Gabbies Winter 2012 Dance Recital

Gabbie had her winter dance recital today.  She has really come a long way from her first day of dance where she sat about 15 feet from everyone else.

This recital was held at the Great Basin College, our local community college in town.  She got to go up on the big stage and everything!  When I left her backstage, she asked where I was going.  I told her I was going to get my seat and that I would be in the audience.  She didn't bat an eye and said, "I'll see you on the stage!"

She did such a great job!  We are so proud of her!

Here she is with her good friend after the show!

When we got home, all she wanted to do was to snuggle with her daddy.  Such a sweet ballerina!

Oh, Liam Loves His Sister!

One of the best parts of having 2 kids is watching them play.  Over the past couple of weeks, Liam and Gabbie have really started to interact and play together.  Liam is now at an age where he can respond and voice an opinion about what is going on.  It warms my heart to watch them together!

Here is Liam demonstrating his new trick on Gabbie... Kisses!  Gabbie is such a good sport!

I know that they won't always get along like they do now and that one day the will fight nonstop!  But I also know, from personal experience, that even though they will fight like crazy for years, they will also realize that they are each others best friend!  

But for now, I am just going to enjoy the love!

Liam's Crawling!

So, Liam has been up and rocking on his knees for the past week or so.  He has been mobile for quite some time by rolling, spinning and pulling himself to where he wants to go.  But today he started to actually crawl.  Here he is in action!

I can't believe he is almost 8 months old!  Knowing Liam is my last baby, his milestones are bittersweet... I love seeing him grow up and develop, but it makes me just a little sad that it is happening so fast!

My Girl Goes to Preschool!

September 11, 2012... Gabbies first day of Preschool!

Gabbie has been so excited to start preschool.  She loved picking out her backpack, princess of course!  She helped buy her supplies and couldn't wait to get to use them.  

We went to the open house a couple of weeks ago and at first she was very shy, like she normally is in new situations.  But it didn't take her long to leave my side and check out the toys.  Within a couple of minutes, she was playing and meeting friends.  She didn't want to leave!  I promised her that she would be able to come back soon.

So, on her first actual day of preschool, I wasn't sure what to expect.  This was also her first adventure without her good friend, Tristyn, by her side.  She was doing this alone and didn't know anyone else at the school.  As we drove to the school, she asked lots of questions... one of which was, "Are you going to stay again with me mom?"  I told her that I wasn't going to stay and that Jodi would be picking her up.  I was a little worried about her reaction, but she was absolutely fine with it!

When we finally got to the school, she jumped out of the car and said, "Bye mom!  I gotta go to school now!"  And if I would have let it, that would have been the start of her school career.

But we had to do pictures, of course!  I also had to walk her in and get her settled, more for me than her.  We were actually about 5 minutes early and so we waited outside with the other kids and parents.  Gabbie started making friends with a little boy in her class and admired all the different backpacks.

Then we went in, found her cubby and her seat and she was set.  She gave me a kiss good-bye and a wave with her sweet little smile on her face.  There she was, my little girl, and I couldn't have been more proud of how confident she approached this new new experience!

  

And although I was incredibly proud of my brave and grown up little girl, there was just a little part of me that was sad that she didn't need me.  Oh, how I love her!

Gabbie, the Swimmer!

We started Gabbie in swim lessons for the first time this year.  When she started about 4 weeks ago, she wouldn't even put her mouth in the water to blow bubbles.  The thought of putting her head in the water terrified her!

We had some interesting days at the pool.  Never has this kid needed to go potty so many times in just a 30 minute timeframe.  One day when Kiley took her, she jumped out of the pool and told him she needed to go potty.  He asked her if she really needed to go or if she was just trying to get out of her class.  She very honestly replied, "I am just trying to get out of my class!"

However, about 2 weeks ago, she got a new instructor named Emily.  She did so great with Gabbie and now Gabbie loves swimming!  She will jump off the side without holding someone's hands, has no issue going under, can go to the bottom of the pool and retrieve a toy, and is great at her kicks and her arms!  

Here she is in action!

We are so proud of Gabbie and how hard she has worked!  She now loves swimming and can't wait to head out to Utah to go with all her cousins!