The Perfect Christmas Tree

So, in my earlier post I said how picky I am about our Christmas tree, and how we were having trouble finding a good one.  Well, we went back to Lowes the day after Thanksgiving (where we go every year), and this time they had a larger display of unbundled trees.  And we did it.  We found a great tree.  It is full and a good height, and it smells good.  

We put the lights on (sucessfully the first time) but debated puting ornaments on because of Gia... I finally decided that I didn't want to go another year without seeing our ornaments, so I put them on (excpet the lower branches, so that Gia couldn't pull them off).  So far Gia has been great about it.  She carefully touches the ornaments and listens when I say not to pull on them.  She would rather smell the tree anyway than play with the ornaments, ha ha.

Here are some pictures of our 2012 tree!

In the years past, Bobby and I have had a hard time putting the tree up because they are so awkward to get into the stands.  But this time, they bundled the tree for us & we kept it that way until it was in the stand.

Our tree is really a great size for our house.  The first tree we had in Utah was huge, taking up the entire corner.  This year it is full, but still leaves room for Gia to run around & play.

First the lights....

Then, the ornaments...

And finally, our little angel put the star on the tree.  Well, she posed for the camera as if she was going to.  Daddy had to help her out a bit.

Gianna's favorite thing for days afterward was smelling the tree.  I taught her that it "smells pretty," and she has been sniffing it every since.  She gets really tickled after smelling it & will do it over and over again.  So cute.

Even Nola loves having the tree.  Every year, she finds her spot right underneath it.  

I could have Christmas without the perfect Christmas tree, but I'm so thankful that I have a husband who is patient and lets me be picky.  I thought maybe I was the only one who dragged her husband around from place to place finding a tree, but then I watched the Christmas episode of Duck Dynasty.  Apparently Mrs. Kay is picky and takes Phil around looking for the perfect tree, also.  Bobby and I laughed a lot over that episode.  If Duck Dynasty wasn't my favorite show before, it sure is now.  Good to know I'm not alone.

Molars and Mullets

From birth my daughter has had a mullet.  It's just gone from a rat tail, to now a full blown mullet.  Business in the front, Party in the back!  I can't bring myself to cut her hair at all, so it just keeps growing, and boy is it cute.  Here is a side view of her hair:

She has also started getting her molars!  She doesn't even have all of her other front teeth, and she's already getting molars!  So far she has 2, with another one pushing its way through.  She's been chewing on her fingers (as you see in this next picture), which was our first sign that they were coming.  She never runs a fever when cutting teeth, but this time she had a 102.3 fever and was so miserable.  The great thing about teething fevers, though, is that a little Advil takes all the symptoms away.  Anyway, look closely and check out her molar in this picture:

The molars are awesome because she can now eat some raw veggies (up until this point I have had to steam all of them), and it makes eating in general easier for her.  However, they seem to be coming in early, and I'm not ready for her to grow up yet!  I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing.  I love this stage of her life SO much, and I just want to freeze-frame it. At the same time, I'm so proud of who she's turning in to, and I can't wait to see her make an impact on the world.

Here are some more pictures from our "photo shoot" just for fun.

Papa Joe bought her this outfit before she was born.  It was the first "gift" from him.

Gia's "cheese" face.

Gianna was trying to tickle herself.

I'm not sure what she was doing here, but it's a classic "Gia face" that she makes when she talks.

She loves her shoes, and she can say the word really well.

 

 

There's no place like Boone...

So, Bobby and I went Christmas tree shopping today.  It's one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time, but it sure is a challenge out here in Utah.  

When I lived in Boone, my parents and I (and then Bobby with us) would go to a Christmas tree farm, where all the trees were beautiful and full, cut one down and put it up in our house.  The tree would stay fresh all season long and into January, and it was always just perfect.  Here in Utah, things are a bit different.  The trees out here are not the same as NC trees.  They are either less full or have flimsier branches.  The thing that makes it hard for us to shop for a tree around here is that I am so extremely picky about my Christmas tree.  

So because I just can't handle having a "not perfect" tree for Christmas, we have gone to Lowes and Home Depot the past 2 years to get our tree, which is shipped in from other states.  They aren't NC trees, but they're close.  It cost more to do that out here, but for me, it's worth it.  So today I thought we'd beat the crowd and get our tree before everyone else.  However, Lowes and Home Depot both let me down, so we went out to a "pick and cut" lot out here.  I knew we probably wouldn't find a "perfect" tree, but what we found when we got there was not at all what I expected.

Here's some pictures of what we had to choose from:

Bobby said, "Look Lins, I found the perfect tree!"  

It was hilarious.  We laughed the whole time.  Despite the fact that we did not get our tree today, we really had a lot of fun.  Bobby is so sweet, he said that we can try again on Saturday (and he doesn't love to shop for trees like I do).  If all else fails, we'll go to Sam's and get a bundled tree. :o)  To my Boone friends, don't take your tree farms for granted :o)  And to my Utah friends, do you know of a good place to get a tree?

17 months!

Gianna will be 17 months tomorrow (Halloween)!  I haven't done a great job of keeping track of when she's done new things lately, so I'm going to make a list of her all the things she's learned.  Bare with me...

Gianna can say between 25-30 words

She can show you where her: nose, eyes, tongue, mouth, hair, ear, belly, foot/feet are.

She knows where her poo-poo is.  Thanks, Uncle Josh.

She learned to say "no" about a week ago... we battled it for about 4 days, and it seems to have passed for now.  Thank goodness!

4 teeth came in within a month.  She has another one (the big one on the top) trying to come through, and it's almost there.

Her hair has grown a lot

She is still picky about eating.  Sometimes she will eat a good bit, and sometimes I am struggling to get her to eat anything.  She is also not predictable... she will gobble down carrots at dinner, and then refuse them the next day at lunch.

She drinks her milk well.  It's the only thing that keeps her from being skin and bones I think.

Gianna, you love your vitamins!  You always ask for more.

Still isn't into the TV, so Bobby and I are able to watch our programs, like Revolution and Gilmore Girls.  I wonder how long it will last.

She LOVES her shoes and socks!  She used to hate them, so I'm glad she wants to wear them now.

Bubbles are her FAVORITE thing.  She asks for them all the time.  She says, "buh-buhs."

Gianna loves bath time.  She likes to play with the faucet, but she doesn't like to lay back and have her hair washed.  She says, "ah dun,"  which means "all done."  

As long as I don't dry her clothes in the dryer, she still wears 12 months.  But she is growing and it won't be long before she's in 18 month clothes.  

She has discovered the hamper in the past couple days.  We've been finding random dirty socks around the house lately.

She likes to play in the dog's food & water bowls.  Not sure what to do about that one.  I'm just hoping her interest passes eventually.

Gianna's walking is getting really good.  She walks best without shoes.

She started singing while we were are Bobby's parent's house.  And when we sing "Twinkle Twinkle," she says, "up above" in the right place.  She also says, "up above" when she wants me to sing it.

Her kisses used to be opened mouthed & up to our cheeks.  Now she just bonks heads with us.  Thanks for teaching her that, Valerie :o)

Books are still a favorite thing.  She loves to turn the pages.

Her most favorite toy is this soft bear made of Alpaca fur.  Bobby got it for her in Peru.

She weighs 22 lbs now.

You're a blessing, sweet baby!  I love each new stage that comes!

I Won the Bet

When Bobby and I think differently about a fact, we tend to make bets.  It's all in fun, especially when I win.  This time we bet on of one of Gianna's outfits.  I said that it was long sleeves and Bobby said that it was short sleeves.  Of course, I won.  The deal was that if I won, Bobby had to go out and get me ice cream and then watch 2 episodes of whatever show I wanted.  So, on Thursday night he went to Smith's, got me low-fat Death By Chocolate, whipped cream & hot fudge so that I could make a sundae.  Then we watched my favorite episode of Gilmore Girls (Love, War and Snow) & an episode of 19 Kids and Counting (which we both fell asleep during).  It was a really fun night.  And the fact that I won the bet made it even better :o)

For the record and so that Bobby gets some credit, I still owe Bobby a movie for a bet he won a while back :o)

Fall Photos & Uncle Josh

Uncle Josh came to visit us this week.  It's been really great having him here, and Gianna loves having her uncle around to play with!  I'm am totally out-numbered when it comes to the TV, which means that I've been watching football all day today, but he also takes my side on everything because he enjoys messing with Bobby.  So, overall, a good trade-off :o)  Seriously, though, we love having him here so much that we're trying to convince him to move to Utah and help us plant our church.  Gianna is the bait most of the time.

I asked the guys to take Fall pictures, and they kindly agreed.  It's not Bobby's most favorite thing in the world to do, but he never complains and he dresses up and shaves just for me.  He's such a great husband :o)  Josh was also really great about it, and he took a nice picture of our family.

I took pictures as Bobby and Josh had a leaf fight with Gianna.  She had so much fun!  I got some leaves in my hair also, but mostly it all went on Gia.

Here are some that I took of the guys with Gia.  I want to have lots of visual memories of the sweet times Bobby gets to spend with his brother.

Here are some of Bobby & Gia and me & Gia.

Gia wanted my bow... well, it's really her bow, but I wanted us to match :o)

And I can't leave the post without putting up some pictures of Gia in the air.  I never get tired of them!

Fall is probably my favorite time of the year.  I love Christmas, but there's just something about the weather turning colder & the leaves changing that makes me feel cozy and safe.  We're definitely taking advantage of it today... we're going to watch the Gamecocks play LSU at 6pm and have cider & doughnuts.  Yum!  Happy Fall!!