Big Girl Bed Drama

A few months ago we took Gianna's crib out of her room and put a "Big Girl" (toddler) bed in there. We figured she wasn't using the crib anyway--she had claimed ownership of our bed. It was a nice idea, you know: get her used to having the crib out of her room and get used to seeing a real bed in her room.

We never expected that a few weeks later she would suddenly decide that she hated our bed and she wanted to sleep in her bed. It was a somewhat difficult transition, but not too bad. She still wanted one of us to lay with her to fall asleep (and to read books in bed), which is no big deal except that the thing is only as big as a crib mattress. Okay...not too bad, I was only 5 months pregnant at the time and she wanted Justin to lay with her half the time anyway. Plus after she fell asleep Justin and I could stay up to watch Private Practice or Greys Anatomy...ha ha ha! We even took a weekend in October to re-do her room (pictures will be posted when there are not toys scattered everywhere).

Then she started staying up later and later and then it started: 2 year molars and nightmares/night terrors! So Gianna would wake up screaming bloody murder and be completely inconsolable. We tried bringing her back in our bed, but she didn't want to be in our bed...and she even did it while staying at my parents' house for a weekend, so we know it wasn't her room upsetting her. The only solution was to wake her up and start the routine over again (usually 12:30-2am was spent doing this).

Then, all of the sudden she wanted to be back in bed with us (I shouldn't say "us" because she inevitably kicked Justin down into the corner and me off the side, so I guess she just wanted our bed). She wants to read books in her bed (about 20 a night) then be carried to our bed...boo.

And the newest development, somewhere in the middle of the night she wants to go back into her bed and sleep there until morning.

I don't understand!

I know molars are painful and nightmares are scary, but having a toddler is downright frustrating (for all of us). She can speak full "sentences" in which I can understand about every 3rd word, but she thinks I am just not listening because I don't understand all of what she is saying. It will be nice when the rest of the words are understandable.

Oh, and to top it off, I'm pretty sure that she taught herself how to "Lie". Last night I was laying in her bed with her and she was asking to go in our bed and I said she needed to stay in her bed so she knocked on the wall (with her hand) and said "owie" and pointed to her head and asked for a kiss on her "owie" over and over from both Justin and I...yeah, so she told me she hit her head on the wall when I saw that it was her hand. Of course, she could have been telling me about something that happened a long time ago, but she seemed pretty convincing that she was talking about the present. How did she learn that?

Fall Tomato Harvest

Here is Gianna very excited about the tomatoes that we picked last Wednesday. I cannot believe how amazing our crop has been this year.

Love the cheese.

Election Day

Here are some great pictures of Gianna from election day. She loved going with Mommy to vote and then going out for a cookie afterwards.

Also, by coincidence, Gianna and Sophia dressed the same for the election, here is a picture of them being silly at playgroup.

Trick or Treating

Here are a couple of our *very few* pictures from trick or treating. We were so busy videotaping that we forgot to take a lot of still images. We will upload video soon (really soon too, now that we are caught up on the blog!)

Getting ready to Carve Pumpkins!

Gianna is sitting so patiently, ready to carve her pumpkin.

Wonderful Ones

Gianna's wonderful ones class also had a Halloween party and the kids even got to do crafts and go on a trick or treat expedition. What fun!

Trick or Treat!

Here is Gianna making a pumpkin....
and showing it off!

Downtown Trick or Treat

Livermore has a great event for kids at Halloween. We took Gianna to our Downtown and she got to Trick or Treat at downtown businesses, it was so busy, but worth it.

We brought Gianna's car for her to ride in. We also met up with her friends Nicolas (in his own car) and Sophia (who looks sad to not have her car for the picture).

Library Parade

Here is Gianna at the Library for a Halloween Parade.

Playgroup Halloween Party

Here are a few pictures from our Playgroup Halloween Party. Gianna was surprisingly good when we put the costumes on the kids and had them sit for a few photos.

Alden Lane Fall Fest

We had an outing to the Alden Lane Fall Festival a few weeks ago and we met up with Gianna's friend Sophia and her Mommy and Daddy there. The girls had a great time playing in the hay maze and running around the nursery (Alden Lane is a Livermore Nursery).

They had a great Playground for the kids (and Justin) to enjoy.
And Gianna went on (another) pony ride.

Playing with Sophia

A few weeks ago Gianna's friend Sophia came over for a playdate, their favorite part of the day was playing in Gianna's new "big girl" bed. It definitely looks like they are two teenagers hanging out and texting (notice they each have a phone)...when did they get so old?

**Pictures courtesy of Jenny, thanks Jenny!

Joan's with Grandma and Grandpa

While Grandma and Grandpa Buscho were visiting we took them to Joan's to see how much fun it is.

Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Joan's without a pony ride.

Happy Birthday Jadyn!

Jadyn turned 9 in October and to celebrate we went for a trip to the California Academy of Sciences (fortunately it was a little less crowded this time). Gianna's favorite parts were definitely the Penguins, the aquarium, the dioramas (yes, they still have those) and the butterfly/rain forest dome.

I'll do it myself, thanks.

Gianna loves brushing her teeth. And lately she loves bringing the stool over and doing it all by herself. What a big girl!

Joan's Pumpkin Patch

We were so happy to find out that someone had decided to take over the running of Joan's pumpkin patch (keeping everything the same) after the original owner retired last year. Gianna had an even better time this year...it was a little harder to get her to sit still for photos but it was so fun to watch her run around the farm and get so excited about all of the pumpkins and animals. You can look back to our pictures from last year by clicking "Posts from 2007" on the right of this page, then go to October.

In the Corn Maze
Pony Ride!


Driving the Joan's Tractor
In the Pumpkin Patch with Mommy
Pumping water.
Feeding the Goats is always one of Gianna's favorite things to do.
How Tall This Fall? Looks like a little less than 2 1/2 feet.
Photo-op with playgroup buddies.