The beginnings of crawling

Yesterday I went to my friend Jennie's house.  She has DVR and I had missed a couple episodes of American Idol, so she generously let me watch it with her.  If you read my earlier post, you realize how much I love that show and hate to miss it.  Anyway, while watching American Idol, Gia played on the floor with Jennie's daughter and a friend.  At one point I hear Jennie say, "Oh, it won't be long before she'll be crawling!"  I wondered what she made her say that, and I looked down to see Gia up on her hands and toes, as if getting ready to do a push-up!  I got pretty excited seeing her in this new pose, and a little scared because our house is NOT baby-proofed yet!!  So tonight when Bobby was watching her and I was washing some dishes in the kitchen, he yelled to me, "Lindsay, she's crawling backwards!"  I ran in just in time to see her push herself backwards on her hands and knees.  Wow!!

Well, I of course had to grab the video camera to capture this moment.  And she of course had to stop crawling backwards almost as soon as I began filming.  But I did get a little picture of what she had been doing.

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An Ice cream and American Idol, just for me!

As I was typing the title of the post, I was picturing Macaulay Culkin's voice from Home Alone saying, "a lovely cheese pizza, just for me."  Since I've been with Gia 24/7 without a break for over a month, Bobby, the wonderful husband that he is, gave me a night off... or, at least an hour and a half off.  

Her shirt says "Daddy's girl."  I thought it was appropriate for their date night.

Thursdays at this time of year, American Idol comes on at 7, so Bobby left with Gia at 6:30pm and wasn't allowed to come home until 8pm.  I went out at 6:30pm to get ice cream at Farr's Fresh.  For those of you not in Utah, it's the only ice cream place close by that I can get custard, AND, you get to put whatever toppings on it that you want!  I chose oreos and mini M&Ms, and then peanut butter fudge on the side (which the cashier generously didn't charge me for!).  Yep, that's right, this was my night and I was gonna live it up.  I probably took in enough calories for the whole day, by oh my, it was worth it.

Of course, right beside Farr's Fresh is Kid-to-Kid, a child consignment store.  I had a few minutes to kill, so what was I to do?  Wait in my car?  Get the ice cream early and go home?  Nope.  Like a magnetic force, I turned towards Kid to Kid and went inside.  And really, can you just browse when you have a baby girl and the clothes are stinkin cheap?  Again, nope.  So, I bought 3 shirts, each for $1.99.  I justified my purchase by telling myself that we had gone under our grocery budget this month, so I just put in on that tab.

I brought my shirts and ice cream home just as American Idol had started.  I sat myself down and enjoyed the home-made sundae.  For the record, a mommy's job is never done, so I ran downstairs to do laundry during the commercial breaks, but was back on the couch covered in a blanket with my ice cream in hand by the time American Idol came back on.  If I had been a good blogger like my friend Rebecca, I would have taken pictures of Am. Idol on TV and my Farr's ice cream, but I was so excited about having this time to myself that I didn't think about it.

American Idol was awesome, and my ice cream was delicious.  I am blessed to have a husband who cares so much about my needs that he doesn't hesitate to take Gia out and give me a small break.  He loves to spend one-on-one time with Gia anyway, so it was a win-win situation.  

Last story of the night:  Bobby and Gianna went to Starbucks, and at the end Gia got a little fussy.  So Bobby drove around for 20 minutes to let Gia sleep in the back seat.  Unfortunately, Gia was getting fussy because it was time for her to wind down, read a story, nurse and THEN go to bed, which meant that she was up last night until nearly 10pm.  Oh well.  She was really active after eating, so I asked Bobby jokingly, "what did you give her at Starbucks?"  He replied, very seriously, "I only gave her a drop!"  We had a discussion about how coffee isn't good for her, and I had a small panic attack until Bobby flashed his sneaky grin and said, "Just kidding!"  Gotta love that man.

Tripp teaches me patience

I don't always have the patience that I should late at night when it comes to Gianna, especially when I'm tired and she wakes me up.  If I can't get her to sleep, I am quick to feed her in order to help her drift off to sleep rather than make her cry-it-out.  Bobby has more patience than I do, singing to her and getting up with her with amazing energy in the middle of the night.  If I am well rested, I can usually handle anything she throws at me, but when I'm tired, it's much harder for me to be patient.

There is a little boy named Tripp Roth from Louisiana who had a skin disorder which took his life this past week.  He was in constant pain everyday for the 2 years and 8 months that he lived, and his mom devoted her life during that time to caring for him.  She couldn't change his diaper like a normal baby, or feed him, or give him a big hug.  She watched everyday as her little boy broke out into open soars at the smallest of touches, and she sat with him in her arms as he took his last breath a few days ago.  

I sob everytime I read her blog about Tripp, and her story inspires my daily patience.  How can I be frustrated at all with my baby when she is perfectly healthy and happy?  I mean, Gia can smile at me, snuggle up against my chest, roll around on the floor, and be picked up & comforted when she cries.  I am so blessed.  Thanks to Tripp, I look at her and am reminded how precious this time with her is.  Sleep can wait.  Right now I want to soak up every moment I have with Gia, whether it's the middle of the day or the middle of the night.  Thank you Tripp, for your legacy.  Thank you to his mom, Courtney, for her courage, patience and love.

If you have time, please read her blog.  It is moving beyond words, and it has changed my life.  Pray for Courtney and her family as they grieve over the loss of Tripp.

Her blog, "EB"ing a Mommy:  http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/

A news article about Tripp:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2087209/Tripp-Roth-dead-EB-sufferer...

Gianna Grace's dedication service

My baby was dedicated to the Lord over our Christmas break.  We waited to have her dedicated because we wanted to be able to share it with our families, to have them there as support and witnesses to this wonderful moment where we promise publicly to give her life to God.  The service was at Coastal Shores Baptist church (Bobby's home church) in South Carolina on January 1st.  Both grandparents were there, along with one set of her great-grandparents, two great-aunts and uncles and her Uncle Josh.  My extended family would have loved to be there, but they live so far away, it just wasn't possible.  She looked amazingly cute in her dress (hand-made by a friend in Westwego) and, although she had an incredible rough morning before getting to church, she was cheerful and friendly at the service.  

Of course, my dad snapped pictures before coming to join us on stage, which is something I am so thankful for.  Although we had someone video tape the service, my dad is the only one who took pictures during the service, and I will be glad to have those as memories.  Pastor Kent spoke during her dedication, and then Gia's daddy gave a sincere, wonderful talk about what we hope for Gia.  He talked about the meaning of her name ("God is gracious) and why that meaning was so important to us, and then read the verse that we have given for her before she was even born (Psalm 64:1-2).  Bobby teared up a little because of the love he has for his little girl, which is one of the reasons I am so in love with him.  Bobby's dad prayed for Gia at the end, and I was moved and so greatful for my wonderful in-laws.

This day was special to me for 2 reasons:  One, we were able to share it with both sides of our families (other than Kelly, who couldn't be there because of the distance, which was sad for us both, but she got to come up to Boone later and spend time with Gia.).  I want Gia to feel loved and spiritually encouraged by her grandparents and extended family, and I want them all to know how important it is to us that Gianna grow up loving Jesus.  Two, I want Gianna to always know that her life belongs to God.  He has plans for her, gifts and talents that he will bless her with, all for His glory and all so that she may know how much He loves her.  I want her to understand that Jesus gave up His life so that she can have a relationship with the Father, and to see her serve Him out of love and gratitude.  My biggest prayer, more than my hopes/dreams for her, or even more than her health, is that she knows Jesus and trusts Him as her savior.  I pray that for her every night, and I wait with anticipation for the day that she makes that decision to dedicate her own life to the Lord.

Gia with her Uncle Josh

Gianna with her Montanarella grandparents

Gianna with her Wood grandparents

Gia with her great-grandparents

Gia with the whole family (minus me, I was taking the picture)

And, because Aunt Kelly's heart was there even though the rest of her body couldn't be, I've included this picture from Kelly's visit with us!

 

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations." ~Psalm 64:1-2

 

Christmas #3

We had to wait the longest for this Christmas, but it was worth it to spend the time with my parents!  Bobby went with his parents and brother to see the Gamecocks play in their bowl game (sorry Bobby, can't remember which one... but it was a really good one and they won), so we waited until January 5th to have the Montanarella Christmas morning.  The festivities, however, started on the drive up to Boone with the Christmas music and continued on the whole week with decorating/eating cookies, watching movies, teasing each other about gifts and dressing Gia up in all her Christmas outfits.  Unfortunately, Gianna took to sleeping TERRIBLY and then having extreme seperation anxiety from me, which means I got no sleep at night and then couldn't pass her off to take a nap during the day.  That equals one tired mommy, but I made the very best of it by spending time with my parents instead of sleeping.  After Bobby arrived, it got easier because he could share the nightly burden, but we were both exhausted all week.  

Anyway, on Christmas Eve my dad and I cranked out Christmas Eve dinner like machines and, if I do say so myself, it was one of the best meals we have ever made.  It was great to cook in the kitchen with my dad, I really miss that being so far away.  I rushed around to finish wrapping gifts and got Bobby to help me.  And let me just say that Bobby has improved 100% at his wrapping ability since we first got married.  I'm very impressed.  Poor Mom had the stomach bug (we had been passing it around), so she didn't get to eat much of anything that night, but the food was wonderful.  

Christmas morning was awesome.  We sat around opening gifts and telling stories about how we had to struggle to get the gift, or how we saved a bunch of money when buying it.  Gia had fun eating the paper again, and fortunately, since she was requiring a lot of attention, we were able to get some gift opening done while she was napping.  We ate a lot of leftovers, ate a lot of chocolate, laughed a lot and enjoyed each other's company.  I must say that my parents did a fantastic job on stockings this year.  Stockings have always been my favorite part of Christmas morning!  After opening gifts, we read the Christmas story in Luke and watched a couple episodes of NCIS.  It didn't snow, but mom and I took a walk anyway in the freezing cold.  

I am so blessed that Bobby and I both have wonderful families whom we LOVE spending time with.  It really makes the whole holiday fun knowing that we get excited to share the time with both sides.  We are also so grateful to have been able to afford plane tickets to go home, even if American Airlines did mess up our initial flight and lose us one day with the Wood's.  I pray that God blesses us with the time and finances to be able to spend Christmas with our families next year and in years to come!  Here's some pictures to show our fun!

Gianna's Christmas Eve gift

I look ridiculous, but this is me reading Gianna her Christmas Eve story

Our Christmas Eve spread

Our Christmas tree

Mom and I were pretty tickled about this

My candy bar tradition with Dad!

Our gifts from Peru to my parents... can you tell that Bobby accidently got the wrong sized hat for my mom?  It was really funny.

I'll leave you with this one... my dad wearing the rudolph nose we got him in his stocking and the toy my mom got him.  Hilarious!  If you want to see more pictures, they will be on facebook!

Christmas #2

We arrived at the Wood's house the day after Christmas, where we went straight to Bobby's grandparent's house to celebrate with the whole family.  For some reason I didn't take any pictures at this event.  I'm not sure what I was thinking, other than my camera was packed away and I was tired.  But, she got to see her second cousins who are 10 months and a year, great aunts and uncles, grandparents and great grandparents, and of course, her Uncle Josh.  Gianna got a bundle of cute toys and clothes, and Bobby and I had fun with the White Elephant game.

The next morning we had Christmas with the immediate Wood's family.  Gianna was awake for a while while we opened stockings and a few of her presents, and then she went down for a nap.  We laughed a lot and enjoyed each other's company, and the grandparents especially had fun watching Gia play with her toys.  Grandmama didn't want to let go of Gia, she loves her so much!  They all do :o)

Bobby got 4 books he had asked for and shirts, and I got Apples to Apples (it's the most awesome board game ever), a waffle maker like the one in hotels, and necklaces.  We are so spoiled by our families, and we still have one more Christmas to go to!  Here are the pictures from our Christmas at the Wood's.

Mama Faye opening the calendar we made for her

Gia with Uncle Josh

Bobby and me sporting our new hats!

Granddaddy playing with Gia as she checks out her new walker-toy from Uncle Josh.