Good News

Due October 20th

Rodeo

The Army hosted a weekend at the Rodeo and Ben was able to get tickets. It was the first time Gabbi had been to the Rodeo and she had a blast. She'd point to all the horses and just had a big grin on her face. We sat with a couple of Ben's reserve buddies and she even had a blast playing with them too. It was a great night. It has been such a long since I have been to the rodeo, it was really fun. I love to watch the Sheep riding. They always have the cutest kids thinking their big boys. I'm impressed, I would never dare do anything like that. They even had a chicken chase. They let down any kids that wanted to chase the chicken and if they caught one they got to keep it. I can't believe how many kids went down. They even had a trick rider. She was awesome. I would never dare in a million years to do what she did. I loved horses as a kid and have always wanted one, but never in my right mind would I ever dare to do any of that. The night was a blast and even better to see Gabbi enjoy herself.

Kamree's Birthday

Kamree turned one in February. I can't believe how fast that year went by. She's a crusier too. I have never seen a baby crawl as fast as she does. You put her down on the floor and the next time you look down, she's gone. At her party it was really fun to watch her and Gabbi play with each other. Gabbi thinks she a baby doll that she can pick up and carry around. We are trying to get her out of the habit, but as they say, "old habits die hard." We did two birthday parites. One at our family dinner, cause mom and dad were going out of town and would miss the other one; then Jeff and Tiff threw her one. It was the best watching her dive into her cakes. Once she realized what it was, she went to town.

Fundraiser Dance

My mother-in-law does a lot for the Bear River school district. The Bear River high school has been remodeling their school, but they didn't have enough for the gym or auditorium; I don't remember which, but she was part of a committee that hosted a fundraiser to raise the funds to remodel it as well. The did a dance type thing. The had a request band that would play pretty much any song you requested, expect for maybe hip hop and rap songs and while they played you could dance. Gabbi had a blast running around on the floor, she didn't want to sit down at all. We all had a lot of fun, but I felt bad because Gabbi was being really weird around Nelson and Deann. She didn't want to go to them and she cried when I sat her down by them. I felt so bad, normally she's really good around everyone and goes to anyone. finally by the end of the night she was willing to say good-bye and good night. She even gave them loves. I guess she just need some warming up time. It was a great night, I felt like I was back in high school, we did line dancing, the hokey poky, and we even did the chicken dance. That was the best part of the night, to watch my father-in-law get out there and do the chicken dance. It was a blast. It was just too bad that Ben was still out of town, I would have loved to dance with him.

Hair

My sister-in-law, Tiffany, showed me how to do Topsy tails in Gabbi's hair. I was so excited because Tiffany and her girls always look so cute and now Gabbi could have a really cute hair due. So I tried them on her hair last weeks. I thought she looked so adorable that I just had to take a picture and document. She may never have it that cute again.

Visit with Grandma Shupe

While Ben was out of town for three weeks for Reserves, Gabbi and I decided to go up and visit with Grandma. We stayed for about a week. It was really nice to visit with her and to have someone to talk to during the long days. While Ben's gone the days seem to drag on. I try to stay busy, but that doesn't always work when I have a 18 month old to follow around. However she does occupy a great deal of my time. While with Grandma we got to make jewelry, visit, play games, and just really enjoy each others company. I was very glad Grandma was willing to put up with us for so long. While we were shopping for some beads for the watch bands we were making, we went to Roberts and they gave her a free balloon. Mommy liked the free and Gabbi liked the balloon. When we got back to Grandma's house, she played with that balloon for hours. Nothing could disrupt her fun. We had a great week with Grandma and was sad to have to head back home, but of course things had to be taken care of there, so back to reality.

Valentines Day

Valentines is not a holiday that gets a lot of hype from us. It never has, so why would this year be any different. It was kind of a bummer anyway because Ben wasn't here to celebrate with us. He was away for his drill. So Gabbi and I spent some time with my parents and even with my Grandma Shupe. Nana and Papa made her a flower heart cookie. It was really cute, way to go mom. A treat Gabbi loved. Then we went up to Orem to visit my grandma. That's where we were for the actually day itself. We didn't do anything special, but it was fun to spend it with grandma. Ben and I got her a little bear with hearts on it and my Grandma even gave her a stuffed love bear. She loves both of them very much. She drags them around and lays on them for a pillow. They are her new best friends.

This one was from Ben and I, nothing special, but she loved it.

This one is from Grandma. She loved how big it was, almost as tall as she is.

Dear John

So I went to see Dear John. I have wanted to see it ever since I saw the commercial about two months ago. I read the book and absolutely loved it. The bigger reason for wanting to see this movie is because I feel connected to the story, in a way. I am in the same boat, so to speak. I love my husband very much and when we first got married we both agreed that he would get out when his contract expired, but things happen and that's not happening anymore. So then we have had to come to the realization that he could get deployed at one point or another and more then once if things didn't cool down over there. So sitting and watching the movie just made me cry; to picture myself in that situation, saying goodbye to my husband, best friend, and better half, which will end up happening sooner then i am ready for. I don't know if I'll ever be ready for it, but it will happen. It was a good movie, the book was better, but it was still great to finally see it after all the hype. This one's for you honey! I love you so much.

Gabbi Up-dates

Well I have realized I haven't talked much about how Gabbi is doing now. She is talking more and the sign language helps so we really know what she's talking about.

Understandable words:

Kitty

Puppy

Hello

Bye Bye

Mama

Dada

Papa

Nana

Yellow

Blue

Orange

Green

Help

Up

Open

Love You

Shoes

Thank You

Bless You

She is also starting to watch a little T.V. She used to just watch a minute here and there, but now she'll enjoy the show. She dances when they dance and she sings when they sing.

Some of her favorite shows:

Curious George

Sesame Street

Dinosaur Train

Sid the Science Kid

We don't get regular cable, these are just some of the few shows we get on the free channels.

She is growing really fast. I can't believe she will be 2 soon. We have even turned her crib into a toddler bed. The front of the crib comes off and it's and instant toddler bed. She was really excited for this because she could now get in and out of her bed by herself. We jumped into this a little early I thought, but Ben likes to be able to sleep in on Saturday, it's the only day he can, and with Gabbi screaming to get out of her crib that doesn't happen. So he figured that if she could get out of her bed on her own she would play for a while by herself until she really wanted out of her room. So far so good. She loves the bed and she loves when we lay down with her and tickle her back. At night's she does great. She stays in her bed and she goes to sleep no problem, she hasn't fallen out either and that is what I was afraid of. In the morning when she gets up shes plays a little longer by herself and we get to sleep a little longer. Nap time is a little off, so it is now called quiet time. She knows that she has to go in her room and she can't come out until quiet time is over. Since we have trained her as a baby to have her door closed when she sleeps, it makes this a lot easier. So we go in her room, clean it up, and then turn on the radio. We lay her down and tell her it's quiet time and we'll see her again to play when quiet time is over. We leave and shut the door behind us and she's pretty good. What she does in there doesn't matter as long as she's not screaming and banging on the door. I can pretty much guarantee that she's not napping because her room is a mess when I go in to let her out. It doesn't matter to me as long as I can get my 2 hours to get things done without her bugging me. It has worked really nice, I couldn't have asked for better. Got to love my little girl, big girl, in her big girl bed.

Coat

We were on our way home one night and Gabbi had gotten her pants wet so we took them off her so she didn't have sit in wet pants all the way home. We put her coat on her lap so she wouldn't get cold and this is what she did with it.

Gabbi Playing

We went to visit my Grandma Shupe while Ben was away for work. She had a blast playing with both Grandma Shupe and Nana.

Jumping across the floor,

Trying her best to stay balanced on the balancing beam,

And last but not least, the somersault.