Where's the New Baby?

Gia loves to play hide-and-seek.  Can you help her find the baby?

Where's the baby, Gia?

Is it behind the couch? 

No!  Is it in the fridge?

No!  Let's check outside.  Is it under the rock?

Not there!  Is it in the mailbox?

Nope!  Hey, is it in Gia's belly?

No, but there it is!!  In Mama's belly!!

Babywood #2 coming November 14!  Gia's going to be a big sister!

Easter Celebrations

This is the first year that Gia has been able to participate in holiday traditions, so I tried to make it special for our family.  My parents had sent us an Easter package with chocolate, cards, books for Gia and an Easter dress for Gia.  She loves the flip book and looks adorable in her dress.

We made Easter baskets for each other and hunted for them (that was my family's tradition).  Gia got bunny ears, which she refused to wear, a stuffed animal and mini M&Ms... the M&Ms were the only part that she cares about :o)

My grandma passed away in 2010, and every Easter she used to make what we called "Easter bread."  I've had the recipe for it and thought about making it ever since she died, but didn't do it until this year.  It was fun to make and tasted similar, but the texture was way off.  I guess bread doesn't rise in Utah very well, so next time I'm going to have to get out the humidifier and set it on top of a warm oven.  Gia had a blast helping me put the sprinkles on, though! 

We got to Skype with "Baba" (Grandmama), Granddaddy and Uncle Josh.  We're not sure how she got "baba" our of Grandmama, but it's cute.  We had a great time talking to them and wishing them Happy Easter.

That evening we made Easter eggs.  Gia was so intrigued by how the eggs had turned colors.  She really had a good time watching them in the dye and seeing them pulled out.

We also had an amazing time fellowing ship at our house on Sunday morning with our launch team.  It was really a fun time & great discussion (but I didn't get any pictures of that... I should have!).

We love these traditions that make the Easter time fun, but we know that Easter is more than just dying eggs.  I look forward to next year when we will be able to really explain to Gianna how Jesus died on the cross to save her from an eternity seperated from God.  His resurrection is the basis of our faith, and this holiday is when we step back to remember the grace that God showed us through his Son.  

Feeding the ducks

On Friday afternoon Bobby and I took Gia to the pond.  Our local university has a large pond with a lot of ducks, and it's so beautiful there and rarely crowed.  Gia loves to watch the ducks, but she wants to be near mama or daddy when they get close.  We had some bread that I let get hard and then froze.  It was a little bit too hard, though, because I didn't let it defrost before we went to the pond.  Oh well, the ducks ate it anyway.

Bobby and I threw most of the bread, but towards the end we let Gia lean over the water and drop a few pieces in.  And that's all she could do... drop it.  Or at least that's all she wanted to do.

It was a gorgeous day, which is such a relief after a long, cold, snow-filled winter!  We have all been eagerly waiting for Spring, and it seems like it's finally here!  I look forward to more days like this, especially as Gia is into the toddler stage and learning so much.

For the record, Gia is a little sister to Nola.  It was a hand-me-down shirt that was just too cute to pass up :o)

Gia had such a good time running up and down the hill.  She even got brave at the end of our time and wanted to lean over the water and get close to the ducks! 

This one is my favorite.  My husband is hilarious.  And yes, he had a good grasp on her and she was happy as could be.

Braids & The Ball

I tried my first braid on Gia today.  It's a little messy because I was trying to do it from a weird angle, but I think it turned out fairly well.  I can't quite get a ponytail in her hair yet, or even pig-tales, so this style works to keep her bangs out of her eyes.  The bow doesn't really match because I had Bobby just run and get one.

It was also had to get a good picture because she was playing "throw the ball" with Bobby.  It was so cute watching her try to throw it straight up in the air (Bobby helped a bit) and then squeal afterwards.  They both had a lot of fun! 

 

Classical Baby

Baby movie!!

That's what Gia goes around saying 5 times a day.  She LOVES this DVD that my mom got her called "Classical Baby."  A baby conducts the orcestra and the animals are the audience; each classical song has a different cartoon theme to it.  Gianna gets all into it, dancing around, squeeling and repeating what the characters say and do. 

In "Cow Song," Gia moves her arms around like the cow does and tries to sing along.

During another song, Gia gets really close to the TV as they show different toys (in this picture she was turning around to squeel at me because they had just shown some blocks that fell down).

And I've just been told that "Classical Baby Dance" is on it's way to my house (thanks Mom!!).  Gia's going to be so excited!

Valentine's Day 2013

Bobby and I usually don't celebrate Valentine's Day on the 14th... we wait until the next weekend to celebrate because of work schedules and needing a babysitter.  So we celebrated it today!

I am so dearly blessed.  I have the most amazing husband who loves to spoil me, especially on Valentine's Day.  Last night he got some surprises ready for me when I went to bed... so this morning, he made me breakfast and set it out for me on the table along with his treats.  And you'll notice the stuffed monkey.  I'm still a sucker for stuffed animals.

He wrote me the sweetest card.  And seriously, this card was written just for us, right now in the phase of life that we're in.  It's definitely a keeper.

I got Gia a gift, too.  There were two really cute kid-plates on sale at Smiths'.  I wanted to get her something she could use for more than just today, and the plates fit that description.  And she LOVES them.  Score!

Then tonight Bobby made us dinner and Valerie and Larry watched Gia.  For 4 out of the past 5 Valentine's days Bobby has made me my favorite dish, Beef Strognaoff.  I really love it, but we ate it about a week ago and Bobby wanted to try his creative culinary skills on a new dish.  Let's just say it was incredible.  He may not love to cook on a regular basis, but Bobby is a great chef.

For the appetizer Bobby made prosciutto mozzarella crostini with a butter-sage sauce. A.Ma.Zing.

The main dish was Chicken Parmesan with homemade sauce.  It was so delicious!  Thankfully, he made a lot, so we have left overs for tomorrow!

And finally, dessert.  Bobby got a deep fryer from his parents for Christmas.  Let's just say he put it to good use tonight... fried Snickers, Peanut Butter cups and Twix!  Heart attack on a plate! 

The Fried Twix was our favorite, and we finally got the hang of frying them properly at the end.

Tonight was so special.  We talked about our first memories of each other (when we met), and about our time of dating and early marriage.  We talked about how we have seen God teaching us and transforming us to make us ready for this new adventure in church planting.  We talked about how awesome our kid is and how thankful we are for her.  It was really a special time of being mushy and sweet.  We need more nights like this, not just one every 3 months.  Grandparents, when are you moving to Utah??

Speaking of people watching Gia, we are so thankful for Larry and Valerie offering their Friday evening to watch our daughter.  They truely love her like family, and she really loves them.  Bobby said that she was having a blast and did NOT want to leave... such a great thing for this Mama to hear!  Thank you to both of you taking care of Gia and letting us have this evening to ourselves.  Happy Valentine's Day!