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Bah Humbug!

No...no....no..no.. I still love Christmas....just referencing Scrooge! My classes have been working soooooo hard on learning the play A Christmas Carol and tomorrow is our big performance! It will feel so great when it over with and we can all relish in the satisfaction that will follow...... Only about 7 days of school left and then some much needed time off to spend with the fam!

We have presents under the tree and we are trying to carefully select the remaining presents for Gabriella. With Christmas and her birthday and the day of the three kings (Jan. 5) it seems there are tons'o'presents to buy! We are starting to plan Gabby's first birthday party (finally....I know most people would have been planning months ago). We looked at some party places and it would cost about 800 dollars! Toooooo expensive for us....so we thinking of doing her party at a park, renting one of those inflatable bouncy things,and bringing food. Hopefully we will have concrete plans this weekend! We will be in Puebla with Enrique's family from Dec. 20-26 so we will do a party there and then another party here on her actual birthday!

Well, hope all is well with one and all. We recently watched the cartoon "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" in class. We were watching to figure out the theme and it was a nice reminder to not lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas.....

Thanksgiving 2008

So, Gabby's first Thanksgiving was great! We celebrated with some friends and we had a great time! We got some great pics, too!

This past weekend we ventured down the the Zocalo (the downtown) to wander around. They make a huge ice skating rink at the palace and tons of people go skating! We only looked at the rink--it was opening the evening that we were there--but hopefully we will make it back to skate before the season ends!

We also put up our Christmas tree this past weekend! The tree looks great! We had fun decorating it and listening to carols. We were worried about Gabby trying to get at the tree, but she was actually scared of it at first. Now she isn't scared of it, but she simply admires it from a far.

Shelves. We visited The Home Depot this past weekend and got some wood cut so we can hang shelves! We also bought some stain and brackets....wish us luck!!!!!

The countdown is on for the visit from my mom and my friend George. They will be here at the end of the month and we cannot wait!

Hope all is well with one and all!

What's Been Goin On...

So, I have been busy these past two weeks! It is exam time at school--takes tons o time to write those babies! Also, we have started practicing for our Christmas play. My classes are performing A Christmas Carol and it is going to be great!

Gabriella is growing like a weed! She has been a bit sick, but she is also getting one of her top teeth, so we are not sure if she is sick, or just teething! She is hilarious, though! She is up on everything, bouncing around, letting go and standing for a few moments. It is awesome to watch her figure things out!

Tomorrow we are celebrting Thanksgiving with our North American and Mexican friends here. We are bringing cranberries, mashed potatoes, and cerveza....it should be a lot of fun!

Hope all is well! Things are going great here! Miss you all! We aren't going to be able to travel to the states for the holiday, but my mom and friend George are coming on Dec. 27...so we will do a late Christmas and then we celebrate Gabby's first birthday on the 28th! It will be great to have them here!

I posted two new short videos so check out our video bar under the pics on the right to view 'em!

Halloween day and this past week...

Here are some pics of Hallowen Day from 2007 in Utah when I was regnant and 2008 in Mexico. This year I dressed up as a vampire for school. My day was awesome. The room mothers at our school built a catwalk and that is where we had our parade and such. After, we played games in our classroom and then the room mothers made a haunted house, had Animal Planet come with some creepy crawlies, a pie fight, and a table of freaky foods. It was a whole lot of fun! On Saturday we went shopping at some outlet malls and then took Gabby trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Around here, kids trick-or-treat at the local shops since most of the houses are built above the shops, or are surrounded by walls. You can also see the ofrenda we created for our fathers for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Gabby had her 10 month check-up this week and got 1/2 a dose of a flu shot. She is 18 lbs. and 28 cm. She is LOVING trying new solids and she will jabber your ear off! She is into everything and pulling up on everything, too! When she feels brave she lets go and stands for a few seconds...realizes what she's doing...then falls!

My mom and my friend George boked tix to be here for Gabby's birthday and a post Christmas celebration. We are so excited for them to be here!!!!!!!!! Hope all is well and yeah Barack!

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics of Gabriella in her costume and of her pumpkin carving session! Not much to report from here. Gabby goes to the dc next week for a check-up and flu shot. She is now 10 months old believe it or not! Hope all is well!

9-Month Check-up!

Hey everybody!
A little over a week ago, Gabriella went to an amazing doctor here for her 9-month check-up. She is doing well. The doctor could not believe how happy she was during the entire visit and how much she talked to him! He said she is quite healthy and that she was ready to start dairy products like yogurt and some cheeses. She weighed in at 17.4 lbs. (almost 8 kilos) and 27.5 inches (70 cm.). She is growing like a weed! She started eating yogurt. They have little yogurts for kids here called Danoninos. She has tried mango, and peach and this week she will try blueberry and apple and pear. The doc also said to keep her on her stage 2 and 3 baby foods until next month's check-up. We didn't tell him that she basically eat with us--she must try what we are eating at all times or she freaks! She is really liking the sweet breads here, cauliflower and broccoli, and she ate chicken recently, too. She really adores noodles as well.
We have been having play dates with Gabby's friend Will. He is 8 months old and they really have great fun together. I teach with Will's mom and she is rad! It is nice to get out and socialize with other moms and dads!
Other than that...oh, my mom is most likely coming to stay with us for about 4 months. She will be substitute teaching at my school for a woman who is going out on maternity leave. She is really looking forward to being here and we are really looking forward to seeing her! I can't wait!!!! We found someone to rent our house for a year, my mom found someone to care for the dogs, and my good friend agreed to take care of my cats for me until we can get them down here, or until we can figure something else out!
Hope all is well!