Gabriella Grace Plaster

We threw Gabby’s birthday party at our house and invited family and a handful of close friends. It turned out really well and was the perfect size, allowing me to enjoy myself and actually hang out with our guests. Gabby had a great time playing with Gigi (not her grandmother, but her friend) and Jack and of course, opening all of her birthday presents.

She came downstairs to a big, beautiful empty dollhouse that was once her Aunt Jillian’s. Even at three years old, she knew that something was wrong and was puzzled that there was nothing in the dollhouse. Then she opened her presents!

They’ve finally figured out how to take a good picture together! I hope this lasts a few years.

Gabby thoroughly enjoyed her birthday breakfast.

Gabby loved her gifts from Granny Gigi - a cupcake dress and girly pj’s. She also loved eating popcorn all day . . .

And a birthday hot dog. Brian made some really good Hebrew Nationals. We only bought 12, mostly for the kids, and all of the adults wanted one too.

Gabby wanted a Daisy Duck cake, but I convinced her to get the entire clubhouse crew.

Aunt Mari gave Gabby every Disney princess doll. She was ecstatic!

After lunch we spent some time enjoying a beautiful spring day.

Gigi with her mom Katie. Gigi will be in Gabby’s class at school next year. Gigi is thinking “This birthday party is pretty fun, but nothing tops the parties my grandma gives me!” (If she were really thinking that, she would be right! Nothing beats a Binion party.)

I get a rare photo of Gabby with her Plaster grandparents. Such a beautiful crew.

Later that afternoon, Jaime stopped by to give Gabby three princess costumes with matching jewelry. Look how tickled Gabby is!

Jaime is the best neighbor ever. We can’t wait for swimming season.

By the end of the day, Gabby was modeling her pouty princess face.

The next day we visited the Nevada State History Museum and the Springs Preserve. The kids can only last about 15 minutes in the state museum, so Brian took them to the Springs playground while Pop, Madi and I enjoyed the museum in peace.

She’s a spelunker!

Gabby wasn’t super cooperative when we took pictures at the Bellagio. I’m glad we still managed to get a decent one of her with Pop.

Coleman gets her in a head lock while dyeing Easter eggs.

The next day we stopped at the Las Vegas Country Club to buy some hats. We walked around so that Gabby wouldn’t wreak havoc in the pro shop. Who needs toys when you have a puddle?  Watch the video. Note that it had only been four weeks since her accident, and that her spleen isn’t yet fully healed. Can’t tell, can you?

A sweet brother/sister photo. When I see  pics like this, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking a third is a good idea.

Taking a break after scrambling rocks at Calico.

We spent the last three days of spring break at Lake Tahoe with Morgan, Tappan and Raymond Vickery. On Day One we killed some time near the Heavenly gondola before taking a cruise on Lake Mead. Don’t let their angelic faces deceive you. Tappan and I were chasing these kids everywhere!

I’m glad I took a lot of pictures of Gabby with this hat on because she (or maybe I) lost it on Day Two. That’s only $12.50 a day.

The cruise was a great idea for the kids because they were somewhat contained.

After the cruise was over, Gabby pretended to be a pirate princess. Watch the video. Thank you Jake and the Neverland Pirates for exercising my daughter’s imagination!

The next day we took the gondola up to the Heavenly ski resort. Gabby squirms for Morgan.

A nice family photo with the gorgeous lake behind us. Smile Gabby!

We stopped for the scenic view. I thought Brian was going to have a heart attack seeing the kids so close to the edge.

Gabby and Raymond pose on the ride down. The hat was lost when we exited the gondola. I’m still sad about it. I guess I should be grateful that I’ve kept up with most of the kids’ stuff.

Nirvana. They feel asleep while watching a DVD. Tappan and I were pretty darn happy.

The next day we hunted for eggs in the backyard of the rental house.

Gabby loves her Daddy.

She also really loves playing in sand. Look at this amazing sand castle made of sticks!

Gabby had an accident around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 5. All we knew at the time was that she was in a great deal of pain. Every time I asked her what happened, she’d say “I fell on the grass.” It wasn’t until the next day that she told Brian she fell out of her bedroom window (on the grass). She had a grade 3 laceration of her spleen and spent 4 nights in the pediatric ICU. Her spleen will completely heal over the next few months. I am so very thankful that her fall didn’t result in broken bones or worse. We already knew she was tough, but now there is no doubt. It’s no wonder she always loves talking about Woman Power.

Here she is at the first emergency room at St Rose.  She was later moved to UMC, which is close to the house. The neck brace was a safety precaution. She wore it a lot the next day too since her neck was sore from the fall.

On her last day at the hospital on March 9 (Uncle Paul’s birthday!), Gabby was pretty much back to her normal self. Minnie Mouse was a present from Cindy, Brian’s co-worker and long time Signature employee. Gabby probably watched 15+ hours of Mickey Mouse while in the hospital. There’s not much else to do while cooped up in a room for 4 days.

One month before her fall, we had breakfast at the Original Pancake House. I think this will be their favorite breakfast joint for a long time.

While Coleman and I went to a birthday party, Brian took Gabby skiing for the first time. She wasn’t great at following instructions, but seemed to enjoy it, especially snack time and play in the snow time. Coleman was a little annoyed that she got new princess skis and a helmet, but Brian told him not to worry. Gabby will be wearing his hand-me-downs for a long time. Note the ski suit.

Playing in the snow.

Already looking like a pro.

Gabby returned a week later with Brian, Coleman and Matt Pynch. She listened to Matt way more than her Daddy.

Check out the video of her following Matt’s instructions!

Gabby passed out on the chair lift. Luckily, it was on the bunny slope, and the chair lift takes you back to the snack/bar area.

Coleman always wants hot chocolate and Skittles while skiing. Gabby wants chips.

They are so lucky to have a Daddy that loves to ski and do fun things!

The next weekend we went to Jack Newby’s birthday party at Kidville. It was great going to a new place for a party (the kids ran around a padded gym for an hour), and it lasted 1.5 hours. That was pretty great too. Pack in the fun and then get out of there!

On President’s Day, Brian took Cole skiing, and I took Gabby to Ramen Sora and then to a manicure place. Am I nuts? Probably. She really enjoyed it, and the only thing I regretted was letting her pick fuchsia for the color.

The day after she got home from the hospital was pretty awesome. I was so glad to have her home.

Here is Gabby trying to take it easy in our backyard. When we tell her not to do something (like swing or slide), she’s not happy about it. When I ask her if she wants to go back to the hospital, I think she understands why she’s not allowed to be too active.

Video of Gabby talking about stuff on a Sunday morning.

One thing I’ve realized about Gabby in the past few weeks is that she is quite the actress. I guess I’ve always known this due to her fake crying episodes, but now she’s acting in a different way. She’s very expressive with people she knows and uses a wide variety of facial expressions and hand gestures. Here’s proof.

Click here to see her making up a song (and note how she checks herself out in the window). Also note that the kid hasn’t yet had a dance lesson. I can’t wait!

Click here to see her dancing with Coleman.

Matt Pynch gave Gabby a gi for Christmas. Click here to see him give her a karate lesson.

Gabby likes lemons! These lemons were a little sweeter (straight from my friend Gayle’s tree), but still sour, and she loved it!

Cole’s birthday face painter, Candace from Balloons with a Twist, is a true artist. She puts other face painters to shame.

Gabby loves her Aunt Mari!

Gabby took a few swings at the pinata. She’s strong, but not that strong!

She enjoyed some tres leches birthday cake, which was just okay. I don’t think the kids noticed, but the raspberry filling tasted like it was straight from a jar.

I made chocolate cupcakes for Cole’s school birthday snack. He and Gabby thoroughly enjoyed the batter.

Gabby poses with her brother on his 5th birthday.

She always enjoys horsing around with Daddy, especially during bath time. He often gets soaked when HE supervises baths!

Have to have a cupcake wearing a pink cupcake shirt! I think I let her have two so that Brian and I would have less temptation in the house.

Gabby helps me walk the dogs in her adorable hoodie.

I took them to the Bellagio on MLK Day to see the year of the dragon exhibit in the conservatory.

We went to Jayna’s 3 hour birthday party (best party ever with rock climbing and kids going totally nuts in a gym with a bounce house and all kinds of toys). Gabby easily kept up with the five year olds. If she had been old enough, I bet she would have climbed to the top of the rock wall. She is always thrilled when she gets to go to a birthday party with Coleman.

Cole and Gabby celebrated Alex Dixon’s birthday with bowling, which was their first time to bowl. Gabby recently told me that “Coleman is the best brother I ever saw,” and he wasn’t even around to hear her say it. Those kind of compliments are why we keep her around!

Santa and all of Gabby’s relatives donated a huge haul to the Plaster household this year. I’m afraid that the bar has been set really high, and we need to dial it back next year before she can do math! Cole already believes that Gabby received more gifts than he did. Her biggest gift was American Girl bitty twins with accessories that Santa brought. She hasn’t shown much interest in them yet, although I think Gigi was finally able to get Gabby to name them. Their names are Jane and Jill. Gabby still has an unopened present from Grandma Wendy - beds for the twins. I’ve decided she can open it when she actually starts playing with the dolls!

Since I knew they were going to receive so many presents, Gabby got to open one on the morning of December 24. Watch the video of her receiving her first Barbie. She’s wearing princess pajamas that Jenica gave her.

Gigi came over that night to catch a ride to Vintner Grill for Christmas dinner.

Gigi gave Gabby a princess doll set where she can change their outfits. Jillian gave her something similar. She loves them both.

While opening presents at Grandma Wendy’s, Gabby took a picture with Uncle Ian. She decided to act shy for the picture, which we all know she ISN’T!

Watch a video of Coleman and Gabby opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

Grandma Wendy gave her pink slippers. Brian gave me pink slippers too, so we match!

We celebrated Christmas Day at our house. Gabby is checking out her loot from Santa.  (Note the improved quality of the picture. Brian got me a Canon Rebel T3 for Christmas.)

Gabby plays with her princess dress up set.

Gabby pretends to ski. She could still fit in the dress from last year, so I said “What the heck?” This is only one area I can brag about not being wasteful!

I gave Gabby a big pink coat and a cake. Since she loves pink and she loves cake, I think she was pretty happy with this present.

Two nights after Christmas, we had another family meal at Wendy and Richard’s house. This time, the Berman family joined us. Alan really enjoys playing with Cole and Gabby, which tells you how sweet this kid is.

A picture of the whole crew -Brian, Coleman, Izella, Alan, Gabby, Brianna and Jillian.

Gabby is having a great holiday season because we are taking her OUT! She has gone to lots of birthday parties with Cole, and she has been on several outings with me. Currently, Gabby’s favorite thing is drawing and coloring. She particularly likes drawing babies. She also likes playing with babies. She has become quite the nurturer to dolls.

Gabby enjoyed spending time with Eva over Thanksgiving. The necklace is from Grandpa Richard.

She also enjoyed spending time with Uncle Paul. I just asked her what she thinks about Uncle Paul, and she said “He’s good.” Then she said “I love Uncle Paul,” but I think Brian told her to say that.

Our neighbor and good friend Jaime brought her cousin over to play. Gabby made quick friends with her and was very sad when she had to go home. The lesson for me was that Gabby needs more friends than just Dulce and Coleman.

Gabby loved the Yo Gabba Gabba show. She was absolutely perfect and didn’t misbehave at all.

She was very excited when I pulled out Christmas decorations.

While Uncle Paul was visiting, he asked me when I was going to cut Gabby’s hair. I figured if Paul thought it was messy, then I should probably get it cut. Her new cut is very cute. (Bohemian dress courtesy of Grandma Wendy. Black eye courtesy of Coleman.)

Gabby loved the cake at Alex Saltman’s third birthday party. She’s not afraid of blue icing.

This is the face she makes when I say “Show me happy!”

This is the face she makes when I say “Show me mad!” The resemblance to Brian is uncanny.

Gabby poses with Terry Fator’s stoner and gay puppets.

She loved the merry go round at Opportunity Village’s Magical Forest.

She also loved the spinning dinosaur ride as did Coleman.

Can she get any cuter?

Last Saturday, Gabby sang some songs. Check out this video. Note the flushing toilet in the background. I really need to teach Coleman to gently put the toilet seat down!

Last weekend we all took a walk around the neighborhood. Gabby loved walking Lucy. She walked over a mile and had no problem doing it.

We went to a birthday party at the Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix. Gabby’s favorite ride was the gigantic slide. We probably went down that thing 10 times.

She also enjoyed hanging out under the table playing with toys while everyone ate their pizza.

Gabby had a great Halloween in her super glittery Belle costume. Her shoes lit up when she walked, which received lots of compliments from fellow trick or treaters. While she didn’t always remember to say “trick or treat,” she was diligent about saying thank you. Yes, a princess is polite!

Gabby always loves being with Aunt Mari as you can tell by her princess smile.

One of the houses giving out candy had a human jack-o-lantern. Cole and Gabby weren’t at all scared to take a picture with him!

Gabby’s bucket busted toward the end of the night, so we had to resort to a plastic bag.

Gabby with an ice cream cup that was way too big for her. My bad!

Later we had sushi. She ate her fair share of raw fish.

Then we stopped by the ballet, and she was given a tutu. The dancers were on break in the hallway and thought she was so cute. Gabby actually acted shy from all of the attention.

She enjoyed a nice orange cupcake at my office party.

Gabby and Cole love to play hide and seek. Here she is in Lenny’s dog house. Mari gave her this nightgown, and it’s one of her favorites.

Doing a puzzle with Cole.

We were at Crystals Mall to eat at Todd English P.U.B. Gabby feel asleep on the way, and then slept through the entire one-hour lunch. When we left the restaurant, we gave her some time to run around the mall in her hot pink tutu.

At our new favorite playground. This dress is courtesy of Grandma Wendy.

It’s a race down the slide!

Yesterday we went to the Vegas Valley Book Festival with free face painting. Gabby’s flower was so beautiful that is was a shame to wash off.

Brian took them to the store after the book festival, and they were wild! Snow cones can have that effect on young children.

We visited the recently opened Nevada State Museum today. This mastodon was one of the more impressive exhibits there. I can’t wait to go back without the kids so I can read about what’s there rather than chase after my kids.

Then we checked out the Springs Preserve playground where Gabby pretended to drive the train.

Video of Gabby playing on the playground.

This is her trying to make a sad face. Pretty darn cute!

Grandma Wendy was the first to hear Gabby talk about woman power. She’s been watching a lot of super hero stuff lately because Coleman is really into it, and I guess she just made up the notion of woman power. I told her to add in an extended arm with a fist to really emphasize power. When we were deciding on a Halloween costume, she vacillated between Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Woman Power (I would have chosen a Super Girl costume if this had been her choice). She promised that she wanted to be Belle, and I ordered the costume and all of the accessories. Guess what? Now she tells me she wants to be Woman Power. I knew that would happen! Check out this video.

Coleman loves Color Me Mine, a pottery painting store that Grandma Wendy has taken him to. Since he’d been several times, I thought it was only fair that I take Gabby. Her piece ended up looking pretty good (thanks, Dulce!), but she did not like following instructions about not watering down the paint. I can’t wait to see how she’s going to fare at the Meadows because she’ll have to do what the teachers say!

Can I just say one more time, thank goodness for Dulce? I actually painted my own piece and let Dulce deal with Gabby. Probably not going to win the parent of the year award!

Gabby enjoyed Jaime’s pool for the final swim of the summer.

I forget to take pictures of Gabby with her grandparents. Here’s a rare one with Gigi.

Gabby, show me “mad!”

Looking like an angel in the back yard.

Jenica met us at Coleman’s third soccer game and spent the majority of the time chasing down Gabby. It takes a village!

You can’t tell from this picture, but Gabby adores Matt Pynch, who will teach her how to ski this winter. Gabby often goes through the list of people she knows - Where’s Jillian? Where’s Ian? etc etc. Matt Pynch and Morgan always make it into the list.

Gabby takes a load off at Coleman’s fifth soccer game. She didn’t sit in this chair for long. Darn the bright sun on the iPad!

This picture (one of the best, in my opinion) was taken after we saw the Lion King and were waiting for our car. While we were in the show, I began to understand why Cirque requires their attendees to be 5 and older. Gabby made it through the 2 and 1/2 hour show, but it was difficult. She would have run up on stage if we’d let her!

Although Gabby hasn’t taken any formal dance lessons yet, she loves to dance. I am really looking forward to dance recitals.

Video: Gabby Makes Up a Song and Dance (For the record, Cole hates it when she sings her own songs. It hurts his ears.)

Video: Gabby Makes Up a Dance

We took Gabby and Cole on our first kid vacation, a vacation that we planned solely for the kids. We stayed at Paradise Point on San Diego’s Mission Bay, a family friendly resort. In fact, I felt kind of sorry for the people there who didn’t have kids. The resort had four or five pools, three restaurants, bike and jet ski rentals, beaches, miniature golf, smores pits and night movies at the pool. The kids had a great time, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be going back.

Here’s a video of Gabby dancing to Michael Jackson’s PYT.  She has a variety of dance moves. I can’t wait to get her in a real dance class.

Aunt Mari brought Gabby a kimono recently. Red is a great color on Gabby. Thank you, Mari!

Gabby enjoys a PB&J.

Gabby can hold a crayon with her right foot. Wow!!!!

Even more impressing, Gabby can count in both English and Spanish. Check out this video.

I bought this costume for Gabby at Nordstrom, and she didn’t like it at first, which was a shocker since she really likes to dress up. I’m pretty sure she’s going to love dance recitals!

It’s not often that Gabby passes out on the couch.

Gabby has been letting Dulce put her hair up lately. It’s amazing that she finally has some hair to work with!

Gabby really enjoyed staying at TJ and Blake’s house in San Diego.

She was pretty relaxed about Brian biking her around. I was worried that she was going to insist on biking like the rest of us.

She’s always a fan of playing in sand.

We had a nice Mexican lunch before checking into Paradise Point.

Later that afternoon, we spent some time walking around Paradise Point. On the beach:

And picking pretty flowers.

We can always get a good hug from Gabby by saying “DON’T give me a hug.”

I remember to get a picture of me with Gabby.

Gabby is really fond of Morgan. She is always asking where he is, and then when she is in his presence, she’ll say his name over and over. It’s pretty cute.

On our last day in San Diego, Brian went off with Cole, and I had Gabby to myself. I enjoyed following her around the property because I could focus on her and what she found interesting. Here she is at the top of the observation tower.

Watching fish in one of the canals.

Gabby wore this dress from Grandma one last time. She actually wore this same dress on her first birthday. It’s amazing that it still fits! A perfect dress for eating watermelon.

Gabby’s new favorite thing to say when she wants attention or when she’s mad about something is “you’re mean.” She often likes to say “mean” three times for emphasis. Cole was freely using “idiot” at this age, so “mean” really isn’t that bad.

Our neighbor and friend, Jaime Martin, lets us come swimming any time we want. She has an awesome pool!

Gabby can now swim from one side to the other by herself. She hasn’t yet learned how to take a breath. She usually swims by kicking only. Check out this video, a rare case of her using her arms.

Yes, she can do two thing at once - drive a car and drink milk.

Gabby liked hiking in Mount Charleston. Really, she did.

We spent the Fourth of July at the Las Vegas Country Club. They had a bunch of bounce houses, and Gabby loved it. You can tell she jumped a lot because her face is all red!

It was great seeing Azurde. It had been too long. What was also great for Gabby were the cupcakes! Before having kids, I never knew how awesome it’d be to watch them eat sugar.

Gabby enjoyed the band. Watch this video of her dancing to Michael Jackson. Flags make great dancing props!

She loved the fireworks too. They were loud, but she wasn’t scared at all.

And more sugar. This time it was Daddy’s fault. When they were at Cardenas, he couldn’t resist buying her an Elmo cupcake.

Gabby and Coleman have been showing a lot of interest in playing with Lenny and Lucy. They especially love getting Lenny’s toy and having him chase them around the house.

I was going to title this post “Mississippi,” but I instead have to tell this story. Coleman has been throwing articles of clothing into the air lately. He has especially enjoyed doing it in his closet where he can climb up shelves to retrieve the item. Tonight I turned on the hallway chandelier. Ten minutes later, I smelled gas. I got Brian to help me look for the source. He thought it was burnt garlic (dinner), and I thought one of the kids had turned on a burner or the fireplace or that we accidentally had the heat on. Luckily, Brian looked at the chandelier and saw a pair of Gabby’s lavender sunglasses printed panties on smoking one of the lights. He quickly removed it, and one spot was completely black. We have sprinklers!!!!! The inside of our house could have gotten a bath tonight! Is it a bad sign that my daughter’s panties are already smokin’ and she’s only 2?

We recently returned from Gabby’s fourth trip to Mississippi. She had a blast and especially loved swimming. She actually thinks she can swim and will jump in the pool even when no one is there to catch her. The kid is dangerous.

Gabby loved jumping off of the board to Pop. When she jumped to me, I’d let her hang out under water for 5 to 7 seconds, and she was totally cool with it.

Gabby’s bikini is courtesy of Grandma Wendy. Gabby’s belly would get bigger and tighter the more she swam. We figured it was either from swallowing water or air.

Gabby loves her some PB&J and Cheetos! She hasn’t yet grasped the concept of “healthy.”

She also really enjoyed playing in the fountain at Pop and Madi’s lake house. It was almost as good as the iPad. How refreshing that something as simple as a fountain can keep her attention for longer than 10 minutes!

After a healthy PB&J, Gabby had cake! Cake is actually her favorite word. I can bribe her to do just about anything with the promise of cake.

Gabby helped Pop pick out some fish for his koi pond and then assisted him in dumping them in.

We are fortunate that we can get Gabby to wear swimsuits.  She loves being naked and doesn’t see much difference in a swimsuit and nudity.

Gabby’s favorite item of clothing is this nightgown. She has two and throws a fit when they are both dirty, and she has to wear something else to bed.

Thank you Pop and Madi for a great trip. Thanks especially to Madi for taking lots of pictures and going to the trouble of e-mailing them to me.

On Father’s Day/Brian’s and my 7th anniversary, we had Gigi, Richard, Wendy, Jillian and Ian over for dinner. I took rare photos of Richard and Wendy with Gabby.

The next day, Brian was horsing around with Cole and Gabby. Or rather they were horsing around with him. It’s difficult to tell anymore.