Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is Valentine's Day, and we are trying to be as festive as possible.  I mean, there's really not much you can do to celebrate this holiday with an 8 month old.  So, I put Gia in a very pink outfit with a cute bow from her grandmama.  

My parents had sent us two cards, one for me & Bobby and one for Gianna.  Bobby's parents sent us a Valentine's package filled with goodies.  I love getting things in the mail!

Tonight instead of having our usual Valentine's meal together, Bobby and I celebrated it with our Life Group (Bible study).  We had a great time eating Mexican food and talking together.  I'm so glad we're all done being sick so that we could go!  Of course, the little lady pooped all over herself and had to use one of Jennie's kid's old outfits... funny thing, it was the only one that fit her, and it was a Valentine's outfit!!  These are a few of our friends.

I made a festive dessert for the occasion.  It's sugar cookies put together in the shape of a heart (sort of), covered with tons of cream cheese frosting and topped with peperment and regular red sprinkles.

Bobby and I will have our Valentine's celebration on Thursday.  So, for us, the holiday is to be continued.

Almost there!

Gia has been working really hard on her crawl.  It has upgraded from pre-crawling to "gimpy crawling" as Jennie would put it.  I think it's classified as army crawling, but anyway, I decided to document it.

It starts with Gianna on her belly, rolling over onto her side:

Then, she rolls back onto her belly and pushes up:

After this, she gets up onto her knees and tries to put her arm out:

Next, she gets on all fours and pushes up with her toes:

And finally, she can't quite figure out how to coordinate her arms and legs, so she rolls back over on her side.

You can see from this picture that we use the dog's bone to motivate her.  But don't worry, we don't ever let her get it.

I can sleep when I'm dead

For the past 4 days I have been tending to my sick little family.  Bobby caught the flu or something, causing a fever and congestion, and then Gia caught it from him.  She has been so pitiful, just wanting to cuddle with us until the advil kicked in (this is rare... she usually wants to stand up or move around after about 20 seconds).  She has not slept well in 4 nights, which of course means that I haven't either, because her nose is all stuffed up and her fever kept spiking.  I really hope that she will not develop a fever today, as it is boarder-line right now.  This is why I am so anal about not bringing her around sick people and only wanting her to chew on her own toys in the nursery.  People probably think I'm ridiculously over-protective, but it's for this reason.

So, my house is a mess.  If you come over, just expect it.  I have been sitting with my sick baby for all 4 days because she does not want to be left alone, so I've managed to do a few dishes and one load of laundry.  Other than that, forget it, nothing has gotten done.  Usually I get stuff done during her nap, but she hasn't been taking good naps, and I have also been trying to catch up on sleep when she does.  

Our house looks like a pharmacy, with saline drops, advil, tylenol, water spiked with grape juice, tissues.  Poor Gia is so tired of having her boogers wiped and her temperature taken!  

Gia even looks sick, and you can see in her eyes when she has a fever.  They are all red and un-focused, and it just makes me want to kiss her all over and hug the stuffing out of her.  

I'm emotionally and physically exhausted.  It has been a hard few days, but I am soaking in the moments I get to cuddle with my daughter and make her feel better.  I do miss sleep, that old friend I depended on who abandoned me, but I know I will look back and miss these days when I got to spend 24/7 with my baby.  As my dad's coffee-magnet says, Sleep when you're dead.

 

The Hippo

Gia got a toy hippo from Nana and Papa Joe for Christmas.  It bounces balls in it's tummy, and then they fall down a hole and come out it's mouth.  You can trigger the bouncing by hitting the middle (or throwing a ball in the middle) or spinning the little thing on the front (you can see it in the picture, I'm not sure what to call it).  Remember the game Hungry Hungry Hippos?  It reminds me of that.  It's one of Gianna's favorite toys, and it can usually calm the crying.

She began playing with it by sitting up and leaning over the opening.  She would chew on the plastic rim and drool all over it!  Now, she can get herself into the crawling position and lean over it in a different way.  She no longer chews on the side, but rather grabs the balls out of the tummy to chew on!  It was just too cute not to put in the blog.

Baby Burrito

Around 6 weeks old, we began swaddling Gia after it was suggested to us that it might help her sleep better.  It worked, so we kept on doing it.  6 months later, Gia still has to be swaddled every time she sleeps, unless it's in the car.  You would think that she would hate to be strapped down, and that it would keep her from sleeping, but she seems to really get comfort from it.  In fact, the few times I've tried to put her down without the swaddler, she cries, plays with her hands, pulls out the pacifier, and can't get to sleep.  

She is so cute when she is swaddled with just her little face sticking out, that Bobby and I gave her some nicknames.

Baby burrito

LIttle Cannoli ( an Italian dessert... if you've never had it, you NEED to)

Houdini  -  Sometimes when she wiggles her way out of the swaddler, we have to strap her back in.  We are very strategic with the velcro and we say, "Get out of that, Houdini."  

Papoose (a native american baby all wrapped up)

 

So, as much fun as the names are, the swaddled-sleeper doesn't make for a great picture.  So, when I can, I snap a picture of the rare time she is sleeping with her arms out.  I took this one after unwrapping her at the end of a nap.  

Gia -- 8 months old

Have 8 months really gone by?  I guess in someways it does feel like 8 months because I've gotten to be with her all the time, watching her grow in every way.  But on the other hand, 8 months seems like a big age!  She is doing new things that seperate her from being a helpless baby and being a mobile baby.  I just can't say enough about how special she is in my life and how much I love being a mama.  I can't wait to hear her say "I love you," and to have her run to me when I come back to get her from things.  

Here are some of the ways she has grown during her 7th month:

Started eating baby food and now eats 3 meals a day

Rolls around to get where she wants

Crawling backwards (sort of)

Her first tooth

Creating a deeper bond with Bobby

Sleeping 11-12 hours a night with only waking up once

I can finally clip a bow in her hair!

Finally fitting into 6 month clothes and outgrowing her 3 month clothes (towards the end of the month).

Likes to play peek-a-boo

Her personality continues to stay cheerful and friendly, although we battled some seperation anxiety in the beginning of January.  She takes two solid naps a day and then sleeps well most nights.  Her favorite food is sweet potatoes, followed by squash... although her favorite thing to do is suck on orange slices!  She loves to chew on anything plastic, mostly water bottles and her teething ring.  Her newest adventure has been trying to take the bone away from Nola so she can have it for herself.  She rolls and stretches her way to Nola, and Nola just continues chewing as if nothing is happening.  Such a good dog.  

We love to Skype with the grandparents, Josh and Kelly, and we wish she could see more of them.  Plane tickets are cheap right now, by the way :o)  Bobby and Gianna have really bonded this month.  There is no one that makes her as excited as Daddy, as she bounces, wiggles, smiles and coos when he comes home.  Gia has taken to talking LOUDLY, especially when it's most inconvinient.  To sum Gia up, she is a bundle of excitement and joy.  We couldn't ask for a greater daughter.

Here are some pictures to document her 7th month.  

Dedication service

Christmas at the cabin

First semi snow day

Taking Nola's bone

Eating her first cracker

Date night with Daddy

Reading with Daddy

Happy 8 months, baby!

Gia, there are boys in your room!

On Tuesday, my friend Dawn and her twin boys came over to play.  Her sons are 10 months old, just a little older than Gia, and they are so active!  I love watching them and seeing what Gia will be doing soon.  Dawn gave me some good tips on how to baby-proof the house, as well as info on how she started her boys on certain foods, sippy cups, etc...  We worked together and became friends at LCA and are now enjoying being stay at home moms (for a while, anyway).  Everytime I have a tough situation with Gia, I think, "If Dawn can do this with 2 babies, then I can do it with one."  She inspires me!

I showed Dawn around Gia's nursery and we let the babies play on the floor.  Dawn said, "does Bobby know that there are boys in Gia's room?"  I laughed, picturing how protective Bobby is going to be as Gia gets older and starts dating.  

I really love spending time with other moms.  It helps me know how to be prepared for changes that Gia will go through (like crawling!) and to learn from their experience.  It also can be a little lonely some days since I spend most of my time in my house with just me & Gia, so I appreciate the time I get to spend with other adults.  Moms also understand if you have to run out of the room to change or feed a baby, or if you have to leave because your child is being fussy.  I don't ever feel guilty if I only get to spend 1/2 hour with Dawn because I know she understands and just enjoys hanging out even for a little bit.  I live so far away from any moms with babies at my church and don't get to have play-dates often, so this visit with Dawn was a nice treat.  

Gia is much smaller than the boys, but her head is almost as big :o)

Dawn shared her snacks with Gia.  She loved them!!