Ours

December Madness

2012-01-06T15:35:00.001-07:00

We had a great Christmas holiday! Gabriella was a blast this year, it took her a while to warm up. But after about the third present, she had the hang of it and then there was no stopping her. She was tearing into everything, it was so much fun.

Uncle Johnny came to visit and Gabriella was in heaven, she hasn't stopped talking about him since he left!

We took Gabi bowling with some friends, although she didn't want to share the lane ;) She thinks this is pretty much the greatest game ever.

We went to zoo lights again this year and it was by far the best year ever! The weather has been crazy warm so it was so much fun!

Crazy Gabi, she will only let Tyler push the stroller when he is around. LOL!

Cousins!

It was even warm enough to take the four wheelers out for a day. We had a ball, Gabi could have stayed on those all day.

Gabriella's cousin Owen is visiting now and they are having so much fun together. They are too cute with each other, so funny!

Fall 2011

2011-12-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have no excuse for my lack of blogging this fall other than pure laziness :)) But we have been busy, here are a few pics from the last few months. Gabriella started a dance class back in September. She is taking pre-ballet this year and after a few months, she fell in love with it and now she can't get enough.

In October, we took our last family vacation before Trevor went back to work. We decided since Gabriella had put up with her Mom and Dad's trips all year we would take her to Disneyland.

She didn't know what to think at first, I think we may have scared her a little since we were so excited, but after the first few hours, she finally got the hang of it and then we were trying to keep up with her.

Playing in Minnie's kitchen

Making silly faces with dad in line :)

Gabriella's favorite character this trip was by far Pluto. She was in love with him, she wanted to kiss him on the nose every time she saw him. Her other favorites were of course Mickey and Minnie. But she didn't want any thing to do with the princesses, in fact I think they scared her.

Gabi's favorite ride was Winnie the Pooh. I think we rode it about a dozen times and it never got old for her!!

Holding mom's hand because I was afraid of the ferris wheel ride

One last hug for Mickey

We had so much fun on our trip. Gabriella even did well on the car ride, I think she was so excited that the car ride was no big deal. After we got back, it was back to reality Trevor started his new job at Goldman Sachs at the beginning of November and we haven't seen him much since. I am so glad we took this one last trip before life kicked back in.

Now this crazy girl is stuck with me all the time and I make her do weird things. Such as in this pic, she is strapped into a seat on the back of a bathroom door :)) Gabriella also started a sports class once a week. She goes with 3 other boys and she tries to keep up with them. They play soccer, basketball, and run around on scooters. Her favorite is of course soccer. Some of Gabi's other favorite things right now are:

Dora videos
Mickey Mouse old school videos
Her dogs
Telling me "no"
Sprite
Reading books
Cousins
Grandparents
Playing hide and go seek
Ring around the rosie
Swimming

Some of the funniest things she has said lately are:

"Mom I like your fuzzy jammies cause they make my mama feel soft"
"No I do like it"
"Mama, stop talking"
"Copper and Coco are my favooorite"
Her all time favorite word is no such as, "no do my hair" "no wash my hair" "no put on my shoes" and many many more

It's been a while

2011-08-15T19:39:00.000-06:00

Well we finally made it back to the U.S. and Gabriella is in heaven with her family!! I haven't posted very many pictures from our last trip, so here are a few more.

Gabriella running by Westminster Abbey, where the Princess was just married.

China Town in London

After London, we flew over to Munich. I think Gabriella liked this horse!

German food is the best!!

Beer Garden inside the English Garden, Munich

All over the place

2011-07-23T06:38:00.000-06:00

Where in the world is Gabriella??!! That is the question these days, we have been traveling all over Europe the past few weeks and we have been having a blast!

Gabriella's Grandma and Papa came all the way over here to pick us up and travel for a few weeks! We started our trip with a quick drive down to the South of France. The picture below is at the Pont du Gard. It was so hot that day!!

This picture of Trevor and I is in Uzes, France.

All of us relaxing by the pool at the bed and breakfast where we stayed.

We made a quick stop at the Mediterranean for some swimming.

We even got to see a running of the bulls!!

This picture is in Orange France at the Roman amphitheater.

Then we made it back to London!

Then we flew over to Munich for a couple days.

Lots more pictures and places to come....

Shopping and Horses

2011-07-02T12:56:00.000-06:00

Gabriella has been a great shopping buddy for me this week. As you can see she loves purses!!

We took her out to play games last night, I'm not too sure she had as much fun as we did.

Today we took her to Vizille and she rode on the ponies!!

She absolutely loved it!! Believe it or not that serious face means she's really enjoying it!

We had a blast, I think she would have stayed on that horse all afternoon if we would have let her. As soon as she got off, she had to give the horse and a hug and kiss. She then had to tell the horse that it was a good girl and thanks for the ride.

Beach Time

2011-06-22T13:48:00.000-06:00

This last weekend, we took a quick trip to Carnon Plage with our friends. Gabriella and Liv had so much fun playing in the sand and water. I thought we'd never get them to leave the beach.

The beach and water were perfect, the sand was so soft and the water was really shallow which was great for the girls to play.

The apartment we rented had a great back yard with a place to bbq and relax, we all enjoyed the hammock until Gabriella peed in it.

Carnon Port

Gabriella is going to miss Liv so much!!

On our way home we stopped in Uzes, the girls had a blast running around the town, it was a really beautiful city!

The Netherlands Part 2 and Brussels

2011-06-17T14:32:00.000-06:00

We had a blast in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is a great city, this picture above is us playing on the I amsterdam sign.

We spent a morning out by the North Sea, although we picked the wrong day to go to the beach. It was raining all morning at the beach and the day before in Amsterdam it was hot and sunny.

These pictures are outside the peace palace in Den Haag.

We finished our trip with one more day in Brussels.

Gabi giving daddy a kiss :)

Brussels really surprised me this time, I enjoyed it more than I expected. It is a great city that has a very unique feeling and of course I enjoyed the Belgian waffles.

It was a great trip, this picture above is Gabriella playing in the Brussels airport. She was such a trooper this trip, she didn't complain at all the whole week!

The Netherlands Part 1

2011-06-15T15:59:00.000-06:00

After almost a year of living in Europe, we finally made it to the Netherlands. (Which was supposed to be our first trip). We absolutely loved it, the country side and the canals were beautiful.

"Mom the door is open right here"

This was the de haar castle in urtecht. I would recommend anyone going to see this castle, it was by far one of my favorites in all of Europe.

Amsterdam was crazy busy the day we went, but we still had lots of fun. Gabriella insisted on riding with a horse. So here we are in the carriage with Otto (the horse) pulling us around town. It was a great tour and Gabriella had a blast, she thought it was great that a horse was driving.

Touching Otto, she was a little too scared to actually pet him!

After lunch, it started to get really hot, crazy Gabriella decided it was a good time for a swim. Too bad I didn't pack a bathing suit.

She was obsessed with the water, we had to drag her out when it was time to go. Stay tuned we have lots more pictures coming!

Luxembourg

2011-06-12T07:57:00.001-06:00

After Bruges and Ghent we headed south to Luxembourg. The castle above was in Marche Belgium. It was beautiful, but they wouldn't let us inside, so we just walked around the grounds!

Gabriella loves lions, she spotted these before we did, and said "Daddy picture please". Lol, you can tell her mom and dad take a lot of pictures!

We stopped at a park for lunch on our way.

Crossing into Luxembourg

The hotel had an indoor pool, but it was freezing, so we ended up playing on the grass outside instead, but still fun!

Luxembourg was beautiful! The hillsides and bridges were so pretty, while we were there they were hosting a bike race.

Luxembourg had the best park right downtown. It had this ship that was filled with tons of fun stuff. It also had water to play in and swings!

Gabriella could have spent the whole weekend playing at the park!

We don't have very many swings in Grenoble, so this was a real treat for Gabriella. She is so funny at the end she is say "No more pictures daddy, no more".

Ghent and Bruges

2011-06-09T14:56:00.000-06:00

We haven't had the best luck with traveling this year and this last trip was no exception. We got to the airport 2 hours before our flight, only to find out the fuelers were on strike for the day and our flight wasn't going to leave for another 6 hours. So we waited and waited and 7 hours later we finally took off. We finally made it to our hotel in Brussels at midnight.

Ghent and Bruges were well worth the wait though. The picture above was in Ghent.

Inside the Ghent castle

We got stuck in a rain storm the first day, but it was still beautiful!

Outside the Ghent castle

Bruges was also so pretty, the canals were so fun.

Happy Birthday Trevor

2011-06-09T07:45:00.000-06:00

Happy late birthday Trevor!!!

We celebrated Trevor's birthday before we left for our trip. He didn't get to blow out his candles though. Gabriella thought that was her job!

In the Lyon airport

We love you!!

BBQs and Sunsets

2011-05-27T06:11:00.000-06:00

We bought a tiny charcoal bbq for our patio a few weeks ago and we've been throughly enjoy almost every night. Last week we had a few friends over for a perfect summer bbq. The picture above is Gabriella talking to her Grandma on the phone while we were cooking dinner.

Mmmm, I'm going to miss these!

Quick family picture after church on Sunday

Since it's been SO hot here, we have really been enjoying our patio in the evenings after the sun goes down. The sunsets have been so beautiful lately.

Gabriella attacking Daddy from behind!

Broken and bruises

2011-05-20T05:59:00.000-06:00

Well this week has been interesting to say the least. On Tuesday our internet stopped working suddenly and here when I don't have the internet I am totally lost. Well after countless hours on the phone with our internet provider (in French mind you), they determined that it was our Bbox (router). So we packed up Gabriella and the box and went to the store that the agent on the phone told me to go to only to find that location is closed permanently. So we hopped on the tram and rode to another store, they gave us a new box and we were on our way.

I was relieved that maybe our internet would work again. Well not only did the internet not work now, the house phone, and the tv (which are all ran through the same box) were no longer working. Great, now I had to call the internet provider again from my cell phone and start all over again. Then the power went out, yes it was a great day! Needless to say I had to call it quits and give up for the day.

Thankfully when we woke up this morning the power was back on and oddly everything was working again. Who knows how or why it wasn't working in the first place?! but at least it's working now. LOL this place i so crazy sometimes!

We hiked the Bastille here in Grenoble a few days ago.

These pictures are from the top of the Bastille

She still had plenty of energy after the hike to play!

This is a typical evening at our house, Gabriella has to help cook dinner and watch Tangled! Yes she isn't wearing a diaper in the picture, we've just started showing interest in being potty trained so we're working on it.

Watching movies with mom and her baby

We took Gabriella and her friend Liv to see the animals at the circus that was in town.

Gabriella's favorite thing to do right now is to play in the sand. She'd play in it all day if I let her. The other night she was in the sand, digging holes and she tripped and smacked her head on the cement. She got a nasty bruise from it, but as she says it "I ok mom". She's so funny I have to kiss all day long.

Pictures, pictures

2011-05-07T13:35:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we rented a car and took a couple of day trips. I think Gabriella was just as happy as her parents to be in a car.

Until she got car sick! Her crazy parents decided to take the back road, and about 20 minutes into the ride, Gabriella says "mama, my tummy hurts." I almost had her out of her car seat when she lost it. She threw up all over herself. Poor thing; after that she was a happy camper.

It's a good thing we had a hoodie and some tights in the bottom of her stroller. Lol!!! The rest of the day, we heard "mama, dada, my tummy ok now."

We set out to visit Grotte de choranche, the picture below is the walk up to the grotte.

The next few are the pictures inside the grotte.

Crazy salamanders that live in the grotte.

On our way home, we stopped at Pont-en-Royans on our way home.

On Sunday, we took Gabriella out to Lac de Laffrey. She was dying to go swimming after she watched all the other kids jump in. But when I tried to take her in the water, she decided it wasn't as much fun as it looked.

She had a ton of fun with her sand buckets and water can though.

Cake and Presents

2011-04-24T05:51:00.000-06:00

I think Gabriella was exhausted yesterday since we've been celebrating her birthday most of the week, but there's always room for cake and presents! She woke up from her nap to this loot, she spotted it right away.

It didn't take her very long to start opening everything.

Cake for Gabi's 2nd birthday.

I bought trick candles (mistakingly) they were a hit! She thought they were hilarious.

Playing with her new toys!

Playing with Dad.

Gabriella's favorite things at 2 years old:

Purses, anything with a handle that she can put on her arm
Animals, every kind but her favorites are dogs, kitty, horses, monkeys, and loins
Kicking and throwing balls
Trains and buses
Camera, taking pictures and having her picture taken
Shoes and clothes
Make up
Jewelry
Being just like her mommy
Dolls and all their accessories
Suitcases, push cars, dolly's stroller, anything that she can push/pull

Gabriella's favorite phrases at 2:

"Mama, dada, play"
"Where'd dada go?"
"Where'd blankie go"
"Apple in my sippy"
"No, me"
"Me play outside"
"Me want this, please buy"
"Sit here"

Gabi is saying everything we say right now, she talks all the time. She loves to play, eat, color, read books, and stickers right now. Pretty much she's become all toddler over the last year! Happy birthday again Gabriella, we love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

2011-04-23T06:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Gabriella!! I can't believe you're already 2 years old, the past two years have gone by so fast.

Your birthday party last year

And oh, how you've changed this year!!

This morning before you were really awake

Birthday Puppets

2011-04-21T06:51:00.000-06:00

We started celebrating Gabriella's birthday a little early this year. Since she LOVES puppets right now, we took her to a puppet show here in Grenoble. She had so much fun, as soon as it was over she said "more puppets please"

Catching ducks and the carnival

New outfit from Grandma, she loved the owl on this shirt. She was going "hoot, hoot" all day

Outside the puppet show theater

Pointing to the show we were going to see

Gabriella and daddy had to wear matching shoes

Waiting for the show to start

She loved the show, she laughed when everyone else was laughing and she sang along to all the songs. (Even though she didn't know them!) After she said she wanted McDonalds for dinner.

Playing in McDonalds after dinner

On the bus ride home, she was so happy!

New skirt from Grandma, she loves to spin around in it.

Life in France

2011-04-19T07:04:00.000-06:00

I feel so lucky that we had the opportunity this year to live in France; we've been able to see so much. While my mom was visiting, we took a couple of day trips close to Grenoble and we saw some beautiful places. It was so nice to enjoy the countryside too. We got some great pictures of Gabriella, she was in a great mood the whole time!!

Our first trip was an hour train to ride to Aix-les-bains. Which was a beautiful little city on Lac du Bourget. It was a great trip and lots of fun to be around the lake, we were lucky the weather was perfect.

At the gare waiting for our train

Lac du Bourget

The tulips were so pretty.

Next we drove about an hour outside of Grenoble to the middle of no-where to see the Palais du Facteur Cheval. Which is a palais that a local postman built in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. It took him 33 years to build it, every day he would pick up rocks along and his route and add on to his palais.

The detail was unbelievable

Next we drove to Lake Geneva, but we stayed on the French side this time. We drove along the lake and stopped in Yvoire, Evain, and Thonon. It was so pretty, I think I could be happy staying there for a long time!

Yvoire

Putting our toes in Lake Geneva

We had a blast, I can't believe how beautiful spring is here, it makes the long winter well worth it!! In other news, Gabriella's 2nd birthday is on Saturday. I can't even comprehend yet that she is almost 2! The time has flown by!!!

Back to Paris

2011-04-14T08:03:00.000-06:00

We finally made it to the Sacred Heart

Here are more pictures from our last trip. We ended the trip with a few days in Paris. The weather was amazing and we had such a blast!

By all time favorite thing to do in Paris, spending the afternoon at the park under the Eiffel Tower.

The first one in always has the best selection!

Playing outside the Opera House

The Louvre was so pretty at night!

We had so much fun in Paris this time. It made me realize how much I will miss living here in a few months. Here are my top five reasons I will miss France:

5) Learning French

4) Walking everywhere

3) French food (never thought I'd say that!)

2) Markets

1) The Parks

And of course here are the top five things I won't miss:

5) Learning French

4) Carrying home the groceries

3) Missing Copper and Coco

2) Restaurants that are never open

1) Smoking, smoking, smoking

I can't believe we are down to just a few more months! I am so happy we moved over here and spent the year.

More London

2011-04-12T13:29:00.000-06:00

We took so many pictures in London, here are just a few more of them.

Dad, you're crazy let me out of here!

Since we have been traveling so much, Gabriella's new favorite thing to do is take pictures. We got her a little play camera of her own and she takes pictures of everything. All the time I hear "oh mom look..." then she is clicking away taking pictures. I guess that tells you how many pictures we've been taking lately.

We've been to London, Paris...

2011-04-08T06:38:00.000-06:00

After living in Europe for 7 months, we finally made it to London a few weeks ago. We had so much fun!!

Grandma and Grandpa came all the way over to meet us. Gabriella was in heaven, she didn't even want mom and dad around!

Outside Buckingham Palace. We have lots more pictures to coming!!

Paris Fun

2011-03-24T14:08:00.000-06:00

We had a blast when Kenna and Aaron came for a visit at the beginning of the month. It was so good to see them, and of course, Paris was amazing!

Don't forget to pack me!

It's amazing how much you discover when you have kids with you. Who know there was a swing behind the Notre Dame? Gabriella absolutely loved swinging!!

The Paris catacombs

We had so much fun, everything was so amazing, but the catacombs were our favorite thing we saw. Thanks Kenna and Aaron for coming all this way to see us, we wish you were coming back again!

Unfortunately our camera broke right after our trip, so I don't have any more recent pictures. Gabriella has turned into a chatterbox, we can't get a word in edgewise. Here are some of her favorite things to say:
"Sit here" or "Sit down mama/dada"
"No stoller, I wanna walk"
"Play outside"
"Bye bye home, go play now"
"Bonjour/ Au revoir"
"Mama and dad walk slow, me hurry"
"S'il te plait and please"
"Shut the door"
"Mama and me hide, dada hide too"
"and me (while pointing to herself"
"Want..." (whatever she can get her hands on)
"Ride bus/ choo choo"
"Want more bon bon"

She says everything she hears right now, we have to watch our conversations, because she will chime in with her opinions. Lol, she is her own person now. She has an opinion about everything, what she wears, what she eats, where she sits, and everything her mom and dad do! She loves to play outside since the weather has been so nice. She also loves, animals, food, music, dancing, hide and go seek. She is growing up so fast, I can't keep up!

Ah, the French Riviera

2011-03-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

We have been busy traveling the past few weeks, I haven't had a chance to update the blog! Over the weekend, we took a quick trip to Nice, Eze, Monaco, and Italy, whew it was a busy weekend. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Kenna and Aaron came all the way over here to visit us and we are having so much fun!

Eze at night

Aren't they cute?! Eze in the background

My shopping buddy

Outside the Monte Carlo in Monaco

I think we wore her out!!

The Italian coast

We stopped in Turin, Italy on the way home for lunch.

We all enjoyed the gelatto

Bike Rides and Sugar

2011-02-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

We rented another bike last week, this time with a seat for Gabriella. She is in love with the bike, every time we leave the house she wants to go on the bike. Here are a couple pictures of her royal cuteness in her new favorite seat.

The weather has been so cold recently, we've had to come up with things to do inside. One night we took Gabriella out to a local bakery for some dessert. She loved the "pink chairs" she kept saying "sit here mama and dada"

A few nights later we took her out to pick out her own candy. She was enjoying it so much, I couldn't get her to look at the camera.

Bowling

2011-02-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, we went bowling for the first time in years, yet alone the first time in France! Gabriella went crazy over it, she thought it was the best thing ever. We had a blast and since Gabi did too I think we'll have to go again soon. (And if you're wondering, it's exactly the same as bowling in the States.)

Flower Cuteness

2011-02-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

I think Gabriella is finally feeling a lot better, because yesterday she wanted to dress up and take pictures. Trevor brought home Valentine Day's flowers for me and Gabriella thought they were for her, so she just had to have her picture taken with one.

I love how everything comes wrapped up like a present here.

I think they turned out so cute, especially for a spur of the moment photo shoot. The weather has been so nice here this week, so we've been busy play outside. Gabriella say "play outside" as soon as she gets dressed in the morning. She is talking all the time now. My favorite words she says are: "momonk" for monkey and mittens. She's also learned to say "I cold" anytime she gets the slightest chill. Good thing spring is coming soon!

Final Chapter- Gabi's Day

2011-02-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Gabi was such a good traveler for this trip, we decided that the last day in Prague needed to be her day; and since she is pretty much obsessed with animals right now, we knew we had to take her to the zoo. She absolutely loved every second of it! Here are a few pictures of our day:

Waiting for the underground train

Checking out the chimps

The tigers were her favorite.

The Prague Zoo was amazing! One of the best zoos (sp) I've been to.

Trevor kept following the signs to the Dum, and we finally found it.

Up close and personal to the Dum

Loving the zoo!!! Or is that because she just had a Czech Hot Dog. Can you say "yummy!"

This was a site for sore eyes. I think I almost cried when I saw it! The United States of America Embasy.

On the river looking back at the Charles Bridge and the castle.

Charles Bridge

Our Little Shopper. She had to get new shoes. "Check out my new boots" Gabriella loves to shop, but she loves to pose for pictures after she gets something new.

More Shopping: "I think I need some jewelry to go with my new boots" Dad is in big trouble. Look at all of her accessories.

Now on to toy shopping. I swear we did more than shop, but it was Gabriella's day!

This was our hotel room. It was in a perfect location. The castle was only a couple of block away, the Charles bridge to old town was right out our door, and the best was the McDonalds across the street. Diet Coke never tasted so good!

Prague Part 2

2011-02-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

We absolutely loved Prague, I would go back in a heartbeat. I think we may have taken a few too many pictures, but here are a few more from the 2nd day of our trip.

The city itself was so beautiful, and the Czech people were also wonderful.

These pictures were taken from the top of one of the towers on the Charles bridge.

Gabriella thought the walk we took by the bridge was the perfect place to pose for pictures.

These next few pictures were taken on our underground tour. It was so interesting to learn more about Czech history.

We had dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant, Trevor got the pork knuckle and loved it.

I had beef goulash with bread dumplings, it was mmm good.

And for dessert, we shared the apple strudel, which was Gabriella's favorite.

Behind the Iron Curtain- Day 1

2011-02-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went to Prague; which has quickly become my favorite European city. We were lucky and the weather was great the whole weekend. This is just the first day, I will post more pictures of the rest of the trip tomorrow.

Breakfast at our hotel, Gabi was so excited that they had eggs!

Both of these pictures are in the Prague castle

Gabriella was so happy the entire trip.

Creepy

Can you believe it, she actually fell asleep in her stroller?!

Gabriella loved the clock with "puppets" she kept saying "more".

On the Charles Bridge

The best part of the trip was the food! We enjoyed lots of American food and Czech food. I think we were all happy to find some good barbecue and it tasted soo good!

Crazy Girl

2011-02-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Gabriella decided she wanted to be a model today and I took full advantage of it! Here are a few of the best pictures we took:

She picked out all these hair bows herself and insisted that I put all of them in her hair. This is her new"smile" it cracks me up!

Cute face

What a ham, she is growing up way too fast, I can't keep up with her. I'm glad she decided it was time to be a model for the camera again because it's just in time for our trip, we leave for Prague tomorrow!

Updates

2011-01-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. As you can tell by the picture above, it has been very cold in Grenoble since we've been back. In fact it's been so cold that Gabriella actually asks for her hat and gloves as we are leaving the house. Lol, and that's saying a lot if she's wants a hat! Gabriella is doing well, she's growing up too fast. She's been so sick lately, so she's had a rough few weeks. But hopefully she'll start feeling better soon. She has become such a kid since we've gotten back to Grenoble. She talks in sentences now and even likes to pick out her own clothes in the mornings. Here are a few of her favorite things right now:

Cooking, she has to help with every meal
Playing with her friends
Picking out her clothes and hair bows in the mornings
Going for walks with out her stroller
Kittens
Dogs
Going shopping and trying on jewelry or shoes

Trevor is back to the grind with school again. It was a slow start after Christmas break, but this program never lets us down and he is back to being crazy busy. He is enjoying it and trying to keep up with us and school. We just planned a trip to Prague and we leave this Friday. Which will be really fun except that it's supposed to be really cold! I guess we didn't plan that very well.

I'm doing well too, my laptop crashed a few weeks ago. So we invested in a new one, in the picture above Gabriella is trying to sneak her fingers on the keyboard since we've told her she can't push buttons on this one. Lol, she's such a toddler.

Little Traveler

2011-01-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Gabriella has become quite the little traveler lately. Since we traveled home, she can't stop pulling her Dora suitcase everywhere she goes.

Gabriella in the Charles de Gaulle airport

Not only does she need her suitcase, you can't leave the house without her backpack and purse! I think I'm in big trouble as this little girl grows up.

We took a quick day trip to Lyon over the weekend. It was such a nice day and so nice to have a mini getaway. Despite the fact that Gabriella didn't sleep all day, she was really good.

We went to a puppet show while we were there.

As you can tell, Gabriella loved the puppet show and the trip!! We are enjoying being back although we are missing our friends and family like crazy. The weather has been great here the sun has acutally been shining every day this week. So we've been enjoying the parks again. Gabriella is talking like crazy now in French and English. Her favorite word right now is yeah, she says it all the time. Lol and of course she still says bon bon any chance she can!

Christmas Break

2011-01-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from Gabriella's face below, we were all so happy to be home for Christmas!

Here are a few highlights from our trip.

Temple Square, brr is was so cold that night.

Making Christmas cookies with Gabriella

A few snow storms!

Zoo lights with Gabriella's cousins and ice cream afterwards!

Christmas Eve and morning

Popsicles and presents!!

Christmas Eve jammies!!

We had so much fun over Christmas, it was so nice to be home!!

Snowy Day

2010-12-02T05:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I was feeling pretty good as I read everyone else blogs about snow because it was still pretty warm here and we didn't have any snow. Well, I shouldn't have said anything because we got a huge snow storm yesterday.

Gabriella wasn't too sure about the snow. She loves to eat it of course. In fact I gave her a snack in a bowl and she dumped the crackers out and filled the bowl with snow. Lol, she is such a funny kid. The snow was beautiful! Although I'm not enjoying dragging the stroller in it today, it is just making me grateful for when I have a car again.

Here's a cute video of Gabriella in her daddy's shoes

Winter Wonderland

2010-11-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa surprised us with a visit this week! We are so happy they are here, Gabriella has been in heaven, as you can see below!

I thought I was enjoying France before, but it doesn't even compare to how much fun it is now that Christmas has arrived!

Grenoble has been transformed to a winter wonderland. There are Christmas markets all over the city with tons of fun stuff. The vendors have everything from cheese to clothes. We are loving Christmas here!

There are no words for the picture below, she is just having a ton of fun. We also had our first snow fall this week and it was beautiful.

These are a few of the candies vendors are selling at the market.

We took a quick day trip back to Annecy yesterday, the snow was so pretty!

Winter has finally arrived here, but despite the cold, we are loving every minute of the season!

Party Animal

2010-11-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Gabriella had a party with a few of her friends on Saturday night! Let me tell you, this girl is going to be trouble!! She loved having friends at her house.

We played lots of games, and had a ton of fun. Gabriella laughed all night!

Finally we had to settle everyone down and put on a movie, mickey mouse of course!

I think Gabriella would have stayed up all night if we'd let her. By 10:00 though, she was wearing thin, as you can see by the blank stare in this picture! We had tons of fun and can't wait to have everyone over again!

For the love of bread

2010-11-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well Gabriella hasn't picked up too many French habits, except for the love of bread!

In fact every time we go to the store, I pick up our flute first, and as you can see, she eats while I shop. I can't go to the store now with out picking up a flute, or she cries and points to where they are in the store. So funny.

Today Gabriella wanted to dress just like Mommy. She had to wear her boots and her necklace. Too cute!!

She is such a little super model she poses for every picture now!

A Little Stir Crazy

2010-11-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

It has been raining like crazy here all week, and Trevor was in a bike accident last weekend, so we have been staying at home a lot this last week. At times I think we were all a little stir crazy so we had to have some fun with the camera. Trevor is starting to feel better. He is ok, he hurt his left leg really bad. He still can't walk too well on it. We're just lucky he didn't get hurt worse!

We bought an advent calendar to count down the days until we get to come home. Gabriella looks real happy about it in the picture below. She is actually having a lot of fun with it. The first day she ripped the door open and ate the chocolate before I could even taste it!

It finally stopped raining today!!! So we got out and enjoyed the sun. There was some kind of protest going on by the park, but they had a band playing, so Gabriella and I enjoyed the music.

The picture below is of another band that was playing downtown today, I think everyone was happy it wasn't raining.

Since Trevor has been in bed most of the week, it's Gabriella's favorite place to play.

She keeps her dad company while he is slowly getting better.

Fall Time Fun

2010-11-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

We have been having lots of fun this fall. Gabriella is all over the place! She loves to run now, and tries to jump but she can't quite get off the ground yet. She learned lots of animal noises and she is jabbering all the time!

As you can tell from this video we are missing these faces like crazy over here!!

Our Copper and Coco are probably happy they don't have a toddler chasing them around the house anymore. But we sure miss them!

Random

2010-11-04T15:02:00.000-06:00

Grenoble's Prefecture

Trevor and Gabriella decided to have some fun with the electrical tape the other morning.

At first Gabriella thought it was really fun, then she realized it would hurt if she pulled it off.

Here mom, you take it. She decided it wasn't so fun after all.

As we were walking around downtown the other day, Trevor found Mary Poppins herself. We tried to chase her down to see if she would watch Gabriella, but she just disappeared right after we took this picture?!

Who doesn't love a chocolate eclare?

Getaway

2010-11-02T06:40:00.000-06:00

Trevor finally had a day off this last weekend, so we jumped at the chance to have a mini vacation! We rented a car and drove to a few places we've been wanting to see. First up is the pont du gard, which is an old aquaduct that was built in 50 b.c. It was amazing to see, and Gabriella had tons of fun running around.

Next is the city of Carcassonne, which is an old walled city that was built in the 4th century. It was amazing!

The moat is still carved out, as you can see below. There is only one entrance to the city, through the draw bridge of course. This town was so much fun, it felt like we walked into a movie.

I think Gabriella enjoyed this town more than Trevor and I. She ran around like it was a big playground.

Next, we went to Nimes, which also was a beautiful city. We toured the arena, which is the most well preserved colosseum. Once again Gabriella loved it because she could climb up and down the stairs.

We made it home last night, and now Gabriella loves to set up the camera and take pictures of herself. She posed for a few last night with her dad!

Splash Time

2010-10-28T13:42:00.000-06:00

You may think this girl is innocent, until it's time for a bath!!

She loves to splash everywhere!!

Park Time with Daddy

2010-10-28T13:23:00.000-06:00

Gabriella took her dad to her favorite park the other night. She loved chasing him all over the place!

The leaves are so pretty at this park! Who doesn't love fall?!

New Favorite Dinner...Raclette

2010-10-23T12:44:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of a traditional raclette.

Last week we had dinner with a few friends. They made an amazing meal for us called raclette. Basically it's cheese, meat, and potatoes, my three favorite things!!

I didn't take too many pictures because I was too busy eating, it was so good! Now I am on the hunt for the grill so that I can make this at home too.

Goofy Girl

2010-10-21T06:10:00.000-06:00

Gabriella is turning into such a goof, we are having so much together. She loves to pose for the camera now. Which is great for me! Here she is at one of the malls here in Grenoble.

In the picture below, she is just lying on the floor, no one knows why. She just laid down and posed for a picture, she's such a goof!!

Over the weekend, it was soo cold and rainy, we had to play inside all weekend. So of course, we had to make forts in the house.

She thought it was the best thing ever!! Now she brings us the blankets and wants to play in a fort all the time.

Today we were getting ready to go, and Gabriella had to grab a few things before we left the house. She had to put on her jewelry, grab her doll, and of course her shopping bag. What a diva!

She loved having her doll at the park, first she had to try everything. Then she showed her doll how to do everything, she's too cute!

Gabriella's new word for this week is bon bon, which is candy in French. That's one word I should have never taught her. Now she screams "Mom, bon bon" everywhere we go.

On y va Gabriella

2010-10-19T11:54:00.000-06:00

"On y va" has quickly become Gabriella's favorite French phrase it means "let's go" and when I say it to her, it usually means we are going to play at the park. The weather had been so cold and rainy here the last few days, but today was perfect so of course we spent the day at a few of our favorite parks. Here are a couple pictures from when the weather was lots warmer.

The picture above is Gabriella's new friend, I don't know who she is, but every time we go to this park, she is there and she always follows Gabriella. They are so funny together, they just go about their play, side by side.

Gabriella's favorite food since we've moved here is balsmic vinegar and olive oil. She's so funny, she loves to dip the bread.

Older Pictures

2010-10-18T06:25:00.000-06:00

Here are a few older pictures from when we first arrived in France.

You know you're in France when...

2010-10-16T06:22:00.000-06:00

Smoking is EVERYWHERE, I mean everywhere. You gotta love it when the tram doors are closing they hurry and suck down as much as they can. You especially know they're French when the pregnant women are smoking and they give you a dirty look for moving your baby away from their disgusting second hand smoke. Just wanted to give you all a laugh for the day!

La Peche

2010-10-15T01:16:00.000-06:00

Some of our new friends showed us a park we didn't know about this week and Gabriella is in heaven there. It's by the natural history museum here in Grenoble. In the picture above Gabriella is checking out the ducks, she tried to climb over the small fence, but wasn't successful.

She loves these bouncy toys, as you can see by the huge grin she has on her face!

Well everyone knows that sweets are my weakness and living in France is not helping my bad habits. So let me introduce my new best friend and worst enemy! La peche (the peach), the bakery that is just a few blocks away from our house makes these and they are the best thing I have ever tasted!!

First of all it comes wrapped up like a present!

There it is my biggest weakness, and in case you were wondering of course it's filled with yummy cream!

Finally!

2010-10-13T06:54:00.002-06:00

I can't honestly not believe it, but the internet at our house is finally working! To make a long story short, when we first signed up for service, they told us someone had to come to the apartment to install the phone line they said it would be 3-21 days before we'd have the internet at home. Well here we are 45 days later and 3 appointments that they never showed up for and all of sudden, it just started working. I don't understand these crazy people!
Anyways, we love our new apartment. We are the first ones to live in it, who would have thought we move to one of the oldest cities and end up in a brand new apartment?!

Here is our living room and kitchen. Don't mind the white white walls, our landlord said he didn't want to paint now and just have tenants ruin the paint. Lol, gotta love the French people.

And my new clothes dryer. Lol it's not so bad, our clothes always smell fresh.

Here is a closer picture of our kitchen. Which I love. The stove is induction, which is just about the most amazing way to cook ever! It boils water in less than 30 seconds. I love it!!

On to more important things, Gabriella is doing great here. She is enjoying her new life, we ride the buses and trams to a new park just about everyday. She can't get enough of the parks lately.

Yesterday I told Gabriella we were going to go to the store and that she needed to go get in her stroller. I went back into my room to grab my shoes and came out to find her with the shopping bag, pushing her baby's stroller, and her blanket wrapped around her all ready to go. She is so funny!

Gabriella and myself can't get enough of the French pastries. It's a good thing I have to walk everywhere or else I would have doubled my weight by now!

Crazy kid, her hair has gotten sooo long! She is growing up so fast. She has also gotten a few new teeth since we left.

This is the look I get when we ride the trams, it is fun for about 2 minutes and then Gabriella is ready to get off and do something more fun.

Overall we're doing really well. School is going well for Trevor, keeping him very busy. But we are enjoying living in France. The French are a different group of people, but we have met lots of nice people. Now that we have the internet at home, I will post more often and keep everyone updated.

Oh La La, Picture overload

2010-09-23T12:02:00.000-06:00

The picture of Gabriella above explains how we are all feeling! We are loving life in France, but we are so overhwelmed. Life is so different here, let's just say the French do thing their way and when they want to do it. But we are having so much fun. Here are a few pics of what we have been doing.

The picture of above is of a park and castle by our house. It is so nice to visit, the park is huge and the castle is beautiful. Gabriella loves going to feed the swans, they eat right out of your hands!!

This is a fountain downtown Grenoble, it is a beautiful city!

These are pictures of Annecy, France. Which is one of the prettiest citites in the world!

These pics are at our apartment, it is so nice. We lucked out, it is brand new and we love it!

The picture below is in Geneva Switerzland, we didn't stay long, but it was sooo nice. All I have to say about Switerland is that it is expensive. We had to pay 40 euro just to get into the country. They gave us a sticker for our car to use their freeways. Well, we didn't think to keep the sticker since it was a rental car and then we found out that it is good for a year. So now if we want to go back to Switzerland, we'll have to pay 40 euro again. We are learning a lot of things the hard way, but it is a ton of fun!!

I know I am way behind on blogging, we don't have the internet at home yet. They are coming on Monday to install it, and then they said it will take 3 to 21 days before it will work. Who knows with the French, they are crazy. Today we were riding the tram into downtown and the driver came on and said we are done for the morning, you will have to walk the rest of the way. I didn't know that France was on strike today, so my mom, Gabriella and I walked the rest of the 2 miles downtown. You never know what you are going to get when you leave the house here. I guess that's what makes life interesting. I will try to keep updating as best I can, until then a bientot!

Dress Up Sunday

2010-08-19T19:34:00.000-06:00

This last Sunday Gabriella wanted to wear her birthday skirt and we thought it was the perfect day to take a couple cute pictures.

She is growing up way too fast, I can hardly keep up with her anymore.

And as if she wasn't cute enough before, she found her great grandpa's hat and had to pose for more pictures.

She LOVES her cousins, as you can see in her smile below.

Mackenzie took great pictures of everyone playing in the grass!

Last but not least, the big news. We are officially moving to Grenoble France.

We fly out in less than 2 weeks. Trevor starts school on September 13th. We are so excited and nervous for this big change. If anyone has some advice on moving internationally, or taking a one year on a 10 hour flight, we would love to hear it!! I will try to keep the blog updated so everyone can see Gabriella growing!!

Updates

2010-07-30T14:23:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been awhile. Gabriella has grown like crazy. She is loving the summer!!

At her last doctor's appointment, she hadn't gained very much weight, she has just gotten a lot taller. She is in the 25% for her weight, and the 50% for her height. She is a super healthy little girl and we are so thankful for that!

We sold our house in May, in preparation for Trevor going back to school for his MBA. He has been accepted to 5 different schools in Europe, but we choose Grenoble school of management. We will be moving to Grenoble, France at the beginning of September. As long as we get our French visas next week.

Gabriella loves to eat right now. Her favorite foods are scrambled eggs, pasta with Alfredo sauce, mac and cheese, string cheese, fruit snacks, and Popsicles with daddy! Her favorite thing to do right now is run around. She gets soo mad if you try to make her do anything. Everything has to be her way or no way right now. She says lots of things now such as mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, papa, I got it, no, yes, and lots more!

Gabriella has been having swimming lessons this summer, she is so funny about it. She loves to get in the pool and then she is ready to get back out and run around. She hated it when we dunked her under the water.

Birthdays

2010-05-29T15:05:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, we had Gabriella's 1st birthday party.

We had so much fun planning it and it turned out great. Thank you to everyone, Gabriella had a ton of fun. She loves all the toys she got for her birthday, they are the only ones she plays with now!

She was not interested in eating her cake at all. She must have thought we were all crazy staring at her and clapping. As you can see below Gabriella was saying, it's my party and I'll cry if I want to. She is so funny.

I love the picture below of Trevor and Gabriella. Tomorrow is Trevor's birthday. I can't believe another year has gone by. Happy Birthday Trevor, we love you!

Random

2010-05-26T14:02:00.001-06:00

Here are a few random pictures from my phone.

Gabriella is changing so quickly right now. At her last well baby visit, she was 19.5 lbs and 29 inches. She is in the 50% for her weight and 75% for her height. The doctor said she looks great. That is the best news of the year!

She is walking like crazy now. She even started kicking the soccer ball last week. That makes her daddy so happy. She loves to play, I can't keep up with her anymore. I can't believe she is a year old already. We had a birthday party for her, which was a ton of fun! You can see her cake below, which Trevor and I made all by ourselves.

All in all, Gabriella is an active toddler now. I never would have dreamed she would be so healthy in just a year. Thank you all for your support and prayers through her rough start this time last year. She wouldn't be here if it weren't for all your prayers!

Forever

2010-04-20T11:24:00.000-06:00

I know it has been FOREVER since I have posted anything. Well, needless to say we have had a lot going on the past few months. Gabriella has grown so much!! As you can see below she hates to have her hair in pigtails, but we think she looks SO CUTE, I can't resist every few days! She has 3 teeth now, and Mom has to make sure she brushes them well!!
She loves it when we roll the windows down in the car and the wind blows her hair! She screems weee until we roll the windows back up.

Something amazing happened last month, she fell asleep on my shoulder in PUBLIC! Can you believe it?! I never thought I would see that happen.

Gabriella discovered binkis a few months ago. She never took them when she was a little baby, so I put them in her toy box. One day she took it out and put it in her mouth. Now she is like Maggie from the Simpsons, we can't get her to take it out.

What else has Gabriella been up to?? Well, she is walking now, but she prefers crawling, because it is so much faster. She is talking all the time, her favorite words are "Hi Dad". She loves being outside now that the weather is warmer. She recently developed a fear of water, which is not fun when it's bath time. She loves to EAT!! Her favorite foods are: grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, and ritz crackers. And last but clearly the most important event of all, her first birthday is this Friday. I can't believe she is a year already, I don't know where the time went.

9 Months

2010-01-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Gabriella is nine months old already! She has grown so much in the past few weeks. She is crawling all over the place now. She is even saying mama and she calls dad baba. We are having so much fun with her.

Have you ever seen a cuter naked baby?!

She loves dogs, Copper has recently become her best friend. Since she started sharing all her food, Copper never leaves her side. It is so fun to watch. Usually Gabriella takes a bite, offers me a bite, then gives Copper a bite and she just keeps doing that until the food is all gone. So cute!

Holiday Fun

2010-01-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've been such a bad photographer lately. I haven't taken any pictures since the holidays have ended. So here are a few more holiday pictures.

Christmas Fun

2009-12-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this Christmas. I have to admit, Christmas is a lot better with kids involved. Here is Gabriella's Christmas dress from Mom and Dad.

This was on Christmas Eve. Here a few of the grandkids and great grandkids in their Christmas pajamas from Grandma.

Here are the kids on Christmas morning. As you can tell, Gabriella was so tired. We finally had to wake her up, she wanted to sleep in!

Santa brought Gabriella a horse that jumps and spins for Christmas. She loves it!

She also got to have her first sleepover with her cousins. We went to boondocks and won a ton of prizes!!

Where is Gabriella?

2009-12-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

You've probably been wondering where is Gabriella? It has been forever since I've posted anything. Well, she is keeping us so busy!

She is into lots of new things now. Such as her new addiction to solid foods. She had a sleep over at her great grandma's house this week.

She loves to roll all over the place now. She can crawl a little, but only in reverse.

I love this picture above, this is classic Gabriella. She loves to smile and have fun.

She got all of her Christmas shopping done yesterday. She loves to sing Christmas songs. One of her favorites is Santa Claus is coming to town.

Lastly, she loves her dad's hat! She's steals it from him any chance she can. It does work well when we don't have a toy to give her. She has also discovered a new favorite toy this month which is wrapping paper. If you give her a little, she will be entertained for hours!

Gabriella's Many Faces

2009-12-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Happy face

"Really mom you're taking of picture of me in the bath again" face

Sad face

Curious face

I'm so bored waiting in this line face

Seattle

2009-11-30T13:17:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more pictures; these are from Seattle.

We got to meet my new nephew Owen. Isn't he the cutest?!

Our first Thanksgiving day picture of the three of us!

We rode the ferry to a small island while we were there. Gabriella loved it, she enjoyed feeding the seagulls!

We visited Pike's Place. Which was a lot of fun, Gabriella got to touch a fish, but they weren't throwing any while we were there.

Lastly, she got to sit on Santa's lap. She was so good, I think she liked all the other kids watching her more than anything!

Portland

2009-11-30T12:58:00.001-07:00

Last week we took a trip to Portland and Seattle. We had a ton of fun, here are a few pictures from our time in Portland.We visited the Multnomah Falls; which were amazing. They gave Kauai a run for the best waterfalls we've seen!

The highlight of the trip was Gabriella got to meet her friend Luke. They almost the same age, only a week difference. She had so much fun playing with his toys. Although, she didn't let him play with any of his own toys; everything he had, she wanted.

Aren't they cute!!

Play Time

2009-11-11T16:20:00.001-07:00

Gabriella has definetly discovered how much fun she has with toys. She has to have something in her hands at all times. It doesn't have to be a baby toy. Anything works, the remote, salt and pepper shakers, napkins, or anything she can get her hands on. She is so much fun!!

She still loves being naked. Now she will roll away from us while we are trying to get her dressed.

Gabriella has gotten so big this month! I can't keep up with her, every morning she looks like a new little person. We are enjoying every minute of her. It is so fun to see what she will learn each day. Every day is an adventure with her in our lives now!

Halloween & Other Stuff

2009-11-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!
This was a cake we made to get in the Halloween Spirit. Oh, was it um, um, good!

1st time Trick-or-Treating.
Gabriella dressed up like a little Polar Bear. We thought it was going to be freezing, and we found out she has a double ear infection. So, we went with something extra warm. Gabriella with her 2 cousins Mackenzie-The Pink Butterfly, and Courtney-The Dead Bride.

The rest of her Trick-or-Treating Clan:
Parker-The Elephant & and Tyler- The Stinging Bee!!! Ella has so much fun Trick-or-Treating with all of her cousins. The Dead Bride made sure that everyone gave Ella candy.
1st Time to the Zoo!!!
We had a ball taking Gabi to the zoo. She loved looking at all the animals, but she had more fun flirting with all the other little boys in strollers.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty"
Up close to a tiger.

So Long

2009-10-24T15:26:00.000-06:00

I just realized it has been forever since I have posted any pictures. We have been having too much fun!!

We took a trip down to the cabin last weekend. Gabriella thought it was a blast because Dad let her drive while we were in the mountains.

Look at that cheesy grin!!

We also went to the aquarium one day a few weeks ago when it was raining outside. To our surprise, Gabriella actually really enjoyed it; she loved watching the fish.

Gabriella also has a new cousin this week. Owen Micah Williams weighing in at an amazing 8lbs 5oz!! We are so excited for you Laura and Nate. I can't wait to meet him. Gabriella and Owen are going to have so much fun growing up together!!!

Out and About

2009-10-07T17:17:00.000-06:00

Fall is by far my favorite season, I love that the weather is cooling off and we have been out enjoying every minute of it!

We took Gabriella to Okterber fest this year, she wasn't too sure about all the noise.

Trevor can't get enough of college football this time of year. I would never admit it to him, but I enjoy it too.

She is sitting up all by herself now!

Gabriella felt snow for the first time last week. She didn't really like it, every time it hit her face, she would jump and make a grumpy face.

Cuteness

2009-09-22T20:51:00.000-06:00

We had Gabriella's pictures taken professionally before we left for New York. We have been anxiously awaiting them to be completed, and they are finally here!! Enjoy!!!

More New York Pics

2009-09-13T20:05:00.001-06:00

Upstate New York is a beautiful place. We were able to see some amazing places and things. Niagara Falls was just one of the many beautiful sites.

Niagara Falls: The close falls are the American Falls and to the back are Horse Shoe Falls.

Driving along Lake Ontario we stoped at a couple of old Light Houses. This one was outside of Rochester.

Sodus Point Light House- On Lake Ontario

Lethchworth Sate Park- Beautiful waterfall with the rail road track is the back ground.

New York

2009-09-09T08:56:00.001-06:00

We took our first big trip with Gabriella; we went back to visit her Great Grandparents in Palmyra New York. She did great on the plane, she slept through all the flights. She loved going back to see her Great Grandparents, they had so much fun together.

We went to visit Niagra Falls. Trevor and I had a great time, but I think we wore Gabriella out!

We had a great time and wish we could have stayed even longer!! Gabriella had so much fun with her grandparents, she is not going to know what to do now that she is stuck with just us again.