Baby girl update

Warning: super long post!

A lot of you already know whats going on with me right now, but I just thought I would update about the pregnancy so far.

Three weeks ago I had a regular ob appointment. I was almost 30 weeks and feeling some cramping in my lower belly area. Kind of like period cramps. At first I just wrote the pain off as regular pregnancy pains, although I did think it was odd I hadn't experienced them when I was preggers with Gianni. But every pregnancy is different right? So I finally told my doc and he checked me.

Apparently my cervix was a bit open and thinning (sorry if that's tmi). Not what you want to hear when you are only 30 weeks pregnant. I was showing signs of preterm labor. My doctor told me I was only allowed to take care of Gianni and be on my feet 20 minutes at a time. That was really hard for me to hear, but at least I wasn't on bed rest!

So for the past 2-3 weeks I've had to really take it easy. I really like keeping myself busy doing things around the apartment (ie cleaning, cooking, crafting, etc) while Dom is at work with our one car (which these days is from about 7am-10pm these days, but that's a different story) so this has been a very difficult task for me. Ive been quite the busy body this pregnancy. I couldn't even take Gianni on a walk or to the park and that killed me. So I have been trying to schedule more play dates for him so he doesn't go crazy.

Yesterday I had another appt. (the doctor had me coming in every week so she could keep a close eye on my progress). Lucky for me I hadn't changed in measurement since the first time she checked me. Because of the lack of progress, she said that I can do more! I was so excited. I can go grocery shopping, take Gianni to the park, and make meals! I still have to take it easy and "listen to my body" but I feel so much better knowing I'm not going to have this baby tomorrow.

You always assume that you are going to have a normal healthy pregnancy but you never know when you have pushed your body too far. In my case cleaning my entire apartment and vacuuming 2 days in a row did it for me. Blame it on the nesting instinct I guess. Needless to say, I won't be doing any hard core cleaning in the near future.

But the baby is doing really well! I have been consistently measuring at least 1-2 weeks ahead of what I am which is good. I would say I can't wait for this baby to come, but the truth is, I'm really glad she is staying in my belly for the time being :)

Rawer

I thought I would share a few pictures that made me smile. Gianni got this tiger hat from his grandpa mark who had brought it home from a business trip.

The first time I saw Gianni wear it he growled at us and kept saying "rawer" over and over again to "scare" us. Of course we just thought it was adorable but pretended to be scared anyways.

One day Gianni decided he wanted to wear it around the house which is rare because he hates wearing hats, but not this day.

He loved it so much he even fell asleep with it on. He is so silly.

Playing dress up

I know that dress up is usually a girl thing, but let's be honest, Gianni has a lot of girl influence these days. Between me, his grandma Leila, aunt yaya, and play dates, the majority of his options are women. So, it was no surprise when Gianni begged to play with my jewelry box. What I didn't expect was for him to actually put things on, and in the right places. He ended up with a necklace, ring, bracelet (ok the "bracelet" is actually a late hoop earing but it fit his wrist perfectly), and rechargeable battery? What that was doing in my jewelry box I'm not sure... But one thing I do know:

Man I love this boy.

Target, Gianni style

The other week we went to target (our favorite store) which is a frequent occurance for us. Usually I am fighting Gianni to stay sitting in the shopping cart and bribing him with a small toy or treat so I can get through my shopping trip without meltdowns.

This particular day we had aunt Nicia with us (who Gianni lovingly calls "yaya") so he had a bit more freedom. So we enter the store and what do I expect? Gianni running rampant through target pulling everything off the shelf and loosing him. What he actually did surprised me.

How to shop Gianni style at target: (1) get a shopping basket (2) run over to the purse section and grab the brightest colored purse he can find. (3) place purse on shoulder (4) hit up the dollar spot, full his basket with toys, socks, etc.

As cute and hilarious as it was to see him copycat what he perceives as a normal shopping trip, I could not get his fingers off that basket or purse for the rest of the shopping trip, which prolonged the experience significantly, but man was it adorable.

Birthday pictures Part 2

We decided to throw Gianni a little birthday party with a few friends and family the day after his birthday because Saturdays just work better for most people. It was really fun! I made invites on Photoshop with a little train on them saying "choo-choo Gianni is two" and we threw him a little choo-choo train party. It went about how you would expect a two year old party to go, kids running wild around the house while the adults munched and chatted. Gianni had a blast and I couldn't have asked for anything else.

Unexpectedly we got some snow, which Gianni was very excited about. He spent most of the earlier part of that day gazing out the window saying "s-NO!"

 All bundled up

s

Checking out the white stuff

 At the party

 Gianni's little cousin Brody, he loves to play with this kid!

 Party food

 Our friends Loren and Kyle's little cutie Cole, can you believe he is 7 months?!

 Brody's little sister "bella" (isabella), riding Thomas the train!

 Brody helping Gianni hold down the button that makes it go.

 Playing mini Foosball

The two little babes, so cute!

Present time! 

New "choo-choo" train :) Thanks aunt "Ya-Ya" (Nicia)

Yay! A talking Lightning McQueen! (Thanks Angelina and Ty!)

Brody was a very good helper when it came to unwrapping presents :)

His first tricycle! Thanks Uncle Justin

n

Big boy truck from grandma and grandpa Sanelli! He loves this thing although it took about 4 grown men to put it together it was worth the wait :)

Mooostache!

f

The things he learns...

...from the "responsible" adult figures around him. (don't worry, his wasn't actually punctured, so no helium was inhaled)

Late birthday pictures Part 1

Sorry about the delay, we have been sick for the past 2 1/2 weeks and are slowly recovering, and I feel terrible not having posted pictures sooner of Gianni's 2nd birthday! But here they are, better late than never I guess :)

These first set of pictures are from January 13th, his actual birthday. We semi celebrated that day, but had a party planned for the following day, so we just had a chill day. I made his favorite breakfast (bacon, o.j., and crepes with berries), then later we took him out for a birthday dinner, opened presents, let him watch his favorite movie (cars aka lightning McQueen), had a birthday cupcake, then off to bed :)

.

Yay! A new big boy potty! Thanks mommy and daddy! (now, are you ready for some embarrassing pictures?

So happy to be sitting on his big boy potty... 

...and that is about all he did on it.

 So excited to blow out the candle

Enjoying the yummy cupcake

 the remnants 

 Presents!

 Snazzy new church clothes

 Yay more toys!

Cool new skateboard! Thanks Grandma Horne for all the awesome presents!

I also have a super cute video of Gianni singing happy birthday to himself with us, but I can't get it to upload :(

Gianni is 2!

How time flies! I mean really, I seriously gave birth two whole years ago to this little boy who is in no way a baby any more? I can't believe how little he was, and how much he as grown. He makes us laugh so much and we just love him. He has brought so much joy and happiness to our lives, we just can't imagine life without him. Happy Birthday Gianni, we love you!

 Brand new, weighing in at just above 7 lbs.

The last two pictures were taken from his 1st birthday, I cant believe that was an entire year ago!