It has been way too long since I’ve updated this site. Gabbie is growing; it is amazing that even since the summer she has grown up so much and even looks older than she did back in June with Zachary was born. She is a great big sister and while she doesn’t like Zachary to touch her toys, she does offer him things to play with and hugs him and talks to him all the time.
Speaking of talking, Gabbie does not shut up - unless we are in public of course. When it is just us, she talks constantly, narrating everything she is doing, and requiring a response. If I don’t respond the way she would like me to, she just keeps repeating whatever she said. This does get frustrating! She also continually asks questions, even if she knows the answers already, especially “what’s that?” “what are you doing?” and “where’s Daddy?”
Gabbie has been saying and doing some very funny and cute things that I thought I’d mention here.
* When we were in Florida in December and were in the airport to fly home, she took her shoes off when we got to security without us telling her to.
* I took her to get the oil changed in the car and she freaked out when they cranked the car up. From then on whenever we pass any service station (and there are LOTS in our town!) she says “cars go up!”
* She is excellent at recognizing places she’s been before and can site read “Dunkin Donuts.” She also thinks she’s eaten yogurt at some random AT&T store on Route 18. I haven’t figured that one out yet. She remembers exactly what she did the last time she was anywhere and wants to do the same things again the next time.
* Lately she’s been insisting that she’s a doggie. Whenever I say her name she corrects me with “I’m Doggie.” She also thinks that if she’s a doggie she has to be a boy doggie, so when I say she’s a big girl she says “I’m Doggie. I’m big boy.”
* Speaking of boys…Gabbie helps me bathe Zachary. When she sees him naked she asks me “what’s that?” and since she’s asking about his penis, I tell her what it is called. The other day her response was “that’s so cute!”
* We registered her for school in the fall and she has to be potty trained. She refuses to use the potty though! But we talk about it all the time. Today she was asking where our mother’s helper was and I said she’s at school. Gabbie’s response was “she goes potty!” Yup, that’s right.
* Whenever we go out Gabbie likes to bring something along, usually her bear (which is actually Zachary’s), her baby, or a doggie (the other day she took “her” Rudy to get groomed while the real Rudy was groomed!). Today when I told her we were going to our friends’ house she said “I want to bring my belly button!”
I’m sure there are many more, but at least I got these down! And if you’re not laughing by now, you must not have a good sense of humor, like Gabbie! 
Just some updates!
Food: She will sometimes take a few bites and then say “all done.” She drinks milk all day, so I changed her from whole milk to 2% in hopes she’d fill up less on milk and eat more food. She likes to eat breakfast - multiple cereals in one bowl with milk. Lunch is usually yogurt (”yoburt”), she prefers the kind where you can mix in the cookies, but I have to make sure she eats the yogurt and not just the cookies! She also likes drinking smoothies. She likes bagels and pizza too. For dinner she will have what we are having, usually only a tiny bit though. She loves the game Daddy does where he pretends the fork with the food is something (an airplane, a bus, an animal, etc) and has it do something funny on its way to her mouth. This sometimes helps her eat a little more! Lately she has started liking soup (”sout”), and she still enjoys chicken, rice, and pasta.
Clothes: She insists on choosing her own clothes. I have to offer a few different outfits - she’ll never agree on the first one I show her! Or I let her pick a shirt from her drawer. She also chooses her socks. Shoes became an issue because all she wanted to wear were her “Blues” - a pair of fake crocs - but the weather is too cold for them now! She is outgrowing her shoes and needs new ones! Her clothes size is questionable. In shirts she can wear 2T or 3T. In pants she mostly needs size 24 months (Children’s Place). In dresses she can wear 4T just so they are long enough! But mostly she is wearing 3T dresses as well.
Sleep: Bedtime can still be an issue. Sometimes I feel like I need the Super Nanny or something, because of how many times Gabbie will cry and ask for something else before she’ll go to bed. She sleeps with a doll baby, so she needs to have “this one,” of course, only she knows which one she is thinking of and has to find it. She also has her milk thermos and will ask for “more milk,” even if the milk is full. She has a sippy cup of water and will switch between asking for the purple cup or the orange cup - it’s a method of procrastination. Then she has to have her pillow turned either to Nemo or Dory (”Fishie”). A million hugs and “I love you”s later and she’ll finally let you leave the room. Her bedtime is between 7:30 and 8 PM and she has been waking up around 8 AM. Her naps have been spotty lately. If she doesn’t take one she is a mess by bed time, but she has been taking shorter naps and usually calls me after only 1/2 an hour. Sometimes I tell her she needs to nap longer and she’ll lie down again, but if she doesn’t fall asleep right away, it is unlikely she will nap as much as she needs to.
Fun stuff: Keeping Gabbie busy is key to her happiness. We try to get out of the house every morning. On Tuesday we have playgroup, Wednesday is art class, and Friday is Gymnastics. Mondays and Thursdays are usually Moms’ Club things or we come up with something. Lately, all Gabbie has wanted to do is watch TV (”TB”). It is very bad and I feel awful for encouraging the habit, but when I need to feed the baby or cook dinner, etc, I tell her she can watch TV. She is really into Barney right now and will usually request him even if something else is on (”I want Barney, I want Barney!”) . She also still enjoys Sesame Street. After her nap until Daddy gets home is a difficult time of day and we try to arrange afternoon play dates, etc, so we don’t go stir crazy.
Family and Friends: Gabbie has gotten very close to Dave’s dad, her Grandpa, who takes her out for pizza pie (”pizza hi”) occasionally on Mondays. They also go to the zoo, the mall, etc. Since Gabbie also calls my dad Grandpa, it is confusing when we go to Gramy’s house (my mom) and see another Grandpa! Soon she will have to come up with nicknames for them! She has really warmed up to all 4 grandparents and will give them hugs, sit on their laps, and play with them much easier than she used to when she was younger. She likes playing with her cousins and recently had a great time with her second cousin, Atara. What is amazing is that she recognizes her Uncle Mark, and when she sees his picture she says “That’s Mark,” even though she hasn’t seen him in real life since September! Gabbie also enjoys playing with her friends a bit more than she used to. She plays with Leora a lot so she sometimes requests to see her. She also is a big fan of Connor from her playgroup!
Talking: Gabbie talks non-stop. If you don’t respond to her correctly she will repeat the same thing until you do. She is starting to identify feelings and will say she is scared when she hears noises that she doesn’t like, rather than just whining or crying. Her latest habit is to repeatedly ask what I’m doing. If not that, then “What’s Zachary doing?” or even “What’s TV doing?” And all day long she will ask “Where’s Daddy?” And she will say “What’s that?” and you have to give her the answer she is looking for even if you don’t know what she’s asking about - obviously she knows the answer to the question but she asks anyway! She also likes to tell us about things she did that day, or within the past month, such as “I saw animals with Leora!” which happened awhile ago already!
Overall: Gabbie is funny and cute, fun and hyper! She’s a great kid and we love her!
This is Gabbie’s Theme Song:
No - I don’t want to, I don’t want to.
No - I don’t want to , no, no.
No - I don’t want to, I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. Oh no.
Leave me…alone.
I don’t want to be quiet.
I don’t want to be good.
I don’t want to do anything if you tell me I should.
I won’t listen to you. If you call, I won’t come.
All I want to do now…
Is have a tantrum.
No, no, no, I don’t want to . I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. No, no.
No, no, no, I don’t want to . I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. No, no.
No, no, no, I don’t want to . I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. No, no.
Leave me alone, leave me alone.
Leave me alone!
I don’t want to be quiet.
I don’t want to be good.
And I won’t cooperate
if you tell me I should.
I don’t want to behave.
I won’t go to my room.
Gonna rant, gonna rave
Gonna throw a tantrum. Taaan-trum
I’m a wild child and I’m gonna make a scene.
I’m a wild child let me show you what I mean:
Now I’m down on the ground.
And I’m shaking my head.
And I’m kicking my feet.
And I’m pounding the floor.
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Leave me alone….
DON’T leave me alone!
DON’T leave me alone!
DON’T leave me alone!
DON’T leave me alone!
DON’T!
Don’t, don’t, don’t.
No, no, no, I don’t want to . I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. No, no.
No, no, no, I don’t want to . I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. No, no.
No, no, no, I don’t want to . I don’t want to.
No, no, no, I don’t want to. No, no.
Leave me alone.
DON’T
Leave me alone
Well I’m gonna be quiet
and I’m gonna be good
and I might cooperate
if you tell me I should
I’ve got something to say
and you never will guess
if you ask the right way
then I’m gonna say….
no.
Gabbie’s pronunciation has gotten much better lately! Sadly, this means a lot of her Gabbie-isms no longer exist, but:
Gabbie is no longer pronounced Bobbie
Garbage is no longer pronounced Barbage
Help is no longer Help-ee
Up is no longer Up-ee
Diaper is no longer Bopper
She has also been repeating almost everything we say, and sometimes at random times. Today I was laughing at Zachary and Gabbie said “what’s so funny?” Later, she ran up to me and said “Oh my god!”
Whenever one of us goes to do something (such as pay at a restaurant) Gabbie says we’ve gone to the bathroom.
She’s trying to sing. She makes up songs. The other day she sang one that went “Aiiirplaaane, where ahhhh you??”
So cute!
10/1/07
Dear Gabriella,
Today you are 2 1/2 years old! To celebrate, you took a trip to Hershey Park with Grandpa, Aunt Melanie, and most of your cousins! You are on your way home now.
Lots of things have happened since you turned 2 back in April. Of course, the most exciting thing was the birth of your baby brother Zachary on 6/7/07. You love Zachary and if anyone comes too close to him, you loudly proclaim “MY Zachary!” You have adjusted beautifully to life with a baby in the house.
At the end of June, you started attending school 3 days a week instead of 5, and starting in September you have stayed at home with Mommy and Zachary every day. We go to gymnastics, which you love and talk about constantly, art class, which you are enjoying so far, especially the parachute play at the end, and we are starting play group tomorrow. Most other days we go to activities with our friends or the Moms’ Club in the morning, you nap in the afternoon, and we play more after nap time!
In July, you were discharged from occupational therapy. These days you prefer to walk everywhere, sometimes even refusing to hold hands. You still have some difficulty with going up stairs and you are very cautious. You run, but very slowly. You love to jump, but cannot do so with your legs together. You love to color, dance, and eat with a spoon, all things you learned in occupational therapy!
Talking is your newest skill and you love to provide a running commentary on what you are doing and what you see. You prefer to have everything you say echoed back at you! You speak in just about full sentences. You can count, but you get confused and go from 4 to 9 a lot of the time! You are starting to try singing along to songs and know a small amount of the ABC’s. You still like to answer “no” to most requests, but you do say “yeah” too!
In August we went to see Great Gramy in Arizona. You did very well on the airplane (and entertained yourself with toys and saying “good, how are you?” over and over) and had a nice visit with Great Gramy. You also loved swimming in the hotel pool!
You have started giving us a hard time at bedtime by refusing to get in bed, but once you settle in with your dolls, milk, water, and pacis, you sleep all night. You nap between 1 and 3 hours a day. You also enjoy an hour of relaxing while watching Sesame Street!
Lately you want to choose your own clothes and shoes. You like reenacting your life with your dolls - pretending to feed them, change them, put them to bed, buckle them in your stroller, etc. You are working on learning to share with your friends. You love going places in the “red car”!
We have started potty learning, but have not gotten very far. I hope you will be out of diapers by the time you turn 3. I also hope you will be done with your pacifiers, which you still sleep with, but that is a battle I am not looking forward to!
I want you to know that as much as the toddler years are difficult, I love you even more. You are beautiful and sweet, you have a good sense of humor, and you make life exciting!
With Love,
Mommy
Today Gabbie had her first “art” class. That’s what I’ve been calling it, but it’s actually a really neat mix of stuff. First, they get to play with the sandbox or the toys. Then they have a welcome song and a story. I was SO proud of Gabbie because even though other kids tried to play with the toys during the story, she just sat and listened. And she told me she’s a good girl, haha. Then they did their art project, which was painting a picture of Rainbow Fish and making a fish out of a paper plate. They could also play with toys in bins of soapy water. They ended with parachute play, which Gabbie LOVED! I guess she did that at school because last year at Gymboree she didn’t like it, but now she knew exactly what to do. She did great the whole time. I hope she continues to enjoy it since I signed up for a double session! (12 classes).
List of things Gabbie and I did this summer, for future reference!
Parks and Play Places
Phillips Park in Old Bridge - very nice toddler playground
Kidstreet in Bridgewater - really nice park, not good in the heat!
Kid Junction - indoor play area, really nice, love it
Monmouth Museum Wonder Wing - too crowded, liked somewhat
Swimming
Berkeley Heights town pool - she enjoyed it one time but not so much the next time.
South Plainfield pool - enjoyed it
Spray Ground - enjoyed it
Structured Programs
Tiny N Two at Library - didn’t like the story or participatory stuff, liked the art project.
Gymnastics class - getting used to it
Great Swamp - bugs program - didn’t like it
Peter Rabbit Garden at the Ag Museum - enjoyed it
Random
IKEA - play area in cafe, watching the airplanes - lots of fun
Northlandz Train Museum - she liked it, not sure I’d do it again
Warren County Fair - was too hot
Somerset County Fair - really enjoyed
Sesame Place - somewhat enjoyed
Turtle Back Zoo - enjoyed
Point Pleasant Aquarium - too crowded, liked somewhat
I think I fixed this site so you no longer have to hit refresh to see pages. Feel free to help me test!
This morning when I got Gabbie up, her diaper was dry. It is usually very wet, so I knew she still had to pee. I told her Mommy was going to the bathroom, because she needs to sit on her potty whenever I use the bathroom (but always with her clothes on), and I brought her in there, she put her doll on the doll potty, sat down, made me sit on the toilet, and then she peed! I was so happy! Now I think she knows what I mean when I tell her to pee on the potty, so hopefully that is a good start for us!
Gabbie is starting to count. She says “one, two, nine, ten.” Hey, it’s a start!
She had her speech evaluation on Tuesday. She is at a 22 month level. She is on the right track though, and starting to say sentences. When she says bye now, she also adds “see you later!” Some of her other common things to say include “right there,” “open it,” and “I want to see Rudy.”
She is also learning possessives, such as when she was asked if the balloon was the baby’s balloon, she replied, “no, Bobbie’s balloon.” Bobbie, of course, is Gabbie! In a particularly funny statement, she told Daddy that he was using “Mommy’s potty.”
Gabbie loves looking for buses and trucks, seeing boats and the fire engines, dogs, airplanes, and strollers! She was very excited yesterday when we got our new double stroller!
Having a baby makes Gabbie appear to be huge! Of course she is still a little, cute, adorable girl!