Christmas

I was looking forward to Christmas for so long that I'm a little depressed it's over. It was so much fun having a little girl around. I don't know if she fully understood what was going on, but it was cute to watch her face light up at new toys. She got so spoiled! Actually, we all got spoiled. David and I got a new camera (thanks Nana and Papa) so you can expect some "high quality" pictures on the blog now :) I'm still learning how to use it, but so far I've taken a ton of pictures. I'm loving it!
New Years has never been a big deal for me, I guess I just don't really think about "the next year". However, having Gemma around has been more fun than I could have ever imagined, so I'm actually really looking forward to 2011. She's a very strong willed little girl which can make things a little challenging at times, but watching her personality develop has been fun, interesting, and amazing. She is such a blessing to David and I.

Reaching for her Nana

Who isn't happy with a cookie in hand?

Her favorite thing...chairs

Her new Noa's Ark

This is what she did most of the time we opened gifts at the Yarbrough Christmas

Not sure what to think about the Christmas tree

Enjoying her two new presents (her chair, and water bottle)

Playing with Ariya

Funny stuff

She can't walk yet, but she can do a handstand :)


Holding on for dear life

Crazy

The last couple of weeks since her birthday party have just flown by. I've been meaning to post a new entry but haven't been able to sit down long enough to actually do it.

We have had a few exciting things happen recently. Gemma got her first head wound. A mirror fell on her head, and although it didn't shatter (thankfully), it did leave a good dent. We were told to wake her up every two hours that night to make sure she was doing okay. I have to give David lots of credit for giving up his sleep and taking the 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m shifts.
That incident landed on the day we had her scheduled one year check-up, so that got postponed for a few days (10 days after her one year birthday).

Her check-up was a little traumatizing (for me). Not only did she have to get 4 shots, they also did blood work. She cried pretty hard for that part, but as soon as I picked her up she looked at the nurse and said "thank you". It was pretty cute, and made us all laugh. She also impressed everyone with how much she is talking. David and I later that day counted how many words she can say...we stopped counting at 40...I'm pretty sure she's a genius :)
At 1 year and 10 days, Gemma weighed 20 lbs 4 oz, and was 28 inches long.

David and I have realized that we are now in scary new territory as far as parenting. Gemma is such a strong willed little girl and she has recently started showing us her defiant side. It has been a little overwhelming for me trying to figure out how to handle her temper tantrums. I just hope we are on the right track, and addressing things before they get out of hand.


On a more exciting note, Gemma has started taking steps. I can't wait for her to walk, I think it's so exciting! She stands on her own pretty well but if you tell her to move at all, she just takes a nose dive to the floor. Today however, she took two intentional steps. She walked from the coffee table to the couch. It was so cute, and she totally knew she had just done something special. She immediately turned around with a huge grin on her face and started clapping.

November 2009

November 2010

Birthday Girl

Gemma turned 1 on Sunday. It was so much fun! We celebrated her at Nana and Papa's house with lots of family and friends, and she loved all the attention. She got all sorts of fun toys and cute clothes, and it was so fun to watch her enjoy her day. I couldn't possibly love her any more!

Wondering why I'm taking a picture of her first thing in the morning.

Her pretty cakes

One of her best friends who came to the party

Her dedication...me trying to keep her quiet

She liked eating her cake

Nana reading her a book to help wind her down from a long day

Some of her presents

See you Later

Nap

When Gemma decides she's not tired, she can spend up to an hour talking and playing in her crib instead of napping. Yesterday it was non stop talking. It was so cute I wanted to get it on camera but was only able to record 20 seconds because I was trying hard not to laugh.

Videos

First gift

Gemma's birthday party is still 6 days away, and the gifts have already started coming. She got a Cozy Coup from Nana and Papa a little early, and I'm not kidding when I say...She absolutely LOVES it. The faces and giggles she made when she first got it were priceless, I wish I could have captured those on camera or video. Of course the camera was not charged at the time, and I didn't know where the video recorder was. These are still pretty cute, they definitely capture how much she enjoys her Coup...Thanks Nana and Papa!
I have a few videos I need to post soon, I just don't have the time today...maybe tomorrow :)

A little ballerina

New riding toys

I got Gemma a little walking/riding toy at a friend's garage sale. She loved it instantly. David and I were both impressed she could walk with it and not lose control on the first try.

Gemma's likes chairs that move, especially this one. She usually gets a couple of rides a day.

This is an excited Gemma

Gemma learned how to crawl at 10 months, and everyone keeps guessing as to when she'll be walking. She's pretty fearless and seems to be learning new things every day. My guess is she'll walk by 13 months...we'll see. Regardless, she's loads of fun. Her vocab keeps expanding which is so fun. Her latest word is "Silas"....(for anyone who doesn't know, Silas is her cousin). I wish he could have been in the car when she said it.

This is the only way Gemma likes watching Baby Einstein now...standing.

Fist time she had grilled cheese...she didn't say a word the entire time she ate. Very unlike her.

She LOVES riding toys.

Pumpkin Patch

We went out to the pumpkin patch with the Dunne's today. It was a lot of fun. Gemma seemed to like it okay, so I'm excited to go again next year when she's a little older and knows what's going on.

Getting ready


Waiting at the door


looking at the birds


Showing me the pumpkin


Sweet face


Petting the bunny






Pumkins galore


Precious


Looking at who knows what


Looking up at Daddy

Saying "ball" and "Max"

This is what Gemma wants to do all day long...sit and watch Max. Today she had a few friends join her.

Her favorite toy at the moment is the little pouch with all her bows. She'll play for a good half hour.

I put bubbles in her bath for the first time the other night. She was a little perplexed for a while, and then proceeded to eat them.

Not so little anymore

It didn't take very long for Gemma to realize the significance of her new found talent. She's crawling everywhere, getting into everything, and pulling up on whatever she can find (okay, the pulling up is still a work in progress, but she tries). I absolutely love having a crawler! Obviously I have to keep a closer eye on her, but she seems to be even happier now with a little more independence.

Yesterday she figured out her sippy cup :) I had been offering it at every meal for a few weeks, but she would only bite on it and then throw it around. She finally took a big suck, and got a big mouth full of water. Her eyes got all red, she chocked a bit, then got a huge grin and pointed at it wanting more. Of course, as soon as the water was done and I took it away, she threw a fit (becoming pretty frequent these days).


Her little vocabulary is my favorite thing right now. I think it's amazing she's already using words. She can say book, bath, bottle, cat, Max, Papa, and Dada. Max is my parents dog who we have every week for a few days while they're in St. Louis. "Max" is usually the first thing she says when she wakes up. She LOVES him.

Daddy took this last night before putting her to bed. She absolutely loves books. Sorry it's a little long.

Nana's Quilt

I have the quilt she's cuddling with draped over her crib. Nana made it for her and it's absolutely adorable. I always take it off when I put her down, but for some reason forgot today for her afternoon nap. I watched her fall asleep sitting down cuddling with it on the video monitor and had to go in and take a picture. Pretty cute.

Crawling!

She's not an absolute pro at it yet but she's getting there.

Some bummers

Gemma is getting really good at crawling backwards, sitting up, pulling up on things...basically doing everything except crawling. Bummer!
She has become very vocal and very loud. Most of of her little friends don't have siblings yet either, so they aren't quite sure what to think of her noises. She usually makes them cry at some point. Bummer again!
She has also developed a major attitude, so we've actually had to start "parenting", and I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing. Major bummer!
On a happier note...she has 8 teeth now so her smile has changed a lot, but it's as cute as ever!!

Talking to Max

Being slap happy

Another Good Bye

David and I leave for Jordan tomorrow. I'm very excited about experiencing new things and getting to see good friends, but I choke back tears thinking about leaving Gemma again, and this time for 9 days. She's in bed now, and has been sleeping soundly for two hours, and all I really want to do is go in and wake her up... I won't...she wouldn't appreciate that too much. I feel like I have to go steel as many kisses as I can before I leave.
She was exceptionally sweet today! I had to make a trip to Kohl's for a few things I still needed for the trip. It was getting close to her nap time and I knew she was getting tired because she started rubbing her eyes. Instead of getting fussy, she started rubbing her face into my shoulder and would intermittently look up and give me kisses. So sweet!!

Because she's been so sick, I haven't been able to get her nine month pictures taken, so I decided I needed to take a few since she'll be almost ten months old when I get back from Jordan. They aren't "professional", but still pretty cute.

Cute screams

This is one of our favorite things to play.

9 Months

Height 27 1/4- 48%

Weight: 19 lbs 1 oz- 52%

Head Circumference: 45- 78% Definitely has a Boyd head :)

Gemma playing with her two rattles we got her on our trip to Mexico