Growing girl

Gabriella is growing like crazy! She's still a little peanut but all of a sudden she's acting like a toddler instead of a baby- complete with a big attitude. Her latest word is that ("dat") and she will point at whatever it is that she has her mind set on. Usually it is something dangerous (kitchen knives) or easy to destroy (cell phones, glasses, ornaments, etc) and she will arch back and yell when she doesn't get what she wants. But as ornery as she can be, she is as sweet and loving as ever. She loves books and climbing in our laps, she will crawl over in the middle of playing to give a hug, and loves to yell "Dad!" as loud as she can if Gianni isn't looking at her and she wants some attention. She also listens now for Gianni's car pulling in after work and she will stop what she's doing, look up, and say "oh dad" if she hears him.

She's eating more and more "big kid" foods. She has had grilled cheese, french toast, grapes, pieces of turkey, cheese, and avocado, and loves it all.

She is also constantly observing and figuring things out. She is fearless and climbs on anything and everything. She loves climbing up couch cushions and stairs and has no problem trying to climb down head first. We are working on feet first! She has figured out how to stand on top of things to make herself taller and reach things that would normally be out of her reach.

And walking! She tries to  let go but isn't steady yet. She will cruise along furniture and uses her little walker. She will start out by pushing it and "walking" on her knees and then stand up after a few strides. She gets quite proud of herself :)

She loves all of the Christmas decorations and while she doesn't understand the holiday yet, watching her get excited over the lights turning on and off and touching all of the ornaments has made this the best season yet.

Our Christmas cards have been ordered and will be here soon! We are starting to get cards ourselves and it is so fun to see the photos of our friends and family.

Have a great Tuesday!
xo,
Mary