Say Cheese!

Above is a picture of my cutie saying "CHEESE" by the hydrangeas that are now blooming (my favorite flower). Below is a picture of Georgia singing a song. Doesn't she look adorable?

Naps

We have settled into a nice routine this month. Georgia no longer takes her morning naps, I'm officially able to accept the fact now. She actually gave them up sometime in October and I guess it just took ME a while to adjust. She is just beautiful right now and so desiring to talk. Her words still haven't formed but she communicates with such energy and drama that you really don't need words to understand her. Tonight she heard Wally howling and did a spot on impersonation of his howl. It made me laugh to no end, at which point she continued the howl and then added other sounds. She likes to make a snoring sound which she learned from either her Papi or her grandmother. She typically uses this sound to tell me she is ready for her nap. Isn't that great! She tells me now when she is ready to go to sleep. What a nice treat for me. One less thing to figure out. :) This picture was taken after her afternoon nap. She was happy and telling me hi here.

Where are the Christmas photos?

Dear Readers,

I have no Christmas photos of Georgia because I forgot to bring my camera to Christmas. Isn't that terrible? We were struck with another cold over that week and unfortunately it took all my energy to wrap gifts and make it to the festivities. Gift wrapping is definitely a chore. I think the aunties might have some good pictures they snapped. If so, would they mind e-mailing me a few or linking me to their snapfish account?

Until then, I hope you enjoy these funny photos. Georgia placed herself in this basket and then got stuck. Once she got out she thought it was actually fun and decided to sit in it again.

Boomer Sooner

Gigi has officially attended her first OU football game. It was sweaty, hot, humid and dog-on gross but she seemed to enjoy it and didn't cry once. When the band would play Georgia would hold her hands in the air, when the crowd would roar and stand to watch the play, Gigi would stand along with them, when people would clap for good plays, so did she, and when nothing imparticularly exciting was going on she would flirt with the guy behind us. I think I have a social butterfly on my hands.

Other news... Georgia has really taken to grabbing whatever is on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. She stealthily grabs the item when I'm doing something else then walks around the kitchen and dining room with it talking. Here are some pictures of me catching her with a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

One of her favorite new words is "tickle". She says this word in long repeated sentences. So it goes like this "tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle... etc." She particularly likes to say it when Wally is around or when she is carrying one of her toys. Where could she have possibly learned this word??? :)

Backyard Fun

Here are some pictures I snapped August 25, 2007 while chasing Georgia around the backyard. She loves to go out and run around. She follows Wally's lead and chases him back and forth, stopping every now and then to pick up leaves or acorns. I like the sky in the background. I caught it on accident.

Spaghetti Oh-o

We all have a picture like this tucked in one of our mother's dusty old photo albums. It's the classic spaghetti-splattered, I'm-stuffed baby face. Here is Georgia's contribution to this age-old rite of passage. She is now officially a messy, messy eater. Bon appetit my little angel!

G & G

Dear Georgia,

There is so much news to tell you! You took your first solo steps 4 days ago (July 29, 2007) with your Papi. You have done this several times since then but continue to prefer the security of walking while holding on to a few fingers. You are newly re-fascinated with your feet right now and say "toes" and "foot" all day long. You have also started to attempt putting on socks when you think I am not looking. :) You enjoy smacking your lips together to make kissy sounds, you are eating everything including grapefruits and pickles and at night before I put you to bed you sing me a 1-2 minute song. The lyrics are simple they go "ooooh oooh ooh ooooooooh". It is so pretty. I really enjoy hearing this song. Thank you for your sweet voice! Hear are the words I have heard you say: duck, sock, foot, toe(s), mama, dada, nana, elbow, nnn (for nose), wawa, agua, pato. So you have a vocabulary of 11-12 words. Excellent job!

Bananas

Dear Georgia,

Your tastebuds are blossoming now. I'm glad to see you so interested in using your new set of teeth. I know how eager you are to put them to good use. However, I wish you wouldn't grind them together so much. The sound worries mommy that you might saw away your first set. You seem to love bananas very much. Please remember that there are other foods out there worth exploring. Mommy is sorry she made you eat so much oatmeal, but please don't banish it forever.

Yesterday you gave me the sweetest little look. You gazed into mommy's eyes, placed your chubby hands on my cheeks and leaned forward like you were about to give me a nice kiss. My heart was overflowing with joy thinking that you wanted to kiss me. I should have known what you were up to though. You have done this before. Just when you had me in the palm of your hands (literally) you opened your little chomper and bit down forcefully on my nose. Ow! Please remember, only mommy's boobies are available for food.

The pictures here are from our zoo outing with Amy and your boyfriend Jake. You two are such dolls! You are 9.5 months in this picture and Jake is 4 months.

Swimming and Imitating

Georgia has been doing all sorts of new things as of late. Last week I took her swimming for the very first time. At first she was afraid of the water because I dunked her under immediately when we entered the pool. I should have let her adjust to the new environment, but it was so cold!! I thought a quick entrance would help her warm up, instead it made her hold on to me for dear life. I had to think fast, and as we waded back and forth through the water I started to sing a little and splash the water with my hand. The singing really helped because she slowly loosened her death grip around my neck and actually started splashing in the water too. Music works magic with children. :) We had a good time splashing around. I think the other people swimming laps thought we were a little selfish because we hogged an entire lane, but it was fun for us all the same. It is not everyday one is introduced to swimming for the very first time!

Other cute news... Gigi has been imitating sounds and actions. She loves making kissy sounds, yesterday she started singing in a soprano voice and waving her little arm in the air (she was prodded on by Rodolfo who was doing the exact same thing) and this afternoon as she, Wally and I were sitting around she started panting. I realized that she was imitating Wally! What a silly girl!

We love Target!

Georgia and I made our rounds today at Target picking up the groceries for the week and saying hello to all the babies. Actually Georgia would scream hello to every baby/child sitting in a shopping cart that we would pass. She doesn't really say the word "hello" yet, it is more like "aahaaaa" with lots of hand waving, but I know what she means.

As to other milestones, Georgia is just about to crawl now. She pulls herself forward with her arms and hands. She moves very swiftly when Wally is near. She is also clapping now with both palms hitting each other. For a while she would try clapping but her hands wouldn't quite touch. We go to pick up her 6 month photos tomorrow. I can't wait!!

Teething

I think my little angel is teething! This morning she grabbed my finger and chomped down on it in her normal chewy fashion, but this time I felt something sharp and jagged instead of soft gums. I tried to look inside, but as always, she kept her lips tightly pursed and wouldn't budge for observation. She is almost 8 months so it is about time for a tooth. I can't wait to get a good picture of her smile once it emerges. And come to think of it, someday the toothfairy will visit this little pearly white. So fun!

The pictures above were taken at Laurie's wedding. Somewhere out there is a picture with the Aunties and Granny, but the Aunties haven't e-mailed it to me and so I only have these shots above. I can't wait any longer girls! I had to post something from the wedding.

Aunt Mindy & Uncle John Visit

This weekend has been nice. Temperatures have warmed and it seems the March winds are blowing already. Could it be that spring is here? Oh I hope it is! Georgia and I will soon begin our gardening. I've been day-dreaming about showing her roses since before she was born. :)

Aunt Mindy and Uncle John Juan visited their most beautiful niece on Saturday. It was so good to see them. Aunt Mindy made Gigi giggle from the moment she said hello. The Minds just has a knack for making people smile. Uncle John played patty-cake with the G-ster and she loved it, although she was a bit shy at first. Georgia also entertained them with her new rapid nose blowing trick. She picked this up when she had her cold. It is fairly ridiculous and I wonder how long she will continue to do it. I hope long enough for me to catch it on video-- I need to get that thing up and running!

Marmi also visited on Friday & Saturday. It has been way too long (two weeks) since we have seen her and Grandpapa Jim. Thank goodness they wanted to babysit on Friday. It gave me and Rodolfo a chance to go out on the town (but boy were we tired by 10:00 PM-- who would have ever guessed that such a time would come when 10:00 PM seemed late).

Well, kisses to you all. It was good to see you!! Come again soon.

Valentine

Georgia reached her 6 month yesterday on Valentine's Day. I did not realize until this month that she will always reach her half birthday on this holiday. I find this fact delightful. Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday followed closely by July 4th.

We are currently battling a cold. Rodolfo had it this weekend and the beginning of this week. Now we've caught it. Hopefully it won't be too severe. I think there should be some benefits left from breastfeeding. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Other news... Gigi is now kind of sitting. Above is a picture of her froggy stance. It is so adorable to see her sit and look around. She is also starting to wave. A few nights ago Rodolofo was saying "Hola Gigi" and waving to her, and then, to our astonishment, she waved back. Since then she has been waving a lot. She even waved to the pediatrician when she came in the room!

I love this girlie! She is my angel.

Grin

Gigi has been grinning like never before. She is starting to babble syllables in a row... still no definite mama or papa just yet though. Her abs are getting stronger and she can sit up assited -- she holds on with only one hand! Soon I guess she will be sitting without help. She is very happy that Amy had Jake. Now she has another friend to play with and date!! :):) Welcome to the world Jake Butler! Here are some recent photos. She is 5.5 months in these pictures.

Tummy Time

Georgia has spent considerable time on her tummy lately because every time we put her on the floor she rolls over!! She loves looking at the world from this fresh angle. It probably won't be long until she starts to crawl. She is already kicking her legs underneath her and does what Denise Austin calls "little swimmies". :) About a week and a half ago Gigi shouted out the word "Papi"! She hasn't done it since, but I'm hoping she will say it again soon. Still no "Mommy" yet, but I keep making lots of M noises when I'm around her.

Yum, Rice Cereal!

Gigi had her first gulp of rice cereal last week. This is what I wrote about the occasion: Gigi was beautiful eating, so cute and very open to trying this new experience. She did not swallow much of it. Most made it onto her bib, but I think it was a good start. I tasted it afterward and have to say that it is absolutely disgusting. I don't know how she took it so well. I think I'm going to try a different brand of formula... Enfamil just is icky. I have some Similac so I'll try that tomorrow.

Smiles

Whew! Long time no write. I am just sitting here in my skinny jeans, wishing I didn't spill out the top and thinking about my little beauty. The G-ster is growing by leaps and bounds. She has moved up to Pampers #3. Perhaps she still is too small for these diapers, but her legs are so chubby that the others just don't fit well. I made the executive decision to move up and I'm sure her little toosh thanks me for it. She is all smiles these days. I love just watching her and seeing what new expressions or noises she might make. After the "G" sounds Georgia moved on to "M" sounds. There were about 3 or 4 days where she would suck on her bottom lip and hum "Mmmmmmm". I encouraged her to say "Mmmommy" but had no luck in getthing anything close. This Thursday we have an appointment with a photographer for her 3 month pictures. They have a website with some wonderful examples. I hope she is able to capture at least one of the gazillion cute expressions that Gigi makes. I'm a little worried about her wild hair though. I have been experimenting with different products to try and persuade those pesky hairs to lay down. However, I have had no luck. Georgia may just have to continue with the punk-rock-princess look.

Standing Tall

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Georgia has met a new milestone! She rolled over from her tummy onto her back November 20th. When on her tummy she can lift herself up to a 90 degree angle. She looooves standing (of course with parental assitance). And she has been making lots of sounds. Recently her favorite is "gggggggg" and "gaaa".

Tomorrow we will celebrate Thanksgiving at Granny & Grampy's house. I'm hoping that Gigi will not get too overstimulated. We went to the cook-off this evening at Grandmommy & Grandpapa's and she definitely had too much excitement. I can always tell by looking into her eyes. They get red, puffy and watery. But it is the holiday season and so I suppose it is rather an initation rite. Don't we all get a bit overstimulated this time of year anyway? What with the turkey, the shopping, the Christmas lights and all it is difficult to keep a stable equilibrium.

Ready and roll 'em!

Georgia has reached new levels of achievment this past week. She is basically sleeping through the night (10:30ish PM - 7:00ish AM) and she is rolling from side to side. Now, I must admit that one time during her 8th week of life she rolled over from her back to her tummy, but she hasn't done it since until this week. She is so cute! She is also using her hands quite a bit, she likes me to prop her up on her legs so she can semi-stand and she thoroughly enjoys patty-cake and peek-a-boo. Here are some more pictures. I am especially putting these on here for Abuelita Orie, Abueltio Ofo and Abuelita Tenchi. Rodolfo tells me you are checking the blog now. Yea!! Georgia says "hola y besos"!!