OMG. YOU GUYS. This month has been crazy busy! This month has also been pretty crazy for Gianna as well. She's in the explosive acheivement phase (yes, I made that up) and I'm surprised every day at new things she does.
One such thing is watching while we eat. Mainly though, watching while I eat. I am a big multi-tasker. I like to kick my legs up and do nothing while the baby is at the breast as much as the next Mom, but really guys, I have things to do. So I could be doing one of a zillion things, like talking on my phone, trying to type something up on the Nexus, reading a book, making to do lists, folding baby sock laundry, or, of course, my favorite--eating. It was truly a great arrangement. I eat while the baby eats. My meal company was very cute, let me tell you. However, now when I eat while feeding her, Gianna abruptly stops and just stares at me and watches. It' awkwaaaaaaaard to say the least. I hate people watching when I eat, particularly because I can't breathe through my nose and am a noisy eater. Now, I don't necessarily mind because she's just so lovely and cute, but It kind of defeats the whole purpose of our eating set up. I digress.
Speaking of eating, Gianna now sits at the table with us for almost every meal in her little booster seat. It's pretty fun. I realize I have a bad habit of not expecting Gianna to be ready for something, even though she obviously is. Take the high chair/booster seat, for example. Chris and I were driving to Houston and stopped to get a bite to eat at Dickey's. I didn't feeling like wearing Gianna because she gets fussy if we're not moving, so I figured she could just sit in my lap and I would eat with one hand. No big deal. Done it plenty of times. But then. THEN. I had an idea! What about trying those crappy seats they have at restaurants for kids? If it didn't work, whatever, no big deal. Well. She loved it! She was just pleased as punch looking around and entertaining herself while we ate. What a revolution! Does that mean (gasp) we can go out to eat now for real? (Yes, lots of people take their babies in carseats, but for us it didn't work: 1. carseats are heavy and I hit my leg and get bruises and 2. most babies aren't Gianna) Ironically, we still haven't hahaha.
This month, Gianna also went to the pool for the first time--both a baby pool and a "big" pool. Not surprising, she loves both. We have an awesome pool float for her, and she enjoys staring at the print and licking the water off. Yeah, I know, it's kind of gross, but what can you do? Even moreso though she enjoys being held by her hands and free floating and being spun in circles. I'm working on getting her more comfortable laying on her back in the water. I do hope she loves the water, because both Chris and I love to swim (laps).
Gianna is even more verbal now, making more consonant sounds and things that sound like words. It freaks us out sometimes. I love talking to Gianna, because she really acts like she understands and wants to know what you have to say.
Oh my goodness. And those smiles and giggles. My heart just melts. I think I could survive solely on her sweet toothless grins. They are like manna for my heart!
I was also to finally see Gianna roll from back to belly. I knew she could do it, but had never witnessed the mechanism. And let me tell you. I laughed. She throws her legs from one side to the other, back and forth, until she gets enough momentum to get all the way over (which I'm sure is a feat, because of her big cloth diaper butt). She likes to do this in her crib, too, while she's sleeping lol.
Annnnnnnnnnd speaking of moving...Gianna sits up all by herself now! She'd been working on the solo sit for a while, obviously wanting to have more independence and range, and she could do it for 10ish seconds at a time, but was never really upright, but rather basically bent forward, like she was trying to reach for something. Or I would support her with a hand to keep her from toppling backwards. Well, then on Father's Day, Fr. Braun and Chris are in the living room playing Mario Kart 64 while Gianna and I are playing next to them on the floor, and all of a sudden...Gianna is sitting up on her own playing with her new fave toy that my Aunt Karen got her. For like 5 minutes. She was even able to catch herself a few times when she got unsteady! I am literally dumbfounded and in shock and was like CHRIS CHRIS CHRIS LOOK LOOK LOOK! But they were in the middle of a round and Chris already isn't as good at Mario Kart as Father Braun is, so I couldn't divert his attention. LOL. (He looked eventually.) I took pictures though. ;-)
With Gianna able to sit up now, everything seems so different! From Sunday until now, she's much more content playing on her own on the floor (when I'm not with her, I put the Boppy around her so in case she topples over, no harm done. I can tell she really, really likes being able to see the world differently and she seems so proud, too!
Okay, so a few minutes after the sitting up excitement on Father's Day, I put her on her belly and we're playing together and I look away and all of a sudden this girl has pushed up on her hands and toes. Yes. TOES. With her big cloth butt in the air. WHAT?! I could literally see a lightbulb go off, like YES! THIS is what I've been wanting!!! Then she went down to her knees, assuming a normal baby position and it was exciting!!! It felt kind of surreal. Too much excitement in one day, but no surprise. Gianna does special things on special days (another example is on the day she was conceived--- was the same day she "found her voice" and started her super baby talk mode), and goodness knows she loves her Papa. While part of me wishes I had gotten it on camera, I'm also glad I got to experience the moment in "first person".
She had been wiggling around like this for a while:
Gianna is even more verbal now, making more consonant sounds and things that sound like words. It freaks us out sometimes. I love talking to Gianna, because she really acts like she understands and wants to know what you have to say.
Oh my goodness. And those smiles and giggles. My heart just melts. I think I could survive solely on her sweet toothless grins. They are like manna for my heart!
I was also to finally see Gianna roll from back to belly. I knew she could do it, but had never witnessed the mechanism. And let me tell you. I laughed. She throws her legs from one side to the other, back and forth, until she gets enough momentum to get all the way over (which I'm sure is a feat, because of her big cloth diaper butt). She likes to do this in her crib, too, while she's sleeping lol.
Annnnnnnnnnd speaking of moving...Gianna sits up all by herself now! She'd been working on the solo sit for a while, obviously wanting to have more independence and range, and she could do it for 10ish seconds at a time, but was never really upright, but rather basically bent forward, like she was trying to reach for something. Or I would support her with a hand to keep her from toppling backwards. Well, then on Father's Day, Fr. Braun and Chris are in the living room playing Mario Kart 64 while Gianna and I are playing next to them on the floor, and all of a sudden...Gianna is sitting up on her own playing with her new fave toy that my Aunt Karen got her. For like 5 minutes. She was even able to catch herself a few times when she got unsteady! I am literally dumbfounded and in shock and was like CHRIS CHRIS CHRIS LOOK LOOK LOOK! But they were in the middle of a round and Chris already isn't as good at Mario Kart as Father Braun is, so I couldn't divert his attention. LOL. (He looked eventually.) I took pictures though. ;-)
With Gianna able to sit up now, everything seems so different! From Sunday until now, she's much more content playing on her own on the floor (when I'm not with her, I put the Boppy around her so in case she topples over, no harm done. I can tell she really, really likes being able to see the world differently and she seems so proud, too!
She spits up at the end of this video. Pretty typical Gianna. Other than that she's just being her insanely adorable self.
Okay, so a few minutes after the sitting up excitement on Father's Day, I put her on her belly and we're playing together and I look away and all of a sudden this girl has pushed up on her hands and toes. Yes. TOES. With her big cloth butt in the air. WHAT?! I could literally see a lightbulb go off, like YES! THIS is what I've been wanting!!! Then she went down to her knees, assuming a normal baby position and it was exciting!!! It felt kind of surreal. Too much excitement in one day, but no surprise. Gianna does special things on special days (another example is on the day she was conceived--- was the same day she "found her voice" and started her super baby talk mode), and goodness knows she loves her Papa. While part of me wishes I had gotten it on camera, I'm also glad I got to experience the moment in "first person".
She had been wiggling around like this for a while:
But I guess it's time to babyproof!
Annnnnnnnnnnnnd some misc. fun from end of May until June 21st:
When it all comes down to it, Gianna really just wants to be a part of everything
Post nap sillies. She looks so much like Chris in these pictures.
what'cho lookin' at?
Breastmilk ice cubes in teether/food thing. Best idea. EVER.
Ice pops! Like a champ.
Watching Auntie B play N64
No, no, we really are mostly normal.
Haha, can't escape. I've got your hands. Mommy wins.
Shameless selfie attempts.
