So while I was going through the Christmas pictures, I realized that there are just too many to fit into 1 post. So we're going to have 3. I know, it's a lot to read, but Brian got a new camera, so he went a little bit crazy on the picture taking. And I may have contributed a video or 4!
Needless to say, Christmas with Gabby this year was so much fun! She was so much more aware of what was happening (last year she just ripped paper; this year she understood paper=presents). We had a full week of Christmas activities, and here is the first part.
First, Gabby is officially in love with bounce houses. She didn't even hesitate to run around in the one we found in West Sac. It didn't matter that it was a bit cold!
Don't worry--she was fine. She actually climbed right back in!
Gabby's daycare did their annual holiday lunch with the parents. Before the official start, they were playing one of their fun games to show the parents.
That was Christina. Gabby loves watching that video and saying "Tina!" when she steps in front. As you can tell, Gabby was more worried about me leaving than performing!
And then right before lunch, her whole class performed for us. I'm on the side since Gabby refused to sit in her chair.
It was so cute.
Now for some photos from Brian's new camera.
Naked baby
For about a week, she loved sitting in this small pink bin.
And piling her toy on top of her.
She was also enamored of Frosty.
Sometimes she just chilled.
Brian can tell you all the fun facts about his new camera. All I know is that it's bigger and the picture files are larger.
On the 21st, the Berrys had a Christmas party with a bunch of our friends.
Gabby wore the Santa hat briefly, and it was cute.
Lots of little kids at the party!
Charlotte being her usual ham.
Samantha and Phoebe enjoying a snack.
Phoebe eating the paper while holding the sucker.
Gabby and I enjoyed a snack too.
We went for a walk to Candy Cane cul-de-sac where everyone had tons of light. Gabby loved it.
It was a blistering 50 degrees outside--winter coats were needed.
Again, such a ham!
Charlotte and Amelie hold hands, while Eric pushing Samantha along.
I'm pretty sure this is when Gabby discovered how awesome presents are.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Gabby is a sucker baby. We flew to St. Louis to visit with my family and friends for Thanksgiving, and she was an absolute angel on the planes (all 4 of them). She was a bit wild in the airport--trying to get down while we were in line and then running away through crowds of people once we let her down--but on the plane she was perfect. She didn't get too loud, she didn't cry; it was amazing.
She also had a great time in St. Louis. We went to visit Grandpa Stoehr's gravesite (not very fun, especially in the below freezing temperatures), then Brian got sick and put a damper on many other plans we had for the trip. We had hoped to leave Gabby with her grandparents and see Catching Fire and go out to dinner, but that sadly didn't happen.
Gabby and I did get to have an outing to an indoor bounce place called Monkey Joe's. I'd never taken her anywhere like that before, and at first she was really intimidated by all of the things to do. We sat for a bit and ate a pretzel while she acclimated a bit. Once she was done with the pretzel, she felt comfortable enough to run around. She didn't want to get in any of the bouncy structures, mind you, but she had a great time bouncing on the mats outside of the structures.
She also loved sitting in the train and jeep, and it blew her mind when I put money in the jeep (the train was broken).
After I dragged her out of there (really--it was the first time she'd thrown a tantrum because she didn't want to leave a place) and got us some lunch at Chipotle (which make those tears disappear), we were off to Stephanie's house to visit with her and with Lisa and Lia. Gabby and Lia had a great time!
Lia, Lisa, Gabby, me, and Stephanie
On Thanksgiving day, we went to my Grandma and Grandpa Pechenino's house, where we hung out with them, my parents, Amy and Ryan, and 4 dogs. Gabby did not like Amy and Ryan's pit bull one bit--she would cry and cling whenever Sigmund came anywhere near her! But she really liked the chihuahua Jenny, and was friends with my parents' dog Josie already. She had no idea what to make of Khali, the corgi/chihuahua mix. We all had a great time eating and visiting together, and Gabby was clearly the star of the show!
Playing with her train from Stephanie, with the coloring books from Lisa and the ladybug from her great grandparents right behind.
With Great Grandma Pechenino
With Grandma Pechenino
Auntie Amy and Great Grandma Pechenino
More jumping!
Great Grandma Pechenino, Grandpa Pechenino and Great Grandpa Pechenino. She wanted the lens cap.
And with Josie in the mix!
The day after Thanksgiving, we headed to Grandma Stoehr's house. As expected, the mood was a bit more subdued there, and Grandpa was sorely missed, but we had a great time hanging out with that side of the family and eating fantastic food. Amy and Ryan left Sigmund at home, so Gabby was a lot more relaxed. Plus, she had her second cousin Jacob to play with!
With Great Grandma Stoehr
Second cousins with their great grandma
Why am I like this? To stay out of the picture, of course! It's just as uncomfortable as you think it is.
Snacking
Piggyback ride with Grandpa making bunny ears
All in all, it was a very successful Thanksgiving trip. Despite the fact that it was absolutely freezing the entire time, and we had to buy Gabby warmer pjs and a heavier jacket, we really enjoyed ourselves. It was one of those trips that made me really wish we all lived closer to each other! So how about it, family, want to move to CA?
Since I'm posting this later than I intended to, I'll include Gabby's 22 month info too, as well as our visit to Santa at Intel.
Gabby has become quite the talker. She's moved on to 2 and even 3 word sentences, and her memory has really developed. She remembers all of the people we saw at Thanksgiving, all the kids at daycare, and she will point to pictures of Audrey and Olivia (her first cousins) when asked. She loves Phoebe, Charlotte and Ellie, and bounces and grins when they are mentioned. She has her routines, and gets upset when they are broken. We can mess with naptime some, but eventually she just crashes no matter what. Her tantrums are starting to get worse and more frequent, which makes sense, since they are called the terrible twos! Other than that, she is still so cuddly and loving and just an all-around great little girl!
Anyway, here are some pictures from our visit to Santa. There are a ton, since I wasn't letting Brian relax like he did over the holidays! Plus, we're dealing with 4 little girls and Santa--who wouldn't take a ton of pictures?
Gabby loved the reindeer--she kept insisting on going outside to see them.
And she loved her cookie too!
She was super excited to get to see Santa, right up until I tried to put her on his lap. No dice.
So I stayed.
I made Brian get in there too--Gabby is pointing at me because she wants me to come back.
Brian finally just trapped her hand.
Her favorite part--the candy cane. She sucked on that thing for as long as she could.
They also had a sleigh for picture taking.
We got a pretty good family shot.
I love this picture because she looks drunk on candy cane.
"No, see; I can quit any time!"
We also got the girls in the sleigh for pictures.
This is definitely the best on of Charlotte, Phoebe and Gabby!
Charlotte got to hold Ellie for pictures too. Gabby was more interested in her candy cane.
Phoebe was more interested in climbing out of the sleigh.
This is probably the best shot Brian got of the 4 girls!
We tried some mommy/daughter shots too. Toddlers are not very cooperative.
Ellie was a much better model. Gabby was fine as long as she had her candy cane.
This is the best shot of the 6 of us!
As you can see, it's been a big month! We're headed to LA for Christmas this year, and I know we'll have a ton of fun.
