Happy Halloween!

Today was Gianna's first Halloween. We started off the day by going to an awesome party at Gianna's friend Hadyn's house. Although, for some reason I didn't end up with a lot of pictures from the party...I'll post some later when we get them from other people. I think Gianna and I were too busy Partying to remember to take pictures. At the party we played games and decorated pumpkins and went on a really spooky scavenger hunt. It was a very memorable first Halloween. Gianna was a cheerleader and her friends were a kangaroo, a monkey, a pea pod, a cowboy and a pumpkin...it was very cute. I even dressed up as a football player for the party.

Then this evening when Justin got home, Gianna helped carve her first pumpkin. We tried to make it look as much like a baby as possible. She also asked mommy to write her initials on the back and put a heart on the side. It is very cute. After a quick dinner, and daddy changing into his football player costume, we were off to trick-or-treat.

We know that she can't enjoy the candy, but it was so fun to show her off in her cheerleader costume to neighbors and to watch her reaction as people kept handing her these shiny little packages. It was a great first Halloween and we are already excited for next year.

Happy Haunting!

Peekaboo, we're done!

Okay, this is my last post for the night! Whew, what a marathon. I know it'll be a lot to read too, but there are some great videos and pictures so have fun enjoying our last few weeks. I'll try and keep everyone posted more regularly on what we've been doing and hopefully we'll have more time to post on this blog.

One more thing: Gianna had her 9 month well-patient check up last week and she was a whopping 17lbs and 27 inches. She was healthy and the Dr. said the same thing he's been saying all along. She is a very strong personality and we are going to have our hands full, but in the long run she will be a strong adult and probably very driven. We just have to remember that the days are long but the years are short. I can't believe it's been 9 months already.

Saying Baby?

When Grandma and Grandpa B were here Gianna said something that sounded like "Baby" here's video of it. She hasn't done it again though so who knows if it was on purpose?

Speaking of that, when is a first word a first word? She says a lot of things that sound like words but we aren't sure what is what yet. Although she does do "La la" at Lily a lot :)

Hot Tamale

Gianna has recently become obsessed with the fridge. Anytime we open it she comes barreling across the floor at speeds I didn't know were possible. And what does she go for?

The hot sauce. And if you take away one, she grabs another! It is so funny!

Sean's Baptism

Gianna's friend Sean got baptised at our church today. We were very happy to be there and to be able to celebrate with the family afterwards.

Sean looked adorable and was such a good boy. It was a very special day for Dawn, Brian and Sean...one of the nicest familes we've ever met!

I just wanted to share a bunch of pictures from this special event.

Homecoming in Davis

We went to Davis for Homecoming yesterday. They played against the SDSU Jackrabbits and lost 28-21 (it's been a tough first official year in the NCAA for the Aggies), but it was a very exciting game, none-the-less.

We got to Davis very early for my first official Cal Aggie Alumni Band-uh Marching practice. What fun it was to see old friends and to also let Gianna see me march from so close. During the actual game I'm sure she had no idea that I was out on the field, but Justin said she was watching me march around during practice.

Then we had a few hours to kill before our lunch with Alison so we drove around, did some errands and let Gianna have a nice nap in the car.

Gianna was very good all day.

She loved the Game and flirting with all of the other fans. She also got very excited when everyone started clapping at the same time (she loves clapping), and had a wonderful time walking around the stadium.

We had very good seats that were out of the sun, although it didn't matter because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Another special treat is that we weren't seated too far from the Alumni marching band so Gianna loved dancing along when they played during timeouts. I decided to just play for the half-time show and after the game and to sit with Justin and Gianna during the game.

Okay, here's the really big news: Gianna fell asleep during the game!!! She is usually the WORST at sleeping in public. Justin and I were walking her around and had just finished buying her a UCD tee-shirt when a woman commented that she was a good sleeper and we were both so puzzled until we looked at Justin's arms and there she was just lounging, asleep! It was amazing. Except then we were so scared to wake her up Justin and I spent the whole 3rd quarter pacing in the olny shade in the whole stadium: under the score board (yes, it is very poorly planned).

All in all it was a great trip, we had a lot of fun and were happy to see the new stadium.

Hey Alison!

Gianna finally got to meet her 'Auntie' Alison this weekend!!! Alison (Jessica's college roomate) is a world resident and has been living all over europe pretty much since Gianna was born. Justin and I were so glad that Gianna finally got to meet her and they seemed to get along wonderfully. But what kid wouldn't LOVE Alison anyway since she's just a big kid herself. Alison also brought Gianna a little Cow as a present and Gianna loves chewing on his tail.

We met her at Dos Coyotes, one of the BEST restaurants in Davis. As nice as Livermore is, Justin and I can never seem to get over how much we miss the Davis restaurants and downtown areas. Maybe after we've lived in Livermore for a little longer...

Thanks Alison for meeting us for lunch! It was so nice to see you!!!

Play Date with Gail

We stayed an extra night in Santa Rosa so that we could take Gianna to PlayDate with Gail Saunders (again). Gail is so nice to let us visit playdate and Gianna always has a blast when she goes. The highlight this time was seeing Gianna and Emerson walk around with their walkers! It was so exciting. Gianna just got this walker as a new toy and hasn't stopped using it since! Gianna also loved riding Rody the horse (as always), the bubbles and the huge tent that we made with the parachute. Grandma C and Auntie Sarah (and Mike) were able to come too, so it was extra special. You can visit Gail's blog at http://playdateblog.blogspot.com to see more pictures.

Also, for people in Santa Rosa, Gail is looking for a new venue for PlayDate, if you know of anything please contact her through her blog! Lets keep this wonderful activity alive!!!

Trip to Santa Rosa 10/20-10/21

A few weekends ago we took a trip to Santa Rosa to visit Grandpa and Grandma Campbell and Auntie Sarah. It was nice to visit because it has been a very long time since we went to the "Ranch," as Justin calls it. Justin spent some time helping my dad get the house ready for winter and my mom and I took Gianna to a booksale and Coddingtown to hang out. Gianna got lots of books at the booksale and then she got some snow boots for our trip to North Dakota next month at Old Navy.

To my surprise Coddingtown is now a "Simon" mall (yuck for mig corporations taking over locally-owned businesses). I guess part of Coddingtown being taken over means that it can only have big-box chain stores and restaurants in it, so we took Gianna to "Narsi's" for lunch to say goodbye to the restaurant, sign their petition, and eat some lemons. Well, Gianna did most of the lemon-eating. And that was only after she was done with the pickle. Don't judge me: the girl loves sour foods and who am I to disagree?

We also got to go on a very fun walk with Grandma, Rita (the doggie) and Auntie Sarah. Here is another little-known fact about Gianna: She is Obsessed with Dogs! She loved watching Rita all weekend, as well as holding her leash on the walk. She giggled so hard when Rita rolled over right un front of her and really really loved when Rita towed her car with her leash. It was a very fun weekend and it was so nice to see more family.

Babysitting Sean

On 10/18 we babysat Gianna's friend Sean. We had a great time. And besides one little episode of Gianna being Jealous of me paying more attention to Sean before Justin got home from work, the kids were great. We also, obviously, saw this as a great photo-op.

I'll let Justin tell the rest of the story:

So, we had two kids, Gianna and her friend Sean, to take care of and it was pretty cool. We started out by going for a walk. Then, when we finally got back it was time for dinner. Jessica made me a steak actually, so I was a happy camper. Although, it was easy to be happy because I got to give Sean a bottle and remember how Gianna was at that age. It seems weird that it was only a few months ago. Time flies by, but it wasn't too long ago that Gianna was Sean's age. I think Sean liked me. By the time Dawn was about to come get him I was on Sean patrol and I kept him happy, pretty good for my first real time with him. I look forward to doing it again, holding two babies at once, although difficult, was a lot of fun.

Play Group at the Mall

It was raining on the day we were supposed to have playgroup at the Park so we all decided to head inside: to take over the mall!

I never thought of five moms with infants as such a sight to see, but we were something to gawk at. We got stopped by everyone!

Gianna liked the mall, and the moms like it too. Our mall has these nice, new livingroom areas and we took over one of them so the babies could play. Nicolas and Gianna had fun sharing puffs and then Nicolas gave Gianna a back rub. No really, he did, all on his own. It was very strange. Really, I think he wanted her to give him more puffs.

Hoodie Sweatshirt.

Here is Gianna in an adorable Hoodie that she got as a gift from Dale, Shannon and Larry's builder. The pictures are so cute, I think she should be their new poster-child!

Hoods are so much better than hats for cool nights so far too, because she hasn't figured out how to get it off yet!

And here's what it looks like after a meal.

Back to Joan's with Great Grandpa

On Monday 10/15 while Justin was at work and Shannon and Larry did some of their "Bay Area Errands" Gianna decided to take her Great Grandpa B to Joans pumpkin patch (she asked Mommy to drive them there).

She thought that he might like looking at all of the farm equiptment that they have at the pumpkin patch, including a farm equiptment museum.

She also knows that Grandpa loves pumpkins and growing giant pumpkins so she told me that she knew that this would be the best outing for them. I was happy to go along and be the chauffeur and phographer. They had a great day together.

Gianna also had had a very special opportunity to be close to and pet a donkey. She was just happily standing at the fence (as she likes to do) and a very pregnant donkey came over to say hello to Gianna. I'm pretty sure that Gianna thought she was a Giant dog, and while she wasn't too sure what to think of that big dog, it was so neat to see them together!