Playgroup At Gianna's

Well, Playgroup was at Gianna's house today, we had 6 babies (and Mommies) come over to spend the day out of the 105 degree weather! It was nice to finally have a big group here and Gianna was in a really great mood. She was also really good about sharing her toys and except for her scratching Nicolas (sorry again!) and Sean's "fussyness" (I still think he is a perfect angel) it was perfect!

Sean wasn't in to being part of the picture so here is a picture of Gianna (clockwise), Nicolas, Madison, Hayden and Sophia. That's right, we had an even number of girls and boys! Although I think that Gianna is going to be able to hold her own with the boys judging from past playgroups. There is also a really great picture of Gianna trying to eat Sophia's face on Sophia's blog (just click the link in the margin!). I am so excited for all of the babies to grow up together...today we got to talking about trips to the park and girls' (and boys if they want) trips to Libby Lu.

How amazing that Gianna has these friends who she will be able to truely say have been in her life "forever".

Here is a video of one of Gianna's favorite things- swinging with Mommy. She loves anything that involves moving fast, swinging, being upside-down or being tossed in the air. She is a daredevil!

We went to the Dr. today to have a quick check-up because she hasn't been eating or sleeping well, but I guess she's doing better than I though because she weighed 16 lbs! Just 6 weeks ago she was 14lbs 12oz, she is growing so fast. Anyway, the doc said she looks great and doesnt think anything is wrong. For now we are just going to keep an eye on her sleeping and eating because the Dr. said she looks great but wants to just keep checking on it, I'll let everyone know how it turns out. She is getting even closer to crawling, she can even move from a crawling position to sitting with grace, pull herself to standing, and laughs and smiles a lot despite the lack of sleep...I wonder how she does it!

Update! Update!

Okay, so we've been sort of lazy since Justin got home...and I haven't updated. :)





Lets see...Gianna and I got up early Saturday and went to get Justin at the Airport (after a quick stop at Jarrod and Kelly's to get their extra carseat-I highly recommend having one! and play yard--Thanks Guys!). Gianna knew who Justin was after just about 1 second and was so happy to see him and flirt with him. We spent the rest of Saturday just hanging out, it's nice that he's home.





Sunday we had a playgroup picnic which was so much fun! I meant to take a picture but I think I was too excited about Justin being home and all the Daddies getting to meet all of the other Mommies and Babies that I just forgot! We'll have one again soon though and I'll be sure to take a picture then and post it.





Monday was also a nice lazy day (Justin had it off) so it was nice to spend a little more time together before he went back to work. Plus He and I were recovering from Gianna's wild nights. She is just so excited to have Justin home that she has been awake almost around the clock, with the exception being the occasional nap in the car--how's that for irony? For those of you who don't know (or have blocked out the memory) Gianna HATED the car for the first 5 months of her life or so. We tried everything, even about a week where the only places we went were by foot or bus-that was interesting. Anyway, she is better [most of the time] now.





One really exciting (and scary) thing is that Gianna is getting really close to crawling and also can pull herself onto her feet from sitting if she has a really good grip and really wants to. I took her shopping for some standing and sitting toys and she really loves them so much more than that old "Baby" stuff.





One last funny thing: At the Picnic Gianna was being her usual verbal self and commanding attention and today Chelynn told me that her husband Rick said Gianna was the typical Girl- talkative and attention grabbing!





Love,


Jessica

Justin Is Home!

Yay!

Video?

I know, I know....I just finished posting but I wanted to see how hard it would be to post a video.

I know the quality is terrible, but I took it on my regular digital camera.

Justin is almost back!

Well, it is late Thursday night here in California. That means that it is now Friday afternoon for Justin, and he is about to begin is arduous journey home. I am sure knowing that he is coming home will make it fully worth-while though!!! :)

Gianna and I have been keeping busy walking with our playgroup friends, cleaning house, and we even went to Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek with our friends Chelynn and Nicolas for a nice day of shopping and lunch. It was amazing how well the babies did without ever taking any naps!!! It was also so nice to escape the heat in Livermore, although it was still plenty hot in Walnut Creek.

I am posting a picture of Gianna is the beautiful romper she got from my cousin, Gina. I think she looks so cute in it--and it is perfect for the weather. She is laying on the adorable quilt her 'auntie' Erica in North Dakota made for her. We are all excited because just this week we finalized plans for traveling to North Dakota this November to go to Erica and Corey's wedding. It should be a blast and Gianna might even catch her first glimpse of the snow!

Thank you to everyone who helped make the time that Justin has been gone particularly easy for Gianna and I, we are so grateful, especially to: Johnny, Sarah, Grandma C., Dawn Sean & Brian Hogan, Chelynn & Nicolas, Great Grammy (thanks for the dishes), Mandy & Hayden, Jenny & Sophia, Cheryl Ashley & Ryan, Renee & Spencer, Toni & Madison (& Noah), Jadyn & Cole, and anyone else who helped. You made the time fly by!

Almost time to leave Japan :) !!!

Well, it is finally time to leave this place, in like 15hrs. I am very excited and can't wait to leave!!! I love you Jess and I will see you and Gianna very soon.
-Justin

Jessica's Night Out!

Well, Over the past few days we have been winding down a little bit. Both Gianna and I are ready for Justin to come home...and we know he's anxious to make the 20-hour trip back.

Anyway, on Monday Aunt Sarah and Grandma C. (who drove to Livermore for the night) watched Gianna while I went and had a night out with a few of my friends from the Mom's Club. It was a bit strange being out without Gianna or Justin, it was definitely a first since Gianna was born (but hopefully not a last!). It's nice because Justin and I have been in Livermore for over a year but it's just now starting to feel like home now that we are meeting people and getting out a lot more. We are both looking forward to our Playgroup Family Picnic this weekend even though I'm super bummed that not everyone can go :( By the way...The margarita's are AMAZING at Casa Orozco in Livermore, I highly recommend them to anyone who has the chance.

Sarah and Mom left today and Gianna and I joined Jenny and Chelynn for our usual walk in the park, but wow was it hot!!! Gianna seemed bothered by it so she got to be a naked baby - her favorite. She seemed a lot happier once I had her down to just a diaper, hat and sunscreen!





Other than that, Gianna has just been eating a TON! She is getting much better at bottle-feeding and she eats those Gerber star-puffs by the handful (along with just about every veggie we can find). She talked almost continuously all day and we had fun just spending some time together. I can tell she is going to crawl any day here. Lets hope she waits until Justin gets home!

Japanese food?

Hello again. Is anyone hungry for some Japanese cuisine? Today we are serving sea urchin...yum. I did not order this, Cap-san did, however it was pretty good I must admit. I tried a little thinking I would not enjoy it but I liked it very much. We stopped at this place on our day off somewhere near Hagi, Japan on the island of Honshu. One cool thing about this dish was it came with its own "bunsen" burner candle that was lit and placed underneath the bowl to cook the rice. The only problem was we had to wait ~25min for it to cook right in front of us. I'm starting to wonder how much "work" Japanese chefs do if they even leave the cooking to us. Well...when the food is cooked, which it rarely is :) Anyway, this was a good dish, if I ever return I will have to try it. Good bye, I love you Gianna and Jess XOXOXO
-Justin

Hello from Japan!

Hello, I have some pictures of my Japan Adventures. The pictures were taken on our day off. Cap-san and I are standing in front of the largest cave in all of Japan. It was nice and cool standing there with the cool misty air of the cave blowing on us. We started out heading north to the island above us. The largest of the islands, Honshu. We traveled along the coast and saw lots of beautiful scenery along the way. It was very interesting to travel so far in a car. I still haven't gotten used to driving on the left side of the road. Fortunately for everybody in the car I wasn't driving. It took about 2 hours to get to the bridge pictured above. This is a famous place in Japan with nice white sand beaches. The color of the water is very blue and pretty as well. I enjoyed my day off but could only imagine how much Jess and Gianna would have enjoyed it. I miss them very much and appreciate all the work Jess is doing on her own. I love them very much and cannot wait to see them! I hope they continue to have good time with Aunt Sarah. Hey, not bad for my first post! I hope to do more as well. Goodbye from Kurosaki.

Promised Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised:

Pincer Grasp


















Zoo Outing with Playgroup:


-(near to far) Gianna, Spencer, Nicholas, Hayden






















-Gianna and Spencer