Next Time Won't You Sing With Me?

Gianna has been completely obsessed with the ABC song for about 2 months now.  She has watched every version available of Elmo singing the ABCs and looks at her ABC book every night.  After practicing about a zillion times, I finally heard her say the WHOLE thing today!  And she even agreed to let me record her.  My favorite parts are the "LMNOP" all running together - and when she pauses to see if her Daisy Duck's beak will actually open.  Little GiGi continues to amaze us with her progress!

Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie Dust

The words "fun" and "cage" don't normally go together, for obvious reasons!   However, the "fun cage" as it's called at GiGi's physical therapy is a pretty amazing contraption that allows kids to jump, "fly", and do all sorts of things that their body would not normally allow them to do on their own.  Gianna has been looking at the Fun Cage with skepticism and fear for two years, allowing Angelo to get in it to experience the "fun" part.  Finally, she has warmed up to the idea, has faith that physical therapy is actually going to be quite a bit of fun, and trusts that once she's tired of the cage, we'll get her right out.  GiGi now actually requests to get in to jump (or "pop!" as she calls it)! 

This is a video of the first time I got to see her pop!



 "Flying like Tinkerbell" is her absolute favorite activity

Here's the latest video of her working on some balance skills. 

And this picture of Angelo just cracks me up!

All of the Therapy - None of the Tears

Gianna's physical therapy has become much more enjoyable for all involved lately.  We've been taking her every week for well over a year and a half, always with Angelo in tow.  On many, many occasions she would just be glued to me and melt down in tears if her therapist Julie tried to encourage her to try different activities.  Angelo has always been so sweet, just wanting to have fun and play on the equipment, and being constantly encouraging and consoling to Gianna.  Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures at most of our previous sessions!  The pictures from this week are such a striking contrast to what we've experienced before.  I honestly could have never imagined that she would have crawled through the tunnel by herself, rode on the swing with Angelo, and walked the balance beam (!) with Julie holding her hands.  Now, granted, I think a big part of her motivation is the lollipop she receives from the office manager after her session.  When we tell GiGi in the mornings that she's going to physical therapy, she says "Julie!" and "Pink Pop!".   I'm so thankful that she's finally starting to enjoy and really fully participate in her sessions - I know she'll wind up benefiting so much more and Friday mornings are now a little sweeter for us all!

The House that Love Built

We will always be grateful for the help of the Ronald McDonald House Family Room - it was like a second home when GiGi was in the NICU and the children's hospital.  This weekend we had an opportunity to visit with Ronald and "give back" a little by making Valentine's cards for the families who will be spending the holiday in the Ronald McDonald House.  The kids all loved the show and the boys made sweet valentine's - Angelo wanted to make his exactly like Dominic's.  Maybe next year GiGi can make some too!

 

GiGi watching Ronald's magic show



Little Mermaid

"You've got your own style, now let it come through.

And remember no matter what, you've got to be you!"

 - Sebastian (Disney's The Little Mermaid)

 

 

 



Both Dominic and Angelo have January birthdays and this year we decided to celebrate with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with family.  I was a little worried that GiGi wouldn't like all the chaos of an indoor water park, but she absolutely loved it!  There was a perfect wading area for the little kids as well as plenty of wild slides to entertain her older brothers and cousins! 

 

Kisses from Daddy

Our room had an area like a "wolf den" for the boys -
Gianna's favorite part was discovering this little mouse

Aunt Adria taught GiGi to pose with her hands on her hips -
 this is her new stance for every picture!

GiGi's silly "scrunchy face" :)

Waiting anxiously for the cake!

 

Diva

When Gianna adds a new word to her vocabulary, she doesn't just say it...she yells it.  Maybe it's because speaking is so hard for her and it feels so good to her to finally get a real word out!  Some of her favorite words to shout are "BOW!" and "TUTU!"  It is just completely different dressing a girl after having two little boys.  I have fun accessorizing her, but after demanding her bow and tutu and shoes and purse and glasses, of course, she usually has them all off and in the floor (including her glasses) before we reach any destination!  Here she is with some of her latest creations. 


Checking herself out in Mommy's mirror

Pushing a chair all around Mimi and Granddaddy's house

G will only cook in her play kitchen with her owl apron and matching bow from Aunt Wendy

Gianna was so happy with this outfit - it included everything she loves,

plus a little "fur" jacket and purple to match her glasses!

Holidays

One of my New Year's resolutions was to do a better job of keeping Gianna's blog updated.  It's now Jan 21st and this is my first post of the year so I've got some serious catching up to do!  Gianna had a fantastic holiday - we traveled to Tennessee to see my side of the family, and Matt's family came in from West Virgina after Christmas.  Gianna was surrounded with family and she loved every minute of the excitement.....except for her visit to Santa Claus.  Afterwards, she kept asking to see the pictures, but as you can see she was not at all happy to be there!  She learned the sign language signs for "Santa" and "Reindeer" and is now saying Nana and PapPap and MiMi and is working on learning "Granddaddy", but that one may take a while.  She loved the Elf on the Shelf and would look for it every day and yell "Elf!!!" every time she saw it.  Here's some pictures from the Christmas holidays that I love! 
 

Visiting Santa's Reindeer

Candy cane......yes, please!  Santa.....no thanks!

 

With brothers and cousins in TN - I think Gianna and Aspen are sharing secrets!

Under the mistletoe with Dominic :) 

In the sleigh at Hillenmeyer's

 

Gianna is telling us "shhh" - she saw the baby Jesus
sleeping in the live nativity scene

 

All dressed up for Christmas Day. 
GiGi was so happy with her sparkly tree!



Showing love for Daisy and Minnie



One of her favorite gifts...a helmet with a tiara attached!

And finally....New Year's Eve!  We spent a fun evening with our friend Tara and her boys playing Just Dance on the Wii and watching the Times Square festivities.  GiGi was a trooper and ALMOST made it until midnight.....here she was passed out by 11:10 on Matt's lap.


This pose looks SO uncomfortable!!