Sickie-poo

Giuliana has been feeling sick the last couple of days. She has had a runny nose and teary eyes and hasn't wanted to do much besides cuddle. This morning we were cuddling like this


and watching "Jack's Big Music Show."

Then this video came on, and she sat up and smiled, and danced along. I love that show.

Her 1st Thanksgiving

(* I will post pictures as soon as I get them from my mother-in-law. I forgot my camera!)

I am more thankful than ever for my little family. I grow more and more in love with my husband every single day. He is so wonderful to me and such a natural, amazing father to our daughter. And that daughter? She is the absolute best gift I have ever been given in my life. I am so truly blessed with this family. Thank you. Thank you so much...

Giuliana had a BIG day yesterday! She had such a good time. We took the morning slow and she and I played till she went down for her nap. (Mommy participated in a nap as well.) Then we had to rush to get everyone ready to go to John's mom's. We were the LAST ones there!! John's dad beat us there. Anyway, Giuliana just had so much fun playing with her three cousins and just generally being the center of attention. She didn't eat much, she never does. But she did enjoy the pumpkin pie after I forced her to try it (I literally smeared some on her lips just to get her to lick it off. That's when she realized it wasn't poison and was actually pretty yummy. Why doesn't she just trust me and TRY whatever I am offering her? I don't get it.)

The big news is that she took several steps after dinner. Grandpa and Nana coaxed her to do it and she took 1 or 2 steps between them at least 4/5 times. She really got into it once everyone realized what she was doing and started to cheer her on! She is such a HAM. Her daddy was near tears. He is sooooooo not ready for her to start walking. I am really ok with it by now. She took a step and a half the other day in my office, too. She was standing near me, holding onto my leg and she wanted get into my desk drawer (one of her favorite passtimes at work) which was a few feet away. She let go and took 1 1/2 steps over to it...all without realizing what she was doing. I don't think she did it on purpose, she didn't look at me for approval or praise or anything, she just did it cause she wanted to get over there. She's amazing. I don't care that 6 billion people or whatever have learned to walk before....she is the most talented baby EVER, in my completely unbiased opinion.

What a horrible thing

Did you all hear about this? This just absolutely disgusts me, as I'm sure it does all of you. I HATE the consumerism and capitalism that drives people to act insane. Really, is it that important to get the first playstation or dvd or whatever the hell those people were in such a hurry for? My heart just aches for this poor man's family and friends. How horrible. I just do not get our society sometimes.

Dancing Queen

There is nothing better than a dancing baby. Well, maybe not that creepy dancing baby from Ally McBeal a few years back. That thing was just freaky. But real dancing babies....they rock! As previously blogged about here by Kate, Giuliana loves to get her groove on lately. Trust me, it is just too freakin' cute! I tried to get some good pics, but action shots...not my forte, ya know.

Here is a typical random evening in the Giglio household.


Here is G, in front of the stereo, bouncing up and down, shaking her tushy. She might have turned the stereo on by herself, she is known to do that. She definitely has been turning the volume up and down....mostly UP!!! WAY UP!

Later on, we move into making our own music.


Here she is accompanying Daddy who is on the guitar.

But ultimately, it is back to the stereo.


Another scenario that plays out frequently is combining dancing and climbing. This takes talent, as you can imagine. We like to wind down most evenings by relaxing on the couch watching Jack's Big Music Show. This show seriously rocks. It is all about teaching kids to appreciate music, make their own music, have fun with different types of music...all with cute puppets. It's our fave (I have to give props to Blue's Clues, too...another great show. I know, I know, cliche, but true. G loves Blue's Clues, and they actually teach really great thinking skills...at least the older shows with Steve. Joe, the new guy sucks! And don't get me started on Max and Ruby, which comes on after BC...what a boring show, and Yo Gabba Gabba...that guy has to be eating shrooms before taping. That show just scares me. Come to think of it, Max and Ruby could maybe benefit from some pharmaceuticals. They should hook up. This is what happens to you when you have children; you could ENDLESSLY discuss the merits of children's tv. It's sad. But I digress....) So, John and I sit on either end of the couch and G climbs back and forth between us while we watch Jack's. And she stops and dances when a good song comes on. Seriously? It is the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life.

G just loves to dance. She dances to stuff I didn't even realize was music. Her noisy toys? Danceable. Random commercials? Some have a really good groove. John's cell phone ring tone? You can get down to that, too. It's all perspective, people. Dance on!

Getting stuff done

I got the huge pile of baby stuff/clothes up to the attic this morning! I didn't break my neck! And I was able to bring down a huge bag of baby clothes to give to my friend M.
Last night I made 36 cupcakes as a trial run for G's big birthday party. I wanted to make sure that the plan I had for the cupcakes worked...it did. And that the color I wanted for the frosting worked...it didn't. But now I know, so, that's good. Luckily, I have 16 willing taste testers here at work. I brought my cupcakes in for our department meeting this morning. They were a big hit.
Today I purchased the invitations for G's big birthday party. If I am industrious I will fill them out, address them, and send them out today (yeah right).
So, go me.

How cute are these guys??

That's my beautiful sister-in-law, Kristin, and her two kids, Brayden and Payton. They live in Atlanta (with my brother...I always forget about him!...just kidding) and I NEVER see them! I met Brayden when he was 4 months old (he's two 1/2 now) and I have never met Payton. BooHoo!
Anyway, some cuties to brighten your day!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Ugh, I haven't posted in more than a WEEK! Here's why: Work has been kicking my @ss! I have been ultra-super busy at work lately. And did I mention that I have this adorable almost one year old who constantly wants to sit in my lap, have me read her a book or play with her, or wants to escape my office entirely to crawl down the hall and visit her "friends"? That makes it a might challenging to get just about ANYTHING done. But well worth it, too. Last week, G was at my parent's two whole days. I had an all day training on Thursday so she was at Grandma's. Oh how I wish she was with me and I wasn't at the training! It was supposed to be on "Working with Families in Chaotic Environments." That was the title. You would expect it to be about working with families in chaotic environments, yes? That would have been helpful and pertinent to my job. Instead, it should have been titled "Scary and Depressing Videos of Bad Moms and Sad Babies." I would not have gone to that training.

My weekend ran the gambit. Here's the breakdown:

The Good: Saturday was Daddy/Daughter Day and Mommy Drinks Wine Day. John and G spent the day at home with some friends and reportedly had a good time. I spent the day with 6 other Mom's on Seneca Lake visiting wineries. We also had a good time. Gina invited me to go with some of her friends who I have met before. The weather was crappy...it was cold, gray, foggy, gray, rainy, and gray. You couldn't even see the lake! But the wine was very fine. We stopped at Hazelitt, Wagner, Red Newt, and about 6-7 others. There was bad hip hop dancing by moms who shall remain nameless. There were dares to toss your bra on a moose head at Poplar Ridge, but no one was drunk enough yet. And there was dinner at Simeon's in Ithaca, which was very good!
Sunday, I sorted through G's clothes and took out all the 6-9 month stuff that is too small for her now. It made some room for all the cute things she will presumably get for her birthday and Christmas.

The Bad: I saw G for a total of about 45 mins on Saturday. We had breakfast together in the morning, but then I left for the wine trip and didn't get back home till about 9:30pm...well after her bedtime. :(
Also bad, my vacuum broke mid-vacuum on Sunday. I sincerely hope it is just a broken belt or something. The brush is not spinning, which makes it difficult for it to pick up any dog or cat hair, the sole purpose of a vacuum in a house full of hard-wood.
I didn't get to actually put away any of the clothes I pulled from G's closet. They are in a bag in the computer room waiting to be taken up to the attic, a more time-challenging chore than you would imagine it to be. There is no light in our attic, so it is either daylight or flashlight up there. I choose daylight unless it is an emergency. G is awake most of the day....there ya go. I have a whole big PILE of things waiting to go up there. If I only had the time.

The Ugly: The bottom half of my stairs. G loves to climb up the stairs lately! She is so cute working her way to the top! Her new preoccupation while climbing the stairs, however, is to hand me a little baby handful of dog hair after each step. (For any doubters out there, we now have PROOF she's my daughter!) So, I couldn't take the baby criticism anymore and I pledged to vacuum the stairs on Sunday. Refer to "The Bad" for the rest of the story.

Well, there goes my unproductive 10 mins I had to spare at work. I have to leave for an appointment. See ya all whenever I find 10 more!

A B++ Morning

How many "B" words can you find in this picture?


There once was a Big Girl who woke up every morning Bright eyed and Bushy tailed, wearing her "Beautiful Butterfly" pjs. Her mama would get her out of Bed while she clutched her Blankie and Baby. They would go downstairs and she would have Bananas and cheerios for Breakfast while watching Blue's Clues, and afterward have a Bottle. Then, the Big Girl and her mama would play. She would play Band, with her drum and tambourine, and she would dance and dance. She would play with her Blankie and Baby. She loved to play with her Books and have her mama read them over and over to her. She played with her Blocks and she especially loved to dump them out of the Bowl and then put the Bowl on her head. She played with her Bus and her Ball and her Busy Beads. Then, the Big Girl's daddy would come downstairs and he would play with the Band and the Books and the Bowl and the Blocks and the Bus and the Ball and the Busy Beads. And he would cuddle with Blankie and Baby while the Big Girl had another Bottle. And her mama would, gratefully, go back to Bed.

The End

(This novel is based on a true story, I swear.)

The Haul

So, here was the plan: I would drop G off at my parent's house and walk down the road to the Maines building with my two green Giant bags to get some books. Turns out, unbelieavably, it worked perfectly.
I arrived at my parent's house at 12:50ish. The traffic on Conklin Rd. to turn into Terrace Dr. (both my parent's road and the road that the Book Sale was on) was unreal. It was backed up almost to the bridge to cross the river! Lucky me, I know the back way-Shaw Rd., which was clear. So, I bypassed all the crazy traffic and parked at my parent's. Then I walked down the road (about 1/4 mile, if I had to guess) and got right in the line that had just started moving in the door. I only stood in line (moved in line, even better) for 5 minutes, max. I got into the crush of people inside and went right to one of the aisles labled "Children's." I went down one side of the aisle and back up the other and grabbed books left and right. Then I headed to the check-out...waited for about 10 mins to pay. $28 dollars and exactly 1 hour later I was back in my parent's kitchen showing G all her fabulous new books! By the time I walked back to their house, the cars were parking on both sides all way way up the road almost to their yard! And the line? It was wrapping back around the building and wasn't moving an inch as the warehouse was packed to capacity with people.

Here's my haul:

Yeah, it's that time.

Sittin' in the big girl seats. Un-freakin'-believable.

Historic Moment

Obama Mama and a Baby for Barack watching the early election results. She had to go to bed early, so, these are REALLY early results.

Side note: It's 8:56pm and MY HUSBAND JUST SWITCHED THE TV TO FAMILY GUY!! What? I just gave him evil eyes and he is trying to justify his boredom. He's all the sudden confident that Barack has won. He says he'll switch back at 9pm. He better.

Anyway, back to my original highbrow thoughts. I have enjoyed sharing this historic day with my daughter. I really feel like my vote today was for her. G went into the voting booth with me this morning at 7:45 and helped me cast my vote.

WOOOOHOOOO! They just called NYS for OBAMA! (He switched back.) Not that it's a surprise, but what a thrill anyway.

I can't believe this is going to happen. A GOOD GUY is going to be president. Someone who is intelligent, well spoken, thoughtful, someone who really DID come from humble beginnings and make something of himself. Someone our country can be proud of. And someone who will return the favor and do good for US, not just huge corporations. Not to even mention that he's African-American...we really have come a long way, baby. Who would have thought we would be able to say that just a year ago when we were mired in GWB? It feels so triumphant to TRANSCEND.

This post was interuppted to take care of my poor, sweet, sick baby! She woke up throwing up!!! This is the first time she has ever really been sick. She's so strong, that little girl, though. She just looks up with those huge, trusting eyes that say "you'll make me feel better, right?", stops crying and falls asleep! Oh, I love that girl!! I am so blessed. Really.

Back to the election. I had more eloquent thoughts but they have all flown out of my head. I am so proud of this country for the historic election turnout. The people (finally) care, and it shows.

Oh man! They just called OHIO! ELECTION IS OVER! There is no way McCain can win without PA and OH, according to the many, many, many election prediction articles I have read over the last couple of weeks. Wow. He's really gonna win. This is just amazing!

You know what just sums up this campaign? McCain is having his little party in a ballroom in a hotel in Pheonix-invitation only, few people. Obama, his little party is come one, come all, an estimated 1/2 MILLION people in a park (the '68 DNC riot park...this guy doesn't miss a TRICK!)-a PEOPLE'S party. Yeah. The difference couldn't be more stark.

And you know one of the best things? Palin will go away. Or somewhere. Frankly, I don't care where she goes as long as I don't have to look at her or listen to her. Eww. I don't like her.

Well, there we go. We have a tremendous opportunity right now to take this country back to recreate it for the better, the best. For our future. For Giuliana's future. To quote President-Elect Obama: "Let's get to work!"

Baby Caps

Check this out. I'm not a very good sewer...sew-er? I do have a sewing machine and some old tee-shirts, though. I think this is something even I can do. Can you?

GO VOTE!

If you haven't voted yet today, go. Go right now. It's the most important thing you will do today.


The country my child inherits depends on your vote. Choose "our better history."

Thank you.

Boo! It's Halloween!

So, our little bear had her first Halloween! She had a busy, busy, fun day. We started by trick or treating at work. Mostly, it was just a treat for all my co-workers to be surrounded by G's cute beariness all day :)

After work G and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. She got a real treat there...her first! Goldfishies!!

Next, on to Nana's house. More treats! Animal Crackers! Boy, these grandparents really know how to trick or treat it up right!


G even got to go trick or treating for real with her cousins. She actually really seemed to enjoy all the family chaos that surrounded the event, too. She was just giggling and shrieking as the other kids got all hyped up on candy...I mean, got ready to go out trick or treating. She had a regular ol' ball.


Do they make cuter children than this??? Huh?? I don't think so.

Today, we had some friends from work over for a "play date." M and her daughter E came over with M's husband A. (Got that, M, A and E.) E is 4 months old, so, ok there wasn't a whole lot of playing going on between E and G. But G enjoyed sharing her old bouncey seat that she doesn't fit in anymore. And she pointed out the baby's "eye!" and DIDN'T poke her in the eye, thank God!

John and A were able to comiserate. A has been going through the SAME MEDICAL NIGHTMARE! as John. Unbelievable! I think, in a twisted way, it really helps John to be able to talk to someone who completely understands his position.

M and I talked babies and mothering. E is soooo cute. And me, I forgot to take a pic! She is colicky, though, so M and A really have their hands full, especially since A is disabled by this abdominal pain. I hope I gave them some helpful advice and hope that E will outgrow this, and by 6 months they should be looking at a totally different kid! It's that Mama Circle thing I was talking about. It's pretty cool :)

Here is G, waiting, waiting for them to come over....