Another Birthday Girl

Sorry for the length of this post...

Gianna turned 3 today! We did another pancake party this morning, and Cousins Colin and Austin were here to celebrate. Here is a trip down memory lane for all...

May 24, 2007. A day that forever changed Chris' and my life together.

3 months old, personality already taking shape.

6 months old

9 months old

1 year old, and gorgeous.

15 months old. Elia couldn't wear this outfit after 6 months! G was always our little baby.

18 months. On her way to becoming a big sister!

21 months old. Just a little bit of baby-ness left!

May 20, 2009. Just 4 days before her 2nd birthday. This day changed G's life forever!

2 yrs, 3 months. Knows how to pose for the camera!

2 yrs, 6 months. Loves to bake for her mama!

2 yrs, 9 months. We had a freak snow storm in February, and she loved to play in the snow!

Last picture I took before the camera broke. About a month shy of turning 3!

On Saturday we had a big birthday bash for Gianna and Elia. It was dino-themed and SO much fun. The girls were both spoiled senseless. We had so much fun playing in the water and catching up with friends. I took lots of pictures, and as soon as I get my film developed (I know, old school, right?) I will post them!

Birthday Girl

It is so strange to think that this year is over! Elia is 1 year old, and I can't imagine our family without her. I felt like I was pregnant with her FOREVER and then bam, I blinked, and the year is over!

Here she is at a few hours old:

3 months old:

6 months old:

9 months old:

11 months old: (last pic I took before the camera broke)

I was sort of inspired by this blog and so we had a little pancake party on her birthday morning. It might become a birthday tradition in our family! Here is some footage of Elia on her big day:

Happy Birthday sweet Elia!!

Walking!

Elia took her first "steps" last night. The night before her birthday! SO cute! We got it on video. There are going to be a lot of videos for a while- it is kind of taking the place of our broken camera. I bought a disposable camera so I will have pics to remember but probably won't get them on the blog. sorry :(

So here is Elia in her cute little pjs working really hard on getting balanced and trying to walk!

A night at the Ballpark

We just got back from the Rangers game, and we had so much fun! Aunt Becky is in town, and we happened to get 4 free tickets, so we up and went out to Arlington. There were 3 Ranger home runs, and along with it fireworks! Elia thought they were SO cool. The whole time we were there E was just chatting up a storm and her hands were dancing around. Gianna had a ton of fun as well eating ballpark food and cheering and clapping. I wish wish wish that our camera wasn't broken because there were so many great pictures I could have taken. I did manage to take this awesome video of Elia feeding Chris. This was taken right before Elia took the whole plate and dumped it on the floor.

Check out her sweet little ponytail on top of her head. I had to hold her down to get the rubber band around the tiny fistful of hair!

Mothers Day

Mothers Day started out on Friday for me! Chris came home from work and took the girls on a 90 minute bike ride. So I got to stay in a quiet, kid-free house and drink a beer while watching TV. It was seriously glorious. If Chris/Gianna hadn't gotten me anything else, I would have been happy with Friday night! Then on Saturday all 4 of us went on a bike ride together, with one of my mother's day gifts- a new pair of sports sunglasses. (Now that I am wearing contacts full time, I can finally wear sunglasses too-yay!) Our bike rides always end up at a park, so the girls have so much fun. Then on Sunday I slept in until 8am. If you don't have kids you might think that 8 is not a big deal, BUT IT IS! And when I finally rolled out of bed, I was treated to strawberry pancakes and eggs, yum yum. Then off to church and home again. We had a little family over for a bbq. The girls played outside on the new playground while the parents got to drink beer and talk about LOST. Anyway, a great day was had by all, but me especially! I am so thankful to have my sweet girls and great husband in my life!

PS Finally we can make comments on the blog! So give me some love guys!

Teething Tantrums

About 2 weeks ago, I was telling anyone and everyone that the 10-13 month age range is my favorite stage of a baby. Elia is babbling nonstop, she thinks everything is soooo amazing, and she can't walk yet so she still has that sweet dependence on mom. Well, then last week happened. She started having the most horrible tantrums I have ever seen! She would throw herself on the floor for no apparent reason, didn't want to nurse, would throw anything I gave her, it was Ridiculous. I really had no idea what was wrong with her. There were a few times when she would have a tantrum first thing in the morning and I would think silently to myself "seriously? we are starting the day with this? this crazy obnoxious baby tantrum? and I have 13 more hours to deal with this?" Even Chris was glad to get out of the house and out to work as soon as possible. And thats saying something folks! After enduring a few days of this I just figured it was a stage she was growing into, or a new personality trait. Last Monday while I was at the park she started having another tantrum. Elia's mouth was open as she was screeching at me and that is when I noticed she had a tooth! How did I not suspect teething? You just never know when they are teething. I was so relieved though, that I can blame these tantrums on her tooth pain, and not a new personality trait! I noticed another tooth coming through 2 days ago, and since then, we have had no tantrums. I have my sweet baby girl back!!