Kittie

Gloria has a friend. His name is Kittie. He was born on November 16, 2008 at the Build-a-Bear Workshop at the mall.

Rob and I took Gloria to the mall to make a stuffed animal. We were thinking of a bear, but it was whatever Gloria wanted. We showed her all of the different options - bears, elephants, dogs, cats - and she reached out and grabbed the kitty.



Gloria watched as the kitty was stuffed to the right huggable softness.


Gloria helped to put a heart in him and clean him off under an "air shower."


We named him Kittie, printed off a birth certificate (which will be going in Gloria's scrapbook) and adopted him into our family. Right away, Gloria held on to him tightly. She carried him through the mall, not letting go.


He has become her best friend (aside from Mommy!), her playmate, her snuggle buddy at nap time, her travel companion, and the taste-tester for the meals she "cooks" in her kitchen.

I like to play

Gloria is so full of life in the mornings when she wakes up from her refreshing 11-12 hours of sleep. She can't wait to greet the day, the cats, and her toys. Here are just a few pictures of her daily morning activities.

"Reading is still one of my favorite past-times."

"Look! I can hold 3 balls!"

Silly goose.

"Here Mommy. Let's play!"

For Christmas, Auntie Angela knit a cute jumper for Gloria. It's a bit too short to be worn without some kind of leg covering, so I bought some black leggings and a black long-sleeve onesie and Gloria was all set. For her birthday, Auntie Angela gave Gloria a cute knit bonnet to match the jumper. Gloria isn't too sure about hats, but she did leave it on long enough for me to get a few pictures.

"Modeling my awesome outfit!"

"Thanks Auntie Angela!"

"Hi Daddy!"

Tonight, when Rob walked in the door after work, Gloria looked at him and said, "Hi Da-da!" Rob, April, and I heard her say it. Her first sentence!

Gloria's Birthday Party (part 2)

"I love birthday parties!"

Two weeks ago, on Saturday, January 31, we had a second "1st" birthday party for Gloria. This time it was at Grandpa and Grandma Vicki's house. The turn-out was awesome and we had a great time!

"What goodies are in here for me?"

"I have my very own chair now! I was so excited, I couldn't even take off all of the paper before I sat down."

"Plastic spoons and bowls! A baby can never have too many of those!"


"Great-Grandma Hettig gave me a musical bus to push and ride on. I like putting things under the seat and pushing all of the buttons to make music."

"Grandma and Poppa gave me a 4-wheeler. Watch out - here I come! I just press a button and wheeeeeeeee!"

"Mean ol' mommy put this hat on my head. I don't like it."
(But, she did like wearing it when we were at the store buying the plates and napkins for her party, so I thought she wouldn't mind wearing it at her party. Guess I was wrong.)

"Mommy made yummy angel food cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes in ice cream cones! Too bad she wouldn't let me try a chocolate one."

"Yum yum! My own cupcake to smush and smash!"

"Frosting on my fingers"

"Mmmm"

And, continuing what we started at her first "1st" birthday party, a group picture of everyone that helped us celebrate. I'm glad to see everyone brought their smiles along.

After the party was over and everyone went home, Gloria got snuggly in her jammies and played with her new toys for awhile before bed. We spent the night at Grandpa's house and Gloria had a ton of fun.

"My new chair fits me perfectly!"

"I'm playing in Grandma Vicki's bathtub - but where's the water?!"

What have I been up to?

"Welcome to my blog! Come on in!"
1/27/09

Gloria has been up to a lot!

She now has 8 teeth that are fully in - her top front 4 and her bottom front 4. She is working on her 1 year molars, and has been for more than a week. Her fingers are constantly in her mouth and she's a bit more clingy/whiny than usual. She even woke up one night last week at 1am, screaming. It took an hour to get her to calm down and fall back asleep. She never does that!

Friday, January 30, 2009
This picture only shows her middle top two teeth and bottom top two teeth, but trust me, the teeth on both sides of them are there too.


1/30/09
This picture shows all four of her bottom teeth!

Gloria has been learning how to make very silly faces.

"Aye, matey, I'm a pirate."

1/30/09

We've played in the snow a few more times - once with Rob, and once with Auntie April and Grammy. Gloria seems to enjoy it, though her face pretty much stays blank the whole time.

"Um..."
1/3/09

"I can walk even when I'm all bundled up like a big marshmallow!"

When we were outside with Grammy and Auntie April, Gloria finally got excited when we sat her in the snow next to a snowman sign. She was clapping her hands, smiling, talking, and touching the snowman's hat and mittens.

"Auntie April, Grammy, and me!
Look at Auntie April's silly shoes. She wouldn't put on boots!"
1/22/09

"Hi Mr. Snowman!"

Gloria still loves drawing on the magna-doodle, so Rob and I have taken the opportunity to teach her different things using it such as how to spell, a bit of algebra, and some square roots.



Gloria has also been working on her handwriting. What you will see in the next picture is real - it is not a re-enactment. No adults helped her. She did it all by herself.

Gloria wrote the letter S!
1/4/09

For some reason, Gloria is fascinated by the laundry - clean or dirty. She will pick up her jammies off of her floor and put them on her head or around her neck like a scarf/shawl. If I'm doing laundry and have the laundry basket in the living room, watch out! Gloria is a laundry thief! She likes to take everything out of the basket, put it on the floor, put a few things back in, and then put her favorite thing on her head and walk around. Often times it is a pair of underware! And even if her eyes are covered, she tries to walk around - like a ghost! Booooo!

"Where's Gloria?"

1/27/09

"Peek-a-boo!"