First Haircut -- and Broadway here we come!

Gabby had her first haircut on Thursday, the day before her second birthday. It was not a major cut by any means, just a trim to shape it and make it all the same length. It did a great job of perking up her pretty curls (which makes it look much shorter . . . though it's really not); but most importantly, she behaved fabulously! Dave came with me (for backup) and we had no clue how things would go. Sometimes changing a diaper can be an olympic event around here . . . but I think she actually enjoyed this!
Can you believe how long her hair is?!
The water bottle -- the real means of ensuring compliance. She even tilted her head where directed, etc. (sort of -- she is barely 2)
Checking out the new do!

And next, Broadway here we come! Gabby loves to sing. We used singing as entertainment in the chair and took advantage of the opportunity to record her singing her two favorite songs (both to the same tune of course). Sometimes she does a better job of getting them correct all the way through, but I don't think they ever get any cuter :).

Twinkle Star

ABC's

Christmas Morning

Can you believe we didn't take a single snapshot on Christmas morning?!? Luckily, Grandpa J came to visit and took a few so check back to see if I add some in later! We did take video with our new video camera . . . which we are still trying to figure out how to edit and put on the blog. So again . . check later.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. It was so fun to wake up in our own beds (we've always traveled to Utah to be with family in the past), do things at our own speed, and most of all, have Gabby who was nearly two and old enough to get excited about Christmas and presents!

Santa brought Gabby a bike (trike), a baby, lots of books, and other fun stuff. She was spoiled by everyone and loved every minute of it. She loved telling people she got a "bike" -- though I think it will be enjoyed much more come spring, and the new books and puzzles have brought hours of entertainment.

Later that day we went and spent time with Dave's family for dinner and then stopped at Heidi's parents on the way home (though we missed all of the cousins by about 10 minutes). It was a fabulous day and the most relaxing Christmas we've had in years (probably because we started and ended the day in our own beds!).

How grateful we are to be close to family at this special time of year. We're so grateful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we celebrate, and the opportunity we have to teach our beautiful little Gabby about Him and His sacrifice for us.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

We had Christmas Eve with Dave's family and Gabby participated in her first reenactment of the Nativity. She was the angel (of course . . . . how appropriate . . . not?). She was adorable and loved her little costume. Her cousins were a little distracted by the angel buzzing all around the room, and she didn't stay in one place long enough to make it into very many pictures, but it was great fun.Our reluctant angelStealing the Wise Man's crownParty Pajamas with Aunt Boo and Aunt BethKissin' Cousins -- Too cute!

A Sleigh Ride and More

We had Christmas parties 6 nights in a row before Christmas. Crazy fun! For Heidi's family party, we began with a "sleigh" (wagon) ride. It was so fun. We weren't even too cold because we were so cozy all together!










And by the end . . . we were tired!







We were actually all looking for Gabby outside, and this is where we found her :).We played with Play-doh . .
Decorated cookies . .
Dressed up with all of the new fun stuff Grandma got for Christmas,
and danced (but the only pictures were of adults . . . not so cute). Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun and memorable party!

Here's a little bonus -- Gabby's version of "Jingle Bells!"

Big girl bed

Gabby learned how to jump out of her crib (literally). It was a bit risky, so we decided it was time to graduate to a "big girl bed." It's been a bit of an adjustment, but we're hoping things are settling in now. She still has a bit of trouble staying in her bed all night, but at least she falls asleep in bed instead of in front of the door! She's just getting too big!
First successful video posted from our new video camera! (It works even better in the light :)).

The Big 4-0!

Dave turned 40 and we had a big birthday bash with friends and family. (Doesn't he look cute? I love this picture.)

My sister-in-law Lyndsey created this fabulous cake, while I stood by and pretended to help.My sister-in-law Jessica headed up the kitchen and created a wonderful spread with sushi (Dave's favorite) and lots of other goodies.
Dave's Mom and sister Bonnie helped with food as well and my Mom and sister Natalie prepared the "venue." I would be a horrible party planner and executor if it weren't for my amazing family. Thanks guys! Enjoy the collages below (click to make them bigger).

Snow! Gabby's first time ever.

Gabby's first adventures with snow. Thanks to Anna and Benji who made it such a fun experience (while Mom sat inside and stayed warm). Notice the ruby red cheeks, nose and mouth? Apparently, eating snow is worth the pain!

Ice Cream Bandit

It was suddenly quiet . . . too quiet. When I called, "Gabby, what are you doing?" She replied, "Ice cream Mom!" I had no idea . . . until I turned the corner. It's times like these, I'm grateful I thought to take a picture, before I attacked the mess. Any ideas for locking the freezer?

Potty Time?

Too funny not to share. Unfortunately, the fascination didn't last very long. Maybe later :). As for the love affair with Mickey Mouse, it continues as passionately as ever.

Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving with Grandma DD, Grandpa J and all of my siblings and their kids this year. It's only the 2nd time in the last 6 years that we've been in Utah for Thanksgiving and we loved it! Of course, we missed the annual tradition of heating the pool and hot tub for Thanksgiving, but we survived.

I have very few pictures of the day. I think I spent most of it chasing Gabby around. But, her pumpkin pie pictures really say it all for Thanksgiving Day don't they? (And Grandma DD makes the best pumpkin pie in the world.)This was a mural we made during a Family Home Evening earlier in the month. We all drew pictures of all the things we're thankful for. Then, they hung it up on the windows Thanksgiving Day. It was a fun way to remember all of the things we're thankful for.

Fall Fun

When we weren't sick (3 ear infections and misc. other stuff),

our first six weeks or so in Utah were lots of fun!

We played in the park with cousins,and stole tomatoes from Aunt Heather's pantry (multiple times).
We watched BYU beat the U in the football game :)
And Grandma DD read Olive and me stories.
We love living close to family in Utah!

Halloween (Finally!)

Be sure to click on the picture to view it larger!

Hey, better late than never, right? We had so much fun on Halloween. Grandma DD and Grandpa J raked all of their leaves together so the kids could play in them. Gabby thought she was in heaven. Thanks to our fun cousin Anna who is always willing to play and make things fun for the little ones!
Gabby was our little princess (in tennis shoes) for Halloween (because the BYU cheerleader outfit I had planned -- hand-me-down from a cousin -- was too small). She was just interested in the candy, and avoiding anyone who looked remotely scary.
Here are all the fun cousins from Mommy's side. Thanks for a fun day Grandma and Grandpa!

The Story of our move . . .

I'm sure many of you are wondering how we ended up moving to Utah so suddenly? Me too! No seriously, ever since we came back from our vacation to Utah this summer, Dave and I started talking more and more about moving "home." Usually, after vacation, we were excited to go back to our own home and our lives. But this year, we were homesick for family when we got back. We've talked about it for years, but it was getting close to the right time.

That said, we didn't really think it was possible with the real estate market what it is in Vegas. However, the end of August, we decided to put our house on the market and see what happened. We were not prepared for what came next! We didn't realize that homes that are not a short sale or foreclosure were in such high demand. Four days later we were under contract and 3 weeks later we closed on our house. Dave started hunting madly for a job in Utah. It took a little longer than was comfortable, but in the end he had several good job leads and is loving his new job in a hospital pharmacy. It has been a good move for our family.
The move was crazy, as I'm sure all moves are. Thanks to my mom, my sister Natalie, and Dave's sister Bonnie, we were able to get the house packed and ready before truck loading day, October 11th.
Thanks to Dave F., Joey and Dad for coming to help move (and bringing an extra trailer and truck!). With their help and the Elder's Quorum from church, the truck was pretty well loaded by noon. Dad headed on his way to Utah and the rest of us went to sushi one last time before going to the BYU vs. UNLV football game (tickets bought before there was any intention of moving). We had a bit of last minute packing and cleanup the next morning but got out the door, leaving our very empty house, and arrived in Utah by about 6 pm. More thanks to all of our family who helped us unload that night and the next couple of days.
It took us about a week to settle into Dave and Heather's basement. We'll probably be here for about 6 months or so while we figure out exactly where we want to buy a home (and save a bit more for a downpayment). Our "accomodations" are awesome and we're loving all of the company, especially Gabby. She calls them them "Mommy Heather" and "Daddy Dave"and loves her cousins, especially "Pencer" (Spencer) who told everyone that he has a new baby at his house named Gabby (They act like siblings already -- can't bear to be without each other, but are picking on each other most of the time).
We've loved spending so much time with our families . . . and getting to go home to our own beds at the end of the night. Let the new adventures begin . . .

Moving . . .

It's true. We're moving to Utah. In fact, we're leaving in just over a week! I realized that I'd never posted anything here and wanted a way to let all of my blogging friends know. It happened really fast (because our house sold so quickly -- we've been trying to catch our breath ever since). We're excited to move closer to family, but will miss all of our wonderful friends in Las Vegas!

Swimming

When Gabby took swimming lessons earlier in the year, it was my goal that she'd be able to swim to the wall by the end of the summer. I'm not sure she'd have the sense to make it back to the wall if she fell in, but she's sure come a long way. She loves to swim and keeps us on our toes when we're in the pool!

(A short explanation: Gabby loves to pretend sneeze and wait for us to say "bless you." She had been doing it a moment before and I thought it might be a fun chance to catch more than one thing in a video. Better luck next time!)

Visitors

Uncle Nathan, Aunt Jess, and cousin Tyler all came to visit a week ago. We ate lots of good food (sushi, Thai, and then our own homemade Arabic spread),

played in the pool,

visited the Lied Children's Museum,

and made some music of our own!

All dressed up

This is too cute not to share :). We went to visit my friend Janet and they had lots of dress-ups (and sent us home with the cute dress in the picture and a bigger one for later). Gabby loved the hats, jewelry, clothes (and of course the phone). We sure love our little lady!

Shoes

Gabby loves shoes . . . any shoes. It's amazing how well she's mastered her Daddy's size 13's!

Updates

I think I'm finally sort of caught up on blogging (we'll just forget the many months I never posted anything). I tried to put most of the entries in rough chronological order so there are a few further down the page. Thanks Mel for the inspiration to get in and get it done, even if it's late :)

Monkey Business

Just a few fun pictures of Gabby's recent escapades!

So, in an attempt to curb the desire to climb furniture (such as the piano), we found a fun yard sale and brought home some backyard entertainment!

Okay, so our new toys don't really calm the indoor monkey,
but they sure are fun!

Chicken Pox & Dora

"Cheese!" -- Gabby's new favorite word when a camera is in her face.
Always with the same expression :)

Notice my sad chin, nose, and two on the cheek :(

Yes, it's true. Gabby got a mild case of the chicken pox. How, you ask? Most embarrassing, but she got them from me! I had shingles in July (nice addition to my Utah trip), and though she was even vaccinated, they showed up several weeks later. Thanks to said vaccination, it was a super mild case (8 pox in all with no fever or other obvious signs -- except an extra dose of grumpy).

I'm not sure if it was due to not feeling well or if our Gabby girl is just growing up, but last week she also decided that she could actually sit still long enough to watch an entire show. I'm also unclear as to how she chose "Dora the Explorer" as her favorite (it's not mine!). Perhaps she got the idea from her Dora chair -- her favorite place to sit when she is enjoying Dora, Boots, and Swiper ("Wiper"). Dora has become my daily dose of sanity (translation -- super high speed get things done around the house time). I always said I didn't want TV to be a babysitter. I've changed my mind . . . in small amounts, that's exactly what I want it to be!