Movin' on up....

...to the next size car seat....front facing!

She was relatively unaffected - except for the enjoyment of getting to see things out the window.

Infancy is becoming a distant memory , but I'm not letting go of babyhood just yet. The rate of development at this stage is exponential and so fun to watch.

We got a ton of household projects done this weekend. As I was in the midst of the never-ending laundry game, my hero husband was installing a new light fixture in the kitchen and there were tools/ladder around so I was holding Gianna. Moving the wet clothes from the washer to the drier proved a bit cumbersome with a 20+lb baby on hip made the task more challenging so I looked for a quick fix and a safe place to perch the munchkin. Well, this was my solution: I summoned Iain into the laundry room claiming that I needed help b/c something was stuck in the washing machine. He came. He laughed. She laughed. I laughed....and good bloggin' mom that I am, snapped a picture.

This little goose is an absolute hoot to watch. She entertains herself (and me/us) for hours.
And those little baby minds are such sponges. From the songs with their hand motions, to the naming of objects, to the games we play often.....just so fun. Peekaboo continues to evolve from a blanket over the head, to peeking from around the couch to the old fashioned hands over the eyes. Don't you love how it never gets old for them? My favorite lately is the sign language. I am so amazed what she is picking up, understanding and using (with great accuracy). She knows the sign for eat and uses it regularly. (This is a modification of "eat")
The other day, I wondered (out loud) if she was hungry. She performed the sign for eat and crawled into the kitchen to her high chair. She got that from "hungry" - which I didn't teach her. Amazing little creatures they are.

OH!
And how could I forget? Little Miss Prissy Pants took her first steps this week. So so cute. I love the little Frankenstein moves. I don't have pics video yet because I never know when she's going to give it another try.

Actually, even funnier than those first steps has been her new speed-demon skills in her walker. She's only really moved backwards in it until a week or two ago. Now, she does laps around the house at breakneck speed with amazing precision. That video's coming soon to a blog near you. :)

HERE is said VIDEO

and

ANOTHER VIDEO

Dang!

For some odd reason I'm missing 7 of my most recent posts. Vanished. Poof. Gone pecan. They're missing and I have no idea how it happened. Dang. I wasn't even messing with the blog. I just happened to check something and noticed they were gone.

Dang.
Thankfully, the originals are on my shutterfly site, but I have to re-load all those pics. This is the second time this has happened to me.

Dang.

It'll take me a while to re-post them, so when you see repeats - that's why. (Update: they are already reposted....took an hour. DANG.)

If you have any insight into this little frustrating situation - please enlighten me.

Further Frustration:
My shutterfly book came in. So disappointing. That's a first for me. I still really love Shutterfly. Apparently all those pages I lost, then found, then reformatted to jpeg were a little more than their computers could handle. A lot of that text and pics are super pixilated. :(
Dang.
I ordered the 12x12 size and some of the closeups of Gianna are bigger than ACTUAL Gianna. Some of the closeups with Iain & I with her are WAY too scary....you can count the pores and wrinkes.

Dang.
The good news is that the 101 pages caused the book to bust at the seems....literally. There must have been a binding problem and some of the pages literally fell out the first time I openend the book. They have a great guarantee so I'll get my money back (or credited), re-do the pages (boo), finish the rest of the pages and do 4 separate 8x8 books instead of 2 honkin'sized 101 paged books.
******************
And to top it all off....
we broke our good camera.....the week of Gianna's first birthday.

No idea how it happened.
SUPER DANG!!!
All minor hiccups in the broad scheme of things.....just frustrating.

Night with Nate

Sweet, sweet Nate. Nate is our godchild. (Isn't he yummy?) He two years old, handsome, smart, full of personality and oh-so-precious. He is another miracle baby who was adopted by our dear friends. I had the privilege of keeping him for his first six weeks of life while his mom was working. Grace-filled time. This is one loved and celebrated child of God.

Here is Nate in my hand at 3 weeks old - just five pounds.Nate with his ReReNate as a crawfish for his first Halloween. Make-shift pumpkin patch last fall. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gianna and I went to visit them in their new house and they were adorable together. Gianna crawled as fast as she could to keep up with him.
ReRe and Padrino love you, Nate!

Spoonful of Honey

Last week G and I went to visit my friend Sharon, whose grandkids all call "Honey." Honey and Anna Beth (one of her precious grandkids) had thoughfully prepared for our arrival.They had a sweet gift of the cutest little musical dancing duck that sings "Quackety Quack - Don't Talk Back" which thoroughly tickled G.

They thought of everything and even had a baby pool set up in the backyard. Anna Beth was such a great sport to sit in the pool with her and play and blow bubbles for her.
I'm pretty sure Anna Beth ended up getting even wetter than G.
Afterwards, the two snuggled in the recliner to watch Praise Baby. I'm thinkin' they could pass for sisters! It was a great morning and G was comatosed before we drove out of the driveway.Thank you, Anna Beth and Honey......you're as sweet as sugar! :)

Dog Days of Summer

Meet Max.

Max is my first child. You know how that is.

He's a Peekapoo (Pekingese and Poodle mix.) He's been with me a year longer than my husband has.
I love him. (Actually, some days I love him more than my husband ----- Kidding!! sort of :) He's got the cutest little underbite you ever did see (Max, not my husband.)


When I first got Max, and many times since, my friend, Michelle (and her family) would dogsit for me when I went out of town. They fell so in love with Max that they got a smaller, darker, feistier, feminine version of him. Meet Jolie. Max and Jolie have been BFF's from the start. They're partners in crime. They're two peas in a pod. Ebony & Ivory. You get the picture.
Summer 2009. It's hot. Doggone hot. I'll bet you're wondering how I know this for sure? This is what I saw when I went into my backyard yesterday...

Sweet Sweet Jessie with Little Laid Back G and Max floating by in the background.

Max....you're the best. Soon - you'll get your very own post.

Heck, you should probably have your own blog.