Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Tails, Teeth, A Trip & Thank Yous

gianna's hair is getting long enough to put into pigtails, so here's what it looks like after a whole day in pigtails.  too cute. 
 look who lost tooth #2!!
 cutest inmate on 9th avenue!
 i was lucky enough to be able to fly up to maryland last weekend with gianna to go to lilah's first birthday party.  i really wanted to take roman too, but honestly, taking both kids by myself would have been way too much for me to handle. so, roman stayed with toby and they got to have a really fun "roman's weekend" in charleston.  

gianna was ready to board the plane.  she just couldn't quite lift our carry-on!
gianna's first plane ride!!!
uncle josh, aunt colleen and lilah picked us up at the airport.  gianna put on her best scowl and stayed that way for most of the weekend.  however, she went right to uncle josh and was his best friend all weekend.  
this is how i know i'm "home".  the chesapeake bay bridge!  of course, i'm pretty sure that i wouldn't have been in the same lane as my brother.  eastbound on the westbound span.  no sir, no how!
finally, we are at nanas!  little lilah just sitting watching everyone.  she is so super cute.  i can't believe she is 1!!!!
nana had to show gianna how to pull the bucket of toys

then gianna got to pull lilah in the bucket
hugs for cousin bffs
later, we went outside to take a swing on nana's new swingset.  i love the look on lilah's face.  pure joy!
gianna had a little bit of fun too!
then we played with a few balls that were almost bigger than the girls were. 
cj and the baby ladies
the girls got to go on a wagon ride.  gianna was giving her best beauty queen wave.
lilah was really excited!
then it was time for a bath

the girls getting their first bath together! i'm sure there will be many more over the years.
meanwhile,  back in charleston, roman and toby got to go on a helicopter ride.  it wasn't planned and no one was more surprised than me.  i'm kind of glad i didn't know ahead of time because i would have been a wreck!  they didn't even have doors on that thing!  i think that roman liked it...can you tell?
their view of the aircraft carrier
big headphones on a little cutie pie. 
this was their copter...
the next morning was lilah's birthday!!!  gianna celebrated with a swing from uncle josh.
lilah's party was awesome.  colleen's whole family came and ours did too.  so many kids, so many aunts and uncles and grandmothers all over the place.  there was a bounce house for the kids and some of the boys went down to the pond to fish.  i took a walk with gianna and she loved pointing to the geese saying "ducky" over and over.  she even turned around a few times and waved at them one more time.  

i love this picture.  i think it is so beautiful.  my daughter standing on my grandparents' driveway.  the pond in the background.  i helped plant those trees with my grandfather.  so many memories on that farm and now my kids get to have fun there too.  it makes me all gooey inside.  

time for g to get her bounce on!
uncle jay took gianna on the bounce house and she loved it.
swing time with cj
on our way to the airport, we stopped to eat at cracker barrel and the baby ladies got so excited to get in the little rockers out front.
one more picture at the airport in front of the big blue crab.  
bye bye lilah!  we will see you soon.  miss you already, sweet little one year old!!!!

school is wrapping up for roman.  he has had a wonderful pre-K experience and loves all his teachers.  here are two thank you notes that he wrote all by himself for his teacher and teacher's aide.  so adorable.  and, if this wasn't enough, he wrote 11 more tonight!  for all the other special teachers that he has...computer, music, art, etc.  he named everyone that he wanted to thank for a great year and sat at the table until bedtime working very hard on his notes.  i am so very proud of him.  he has such kindness and joy in his heart.  so sweet...

Monday, May 20, 2013

Mom's Day to Boat Day

my mother's day was so great.  my family let me sleep in and then i came downstairs to a very eager to see me couple of kids.  roman was super excited to give me my presents.  some super adorable pictures of him playing tee ball and a gift card and of course, my favorite...twizzlers.  so thoughtful!

 the boys are getting the boat ready and gianna wants to be a part of it all
 the kids were playing in the sprinkler and somehow roman ended up with all this dirt in his ear.  i'm not even sure how that happened.  aren't you supposed to rinse off in the sprinkler?
she does everything he does!
 the two very best reasons i get to celebrate mother's day
 gianna just gnawing on a piece of chicken.  she didn't want her own piece that i cut up because it didn't have skin on it.  she wanted the fried piece!
 we are ready to be "roman the river"
 and again...another night spent getting the boat ready 
 roman was so excited to go on the boat, he used his life jacket in the bathtub!
 my kids play so well together.  roman loves to help his sister have fun
 goofballs
 finally!  we are headed to go on the boat.  pigtails and sunglasses, yes ma'am!
 the sun on our faces and the wind in our hair...gianna's first time on the boat!
 my skipper - the cutest one i've ever seen

Saturday, May 11, 2013

18 months

is it really true? is she really 18 months old already? it seems like time has really flown by and our little babaloo is developing her own personality quite quickly. she keeps us all on our toes for sure. 

here's what she is up to these days: 

  • now that she can walk and run, she is mastering climbing.  on everything.  up on the couch and chairs, down from the bed.  up and down, up and down.  
  • her vocabulary is exploding.  she will consistently say at least one new word a day.  we are always asking each other..."did you know she could say ___?"  a few of her favorites are:  poppa uh roro (always together...because whenever you see poppa, you almost always see roro too), more (she also says this in sign language), peas (please...also rubs her belly for this too, which is sign language), pizza, luh you (love you), soose (juice), uppie (pick me up), book, beebee (binky), cookie and car. 
  • she loves for you to sing to her.  her favorites are "Jesus Loves Me" and "Babaloo".  so, she will say geegah (Jesus) or baba-oo.
  • she wrinkles up her nose a lot.  it's her favorite face to make. 
  • she knows that when i put a barrette or bow in her hair, i always say "pretty girl", so she will point at the hair accessories and say "bow...pittie".  
  • she will throw herself on the floor and have a fit many many times a day.  but, we always let her lay there and then ask her if she is done.  a lot of times, she will get up now and say "all done". 
  • she gives out a lot of hugs and kisses too.  she especially makes sure that roman gets a hug if he seems upset.  
  • along with the tantrums, she has started hitting a little bit too.  mostly, it is really soft and not so bad, but we don't like to let it go and encourage soft touches instead.  so, now she almost immediately will stroke your hair or arm and say sah-eee (sorry).  


 they each got their own bag of cookies!



 

Friday, May 3, 2013

The Beauty All Around Me

i've really come to realize that my life is such a blessing. everyday little things. messes in my house, they all mean that i'm blessed with two wonderful, fun little humans that make my life beautiful. and, i have a husband that LOVES to have fun and play and that makes life so fun too. he might not be the neat/clean freak that i am, but i guess that makes for a boring life, huh? oh well, i'd rather have a messy house and sticky floors than not to have those in my life that make those messes and those sticky spots...love my life.oh, and yes, there's guido too.  he's still adjusting to life with us, and we are getting used to him too.  what a clown!

bubbles on the front porch...this girl loves her bubbles!
see momma, i can do it myself!  but how come no bubbles come out?  and why do my lips taste like soap?
cruisin' through the 'hood on our cart
roman and poppa have a bedtime tradition of "touching the ceiling".  i just wanted to capture this before ro gets too big for poppa to lift up that high!
sunny days are so fun...let's get outside and enjoy them!
i don't think i've ever seen a brother and sister have this much love for each other.  i'm so grateful
toby and roman went to a ballgame last weekend and so guido and i got to hang out together.  he actually sat still enough for pictures.  that deserves a collage!  this is rare, folks.  he's a mover, not a cuddler. 
fun times at the park....wheeee!
little miss hollywood strutting her stuff on the playground
what should i play on next, momma?
balancing act
time to feed the ducks
...and the geese, apparently.
not sure why she wanted to flash the ducks, but hey, whatever floats your boat, baby!
momma and g have matching toenails...i love having a girl!
craziness at the doctor's office!
 
gianna's favorite book right now is "Jesus Loves Me" and i sing it instead of read it, which is probably why she loves it so much. she knows which one it is and always grabs it and brings it to me saying "gee-gah, gee-gah", which apparently means Jesus.