Thursday, November 28, 2013

Turkey Time!

on monday, roman's class had a Thanksgiving program and feast.  i was SO happy to be able to go to the program.  truly, watching the little kids perform their parts and be so proud of themselves warms my heart.  i was all teary eyed most of the time.  the other parts, i was laughing.  
do you spy our little turkey?

this little performance at the end made me so happy.  roman was the K in THANKS. 
toby told him "wow, that is really awesome that you got picked to read for the letter K".  
roman said "i didn't get picked"
toby "well, what happened"
roman said "they asked for volunteers, but i was just raising my hand to go the bathroom and i ended up with the letter K"
oh goodness...

 so thankful for this little turkey that made me a momma. 


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Cola, Anyone?

 this weekend, we were lucky enough to score some free tickets to a USC football game in Columbia, SC (nickname = cola), so we decided to make a family trip of it and also head to the zoo on sunday.  the girls dropped off the boys to watch some football and we headed off to do some shopping.

clearly, no fun was had by the boys...
this was FINALLY happening 20 minutes before we had to pick up the boys.  she fought sleep the WHOLE day!
 after we dumped our stuff at the hotel, we headed to the mall to see santa!  i knew gianna probably would not sit on his lap, and i was right, but roman was all about it.  and santa was legit...real beard and everything.  oh yeah!  no pics though...boo!
 this was pretty cool, they had this fake window with video falling snow and if you stood in front of the camera, the snow would accumulate on you or you could throw it up in the air.  pretty neat. 
 after a quick food court dinner, we rode the carousel.  good times!
 gianna was scared at first, but then loved it and cried when we had to get off.  
 the next day, we thought it might not work out because it was supposed to be so cold and windy, but we headed to the zoo anyway.  the kids were bundled and didn't care.  
 ...and she didn't want to ride in her stroller.  the stroller with the biggest fluffiest blanket.  nope.  had to walk. 
 these giraffes were so cool.  they would eat leaves and lettuce right out of your hands. 

gianna loves giraffes and was calling them over, but when they got close, she was scared.  i was a little too, but they ate right out of my hand and, not to be gross, but they are all tongue...no teeth.  haha
 elephants are another favorite.  
 waiting for the penguin feeding time. 
 we had the one of the monkeys take our picture...


Monday, November 25, 2013

Look at Me!

dress up time
walking in her minnie high heels
roman has been practicing for his Christmas program
roman has a new dance.  i only caught a few seconds of it.  but, this is worth the quick watch for the smile at the end. 
every day...we find ourselves saying "that girl is crazy"
here's one reason why


Thursday, November 14, 2013

Gianna turns 2!!!!

i can hardly believe that 2 years has gone by.  i feel like it was yesterday that i was headed to the hospital in the middle of the night, so excited to have this baby and so anxious to finally find out whether it was a boy or girl.  so completely shocked that she was a girl.  still. so. shocked.  is that weird?  2 years later?  well, weird or not, i am.  but, gianna has brought our family nothing but joy and laughter and warmth and crazy.  super crazy.  but, we wouldn't have it any other way.  

  • she weighs 24 lbs. (16%)
  • she is 33 inches tall (42%)
  • she will eat or try to eat almost anything.  her favorites are pizza and yogurt.  she wakes up each morning asking for a peanut butter "scare" (square)
  • she likes to dress-up...especially shoes. put a twirly dress or a tutu on her and she is rocking those hips.
  • she loves to read at night and once you read a book a few times, she can usually follow right along with you.
  • she speaks in complete sentences.  she's been doing it for a couple months now.  i'm amazed. 
  • she loves to spin around.  every time i'm holding her, she wants to spin. 
  • she loves to watch disney junior.  right now, her favorite is sofia the first. 
  • her hair is super long, but you can't tell because it is crazy curly!  it shrinks right up to her neck. 
  • roman is still as enamored with her as he was the day she was born.  and she loves him right back.  those two will be so fun to watch grow together.  i'm excited for that.  





 she went for her 2 year checkup on wednesday and she is "a perfect 2 year old" according to the doctor.  she is on the small side, only 42% for height and 16% for height.  but, our petite little lady sure makes up for her small size in big personality. 
 she just had to wear her new boots!
 and...i'm happy to announce...her very first time on her new potty produced a little tinkle!!!  she was so proud of herself and so am i!  keep it up little girl...diapers are expensive!

Reunited...and it feels so gooooooood!

we've been waiting a long time for this and it was SOOOO nice to have aunt colleen, uncle josh, lilah and cj here!

first stop...the grocery store.
now...this is the way to shop!
 a little cousin lovin'

 i got my snuggles in with the baby ladies.
 the girls love to swing, so we headed up to the park.  roman likes it too, but the chains are so cold on his hands!
 uncle josh was on pushing duty


 i'm ready...is everybody watching?
 here i come!
 ...and the dismount!  so graceful.
nice, uncle josh!
 peek a boo...i see you!
 we also took a golf cart ride to feed the ducks.

 and the girls got to be artsy and color the sidewalk.
 can you imagine how many crumbs were in our bed after this?  haha
 oh hey...cj was here too...
 on saturday, we headed to lawton stables for the kiddos to take a pony ride.  when we pulled into the parking lot, lilah started neighing like a horse.  girlfriend was excited.  for the horses.  for the helmet, notsomuch.
 ahhh, much better. 
 she was so fun to watch.  she was all smiles and as you can see, even waved for mommy and aunt stacie!

 roman liked it too!

 gianna took one lap around, crying the whole way...hence the reason why we have no pictures or video.  it was pitiful.  she liked to look at them from a distance, but did not like to get too close.
 another lazy morning.  aunt colleen was actually reading the girls a book.
 almost party time.  this is a blurry pic, but mostly because the kids wouldn't stop moving. 
 lilah loved the little basketball. 
 this picture cracks me up!
 the baby ladies, just chillin' on the counter, eating bananas.
 we had a little cake for gianna at the party

 it took her a little bit, but once she blew the candle out once, she wanted to do it over and over!


 and then a big lick!

 this is a happy face if i've ever seen one!
 yummy!
 then, the kids bobbed for apples.  roman was so excited for this part.  he got soaked!
 reese was really good at it too!
 roman was helping gianna put on her new pink cowgirl boots from mommom.  so adorable.
 the girls were winding down from a crazy party full of loud kids and adults. 
 uncle josh wanted to read them a story.
 it lasted about 2 pages...maybe only 1...
 and then this happened. 

i'm so grateful to my family for making the long trip down to sc to see us. they do it every year and i'm just so appreciative. we have fun doing not much of anything, just being together and enjoying each other's company. i love seeing the kids play together and get to give hugs.  hugging's my favorite.  thanks guys!!