1 year old Gabriella

Sweet Gabriella Rose turned one on Friday!  She is growing so quickly. Just in the past month her personality has changed and is learning so fast.  It seems like we were just rushing to the hospital in the wee hours of January 16 and then a short 30 minutes we were welcoming our little girl into the world. She can fast and furious and with no drugs, I realized the joy (and pain) of birth. We struggled with a name, but in a few hours had settled with Gabriella. A name we both thought was just beautiful like our precious little one. Rose, on the other hand, took us days to figure it!  But we both agree her name suits her. Beautiful. 

She's been such a joy to watch grow. She adores her brother and has gone the year, first watching and now following his every move. He's the one that makes her laugh and cry the hardest :). It's fun watching her learn from him. Recently she has started raising her hand when it's time to see who gets to pray and Mateo has also showed her how to climb down the stairs backwards. She could soley be entertained by him only. 

Gabriellas newest nickname, monkey. This girl climbs everything!  Chairs, tables, toy boxes, stairs, stools, anything. We also call her destroyer as she loves to tear books, destroy creations and dump things. As I type, she's ripping up a deck of cards. I often weigh the options "let her make a mess and get 10 minutes of accomplishing something, or go and correct her". Usually, let her go. Haha. 

Gabriella is currently obsessed with animals. Specifically, cats. The amount of joy she gets from seeing a neighbor cat or grandma and grandpas cats is enough to make your worst day bright. Her eyes open wide, her mouth drops in aw, and it's usually followed by a squeal. Her  hands start twirling and he legs getting moving. Seriously, so adorable. 

She's also got this contagious laugh. Is like a fake cackle. Ah, ah, ah, ah. This girl is FULL, to the max, of JOY! 

Here's more about our Rosie-girl @ 1

- crawls, but can walk with someone's hands or pushing something 

-  loves hugging ng her babies

-  takes objects in and out of things 

-  gives wet, open mouth kisses

-  says: momma, dadda, kitty kitty, more

-  19.6 lbs

-  7 teeth with 2 almost popped through

-  claps, waves, signs (milk & more)

There are times I just look at her and think how blessed we are. She is such a sweet, loving, smart, beautiful girl. I'm excited to see what the next year brings. We love you Gabriella Rose.