I love the way Gianna crinkles her nose up when she gives her biggest smiles 

GiGi at 8 months old

Gianna reached a new milestone on her 8 month old birthday today - she rolled over from both her back to her front from her front to her back!  Only bad part......I missed seeing it.  She accomplished her new trick at Kidz Club today but her nurse told me all about it play-by-play :-) Basically she enticed her to roll over by showing her a lighted toy.  Learning to roll over is actually one of her physical therapy goals - her therapist will be so surprised when she sees her next week!  This weekend I took her to a play group organized by the Spina Bifida Association.  She was the youngest child there, but it gave me a great opportunity to meet some other parents of children facing similar challenges.  We talked about everything from neurosurgeons and seizures to feeding issues and options for special needs preschools.  And I learned that I'm not the only one who's kept my little one in my bedroom at night LONG past outgrowing the bassinet! 

As thrilled as I am to be celebrating Gianna's 8 months of life, today was overwhelmingly a sad one.  All I can think about is that a family in Cincinnati lost their newborn son Korbin yesterday.  Although I've never met Korbin's parents or his sister, I've followed their family's story on the blog his mother started and have been so hopeful for him.  Like me, Korbin's mother Tonya found out at 20 weeks gestation that her baby had an encephalocele.  They had the MRI's, ultrasounds and a seemingly never-ending stream of tests.  As the pregnancy progressed, they found out that Korbin also had hydrocephalus, the encephalocele continued to grow and the rest of his body's growth wasn't keeping up with his gestational age.  Their story and journey was so similar to Gianna's all along the way and I just couldn't wait to see a picture posted of that precious baby boy when he was born.  But yesterday Tonya went into labor and delivered Korbin - his parents had only an hour to spend with him - having to say both hello and goodbye on his day of birth.  Tonight I have no words but to say how my heart is just absolutely aching for them.  May God hold Korbin's family closely and give them every bit of strength and comfort possible.

Is there any sweeter sound?

Is there any sweeter sound than a baby laughing?  Nobody can make Gianna smile and giggle the way her big brothers do.  Here's Dominic entertaining G with her favorite zebra.  I could listen to this all day!

Mother's Day Weekend



Gianna reminds me of Angelo in this picture -
must be the mischevious grin!



Mother's day was absolutely beautiful in Lexington this year - such a welcome change after so much rain!  I was blessed to be able to spend the day with Matt and my three sweeties. I had handprint cards, gifts, and lots of hugs from the whole crew.  We went to Dominic's football game, out for ice cream, and played outside - a wonderful day!  I'm so thankful for my own amazing mother, as well as the other mom role-models I have in my life.  Much love to each of you!



The other big event in KY this weekend was the Kentucky Derby. 
Here's G in her first Derby outfit



Armed with Strength

There are many words that I would use to describe Gianna - sweet, strong, special, amazing, cutie, happy, a miracle...you get the idea.  "Weak" is definitely not among the words I've ever thought of for her.  But sure enough, this is the description she got during her Physical Therapy evaluation.  I love love love her therapist and, of course, she's right.  G's muscle tone and overall core strength aren't developmentally on target.  So her goals for the next six months will be to work on rolling over, sitting up and gaining overall body strength.  Her long term goal (hopefully within the next 6 months) is crawling.  Her assessment also said she has Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex which was definitely a new term to me!  This is also called Fencing Reflex, since it looks like the baby is in a "fencing" position.  The description I read was concerning, but her therapist was really encouraging about Gianna being able to make progress with this issue. 

Illustration of Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex

I'm really looking forward to Gianna starting her therapy soon - I'm confident it will make our strong girl even stronger!

Psalm 18:32-36

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect"

Spring Catch-Up!

Although the days are getting longer, time seems to be going by even faster than ever.  Here's some pics to catch up on Gianna's past two weeks. As Gianna turned seven months old, she's begun to "turn the corner" with some of her milestones also.  It seems sometimes that just when we think she can't do something, she shows us that she most certainly can!  She's holding her head up wonderfully now - well enough to turn it from side to side, to sit up and eat (and boy does this girl love to eat!), and to try wiggle away from me as I attempt to wash her face or wipe her nose.  She's beginning to reach for objects (I first saw her reach for her bottle on Easter Sunday). And she's tracking really well (following toys or people from side to side).  She continues to be so happy, so loving, and such a joy to our family. 


G turned 7 months old on April 23rd.  It cracks me up how seriously she studies her hands!

Here's a couple of photos from Gianna's first Easter.  What a blessing!

The boys continue to treat Gianna like their own little princess

Resting on her Mimi's shoulder at Dominic's flag football game



All smiles!  You can almost see her two little bottom teeth in this picture.