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.
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.
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.
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!
Words: Gia now has a pretty big vocabulary (I mean, I'm guessing... I've never had a toddler before, but she's pretty good at talking). She repeats back pretty much anything we say to her, and then learns to use it on her own within a couple days. For example, we taught her to say "I miss you" on the phone to her grandparents, and just today she said it on her own to Bobby after he got back from his Bible study. And she says "I love you," which is my favorite. So precious!
Music: This girl loves to sing! We can't usually tell what she's singing, but she goes around the house doing it. And in the car or when we have music on in the house, I will turn the music off and Gia will continue to (attempt to) sing the previous song. Her favorite songs right now are "Gettin' Jiggy with It," "Twinkle Twinkle" and "B-I-B-L-E." She helps us know that we need to sing one of those songs by saying either "Na na na," "Up above" or "Bee-uh-bee-uh-bee."
Also, she absolutely loves any kind of music, especially if it has a beat. She dances, spins around, sings along, claps and laughs. She loves to play the keyboard, especially at her babysitter Kenna's house. I think we're going to have to start putting money away for dance and music lessons!
Eating: Gia is still not the worlds most fabulous eater, and I'm assuming this will just continue throughout her childhood. She does eat at least one good meal a day, and she loves her milk, so she's healthy enough that I've stopped worrying. Chocolate, cookies, and anything you can drink in a grown-up cup with a straw are her favorites. She uses a fork really well and can pick up mostly anything with it.
Playing: Gia is the most social kid ever. She doesn't cry (or for that matter, get sad at all) when I drop her off anywhere. I can leave her in the gym daycare while I work out, leave her with Kenna, or the church nursery. We've been looking at other churches lately to gleam ideas for our church plant, and she is totally fine going into a strange nursery with new people. Another confirmation to me that the Lord gave me this type of child so that I could financially help provide for our family. Thank you, Lord.
Size: Gia weighs about 23lbs and is now offically out of her 12 month clothes. Everytime we get dressed, she counts as we put her arms in (one, two), and then asks for her shoes and bow when we're done. Then she will say, "Gia?" which means that she wants to look at herself all dressed up in the mirror. SO cute. I'm creating a fashion monster... we're going to have to start putting money away for her clothes, too, I guess :o)
TV: She still doesn't watch TV, although she's starting to glance at it once in a while. We probably only have a few more months of being able to watch our stuff when she's around. She does, however, stare at the TV when the commericals come on (because of the music), and she has a favorite video. My mom got her this "Classical Baby" video, and she asks for it 5 times a day. She interacts with it and dances around... and stands way to clost to the TV, as if she wants to touch the drawn-characters. I may have to write another post about that at some point.
Teeth: Gia had her first dentist appointment this month. She has this thing with her lip, which isn't a big deal but will require a "snip" later in life. They didn't charge us for that visit, but they charged us $35 to look at her teeth when she fell last week and chipped her top tooth. Yep, $35 to tell us that it's not that bad and will probably wear down on it's own. Live and learn. But we love the dentist, so I won't hold it against him.
Bedtime: Our routine is: PJs and change diaper, milk, clean up, brush teeth, she gets her blanket, paci and bear, read two books in the rocking chair. We pray over her, give lots of kisses and then put her in her crib. Most nights she goes right down, although sometimes she cries. She sleeps 12 hours because we have her on a routine, but when my parents were here she sometimes slept over 14. So, there's hope for sleeping in during the summer!
Gianna is just the joy of our lives. She is loving, friendly and mostly obedient. She loves being around people, especially her grandparents when they visit or Skype. We just love her to pieces and feel so blessed to be her parents.
In order to fully appreciate this story, you have to know that our & Gia's bedrooms share a closet, so we can hear each other very well.
This morning we woke up to the sound of Gianna jabbering away in her crib. I got up to get her and she wanted to keep playing in her crib. I put my arms out to her and asked, "are you ready to get out?" and she said, "no." So, I told her that she could keep playing and that I was going "night night" again. I got back into bed, and she continued to play.
About 10 minutes later, she said, "Mama?"
I said, "Yes Gia!"
"Hi Mama!"
"Hi Gia!"
"Mama?"
"Gia!"
"Gia."
This is a game we often play, where she continually calls to me, and I call back to her. It's one of my favorite things ever. Then Bobby joined in, and we all called to each other through the closet doors. When Nola heard all the commotion, she came up to my side of the bed and started to howl. So, naturally, Gia howled. Then Bobby and I howled, causing Nola to howl again. We spent about 5 minutes howling back and forth. It was so much fun. I wonder what our neighbors must think.
Second story:
When Bobby was getting Gia out of the car for church this morning, they had a really sweet conversation:
Bobby: "Okay baby, time to get out."
Gia saw his Bible and said, "Bi-buh."
Bobby: "That's right Gia, that's my Bible. We're going to go to church."
Gia: "Ah-min" (Amen)
