Playground fun!

This weekend Gemma and I discovered a little playground across the street from us at the School for Deaf.  It was great since we were the only ones there and she was able to freely explore at her own pace.  She had a blast climbing, seeing the world from new heights, running, discovering... she was so very proud of herself and so were we:

Speaking of new heights, she loved looking out at the top of the playground set by the slide.  I was always very close to her so she wouldn't fall or hurt herself.  Here is a series of pictures documenting her first time going down the slide by herself... not planned but ended up a good experience for her.  LOL.

Go Bears!

Gemma and her daddy watched the Chicago Bears unexpectedly pounce on the Indianapolis Colts in their season opener (29 to 13). For the occasion we mushed little Gemma into her old 3-6 month Bears cheer leading outfit. It was hilariously way too short for her but she didn't mind. :)

Here they are intensely watching the game. She really love to watch - I think she likes the colors of the uniforms. Victory lap!

1 Year Old

1 year ago today at 3:40pm, Gemma Maria Krotz was born!

It has been an amazing year of personal growth, sacrifice and happiness filled with tears and lots of laughter - I wouldn't change it for the world. But how has my life changed? How has it not changed? I didn't realize I could survive with such little sleep and be happy about it. :) I didn't realize my heart would ache with joy when she first smiled at me or when she reaches out for me. I didn't realize I would be so interested and proud of her poop. I didn't realize little baby toes and chubby rolls could be so kissable. I didn't realize my priorities were screwed up. I didn't realize I'd feel even more human, more woman. I didn't realize my love for Scott could grow even more intense. I didn't realize life could be so good. :)

So who is this little creature we call Gemma and who has rocked our world? To give you a better idea, her are a bunch of things that she currently likes:

* spinning around in circles (although slow she still gets dizzy)
* the 'boing' of a door stop
* books, in particle "the very hungry caterpillar" and "precious kitten" - bilingual
* pressing buttons on all our electronics - cell phones, remotes, keyboards, alarm clocks - anything that gives her audible and or visual feedback
* cherrios
* feeding mama & daddy cherrios
* her water bottle 'agua'
* chasing Blitzy (our cat - who has become a really good sport about it)
* playing 'pillow attack' - a game she made up where she throws herself on the pillows of our bed , grabs it close then falls back so the pillow is now on top of her attacking her. We put the pillow back only to start the process over and over again. This makes her laugh to no end.
* drumming - on herself and anything that can make a sound
* music - she actually is starting to dance
* dancing and singing with mama
* playing the piano
* playing 'peekaboo'
* yogurt
* chicken
* strawberries
* raspberries
* pears
* mandarin oranges
* peas and carrots
* her white bunny
* her green Winnie the Pooh blanket
* bubbles
* magnets - actually the key to the baby-proofed garbage/recycling. Because I'm lazy, I leave it on the cabinets sometimes (I know that defeats the purpose). But instead of getting into the garbage/recycling, she take the white little magnet-key and places it on the refrigerator then tries to take it off the refrigerator. The first time she discovered its strong magnetic capabilities she was in awe. :) Now she like to play 'magnet' and she's even worked out how to get that powerful magnet off the frig! LOL!

Dislikes (not many, she's generally a happy little person):
* getting her face wiped
* staying put on the changing table
* the feel of grass or sand under her feet
* sharp loud noise
* fake keyboards - she caught on really fast when she wasn't getting the visual/audible feedback was was accustomed to on the real keyboard

Nicknames:
* Gemmita
* Gemma-lou
* Gemma-wemma
* Gemma-jam
* Gemma bear (like gummy bear - thanks Tia Maria!)
* Gemmarie (thanks Tio G!)

Gemma's 1st party!

-Well, on Sept 4th Gemma will officially be 1 year old! :) :) :) :) So this past weekend we celebrated her birthday at Vic Chung's (Gumpa to Gemma) house.

Here we are just before we cut the cake. Gemma had the '1' candle and was already having a taste of the yummy strawberry and creme cake from Prolific Oven (same as the one from our wedding):She really looks like she's trying to blow out the candle! :)

My family from LA drove up and it was amazing to have them with us. I couldn't beleive it - every person in my immediate family (except my father, que en paz descanse, and Olivia) made it! Gemma had all her first cousins from my side there to celebrate. :) Thank you guys for making the effort to come to the party! Here's Gemma's proud abuelita: Also my awesome familia from the Oakland area showed up and they helped make the party happen. Gracias por la ayuda e ambiente!!!! Some of Gemma's baby and toddler friends were also in attendance. It was quite the party including swimming and tons of yummy food:
Gemma was such a good sport considering all the people and activities and the fact that she was feeling a little under the weather. She pretty much stuck to me and Scott the whole time so I didn't get to take many pictures. Luckily my brother Gonzalo and sister Carmen took quite a few (the ones you see here). I know my cousins Christina and Ana took some too - can't wait to see them. :)

A party in my family wouldn't be complete without a piñata! Thanks to my cousin Christina y familia, we had an amazing one filled with chocolates, granola bars, tangerines, nuts... YUM!
Gemma was the first at bat but she wasn't too sure about the whole piñata thing:

All the rest of the kids really got into it. Thanks Felipe for doing a good job operating the piñata! Here's Lulu (Vittoria) taking a swing:My cousin's daughter Sophia is the one who finally took the piñata down in a glorious fashion and everyone screamed and shouted and launched at the bounty of goodies.

Even Gemma had a little candy. Well, she just held it. :)
I incorporated a cool Chinese tradition to Gemma's party (thanks for the idea, Nerissa). On the table were objects that Gemma hadn't seem before that represent different possible professions (starfish for biologist, whisk for chef, med kit for doctor....). The idea is to place her in front of the items and see what she picks up. Whatever she picks up is she will be when she grows up. Fun idea.
She wasn't in a great mood by then but she still played along. At first she didn't know what to do. She just sat there. Then a microphone caught her eye but she didn't pick it up. Finally what caught her eye was the model of molecules. I guess she'll be a scientist! :)
It was a great party. Thank you to everyone who could be there to help us celebrate.  Special thanks to:

*  Christina y familia for bringing the drinks and pinata and filling it.

*  Ana for bringing the awesome sushi.

*  Daniella for bringing all the lunch meats & supplies & for making the flans.

*  Felipe for making the food run with Scotty and for operating the pinata.

*  Gonzalo, Francesca, Nerissa & folks for decorating the streamers & balloons.

*  Nerissa and Mark for picking up the cake.

*  Felipe, Gonzalo y Marcos for being the wonderful musicians & playing for us.

*  Gonzalo for making the ice run and for making the big 'bombs' in the pool.

*  Carmen, Gonzalo, Christina & Ana for taking pictures.

*  All my Oakland family for joining us.

*  Maria & Eddie for bringing the whole familia from Palmdale.

*  All my LA family for driving up.

*  My amazing Scott for his patience and for surviving the party.  :)

*  And especially for Vic for hosting the party at his wonderful house.

Thank you to all Gemmita's baby friends (and their parents) for coming to the party too.

Woo Woo fun with daddy

Gemma loves to play with her daddy.  Here she is just enjoying herself and laughing and laughing so much.  :)