Ms. Independent

Gianna is a typical 2 year old, she wants to do everything BY HERSELF!!!! She has to climb into her car seat by herself. She has to wash her hands by herself. She has to drink in a big girl cup, without help. It is quite amazing to watch her take on all of these challenges, by herself. It is also quite annoying! Lately she has wanted to do the dishes by herself, which always becomes a huge mess. I like the fact that she wants to help, its great practice for when she is older and will be cleaning the house for me ;). And I can sometimes use this determination to my advantage. Gianna, you can either walk to the car like a big girl, or I will carry you, which one? She always picks the big girl option. And thank goodness, because then I would have to carry her as well as Elia. And tonight, after saying prayers and reading books in the family room, she decided she was going to put herlelf to bed. Didn't want mom to come in at all! I can get used to this!

Papa-razzi

I'm your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi

Gianna is obsessed with her dad, and Elia is learning to be just as obsessed! Gianna heard this song on the radio a couple weeks ago and started calling Chris paparazzi. Its pretty funny. Sometimes she calls herself Gianna-razzi.
Lots of mornings she tells Chris that she is going to call him on the phone, and if I am ever on the phone with him, she HAS to talk to him.
When G hears the door open when Chris gets home, her little face lights up and she screams "He's home!" This evening Elia was fuss fuss fussy and I was holding her when Chris walked in. She immediately stopped fussing and just stared at him and started kicking her little legs. I mean, it makes sense. Daddy is just so much fun! He is the worlds best tickler and he swings the girls up and over his head. And then there is one of G's favorites: animal doctor. Papa-razzi will go out and find G's stuffed animals and Gianna will get out her doctor kit and they will play for what seems like hours! I would say that Gianna and Elia are his biggest fans!

I love my job

Not many people can say they love their job. But I can safely say that I am happy to be staying at home with the girls. Today I posted a similar remark on facebook, and within 2 hours, I had 16 replies that included lots of "likes" and comments. And I know that I am especially lucky to be staying at home given the economy! Thats not to say that I love every minute of everyday of staying at home. I will admit, when I was working and looking forward to staying at home I had a very "romantic" view of what life would be like. I imagined a spotless house all the time, laundry folded and put away as soon as it came out of the dryer, and 3 course, relaxed meals every night. On the contrary, sometimes the house is messier, the laundry often piles up, and mac n cheese is served at least once a week! Staying at home is like any other job- it is work! But it is unlike any other job in that I get to see my babies grow a little bit everyday. I feel like I know Gianna so much better and I actually NOTICE Elia go through each stage of development. We do so many things now that we couldn't do when I was working. We go to the park, the library, the duck pond, and now one of my favorites- our backyard. I love to sit on the patio, put Elia in the swing, and watch Gianna swing on her new tire swing or play in the leaves. I often join in, and right now am trying to get G to play a little soccer. Another favorite of mine right now is baking with Gianna. It is sooo messy, but Gianna loves to make cookies, and we all love eating them!






Sometimes money is tight, and Chris and I don't get to do everything we used to (eating out, multiple trips to STL and Napa, etc.) but it is worth it a thousand times over. My mom gave me a book last year called You CAN Afford to Stay at Home with Your Kids, and there is a quote I want to share that sums up the way I feel about it all:

Although it's true that the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that washes the diapers, the same hand also touches- and to a large degree, directs - the lives of the entire family, makes the most indelible mark upon the children, lays the groundwork for a future generation, and thereby effects the course of history.

-Mary Snyder and Malia McCawley Wyckoff


Thanks to my amazing husband Chris, who works so hard for our family so that I can be at home, and thanks to my mom for staying at home with us!!!!

Stickers!!!!!!!

Gianna has a million stickers that she has been placing on things all over the house. We are constantly picking stickers off of furniture and the carpet, and then of course our bodies! She thinks it is so great to just stick them all over our cheeks and hands and clothes- including Elia.







The things dads will do for their daughters, no matter how un-masculine. When I was little, I made a bracelet for my dad. (fyi, my dad has 4 girls, then a boy, in that order. Poor man was surrounded by headstrong demanding women for the first 15 years of his marriage before he got a boy. He grew up with noooo girls, just 3 brothers, and on a farm to boot) Anyway, I was very proud of this bracelet that I made him. The beads were varying colors of pink and red, and mostly star and heart shaped. When I gave it to him, he put it on right away and told me how pretty it was. Later, I went with him to the gas station and all the while he proudly wore the bracelet. It broke while he was pumping gas, and he was so upset for me!

Its amazing what dads will put aside just to make their daughters smile. I love watching Chris have tea with G, play in her kitchen with her, and get excited about pretty dresses and bows with her. I am curious to see what kinds of things I will do when we someday have boys in our house!

A Helper and a Fashion Show

Nothing special has been going on lately, but I thought I would show a few things that go on at our house. Gianna is the mommy in the house. She loves to cook "cupcakes" in her kitchen. Everytime we ask her what kind they are, she says they are marshmallow cupcakes. Maybe she will be a golfer someday:

She is also OBSESSED with sweeping. A few months ago one of our broom's handle broke and so Chris taped it off and it is now just her size. She loves to sweep the dirt into the dustpan, and we are lucky if it all gets in there!

And then there is sweet little Elia. Or should I say big Elia? I put her on our scale at home last week, and it read 21 lbs, which is just 4 lbs less than Gianna! I know its so cliche to say, but there is just so much more to love about her! One sad thing though is that she is growing out of clothes at a very rapid pace. I put an outfit away last month that was too small for her and Gianna wore the same outfit walking!!! My favorite are footie pajamas and those are the hardest to stretch them into when they are getting big- their feet have nowhere to go. So I took a few pictures of her in 6 month and 6-9 month footie pjs before I have to sadly put them away. Who knew I would have so much emotional attachment to my kid's clothes? Gianna joined in at the end with her footie pajamas- her size, that are of course too big for her!!

Appropriate Toys

With Christmas coming up, I am trying to decide what to get the girls early so we don't have a lot of last minute, expensive shopping to do. The problem, which can be looked at as a good thing, is that young ones don't really care what toy they get- it is usually forgotten hours or days later. What is really fun is the box it came in or the wrapping it was covered in. Yes, usually the trash is more fun than the actual present. Which is probably why yesterday Elia played with an empty goldfish bag for oh I don't know, 3 hours total? (a capri sun wrapper the day before provided more hours of entertainment) As I type she is playing with the onesie she was wearing yesterday. And then there is G. Last weekend, Chris pulled the ole' exersaucer out of the attic for Elia. Who do you think plays in it more? Yep, that would be Gianna! Here is a pic I took of her last night before I could get her jammie shirt on:

So what should I get the girls for Christmas? Maybe I will just wrap empty boxes and call it a day. There probably won't be many more Christmases where they won't know the difference ;).

We're Back!!!!

And better than ever. I know its been a looooong time since the last post, but you know how life gets crazy. Since the last post, Elia Francesca has joined the party here at the Rowles house. She is already 5 months old! Gianna was our tiny baby and Elia is our fat baby! At 4 months she was off the charts for weight and 99% for height. Its nice because I only have to buy 1 size diaper for both girls:). Elia has been sitting up since 4 1/2 months and loving observing her big sister play and dance around her. Gianna is a good "little mommy." She likes to tell Elia to chillax when she is fussing, and she loves to help change diapers. Gianna is talking more than ever, (as my mom put it, she won't shut up!!!) and so Chris and I have be careful about what we say and what she listens to. We were at the grocery store a few weeks ago and Gianna turned to me and said, "Mommy, thats what you get for waking up in Vegas." Oh dear...



Halloween was so much fun this year! Elia was a tootsie roll, and Gianna was the Wicked Witch of the West. Thanks again to Mary for making the darling witch costume. She was in town the week before Halloween and whipped it out in 3 days!




















We had 2 parties to go to on top of trick or treating, so the costumes were put to good use!
The night before Halloween we carved pumpkins. First, G and Daddy designed the face of the pumpkin:















Then they scooped the guts out while Elia looked on:
































Here are the finished products!




















Gianna had more fun giving out the candy to kids who came by than she did going up to houses and getting candy. Perhaps next year she will want to trick or treat all night!
More posts to come...

The Cleanliness of a Bachelorette

In June, Chris posted a blog entitled "The Filth of a Bachelor." How different it is when the woman is the one left at home! The house is immaculate, laundry is done and put away, and things are generally in order. I had a great weekend. On Sunday, Chris and Gianna headed off to Napa for grandma Rowles funeral. Shannon was in town so we did the single girl thing. We went to Sam Moon, out to lunch and dinner, rented chick flicks, and basically didnt have a care in the world! But when all is said and done, I don't want Chris and Gianna to leave ever again! I missed both of them so much and cannot wait to see themtomorrow. It is going to be the longest day ever!

PS.....

I can't believe I forgot some of the most important news...We're having another GIRL!!! Two little rowles girls I thought one was cute enough....how can I handle two... I admit I was hoping for a boy...only because I need something to offset the cuteness factor of G...a little punk boy I can slap around...but two little cuties running around the house is going to be a complete delight....it will be cuteness to the max for now..and in 20 years when they have boyfriends....I'm dead meat...we're working on names right now.... The only part of it that we have set is Francesca.... it's my great grandma's name and is only fitting considering the circumstances.

No more crying

Wow. I really let myself go over the last month and now we have a month plus to catch up on. Where to start. Well i guess we have to rewind a month. It was one month ago that G and Moe left me all alone to go celebrate the engagement of "Aunt Shanny" and "Uncle Tom", at that point g was just saying Shanny and Tom...but more on that later. And two weeks later it was back to St. Louis for Christmas. G and "CO-liin" had a great time together...especially with each other's toys. G loved the trains and Colin loved G's dolls....j/k, but he did love her puzzles. I think i may have had more fun with their toys than they did. There was a wooden train set. I seriously built like 15 different tracks trying to utilize all the pieces. One time I spent a good 45 minutes on it while they were sleeping..you know how long it lasted after they woke up? 5 minutes, but it ROCKED! Grandma and Grandpa got webcams for everyone which has been great we've been able to video chat with everyone, it's been a blast. (it's been especially great cause we're able to talk to my great grandma..more on that later also). WE had a visit from Santa...to which there were opposite reactions. Colin...the schemer..new immediately Santa had presents...if I stay on Santa's lap I get presents... G...saw a crazy man with a beard and thought AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Next year though she'll dig him for sure.

Next year I think we need to put a limit on Christmas presents at Christmas cause trying to transport two suitcases full of presents is not fun...especially after Christmas........soooo on a funny/annoying note...my flight was Monday after Christmas so that I could get to work at 9ish...well I showed up to the airport a full hour and half early...and was late boarding my flight...there were seriously like 300+people in the terminal waiting to check/get through security INSANE... Moe came back a few days later which was alot easier.

We're officially lame. 2nd year in a row that we didn't do anything on new years. Next year though we're going CRAZY...that's my resolution.

Okay post holiday wrap up. We gave ourselves/ my mom helped too in lieu of sending us something....revamp some rooms. After two trips to Ikea (They didn't have the shelves we wanted...but got them overnight) we put together an awesome bookcase. The bookshelf is virtually all cubbies that we were able to use to organize G's toys and finally give her a room to play in. Our new playroom is AWESOME....I have pics and video somewhere....

G is now starting to put words together to form mini sentences!!! It's fantastic. One of her favorites is No more Crying. It's so darn cute to hear her say it after she's been crying (heartbreaking if she does it in timeout). But she will consistently use words in pairs and as modifiers, which is really making it easier to understand her wants and desires.



G, you're too young to understand what a delight you are to everyone you meet and how you can truly brighten someone's day. Thanks to Gma and Gpa Mchugh we have been able to see and talk to my grandma, "Grea Grama" who doesn't have much time left. It's been really tough on everyone especially Grandma Rowles . We were able to have a brief video chat and my mom tells me it was the most she's spoken in days and really pepped her up. I know it wasn't my ugly mug that did the trick but it was all you, Gianna. G, I know you are going to read this one day and not understand what it means until you are much older but you absolutely touched my grandma's heart and soul during a time when so many of us can be scared and alone.
Grandma told us a little later that she wants you to have one of her sets of pearls, a small gift really, but it means so much. In 28 years from now when you get married and you're wearing your Great Grandmother's pearls...there will be more than one person in the room who has to say to themselves....No more crying....