Welcome Baby Amelia!

A lot has happened in 6 months since my last post... Giuliana is 21 months old and so hilarious. She loves to "fly" with Daddy - which means being thrown VERY high in the air and squealing. She is in the 92% for weight and 97% for height. We just got her first haircut with Julie last week and it was a big stepping stone into her role as a big sister. It is hard to believe she can be so little, yet such a responsible, loving sister. Baby Amelia Michelle joined us on December 13, 2012. She barely missed the 12.12.12 chaos at the hospital - which I was glad about. Dixie delivered her at 9:16pm. Mike and Diana were in the room and only took her 5-10 minutes to make her debut. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz, was 20 inches long, and had tons of hair! (Which explains the amazing heartburn I had!) The family met her soon after and then she had to go to the nursery for the security bracelet and I had to stay behind to have my heart rate monitored. Some of the funny parts of the day were watching youtube videos on Diana's phone just before Amelia was born, Dad and Mike going on a 2.5 hour lunch while I hung out in the labor room - I was totally fine with this by the way, and the golf channel on tv ALL day long. Amelia is a joy. She only cries when she needs something and is an awesome snuggler. Christmas was awesome and having 2 gorgeous girls feels amazing. God has blessed us abundantly. We certainly have our challenges with the "2's" upon us, so hopefully we can navigate that and continue to enjoy our very hectic and home body life with 2 under 2! Amelia - You are so beautiful and such a sweet spirit. You LOVE your bath and smile with your whole face. I am excited to see the lovely lady you become, but for now am soaking in every day - holding you entirely too much. Giuliana - You are an awesome big sister! You give Amelia her paci and help me give her a bath every day. When she cries, you say, "oh no, baby, no cry!" You love your teacher, Mrs. Dot Dot, at nursery school and are always playing with cars when I pick you up. At home you play on the slide we got you for Christmas all the time. You love anything that flies, helicopters, airplanes, you name it. It is funny to live so close to the city because you can name every city sound yet have an adoration for farm animals - which you have never seen in person. You love your independent play time in your bed and sleep with Pooh every night. I can't wait to share these memories with my girls and reflect on them when they are grown and don't need to snuggle anymore. For now, we will snuggle and kiss them as much as they will let us!!

15 Months and SO much fun.

Giuliana is almost 15 months and a bundle of energy. She eagerly points out any ball or dog within a mile radius. It is amazing how perceptive little ones can be. She LOVES pushing her baby or Minnie Mouse in her baby stroller. We hope that she loves her new baby brother or sister that much. My favorite part of every day is her play time after dinner. She is so snuggly and enjoys reading a page or two from (many) books. She loves riding on her daddy's shoulders and swinging at the park. When she finishes eating she raises her hands and says "all done." She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and does a signature dance during the hot dog song. I can't wait to link all of our photos and videos to this blog and show her one day. She already loves looking at herself in photos. Happy 15 months Giuliana!

11 Months

Miss G is loving walking around, but isn't quite ready to go 100% on her own. She loves doing her funny crawl around the house and walking holding someone's hand. She has this red car that she can ride in and loves it. Mike says she enjoys sitting in it watching him golf in the backyard. And she LOVES going fast. Her squeals are awesome. Just yesterday I went to get her after her morning nap and she was sitting up with her paci in her mouth and both legs sticking out between the crib slats. She is a hoot.

One of her favorite activities is going out to the store. Any store. She will chirp and say hi to anyone she sees. When she is teething or having a fussy time, we will go stroll around Target. She is instantly happy. I am glad something works and the two sweet girls that work in the Target baby section know us by name because of our frequent visits.

Her 1st birthday party is around the corner and it is going to "whale"-tacular. :)

Giuliana, You are our precious angel and this year has been the better than we could have imagined. I can't wait to read this to you and tell you what a fun (and sometimes challenging), but mostly fun baby you were. For now, I will soak in every day with your cute little eyes looking up at me wanting me to help you explore and go outside as often as possible.

Love you baby girl,
Mommy

10 Month Highlights

Yet again, I can't believe time is flying as quickly as it is. At 4.5 months, G started sitting up. 8.5 months she started walking while holding onto your hands. Yet, absolutely zero crawling. Maybe this will be the month. :) Although I am certainly not wanting to rush anything. I want her to stay this size for another whole year so we can still rock in the rocking chair before bed time, nap in mom and dad's bed (all 3 of us!), and toss her in the air and make her squeal.

She recently started saying "mama" and it is awesome. Although, she says Dada whenever she is in a good mood and wants to play and Mama whenever she needs something. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

She LOVES music class. She squeals and claps for a whole hour. What a fun time.

Her reflux finally seems to be improving, which is an amazing blessing. She now can clap, say mama and dada, mimic mike's sneezes which he thinks is hilarious, walks while holding on to her rolling toys, and loves to play outside - especially in her walker and wagon.

I absolutely adore her and am thankful for getting to see all of her little lightbulb moments. Now, the birthday party planning will begin!!

9 Months!

We recently went to G's 9 month dr. appointment and she is growing like a weed. Here are her stats:

Weight: 23.05 lb - 97%

Height: 29.5 inches - 90%

Head Circumference - Don't remember the measurement, but it was in the 90's%

She is walking around assisted while holding onto someone, but is not a fan of crawling. She loves to coo and play outside. She recently learned how to clap and her favorite activity is music class.

We just got back from visiting Aunt Pepper and Uncle Boz in Birmingham and G had a great time. We got to meet my cousin's sweet twin boys who were so precious. I can't wait to watch them grow. We also visited the zoo and G napped during the monkey and elephant exhibits, then woke up for the 'predator' section. :)

We seem to recently have found a reflux treatment that is working and hopefully as she begins to eat more table food she will grow out of it.

This stage is the best yet and now it is time to start thinking about her birthday party. I can't believe how time is flying! She is such a precious angel.

8.5 Months

Giuliana is NO fan of crawling. Although she really enjoys walking around with assistance and in her walker. She just got her 4th tooth and is on the cusp of some much happier days I hope. Although she was a trooper for sure!

She just learned to wave hello and good bye and is working on her first few words. She has mastered 'babababa.' She can say that all day long! Mike is working hard trying to get her to say 'Dada' before 'Mama,' we will see if he succeeds.

Christmas was so much fun with Giuliana this year. She loves her new toys and it is amazing what they make for babies these days.

Photos to come once I get them uploaded into picasa! Happy New Year!

7.5 Months

We have a tooth! Very exciting. It was not without much effort on behalf of everyone living in the house. G is also sleeping all night without waking for the pacifier or to be rocked. I thought that day would never come. :)

We met Santa at the CFA Home Office holiday party and G did great. She didn't smile, but she didn't cry either, so everyone came out unscathed.

I had a scare yesterday since I woke up with unbelievable pain in my knee. I visited the ER and it was only a sprain, thank the Lord! It is already feeling much better after only 48 hours. It did put into perspective how difficult it would be to care for a soon-to-be crawler with a leg brace! One day of it was enough for me!

G is also in her big girl car seat and loves it. She likes to sit with her stuffed Rudolph reindeer and Angry Bird toy. She could play and squeal for hours.