She Walks!

Well Gabrielle, you have taken your own, sweet time, but you're finally walking! Daddy caught you on video with his iPad. We're all so proud of you!

I've been waiting for you to take your first steps before closing out this blog. I wanted to make sure we captured it in our memories forever.

I guess this means you're no longer a baby; welcome to toddlerhood! This is the last post on your baby blog. Know that we all love you dearly and are so happy you're ours. And let the crazy adventures with you and your sisters continue!

My Three Girls

This pretty much sums it up.

Up! Up! But Not Quite Away Yet

You've done it! You stood up on your own for the very first time. How amazing that you chose to do it during the walk-through of our new home. Here's to many more milestones in this place. :)

ONE!!!

You are one year old today. It has been one whole year of growth, and learning, and loving you. You are such a happy baby girl. You have seven teeth, four on top and three on the bottom. You laugh, wave goodbye, blow kisses, crawl, say "Mommy" and "Dada" and "Dank you."

And you're blonde! Your hair has completely changed color over the course of this year. Look at the change from last year to now!

Your Daddy and I are so proud of you, little Gabrielle. We love watching you grow and interact with your big sisters.

Since the closing of our house has been delayed, we were able to celebrate your first birthday at Nonna and Ga's house with both sets of your grandparents. They were thrilled to share your day with you and (along with your aunts and uncles) showered you with gifts.

I could go on and on, but I'll let the pictures do the talking. :) I love you , sweet Gabrielle. Happy first birthday!

Saying Goodbye

I can't believe it's finally here. Our moving date has arrived! As the boxes are filling up and this house is emptying out, it's a bittersweet feeling. We're going to miss the people we've met here and all of the memories we've made at this house, but I know there are great times ahead in Indiana!

You were born our little Scarlet Carnation (Ohio's state flower) and came home from the hospital to this house. This is where you shared your first smile, said your first words, laughed, rolled over, sat up on your own, ate solid foods, and crawled for the first time.

So many baby milestones in a house you will only remember from pictures and stories. So long Delaware, Ohio home, thanks for the memories!

One Month to Go!

Today you are eleven-months-old! You have seven teeth: four on top and three on the bottom. 

You are really getting the hang of crawling and love moving from one thing to the next just because you can. :) 

You are extremely curious and get into all kinds of things now that you're mobile...like this picnic lunch! You love cheddar cheese, bread, and strawberries.

You sing and babble like crazy, from the moment you wake up until you lay down in bed. I wish I knew what you were saying! And you laugh, a LOT. You are one of the happiest babies ever (according to EVERYONE you meet)!

You love anything cuddly and you have the most adorable laugh when I make animal noises. You are also very ticklish. I can't wait to see how you react to your birthday cake and us singing happy birthday next month!

You're Mobile!

You've been scooting and rolling around for almost two months now, but this weekend you've finally mastered crawling! Daddy witnessed you're first crawling attempt in the basement on Friday, you took about four "steps" with your hands and knees before stretching out on your belly to reach for a balloon.

You were practicing all weekend while we were on our house-hunting trip in South Bend. I've been trying to catch you crawling with my camera, but to no avail. Tonight, Daddy captured you on video. Look at you! You're a pro already!

Dog Days of Summer

I love watching your sisters begin to include you in whatever they are doing! Here are just a few of my favorite moments of you and your sisters this summer:

 

These are the moments that I want to freeze in my mind forever.

All to Yourself

This weekend you, Mommy, and Daddy went on a trip to South Bend, Indiana to look for a new house. We didn't find the right one for our family yet, but I don't think you cared much. You were just soaking up all of the individual attention you were getting since you had the two of us all to yourself!

We loved our alone time with you too, Gabby-goo!

T-minus Two Months

I can't believe there are only two months until your first birthday! Where is the time going? You are still the sweetest, most relaxed baby out there. Just look at that face! (You look a lot like your daddy here too.)

I know everyone says you should really be crawling by now, but you actually kind of do in your own way. You've definitely got the rolling around thing down. But instead of crawling, you get down on all fours, with one leg still kind of underneath you, and you scoot on your butt until you get close enough to whatever you're after...then you  slide down onto your belly and stretch yourself out as far as possible until you reach the prized toy. You definitely go to many lengths not to crawl!

You have plenty of other amazing talents though. You do the splits without even thinking about it! Maybe we have a gymnast in the making? Your Aunt Jess and my cousin Derek would be so proud.

You've got three teeth on the bottom and one on top. I think another one is thinking about coming through on the top any day now too.

You are such a happy, social little girl. You love to smile and wave hello and goodbye to everyone you meet. You are an adorably squeezable little cuddler too, I can't get enough of you!

I mean, just look at this sweet, innocent little face? I hope you stay as angelic as you look, little Gabrielle.

First Fourth of July

Today we all donned red, white and blue to celebrate the Fourth of July. You had a cute little onesie with a heart-shaped flag that appropriately said "Daddy's American Beauty."

This Fourth of July was a special one for us because the WHOLE Briggs family actually got to spend it together! Grandma and Grandpa were over the moon to have all of their grandchildren playing together up at their cottage.

You enjoyed watching them play in Sapphire Lake from Daddy's arms, waving at and clapping for them the whole time.

You had fun playing with your Uncle Lucas too...look at that face! I think he was having just as much fun as you were.

While together, we celebrated Sage's first birthday too. She's just over two months older than you! Can you believe we'll be celebrating your first birthday soon??

Happy Fourth of July, little firecracker!


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Meeting Some Greats

Heading up to the mountains, we stopped by Great Grandpa Messmer's house to say hello and introduce the two of you. He was pretty smitten, and very impressed that you are such a relaxed little girl!

On our way back from the Adirondacks, we stopped by Brothers of Mercy to see Great Nana Piciulo. She loved visiting with your daddy (her grandson).

And she was so enamored by you! She was amazed (as I am every day) at how happy and calm you are. She loved the energy you three brought. You girls definitely brightened her day.  :)

The Adirondacks!

Your daddy and I were so excited to show you our favorite place in the whole world: the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. It was extra special this year for two reasons: you got baptized up here AND we got to rent the cottages at Cohasset Point!

 

This is the view we got to enjoy every day. You loved it! You weren't too fond of the water though...hopefully you'll be more excited about it next year.

You did, however, finally get excited about going on the boat. You even wanted to drive!

 

Daddy drove us all over the place: we went to Inlet for ice cream, Old Forge to look around, Nonna and Ga's place to play, and the Tangelder's place for dinner. You just sat back and watched the scenery glide by.

You especially loved all of the time you got to  spend with your cousins. You and Alden were fascinated with one another, and Christian absolutely adored you!!

 

You wanted so badly to be a part of the action. Your sisters helped to make sure you had fun.

 Your Nonna especially enjoyed her time with you...so did Daddy.

 Of course I did too! And just look at that face, you were having the time of your life!

 

I can't wait to watch you explore this place on your own in years to come. Your first Adirondack adventure is in the books!

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