Happily Ever After...

On May 8th she weighed 15.5 lbs and was 27 inches long. And today, she is 18.5 lbs and 30inches long! That is 3 lbs and 3 inches in 3 months!!!!!! Yeah! We are so proud of our big girl! She is now officially on the charts at 2% for weight and 26% for height-- Hey, it's a start:)

This just in from our North Georgia affiliate at M.O.M. Talk radio.... " Apparently there has been an incident of moon sand exploding in a playroom in the northern part of Cherokee County. According to eye witnesses there were 2 quiet cousins happily playing, and when the mom went to check on them, she found a hideous sight. I think the evidence speaks for itself....." The dog tried to warn of the impending disaster.But apparently he needs a bang trim, because he didn't see the real carnage. According to the 2 three year old cousins, moon sand from THIS table, self destructed and flew all over the room. "Look Mommy, we have been just sitting here quietly playing this whole time." But the feet tell the REAL story... "So let this be a warning to all parents! Moon sand has a mind of it's own and is capable of covering an entire playroom in a matter of minutes!" "We now return you to the blog already in progress..."

First We went to our neice, Aspen's dedication and got to see Papa and the rest of the cousins(well almost all of them! We missed you Yo, Ryry and Peach!) And then in the evening, our whole family went to dinner, played putt putt and got ice cream afterwards- it was almost like vacation! It is truly wonderful when "life" doesn't interfere and we can all be together. They are cherished moments for sure:) Gianna was along for the ride, and happy to help Mommy's less than desirable golf score get a little worse- at least that's my story, yup, I'm blaming it on the cute kid on my back! Lots of ribbing and jokes and NO ONE is immune in this family! But in the end, Daddy was the BIG WINNER and since winner buys the ice cream, I think they let him win......

http://www.myheritage.com

Okay, I kept adding different photos of me until I matched a celebrity that I actually know! It's kinda fun- you should try it!

http://www.myheritage.com I don't even KNOW who any of these "celebrities" are! LOL! At least there was several Asian, because my heart is definitely Chinese! http://www.myheritage.com

As every mommy knows, dinner time can be, ummmm, well hectic to say the least. Aria wants to help, Gianna is fussy and needs to be held, and so I have found the 50 lb solution.... Voila! I give you the "2carriercookingdinnerwhilebouncingandsingingmommy"! And yes, I really do this! Children grow up so quickly as I know well from my sons, and so I savor every moment of holding and carrying my girls.....I will miss these days when they are gone!

Today is Gianna's 16 month birthday! Here are a few things she can do: ~She can say about 20 words, I won't bore you with them all here, but yes, I have counted! ~She can climb the stairs, crawl, stand from a sitting position without help, and cruise around furniture. I think walking is in our near future. Sniff...... ~She LOVES to eat! She will try almost anything- today she tried pork bbq and liked it. She frantically shouts, "MORE,MORE,MORE" Like we haven't fed her in days whenever she sees food. My friend Mary can attest to this. ~She is a wonderful sleeper and napper. She goes down peacefully and many mornings I have to wake her up. She also naps for 2 hours everyday. ~She has the most beautiful dimples and her face lights up when she smiles. ~She is a mommy's girl. She loves Daddy too, but she lunges for me if anyone else is holding her. Awwww- I LOVE IT!!!!! ~She is cutting her one year molars and has 8 teeth now. ~She has gained almost 3 lbs in only 2...

We finally got Gianna's Certificate of Citizenship acknowledging that she became a citizen when she entered the U.S. on May 18,2007. This is an important document for us, because now we can get her SS # and file for re-adoption to get her a GA birth certificate. We already contacted our attorney and have an appointment for Monday to get the ball rolling! Yippee! On a side note, when we took this same picture of Aria and her CoC, she was 14 months old, and her feet touched the ground while sitting on the fireplace- Gianna is a tiny little one!

I LOVE Sundays. I look forward to going to church all week. We have a wonderful church home now, and it is the highlight of my week, even though with two toddlers, it is always hit or miss how much of the message I can absorb. It is so wonderful to finally have a church home that we love. I also love Sundays, because it is family day for us. The boys are always home, and we relax as a family, play games and just enjoy each others company. This week we had swim lessons and had to leave church early. I will probably win "mother of the year" for this one, but at swim class, Aria was really crying during her routine. Greg is her "swim buddy" and so I cannot console or talk to her while she is doing it. I was so absorbed in watching her, that Gianna, a.k.a. "DA Fish" put her face in the water,by herself, I might add, and the instructor had to tell me, "Um Ma'am, your daughter is under water.." Oh Great! All the other parents were laughing! Gianna...

After being really, really patient, Grandma holds Gianna for the first time! Now, it's Grandpa's turn! Our Great- Grandma sent us beautiful matching dresses! Happy Grandpa with the youngest of 8 grandkids!

Sometimes, Mommy has to tell me "No"...... But it's so hard- look at that little lower lip!

We had a low-key 4th of July, which is exactly what we had hoped for- the kids came for a cookout and then we decided not to disrupt Gianna's sleep schedule to see the fireworks, as we have worked really hard on getting her into a wonderful routine. She is exhausted by 8 PM, and goes down beautifully, sleeps through the night and wakes up chattering- We are truly blessed! We broke down and replaced the Slip-n-Slide with a small pool, and the girls had a blast playing in the water. We decided to start both the girls in swimming lessons. We start this Saturday, and the purpose of the class is to teach them to survive a fall into the water, or a near-drowning incident. Gianna will(supposedly) be able to swim back to the wall from 5 feet away, and Aria will be able to learn the skills to survive a fall in the pool. I am a little skeptical, but have friends who swear by this group. They are based out of Florida and only come here for the months of June and July. I hope Aria does well. I...

Okay, Just kidding! I don't claim him!!!!

I bought the girls a "Slip-n-Slide Junior" and this weekend, we set it up for them. So much for THAT idea- they hated the slide part and instead spent the afternoon playing in the tiny, tiny little pool at the bottom... Sigh. Oh well, better luck next time, and they did have fun, albeit a little crowded! Thanks to Ryan for the awesome photos- he caught some beautiful shots of the girls!