my future Olympian gymnast - & Mrs Josh Peychers!

Gaby & Josh reading a book

Gaby has been doing gymnastics since late July, and so far Gaby hasn't really done what the teachers have asked, she's spent most of her (45 minute) sessions just exploring the gym, and doing a couple of the activities that they're 'meant' to do! She HAS walked across the beam twice, but since then, she's not really done anything. BUT on Wednesday, Gaby swung from the bar AND the rings!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO GABY! I was so proud of her, you'd think she'd have just scored a perfect 10 (or whatever a perfect score is now!) in the final of the Gymnastics all around final in the Olympics! Hopefully now she's going to slowly start doing more of the activities they're meant to be doing - although the teachers don't really mind if the kids want to explore, which I think is good - can't expect such young children to follow instruction 100% of the time!

Gaby attacking Josh with a cuddle

Last Thursday & Friday nights, Josh & Serena stayed with us, because Serena was going to watch Gaby on Saturday while I was moving. Gaby & Josh had a TONNE of fun together, it was so cute - lots of pushing each other around & stealing toys off each other - they even had a bath together, which was VERY cute. A few times Gaby tried to kiss or hug Josh, and he'd be all like "ew, girl germs, get away from me" (well, I'm sure he was thinking that!) - but Gaby got him a couple of times! It's cool that Gaby is at the age now where she can have 'friends'... She adored having him around - they even slept in the same room, rather successfully! Admittedly by the Friday night me & Serena were a little frazzled & decided to have ourselves a bottle of wine! Thanks to the good folks at Ricadonna

Gaby and Josh playing rough, behind the curtain (so we couldn't tell they were doing it!)

The big girl bed continues to be rather successful - she had her first nap in her big girl bed yesterday afternoon, but admittedly she actually slept... on the FLOOR! She kept getting out of bed, I kept putting her back in... she was screaming, banging on the door, then all of a sudden went quiet, so I presumed she'd hopped into bed (or was playing with her toys). About 20 minutes later I opened her door to check on her - and Gab was lying on the floor in front of her door - I actually hit her with the door when I opened it - oopsy! But luckily she went back to sleep. Last night she came out at 3.30am *yawn*, I thought "uh oh here goes" - I put her back in her bed, and very much to my surprise, she went back to sleep - and came into my room at the late hour of 7.30am!!!!!!!!!!! Today is our Palms day with Mum, so I'd better go & get ready. Gaby LOVES Palms day - it's really cute!Gaby reading her book in her big girl bed

Big girl bed

Gaby is now sleeping in a 'proper' big girl bed (ie a single bed)! So far we've had 3 nights of her going to sleep straight away & not getting up until at least 6.30am. We moved house on Saturday & I decided it was time to bite the bullet & put her into a single bed. I was getting sick of her cot, because the side that is meant to go down wouldn't go down! (could have something to do with me not putting it together properly...).

Gaby is loving the new house, particularly the toilet - as the flusher is at a perfect height for her... She seems to like her room & well, every room! She's adjusted really well, which is a relief to me, as I was a little worried that it'd be a big change for her. I guess having familiar things around (furniture, toys etc) makes it a little easier for her!

In two months Gaby will be TWO! Where is the time going? She is quite literally changing everyday now - her language skills are improving daily, it is strange going from not really understanding anything she says, to understanding most of what she says! Her favourite phrase now is "I've got poos"... I hear it every morning! We read a book this morning & I got her to name objects (clothing) - and she got pretty much all of them right, then we read another book - and I got her to say the names of the colours & she was able to pronounce all the names well! My next 'task' is to get her familiar with colours - not all of them of course, but it'd be cool if she could start identifying some colours!!!!

chatter chatter chatter

Gaby is talking soooooooooooooooo much now!!! She's stringing 2-4 words together - she is just so clever!!! All of a sudden she's turning into a real little person, telling me what she wants, telling me what she sees, telling me what is annoying her.... I am trying to teach her numbers & basic colours, but I don't want to push her, because I know it isn't something that she's EXPECTED to know at this age!

Speaking of her age - she's almost 21 1/2 months old! How the hell did she get that old? This time next year she's going to be almost THREE! It's scary - very very scary. Still feels like just a few weeks ago that she was a little babe, totally dependent on me for EVERYTHING, but now she's doing a lot for herself. I really should start thinking vaguely about her birthday party. I would love Terri to be able to come to it, so I'll plan the dates around her if she can come - and I think I might invite Grandma up to it, now that she's retired & has time on her hands!

We had a few days in Dunedin last week, was good to catch up with everyone - and of course Gaby got showered with attention which she loved! She enjoyed teasing Jasmine by not giving her cuddles or kisses - yet you could tell she wanted to. Was pretty funny!

Gaby - my friendly little munchkin!

the cheerful little Gabsta

I am back at university for semester two - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Gaby has preschool, but they couldn't give me the hours for Thursday. I posted an ad on the treasures forum & a lady replied, saying she was a PORSE (in home care) Educator, off on maternity leave - and she lives really close by, and that she'd be more than happy to take Gaby.

She has a 15 month old son - Ashton - and is currently pregnant & due on August 25th with a little girl. I was a little concerned that this would mean there would be weeks she couldn't care for Gaby - but the legend that she is, she has said the only chance of disruption is if she's in labour on a Thursday - and if that's the case her Mum will be having Ashton - & she doesn't mind having Gaby too!!! I am happy with the arrangement - more than happy, because Gaby gets one-on-one contact with another child, a similar age, she will become more adaptable to other people watching her - and she's also going to get to experience having a newborn around!!!!! Obviously a little brother or sister isn't in Gaby's near future, so I'm glad she's going to have interaction with a little little bubba!

Today she had her first 2 hours with Kylie & Ashton - and it went really well! She did get scratched by the cat, but I'm sure the cat was more than entitled to do that... Sounds like she enjoyed playing with Ashton - when I got back he was in bed, Kylie said Gaby had tired him out... sounds about right to me!

Cutest thing happened after I'd picked her up - we went to The Naked Baker so I could get some lunch, and there was a little girl - maybe 3?, she walked over to Gaby & said hello - and then they started holding hands! Cutest cutest thing ever. They walked around the bakery together - and even had a little kiss! Ahhhhh so sweet. Obviously if she was older it'd be a bit of a worry, but it was a safe environment (well as safe as it can be when strangers are involved!). Gaby had a smile on her face the whole time, so I know that she didn't mind one bit!

I can't remember if I mentioned last time, about Gaby's EXPLOSION of words? Every day there are new words which blow me away - last night she was talking about the stars for instance! Other new words: orange, yogurt (yogot), Jim (ie my Grandad Jim!) - ummm, there are lots more too, but they are the first that come to mind. She's also started stringing more words together, which is really exciting - she can say "it's stuck", "more please" - once again there are more, but they are the ones that come to mind first!

It's really amazing - and a little overwhelming, how much she is developing right now. Every aspect of her development seems to be taking off!!! Her behaviour is also changing, which I suppose is normal when other facets of her development are changing - and I am finding it a little hard at times to cope with it, and to not let it get to me. I have to remember that when he is 'naughty' she isn't being 'naughty' just for the sake of it - it's all about testing limits & becoming more independant - and I have to try to allow that to happen, but at the same time, give her some sense of what is appropriate & what ISN'T appropriate....

Top it!!!!!!!!

Uh oh...

On Saturday Gaby was bugging Nan, who told her to "Stop it". Gaby looks at Nan, points her finger & says "TOP IT" to Nan. Uh oh. The talking back has begun!

Gaby seems to be okay with her big girl bed now, especially since I put the bed rail up - the last couple of mornings she's woken after 7am, which is all good in my books! I wondered if being a 'big kid' might go to her head, but it doesn't seem to have - unless you count the talking back thing LOL.

Incase anyone is wondering, the Crayola Washable markers ARE washable! How do I know that? Because Nan bought Gaby some, and she has drawn on the wall & herself in the past two days. Not a mark is left though, thanks to the good folk at Crayola. I'm not sure why she's finding it so much fun to draw on the walls/herself with these markers - she never did it with the highlighters or pencils or crayons! She got blue on her face & it looked like I'd been punching her or something - thank goodness they came off!

This week Gaby is having a go at trampolining, as part of the KidsFest program. I kind of lied about her age - it was for ages 2+ - she isn't THAT far off 2! I hope she has fun - she certainly enjoys bouncing on my bed enough!!!!!

my little girl is in a big girl bed!

On Wednesday I decided (for some reason) that it'd be a good idea to convert Gaby's cot into a toddler bed! So all by myself I took down the cot (took only half an hour to figure out how to get the slidey side out!!!), then put it back up, minus the sides! The end result looked a little something like this:the first night in her big girl bed went FINE! She woke up at 7am - around 45 minutes earlier than usual, but as Mum said to me, she's probably waking up at that time anyway, but in her cot she'd go back to sleep. The first day of naps were a different story. I had to sit with her to get her to sleep for the first nap, and the second nap - well, it was a battle of the wills, and Gaby won. Yesterday I got her a bed rail - and her nap yesterday afternoon went fine - straight to sleep, so we'll see how her naps are today! Hopefully the bed rail makes her feel a little more secure & less like getting out!

She seems to be getting sick again, which is a bit of a bother - the cough is coming back, as is the snotty nose. I think she's teething though, so that probably doesn't help at all! We'll keep up with the cough medicine & Pamol this weekend, but if she's getting worse by Monday, I'll defiantely be taking her to the doctor! I guess being at preschool she is a lot more susceptible to all the little bugs going around, so it's probably to be expected that she'll get sick. Heck, it IS winter as well - everyone gets sick!

What else is new in Gaby-land? Not much REALLY... She's plodding along, making me laugh & testing my patience all in the space of 2 minutes. The terrible twos are certainly here - or very much on there way (I hope it doesn't get worse, but I think it will!!!!). She's now 20 months, 1 week & 2 days old - getting closer & closer to that big 24 month mark! I'm starting to think about her birthday present, I think I might get her some Duplo or Mega Blocks, but then, there are just so many cute toys around, she'll probably end up with a few things!

Gaby was lucky enough to get a box of clothing from Aunty Terri yesterday! She got new pants, sweatshirts, pyjamas, socks, shoes & a gorgeous purple jacket! In the box was also a video of Gaby as a little bub!!!! I made it for Grandma, but when it came time to put it on a video, we realised the cord we needed wasn't there! But Terri's flatmates have the right cord, so FINALLY it is on video! I plan on getting it made into a DVD soon, and then giving others a copy! It was weird watching it, thinking that she started out as a couple of cells - and that the first time I saw her (ultrasound) she was 6.3cm long! Even weirder to think she lived in my belly for 42 weeks!!!! & now she's this big, boistrous, adorable, sweet, cheeky toddler!

12w5d ultrasound

39w6d pregnant, 2w1d before Gaby arrived20 months, 1 week old!

A happier Gaby this week!

My sleepy girl, giving 'Moo' some love

Thank goodness Gaby seems to be over the worst of her virus. We (finally) got a diagnosis of 'viral bronchitis' last week, from a doctor who was a LOT more professional, friendly, compassionate & reassuring (thank god!). He told me I was doing everything I should be, and that all I could do was to let it run it's course. Around Saturday/Sunday she started getting a bit more Gaby like, and I don't think she's coughed so far today! Doctor said it'd last 7-10 days & he was spot on!!!

The only good thing to come from her illness, was all the cuddling she did!!! It was like having a little little bubba again... sometimes we'd sit for half an hour cuddling, it was lovely. She also slept a lot, which was a nice little bonus for me, allowed me to recharge my batteries a little!!! But that said, I'd have preferred a not-sick Gaby!!!!!!

Back to her normal cheeky self!

She's started stringing words together the past week or so - she has started saying "in the car" & "where's ____", there are others too, but my Mummy brain can't think of them right now!!! When we were waiting for Kai today after he'd gone into a building, Gaby kept saying "where's Kai?" - so cute - so CLEVER!!!!!

On Monday I went to the Christchurch Steiner School for a 'special character talk'. I am very interested in Gaby going to a Steiner school, it seems like such a nurturing environment for a child - & teenager, their philosophy concentrates on encouraging 'head, heart & hand' - the 'heart' aspect being the spiritual/creative/inner being of the child. I really like the ideas they promote. If you want to read more about Steiner, I will put a link on my links list!! I have to take the application form into them ASAP so she can get on the waiting list. Yes - the WAITING LIST! Gaby's year group is already full up! I don't mind so much if she doesn't go to Steiner for Kindy, but really really hope she can go for her primary & secondary schooling.