Then and Now

21 Weeks Pregnant with Gianna



22 weeks pregnant with the twins!


***Note John fixed the picture so you can really look at the difference in then and now. Three cheers for my techie husband!!!!!

Kick kick

So someone asked me the other day if I could tell that I had two different babies in there. Back then (about two weeks ago) I could not. I could tell there were kicks but pretty random. It was enough to know what side it was coming from, but not so often that I was for sure whom it was from.
Fast forward to now.




The babies like root beer.

A lot!

Lots of kicks especially in the evening.

Birthday PARTY!!!!!

This week John and I have been under the weather. So not blogging, but sleep has been my number one priority.
AND we had Gianna's second birthday party to plan and clean for. I know that her birthday is January 8, but folks, it is so close to Christmas- I decided to spread it out a bit. I am so glad I did. We had a wonderful Tu-tu 2 friends party on Friday afternoon with the high temperature of the day at 80! And a fun family celebration with the Ludlow's on Saturday.
I made two cakes and TONS of icing! I'll put more pics on our link so check it out for more.
And speaking of, we ran out of room on Picasa. So that's why I haven't posted any pictures for the month of January. I'll remedy that soon I promise!

Looking cute in out tu-tu and 2 shirt that mommy made

The tu-tu lasted about 2 seconds!

Look ma, no lessons. I just hot glued some tulle on the side of the cake plate and made a 2 from royal icing and just came up with the rest at the last minute.

What a difference a year makes. Last year she ate with her hands-now she is a lady using a fork!

Birthday cake number 2! This one was for the Ludlow party.

Enjoying books with Grandma and Aunt Lori.

MY personal favorite. Soemthing that she can color on and NOT make a mess- Aqua Doodle.

A conversation

First it is really really fun for me to type "A conversation."
And here is what happened:

Gianna does not like layers. So if an outfit requires layers, say a jumper with a turtleneck underneath- she is NOT a fan. A cute matching set that you put a sweater on top of? No dice, no way, no two layers.
So today we put Gianna in a jumper dress that she had a shirt on and some tights. When we got home form church, Gianna realized that she had on two layers and proceeded to remove the jumper dress. No problem we weren't going anywhere.
So after we went for a drive (with a stop for ice cream!!!!) we got home and Gianna promptly removed her dress. She kept on her shirt and her hose (tights to us but pantyhose the her.)
I said, "Gianna I can't believe you take off your dress. You are so silly."
Gianna replied, "You silly goose."

John and I, Much laughter!!!!!

Cute update

Well, because it's been a while and I want to remember some of the sweet precious things that Gianna is doing now.

She says "Hold you." When she wants you to hold her. I guess I asked her enough times if she wanted me to hold her, and now it's one word.

She has begun to snuggle with me in the mornings with my bathrobe. She wants me to open it up and cuddle her inside of it while we hold on to each other. Way precious.

She just sings. A lot and for no real reason other than she is perfectly happy and content. Ahhh joy.

She got twin baby dolls from her Grandma this Christmas. For the past few weeks she has only played with one at a time. This week she discovered that they were the same size and the same baby. She loves caring them around. She feeds them. Takes off their diapers, and bounces them to sleep while saying "shh shhh shhh." Heart Melt. She also puts them in the stroller but only one gets to ride and the other goes in the storage bag underneath!

She has begun to "cook" for John and me. She makes us something and will bring it to us. She even brings us some sort of utensil so that we don't have to use our hands. How very thoughtful.

She says- cheerioioioioios for Cheerios.

Why Hello to you

Yesterday morning I was greeted by a naked baby.
That's right naked as the day she was born.
She's growing up. And getting smart. I blame myself- I am teaching her how to get dressed and undressed in preparation for potty training, and you know, life.
So, I guess she was practicing her skills. Right down to the diaper.
The ha ha funny moment was when I realized that it was just the day before that I had washed her sheets, blanket and lovies. The "clean" ones that were now peed on and needed to be washed again.
Ha Ha


ha.

Why being a single parent is hard

John has been out of town since Friday and he gets back Thursday only to be gone Friday and Saturday again. So that leaves me all along with the 2 year old. All. Day. Long.
And since I am a Stay at home mom, time seems to be going very
s
l
o
w
l
y.

I know that I am pretty much spoiled, because my dear husband works right down the road and comes home every day for lunch, and he works a lot from the house too.
But I have to say that I like it. And I enjoy his company.
And when he is gone his presence is truly missed. He used to be gone a lot when he worked for InterVarsity, but since he changed jobs not so much. It's different when it's just the dog to take care of.
Food- check
Water- Check
And we put those on the floor!
You just can't do the same with a 2 year old! (Although she does eat off the floor occasionally, but not by my putting it there!)
So we've been seeing friends and will be going on more field trips. I have to admit I went to church and Sunday School not for the Lord, but for the break!
So if you get a call from me my dear local friends, please be available to play and entertain us! We need it!!!!!!!

Two to 2 too

Today is your second birthday little one! Happy Birthday to you!

We went to go get you this morning and sang Happy Birthday to get you up. We did that last year too. I hope it becomes a tradition for us.
I looked back at our 2 great years together and I am amazed still that I get to be a Mommy. I am forever grateful that God has placed you in my care. I am so grateful that I get to spend my days with you. Sometimes we both have our moments. Like today when you wanted more water after you spilled it all over yourself and Mommy and Daddy both said "No." That really was hard for you, because you like to have what you ask for- right away. This year I think will be marked by learning patience. I hope you are able to learn it soon and that in 4 quick months that you will be an expert.
I love watching you learn new words and new things. You are very inquisitive and so smart. You already are beginning to count and sing the tune to the ABC song. Sometimes you even get a few in the right order. You can hold crayons in the "proper position." This is important to Mommy because she spent 7 years of her life trying to get children to hold crayons in the "proper position." You like to color and repeat the color names I tell you. You especially LOVE play dough and like to mix the colors. That's OK with Mommy. I just pretend they all came swirled black and purple.
Your favorite book is Hand hand finger thumb. You like to have me read it, then Daddy, then back to Mommy, and then to Daddy again until we are tired and ask you to find a different book. Then you find either The Wheels on the Bus or Five Little Ducks and we repeat the process until Mommy or Daddy hide one of the books or we are able to distract you with something else.
You love crackers, cheese, and most food. You even like fresh peas from our garden. But your favorite things to eat and say has to be "Can-cakes" for pancakes. That's why we fixed them for you for breakfast today.
You like to help Mommy cook, and you have begun a good career as a stirer. I started off that way too. Just remember that things take time to cook and just becasue we stir them doesn't mean that they are ready to eat right away! You like to practice cooking in you kitchen and enjoy making things for Mommy and Daddy to eat. We love it all.
I love that you have friends and call them by name. You miss them and want to see them. You are a true Joy to me and I enjoy just being with you.
When you want some music you say dance DANCE DANCE until Daddy or I turn on some music for you. You really liked the Christmas songs. You like songs you can dance to and not the slow ones.
There are a million little things that make you Gianna Joy. I love finding out new ones and enjoying the ones that make you special. Know that you are loved, you are wanted, and you are my precious little one!

Happy Birthday Gianna Joy!

Tag I'm It!

I've been tagged a couple of times lately and so I will be a good sport and play along!

My friend, Sarah, tagged me quite a while ago. This is a fun one...


The rules:

Go to your picture file on your computer.

Pull up the 4th folder.

Pull up the 4th photo.

Tell us about it.

This was a shot from 2005! John was getting creative with his shots. I see that I've painted the dinning room since then but I still have as much clutter on the counter!!!


OK Who to tag?!?!?!

Laura, Kristen and Jenny you're it!

Where have you been????

In Mexico!!!

We took a four day cruise to Cozumel on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston to celebrate a bit early our 10 year anniversary. You see our real anniversary is in May. But you all know that we will have our hands full in May so we decided to celebrate early.
We had a room with a balcony and enjoyed seeing flying fish, jellyfish and dolphins right outside our window!
We just had one day in Cozumel. We took a taxi over the island and we saw Mayan ruins, cool beaches and fun times. Because I'm pregnant, we had to play it low key, but we still enjoyed it.
Mostly we slept on the trip. We slept in every morning (just till 7:45 but that's sleeping in for us!!!) and we had breakfast delivered every morning and enjoyed it on the balcony. And we took a nap every day too! Then after a long day of relaxing and eating- we went to bed early.
So for our vacation- we slept!!!!!!! And I have to say- I enjoyed every second of it.
John and I enjoyed some good time together and reminisced about our AMAZING 10 years (almost) together.



John at a cool beach


Iguana at the ruins- just hanging out.


A neat rock formation at the beach.


Hanging out at 1000 year old ruins.