Cake and Ice Cream

One thing is certain, since we've been back in Arizona there has been no shortage of celebrations, and no shortage of sweets. Pumpkin doesn't seem to mind much at all, she loves being around all the other kids, and she loves her dessert! 

G&K's birthday party in April

D&L's baptism in April

Steia's 10-year anniversary in April

A's 2nd birthday in June in Prescott
(strawberries shown, but rest assured there was cake)
 

Ice Cream sundae party for A&M in Payson in July

Ice Cream Cake aftermath at M's July splash pad party

Getting the Team back together

It's been a while since my last post. It was hard to find time to blog being on my own with the munchkin and, in the meantime (surprise!) I discovered I was pregnant. So, I've been extra exhausted. 

Over the last few months we had lots of fun seeing old friends and attending birthday parties in various parts of Arizona, we've had challenges with our rental house, we visited LA for the Fourth of July, and finally, finally, about a month ago, Chris made the move to Phoenix. It's been so great being all together again, and hopefully now with an extra set of hands, I can find time to write about all the other stuff we did.

Team Gabel at the Diamondbacks game, about
a week after Chris made the move to Phoenix. 

Picture Day

I am enjoying being back in Phoenix. I really loved living in Reno and so I'm not sure I realized how much I missed being in a big city until we got here. Tomorrow night I'm going with a friend to see Citizen Kane at Movies in the Park. Next week I'll attend an event for Genocide Awareness Week at Scottsdale Community College. My sister-in-law and I have tickets to see Mumford and Sons in June. And I have never before moved somewhere where I have already lived - I have friends already! Plans for birthday parties and favorite restaurants and coffee shops picked out before I even got here! It's great.

But can I be honest? It's really hard, too. I'm not sure Chris and I have ever been apart this long, even when we were long distance. By the time he visits in a couple weeks it will be four weeks. (Honestly, I have no idea how military families do it. I want to buy them all a cake.) It's hard on me, but especially hard on our monkey. Lots of changes in addition to being away from him makes it especially hard for her. We miss Scoop, too. My job is great, and her school is great, but drop-offs are emotional every morning. Bedtimes are emotional, too. Her school texted me pictures on her first day, and they encourage me to call as much as I want. They are great. But there's just so much that's new for her - new city, new school, living with Grandma and Grandpa while we sell the house - it's a lot at once. There have been a lot of extra cuddles.

So you're wondering what this has to do with Picture Day? Well, it was yesterday. And today. Two days, but neither day. It turned out to be just one new thing too many. She refused. Wanted nothing to do with the photographer. Wouldn't stand behind the lemonade stand they created for a prop. I did snap these ones on our way to school ...

I have high hopes for fall picture day once we're all settled in and adjusted.

A Souvenir

The first time I came across the Design Mom blog, it was from another blogger who had linked to her Central Park family photos. I thought they were such great photos and an awesome way to memorialize where they lived just as they were preparing to move. So, when we knew we were going to be moving to Phoenix, I wanted to get some family photos in Reno. 

I love that Julie snapped this pic of us goofing off before the shoot

Everything is moving pretty quickly, however, and time has been limited. So, we did a quick shoot with our friend and fabulous photographer Julie under the old arch after work on Friday. We didn't really prep, we all just threw on jackets and met under the arch. If I had more time I may have put on some makeup or planned our outfits better, and maybe done a couple more locations, but  I like the way they came out and I'm really glad we took a few minutes to get these before the big move.

It's not goodbye

Last week while traveling, a stranger said to me, "My roommate used to live in Reno. He said it's a dump. Is it a dump?" I responded, "It is what you make it."

When we moved here five and a half years ago, I had no idea how much I would enjoy living here. As we prepare to move back to Phoenix, I realize just how much I will miss it. Since moving here, I've gotten married, lost my job, earned a master's degree, bought a house, started a new career, expanded our family - first with a puppy, then with a baby. And through it all we've made some of the best friends we will ever have.

I will miss walking to Wingfield Park with a brown bag lunch on a Friday afternoon in July to listen to the Reno Municipal Band. I will miss waking up before dawn on a Saturday morning in September to watch 100 hot air balloons take flight. I will miss Awful Awful burgers at the Little Nugget Diner early on Sunday morning and afternoons with my girl at the Nevada Discovery Museum. I will miss impromptu drives to Lake Tahoe for a picnic on the beach. I will miss running into someone I know when I go to a restaurant, to the grocery store, to the ballpark. I will miss the people. I will miss our friends.

I don't know if we will ever live here again, but I know we will be back, and will always hold warm memories in our hearts.

Live from Nevada, it's Saturday Night

Lately, Mr. Gabel and I don't get out as much as we once did and we don't have people over as much, either. So we decided we should have a New Year's Eve party. But not on New Year's Eve, because I had to work that day and also people probably had other plans. So we decided to throw a New Year's Eve Eve Eve party the Saturday prior. And then we decided it should have a theme, because we like an excuse to dress up. So after some brainstorming we settled on an SNL party. And of course, dessert bars are standard for a party in our house, so let's start there ...

Champagne cupcakes, because, New Year's.

Mountain Dew Doritos Cupcakes, which had previously been requested by our friend Ray for his birthday and actually weren't bad (I ate mine sans Doritos).

Mini Rice Krispie Treat "cupcakes" for the Gluten Intolerant

Once the desserts were decided, it was time to work on our costumes, which actually turned out to be quite simple. We didn't win the contest, but that's ok since we were the hosts. 

Chris was inspired by this famous Digital Short.

Kristin Wiig-inspired Baby Hands

Pumpkin as Wayne (she refused to pose for a photo)

 We had a great time with our friends and look forward to planning our next fiesta!

Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Merry Christmas! 

Happy New Year!

Big Girl

I'm not sure when it happened, but my baby is all of a sudden quite grown up. For being not-quite 18 months, she is becoming very independent and she is just so smart. She has her own opinions of what she wants to eat and when, what toys she wants to play with. This morning we gave her cereal, but halfway through she decided she wanted a muffin. I didn't even know she knew the word muffin. At the same time, she is mimicking us so much ... we really have to watch we say and do now. If I blow my nose, she wants to blow her nose. If I brush my teeth, she wants to brush her teeth. If I'm cooking dinner, she wants me to pick her up so she can see what I'm doing.

Lately, when we go to school, I ask her to remove her hat and gloves when we get to her classroom. Generally, she takes them off and hands them to me, and I put them in her cubby. This morning, she walked to her cubby, and placed the items in the bin, one at a time, without being asked.

I know these are things that all kids learn and do, but I am one proud mama.

New Traditions

 

Having started a family, now we have begun to start our own holiday traditions. It's perhaps a bit premature to call them traditions, having just started this year, but hopefully they will be. Miss Pumpkin has only been allowed to watch cartoons a handful of times, and usually not for more than a few minutes. But a couple weeks ago, we got home late and it happened to be the night the Charlie Brown Christmas special was on. Since she was already up late, I poured her a cup of milk, put her in her jammies, and we snuggled up with Scoop to watch the special. To my surprise, she watched the whole thing! (And by that, I mean the classic part, we skipped the second half hour which was something new?)

Her attention gave me hope for the upcoming Nutcracker show.

We went on Sunday, and I'd  say she watched half - with a few walks taken throughout. She loved the dancing, she just had a little trouble sitting still. Once I got her focused, she was so excited she started talking (yelling) to the dancers. It was pretty cute and everyone was so gracious (the usher said "it's a kid's show, she should be allowed to talk to the dancers.")

I'm looking forward to many more years of Charlie Brown, and the Nutcracker, and hopefully even more traditions to come.

Getaway

For Father's Day, we got Chris tickets to see the Diamondbacks play at San Francisco on a Thursday afternoon in September. Once the extended Gabel clan made plans to visit us the following day, we decided to ask Grandma to come a little early and babysit so the two of us could have one night in the city. (I think I showed a lot of restraint in not texting Rita too many times while we were gone.) It was nice to have some alone time, but we woke up on Friday morning missing our little Pumpkin and headed straight home after a quick breakfast. Here are some highlights via Instagram: 

AT&T Park

At Fisherman's Wharf, for clam chowdah in a bread bowl

Newspaper-themed bar in the old Examiner press room

Coffee and almond croissant at Tartine

Rainbow Birthday

Pumpkin's first birthday was about 10 weeks ago, so I figured it's high time I post something from the celebration. We just had a small gathering at our house, but I was pretty excited about decorating nonetheless. Once I found the invitation, I settled on a rainbow theme. Finding ideas for decorations was easy thanks to Pinterest and a few favorite blogs ...

Month-by-Month picture banner inspired by Kara's Party Ideas, via Pinterest.

Fringed number 1 inspired by Oh Happy Day.
(I made it on posterboard instead of taping to the wall.)

Streamers inspired by Oh Chickadee

Oreo Pop favors from Makoodle.

Pennants made from leftover paper from the photos at top, now serving as bedroom decor.

Since we were out of town for a few days the week before the birthday, I put the decorations up early, so it was fun to have the house look festive for a couple extra weeks. The most fun part, though, was watching Pumpkin dig into her cake. I can't believe how fast the first year went by!

Balloons!

Earlier this month, Pumpkin and I went with our friends Jason and Rebecca to see the Great Reno Balloon Race. This is one of my favorite Reno events, and even more fun now with a little one to enjoy. We got up at 4 a.m. to see the Glow Show and Dawn Patrol, but the mass ascension - where all the balloons fill and lift off at the same - is my favorite.

Darth is a crowd favorite.

In 2010 I rode in a balloon. 

Balloons in 2009.

Balloons in 2008.

Reflecting forward

Eleven years ago today, I woke up in my boss's house in Monterey. He and his wife were on vacation, I was watching their youngest daughter while they were gone. She was in elementary school, possibly junior high, and as I French-braided her hair into pigtails, we heard the news on the radio of an airplane hitting one of the towers. I went downstairs and turned on the TV and watched as the second tower fell. The girl didn't grasp the enormity of what was happening, but thought it sounded like a good excuse to get out of school (I didn't buy it).

I fell out of touch with this family that was a part of my life for five years. I don't know anything about this girl now, if she went to college, what career path she chose. I know when she was a little girl she insisted on wearing a pig costume all the time. I know anytime I watched her she wanted me to braid her hair. I know she liked to help at her dad's store. I know that because we were together on Sept. 11, I will always think of and remember her as that sweet kid on this day.

This morning, I pulled my own daughter's hair into pigtails. I dropped her off at school. She doesn't know the significance of this day, and I don't know at what age or to what extent she will. I don't know how growing up in a post Sept. 11 world will shape her worldview. I don't know if she will want me to French braid her hair into pigtails for school, or if she will become so infatuated with a costume that she will insist on wearing it to the grocery store. I don't know what career path she will choose.

At almost 14 months, I do know that her laugh lights up this house. She loves her dog Scoop, and blows her kisses when we leave in the morning. She says "momma," "dada," "baby," "hi," "bye," "up," "yeah," and "no." She has recently developed an independent streak, and doesn't want to be carried or hold hands while walking. She knows where her nose, toes and tongue are. She knows dogs say woof and cows say mmmmm. She likes water but is scared of waves. She'd rather be on pavement than grass. She loves books. She loves her friends, and the fish tank, at school. She dances when she hears music. If given the opportunity, she splashes in the dog water bowl and unspools the toilet paper roll. She puts tupperware "hats" on her head. She loves to hold a blankie, and uses them to play peekaboo. She delights.

Each day so far has been an amazing journey of getting to know this little person my baby is becoming. I look forward to discovering so much more.

Baby Momma Drama

Our girl is tall, and she has a lot of hair. This sometimes means that folks assume she is older than she is.

A couple weeks ago, we went out to breakfast at a new location of a favorite restaurant. One of the owners came by, being that they were in their first day of business, to see how everything was. She looked at Pumpkin and said, "You're too old for a binky!" (Now, I will confess, we are not exactly thrilled that she still uses a pacifier. But after talking with her pediatrician, he said it is fine for her and her teeth and it's better than her sucking her thumb, and he was more concerned that we get her off the bottle. So, that is what we are focusing on.) Why do we as parents do this to each other? I am sure I have been guilty (if not vocally, then in my internal dialogue) of judging another parent's choice. But it's hard enough being a parent without having to worry what other people think. In our conversation with the restaurant owner, when she realized Pumpkin was only 13 months old, she was surprised. She has twins, and at 2 they are still quite small. Maybe she didn't think she was too old for a paci after all. Maybe she did. Either way, she should have kept it to herself. I know it served as a reminder to me to try to remember that when I see another mom and child (or anyone, really) that I don't know their situation, and I shouldn't form an opinion on first impression, and certainly should keep it to myself if I do.

Just Beachy

 When I was about 12 weeks pregnant, we visited family in Southern California. As we walked on the beach that January, I thought about our little pumpkin, and bringing her to play on the same beach my mom brought me to when I was a baby, that my dad brought me and my sister to every summer as we grew up.

 In July, as Pumpkin's first birthday approached, we had that chance while visiting for the Fourth of July and a Family Reunion.

Seeing her touch her toes in the water for the first time, playing in the sand, was so special - and it was great to share it with my sister and dad as well.

I'm glad I got to be with you here in our nation's capital

Our trip to Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland was back in April, but I wanted to share a few pics. We had an awesome time visiting Mena and Miguel, The Nevins and The Volkmanns and have already started a list of the things we didn't get to do for next time!

Swinging!

M&M

We'll always have Yuma 

Offspring 

Cupcakes!

Casa Blanca

Monumental Moment

Sisters

Dad, Lincoln is so boring

View of the capitol from the Newseum

Gettysburg

The Girls