"Cinco, Dos"

"Cinco, dos." This is Gabriella's newest "phrase!" She says is at random times and I don't believe she is "counting" anything. She roughly understands counting in Spanish up to seis / six. I will say, "uno," she'll say, "dos," etc. up to seis. So I believe she knows that cinco, dos isn't proper order. Sometimes she'll even add an extra "cinco" or two (or more) to make it "cinco, cinco, dos, etc." Maybe 52 is her "lucky" number? Very curious!

Choosing a Wedding Venue

Today was a snowy day in Massachusetts, but we spent much of the afternoon looking at, and eating brunch at, the venue that Tita Candace and Tito Steve have chosen for their wedding. The wedding will be held on April 30, 2011 in Assonet, MA. I will be the Maid of Honor and Gabriella will be a Flower Girl. The venue is beautiful and will be a wonderful location for this wonderful event.

Tita Candace and Tito Steve were teaching Gabriella wedding etiquette! Payback will be fun when they have children!:

Gabriella LOVES playing with other children and is not shy to approach a group of new children to play. She saw a group of children playing on the dance floor and had to join them. She was particularly drawn to this little boy and had fun playing with him. She even tried tickling him a couple of times, but he wasn't having it!:

Gabriella playing with the groom...:

...and kissing the bride!:

Gabriella and I are looking forward to this awesome event!

Pretend Play

Gabriella has started using her imagination a lot while playing. Her current favorite toy is the kitchen that Tita Candace and Tito Steve bought her for Christmas. She mixes up many different pretend concoctions for her and me to eat! Yesterday she began playing with a pretend frog. She cradles him in her hand and we pass him back and forth. Tonight she ate him along with a pretend fish! I wonder if he is gone for good in her digestive system or if he will be out to play again later!

Stampers and Baking

Today was a cold, snowy day, so we tried to entertain ourselves at home today. Gabriella is enjoying arts and crafts more and more now, so yesterday I bought her some new stampers. I though they were really cool since they were the largest stampers I've seen and thought that they would be perfect for her little hands to handle more easily. At lunchtime, I got Gabriella set-up with the stampers so she could play with them while I prepared lunch. I was at the counters getting lunch ready. I turned my head to check on her and this is what I saw!:

THIS is what happens when you give your two year old stampers and turn your back for literally 30 seconds!:

Close-up evidence of the offense!:

After we got her somewhat cleaned up, we proceeded to bake carrot pecan muffins. Gabriella LOVES helping.:

But, what's the point in baking it? It taste great as-is!:

Gabriella is constantly keeping me on my toes, but is a load of fun and a regular source of entertainment!

Gabriella's Newest Phrases

Gabriella has three new phrases that she has been using frequently and, amusingly, in appropriate situations! The first is "Ready, Set!" as in "Ready, Set, Go!. I don't know if she learned this at Early Intervention speech class or while watching a television show. The next is "Ta-Dah!" I have no idea where she learned this one. And the final new phrase, that I am really not proud of, is "Oh, God!" Sadly, she got this one from me. I am very careful about cursing around her, but this is one inappropriate phrase that I use a lot and haven't been successful at stopping. She is a little sponge that takes everything in and soaks it up phenomenally.

"Welcome"

We are still working on proper pronunciation, but Gabriella has mastered the use of "Thank You." She is rather polite and often surprises me with thanking me and others at appropriate times. Within the past couple of weeks, though, she has learned to reply to a "Thank You" with "Welcome." It is very, very cute!

My Beatboxing Diva!

My daughter has me in stitches! Gabriella loves music. She has a Dora guitar (thanks Grammy and Grampy) and an echo microphone (suggested by Early Intervention) and we sing together alternating using the guitar and microphone. Usually we sing a song that she made up that goes like this, "Sing, Song, Sing a Song" and repeat. Well, that is, until tonight! There is a new commercial on Nick Jr. that has a rapper, whose name I cannot remember right now, and he is beatboxing in the commercial! So, Gabriella hands me the microphone and says, "sing song" so I start in on her little diddy and she says "No" to stop me. I look at her and she made beatboxing-like sounds with her mouth! I cracked up! She wanted me to beatbox! So I obliged! Who would have thought that I would have ever been beatboxing! I then handed the microphone to her to allow her her turn to beatbox on the mic! It is so funny how perceptive she is and how she picks things up. Gabriella never ceases to amazes me and is constantly amusing me!