Gianna Rose- 9 Months!

Where has the time gone? Gianna turned 9 months on February 19, 2012! Everyday she amazes us. It is SO FUN to watch her discover new things, learn how to manipulate a toy to get it to sing to her or try something new like 'standing with no hands' and waiting for an applause. Literally it is something new everyday and we are loving it.


We feel like the luckiest parents ever! Here is a quick update on the world of our 9 month old:


Teeth
She has 3 teeth on the bottom and she has 3 teeth that have cut through her gums on the top (and one that looks like it's about to cut) ...count them- that is SEVEN teeth, the poor thing has been pretty miserable in the teething department!


Mobility
She is still crawling and pulling up on anything and everything! She uses our pant leg, the dresser, the couch, etc. etc. She has a toy/walker at each house (ours, mimi's, grammy's) and she is getting so fast! We all have hardwood floors and she walks all over the house with her walker. She will also "walk" holding onto only one hand. 


Speech
In the past week Gia has been really trying to talk....her first word was "DADA" of course! She started with "dada" moved to "baba" (we don't really know what that means because she never gets a bottle with us) and FINALLY has started "mama"!!! Oh it makes our heart melt! We think she may even start to understand the meaning of the words....lets hope. She also understands the word "no" something we have to use often especially when she is terrorizing Tank, trying to eat dog food, chewing on the cords for our laptops, essentially being a normal 9 month old!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY....

We made our first (of many) trip to the LA County Zoo this weekend. Gianna had a BLAST! She was interested in most of the animals, I think the Giraffes were probably her favorite, probably because they were up close, very easy to follow and absolutely beautiful! We are excited to go back!

When we walked through the gates- PURE SHOCK!

Grace-Lynne Martin Ingle

July 16, 1929- February 11, 2012

Our beloved Gainy passed away unexpectedly on Saturday February 11, 2012.  We are all so saddened by her sudden passing; however, we know that in many ways she was ready- it amazed me that she never was scared of death. We were not ready to say goodbye, and most of us probably hadn’t, but she left us with wonderful memories which we are so grateful to be able to share with one another during this time of grief. She would often tell us that she would “send us her angels” when we were in a time of need, or hurting….now she has joined them, and we will all have an angel of our own to watch over us.  I could go on and on about the things I will miss most about her- but most of all, for me, will be the “happy birthday” song that I received every January 21^st, and for Daniel- it will be Gainy playing the piano at Christmas while we all sing Christmas carols.

Santa Barbara

Race season is in full effect! This past weekend (1/28-1/29) we were in Santa Barbara. Daniel had a road race on Saturday and a criterium on Sunday, but between the two races we were able to get some wine tasting done! This was our first trip to a winery.

Nothing like a life-size game of chess.

She didn't drink any wine...she just wanted to chew on the glass :)

"The Assassin"

So, its been a few weeks since our last post. Gianna came down with the flu about two weeks ago- she has lovingly been nicknamed "the assassin" because she managed to get everyone sick...and i do mean everyone. Within 24 hours of anyone coming in contact with her, they were sick. First she got Mimi, then G-Paw and Mom and Dad. While we were all sick Grandpa and Grammy watched her so we had a chance to sleep...and they came down with it the following night. You would think that everyone would have learned that she was lethal...but no, that weekend we had a birthday celebration for Laci and me and again within 24 hours: Uncle Kris, Aunt Laci, Uncle Dave and Amber (future Aunt) were all home sick with the flu!!  

Babies truly are germ factories!