Gabrielle & Matthew

A year and a half is upon us and all the baby in Gabrielle is gone and we're left with a beautiful, fun loving toddler!

We had a wonderful July and Aug ending the summer with a great trip to NB. Not only has she discovered the taste for sausage (breakfast, lunch and dinner) but she's talking up a storm.

Her favourite line of the day is "What's dat?" and lots of other sentences that will some day make sense to Mommy and Daddy. In the meantime, signing is helping us avoid some of the misunderstandings and hopefully avoid the full blown temper tantrums.

We have a doc appointment next week, but unofficially she's 25.5 lbs and has 13 teeth (one eye tooth has popped through and waiting for the other 3 to finish their way up - wish us all luck over the next two weeks)

School is going well. She comes home with lots of pretty artwork and loves to play outdoors. We're having a few biting incidents (associated with teething we are guessing) that we're trying to overcome, but someone is a little pushy when it comes to the chaulk board and play stairs. She moves to the toddler room in Sept, so it should be interesting to see what she learns from the bigger kids in her class.

Thanks to everyone for our great holidays this summer to both NL and NB. We miss you all and hope that you can visit us soon (We've got the warmer weather to offer!)xo

17 months is here and someone is getting bigger and more independent every day! She is full of giggles and squeals as all little girls are.

She is truly enjoying school. Joey drops her off in the morning and she's beaming in the parking lot as she knows exactly where she is going. Picking her up is even more fun, but there have been days she's had to choose between the chalk board and mommy and how she can have both at the same time.

We've had lots of great visitors this month. Nana and Gramps were up for the weekend. Gabrielle got to skip school for 2 days and spend some one on one time while Mommy and Daddy went off to work. I'm not sure who had more fun, Gabrielle or Nana, but I'm guessing there was lots of play time for everyone.

Molars or eye teeth are still trying to come through. We can't quite get a good peak in to see without danger pay. One night in particular while on vacation in NL, I think we put Nanny and Poppy through their paces (definitely Mommy and Daddy). It's tough to see her so upset and uncomfortable and not be able to do a thing about it.

We're enjoying ourself tremendously in NL. The plan ride was awesome and we had the best little girl there in a very full plane. Lots of quality time spent with Nanny and Poppy and she absolutely loves playing with her cousins: Zach, Kylie and Cameron. Between the sand box at cousin Cameron's and the 4 wheelers at cousin Zach and Kylie's, things have been full of fun.

The weather is warming up and the pool is looking pretty good right now. Enjoying the summer and hope everyone else is too. Will miss everyone in NL, it was so much fun and see everyone in NB pretty soon....xoxo

16 months - and still rocking! Gabrielle entertains us everyday not only with the new stuff she learns at school but the rate she explores the world around her. Everything is new, has to be touched, climbed or experienced by herself and you can see her absorbing every minute of it.

She's still only got a few words - but she definitely understands them all. Sign language has been fun ... check out the video to see some of them. They include: Please, Thank you, More, Eat, All Done, Phone, Hat, Fish, Dog, Cat, ... and probably others we haven't figured out yet.

She loves to dance and sing and if you're not singing the right song, she'll let you know it! Our song list has had to increase (and Daddy's made up a few that have been a hit too!) It's cute to see her doing the action of 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed.

She's had lots of doc appts this month trying to get her in to get her chicken pox vaccine. Between the fevers (4 molars coming in at the same time will do that) a couple of colds and an ear infection, we finally got it done only to have her completely break out 2 days later which looked an awful lot like chicken pox, but found out it was hives. She's a tough cookie though - no tears!

Happy Father's Day to a very special Daddy who we love to bits and to all the Grampy's out there, love you too! We are so looking forward to the summer and the vacation back East! NL the first week of July and NB the first week in August. Can't wait to see everyone! Love ya lots...xo

15 months and what a handful! Gabrielle makes us laugh every day between the conversations, smiles and expeditions, it's truly amazing how much they absorb in a day.

She understands so much of what's going on around her and you can start to see her testing the limits. She's completely explored the house, and now ready to take on the outdoors. She brings over her shoes and hat the moment the front door is open. She loves it outside and points at everything to learn it's name.

She has two brand new molars upper and lower on the right hand side. We had about 3 days of fever, diarrhea and long nights, and were not quite sure what was going on. Assuming once these were found(and that proves to be challenging as who likes to have someone else check out their teeth)that they were the reason for her discomfort.

We had two birthday celebrations this month with Nana and Daddy and she had a great time with both cakes and enjoying the highs of the sugar rush!

Books and Daddy are now in competition with being outside as her favourite things. Opening the fridge to get her own yogurt is up on the list as well.

Loving her more every day and really look forward to the summer months! Summer vacations are coming, see everyone soon! xox

14 months and where do we start to tell you what's new! So many things to share...

Gabrielle is a happy little girl who loves to make you giggle, plenty of snuggle time for everyone and she gives the best hugs out there.

Not many words yet, but lots of conversations in her own language. The words: up, uh oh, da da are quite clear and if you're not listening or acting fast enough, she'll say them louder! Dominant little thing that she is... She knows a few signs (which we found out daycare has been teaching her- I guess we'll have to learn them as well). She does the sign for milk, which we thought was her waving bye bye to us :)

Her favourite things - Daddy and her books.

Daddy knows just how to make her laugh, those really deep belly laughs and to watch them together is precious. They had a great March break together including little feet gym, swimming, maple syrup festival and the purchase of a dishwasher - she's quite the negotiator.

Her books are almost worn out we've read them so many times. She can point out certain items in her picture books, so she recognizes the words and matching pictures. She points to the clocks on the wall when they charm and has a lot of fun playing "chase" with Mia the cat.

We're really pleased the warmer weather is coming. It will be nice to lose the jackets, hats, and mits (which refuse to stay on for some reason). Gabrielle loves it outside and will pull her boots from the closet to suggest a playdate with the snow banks. It should be an interesting spring with the mud!

Lots of teething going on, but just can't get in there to see without losing a finger, so the teeth count will remain at 8 until I can visibly see another one back there.

We hope that everyone back east has finally finished shovelling themselves out. Let's hope we have a short spring and long summer! Love to everyone! xo

13 months and what a little lady we have on our hands! She has surpassed the baby days and entertains us everyday with new things she's picked up either at home or school.

She clearly indicates when she wants something and when she does not. (no confusion there!) Though there are no real words other than Moma and Dada, she is really close to saying something new and exciting. Lots of gabbing, and she loves when you are listening to her intently, but not fully understood yet.

We've moved from walking being the new thing, to now climbing! Yikes, just when you thought you were busy, she steps it up a notch. She can almost make it up and over the side of the tub!

She still likes a variety of foods, but very choosy on what she wants during that sitting. Sitting is the key word. She loves to eat and run, so it leaves us with a 15 minute window in the high chair before she starts to get antsy. As you can see from some of the pictures, she loves to try new things and really experiment with food!

Daycare is going really well. Daddy drops her off and she has open arms to the ladies that run the class. She comes home with lots of good reports and you can tell she is really enjoying her time there. Mommy is surviving being back at work and will slowly but surely get back into the groove. Our nighttime routine is jammed packed with stuff, but overall, pretty organized.

We are really looking forward to spring arriving and spending some time in the backyard enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. Love to all!

Gabrielle is 1 year old today, wow, and what a celebration! Not only did we make it the whole year without breaking her, she's cute as a button too! Gabrielle celebrated turning 1 in style with family and lots of friends. She showed off her walking skills and her 6 teeth (top two on the left hand side have finally popped through so she now has a matching set). Chocolate cake went over well, but the party hats were another story.

Daycare is going well, with just a little separation anxiety, mostly on mommy's side. The first week was rough as there were lots of crying babies. Then the second week she brought home a whopper of the flu, which wiped us all out. By the 3rd week we were doing much better and week 4 were up to a full day. She really is enjoying the ladies that run the place and she comes home babbling with stories (not quite fully understood, but pretty funny to listen to). Her daily report cards let us know what went on during the day and some cute stories on how much she eats.

Our nighttime routine has shortened by a half hour, as she now goes to bed at 7:30 instead of 8. The kids at daycare must really wear her out. It's hard to imagine what's it's going to be like only having her 4 hours a night once work starts up again, but we're sure everything will go fine.

Again, we can not believe that a year has passed us by already. We love you Gabrielle with all our hearts and hope that next year brings you and all of us just as much fun. xo

11 months - they tell you the first year goes fast, and it's not like we didn't believe our friends, but fast is an understatement!

Our first christmas shared with Gabrielle was full of excitement and laughter. Though Gabrielle didn't understand a lot of what was going on, she took in all the cheer and enjoyed herself thoroughly. She was spoiled to the core by all her Grandparents, family and friends. Many thanks to everyone for the wonderful cards, messages and presents.

Gabrielle gave us her first steps for christmas (see video) She's got the strength to do it full time, but needs to build her confidence up as she seeks out a finger still to hold onto when doing laps around the house. We got to share this special gift with Nanny and Poppy Curnew who were here to visit during the holidays. Gabrielle loved her "playmates" for the week and you can tell she misses them.

Daddy discovered another tooth this week. You'd think it would be the matching one already up on the top right, but it's actually her front tooth on the right hand side. Looks like her right teeth want to come up before the left hand side. (??? the book didn't have any answers to this :))

The dreaded Daycare preparations are underway. Gabrielle (and Mommy) will start on Jan 7th for an hour and then eventually work our way up to a full day. We suspect Gabrielle will do fine as she's a social butterfly, but Mommy on the other hand has potential of being a mess. Mommy goes back full time on Feb 11th so this should give her plently of time to adjust too.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and hope that it's filled with as many new adventures and laughs that we have planned (and unplanned) for 2008!