As promised, here are a ton of Halloween pictures (and a video) for your viewing pleasure. I hope you all had as much fun as we did!
First off, my mother-in-law Anne came up to visit from LA the weekend before Halloween. We ended up going to the Dixon corn maze (Guinness World Record holder). We didn't do the maze, but we did visit the pumpkins:
As soon as Gabby saw the pumpkins, she sprinted to them, yelling "pumpkin, pumpkin!"
And then touched each and every single one.
Even photo ops can't stop her.
She did enjoy sitting on one, even though it was a bit cold.
She and daddy cut the perfect pumpkin.
Since Anne was there, we have a family photo!
I was jumping around like an idiot to get Gabby to smile, but it worked!
Gabby picked out her own pumpkin.
Because she is 1/2 midwesterner, she loved "driving" the huge tractor.
It was so cool!
Then on Halloween morning, we went up to trunk or treat at her daycare. I was only able to stay for half an hour, but we got some really good treats, and even saw a friend:
It was impossible to hold her and take pictures, so we only have 2 of them! This was us after getting all of our loot.
And us with Elmo. Gabby has asked for "Big Elmo" everyday since then!
And finally, Halloween night. Here are a ton of really cute pictures of our kitty in her costume:
I'm not the best with make-up, but I tried!
Tickles to get a smile!
Kitty hugs!
With the pumpkin she picked out
After trick or treating
Mmmm, chocolate.
She had a blast putting the candy in one container, then taking it out and putting it in the other.
How did our cats like having 2 more cats in the house? This should answer your question.
Zoe was completely freaked out by Gabby's costume.
And then she saw mine!
She refused to come close until we took the ears off. For the record, Dubby couldn't have cared less!
And just because I think it's cute, here's Gabby waiting until it gets late enough to trick or treat. I'm pretty sure I was more impatient than she was.
At least the last one is a bit early? I apologize for the silence--I've been really busy with work these past 2 months. I had an online class in September/October, and then just as that was ending, I started subbing at AR for another prof who brought home his second baby. It was nuts, and I barely had time to breath, much less post! I'll try to make up for it with picture- and video-palooza!
First, some highlights of the past few months:
Gabby moved up to the "Toddler+" room in September (basically for 19 month-25 month kids as a transition to the Pre-K room). She was nervous at first, but now loves her new room!
She's really starting to show fears--she doesn't like the dark at all, and when we were picking out her Halloween costume, she was very scared of the moving decorations.
She's getting better at 2 word sentences, but she tends to say them Yoda-style, with the verb first then the subject, or the noun then adjective. So when she wants to say that I'm all done with something she'll say "all done mommy", or when she wants to say she has 2 of something she'll say "diaper two". She's also started with 3 word sentences a bit (mostly "pumpkin mommy please" and the like, but it's progress!)
Here are some names of people she knows; she was so proud to show off!
She shows frustration when she can't get things to work the right way. I notice it most with puzzles--if the pieces don't go in correctly right away, she'll get mad and throw them across the room. Very not cool.
Her motor skills have improved hugely. She eats her cereal with a spoon every morning, and is working on mastering a fork. It's a huge improvement over the fingers!
She figured out how her light switch works in her room, and was turning it on when she'd wake up at 4 am. We finally had to start using the pull chain on the fan instead of the switch.
She's changed from calling both cats "dubby" to calling both cats "oey" (Zoe). This is probably why:
Dubby is lame compared to Zoe!
OK, now the fun part! First of all, we went to St. Louis to visit my family at the end of August. Gabby did a great job on the planes, and she really loved visiting with everyone. We didn't take too many pictures, but here are some we did get:
We met our friends Lisa and Derek and their daughter Lia at Cahokia Mounds. We ate some lunch, and then walked around a bit.
Gabby and Lia insisted on holding each other's hands as well as their mommy's hands
We found a frog, which was so cool!
The 4 ladies walking the path
Of course, eventually they got tired!
These are at Lambert airport. She loved rocking
But she loved escaping and running more!
Brian found a good deal on a 2T football jersey for Gabby to celebrate the beginning of football season. You'll never guess which team she supports.
Reading about Biscuit
I've had at least 2 people have asked me if her name is Brady. I guess not everyone follows football!
Go Pats!
I did another video of her saying words. The funniest part is at the end (I do apologize for the length).
We had a baby shower for our good friend Christina who is due at the end of this month. Our friends Justin and Karen came up from the Bay area to visit, and we all met at McKinley park for some fun with the kiddos.
She normally clings to me, but she was so excited to be at the park!
However, she didn't let me out of her sight
She loves the bouncy animals
And she's so brave to slide all by herself!
I stole Ellie for a while. I'm pretty sure Judy didn't mind.
Phoebe enjoys a snack before playing
Charlotte, our model.
Hugs!
Phoebe is amazing!
Charlotte showing off her soccer skills.
I did eventually have to give Ellie back. This time to Robbie.
"I love soccer in the park!"
Gabby says volleyball is more her speed.
Although she did get a bit confused.
And just start kicking the ball. We'll teach her the rules before she actually plays!
Checking out the ducks
This is the only picture we have of mom-to-be Christina!
And some more videos to end!
I let her feed the ducks one day. Huge hit.
Lastly, she's learning so many songs at daycare:
She also knows ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus. It's so cute to hear her sing them with us!
I think I'll end this post here, and make another post with all of the Halloween pictures we have. This is what happens when I don't post for a few months :)
I know this is a little late, since Gabby turned 18 months on Saturday, but I was waiting until her 18 month check-up so that I could post her "official" stats. And here they are:
33.25 in tall (86th percentile)
27 lbs (92nd percentile)--and I actually believe this weight, so they must have fixed their scale.
She's still very tall and very skinny, just like mom and dad. She also has another ear infection. I think she somehow knows when she has a well-child visit and just decides to get sick right before it, because she's the picture of health in between them. At least this time it makes sense--they just combined her daycare with another one, so there's a huge crop of new kids (and new illnesses) for her to play with. Thank goodness we live in the age of antibiotics! I will say despite the infection, she's handled the combination of daycares really well; she's been shrieking with joy when we roll into daycare in the morning! The Merryhill kids had a rougher time, since they were switching buildings, while at least the former Phoenix kids were staying in the same place! It seems to have gone as smoothly as these things can.
It's been a busy month for us. We went to the State Fair with our friends, and we all had a great time. It was a bit warm (it is summer in Sacramento, after all), but we got to see the farm animals, visit the petting zoo, eat some yummy food and Charlotte got to ride some rides. I'm looking forward to next year when Gabby and Phoebe are old enough to go on rides too!
On our way to a fun day!
Phoebe's stroller had a flat, so she got a rental.
Porcupine
Gabby was fascinated by the birds (not pictured)
So was Phoebe
Walking to the petting zoo
This was by far Gabby's highlight of the day. She liked the goats, but the sheep blew her mind.
She loved touching them
The goats were very aggressive when food was present, as Stephanie found out!
Charlotte by the deer
Gabby did let me put her down...
but wanted back up immediately when a goat came over!
Looking at the baby animals
Phoebe up close
Piglets!
Enjoying a snack
Fish
She refused to touch them, but loved watching them swim
Charlotte and Stephanie on the log ride
By the way, I promise that we do hang out with other people (and by ourselves), but Brian seems to only bring the camera on outings with the Berrys!
I'm done with my summer class now, and Gabby spends 1 day a week with me. This Thursday, we walked up to the park together and saw some ducks. Gabby was in love.
I do apologize for my random conversation in there--another person stopped and we talked about how the ducks always congregate here. I'm enjoying time with her again, but I have to say it's a lot harder now than it was when she was tiny!
Gabby loves to be outside. She'll grab her shoes and go to the door and say "outside?". If you don't give in, she gets really mad. She loves to walk by herself now, and it's a struggle to get her in the stroller. She's becoming very independent and wants things done her way. That's about right for the age!
Her words are still increasing a ton--I estimate she has around 50 now. She's started with simple 2 word sentences (usually "Where ___?"--her favorite being Where toes?, but Where Daddy, Where Mommy, Where Dubby, etc get thrown in there too), and very clearly understands a ton of what we say to her. She's also started to day "biper" (diaper) when she's pooped. It's a cool trick, and keeps me from having to awkwardly smell her all the time. Her teachers at daycare says she's really good at listening and following directions there, and communicates what she wants very well. She's also an expert napper and eater for them! She does nap well at home, but I think sometimes she eats so much at daycare that she's really not interested in supper!
Gabby had her first taste of hot chocolate (really the whipped cream off my hot chocolate), and she loved it!
I made the mistake of getting hot chocolate with no whipped cream the other day, and she threw a fit because she couldn't have any!
We're headed to St. Louis next week to visit my side of the family, and I'm a bit worried about the flight. She hasn't flown since Christmas, and she's gotten to be way more active (and headstrong) since then. I've pretty much resigned myself to being "that family" on the plane. Maybe she'll surprise me.
After our trip, I'm back to school, with an evening class on M and W, and a lab on F. I've taught the class before, and I have all of my materials ready, so I'm hoping for an easy semester! At least it will be better than summer--that was intense! I actually bought a pedometer because I was curious about how much I would walk during those three 6 hour days. It turned out to be almost 8000 steps, which was basically 3.5 miles! At least in fall it's only 1 lecture and 1 lab on M and W, and the lab on Friday is a make-up lab, so fairly light on the walking.
Lastly I want to say a huge congratulations to our friends Judy and Robbie and Elizabeth and Lawrence on the birth of their daughters Ellie and Katelyn (respectively). Ellie was born on August 3, and Katelyn on August 12. Judy had a MUCH rougher time than Elizabeth did, but all moms, dads, and daughters (including Elizabeth and Lawrence's first daughter Samantha) are home and doing well now!
