Spring Break

This last week was Spring Break for me and I needed every minute of the week long break. It was so nice to be able to stay at home with Gabs during the day and see what she actually does during the time that I am at school with other peoples kids.

On Wednesday, Kyle had reading days for BYU so we decided to do a family trip up to the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake. It was tons of fun. I was probably more excited than anyone else but that's okay. Moms who like to learn new things are cool right?

We loaded up Gabs in her stroller and set off. Doesn't she look really excited to go inside?

She gets really big eyes when she is looking at something that makes her excited. Now that she has started to recognize that the camera won't do anything to her, she gets excited when it comes out.

After a show about Black Holes in the Dome Theater, Kyle and I had to take a break from learning stuff. I had a huge headache so we just strolled down the hall towards the bathroom and started taking some funky pictures of our heads. They seemed to turn out decent enough so I decided it was okay to post on here. (I'm one of those people that hate to get their picture taken if you couldn't tell.)

There was this display of the first walk on the moon right outside the Dome Theater. Gabbie and I decided to walk in the footsteps on the display and truly "experience" some history.

My favorite thing in the planetarium was this station where you got to do a weather broadcast for KSL that projected on to the tv. Kyle had to get up there and try it out. He was goofing off and pretending like he actually knew what he was talking about. I ended up laughing a ton.

Are we done yet? I'm tired.

Kyle's trying to answer some questions about the planets for a quiz here. I got 100 % on level 1, then he missed a few on level 2 and was disappointed in himself. Those questions were way hard though; it was about stuff I had never even heard of before. There were signs with information about each planet but where is the fun in actually standing there to read them. It's way better to just guess.

Gabs and Daddy are stuck somewhere in the middle of Mars.

"Look guys, I'm floating."

"How did I get here?"

The elevator was huge. It was large enough to stick a small compact car inside of it. Too bad we didn't have one...that would have been a fun activity.

"I love it when Mom and Dad get silly."

Kyle had to say this about this picture...He wanted this as a separate post but since I'm doing it and he's writing a paper, this is as good as he gets...: "Who said women aren't from Mars?"

"There's some weird looking guy coming to get me mom. HELP!"

Another way to waste away some time.

Kyle stood here and just watched as Foucault's Pendulum swung back and forth. He had to wait until it had knocked over one of the metal bars that was standing up. We learned that it takes about 32 hours for the pendulum to go all the way around and that it doesn't actually move. The Earth's rotating makes it swing back and forth. It doesn't do it on its own.

Right next to that there were some telescopes that we got to gaze through to find a small picture of Saturn in the far corner of the room. Here Kyle was looking into two simple lenses that were demonstrating how an image is seen in a telescope.

"Land Ho!"

It was a great learning experience, not to mention buckets of entertainment. We fully intend to purchase some zoo/museum/aquarium passes when we move out to Texas. I want to be able to get out of the house and go enjoy something that is fun and helps us to learn more. I really loved the break. Going back to school today was not very easy. I just wanted to stay in bed and pretend that I didn't have to go back to the real world. Once I actually talked myself into getting up the day went great. Being a teacher is definitely not a simple, boring job.

Meal Time

Last week was another first for Gabs. She got to try some baby food other than cereal. The vegetable of choice: sweet potatoes. This is her new favorite food. She gets so excited when she gets her first taste and then wants even more. However, it is not a clean job for me. She either ends up spitting some out on me because she thinks it is funny or she drools it out all over her mouth.

She loves to lean her head down and try to suck on the high chair so I put the spoon down to see what would happen.

Here she is before we started mixing her cereal with straight pear juice. It wasn't one of her favorites.
Now she loves to eat it, as long as it has pear juice in it.

Cute Outfits

Gabbie had the chance to wear some of the way cute clothes that she has gotten as gifts from other people. We just had to take some pictures to show everyone just how dang cute she is getting. (Notice how much she is starting to look like her daddy!)

"Kate I love the cute sweatsuit you got me. It was so comfy and loose. Mom and Dad tried to make me look like a gangsta but I don't think I can pull it off."

Aunt Jen, thank you so much for your presents. You are so fun and have such good taste in clothes! I looked so cute in both of the outfits you got me.

My super cool sweat suit!

Since Jen is my adopted aunt, that would make her mom my adopted great aunt right? Well, anyways, she bought this for me when she was on a cruise right after I was born. I loved being all dressed up in bright green. I even got to sit outside for Mommy and Daddy's primary class the day I wore this. It was really warm and fun to play outside instead of on the hard floor in the classroom.

I loved this family picture that we tried to take before church two weeks ago. Kyle set the camera up on some boxes and ran across the room so we could get a picture. Unfortunately, Gabbie only had eyes for Daddy. I still think it's cute though. It shows how much she is definitely a daddy's girl.
I am so grateful for the amazing little family I have. Thanks hun for making sure we are taken care of.

Bored at Work

One of my co-workers tagged me today on her blog. Since I'm sitting here in my classroom bored out of my mind waiting for Kyle to pick me up, I decided I should probably actually do someones tag. (By the way I'm sitting here waiting because he forgot to pick me up! Funny hun!)

Check out the "T" to see who is tagged. (Although I wouldn't blame you if you don't respond, I never have :) )

A- ATTACHED OR SINGLE: attached
B- BEST FRIEND: Kyle
C- CAKE OR PIE: cake...it was my mom's 'thing' to cook growing up
D- DAY OF CHOICE: Saturday, no obligations and I can go back to sleep after Gabbie's morning feeding
E- ESSENTIAL ITEM: cell phone, keys, and I'm learning that I should always carry around my purse.
F- FAVORITE COLOR: blue
G- GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: graduating college and attending in the first place.
H- HOMETOWN: Roanoke, VA
I- INDULGENCES: ice cream of any kind(except ones with nuts), "The Hills", Wildfire, romance books
J- JANUARY OR JULY: July. NO SCHOOL!
K- KIDS: one beautiful daughter Gabriella
L- LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT: my family
M- MARRIAGE DATE: February 17, 2007
N- NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: 4
O- ORANGES OR APPLES: I like both...However if they are not exactly the way I like them, then I won't usually eat them. i.e. oranges have to be sweet and juicy and apples have to be crisp and not mushy
P- PHOBIAS OR FEARS: scary movies and tv shows.
Q- QUOTES: "Stand for something."
R- REASON TO SMILE: there are less than 30 days of my contract left and less than 40 days until we can move!
S- SEASON: summer, i like spring too but my allergies get to darn crazy then.
T- TAG FIVE FRIENDS: Chelle, Megan McEwan, Jen, Missie, Mom
U- UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I went through a rebellion stage when I was about 12-14. The only friends I had were probably not the best example and I will admit that I succumbed to peer pressure and tried a cigarette once.
V- VERY FAVORITE STORE: Gap and Old Navy, but only if it's clearance stuff. Now I get to buy regular clothes again and not have to only get dressy stuff.
W- WORST HABIT: being judgmental at times.
X- X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND: ultrasound, it's just more to look forward to than an x-ray.
Y- YOUR FAVORITE FOOD: pretty much any kind of mexican. Whenever we go out, that's where I want to go eat.
Z- ZODIAC: Virgo.

Mom Questions

So to all of you moms out there, what advice could you give for when your child gets constipated? With starting the new cereal, Gabbie has had a really hard time pooping. The doctor told us to give her some pear juice mixed with water. Any things that have worked for you would be really appreciated.

Weekend of Firsts

Gabbie Girl had a great weekend of firsts. We went up to Park City with Kyle's family to stay at their condos for conference. It is a tradition they have had since they were really little. Kyle and I took Gabbie swimming for her first time. She loves her baths so we thought she would love the pool and we were right. We forgot to bring our battery charger so our battery died not long after we took a few pictures in the pool.

Here we are for the first time getting in the pool. (Notice that she is sucking on my arm...this has become a habit of hers).
"Mom, I'm not so sure about this whole swimming thing. Isn't this supposed to be a heated pool? I'm cold!"

The only time she was a little scared was when Kyle took her underwater with him. After that she really liked the water. She even tried to dunk her face when she was floating on her belly. Here we are practicing our tummy floating.

Yay! I love swimming!!
Another new event of the weekend was during dinner time. Gabbie had her four month check-up on Friday. The doctor let us know that she now weighs 15 pounds 15 ounces and is 26 inches long. That is the 89th percentile in weight and 99th percentile in length. BIG GIRL! He also let us know that she is ready to start eating cereal. We tried it for the first time and she didn't really think it was that good.

"Guys, this stuff is not that good. I just want to spit it out. That's way more fun than actually eating!"
It's so fun to make mom and dad get frustrated because I don't want to eat.
Yum! I'll give it one more try but if it doesn't taste good then I don't want it.

I can't believe how fast our little girl is growing. It really is true that they grow up way too fast!

I Love My Husband

I've been having a really hard time the last few days. My kids at school have been crazy and all I wanted to do was stay at home with Gabs. Kyle has been able to read me pretty much since the day we met. He always knows when something is bothering me and can usually get me out of the funk and not worry about it anymore. Today I came home and as Gabbie and I were walking to the door, some guy pulled up in front of the house. I was a little weirded out to be honest. Then as soon as we got inside, he rang the doorbell and I opened it up to find this....
They are so beautiful. We don't usually buy me flowers because I am allergic to pollen so I was really surprised that I got these. I am so grateful for my amazing husband who loves me and knows me so well. I am so blessed to have found him. Thank You Kyle! I love you!