5 years and gigi puts a cup on her head:)

Friday was our 5 year anniversary. Mr. F was amazing - he suprised me when he came home from work in the morning with flowers, a card and a subscription to Food and Network magazine (love it). He went to bed around 8:30 am and woke up at 2:00 p.m. I kept asking him why he wasn't sleeping longer and telling him he was going to be so tired at work. Again he suprised me by taking the night off of work, getting a babysitter and taking me out to a wonderful dinner. It's funny because we were both yawning on the way to dinner but I think it's a true sign of how much our lives have changed in 5 years. There is too much to say to express how I feel about my husband. Five years later I am still amazed that God chose me to be his wife.

I took this picture because Gianna had such amazing bed head.

The pictures below are of something Gianna found in Mr. F's closet. She of course things anything that is hollow or looks like a type of cup or bowl belongs on her head.

Keeping up with Gigi

Often times I do not blog because there are so many other pressing things that I need to do. I think I need to start blogging short tid bits versus a long catch up kind of post. So here we go:


Gigi is a full blown walker and has been for the past month and a half. She has started using a bunch of sign language in the past two weeks it's like a light switch went on and suddenly things clicked for her. Her current signs are milk, more, bath, milk, eat, sleep, bird, and plane.

She has two words - Dog and Hot (Da and Ta). She talks a ton of gibberish often lecturing me and her dad.


I feel like each week I am running a marathon when I take care of her by myself while Mr. F works graveyard (Wed, Thurs, Friday and every other Saturday). I really do feel a deep sense of compassion for single parents - it is not easy to do it all yourself. Gigi does not like staying home, she is extremely extraverted and wants to be with people. We are always on the go to a park, a play date or some type of play gym. We are constantly looking for moms who want to meet up and play.


The time change has been painful because G has been waking up at 545 AM! I so miss sleeping in!!!

Time is Up, Good Night!!!

So behind

Since I am so behind in blogging I decided to just put up a bunch of random pictures and tell you about them.

This is from Gigi's first birthday party. This picture cracks me up because this is how she felt about eating her cupcake and about wearing her birthday hat.

Gianna already has a big interest in shoes. The other night she found the brown boots pictured below in a box and had me put them on her. Later she had me put her shoes on over her footed pajamas

Gigi and I went to Washington for a couple of days to see my best friend Hannah and her family. I had never met Hannah's youngest daughter Noelle and Hannah had never met Gianna. It was great to be with them all but it was a hard trip because Gianna was sick. We ended up having to buy a plane ticket to come home early. Gianna has been sick for quite a while now with whooping cough. Tonight is actually the first time she has not woken up with a coughing spasm 2 hours after going to sleep. Knock on wood!!!







I am not sure what it is about the refrigerator but when I open the door Gianna moves as fast as she can to get in there and check things out.




About two months ago my co-worker gave me her bread maker. My mom and I decided to give it a try and here is what we made. It was super easy and very tasty.

Gianna has been walking for the past two weeks and loves her new found freedom. Although she can say dadda and mamma her first official word is dog pronouced "DA." She is really into dogs and birds. She is down to one nap a day and is just a ton of fun and surprises. I am amazed that I could love someone this much:)

Painful and Scary

Ever since I sprained my ankle 11 years ago I have been fearful of doing it again. Often times when I am on a walk I think of how painful it would be if I happened to fall of the sidewalk and roll my ankle. Thursday my fears became a reality but in a much worse senario than I could have imagined.

While at the park of thursday Gianna I and were stepping down from a play structure and my ankle gave way. I fell to the right and Gianna flew out of my arms on to her back. It all happened so fast that I did not even have a second to think. I quickly crawled over to Gianna and held her until she calmed down. I was in so much pain and I had no idea how I was going to get back to my car to get my cell phone. I screamed a couple of times hoping that someone would hear me but no one was in sight. I prayed and just asked God to help me. I finally got Gianna back onto her bike and then somehow mananged to push her and limp back to my car. Thankfully this park had just been redone with the new padding that is suppose to protect a child from a 6 foot fall. I had to stop a couple of times and put my head between my legs because I was getting close to blacking out. I finally got to my car and managed to get my phone. Things were spinning, I felt like I was going to puke and I was completely paniked. I called Mr. F who thankfully was on his way home from having lunch with a buddy. He called the Fire Department and I managed to crawl into my car and get some water. I guess when the pain is so intense your body just shuts down.

Thankfully Gianna's bike is the kind that keeps her locked in so she did not try and crawl away. I did everything I could to keep her calm. I was a wreck when Mr. F finally showed up and felt so awful about dropping Gigi and scaring her so badly. The fire fighters were great- they checked me out, wraped my ankle and got me some ice.

I did have xrays but I think everything is okay and it's just a sprain. So now we just have to figure out what we are going to do as I heal. Thankfully our bedroom is down stairs but Gigi's room is upstair along with our computer. Today I made the trek up the stairs with my crutches but I am not very stable. We really need a laptop. I am trying not to worry and to just take one day at a time. Thankfully we have a family to help us.

Here is a picture of my ankle - I really do not think it looks that bad.

Were still having fun!

Summer may be over for most people but nothing really changes in our lives when school starts back up. It has been so hot the past week and so we have been doing everything we can to stay cool. On Wednesday night we (Mr. F and I) took out Gigi's water table (a craigslist purchase) and let her have some fun. She was in a diaper but took a poop so we thought we would just let her play naki. She looked so cute I knew I needed to takes some pictures. I ran upstairs to grab the camera and during the 30 seconds I was gone she managed to take a large pooper on the towels. My F did not even see if happen. I guess she really just felt free to take care of her business in the open air.














Naki Buns

MMM... I wonder what this one tastes and feels like?

Gigi has learned how to give kisses and we love them!

We took our first trip to the beach yesterday and Grandma came along to play. G was kind of neutral about the whole experience and wanted to be held quite a bit. I will start taking her more often now that school is back in session and the beaches are not as crowded. She loved watching all the kids play and we had some fun playing together in the water. We went for hour and then back to Grandma's for a nap. I can't believe I live so close to such a beautiful place.

Ode to Baby Movies

Dear Baby Movies,

Thank you for rescuing me when I have no where else to turn. Thank you for being there when Gianna is about to have a melt down. Thank you for distracting Gigi so I can feed her oatmeal and pears in the morning. Thank you for teaching my daughter sign language and for participating in her brain development. Thank you for not yelling at me when I show you twice a day because sometimes I just need a little bit more than 30 minutes of help. Thank you Einstein and Praise baby for keeping me going when I feel like I don't know what to do.

Without you my life would be a lot more stressful and hectic!

Your Friend,

Momma Feliccia

The Big Mystery!

I am convinced that one of the greatest mysteries of being a mom is figuring out your child's sleep schedule. It seems the minute you think you are on a schedule things change. For example here is what the past couple days were like for Gianna:



Sunday:
Awake: 5:45
Nap: 8:15
Awake: 10:00
Nap: 2:20
Awake: 4:20
Bed: 7:30

Monday:
Awake: 6:45
Nap: 10:00
Awake: 11:30
Down: 3:00
Awake: 4:00
Bed: 7:00

Tuesday:
Awake: 6:45
Nap: 12:15 - no signs of being tired before 12 - I tried at 9:45 but she could not fall asleep
Awake 2:15
Bed: 5:45

Today:
Awake: 5:45
Nap: 9:00
Awake: 10:30
Nap 2:00
Currently Sleeping - hence the reason I am writing this blog:)

I know so many factors play into a babies sleep patterns and there are tons of sleep theories like:

• moving to one nap
• teething
• overtired
• over stimulated
• sick
• bored etc...

Even though the lack of control drives me crazy I have chosen to just go with the flow and not spend too much time stressing over the subject. After all I really am at her mercy and I can't complain about a baby who sleeps such long hours at night.

I tend to write about the smaller details of my life because I love reading these types of things about others. Her are a few of them: Gianna is officially only eating table food. She does not want me to spoon feed her and waves her hands in front of her face when I try. Today I have started introducing vitamin D milk by putting a small amount in her bottle with her formula.

I really love being a mom and at times I feel like I can't wait to have a second baby but then I go hang out with someone who has two kids and I think to myself what am I thinking. It's a challenge being a working mom of one let alone two!

Lastly, Mr. F and I went on a date Monday night. Our dear friends Jeff and Mickey took care of G for a couple of hours so we could go out. We had the best time together and we were both reminded of how much we enjoy each other's company. It's so easy to forget how much you enjoy your spouse when you get caught up in the monotony of daily life and raising a child. We are going to make date night more of a priority as we are both convinced that the strength of our marriage will greatly affect the emotional health of our children.