Daddy/Daughter Bonding

Luckily for Miss Gabriella, she has two parents in education which means that if there is going to be a teachable moment- it'll happen. Travis put together an Ikea bookshelf for her playroom and had Gabby help him... lots of good stuff to learn... sorting objects, shapes, reading directions, fine motor skills (hammering), and the feeling of accomplishment by a job well done! She is at that age where she loves to help (just in time for a little sibling- yes!) and has also been helping me make food... She is so proud of herself after she helps us out!

Western Wedding w/ Chinese Characteristics

This weekend we went to a friend from work's wedding, which we don't do much in China. He's American and his wife is Chinese and they did a really cool mix of Western and Eastern wedding traditions. I wasn't able to enjoy the champagne and beer, but the food was yummy and we all had a blast. Our friend is known for his sense-of-humor. He bought a van and had it decorated as the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, although he wanted it spelled "Mistery" just so that it was more Chinese-like. Here's a picture of table #12 with the happy couple as cardboard cut-outs...

Gabby Update

This morning, while I was taking a shower, Travis was sleeping, and Gabby was supposedly watching TV, she went downstairs to her room and picked out an outfit for school and dressed herself. I was quite impressed by how it was color-coordinated and appropriate for school. In the past, she'd put on her dress-up clothes or want to wear winter clothes in the summer, etc. She was very proud of herself and reminded me that she made sure the tags were in the back. Lately, without us reminding her, she asks to be excused from the dinner table and puts her dirty dishes in the sink. Woohoo! It's quite gratifying as a parent to watch your child gain independence.

Yesterday morning, we were watching  a show with singing and it mentioned "family." She put her arms around Travis and I and said, "This is my family!" Awww, it melted my heart!

Her new favorite food right now is tacos- YAY! Can you feel my relief? As everyone knows, Mexican is my favorite type of food. So far, this is the only gluten free meal that we all eat together.

I should knock on wood right now because she is being SO AWESOME lately.

Joey Tebo or Sally Tebo?

Gabby's "sibling-gender-preference" of the moment is a girl, all last summer she wanted a baby brother, so I'm not sure of the change... What can I say? She's fickle. Anyway, I asked her what we should call the baby, if it was a girl, and she said "Joey!" I have no idea where that came from... we do have a friend named Joey, who is a boy- so maybe that was it? She also likes the name, Sally. What's REALLY weird about that name, is that when I was little I used to name my dolls that. I don't know why I liked that name... I didn't know any Sally's and I wasn't particularly keen on the name... Anyway, I just think it's weird that she busted out with that random name. Surely it is not genetic?

"Best Friends"

Gabby was being especially cute and sweet this weekend...

GABBY: (Out of nowhere) You know what mom? I love you sooooo much!"
ME: Aw, that is such a sweet thing to say *hugs*

Another thing she said...

GABBY: Mom, you're my best friend!
ME: Oh, Gabby what a nice thing to say. You know I'll always be your mama.

Awesome Weekend

I should probably knock on wood first... but gorgeous weather and a well-behaved child = an awesome weekend. We went swimming, ran errands, rode our bikes, hung out with friends, and had a grand time. Travis worked really hard painting our bedroom and play room. As in true Cara form, I'm not super excited about the colors I chose and should have chose something else... I'm the queen of changing my mind but we're just going to leave it for now and I'm sucking it up. Thank you to my very patient and hard-working husband.

Gabby Update

Funny things Miss Gabriella does or says and other updates:
1) GABBY: Mommy are you mad at the computer?
     ME: Yah, I guess so. It's not doing what I want it to do, so I'm frustrated.
     GABBY: Sometimes you're mad and sometimes you're happy.
     ME: Yes, baby. We all have different types of feelings and that's okay. It's how you handle them that's important.
     GABBY: Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you don't (she got that from a book).
     ME: Yah, that's right, sweetie.

2) "You're not Cara, you're mommy!"

3) "I want to see baby brother and sister" (as she tries to look into my belly-button). She insists that there's a baby brother AND sister inside my belly. She wants one of each. We keep saying baby brother OR sister.

4) Every morning, before we leave for work, she likes to gives us peanut butter (or whatever she's eating) kisses. She'll even make sure to put something in her mouth before she gives us a kiss. She loves to see our reaction. "Mmmm, peanut butter kiss"

5) She LOVES princesses, Barbies, mermaids. The whole imaginary play is in full effect now. We're having slight "issues" in the morning about what she wears. She INSISTS on wearing pretty dresses every day.

6) She continues to love being active such as, swimming, running, playing. Chen says she plays like a boy. When we get home from work she is super sweaty from playing so hard.

7) Whenever the topic of marriage comes up Gabby says she's going to marry Stuart (first cousin). The other day I asked her why and she said, "I love Stuart, he's a nice boy." I can't argue with that knowledge... Little does she know that marrying your first cousin is weird and a socially wrong but I'm sure she'll figure that out...

8) "My poop looks like a snake!"