First snow of the year!

On Sunday we had the first snow of the year! Gabriella's been waiting for this with her snow boots, pants, hat and mittens, etc. When we woke her up we let her look out the window. It took a minute for her to realize what it was (lazybum wakes up slowly) but then she was SO excited. She did think it was Christmas (that took some explaining) but was just as happy to go out and play. We had plans for Gabriella to go to a friends house so Ricky and I could do some Christmas shopping. That meant the outside play had to be fast so we could all get dressed. We decided wearing jammies with her boots and coat were warm enough.


Later in the day we decided to make our Rice Krispy house. We found it at a craft store last week and it seemed right up our alley. We try gingerbread houses every year and they don't work so well (or Gabriella starts eating everything right away). We had fun and we each were able to make a house.


One last picture for this morning. Gabriella LOVES houses decorated for Christmas and here's ours. We just added the snowman pathmarkers last night (sorry it's blurry, I was cold and shook the camera).

Christmas festivities continue!

We've been very busy the past few days. On Friday we went to the base tree lighting. It was very cold but we dressed in all of our winter clothing and had a great time! Here are some pictures:




Ricky may have scared some kids, but he sure was warm! That's what he wears when he's at work and cold. It worked well that night too.

The next morning we had Breakfast With Santa on base. The morning started out rough. Our alarm didn't go off (as Ricky said, good thing I have insomnia and wake up too early), we got stuck at the red light by our house, realized we had forgotten the tickets (came back and got them since the light was STILL red), and then I got stopped driving on base. Ricky had JUST said to me to be careful of my speed when the cop stopped me. It wasn't for speeding though, but apparently for following a car too closely. The cop asked me if I was in a hurry to get somewhere and I said yes, to breakfast with Santa. He had to hold back his laughter as he looked in the car at Gabriella. I can guarantee I gave that cop an amusing morning. He just gave me my things back and told me to have a good morning.

Anyways, here are a bunch of pictures! Our friends Lesa and Kylie were there too. We were able to see Santa, go bowling, decorate gingerbread cookies. We had a great time!




We are enjoying our holiday season and we hope all of our friends and families are too!

Santa Claus is walking to the town!

That's what Gabriella says. She's in LOVE with Christmas, the lights, the decorations, and of course SANTA! We were so excited to take her to see Santa. It was actually two visits in one day. Gabriella and I went to the mall with some friends and stopped at Santa just to wave and say hello. We wanted to wait until the Daddies were with us to get our pictures done. Well Santa suggested that the girls just go and say hi while they were there. Gabriella ran underneath a rope blocking the exit and jumped into his lap! I was shocked but thrilled :)

Ricky happened to get home from work early that day. Gabriella told Daddy all about Santa and we decided to go back while she was still excited. Here are some pictures we got that day:

So very thankful..

I know I've been slacking on the blog. I apologize. Life's been hectic, in good ways and not so good ways but we're hanging in there.


We had a very Happy Thanksgiving yesterday and we hope our friends and family did as well. It hasn't been the easiest year and I'm glad that we were able to relax and have a wonderful family day. At lunch we decided to say what we were thankful for, Gabriella did as well. I'm hoping it'll become a tradition.

• I am so very thankful for Ricky and Gabriella. Family means the world to me and they are wonderful. I don't know what I would do without them.
• I'm thankful for my extended family as well. It was the first time in a few years that we weren't able to join even part of them at my parents house and that was sad. But we used our web cams and were able to say hello to everyone and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving! Gabriella thought that was pretty cool.
• I'm thankful for my friends. I don't have many close ones, but the ones I do have help get me through the hard times.
• I'm thankful that in a little over a month Ricky goes to shore duty. I'm so excited for 3 years of Ricky being at home. It's been a long run so far and I think we earned this break.
  

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! Here are a few pictures of Gabriella to update you all :)

Here is our family on Halloween. We had a great time with our friends even though I was sick with a fever (what's new is my attitude about that. One of us always sick on a holiday).


Gabriella on Thanksgiving. I don't know where she found the shower cap. It's from a hotel visit (Nana and Gaga maybe?). She thought it was pretty cool though.



Gabriella and Daddy watching Charlotte's Web yesterday. I was finishing up the dishes and found them like this. They are the loves of my life!



Our Christmas tree (and our beautiful Gabriella). It's been up for a few weeks now. Gabby and Daddy got so excited they decided it had to go up! I couldn't argue with their excitement.

It's been awhile..

It's been awhile and this isn't going to be a full blog. I apologize for that. Short version of what has been going on is that life got in the way. My dad's been sick but he's getting the help he needs and is getting better. It's been a rough month or so but our family came together in an amazing way. I have to say my daughter is amazing. During very bad times she brought a smile to all faces (or so I thought so, anyone can correct me if I'm wrong). My husband who came home and had missed a lot of things became the amazing support he always is. I'm so glad that we are SO close to shore duty. We are just over 2 months away.

We are very excited for the holidays this year. I believe the Clifton Family is going to stay in CT but that's okay. We have our wonderful new webcams and we're making use of them to see the rest of the family. Gabriella's going to be a butterfly/fairy/princess (pretty dress with wings :) ) for Halloween. Nana made the costume and it is adorable! Take a look:

I happen to think she's quite adorable, but I am biased.

I guess that's it for now, at least it's some sort of an update. I'll try to get more up to date soon.

Attack of the Cricket

So Gabriella and I were sitting here last night watching Noddy. It's the last thing we do before heading upstairs for storytime and bedtime. Lulu (our dog for anyone who doesn't know) was outside. Suddenly I hear her growling so I went to get her quickly (we had an unfortunate skunk incident a few weeks ago so I don't take growling/barking lightly at night). She was right at the back door staring at it. I thought it was odd but decided to just let her in. I open the door and in hops a huge cricket (like 4 inches long) and Lulu goes after it. The cricket is hopping all over the place, Lulu can't catch it, and Gabby's trying to figure out what is going on. I was frantically turning on all the lights, grabbed Gabby (because the cricket got close to her) and was freaking out. Keep in mind I'm still having back problems and running around, grabbing Gabriella are on my list of things not to do. I was yelling at Lulu to catch it, I wasn't desperate was I? Telling our dog to catch a cricket that she chased into the house. It ended up jumping up the wall and I took one of Ricky's shoes and took care of the situation.

This morning Gabriella keeps talking about the cricket and how it jumped on her baby, and got near her leg. Oh and it jumped on the wall by her "bertday" pictures before Mommy got it.

Crickets on steroids are not welcome in this house. To be honest, I don't like bugs at all. I'm not that brave and if my husband isn't here to kill them they are not welcome.

Now that you're all laughing hysterically I hope you enjoyed our big problem. At least it's humorous for everyone else.

The Little Mommy (at it again)

I just posted about how I have a little mommy on my hands. She likes to mimic what I do with her, with her baby dolls. She was at it again this morning. Many people know I hurt my back a couple of weeks ago. Not sure how I did it and I ignored it for the first 5 days or so (put on my strong mommy face and just figured it was nothing) until I got to the point that walking was too painful. Well I've been to the doctors twice now and we have been pretty grounded to the house. To Gabriella's credit she hasn't been all that naughty. The first couple of days after the doctors visit were miserable, but since then she's been good. Of course Ricky and I discovered this weekend she can sit through a movie pretty well. Not something we're proud of for our two year old, but we'll get past this. I've taken Gabriella to one playdate (not a great plan, but the other mommy was really supportive so I didn't have to do much), and to our swim lesson (REALLY bad idea, but I thought the water would help). Other than that the couch has been my friend.

Anyways, back to the point of my little mommy in training. Gabriella knows that Mommy has a "boo boo back." She's been to my doctor's appointments with me, and knows it hurts. Whenever I go to take my medicine she says "Mommy's boo boo back okay??" with the sweetest, most concerned look on her face. Well apparently it's taking a toll on her. After she got up this morning she picked up one of her many baby dolls and went to put it in a chair. I heard her telling the baby that she was at the doctors for her "boo boo back." Then I heard Gabriella say "it's okay, Mommy's boo boo back will be okay, yours will too, right?"

I think it is SO adorable that she's taking care of her babies, but I feel horrible that she now thinks that everyone has a boo boo back. I start physical therapy on Friday and let's hope that my back gets better quickly. Then when my sweet girl asks if my back is okay, I can tell her the truth and we can get back to our busy routine.

A Meme (about Sara)

Looks like I've been tagged by many people to do this meme, so I'm turning the tables and throwing in some info about myself. Just a heads up, I don't think I have 8 people to tag at the end since anyone who reads this blog has already done this. But if you haven't, please feel free to go for it! (Note after trying to complete this.. I may not have 8 answers for everything, but I tried).



8 things I am passionate about:
-My husband
-My daughter
-My family
-My friends
-Education
-Photography (I'm not very good at it, but I like to capture the memories).
-My faith
-Supporting the military



8 books I've read and enjoyed:
-My Sister's Keeper
-Nineteen Minutes
-The Lovely Bones
-The Notebook
-The Other Boleyn Girl
-The Stephanie Plum series (by Janet Evanovich)
-Queen of Babble series
-Size 12 is not fat and the series


8 words/phrases that I say often:
-I love you (Ricky or Gabriella)
-Yes sweetie, daddy's still at work.
-Are you serious?
-I'm not surprised.
-FREEZE, Gabby.
-I'm not kidding!
-SHHHHHHHH!
-What are the nice words that go with that?




8 things I want to do before I die:
-See my children graduate college
-See my grandchildren be born (if it's mean to be)
-Own a dream home
-Learn the ins and outs of photography.
-Have a fulfilling job and still be there for my family (maybe while at home?)
-Go on an amazing vacation with my husband.
-Get into great shape, and learn to stay there, while indulge every once in awhile.
-Renew my wedding vows (after spending multiple anniversaries-aka the actual date as well as years-with my husband, even one would be great).



8 things I've learned in life:
-Everything happens for a reason, even if it isn't apparent right away.
-Our parents are/were right. Just like we are right as parents (isn't that annoying?).
-Don't be afraid to take a risk.
-You're never too old to learn.
-There's nothing compared to the love to and from your child.
-Patience is a virtue (and I should try to gain some).
-Enjoy the little things in life, don't let them pass you by.
-A sleeping baby can be a rarity, enjoy it while you can :)


8 places I want to see:
-New York City (more than just a train/plane stop)
-Hawaii
-Disney World
-Scotland
-Italy
-Paris



8 things I currently want/need:
-My back to get better so I can stop spending my days sitting down.
-Ice cream.. and chinese food. See why I need to stop sitting down?
-A full nights sleep.
-To get back on track with my weight watchers/workout (or at least some activity) routine
-Some new clothes for the fall
-A new laptop, or to stop knocking this one over (if I lose all my pictures I'm going to be quite upset).
-A part time daycare/preschool for Gabriella
-A cleaning fairy to come get my house in order.. on a regular basis please.

Mommy In Training

Gabriella has discovered her love for baby dolls. She rocks them, sings to them, puts them to bed. It's absolutely adorable. She mimics everything that I do to her. Her latest thing was taking one of her babies to the potty.

I was doing the dishes and I knew she had picked up one of her babies in the morning. It got somewhat quiet (which is scary in this house). Suddenly I hear a noise from the bathroom. I went running and I see Gabriella sitting on her stool in the bathroom with her baby on her potty seat. I didn't manage to get a picture of that, but after running for the camera, these are what I did capture.

So to narrate the pictures. She took one of her wipes and was wiping baby's bottom, threw it in the potty and flushed, watched it go down, and then was heading out of the bathroom. After that she told me that baby had earned a treat. She was so sweet and honest I couldn't deny her so I gave her an m&m (our potty treat). She took it and put it in baby's mouth (just an FYI, m&m's fit perfectly in the mouth of cabbage patch dolls). Gabriella was then explaining to her baby doll that she used the potty so she should eat her treat. I decided since clearly Gabriella hadn't done all this to get the treat herself, that she should in fact go ahead and eat the treat for being such a good mommy. Gabby was amazed but did go ahead and eat it.

My little baby is trying to be a little mommy herself. Maybe she's ready for a baby brother or sister. Someday :-)

The infamous "buddy"

Gabriella loves to talk about her "buddies." Everyone she meets is a buddy. I think it comes from us saying the words somebody and everybody and she has just changed them to something that works better for her. Whenever we go somewhere and someone strikes up a conversation with her, or even just says hello to her, she decides they are her best friend. Therefore the minute they have to go home Gabriella wants to know where her "buddy" went. It's adorable to say the least, although when it's asked over and over it gets a little old.

So if you ever hear a cute little girl yelling "hi buddy" just smile and wave back, it could be my sweetheart.

On another note, never lay on the floor next to Gabriella. I did that tonight singing songs to her. Her oh so gentle response was to belly flop on top of me. You can tell she misses Daddy wrestling time!

Our NH visit.

Here's our NH update.. It may be a bit long, and full of pictures, but I just can't help it, so bear with me!! We went to NH to stay at Nana and Gaga's house for the 4th of July. Nana made Gabriella a shirt to wear on the holiday. I thought she looked adorable, but you can judge for yourself!

While we were in NH we did some strawberry picking. It was a great time and Gabriella took Daddy doll with us. The ironic part was Daddy was actually available to be on the phone at the same time. He really WAS picking berries with us. Gabby did a very good job picking the ripe strawberries.. THEN she got bored and started looking for the green and white ones. They were harder to find and more of a challenge.

Another one of our fun activities was going in "Gabriella's pool." Nana and Gaga bought this small pool for their backyard and said it is just for Gabriella. Here is her first time in it. She was enjoying some time with Nana, and then with Mommy and Nana.

I have to share this next little story. We have a two piece (actually a three piece, it has a skirt piece) suit for Gabriella. I put it on for the first time and she got SO upset that her belly was showing and kept pulling it down. When we got in the pool she finally calmed but it was hysterical watching her and hearing her say "Mommy, no tummy, NO tummy!!" Apparently Daddy has taught her very well that you shouldn't show too much skin!

These last pictures are Gabriella supporting Daddy and his submarine. It says "Daddy is my hero." As you can tell from the pictures, we miss Daddy a LOT!

I think that's about it for our NH update! We also were able to go see both Gabriella's uncles where they work but we didn't get any pictures. Hopefully we'll get some from the next visit.

Fun at the aquarium!

I'm still backtracking a little, but here's a short blog about a visit to the aquarium. Gabriella and I went before our NH trip. We have a membership so we are able to go as often as possible and is so much fun to see her reaction to the animals. One morning I took her early so we were out of the house and able to avoid the crowds. She just wanted to see the "pish" as she says (f's aren't her strong spot). Here's a picture of her looking at some of them.

One of the new things this summer is a birds exhibit where you can not only be in where the birds are flying around, but able to feed them. As uneasy as I am about this, Gabriella LOVES it. So we got our food and went in and here are some shots of her feeding the birds!

Don't let the look of the second picture fool you. She did love holding the birds, it was just really sunny in that area.

All right, that's one of our older blogs, we'll keep catching you up!

We got a little behind..

Gabriella and I went to see her Nana and Gaga for the 4th of July. Since Daddy is away we decided we didn't want to spend the holiday alone. That way Mommy was able to get some rest, and Gabriella was able to get some Nana and Gaga time and memories. New blogs with new pictures are coming, but in the meantime, here's a video of Gabriella the night before we left for NH. She was dancing with her dinner.

I can't get it to post here, so here's the link. Someday I'll figure it out, but it's cute if you feel like clicking.

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a180/sclifton/?action=view&current=20080703163337.flv

Take some pity on parents with "that" child..

Everyone has been there whether they have a child or not. You're in a store, a doctor's office, anywhere and you see parents struggling with a child who just won't sit still, be quiet, who just want to do what THEY want to do. Most adults look at those parents and think "wow, they can't control their child, seriously what is their problem?" Well today, in the past, and in the future we have that child. I like to think that Gabriella is just spirited and we are not failures as parents. Maybe it's just the age, who knows. But sometimes she just wants to be herself with no restrictions.

Today we went to the store to get a few things I forgot (or was unable to get) at the commissary. It wasn't a good day to start out with. The yelling and constant questioning of everything that was happening started early. It was 80 degrees (and very humid) by 9am and there's a chance of heavy rain this afternoon. So we were at the store in the morning and Gabriella wanted to walk. No matter what I did she wanted to walk. So I played let's make a deal after she tried to buy everything in sight. If she touched anything or walked away from me she would go into the cart. If she just looked and stayed near me she could walk. She thought about it and decided it wasn't a bad deal. She did get in the way a lot and I said a lot of apologies but we were doing all right. Then she saw some 4th of July hairbows that wouldn't stay in her baby fine hair unless I glued them. She picked them up about 15 times, but she put them back. For some reason I let it slide just to keep moving (I know everyone around me was thinking "what is wrong with that mother, tell her kid no" which FYI I had been saying) and on. Well she grabbed something else and I informed my rule, into the cart she went. Then came the screaming, crying, kicking, and all around show for all the people around. I'm sure people were wondering why I didn't just take her home and try another day. The truth is she would've done the same thing. She does it when we go to the commissary too. She's at an independent stage where she wants to "help" and doesn't realize helping is not picking up whatever she sees fit to buy. We're getting through it, I followed through with my punishment of staying in the cart for the rest of the shopping trip, and even though we made a scene we got through it.

So now when other kids are making a scene I take a look at the parents. If they're trying I give them a break, because I definitely was trying today. I wasn't about to explain that Daddy was away, Gabriella misses him, etc. But I also couldn't explain that I have a sweet little girl that carries her Daddy doll everywhere, has tea parties on Grana's blankie, and wants to cuddle all the time. But just in case you got the wrong idea, here's a sweet image to keep in your head!

We love visitors, not so fond of goodbyes..

Gabriella's Nana and Gaga (aka Mommy's parents) came for a short visit and left today. It was to give mommy a little break, and give Gabriella some extra playmates. She loves them and has a wonderful time with them (as does Mommy) so it was great...until the goodbye. Unfortunately with this military life this sweet little 2 year old seems to have developed an abandonment issue. But we'll be okay, we always do.

While Nana and Gaga were here we did some fun stuff. Some shopping, lots of playtime, out to breakfast this morning, and grocery shopping. Oh and Gaga made Gabriella peanut butter bread for lunch yesterday. I'm not sure if you've seen the commercial where the grandfather makes the granddaughter a peanutbutter sandwich and writes their initials in it. Well my parents think it's very sweet (as do I) so Gaga did that for Gabby yesterday. She thought it was pretty darn neat that Gaga made her lunch. I thought it was pretty darn sweet and the best part? When Gaga thought he was done at one piece that they shared. Gabriella reached over with her sticky hand, tapped him on the shoulder and said "More please Gaga!"

Above are some pictures of the sweet event. Note the concentration while the peanut butter's being added (and then eaten).

So while grocery shopping today Gabriella turned into that child. Half way through the store she refused to be in the cart, wanted to run up and down the aisles, refused to listen to her Nana or Mommy and it was just chaos. So much for thinking this parenting thing is doing any good. We made it out in one piece, but not without running through the doors twice with items not paid for (don't worry, we didn't actually shoplift, and nobody noticed anyways).

Ah well, she can be sweet. We're both currently sitting here with stickers sitting here on our faces, courtesy of Gabriella. Oh wait, only Mommy has stickers on her face.