Letters From Gwen

Hi everybody! It's Gwen!! I'm back, and getting ready for Christmas. Mom and Dad haven't been updating the blog enough, so I guess it's my job for now! I've been having so much fun at my daycare and playing with my friends. Mom and Dad have been hard at work decorating the house and putting up lights on the house too! Hey, what about me?! Don't get me wrong, they give me lots of lovin' too! I'll get busy taking pictures of the house and post them soon, for now, here is a few of my favorites from the past few weeks!

Checking out the Christmas tree! I've been a good girl and haven't caused any damage (yet).

Me, running around in my walker!

Taking inventory of my Halloween stock!

A quick cat nap with Daddy.

Saying a little prayer in front of the tree.

About to POUNCE and give dad a beat down!

Chicago

Not so recently Tamie and I went to Chicago. The first week of October we visited the Windy City. It was all pleasure for me, however it was work for Tamie. Tamie gave a presentation for Farmers Alliance at a marketing convention. While Tamie attended meetings and presentations, I walked (and WALKED) around the city. Here's a few pics of what I got to enjoy!

Ampitheater near our hotel.

The famous Bean!

Buckingham Fountain

After walking for three miles, Soldier Field. Worth the walk!

The Bean in daylight, I got slightly obsessed with the Bean.



Amazing Chicago skyline!

The ferris wheel on Navy Pier.

Downtown Chicago

Ok, last one of the Bean.

The iconic pillars in front of Soldier Field.

Pictures

We realize it's been quite a while since we've given an update on Miss Gwen. Things have been going great at the Prieb place, Gwen's amazing us with how quickly she's catching on to new things.

She's not walking yet, but she's saying lots of new words and has mastered the parts of her face -- now we're just working on showing people where their eyes, etc. are NICELY.

 

 I know Halloween was a few (okay several) weeks ago, but here's Gwen in her special Halloween outfit she got from Aunt Nancy.

 

 The little Cheerleader.

 

 Having some fun with bubbles in the tub.

 

 Big girl - showing she can stand by herself!

 

 Silly girl.

 

 Here's Gwen's Thanksgiving shirt (on the right). Jenni and I made these for the kids -- with a little help from my friend Danielle and Pinterest (of course). I had it all planned out for Gwen to get three wears out of the shirt . . . she did not like that plan. I think she ended up wearing it for a total of 3 hours, and we failed to get a picture of her in it. 

 

 Enjoying the unseasonably warm weather this fall!

 

 Humoring my by looking up after I said her name 10+ times.

 

This morning after she was dressed and ready to go play with her friends. Mike is on his midnight shift this week so we send a picture to daddy saying hi each day.

 

Gwen 1 Year Pic & Stats!

 

Gwen at one year:

 

Weight: 21.3 lbs

Height: 29 inches

Walking?: She walks around the furniture and loves to walk with us holding her hands.

Talking: Gwen's vocabulary includes -- Da Da, Meh Meh (for Mom), Gu-pa (Grandpa), Hi, Hello, Bye-Bye, Num Num (means she wants food) and her absolute favorite word is BABY. Everything and everyone is baby. She crawls around pointing to things saying "There's The Baby", sometimes is sounds more like "Z Z Baby" but occasionally it's clear enough to understand.

Favorite Toy: babies and her Dora couch

Favorite Food: black olives -- seriously, she'll pick them off her plate to eat first

Other Favorites: playing outside, shopping at Walmart, climbing the stairs

Sleep Schedule: She sleeps from 7:30 pm - 6:45 am. We know, we know, we're lucky -- we are thinking this is the consolation prize for surviving colic! She's dropped her morning nap but takes a 1-2 hr nap in the afternoon.

Look Who's ONE!

 Happy First Birthday Baby Girl!!

I know every parent says it, but WOW -- that first year flew by! Gwen's birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so we were able to have her party on her actual birthday, October 6th.

The days leading up to Gwen's birthday was a bit of a mad dash. The weekend before Gwen's birthday Aunt Nancy and Cousin Hailey came to visit (the boys stayed home). They watched Gwen while Mike and I helped with Lauren (Russell) Miller's wedding -- we're so glad we were able to enjoy in the festivities. Gwen, Nancy and Hailey played a lot and went shopping!

On Monday, Mike and I headed to Chicago - I had a work conference and Mike got to fulfill one of his longtime dreams of watching the Cubs play at Wrigley Field -- it was an awesome time. We came home on Thursday afternoon, Friday was spent getting ready for the party and welcoming our company. Busy, busy -- but a great time.

We went with a caterpillar theme for her party, she has a big stuffed caterpillar that she really likes to cuddle with, so we went with it.

  

 

Her monthly pictures on the caterpillar.

   

Time for presents!

Gwen's favorites while opening included - tissue paper, a card that had a mirror inside and money! Since the party, she's enjoyed playing with her other toys and wearing her new clothes. 

  

 

 Bring on the cake!

  She didn't waste any time sampling her cake.

 She especially liked the black icing.

  Loving it!

 
Getting a bit messy. :-) Looks like this girl has a sweet tooth like her mom and dad!

Things were going great until she decided she needed to rub her eye . . . it was downhill from there!

 The yellow and black icing mixed to make this lovely army green color.

 Getting kisses from her friend Bre -- so cute. 

More caterpillar decorations.

The party was a success -- Gwen had lots of special visitors for her birthday and throughout the weekend.

She especially had a good time with Aunt Dallas and Uncle Gary who came up from Houston to spend the weekend with us. 

Here's Gwen with Uncle Gary -- that's the card with a mirror in it. 

Washington D.C., Part 3; (New York)

Monday, September 10th, Tamie and I were up early and took the subway to Union Station. We surprisingly made it to Union Station with, dare I say, EASE. Although, I'm sure we stood out like a couple of sore thumbs. Locals would walk up to us and ask if we needed help. Our faces must have given away how nervous we really were. 

We were early enough to eat breakfast while waiting for our 7:00am train ride. It just wouldn't have been right, if nothing had gone wrong. Suddenly there was an announcement that our train had been delayed until further notice. We freaked out. We already had a small enough window to see New York. We were supposed to get to NY at 10am, and we would leave NY at 7pm.

We quickly noticed everyone was running to the Amtrak booth to rearrange their train tickets. We did the same. Just as we were about to change our tickets, they announced anyone on our train could ride on another train leaving for NY, but it was leaving in two minutes. Everyone surrounding us began running, no, SPRINTING toward the train. We did the same. Sprinting down the stairs and finding a couple of seats just in time. That was a close one. The Priebs were on their way to New York City.

Once our three hour train ride was over, we (amazingly) managed to figure out the subway system in NY too. We took the subway from Penn Station to the World Trade Center stop. (We know that figuring out how a subway system works may not sound like a big deal, but for us it was something we were completely unfamiliar with!) When we emerged from the subway stop we immediately looked UP. The picture below is what we immediately saw. And for a couple of Kansas kids, it was breathtaking. 

The new World Trade Center.

An incredible view of the new Tower being constructed.

Looking straight up the new World Trade building.

The South Tower Memorial (left).

South Tower Memorial (middle).

South Tower Memorial (right).

To attempt to put into words how Tamie and I felt standing there would be impossible. The enormity of the memorial was overtaking. All we could do was stand peacefully, in awe. The 9-11 Museum is not open yet. That was ok with us. Simply walking around the memorial was enough. The pictures below are from the Memorial donation room.

After we left the 9-11 Memorial we headed back to the subway. We took the subway to Madison Square Garden! From there, we walked(QUICKLY) with the flow of New Yorkers to Times Square. 

Times Square was completely nuts! The mass of people, noise and even smells were something that neither of us will forget. 

Times Square

Tamie HAD to get a picture of Good Morning America's building.

Times Square, the second tallest building is where the New Years Ball drops.

One more of Times Square.

A view from our train as we left New York. Giving us a real idea of how HUGE the World Trade Towers are!

Tamie and I made it to our departing train for D.C. on time. Taking with us so many memories and thoughts about what we had just experienced. So, back to D.C. it was, for one more day of vacation.