now I think I can get to sleep.  :)  G'night all!

What a Life!

I found this post in my drafts!!!! Apparently it never posted!! So, here you go:

I promised myself that after Gabriella was born I would be much more dedicated about blogging....I've pretty much failed miserably. But I can always start now. Ha. So, here goes nothing. A lot has happened since the last time I typed...The last time I posted, Gabriella was 2 months old....Ean had lost his job...I was still on maternity leave...And it was September 2010. Ha. So, let's catch things up...It's now August 2011...Since January, I've been a stay at home mom...Gabby just turned one...Ean is loving his new job and is about to start his 2nd year of school at Purdue. I couldn't be more proud of him. He works so hard so that I can continue to stay at home with our little girl.

I have to brag about Gabby a little bit...She's been walking now for a month and a half...Now she's starting to run! And tonight....I had a speaking engagement at a college, so my Mom was watching her...So I called to let her know that I was on my way and Gabby wanted to talk to me...Now, in the past, she's never actually talked back when I talk to her...But tonight, when I said "Gabby..." she said, "Momba!" Made my night. That's all for now....I just had to get it out.

Finally, in closing, the Lord has blessed me with a hard working husband that makes it possible to stay home with a beautiful little girl. Thankful doesn't begin to cover it.

Now I HAVE to be more dedicated in blogging. So I will be. Promise!!

Momma Bear

I felt the first tinge of the "Momma Bear" feeling yesterday. It was Gabriella's 2 month appointment - which unfortunately meant shots. I knew they were coming, but we got such good news about how healthy she is - it wasn't on the top of my mind. Gabby is 11 lbs, 4 oz - up from 7 lbs, 8 oz a month ago! She jumped from the 25th percentile to the 60th! :) She is 23" long - which is the 75th percentile. Her foot is a getting better every day and shouldn't need any casting. The doctor gave her thumbs up and then came the worst moment of my 26 and a half years of life. The nurse came in and did her job - which unfortunately meant giving Gabby two shots in one leg and one in the other. It took about 5 seconds for it to register that those shots hurt but when she figured it out, she cried the most heart wrenching cry I have ever heard. It was absolutely awful. It was all I could do to not push the nurse out of the way. When I finally got to hold her, she was sobbing (and so was I...). I held her as close as I could. She settled down and slept for awhile on the way home. When we got there, as long as I held her, she was alright. I put her in the swing for awhile...she slept for an hour or so...When it came time for Ean to leave for class, it was like the floodgates opened. She cried even harder than she did at the doctor's office! It literally...LITERALLY made me feel the most helpless I have EVER felt in my whole life. I would have given the beating heart from my chest - the breath from my lungs - to take the pain from that little girl. It was absolutely the worst feeling I have ever experienced. I held her as close as possible and we just sat in the nursery, rocking, both sobbing....It was awful. I gave her some ibuprofen and about 25 minutes later, she finally fell asleep. But every time I stopped rocking, she would whimper...I would squeeze her and rock and she would drift off to sleep. I'll tell you what...As horrible as that experience was, it made me feel even closer to my baby girl. She is absolutely the most amazing baby in the entire world. We have been blessed far beyond measure and I am so grateful to our amazing God for this beautiful baby girl.

How my life has changed...

9 weeks ago, the most beautiful baby girl in the entire world graced us with her presence. Since then, my life has changed more than I could have ever imagined - all for the better! I'd like to take a few minutes and share a couple of things...Hope you don't mind. :)

1. Sleep...ha. What sleep? I used to love sleep...but now, I've just accepted that it's not going to happen for awhile now. Granted, she does sleep pretty well at night and naps pretty well throughout the day...and Ean will take a turn at night so I can keep sleeping....But nonetheless - I don't sleep NEAR as much as I used to. But you know, there's something about her sweet cry and her sweeter still smile that makes it alright. I mean, if I have to be awake....There's nothing I'd rather see!

2. Football. Those of you who know me know that football is my thing. I have been known to skip get events if I knew they were going to interfere with the Colts game...I mean, I've named my dogs after the Manning family after all! (Peyton and Cooper - no Eli yet...YET...haha) Anyway...Just a week ago, there was a game like none other...a game that I would have (in the past) watched from kickoff till the last second ticked off with NO INTERRUPTION. Yes, I am talking about the Manning Bowl. Giants v. Colts. It doesn't get much better! But do you know...I gladly left my post on the couch to give my baby girl a bath. And do you know, I never once thought, "Man, I wonder what's going on in the game??" The only thing I could think was, "How lucky am I?"

3. Mornings. I hated mornings. With fervent passion. As previously mentioned, I valued sleep...Mornings and sleep hate each other and I sided with sleep. But now? Morning snuggle time. Gabby usually wakes up anywhere from 5a-7a, ready for a bottle. When it's my turn to take her, I come out to the living room, plop myself on the couch next to Mr. Peyton and feed baby girl. Then comes my favorite part...The post-bottle good mood. :) Gabby is always happy and wide awake after her morning bottle. So we snuggle, we talk to each other, we play...whatever the mood strikes, we do it. She giggles, she smiles and my heart melts.

4. Spit happens. What can I say? I have now come to the conclusion that she's gonna spit...it's gonna go everywhere...and there's nothing I can do about that. Yesterday when we were trying to get ready for church - we had JUST put her dress on - and BAM. Spit up. So, we changed her into a different dress and we're good to go. The other day, she had some projectile spit up...and it covered me. Ha. 9 weeks ago, that would have completely grossed me out. Now...the first thought in my mind was, "My poor baby!!" so yeah....Spit happens. Nothin' you can do but clean it up and move on.

5. Priorities. This is the biggest and more important change for me. My priorities have completely shifted - as well they should have. My needs, my wants...they are dwarfed compared to Gabriella's. I am content with wearing last season's clothes if it means I can get something for her that she needs. I can wait another hour to eat if she's awake and wants to play. what I watch on TV has changed because her little ears don't need to hear certain things. The things I listen to in the car have changed for the same reason. I would give the beating heart from my chest to spare this little girl from pain or suffering.

Well, this isn't really even the tip of the iceberg...But Gabby is asleep again...and I do miss sleep a bit...so, I think it's time for me to sneak in a nap. :)

"Thank You, Lord, for blessing us with this precious gift. She has enriched our lives SO much and we are grateful. I pray that, in time, she will come to know You and will serve You all the days of her life. Amen."


Irresistible little smile!


Getting ready for church!



Snuggle!!!