Lots 'O Fun

I have to start this post by saying that my dad is one of the greatest men I know on this earth.  He has always cared for me and encouraged me.  He's a huge support for my family and I know I can count on him for anything.  Not many women in the world can say they have a father in their life who cares deeply for them and would lay down his life for them.  But I can.  I am blessed to have one of the best daddies in the world (of course next to my husband ;)).  Happy Birthday to my daddy!! :)


This week (er, last week, since I'm a week late in writing) Jeremiah had his 6 month check up at the doctor's office.

Here are his stats:

Height: 27.75in (83 percentile)

Weight: 18lb 4oz (64th percentile)

Head Circumference: 45cm (81 percentile)

I have a big boy, and a growing boy!  His appetite is outta control!  I have had to start feeding him solids in the morning AND afternoon!  It took at least a couple months of feeding solids to Gianna before she needed/wanted it twice-three times per day.  He's still not rolling yet (though his younger friends Ellis and Adelyn are!!) but I do think he's on the verge of sitting up on his own!  I give it 2-3 weeks and I think he'll be sitting up and taking a seat next to Gianna on the swings! 

His favorite book to read right now is Goodnight Moon.  If he's franticly crying about something, reading this book to him really calms him down.  He specifically loves the pictures of the fireplace in the book.  He tries so hard to grab it... which can lead to some frustration for him... sometimes... :)  He's still super smiley - and fascinated with my face.  And has ticklish feet - he laughs pretty hard when his daddy rubs his feet against his beard. 

We have been able to do a lot of fun things in the last week or two! We went to a golf tournament last week to honor one of Chris's former co-workers who sadly passed away of a heart-attack 5 years ago already - he was 30.  He left behind a 4 month old son for whom the foundation this golf tournament supports was started.  Chris has MCed the last few years and we've tagged along each year to show support.  This year Gianna was able to get a toddler sized golf club and some balls and put her heart out!  She had her own agenda (even though her daddy tried desperately to teach her the rules) and had a great time doing it :) 

We also went to this place here in Rochester called Wickham Farms where there's a giant bouncy... thing... I don't know what it's called but it's like a giant balloon and it acts as a trampoline. So. Much. Fun. Gianna was very giggly sitting between my legs and letting the other kids who were jumping bounce us around.... and I was too.  It was a blast!  While we were there Gianna was also able to "drive" a tractor and feed some goats!  I want to go back and do some more fun stuff they offer.

I feel like I have to pack everything in to this post I can remember from the last couple weeks!  So that being said - Gianna took up a new hobby this week - playing harmonica!  She's FANTASTIC at it - and she picked it up like she's always done it (I've noticed that she's like that with many things).  This goes along well with a trend these last couple of months of her developing love for music, singing, and dancing.  

Tonight they melted my heart... I was putting them down for bedtime and Jeremiah was laying on Gianna's floor while I was singing/reading/praying.  Once I put G in her crib she kept asking for Jeremiah to be in the crib with her... so I put him in there... and they were so sweet!  They stared at each other and were so happy :)  If J was a little older, I may have just left him there!  What a special memory :)







This is what I remember for now - if I think of anything more, I'll be sure to post it soon!

Pears and Uh-huh's

Man, it's been a really hot week this week!  We've been spending a lot of time trying to find ways to beat the heat and still burn energy!  We've been going to malls, frozen yogurt bars with friends, and having frequent play dates in pools to stay cool!  It's been a lot of fun :)

This week Gianna started ending almost every sentence/word she says with "uh-huh" as if trying to convince me that I should go along with what she was saying.  I guess I must say it often myself... she is super cute when she says it.  We have also had a strange week where she has been very clingy to me.  I actually feel bad for Chris because she just wants mommy... all. the. time.  I love it, and I hate it at the same time.  I cherish the time she WANTS to be with me, but it can also be so hard when I have a second child to take care of.  She has been choosing to want me to hold her while I'm feeding Jeremiah which is just impossible.  It makes me sad to see her sad/upset when I tell her I can't hold her.  Discipline has been tough this week too (and this after a day where she got a special giant chocolate chip cookie as a reward for having a fantastic day obeying mommy...).

It's always hard for me to find the line between allowing her to express her frustration in a healthy way and when she crosses the line in to being sinful.  I guess this will be the dilemma for the rest of my life... :)

We have a volunteer fire department a few blocks away from us and we can hear the sirens go off a few times a day.  Whenever they go off Gianna and I have a conversation that goes something like this:  "Help!"  "That's right Gianna, someone needs help."  "Pray!"  "Great idea! Let's pray for whoever needs help" and then we say a prayer for the people needing help and those responding.  It's beautiful.  I love it. :)


Jeremiah has been so happy and giggly!  He really loves it when I sing to him.  If he's crying in the car or upset about something at home and I sing to him he always calms down.  He is always attentive at the library when we go to song and story time when the man is playing his guitar and singing.  He smiles when we play music through the house and loves to watch Gianna dance around the living room (which she does on a daily basis).

I think I might have mentioned this last time, but he really loves when I read him this book by Max Lucado.  I love the book - it's beautifully written and it recites a hopeful message to my kids about how much God loves them, and how much I love them!  

He started eating pears this week!  He's doing great with it - he loves to eat them and gets really excited when he sees his spoon!  He's becoming more coordinated with grabbing things and putting them in his mouth.  He practices with his pacifier all the time... he'll take it out and turn it all around and inspect it then put it back in, and he often puts it back in the right way!  I'm still waiting for him to roll over and sit up, but that's just around the corner :)  We have his 6 month appointment next week, I can't wait to see his stats!  He'll soon be moving up to 12 month size clothes.... my big, healthy, baby boy :)

He eats SO FAST

When I don't get the spoon to him fast enough

Back at it... hopfully

I'm just going to throw out anything I can think of since I haven't written anything in about a year and a half.... :)  

Gianna is officially 22 months old and is a very happy, independent, and energetic toddler!  She loves to dance.  She says the word really well too!  I read somewhere that toddlers her age generally have around 50 or so words they can speak clearly, but Gianna has FAR more than 50 words (proud mama).  

Her favorite books right now are: 

:: Green Eggs and Ham (she calls it "hat")

:: Curious George ABC's (she can now identify B, C, D (and can recite them in order), E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, P, S, and T - and she knows a word that goes with each letter!)

::Her Toddler Bible (she likes to read Noah, "Storm Stop" - Jesus calms the storm, and David and Goliath)

Her favorite activities are: 

:: Swinging - she'd do it all day and all night if she could....

:: Climbing on anything, especially her high chair and her car seat

:: Snapping together her locks on her high chair and her car seat

:: Putting anything she can get her hands on in her mouth

::Putting those same things in and out of cups

:: Eating/playing with ice

:: Being in the water - any kind of water... she'll stick her hands in my drinks, she'll stomp around in puddles, she'll stay in the bathtub for hours, she'll ask over and over again if she can put her hands in the running water from the faucet....

:: Dancing and singing

Her favorite songs are: 

:: Wheel's on the Bus

:: Itsy Bitsy Spider

:: ABC's

:: Anything I sing

We just got back from Ohio for the 4th of July weekend and had a great time being able to see both sides of our family.  Gianna is still really excited to see family, but still takes a while to warm up to the grandpa's... hopefully that'll change soon.  I am happy, though, that she is guarded around people she doesn't know instead of just throwing herself at strangers willy nilly... It makes it tough on Sunday mornings though.  She's not a fan of going to Sunday School at church AT ALL.  Our number was called last week and Chris had to go get her - she was hysterical... he ended up taking the kids home shortly after that.  We're going to try something new next week and keep her in the service the entire time, without going to the cry room.  We shall see how that plays out... 

She's absolutely beautiful.  And she's such a wonderful big sister.  She loves to give kisses, and loves to receive them (on her forehead, usually) and is very liberal with giving them to Jeremiah.  She is great at helping to take care of him, and helping mommy in general with stuff around the house.  She's lovely. :)

Sometimes she's not lovely though... daddy and I are still figuring out how to deal with these new tantrums she's throwing.  She has learned that the word for throwing herself on the floor and screaming is called a "fit" and they are not allowed.... it's fun to watch her understand and communicate those things back to me. 

Jeremiah is 5.5 months old now - I weighed him on the wii today and it said he's 17.5lb... I can't wait to see what his stats are when we go to his 6 month appointment in a couple of weeks.  He's massive.  Wearing 9 months size clothes.  Massive.

He's ridiculously happy.  Seriously, the boy smiles at EVERYTHING all the time... He gets really happy to see daddy when he gets home from work and loves to play peek-a-boo.  He, also, puts everything in his mouth.  Loves to play with his feet and eat his toes.  He's also a once every other day pooper for the most part, which still isn't the case with Gianna, so that's a new fun surprise for mommy!  

Jeremiah does this really cute thing where when he's nursing he'll suddenly stop and look up at me and start cooing and chatting with me.  Then he'll just give me the biggest most amazing smile while he stares at me with those gigantic beautiful blue eyes (everyone makes comments about his eyes...).  It's such a wonderful experience that I'm so happy God allows me to share with him.  

There's these colorful teething keys that he really likes to play with.  It's amazing to see a baby as young as he is already showing preference to a certain toy.  I can't wait until I can toss him around and chase him around the house with G. :)
He hates tummy time, so we don't get a lot of that.  Been sleeping through the night since his 3 month old birthday!  April 21st he slept around 9 or 10 hours straight through and has been doing it pretty much ever since!  He and Gianna go to bed around 7pm and wake up around 6am, every day.  It's the biggest blessing.... Chris and I get to stay up and have time together after the kids go to bed - it's really so nice :)

I can't get enough of these two little kiddos!  I'm so in love with them both... and it just keeps growing every day - even on the hard days (and there are many) they'll do something to make my heart melt...