August-November 2007 Gabby Update

As of November 28, 2007 Gabby Sophia is five months old. A lot has changed since the last entry and it’s safe to say that she’s hitting all the developmental milestones and then some. From August 19th to October 6th, Gabriella and I visited friends and family in Washington. Without Travis around, it kept me very busy (hence the lack of pictures on the website and journal entries). Soon after we returned from the States, I went back to work full-time. So far, we’re pretty happy with how we’ve balanced work, our social life, and parenthood but we have our days when we’re overwhelmed and exhausted. I can’t imagine having twins! Everybody keeps saying she looks like Travis and I guess she still does... She seems to really love music and it tends to calm her down when she’s fussy. Maybe she’ll be a musician like her daddy? She is continuing to be a strong little girl and her fine motor skills are developing quite nicely. She can even hold her own bottle. She LOVES other kids and babies. She pumps her arms and legs and gets all excited. She starts to grab at them too. It’s as if she wants to play but doesn’t quite know how. My friend who has teenagers said her daughter was the same way (I know her daughter and she is SUPER chatty and all about the social scene)... Not sure if that’s such a good thing??? She’s rolling over now which means we’re constantly trying to keep her from falling off the furniture. She’s all over her crib too, which freaks me out a bit. I don’t know how she does it but she scoots herself all over and gets in the weirdest positions. She can also grab her feet and stick her toes in her mouth. It’s crazy. In addition, Gabby is vocalizing a lot and so we like to engage in pretend conversations. She’s reaching for the toys she likes the best and she’s started the teething phase. Of course, Travis and I think she’s really awesome, but we have nothing to compare it to. We just love her to death. My favorite thing is hanging out with her when we get ready in the morning- she just smiles and smiles at us, which makes getting up in the morning not-so-bad. One of the coolest things ever is hearing her laugh… Oh man, I wish I could bottle up that feeling and give it away to people when they need to feel good. Seeing her smile and hearing her laugh just makes our hearts melt. I would consider her a good baby even though she has her drama queen moments. The only time she really cries is when she’s hungry. And man, you don’t want to mess around with a hungry Gabby! I’m sure I’m missing some other stuff that she’s doing, but stay posted… We’re starting solids soon and there are lots more things about to happen in the upcoming months…