Gaby turns 4 (months, that is)!

Well, tomorrow marks Gabriela's 4 months on this earth - pretty amazing from her parent's perspective. She's a remarkable little girl - growing by leaps and bounds (see proof below). She's also a big-time traveler - we just returned from Michigan - Gaby's first plane ride, stay in a hotel, and first exposure to "real" cold weather!

First, an update on her stats. We went to her 4-month doctor's appointment today and she weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds, 6.75 ounces!!! That's almost 4.5 pounds heavier than at her 2 month appointment. And Papa Arnie was worried she wasn't eating enough...(silly Papa Arnie)! She is also 24.25 inches long. So she's in the 90th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height. Her pediatrician explained that breastfed babies are often heavier relative to their height - but she'll lighten up when she starts eating solids. The doctor also gave us the green light to start Gaby on solids anytime now (mommy is NOT ready for this yet!).

To demonstrate Gaby's incredible growth, I came across the picture of Gaby we took on the day we put together her bouncy seat. We just took a picture of her yesterday in the same bouncy seat - the difference is just amazing. It's hard to believe she was ever that small!

Here's Gaby on December 23rd...

...and here's Gaby on April 6th!

As I mentioned above, we just returned from Gaby's first big trip. I was invited back to University of Michigan School of Public Health (where I got my doctorate) to speak to current doctoral students about a career outside of academia. The flight out was fine - Gaby slept most of the time. We had a tough time with sleeping at night - she didn't like the crib they had at the hotel so she ended up sleeping in the bed with us most of the night. We enjoyed a visit to all of Lisa's favorite Michigan food establishments including Zingerman's Deli (where we had a start sighting - Emilio Estevez - who knew we'd need to fly all the way to Michigan to see some of the Hollywood elite!) and Angelo's Diner. We also visited Sweetwater's Cafe, where Lisa wrote the majority of her dissertation.

Getting ready for take off!

Here's Gaby at Zingerman's - the little speck in the window was actually Emilio Estevez on his cell phone!

We enjoyed some yummy food and great bread (which we brought home with us) from Zingerman's.

We warmed up with hot tea and coffee at Sweetwater's - Lisa's "second student office"!

The weather was a bit cold for us Californians. We brought a snow suit for Gaby - there was some possibility it would snow while we were there. We ended up not using it but we did have to try it on her...the result was somewhat amusing to her parents but less so for Gaby. Think "A Christmas Story" - you know, the scene where the little brother gets all bundled up in his snow suit and then he can't put his arms down and he falls down in the snow and can't get back up. The sleeves on this snow suit were about 1/3 longer than the length of Gaby's arms. Needless to say, she wore it long enough for us to take some photos and off it came!!! We compromised and had her wore a really warm knit cap, complete with ear flaps - so cute!!!

Gaby's arms aren't really that long - she got frustrated that she couldn't suck on her hands.

The hat with the ear flaps was our solution to keeping Gaby warm.

Here she is bundled up and ready to go for a walk!

Friday evening, we enjoyed a lovely dinner with Brant and Max Fries - Brant was Lisa's dissertation advisor. It was so fun to see them and Max definitely enjoyed having Gaby around - we had to wrestle her to get Gaby back when we left!!! Saturday, we met up with Lisa's cousins Mike and Jess (who are living in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) for lunch in Dearborn and a visit to the Detroit Institute of Art. We saw a great exhibit of Norman Rockwell's work there, as well as the murals by Diego Rivera.

Here we are with Brant at his home near Ann Arbor.

Alex and Gaby in front of a Diego Rivera mural at the DIA.

Sunday, we met up with Lisa's cousins Nancy and Mark (from Toledo) for brunch at Zingerman's Roadhouse restaurant. Gaby slept through most of the meal but woke up near the end so that Nancy could take some photos to send to her daughters Sara, Michelle, and Rachel. The return flight was a little more challenging than the outbound flight. First, we understimated the number of diapers we'd need - we figured 5 diapers should be enough for a 4 hour flight but nope, we could have used more. We also underestimated the number of clothing changes we'd need to make - we had one extra outfit in the diaper bag. Given the number of messy diapers we experienced between going through security in Detroit and landing in LA, she arrived in LA wearing a t-shirt and her diaper. Everything else was a mess! Lesson learned for future trips, for sure!!!

For those who celebrate, we wish you a Chag Sameach - Happy Passover!!! Love, Gaby (and Lisa and Alex)

Gaby's Open House

As per usual, lot's has been going on since our last post. Gaby turned 3 months old and we celebrated her three-month birthday and honored her by giving her her Hebrew name (see more below). Lisa has been furiously trying to get done a bunch of projects around the house in advance of returning to work - one being completing Gaby's nursery (also see below). Well, they didn't all get done but Lisa did return to work this last week. It was quite exhausting and I'm still finding my way but day by day it will get better. We found a wonderful daycare for Gaby - the caregiver's nickname is ZuZu - that's what everyone calls her even though her real name is Josephine. She's very loving and Gaby really seems to be happy with her. ZuZu's granddaughter is also at the daycare and just a couple weeks older than Gaby - I think they'll grow up being good friends.

Gaby had her first professional photos taken at three months old. Below are the photos. Boy, is she a cutie!!!

After much effort, Gaby is pleased to announce the opening of her new "crib" - really, it's her new nursery! Please join us in taking a virtual tour of her new digs...

The 'g' up above Gaby's crib was designed with Aunty Gayle's help!

Thanks Papa Arnie for helping to put up the shelf for Gaby's things!

We took the quilt from Gaby's bedding set and hung it on the wall - it's so pretty!

This is the BEST glider chair - super comfy!

Gaby is blessed with a wonderful library of books - we're making our way through the entire lot!

On Gaby's 3-month birthday (March 8th), a group of dear friends and family gathered to celebrate with us at Gaby's Brit Bat (baby naming). Her hebrew name is Gavriela Ada - 'Gavriela' means "God is my strength" and 'Ada' means jewel, which she is to us. She was named in memory of Alex's father Gary and Lisa's grandmothers Irene and Ida. The Brit Bat was just lovely. Rabbi Heidi Cohen officiated the service, which took place underneath Alex's and my wedding chuppah (great to know it has other uses!). Gaby looked adorable in a little red dress with white polka dots and the best little red patent-leather shoes! There's a few pictures here from the day - the remaining pictures can be viewed at this website: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005173&id=1430254789&l=9f680210ad.

Today was Gaby's first visit to the beach! We spent the day in Manhattan Beach - it was the perfect day. Gaby looked so cute in her sun hat - the smallest one we had but still a little big for our little girl!



Stay tuned for a report from us after Gaby's first airplane ride and visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan next week!

Gaby is flipping out!!!!

Posts are coming fewer and further between - Gaby keeps me a lot more busy now! She is awake for longer stretches and we have to get creative about how we keep her occupied. I'm also preparing to go back to work in a couple weeks (boo hoo) so there's much to do to prepare for that transition as well.

So first, the update. Our girl continues to pack on the chub! At the doctor's office on Wednesday, she weighed in at 13 pounds, 14.5 ounces! She's already wearing some of her six month sized clothing - even though she's not quite three months old!

The biggest and best news is that Gaby is now turning herself over consistently! It's fun to watch (see photos below). We even got a short video of her turning over - only the second time I got to witness it myself (the first few times she turned herself over, I just happened to have turned my back for that second)!

I've also included a few other photos that were just too cute - the theme for a number of them is sleep (we like sleep!).

This is Gaby's friend Jackson (he was featured in an earlier post) - the photo was taken at our BYOB (bring your own baby) Oscar Party hosted by our friends Dana and David (Jackson's parents).

Gaby's first pair of jeans...

I'll be back at the beginning of next week with more news - Sunday is Gaby's 3-month birthday and her baby naming as well!!!

Happy Belated Valentines - Gaby is 10 weeks old!

It's been quite a while since our last posting (my apologies) but we have some great photos to share so hopefully you all will forgive me! Just to update Gaby's stats...she had her two-month check up last week. The pediatrician gave her a thorough physical and she passed with flying colors! She also got three shots and an oral vaccine - she was a trooper (although daddy had to sit down and hold my hand during her shots!). Gaby weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs, 13 1/4 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She has almost doubled her birth weight and grown 3 1/2 inches putting her in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height as compared to other girls her age. By now, she's climbed past the 12 lb mark as she continues to gain more than an ounce a day!


First, Gaby would like to wish you all a happy belated Valentine's Day - check out her adorable outfit she wore especially for the day. It was a gift from our friends, the Moss family, which we got at Gaby's welcoming party (see more about that below).

Happy V-day!

We also got some adorable pajamas from our friend "Nana" Ferne - Ferne collects all things froggy - so of course, she shared her love of frogs with Gaby! These pajamas come complete with a really cute ruffle on the butt (mommy is nuts for ruffles on the butt)!

Rrrrriiiibbbbbiiittttt!!!!

So I mentioned above that we had a little welcoming party for Gaby - it was on her two-month birthday (February 8th) and was hosted by my dearest friends, Wendy and Gayle. The photo below shows the hostesses with the "mostest", Gabriela, myself, and DJ (Gayle's son ~5 months old). DJ is a cute little guy - very active and happy - and possibly our future son-in-law!

The cake was adorable - a cupcake cake with awesome frosting!


"Welcome Gabriela!"

The party theme was all about the pink, red, and white in honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day and all the party guests were invited to take a bag of candy from the "candy bar" before they left. I was particularly fond of the "cupid corn" - a pink, red, and white version of candy corn!

Yumm...pretty candy...

Gaby wore a red and white outfit to match the theme - here's the only picture I have of her in the outfit before we had to change it (don't ask me why we had to change her outfit...).

Speaking of Gaby's boyfriends, she does have a couple other suitors (sorry DJ!). Below are pictures of Gaby and Jackson and Nicholas. Jackson is 9 days younger than Gaby and Nicholas is 10 days younger (just like her mommy, Gaby likes younger men!).

Gaby and Jackson's "playdate"!


Nicholas and Gaby...

We've written previously about Mr. Quackers, Gaby's faithful friend and pacifier. We have some concerns about Mr. Quackers now - he seems to be "quacking up" a bit and we found him recently "attacking" Gaby in her sleep. Not sure how to break the news to Gaby...

Oh Mr. Quackers - bad boy!

Here are a couple photos of a very cool and contemplative Gabriela. I've always been fascinated by the number of clothing items Gaby owns with pockets - it's a mystery as to why an infant neeeds them! I asked around and my Uncle Steve suggested that they have pockets to store their loose change - maybe that's true...

Gaby is digging for loose change...

And finally, the piece d'resistance...

Check out that belly!

Stay tuned for more...

Seven Weeks and Counting!

So much has happened in the last couple weeks since our last post and the time just flies by. Mostly, mommy is wiped out by the end of the day and can't sit down to work on the computer. Ironically, this post is being written at 4am because mommy can't sleep!

We've been keeping ourselves very busy over the last few weeks. On Sunday, January 18th, we took Gaby on her first of what we hope will be many outings to The Getty - it was a perfect day to be there. We took a garden tour and just soaked in the beautiful sun and warm breeze. Gaby slept through most of our visit with a brief awakening for a snack.

Here is Gabriela enjoying the gardens at The Getty...

On our visit to the Getty...

Gaby continues to grow mightily. I was able to weigh her last Wednesday and she weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds, 1/2 ounce!!! Everyone remarks how tiny she is but I just think she is huge!!! Her sleep "schedule" seems to change daily. She still sleeps very well at night, usually getting a good 5-6 hour stretch in, which makes mommy and daddy happy. She has her fussy periods and with the exception of last night, they usually occur from about 6pm to midnight. After only catnapping yesterday, Gabriela actually went to sleep at around 9pm and she's still asleep as I write this at 4am! She just really wiped herself out yesterday and needed a good sleep.

Gabriela continues to do new things. Below are a bunch of pictures of fun things she has been up to lately. She continues to enjoy her bath and loves getting wrapped up in the towel afterward. It's fun to see her wide-eyed as I lower her into the water - she just relaxes so nicely in the tub!

Although she hasn't fully "grasped" the concept of the grasp, I took a photo of her after I handed her a rattle and she held onto it for a good long while! She couldn't figure out what was making that noise but she kept moving her hands around and trying to follow the sound with her eyes!

"I'll figure out where that rattling noise is coming from soon enough!"

In the last couple of weeks, we noticed how Gaby would stare up in the mirror attached to the bottom of the mobile on her swing. She's not really sure what she's looking at but it keeps her amused. So we recently pulled out the play mat Gaby received as a gift and she LOVES looking in the mirror! Here's a picture of her and daddy having some play time on the mat.

Grammy and Grandpa visited last week and below is a series of photos showing Gaby just relaxing with Grammy. She finally caught on that she was the subject of a photo shoot and woke up to get that last shot in!









One last parting shot - here is a sleeping Gaby with her "Mr. Quackers". You may be asking yourself - "what is a Mr. Quackers?" - well, Mr. Quackers is a very special pacifier that Gaby has taken a liking to - she received it as a gift from her cousins David, Lara, and Caleb in New York. We thought it was a little curious that a stuffed duck was attached to a pacifier but we get it now! Although not firmly planted in her mouth in this shot, Gaby will work that paci for some time and will also hold onto Mr. Quackers, which means fewer pacis falling on the floor!

May you sleep as well as Gaby and Mr. Quackers in this shot!