I can’t believe my baby girl is 1 year old! This has been an amazing year and has flown by! I am sooo blessed to have such an amazing daughter who has taught me more in this short year than I ever thought possible. I never knew I could love someone so much; it truly hurts sometimes because I usually have to bite my tongue not to squeeze her to death!!! Haha! I have gotten soars on my tongue from restraining myself at times it’s a problem! 
Gabi has the sweetest personality and has gotten so funny the last couple of months. She is starting to get some attitude and a little bit of sassiness lately which for now is adorable, in a few years I think we may be in trouble! Gabi turns heads and stops crowds wherever we go. I’ve said it before but she is intoxicating! Its not only her beauty that is a showstopper, it is her spirit and I am honored to be her mother. 
I hear a lot from therapist, doctors, and people in general the things that Gabi “should” be doing at 1 year old… instead of dwelling on the things she’s “not doing yet” here are the things that she is doing and a few of her favorite things! Gabi’s favorite food right now is rice and noodles. She will eat them no matter what! She was sick a week ago and the only thing she ate for 3 days was macaroni and cheese and popsicles! She also loves Mexican rice, she eats it like a person with a mouth full of teeth and it’s actually really funny to watch. She prefers food with texture; baby food isn’t grown up enough for this little diva! She still eats it but with somewhat of a fight. Her favorite snacks are Mum Mum rice crackers. They are heaven and keep her entertained when I need to get things done. Not to mention they dissolve easily and are a lot less messy than the other baby biscuits out there. We have many boxes on hand because we go through them so quickly. 
Gabi LOVES taking baths! She is like a fish in the water; she splashes like crazy and usually drenches me with her mad splashing skills! Lately she has discovered the bubbles in the water and tries to pick them up with her hands, she then proceeds to try and eat them! She also loves to look at her reflection in the over flow drain, she usually stares herself down for a minute and then laughs at herself. I never get tired of it and it makes me laugh every time! 
She has recently started swimming lessons. She goes to my Moms every Thursday while I work. My mom has a woman in her ward that teaches Swimming Lessons and has work a lot with special needs kids so they go together. I know that it will be such a great thing for her and her love of the water will make it that much more enjoyable. Its great exercise for her and will help her develop her muscle tone a lot more. I wish I could be the one that takes her but I think it will be a great bonding with Grandma too! 
(We were trying on Gabis swimsuit from last year to see if it still fit!) 
Gabi loves to play with her toys, anything that’s noisy will entertain her for quite a long time, she loves crinkling paper and plastic bags, toys that play music so she can sing and dance, and balls. Her “o” balls are her favorite because she can grab them easily. She seems to think that mom and dads cell phones are fun toys and she will crawl across the room to get it if she eyes it. She loves that it lights up and that she can push the buttons. It has been good motivation in helping her crawl faster! 
Gabi’s crawl is more like an army crawl other than she is not on her elbows, she pushes up with her hands and pulls her body, she also gets up on her toes at the same time pushing off her toes to give her more momentum. Lately she has been straddling her legs out and pushing of, picture her swimming like a frog and that’s how she crawls! She loves crawling on the tile and will do laps in the kitchen going round and round while I cook dinner! She is loosing all her chubby fat rolls from moving so much.
Gabi isn’t interested in the TV all that much, the only show that catches her attention is Mickey Mouse clubhouse but it doesn’t last long. I bought her Baby Signing time for Christmas and I never think to put it on because she never pays attention to it. I need to be better at putting it on more often so that maybe she will start to pay more attention and we can start learning more ways to communicate together. Her favorite song I sing is still zippidee-do-da; I can almost always get a smile out of her when she hears it. Gabi loves playing pick-a-boo in her crib; bedtime is usually her happiest time of the day because she thinks its time to play! She laughs and squeals like crazy! She will pull down her bumper pads to peek through the bars of the crib and when she sees you pop up she buries her head in the mattress with excitement kicks her legs like crazy and lets out the best laugh you’ve ever heard! 
Every morning when she wakes up I put her in bed with me and Gio so we can feed her breakfast. She immediately crawls to the edge of the bed and hangs her head over the edge, she thinks it’s funny because we usually panic and grab her legs to pull her back. (Mainly because she has fallen off a few times!) She also loves throwing her toys or binkies over the edge. After she’s been sleeping I usually have to move her crib out from the wall and collect the pile of binkies she has tossed out! 
Gabi is great at giving kisses, and if in the mood will give multiple ones all over your face. Her kisses are usually open mouth with her tongue sticking out so they get a little wet! I love them either way. She also loves being kissed especially when mom and dad sandwich kiss her cheeks she grins from ear to ear! 
Gabi has always been very observant of her surroundings and the people around her. She watching closely and studies people well. I can always tell if she likes someone or not by the way she breaths and her body language. She’s not very good at hiding her true feelings! ;) She loves touching faces and rubbing her little hands all over it. It’s almost if she could she your face at all and she if feeling it to know who you are. She also loves to look at her hands and feet the same way. She has always been intrigued by how her fingers and toes move and wiggle! 
Gabi is defiantly smart and she knows exactly how to get her way. She has started a fake cry lately that is hilarious to say the least. She will cry out squint her face as if she’s going to scream bloody murder and then stops and looks around to make sure we have seen her, and starts it up again. What a goober! She is a stubborn little thing just like her parents so at times we have our fits with each other! I must say though 99% of the time she is a perfect baby. She always has been and I feel very lucky and spoiled! I am terrified for the next one to come along when ever that may be because if they aren’t as well behaved I don’t know what I’ll do! One thing is for certain, Gabi is STRONG, she is DETERMINED, and she does whatever she puts her mind to! She does what she can, at her own pace. We CELEBRATE every victory and new thing she does. This part of her life is flying by and I want to cherish every second of it. I wish it would slow down a little though! I am So Proud of you Gabi! I know you will continue to blow us away with your spirit and ability to exceed any expectations we have for you. You are my ANGEL, my best friend, and the LOVE of my life! HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!
Gabis cute cakes! They were sooo yummy!
Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate with us!
