First USC game of the season

GO GAMECOCKS!

We were ready today with the doughnuts, cider and our gamecock outfits.  I'm sad that summer 2014 is ending here in Utah, but USC football makes me excited for Fall!

You know you can find this boy wherever the food is!

Bobby even took time to paint with Gia during the game... a big sacrifice on his part!

Well, we didn't win.  But we'll get them next game!!

Gia post, August 2014

I haven't done a post just about Gia in a while, and so many new things are happening for her that I wanted to record and remember.

She can count to 29, with help in the teen-numbers.  She knows all of her letters, upper and lower case, and knows the sounds of 21 of them.  She is spelling small words and can tell us what words begin with certain letters.

Her favorite animals right now are cats and bunnies.

She LOVES Bible time!  She gets out her big, Veggie Tales Bible and wants to tell us stories.  Her favorite story is of Jesus healing the sick girl (Jairus' daughter).  She then wants us to tell her Bible stories, and we usually end up telling the story of the little girl a few times.

Gia can be very systematic in her playing.  She puts her blocks together according to color and size, and she has specific ways that she wants to play pretend games. 

Her hair is long enough that I can do fun things with it!  I attempted my first double-french braids the other day, and I think they turned out alright!  The next day her hair was crimpy and she loved it.

                                 

                                 

Baby is still her favorite toy, along with her Doc McStuffins doctor kit, her kitchen and puzzles.

She put this puzzle together today:

 Gia did this much by herself, then I helped her put the three big chunks together.

Last piece! 

 We can't hide anything from this girl... if we're upset, she reads our faces and asks us why we aren't happy.  She also tells us to smile when we're concentrating on something.  She is very empathetic to the emotions of others, which is a skill I hoped to teach her.

She has a few really good friends: Lexi, Rillian and Alyssa and Micah.  She gets very excited about having play dates with her buddies and still has a hard time when she has to leave.

Gia is an ity bity eater still, even when it comes to sweets!  We have a rule that one of our summer missionaries, Emily, started, which is that she has to take 3 bites because she's 3 years old.  It works well and she usually complies without much of a fight.

She still cries before nap time most days, but is getting better about having self-control.

This girl is the best big sister ever.  She and Trey are absolutely best buddies!  She cares for him, is concerned when he cries, understands when I have to take time to change or feed him, loves to dance around him and make him laugh, and gets so excited in the morning time when she knows that Trey is awake.

Gia loves to snuggle with Daddy.  Sometimes at bed time or at random times she wants to be held by me or sit with me, but she's more into actually doing things with us rather than just sitting.  She does love to give us all hugs, which pretty much melts our hearts.

I can't even express how full my heart towards Gia.  She had a couple of tough months earlier in the year, but has really settled down and is just a joy to be with.  We continue to be consistent on discipline as issues arise, but for the most part she just enjoys life and listens well (as long as she's not tired or hungry!)  We love this kid!

Gia and her buddy Lexi (playing in the pool we used as a baptismal)

We went with her friend Rillian to the County fair.

Gia is terrified of most animals, but somehow Melissa convinced her to feed the sheep, and she did great!

Trey - 9 months!

This has been the month of changes!  So many new things going on for little Trey!

He started crawling!  It started as a cute little crawl where he drags one of his legs behind him.  Now he crawls normally.

July 25th he started clapping!  He gets so very proud of himself when he does it and looks forward to verbal encouragement we give him afterwards.

July 31st he got his first tooth!  It's the bottom left tooth.  On August 2nd he got his second tooth right beside it.

He can now pull up on pretty much anything into a standing position.  He like to pull up and stand on EVERYTHING.  People, tables, his bouncer, the dish washer, his bumbo seat, couches, chairs... anything that he can get a steady hold on.  And he's so proud of himself when he does this, which of course we encourage by clapping and cheering for him.  I even saw him cruise a little bit, so I don't think it will be long before he's walking!  Bobby and I made a bet as to when he will walk.  If I win, Bobby has to figure out a way for me to meet Michelle Duggar!

I got mastitis on July 31st, and it kicked my butt.  I'm continuing on, however, with nursing.  We finally got him to drop his midnight feeding, although sometimes he still wakes up and wants to be rocked back to sleep for a few minutes, which I don't mind.  He can now go from 9pm-6am without a feeding, and once has gone 12 hours at night!

He nurses 5 times a day and now eats 3 times a day (so about 9-12 oz) along with table food and cheerios.  His favorite is probably pears or apples, but he won't turn down anything.  Green beans are not a favorite, but he eats them anyway!

Since being mobile, this boy has given us a few scares with the things he finds and puts in his mouth!  Things like cotton balls, hair ties, dog food, wet wipes, pieces of the carpet, Gia's toys, etc...  This, along with the fact that he grabbed the carpet and tore it off the padding has brought us to the decision to get laminate floors throughout the upstairs.  Not sure when this will happen... whenever we find a good deal, I guess!

Trey is my snuggle buddy.  He just loves his mama!  He's had some separation anxiety this month, but as long as I'm not around, he's fine with other people.

People like to rub his head.  He has a lot of soft, fuzzy hair that sticks up in a foe hawk, and I think people start touching his head before they even realize what they're doing, ha ha.  I mean not just family and friends, but random people who barely know us have done this to him.  It cracks me up!

He likes loud noises.  He likes to bang toys together and on the floor, and he likes the sound of hammers or big trucks.  So different from Gia!

He still growls a lot.  Hilarious.  He even growls "Mama," and it's funny and creepy all at once :o)

"Mama" can mean "look at me, mama" or "I'm hungry."

He understands "come here," "more" and "all done."  When I ask him if he's all done with his food, and he's still hungry, he starts crying.

Trey is a water bug!  He loves to splash in any kind of water (including Nola's) and get in the bathtub.

 At 8 1/2 months Trey started climbing stairs!  I'm in trouble!

His favorite toy is a stuffed monkey.  You can see it in the picture below.  He lights up when I give it to him.

Gia and Trey have started playing more.  He loves his big sister and likes to be wherever she is.

The funniest thing he does is put one of Gia's play-strawberries in his mouth and look at us.  What  face!

He definitely has a mechanical mind!  He loves to watch the wheels go around and try to figure out what makes it happen.

I can't believe how time is flying by!  I'm going to miss his baby stage, but it just gets better and better from here!  Looking forward to each new thing he does!

One more thought from this month:  My friend Lena lost her baby boy on August 3rd.  He was born, prematurely, just three days after Trey.  As I watched her walk through the blessed and difficult journey of loving her son and then losing him, I really felt connected to her.  Our boys were both cute and chubby, the same age, and I could just feel how much she loved Jud as I looked at Trey.  When he passed away, I felt as though I had lost a nephew and was heartbroken for her.  I held Trey a long time that evening after nursing him for bed, and just rocked him and watch him sleep for 30 minutes.  I am so grateful for Lena's faith and love for her son.  It has reminded me to cherish my children more, to take time with them and slow down to really enjoy the moments with them.  It also reminds me that I am simply a steward of their lives, given the responsibility to love them deeply and teach them all I can on this earth, but that God loves them more than I do and has their lives in His hands.  I can rest in the fact that he has them completely in His will, and He loves them deeply.  Thank you, Lord, for Jud's life.