Mommy and me day...

So, Ms. Maureen has been under the weather and called out sick today. Which means that I got to stay home with Ginger today (and Paul will take tomorrow, if neccessary). Ginger is FULL of life these days, so I knew that being couped up all day in the house would get pretty boring for the both of us!

I've always been a little jealous of my stay-at-home mom friends that get to take their children to story time at the library, so I set out to find what time our local branch held storytime. We were in luck- it was hosted today, at 10:30am. So, off we went!

Can I share a little secret, between you and I? Ginger was the (and I say this in the most loving way!) monster of the class. Out of 8 children, she was the one running around, trying to climb on the chair, not excited about giving back the musical instruments, and no interest in sitting on the mat to watch as the librarian read the story. Now granted, the other children were either 3+ years old, or under a year (not walking) so she was the only one really in that stage where she does NOT sit still for every long.

But here's the best part- I loved EVERY minute of it. As she ran around the community room, shaking her maracas while it was quiet story time, I smiled and had a hard time resisting laughing. Sure, part of me wished that she could have understood the intent of the 30 minutes, but this girl had no fear in exploring, smiling, laughing, and skipping around the room filled with books.

Afterwards we stopped by Paul's work, where proud Daddy walked her around and showed off how much she'd grown up since our last visit. She has a few women there who ADORE her, so we left for lunch with a few new little toys.

Paul, Ginger and I enjoyed a quick lunch at Rubio's, then headed back to drop Paul off, and then G and I headed home. Take a look at this priceless shot as we pulled into the driveway- clearly this girl had a GREAT day so far!

Down to 1 final bottle!

Well, it's taken me longer than I anticipated, but this morning we went for it and decided no more morning bottle. In my mind, she was going to lose it, so I continued to give her a few ounces of milk to get her morning started, but after learning that a friend from work has a baby 3 months younger than Ginger, who is just weaning from the final bottle, I knew I needed to get the show on the road.

As in most cases, it was all in my mind. She did just fine! She rubbed her eyes and tried to grab my hand, looking for the bottle, but we went straight for the high chair, where I had preset a bowl of cherrios, and dropped some milk into the bowl. I gave her the spoon, and she was looking at me with a "HUH?" expression on her face. But one bite and she was smiling, awake, and happy girl.

Now, onto that final evening bottle. I hope to cut that within a week at most- my doctor tells me she really has no need for a bottle anymore, but it's comforting to the both of us! But I know better, I need to help little one grow up and be a big girl. :)

Zin-Zer!!

Ginger surprised us the other night with a new word- she can say her own name now! We play this little game where I point to Dad, and she says "dada" and then point to myself, and she says "mama", and in the past, I would point to her and Daddy would say "Ginger!".

Well, two days ago she wanted to show off her skills. So when I pointed to her, she responded with "Zin Zer!" Paul and I looked at each other with HUGE smiles on our faces. Again, we pointed to her, and even more clearly she said "Zin Zer!" We played this game a few more times, then she became bored with it and ran off. We were cracking up! It was so cute!

So yesterday, it's all she wanted to do. Zin Zer, Zin Zer, Zin Zer!! Ms. Maureen even said that all day long, she was running around saying her name (and pointing to her playmate Brianna, and saying "Na Na".)

Our little girl is growing up! Such a smart one!

SURPRISE!! (...again....)

I just knew it. As early as my birthday, April 3rd, I knew I was pregnant. See, I was at the mall having Ginger's spring photos taken, and something felt different, or vaguely familiar, should I say. Everything was fine until the moment we went back to view the photos and make our selection. I started feeling a bit nauseous and crampy, and was alone with Ginger, still having to walk through the parking lot, get her strapped in, and get her home. On the day before Easter.

Needless to say I was sitting in traffic, dialing Paul on my cell and telling him "get ready for me to fly into the driveway- I'm feeling terrible". As I got out of the car, Paul stated "well don't you always feel a bit off this time of the month?" as I shot a glaring look back. Yep, I knew I was pregnant.

I still waited faithfully for my monthly friend, and alas, she never came. On the 6th I was nervous, on the 7th anxious, and on the 8th I just couldn't take it anymore. So at 7:55am I was off to the drugstore. And the pregnancy test sat in my car, while I distracted myself with errands (I took a few days off work because we were thinking about taking a vacation, and it never worked out, but I kept the time off anyhow). Here's some irony for you- I went to grab a terriyaki bowl to eat while my car was getting an oil change/car wash, and you won't believe the fortune I got in fortune cookie. It said "An unexpected visitor will bring you good blessings". Really?!?!? I just couldn't wait any longer, that was toooo telling for me- I knew, just knew that I was pregnant.

So, I come home, race to the restroom, and take the test. I sit and watch and for about the first two minutes- I see nothing. Not one line or two, I saw NO line at all. But, by the 3rd minute, there it was. That second pink line. No denying it.

Yet again, this was not "planned". Although my mom points out that I can't really say that if I'm not on birth control, which I have not been. I had an IUD inserted and removed a few months ago- I was one of those statistics that got the nausea, cramping, and my body rejected the IUD. After that, I wanted to just be free for a little bit. Well, here you go with "a little bit".

We are experiencing a range of emotions right now, mostly due to the fact that we didn't take control over deciding when we would take this next step. I mean, since finding out I was preggo, I've read a TON of women who have a 5, 6, 7 month old baby and are already preggo. God Bless them- I think I would faint if that had happened to us. So we can't complain, Ginger is 15 months old, and will be just shy of 2 years old when baby #2 is born. A little younger than we had planned, but we'll take it.

Ginger's Spring Pics

Nigh-Nigh...

Every night before Ginger goes to sleep, we prepare her bottle, and then go to Dad for hugs and kisses. Then, as Woody (our husky dog) follows us to her room, she waves to him and says "nigh nigh". She's quite taken to this little routine, and even if Woody happens to be outside at that moment, she looks around and waves her hand, and says "nigh nigh dah (dog)".

Well, last night, I walked to the kitchen to prepare her bottle, and Paul and she were playing on the floor right in front of the kitchen, where Woody was resting. As I walked towards her to pick her up, I see that she has walked up to Woody, and gave him a huge bear hug! She laid on his back, squeezed him tightly, and said "nigh nigh dah". Paul and I watched it happen and though this was a tiny moment, it sure put tears in both of our eyes. What a beautiful memory for us!

Our big girl...

What a charming little girl we have on our hands these days! Ginger and I went to visit Dr. Shaw for her 1 year check-up, a little late but I felt better about it because Ginger had been sick for a few weeks right after her first birthday, and I didn't want to shoot her up with vaccinations when she was a little down for the count. So, once she was feeling better, we decided to go in and get it over with :)

Up until this visit, Ginger hasn't so much as made a whimper when she recieved her shots. This time around, we had a very sweet nurse who was almost too gentle in injecting the shots. So I watched Ginger's little thigh wiggle like jello while the tip of the needle worked on poking through. I almost wanted her to just pop it in and be done with it- it felt like slllllllow motion to watch this needle, and Ginger DEFINITELY told me how she felt about it. Mommy teared up too, but a few seconds of rocking afterwards, and she recovered.

At 13 months old, she is 22 lbs. (52nd percentile) and 31" tall (86th percentile). She is growing SO fast these days, I still call her my baby, but she sure doesn't look like a baby to me anymore!

Dr. Shaw was really impressed that Ginger was already walking so well, and he kept telling us how absolutely adorable and charming she is. I don't know if they say that to everyone, but Ginger adores him (surprising, as she only has met him a handful of times) but she sure turns it on for him. Smiles, giggles, she even kissed his forehead while he was leaned over checking her. It was too cute.

On Sunday, Paul and I took Ginger to her first Nascar Race. We were invited to attend and watch the race from an executive suite, complete with catered lunch, sound protected environment, comfy couches, and children and parents of all ages. We had a blast, as did Ginger. We took her up to the rooftop to watch the race (of course we put little ear plugs in her ears, and surprise! She didn't pull them out!) and she pointed and said "Ca, Ca"!! She see's Daddy's model cars displayed in our house, and with Paul's garage it's no surprise that car is one of the 10-12 words she uses frequently these days.

Ginger loves to laugh and giggle, in a very goofy charming kind of way. She likes to tickle mommy and daddy these days, especially our toes! On of her favorite things to do with Dad is play together on the living room floor. They roll around and kiss and tickle each other. If he's laying on the floor with a pillow she will make sure to rest her head on the pillow too, or just lay on top of dad for a quick snuggle.

Ginger is also a bit shy with others these days, which we knew was coming! She definitely keeps her goofy silly personality under wraps until she gets to know you a little bit. I remember watching other people's children and internalizing it as an adult, but now I watch when Ginger is shy and see that it has nothing to do with the adult- more it has to do with her and wanting comfort from mommy.

We are working on cooking more together, and she absolutely has to be part of the action these days. She doesn't like to go and play and watch a cartoon before dinner- she MUST be in the kitchen with mom, and these days she MUST be shown what we're cooking, etc. Luckily I can plop the Bumbo chair on the counter, and she's content with a spoonula pretending to mix right along with mommy.

Here are some pics from the doc's visit and Nascar!

Superbowl Sunday

Well, they say the Saints won- I wouldn't know as we didn't follow the game much today, maybe just a check of the score here and there. Though it was Superbowl Sunday, Paul and Dad made the most of this weekend building their hot rods in the garage. Mom came up and hung out with Ginger and I, and we sure had fun! Ginger was a crack-up today, this girl is turning into a little comedian! She definitely loves to giggle and laugh, and today was no exception. We decided to put together her buggy car that her aunties and uncles got her for her birthday- she loves it! She climbed in and couldn't wait for Paul to install the seatbelt. Mom and I took a walk down the block, pushing her in the buggy, and she was grinning ear to ear. Later, mom and Ginger took another little walk around our cul-de-sac, and as I watched through our front window I couldn't believe that my little baby is so grown up- enough to take walks with grammy! I read a quote the other day that explained how having a child is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. This is so incredibly true- it's just such an amazing experience being a parent. Even better than anyone could ever dream of describing...

Ginger's Winter ONEderland!

Our little Ginger Lauren turned 1 on January 13th, 2010 and that was probably the fastest year of my life! Maybe it is because you are watching a baby grow, but in some ways each day felt like a year (in that she would wake up from overnight and be a new child) and yet it went so fast that I am thankful I took so many pictures!

Her 1st birthday party was held yesterday, and was a perfect celebration with friends, family, food, drinks, and great spirits. Ginger is a full-blown walker now- she rarely crawled at the party, preferring to walk circles around our house chatting and laughing with everyone.

One of my favorite moments was when we sang Happy Birthday to her. I know, so cliche, but in that moment, I am singing to her and looking into her eyes, and I see her looking around at everyone focused and singing to her, and she got it. She smiled, looked absolutely beautiful, and humbly enjoyed the spotlight. I didn't really think that she would even pay attention in this moment, especially with a smash cake in front of her, but she did. She loved it.

Here are pictures from the afternoon!

Anticipation...

our little girl is standing...and cautiously taking a step or two at a time. Not so cautiously when she see's mommy or daddy, though, if we're sitting nearby Ginger will let go of the table/couch/etc and almost step then LEAP into our laps. Every day she is taking it just an inch further. Yesterday she was pushing one little buggy she has, and then stepped 5 steps to her other buggy, circled around to the back, and walked in the other direction with that one. We were in SHOCK!

I am hopelessly in love with this little girl. Ginger has touched us in such a special way, and yet I'm sure this isn't unique for just me. Other moms are experiencing this as well, and I'm sure it only gets better. I can't imagine if that is possible- truthfully!