July 2020 – Gigi Makes Three

Building on What Debbie Said Below…

The other day she was saying Barb but we thought she was saying Bob. It was impossible to distinguish between the two without context. Once I figured it out, to let the adults in the room know that she meant “Barb,” I repeated it with a strong emphasis on the R sound. Gigi picked up on it and just started saying the R sound for the first time. Which is great. One issue though – for now she says every R sound in the same exaggerated way I did (I have to hide my face from her now when she says certain words with an R sound so she doesn’t see me laughing and get the wrong idea):

Aahs and Arrs

My baby is losing her baby everywhere: her face, her vocabulary, her opinions, and just this week, her Rs. 24 hours ago, she said “watahh” for water, “Queen Baahb” for Queen Barb (you know, from the movie Trolls World Tour (“Trolls Waahld Tou-ahh”). Now, it’s water, Barb, and World Tour. She’s growing up, and I’m so proud of the kind-hearted little lady she’s becoming… so why does this make me so darn sad?????!!

Toddlers in Masks Playing Soccer

To any grown adult who “can’t breathe” in a face mask, I present to you evidence that it can be done (and in 90-degree weather).

“You may not want to put your hands so close to my butt…”

I’ll consider myself warned.

Current Obsession: Calico Critters

I have never been a “collect ‘em all” sort of girl. I don’t think we can say the same is true for Gigi, who could stare at her Calico Critters “magazine” for HOURS.

So Long, Farewell

My baby… in the first place she ever called home. In the place we prayed hard for her health, kept her safe, and watched her grow from a baby into a big almost four-year-old kid. We officially moved out a few weeks ago, but we’ve returned to say goodbye a handful of times.

Goodbyes are hard, and this one certainly is no different for this sweet kid. She’s still finding reasons “9B” is better (“We could scoot in the halls,”) but we are hopeful she warms up to the new place soon. We’re being patient. We understand that the walls are bare and our “stuff” is still finding homes. We know her bed is WAY too small (She’s still in her crib/toddler bed!! Holy moly, bad parent alert!!!!!) and that her mama and dada have different rules in this apartment (we’re a bit more particular about things like floors :)). It’s a lot on her, so we’re giving her all the time she needs. If it makes her feel better to call Reade Street home, then it can be her home as long as she likes. Of course, we are going to do our best to facilitate a newfound love of her new apartment… I’m getting her a big girl bed (Shhh!! It will be a surprise!) and going to put some effort into decorating her room to make it positively magical.

Until then, please enjoy these pics of my sweet angel baby reminding us where her bed/her couch/her toys go:

Dessert

She doesn’t eat cupcakes, she licks them, right from her plate. It’s clear from her face just how much joy it brings her, and that makes me twice as happy.

Hidden Talent

We literally had NO idea until just now. At dinner, we were talking and playing a “guess who i am” game, and she launches into a verbatim cinematic monologue. I swear she doesn’t watch that much tv!!!!! Well, pre-global pandemic she didn’t. Oh well. Bad parenting and all, color me impressed.