What a Week.........

Well it has been a very long and trying week for the Benefiels. Gabi turned 4 months old on Saturday, and we got to spend the weekend in Lubbock with Grandma and Grandpa Martinez and Jonna and Chris. Gabi got to go to her first Texas Tech football game:) Of course, the Red Raiders lost horribly to Texas A&M, but we had a great time anyway.

Gabi started on rice cereal this week (she gets more on her bib and face than in her mouth), and moves onto fruits and veggies over the next two weeks. We have decided to wean her off the middle-of-the-night feedings and get her on a more rigid eat/play/sleep schedule. We have been rocking her to sleep every night and responding to her every time she wakes, but our new schedule will not permit that. We now put her in her crib for naps and nighttime sleep without responding to her every wimper. For the first few days, this meant listening to a lot of crying, both Gabi's and Rachel's!

As difficult as this has been, last night she slept from 8pm until 4:30am....SUCCESS IS SWEET:) With Gabi on a schedule, we have more quality time to spend with her and each other, and we do not sleep in 2 hour increments. I think that Rachel and I have aged about 1 year in the past 4 months! But you know....it is totally worth the sacrifice to have a healthy baby who is learning more each day:)

Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa Benefiel was in town for a visit this past weekend. We had a nice, relaxing couple of days filled with hanging out around the house, playing cards, and watching college football. As you can see from the pictures, he and Gabi had a good time exchanging funny faces on the recliner.

Can't wait to do it again Dad:)

Breckenridge

Hey Everyone,

Well we had a nice little vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado last week. Rachel had a teaching conference to attend, and I got to watch Gabi:) It's truly a beautiful place, and the drive up was very nice as well. We got to make stops in Santa Fe, Taos, Royal Gorge, and in Albuquerque on the way back (Ballon Fiesta was taking place as we drove through).

Gabi did very well considering all of the travel time. It snowed on our second day up there, so the baby got to see her first snow flakes. We look forward to going again in the future so we can hike and ski. Take Care!

Bath Time

Gabriella really loves her baths, so we thought we'd upload some funny pictures of the process:)

Gabi's First RAIDER Game

Well, I had to concede to Rachel that Gabi would be a Raiders fan instead of the Cowboys (as long as Texas Tech is her #1 college team). She watched her first Raider game on Monday night. Unfortunately they lost, but their team seems greatly improved compared to the last 5 seasons:)

The Giraffe

Last year, Rachel and I saw a really cool wooden giraffe at a store called Jackalope in Santa Fe. At the time, we did not know if we were having a girl or a boy, so we did not buy it. I was in Santa Fe yesterday for a meeting, and it turns out that the giraffe was still there, so I brought it home for the baby. Gabi loves it already. It stands 6'-6" and watches over her while she sleeps:)



Also, Gabrilella has begun to show more of her personality these days. She loves to smile and laugh as you can see on the attached video.

Hi Madilynn:0)

Congratulations Shaun and Hollie! We can't wait to see our new neice Madilynn. She's adorable. Babies with lots of hair must run in the family:) Enjoy every minute.