My little GiGi

Every morning I wake up and listen for my little peanut to call for me, "Mama," she will softly yell,....and just like that... the best part of my day begins, my children waking! Gianna is typically the first to rise, but lately there are days she is still fast asleep while Garyn gets comfortable watching his morning cartoon. She has learned over the past 6 months to be a great sleeper. Unlike her brother, it took her a long time, 15 months, to learn to sleep through the night. And a few more months to learn to sleep past 7am. But, I am excited to say, Gigi has found a new love for sleeping. She loves her 2 to 3 hour afternoon nap and she is sleeping until 8:30 or 9am. It's wonderful....and I wish I could say it has made her a "happier" child, like the books say sleep does for a child.....but the funny thing is, GiGi is ALWAYS and has always been a happy go- lucky girl. She is full of giggles, loves to hug, and is now telling us she loves us.

GiGi is fully potty trained....can you believe it! I am so proud of her. She has been in "big girl" undies for 3 months. How time flies.... I say it all the time, but she is no longer a baby....

Gianna loves to "help" around the house. She loves to help throw things away, put things back on the shelves in the pantry, put laundry in the washer and dryer....she is definitely the motherly type. She sleeps with a baby doll and is usually carrying one around the house continuously. She loves to change them, push them in a stroller, and feed them.

As for eating herself, Gianna eats EVERYTHING!!! She is my little trash compactor, yet only weighs in at 21lbs. She never ceases to amaze me at what she eats and how much. If I would let her.....she would eat all day. Her favorite thing to eat right now is noodles. She loves buttered noodles. She prefers them at every meal, but is satisfied with other things too. She likes cottage cheese and "blue chips" and she loves tacos!!!! The one things she still does not like is milk, therefore, she is still getting advanced formula, but as I introduce more dairy products to her, she is learning to get calcium from other foods and drinks....thank goodness.

Some of her funnies are when she tells us "on ore inute" otherwise know in english as "one more minute." She puts one finger up in the air and repeats it until we cave.... She loves to dance. Her favorite song is "night night" as she calls it, by the Black Eyed Peas. She dances around and uses a remote as her microphone.

Gianna is already a fashion diva...she loves clothes and shoes!!!! She loves to have her hair curled in the morning and loves lip gloss. She is very independent and loves to practice taking her clothes on and off. Her shoes and socks are ALWAYS the first to go...

Gianna is a very loving and very demanding younger sister. She is so sweet when she asks for Garyn (which is ALL of the time) and innocently wants to do and have everything he does or is playing with....which as you can imagine can be quite trying for Garyn. Sibling love is so fun to watch develop. They are slowly learning how to have fun with one another and at times, they are even learning that it's okay to share with each other.

I could not imagine my life without her...she is so precious. Her smile is contagious and love is addicting. Mommy loves you GiGi more than you will ever know....you are a very special blessing in my life. I can not wait to journey through your 2's with you!!!!!

The end of 2009....

As 2009 came to an end....we ended it with a blast. I love the holidays! It all began with Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh. This is probably my favorite holiday. There is nothing better than being home with my family. I especially LOVE being in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning with my mom. I love the smell of the kitchen, her constant reviewing of the time schedule, the taste testing of the stuffing, and most of all watching her, hoping that one day I will be able to do what she does in the kitchen!!!

This year Garyn was very interested in learning about Tom the turkey. He watch my mom take the goblet and neck out and use it for extra taste in the gravy, and OH BOY, no lie, he still talks about "GaGa cutting the neck off of the turkey." Unfortunately, we can not go a holiday without someone being sick, so this year it was Gianna. Poor little girl was so sick in Pittsburgh that she missed out on most of the fun!! Gianna and I spent most of the time on the couch (yes, and this include throughout the the night too.) Needless to say, we were all a little tired, but enjoyed listening to the fun things Garyn did with my parents. They went Overly's to see the lights. And from what I understand, he loved the talking Christmas tree so much, that he didn't even sit on Santa's lap. He also had his typical date with my mom....the movies. It was a nice week home, I just wished Gigi could have enjoyed it a little more. At least she was able to visit the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. Mister Roger's Neighborhood was the biggest hit!

After Thanksgiving we were Chicago bound....we went to Chicago to spend the weekend with our friends. What a fun weekend. We enjoyed the sites Christmas and sounds of the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. The city looked beautiful. We ate lunch at the Walnut Room in Macy's. WOW, what a beautiful tree and fantastic food. Gianna especially liked the pixie dust she received from the fairy princesses. We also experienced the Winter Wonderland fest at Navy Pier....and talk about spectacular!!! The kids had a blast and I must admit, I did too! The rides, the train, the cookie decorating, the characters greeting everyone throughout the festival, and most of all ice skating with Garyn and Gianna for the first time, made it a wonderful day!!!! So what better to do after ice skating than to go back to the hotel and swim!!!! It was a wonderful weekend, I look forward to making it a yearly tradition!

After we returned from Chicago, we attended Garyn's first preschool evening program. His Christmas program was so fun to watch....they sang carols and rang bells and laughed....Garyn did awesome, hard to believe my little man is getting so big!

So as if that was not enough....we had a party to plan for and ugh....it was kinda stressful, but in the end VERY well worth it! We invited friends and family to help kick off the Christmas week....tons of food, tons of beverages, and tons of fun! Thanks to all that came....can't wait for next year!

And after all that.....we finally were awarded the best gift of all....watching Garyn and Gianna open their gifts from Santa!! What wonderful, innocent delight! Garyn's favorite gift was probably the dragon fortress and Gigi's was the giraffe bike! However, now that it's been a month or two....all the gifts have been played with over and over!!!

It was a wonderful Christmas with my family here. We utilized my kitchen over and over...my brother and mom worked their magic over and over and by the end of the week, my pants were TIGHT!!!!

So here we are 2010....it's gonna be a great year! Lots of changes, lots of work, and lots of fun....Can't wait to take the journey!