Gabriella Grace Plaster

Gabriella is already developing some drama queen qualities, meaning she overreacts to get what she wants. She will cry if Cole tries to take something away from her. Recently she threw such a fit the moment he tried to take something out of her hands that he actually was the one that cried and went away. If she comes to me crying for attention, and I ignore her, she’ll then head Brian’s way to see if her drama will work on him. She’s also recently starting putting her hand over her mouth when she’s upset and crying, which is meant to emphasize her pain. Hopefully when she starts talking, she’ll be better able to express her feelings.

Gabriella shows off her new Janie and Jack swimsuit while enjoying Aunt Jillian and Uncle Ian’s pool.

Gabby probably thought she was doing Aunt Jillian a favor by swimming with her. Note the furrowed brow!

Cole was bummed that he didn’t get to use the ladybug towel.

Video: Gabby interacts with me while eating breakfast.

She loves chocolate Cheerios, which are a “special” treat.

Aunt Mari came by on her lunch hour bearing gifts. Gabby scored Snow White and Cinderella, which sounds similar to how Cole says his sister’s name - Gabbyrella! Mari caught a great shot of Gabby. Thank you, Mari!

Gabby looks a little hippy-ish in the dress we bought her in Greece.

Gabby gets some good exercise while roaming around Floyd Lamb Park.

Not a great shot of me, but this was the best one out of at least 10. Poor Gabby has my red-faced complexion.

Video: On the way home from Floyd Lamb, Gabby talks baby talk

Gabby and Coleman just spent 10 days in Mississppi with Pop and Madi. I was worried that Gabby would freak out a little when we left her with Pop and Madi at the airport. She hadn’t seen them since she was 8 months old. When Pop and Madi were walking away from us, Gabby never looked back. She had an awesome time with her Mississippi grandparents! Thank you Debbie for taking such great pictures! Thank you also for all of the clothes you bought for both Gabby and Cole! We especially like the Southern girls t-shirt.

This last picture reminds me of baby pictures of me in my swimsuit.

As you can tell from all of these pictures, Gabby had a great time with Pop and Madi.

I wish I had some pictures of Gabby in the water, but I haven’t been able to get any yet. She’s been in a pool four times this summer, and since Brian and I each have to have one child, it’s kind of hard to take pictures too. On Sunday, we tossed Gabby around like she was a football in the water, and she loved it. She can go underwater for at least 3 seconds. I have high hopes that she’ll be a pretty good kicker after my Dad gets ahold of her.

Gabby has learned to go down the slide by herself. Check out the video. It’s a little long, and the action is at the front, so don’t feel compelled to watch the whole thing.

Mari came over during her lunch on Monday to see the kids. Cole was napping so she got some quality time with Gabby. Mari takes great photos.

Gabby and Grandpa Richard on our hike at Lake Mead a few weeks ago.

Gabby and Daddy at Lake Mead.

This is what Gabby looks like when Cole hits her. Pop and Madi, here I come!

Can you tell this is just five minutes later? She’s really good at working herself up!

Gabby took her first steps at 8 months old. Now at 13 months, she goes down stairs face forward and uses her toys to climb on furniture. She shows no fear. When she falls, she usually gets right back up and tries again. I took her swimming two weeks ago.  She was near a pool yesterday and wanted to jump in. She basically needs to be watched every waking moment. Thank goodness for Pack and Plays. It’s one way we can contain her for small amounts of time. I also occasionally put her in her room and close the door when I need to do something really quickly. The problem is that she has a toddler table and will climb on it while I’m out of the room. I guess falling off of it is way better than falling down 18 stairs in our hallway.

Yesterday I got a video of Gabby walking down the two stairs into our living room.

Gabby Goes Down Stairs and Laughs at her Dogs

I also got a video of her climbing onto our chairs. You can see how much she loves being up high.

Daredevil Gabby

My next goal is to get a good video of her dancing. She loves music.

We had pictures of our house taken recently. The photographer, Paul Cichocki, got a great photo of Cole and Gabby together.

One of Gabby’s favorite things to do is take a bath. Her bathing schedule is once every two days. I’m sure this will change when she’s swimming every day in the summer.

Aunt Mari came by to visit a few weeks ago. We always have a good time with Aunt Mari!

Before we went swimming at Jenica’s, Cole and Gabby had the best time putting rocks into Jenica’s new fountain. Gabby thought it was pretty awesome, but then she went swimming. At this point in her life, nothing excites her more than swimming.

Taking a break from going up and down the stairs.

Grandpa Richard gave Gabby some French Onion soup during our Mother’s Day lunch. She also enjoyed pork, fries, crab cake and bread, all extremely healthy!

Gabby did surprisingly well at lunch today and only got fussy after we were there well over an hour. I was amazed she lasted as long as she did. I’m sure it’s because she knows it’s Mother’s Day!

Gabby clelebrated her first birthday this past Wednesday, and she had a great time. All that was required for were balloons and cake, although I’m sure she continues to enjoy all of her wonderful gifts and the money that went into her savings account thanks to Pop and Madi. Mommy, Daddy, Cole, Granny Gigi, Grandma Wendy, Dulce, Uncle Morgan, Aunt Jillian, Uncle Ian, Aunt Mari and Uncle Roy were all here to celebrate the big day.

I bought Gabby a bouquet of balloons on what was probably one of the windiest days of the year. Luckily for me, we only had one casualty. It’s crazy how much she loves balloons. Uncle Morgan also brought over balloons as did Aunt Jillian. Morgan bought LED lights to stick in the balloons, which are still lit 4 days later. Cole uses them as night lights. Aunt Jillian and Uncle Ian’s balloons were attached to a stuffed pig. Gabby loved them!

Today, Gabby is wearing a dress by Boden, courtesy of Grandma Wendy!

Cole helps Gabby blow out her candles. His mouth is formed in the right shape, but not enough air comes out to blow the candle out. Luckily, Grandma Wendy is there to help! Notice the look on Gabby’s face. She cried when we had to put the cupcake out of her reach so we could blow out the candle.

Note - Cole is happy while Gabby is thinking, “Enough with the singing! When are they going to give me my cupcake?”

“Oh, dear God! They’re going to finally give it to me!”

She’s happy now! Chocolate is AWESOME!

Awww yeah. Chocolate really is awesome.

It’s my birthday! We’re gonna party like it’s my birthday! When she smiles like this, life couldn’t be sweeter.

Uncle Ian and Aunt Jillian pose for a picture. Hopefully one day we can take a decent group photo.

Her first birthday is a huge celebration for me as well. One year ago I was in the hospital meeting her for the first time. Ahhhh, she makes my heart melt.

A rare shot with the Grandmas where Gabby is actually looking at the camera. This one is a keeper!

Then, 4 days later we celebrated Easter! Gabby loved her Easter basket. This is probably one of the best pictures I’ve taken with my camera in months.

Gabby’s dress is a gift from Madeleine Andress.

Gabby enjoys brunch at the Country Club. Most of what she ate was unhealthy. Sometimes you have to make exceptions so you (that means I) can enjoy my lunch! I think this picture proves she was enjoying herself.

Thanks to Grandpa Richard for entertaining her!

Most kids are afraid of life size cartoon characters, but not Gabby! She loves Minnie and walked right up to her to hug her legs.

Did I mention that it’s impossible to get a good group photo with these two? Oh well, at least Hello Kitty knew what to do!

I’ve heard Gabby speak three words. She likes to say “uh-oh” fairly often, and I heard her say “no” once. She usually communicates by making the most irritating sounds possible to let us know that whatever we are doing, it’s not to her liking. (And I thought Cole had a strong personality!”) The word she likes to say is “up” and she says it often. She likes to point at the sky when saying it. I can’t help but wonder what this means. Will she be a pilot one day? Is she commanding me to get up? Does she know something I don’t know?

Gabby is wearing the jersey Uncle Paul bought for Cole. Who dat say gonna beat dem Saints? No one. That’s who!

Gabby lets one of Brian’s best friends ever hold her. Way to go Izzy! Gabby is kind of particular about people holding her. I guess I should be thankful that she’s a Momma’s girl for now.

Getting messy with her food. I can’t remember what she was eating. Maybe lentils . . .

Gabby loves it when her big brother wants to play with her instead of hit her.

Gabby loves playing with Cole’s Woody doll (Toy Story) that he got for Christmas. (Cole doesn’t give Woody the time of day.) Finally, she got a doll of her own from Grandma Wendy. We named her Ga Ga since this is something Gabby can say.

Grandma Wendy buys most of Gabby’s clothes, so I am proud to say that I bought this outfit, and I think I did a pretty good job!

While this is not the most flattering picture of Gabby, I had to post it because she’s making the monkey face that Cole often made at this age.

Gabriella turned 10 months old on Sunday. I hate to brag, but she is really advanced for her age. Not only is she full on walking, she can also climb onto her ice cream truck and stand.

Video: Gabby Should Join the Circus

What else can Gabby do? She can also turn around in circles without falling down. Her babbling sometimes sound like words. Brian and I both think we heard her say “idiot,” which shows that Cole is probably using that word a little too much! She loves feeding herself and especially loves crackers. One of my favorite parts about this stage is that she is often excited to see me and will walk towards me with her arms in the air ready to be picked up.

Gabby was hanging out on the butcher block the other day (supervised, of course) and loved the sounds the pots on the pot rack made when she hit them.

Bundled up to enjoy some good swinging.  She is really amused when someone swings right next to her.

Gabby with her favorite babysitter - Granny Gigi.

On Sunday we went on our first hike since our road trip last August.  Even though she doesn’t look too happy in this picture, she had fun. She really like getting to ride in the backpack because she had a much better view.

See how happy she is? I guess she was sick of looking at her mama.

She shouldn’t get too used to riding.  She’ll easily be hiking within the year.

Gabriella is full-blown walking. Here’s proof - Video of Gabby walking

She’s eating on her own, mostly finger food. I’ve given her a spoon to see what she’d do, but she prefers to drop it on the floor and watch me pick it up than actually using it for her food.

Gabby enjoyed spending time with Uncle Paul, and unlike most people, she’d let him hold her.

Granny Gigi loves little babies. Before we know it, Gabby won’t be a baby any more.

Now that Aunt Mari gave Cole his own Cars ride-on toy, he’s decided Gabby can have her ice cream truck back. Gabby loves being pushed on the truck. Check out this video.

Gabby and Aunt Mari on the new swing set. We bought Gabby her own special swing.

Today, Gabby is wearing a dress from Grandma Wendy. It was a hit at Cole’s birthday party.

This is one of the few pictures I took at Cole’s party. You gotta get one with the grandparents every now and then.  I’m just now noticing that Gabby and Richard’s head shape is very very similar.

Gabriella had a very enjoyable first Christmas. She spent time with family, got lots of presents, and generally got lots of attention. Gabriella officially took her first steps on November 30 (the day she turned 8 months old) and can currently take at least 15 steps at a time.

Gabriella took her very first bath alone a few weeks ago. She loved it. Hopefully her love of water is a good indication of her swimming ability.

Gabriella is such a happy baby. It used to be this easy taking pictures of Cole. Gabby loves spending time with Dulce.

Gabriella takes a rest during our Christmas Eve dinner. Outfit compliments of Grandma Wendy.

Gabriella’s big present from Santa is this activity center. Cole loved it too. In fact, Cole loved almost all of her toys.

Seriously, Gabriella and Coleman really are the best presents ever.

Gabriella gets an ice cream truck that she can ride on. It will probably be Cole’s truck until Gabby is old enough to fight him for it.

She had as much fun playing with tissue paper as playing with her new toys. Note her teeth. She now has 8.

Enjoying the push toy that makes neat sounds.

Coleman and Gabriella open presents that Aunt Mari and Uncle Roy gave them. They enjoyed Christmas breakfast at Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Richard’s.

Gabriella walks to Grandma Wendy. Too bad this isn’t a video! I promise I’ll try to do better.

Gabby celebrated her first Thanksgiving in Meridian, just like her brother Cole in 2007. She thoroughly enjoyed her meal of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and turkey. That night, though, she had difficulty breathing. We think it was the croup. It was the first time I’ve ever thought about taken my child to the emergency room. She started taking a steroid the next day and was much better, although she didn’t sleep well the rest of our time in Meridian. When we returned to Vegas, she slept 12 hours without waking up once.  Yea!

Gabby gets ready for some food in her new kitchen.

Gabby shows off the dress Grandma Wendy bought her while on a cruise in Northern Europe. Gabby got lots of compliments on her dress while we were at the Vegas airport.

Gabby loved watching all of Pop and Madi’s dogs as they looked in the window, hoping to come inside. Here’s Max leaping at the door and Gabby laughing at him.

Gabby gets tired after her Thanksgiving meal.

I bet Uncle Paul isn’t as “tough love” on Gabby as he is on Cole!

Gabby enjoys her time with Pop.

Gabby spent the majority of the time at Todd and Kim’s party in the Ergo.  I loved holding her, but would have liked to have gotten a picture with her in her pretty party dress.