I'm Nana!

Gigi has started to enjoy the world of make believe. She will walk around the house all the time talking to herself and making her little play worlds. She sings "Once Upon a Dream" to her babies. She dresses up like a fairy with her costumes and just the other day she played a new game called I'm Nana. She pretends to be Nana and I get to be someone else in her life. Some days I am Amanda or Jayni or even once I think I was Grandma Marci (my mom's sister). It is too cute. She pretends she has money and goes shopping and on airplanes and changes into imaginary pants before she get's on the plane. Different rooms in the house are different people's houses. I got to be a bad fairy the other day, but I seemed to be very nice, I let her come to my house and she didn't want me to be mean. I am not quite sure why I was a fairy. I guess just because she watched too much Sleeping Beauty. It is her favorite I think because she wears the pink dress in most pictures you see here in. Pink is her favorite color. I love her little mind. It is amazing watching her grow and mature and develop new ideas and thoughts. The other day we tricked her on which body part was which and now she tries to do it to us. It's a little game I learned from my Grandpa Don. I love that she loves to play and be funny. She is great.

Andrew and Katherine's Wedding!!!

Where to begin... First I would like to recognize that I need to take more pictures. I have become completely overwhelmed in this crazy life and I need to take more pictures. Well on my camera that is. I have tons of pictures on my cell phone, but let's be honest the quality is never as good. (At least not with my phone). Bubba and I have decided that time has come for us to get a fancy camera. So we are going to ask Santa for one.

Okay back to Andrew. Andrew and Katherine decided to get married in Navoo. Which though very romantic seemed like it would be quite the ordeal (more for us than for others, we are the only ones with small children) but I have to say it all went way smoother than I would ever have expected. My only regret of this trip is that we didn't have more time (and take more pictures). Andrew was so happy. I can't believe our little boy, "the boy" is married. I am so happy for him and Katherine. I think she will fit right in to this crazy family of ours. Even if she's a democrat. :)



We started out the trip in Chicago/Naperville. After Jayni and Amanda picked us up from the airport we drove out to a very nice suburb of Chicago called Naperville. I had been here before to visit friends including BFF Stephanie "HotRod" Rodriguez and her family years ago. But I guess I didn't realize through those visits how great this place is. Then again at those times in my life I really wasn't looking for a place to raise a family when I visited before. We all loved Chicago. The drive from the airport took at really long time. Someone in the car decided that she needed to eat Boston Market for lunch because they don't have it where she lives and somehow instead of stopping at the one in Napperville she led us on an almost hour detour to one if some town in some ghetto looking area that I can't even remember now. But once we got to the restaurant it was in a really cute little downtown. And she loved the food and everyone was mostly happy after that. So I don't think anyone is still holding it against me, I mean her.

Out flight got in just late enough that we missed getting to go to the Chicago temple with Katherine but early enough that we had plenty of time to make it to her shower that night. I was nice meeting her friends and her mom and getting to know more about Katherine. The next day we headed into to the city for some sight seeing. The Chamber's (my dad's sister's family) and Grandma Mary came from California to support Andrew. We got to spend the day with them and that was really nice. We went to Navy Pier and had other plans for after that but with the kids and the traffic and having to be back in Naperville for dinner at Katherine's families favorite deep dish pizza restaurant we headed back after walking around the pier. I think all of us girls were hoping to make it to a little more shopping but it happens. It wasn't our main priority. Gigi and Carter were really good. They are little troopers. They both had more attention than they knew what to do with. We didn't get to even do everything you would want to do while at the pier but Gigi did get to ride a train, we got some Garrett's Popcorn (a Chicago must, the Carmel/Cheddar Chesse mix is really good) and we sampled some of America's Hot Dogs. This place of course carried the Chicago Dog (hot dog, pickles, tomato, onion, mustard (I think) and jalapeno on a poppy seed bun), they also had about 20 other types of hot dogs from around the country. We tried the Memphis Dog (pulled bbq pork, fried onion and I think some slaw) and the Richmond Dog (mac n cheese and bacon crumbles, oh yah). Granted what did Bubba and I need three hot dogs for but they were so good. Beside, what would Quinn and Bubba have said if I came back without the Richmond dog. I think I would have been kicked out of the family.

That night we had some deep dish pizza (you eat it with a knife and fork). It was really good but I am not sold. I am still all about the New York style. Thin, dripping with cheese and delicousness, fold it up and allow it to melt in your mouth. I am getting hungry just thinking about it. But the Veggie pizza at this place was great. It was really fun sitting around visiting and enjoying each others company.

On Friday morning we set off for Navoo. It was a four hour drive and the happy couple had to be in Carthage before close of business to get the marriage license. That drive was really long, not to mention the 2 year old who is now potty trained needed to stop and go. We decided to buy diapers when we got to Chicago but didn't need them until we were on our way to Navoo. Did you know there is nothing? I just figured there would be a Wal-Mart. But there was not no convenient Wal-Mart. It would have added another hour to our drive getting to the Wal-Mart once we left Carthage. So we went to the local Piggly Wiggly (or whatever it was called) and bought diapers. Note to self, know where you are going. I love small towns but you just never know what you are going to find.

In Carthage we went to the jail where Joseph Smith Jr. and his brother Hyrum were martyred. It was a need place and a good opportunity. I am glad we got to go and take the tour. Again, wish we had had more time to visit the church history sites. We finally made it to Navoo. I was getting pretty hungry and guess what they don't have in Navoo, fast food places. I am telling you, next time we go I am gonna be prepared. We checked into our hotel. It was darling. #1 We stayed in the Joseph and Emma suit. #2 We were able to share the suite with my whole family (parents and siblings and Polk's) #3 It was really nice. Three bedrooms, two full baths and little kitchenette and a huge balcony looking out at the back of the temple, gorgeous. I can say other than the distance the kids picked a really nice place to get married. We only had a couple hours before the church history sites closed for the night and before we had dinner with all the people who had come down for the wedding. My parent's friends the Lake's came out to support. It was really fun seeing them. They have been really good friends to my parents over the years. I know they are both really lucky to have each other. :)

In the morning we got ready for the wedding. Of course this can be dramatic trying to get that many people ready on time and out the door and leaving my children to get ready by my sisters while B and I went to the sealing was fine but of course I would have liked to be there to help. But when we all came out of the temple there everyone was ready and waiting. Andrew and Katherine looked so happy. It was so nice to be there and experience this with them. The Navoo temple is really just that wonderful inside and out. Gigi thinks this is where she will be getting married. She is so in love with the temple and getting married there to of course her boy ( a darling little boy from our ward named Matthew, who's parents and us have joked about them getting married since Gigi was born). It just melts my heart. I don't know who taught her that she could get married in the temple, I guess us talking about the temple and taking her up to the Las Vegas temple and walking around, she put it all together. She really is bright :). Any chance she got she would go out on the balcony to see the temple and tell anyone who would listen that she was going to get married there to her boy. Just lovely.

The temple has a waiting building across the street which was so nice. We changed after the wedding and pictures and headed back up to Naperville for the reception. We had already helped decorate on Thursday night so when we headed back things would be mostly ready to go. The four hour drive seemed to take so much longer. Again with the potty breaks. On the way down my Dad was very focused on getting Andrew and Katherine to the court house to get ther marriage license so we didn't stop for good, on the way back we stopped for every thing we saw. Not really, but I feel like we ate a lot. I just wish we had had one more day in Navoo, it was just lovely.

I swear she had shoes on at one point. That girl and her shoes.

Aunt Jayni and Carter in his suit.Big Cheese. I think this is the picture I bribed her with a lolly pop for. She doesn't mind pictures but once you take it let's move on. She is not a fan of sitting in front of the camera for hours trying to get the right shot.

I was trying to make the same face as Carter. I think I got it. :)

So here is a prime example of my lack of photography, where is my picture of the happy couple , no where to be found. Oh well, I will still some day from my mom.

At the reception Stephanie's parents came by to say hello. It was fun to see them and visit for a minute. Just made me miss my Steph. Then after the reception (well after the happy couple left) my family left. We stayed in a hotel in near the airport. Again wish we had stayed longer at the hotel. It was nice but the real reason was because when we got to the airport at 8 am we found out that our flight had been delayed until 2:30 pm. Awesome! I really thought I would cry. But I learned a valuable lesson that day. Life really is what you make it. If you have a bad attitude then life stinks, it you have a good one then you really can make the best out of a bad situation. The kids were exhausted from staying up late the night before. We got up really early to make it to the airport and then my parents flight was on time so there we were stuck. After waiting with my parents and sisters to get them on their plane we started to go for a walk. We had already checked our luggage and we thought about taking a cab to the city but what it something changed with our flight, we didn't want to be too far away. So we started to walk. It dawned on me that we needed to make the best of this situation. I turned to Bubba and said let's just pretend this is what we wanted to happen today. Let's have a good attitude about it and enjoy our day in the airport. We ended up getting to do some of the things we missed out on. We found a play area that was an extension of the Chicago's Children's Museum that we didn't get to go to but had wanted to. Gigi played there for a long time and loved it and even made some friends. I walked all around the airport terminals and did some souvenir shopping. Carter took a good nap. We ate lunch at my favorite restaurant Chili's with our meal vouchers from the airline. That's right Spirit you charge me for everything on you airline but I got lunch out of you. When we got back to the gate at about the time we would have anyway, Gigi passed out. We played on a blanket on the floor with Coco and it turned out to be a pretty nice morning. The flight home went smooth and the kids did great.

If it didn't snow if Chicago and get so cold in the winter we might think of going back. It was really nice and it seemed clean and fresh for some reason. It was lovely being with the family and sharing in this wonderful time in Andrew and Katherine's lives. We wish them the best and hope to someday live close enough to all our family to enjoy them more often. We did get of course that time with the Chamber's which as it turns out was our third visit with them just this summer. So even though we don't get to see our parents and siblings much we do get to build these great relationships with our extended family.

California!!!

We all needed a family vacation. Stephen more than any of us. So in June we started planning a little family get away. We were looking at just spending a couple days on the beach, maybe go camping, visit some family, try a theme park. We really weren't sure what we wanted to do but we did know we wanted to get away and California always holds so many options for us. I thought it would be fun to take Gigi to Knott's Berry Farm. They have a lot of really cute activities for little kids and I have always been a fan of the Peanuts characters. However, Stephen wasn't overly impressed by Knott's (poor me) so he suggested Disney. (Of course I would have but I didn't think I could convince him to take us to Disney!) So I agreed to that wonderful idea. Only I have ever been to the Disneyland so I was really happy to get to share my childhood memories and love for Disney with my family. I know that Disneyland is not for everyone. I believe there are two ways to enjoy Disneyland. Either you go as a child and grow up loving it or you go as an adult and watch the excitement in your child's eyes. Stephen went to Disney World once for Grad Night. He wasn't that impressed. I knew this trip would change all of that for him. We also got to share our trip with my little sister Amanda who really wanted to come out and spend a little time with us this summer so it worked out great to have her come with us. Another set of hands is never a bad thing with two babies. It was a lot of fun to have her. I am glad she wanted to use her last summer of her high school year to spend time with me and my little family. We also meet up with my Aunt Margaret and my cousin Becca in Anaheim. It was really nice to get to spend time with them. Not only was it great to spend time with them they are the best tour guides we could ask for. They new where we were always, how to get to the next place, what we would like in each part of the park, where food and bathrooms were. It was great. They were great about doing all the little kid stuff. But we did make time to do a couple big kids rides. I was even more impressed with Disney now as an adult. The restrooms were clean with little lines (I personally never had to wait), the whole park was clean, and the staff was friendly and helpful. We got to the park a little after it opened and we were able to get on a bunch of rides with little or no lines. By 10 am we had done Dumbo, Casey Jr.'s Train, Tea Cups, Alice, Peter Pan, Carousel, met Princesses and we were on the big train. It was great. The big girls went off for a little while to ride Space Mt. .then we all met back up in Toon Town where Gigi finally got to meet Mini and Mickey Mouse and enjoy their houses. She loved it all. That took just a little bit longer. While we were waiting in line to meet Mini, Stephen decided to spoil the kids and bought Gigi and Amanda really cute Mini Mouse head bands and Carter a traditional Mickey hat with his named embroidered on the back. We took some pictures and then Gigi went on the roller coaster. She was a little scarred but she loved it, unlike the indoor rides. We learned they were too dark and scary. After a nice relaxing lunch I got to change Carter's clothes (thank you very much). Gigi even fell asleep for a little bit. Then Bubba and Margaret went on the pirate ship with the kids and the girls and I went on Big Thunder Mountain. This was my first Roller Coaster Post pregnancy. I know it isn't the most intense ride but it was great fun. Amanda and I tried to keep our arms up the whole time. It really does make things more fun. Oh and you also have to scream. Then we went and saw the Tiki Birds. I was pretty surprised that Gigi liked it because it is in a dark room but I tried to teach her that the animals were just toys and that they move because they have batteries. Then she wasn't scared of the birds. There is even a bird named Gigi. I told her that and she called all the birds that looked like that one Georgia birds. It was cute. She even stood up and danced along. We took a big group picture in front of the castle and then we split up for a little bit and Margaret and Becca went shopping with Amanda. We were told we should try the corn dogs on Main Street so we started making out way over there. By then it was close to Parade time so we found a good spot to sit and watch the parade. Gigi found some older boys to make friends with. They were really nice to her. While waiting Bubba and Gigi went and rode a rocket ride by where we were waiting. Then we got to enjoy the parade. It was really the highlight of my day. Ok I admit I really liked the parade, but Gigi did too. It was so cute watching her. During one of the floats the gorilla from Tarzan came over and gave Gigi high five. She was a little nervous at first but she did it and was so cute about it. We then met back up with the others for our fast pass for Indiana Jones. I didn't remember that ride being so intense. While we rode that Stephen took the kids on the Jungle Cruise. We really liked how many of the kids rides we could carry Carter on too. That was really nice. Carter didn't get scarred at all, he is so brave. :) We also did the the Winnie the Pooh ride which Gigi call Winnie the Poop and then the Monterrail. After that we looked our pictures from the day, Margaret and Becca left to start going home and we finished up some shopping and buying some food we wanted to try including a Turkey Leg. Yum! We really had such a great time. Maybe the Disney magic worked on me too. I loved Disney as a child but I think I love it even more now that I have experienced it with my own child. She woke up Sunday morning asking if we could go to Disney and ride the Tea Cups around and around. It makes me so happy to see my kids happy and learning new things.

On Saturday we headed down to San Diego to spend time at the zoo. That was really fun too. We didn't get to the zoo as early as I had hoped so by the time we did it was pretty busy. Not to mention that there were some other events taking place in San Diego that weekend that made things even more crowded. One of the best parts of our trip to the zoo was getting together with the Coopers, Tommy, Brittany and little baby Kennedy. We haven't seen them in some time so it was really nice to catch up while we all walked around the zoo. Gigi and Carter were a little spent from their big Disney adventure and so were not as well behaved at the zoo as they had been the day before. We learned that in the future we plan a lazy day in between fun days. I think they were just tired. Gigi fell asleep in the stroller at one point and slept for a long time. It was okay we still go to see a lot of neat animals and spend time with friends. Apparently Amanda has never been to ta zoo before. I was surprised by this but she loved it too. After the zoo we went and got dinner at Wahoo's Fish Tacos. They were pretty yummy. Then we went our separate ways. It was so good seeing the Coopers I can't get over it. I missed them a lot and playing meeting sweet Kennedy was such a treat. After that we headed over to the beach to watch the sunset. That was of course beautiful and there was a big grassy park there too so we let Gigi run around and get some energy out before heading to the hotel. Sunday we woke up slow and got breakfast which was even slower and then headed home. I don't know how relaxed Bubba was at the end of the trip but I think all in all we had a great time. I am sure he could use a couple days uninterrupted to just sleep but we have two kids. I don't know it that will ever happen.

Carter's Blessing

Carter was blessed by his father on March 6, 2011. Carter was had a lot of family come into town to support him and his parents in this special event. Grandpa Polk (FL) and Uncle David (UT), Papa and Nana came with Aunt Jayni and Aunt Amanda (FL), Uncle Andrew and Katherine (who will soon become Aunt Katherine) came from Utah, Aunt Julie and Aunt Marce came from Arizona and brought our young cousin Trenton, and Quinn and Cymri, Dameon and Ryssa (who live in town) were with us too. It was a very nice weekend. We set up for Current Family pictures one morning and then spent some time shopping in the afternoon. We ate pizza and wings that night and were able to enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon with sandwiches, chips and my favorite Layered Strawberry Cheesecake dessert. It was really fun, at one point just about all of the ladies in the family were in my room laying on the bed or in the rocking chair just visiting and telling special stories. It was really nice bonding time for us. I know my mom loved having her sisters their to visit with. With my mom living in Florida she really doesn't get to see them as much as she would like. I know the feeling. But the love of sisters I will save for another post. Everyone but my parents and sisters left sometime on Sunday. Stephen's Dad had a hard time getting out here and ended up only being here in Vegas for about 24 hours. His visit was definitely too short. We are planning a trip for later in the year to go and see his family. Carter was just as sweet as always. My mom did a little photo shoot for Carter before she left so that we could get some pictures of him in his blessing clothes. I spent weeks looking for what I wanted him to wear. I am so much more picky about how to dress a boy then I am with Georgia. I finally found a little overall's outfit that I thought looked just darling.

Things they are a changin!

Last year as the end of soccer season approached I seriously analyzed my life and what I wanted to get out of it. I knew that Georgia was the most important thing to me and I knew I hated leaving her everyday and I knew that I needed to make some serious changes. I started praying. I attended church meetings and looked for answers. All of the different meetings I attended and conversations I had with the Lord led me to one conclusion. I needed to be at home with my baby girl. I told Stephen, and though he loves us and wants what's best for us, sometimes we don't necessarily agree on what is best. At this time he was a month off the unemployment line and wasn't quite on the same page with me about leaving my career to stay home and raise our baby. Understandably so. I have a fairly secure job with benefits in a very insecure benefit-less time. But I knew that this was the right path for us. So first I decided to give up my coaching position. I really enjoyed coaching soccer but my priorities had changed and I know I was not what was best for those girls anymore. Next, I started looking into ways I could stay home and keep our family secure. That led me to the option of working for an online school. I know a girl at church who does it. She had suggested looking into her school after G was born, but at that time Stephen was out of work. I was not about to rock any boats at that time. But now... I contacted the girl and got contact information for the people at the school. Turns out that the principal was my mentor teacher when I was student teaching. Luckily, he and I had a great learning experience and when I contacted him he was interested in using me in the future. All summer I waited for a call that might lead in this direction. However I also found out that I was pregnant and again not sure it was time to leave my great teacher benefits (including my access to Family Medical Leave, you have to work a certain amount of time to qualify for it). When the call didn't come I returned to my job at LVHS. I love teaching at Vegas so if I have to work this is the place I want to be. I also decided that without coaching I would only have to work until 2pm and then I could spend the rest of the day with G. It was working just fine, but I still hated leaving my girl. I also still felt very strong that I needed to make the move home. So I again contacted the online school and offered myself for part-time work. I hoped that if I got my foot in the door I would be able to find myself a permanent place in the future. Sure enough. They did need part-time work and so by the end of October I began a second job. It is a great school. I love the technology and the different approach to teaching. I miss the contact and the performance that teaching in a classroom is but it is definitely something I can do from home. I hated working two jobs though. The point was to get more time for my kid and now I wasn't picking her up until almost 5pm. But all the hard work paid off because last week I was offered a full-time position. Yeah!!! I resigned from LVHS in March and have been hoping and praying that everything will work out. Now I know that working from home and having TWO babies will not be easy. I don't intend for it to be. But I know that being home with them will be better than where we have been. I have two of the best babies around. They are amazing. I need them and they need me and so the change begins. I now am a stay at home mom and a work from home teacher. But most importantly I am a mom. I love my kids and I am so thankful for the Lord's hand in my life and for the blessings I am provided. Stephen and I talk about it often, how lucky we are. We are truly blessed.

One of my many goals of summer will be to catch up on this blog. So stay tuned, pictures and stories to come...

Gigi Turns 2!!!!

(sorry so dark, phone camera has it's moments)

Time has flown by. I am ecstatic at the wonderful little person that she is becoming. I know that she has changed me dramatically. My priorities in life are so different now. It is wonderful. After coaching for five years I decided that I wasn't spending my time the way I wanted or needed it to be. So I resigned. I have missed coaching from time to time but I have loved having this last year to spend with Georgia. Now that she is two and her baby brother is here I am even more glad with my choice. Gigi and I spent a day together to practice potty training and to spend time together. It was a really good day. Carter went to the baby sitter and Gigi and I got pancakes and a movie, went to story time and just enjoyed being together. When I asked her later if we had a good day, she said "Yeah Momma good day!" She is talking so much these days. I almost understand everything she says. Accept daba daba daba, her occasional gibberish. If you ask her she will tell you she is three. We were practicing responses on the way to the doctors the other day and she told me me her nose was sick and that she is three. She is too funny.
We planned a birthday party for Gigi. I think all that was important to her was that she had an Elmo cake. Who knows why she decided that. She doesn't even like to watch it at home. But maybe she does at her babysitters. So that was the main theme for this year. As I began discussing all of my plans for this party, it was very interesting to hear Stephen's take on planning parties in general but more importantly parties for a two-year old. We talked about times for the party and I suggested doing it a little earlier so I wouldn't have to do a lunch but could just have snacks. Bubba said let's do 10-12. I said that is lunch time. He said no 12 is lunch time. I said not for a 2 year-old who get up at 6 am. Then he said we could just have hot dogs. True most kids love hot dogs. So then I said I would need to get a small table for the kids to sit at. Stephen then (and this was my favorite part) suggested that I just put the food out for them and let them eat when they are hungry. Have you ever seen two-year olds go through a buffet line and then go sit themselves down and eat? Me neither! I told him I would have to have a table for them, fix their plates, sit them down and make sure they ate their food and then help them throw out their plates. Even though Bubba didn't quite buy into it he said he was glad I was in charge and he would cook the food. He also decided that he would help me out by making me a table for the kids to sit at. I thought we could just barrow from the church but admittedly, his table was way more fun. We also decided to rent a bounce house. That was too much fun. I had no idea that they were so affordable. Gigi loved it. Of course, what kid doesn't like to bounce. We had Elmo coloring pages, playdoh, fruit snacks. We tried to play a game but the kids mostly wanted to color and bounce. So I let them. I can't remember the order for everything but I know we opened presents ate lunch, had cake and played some more. It was pretty casual but I think everyone had a nice time. I know I didn't feel too stressed out so that was good. Gigi played to her hearts content. All the kids got a balloon, bubbles and a Thank you Rice Crispy treat on their way out the door. My first real little kids birthday party down, only who knows how many to go.
The issue of parties was raised while planning this. Stephen and I agreed that we wouldn't have one every year. And when they did have a big party like this one then we didn't need to buy them presents. It makes sense. So we are still undecided on how often but what we do for one we will do for the other, so I don't want to set the bar too high. The first and second to me are a must. Then maybe not again until 5. By then they could be in school and then we will have to figure things out. I know I really have fun throwing the parties. But for now I think Gigi is happy as long as there is cake. Me too!

Welcome Carter Stephen Polk

Gigi couldn't go into the NICU to visit so she met Carter for the first time through the glass.
Our first picture as a new family.
Our blue baby getting his tan on!
Look no tubes. Making progress.
Waiting for his ride home!
Our little family ready to go home!
In Daddy's Hand, so tiny.
Favorite thing she says when she holds him is "Coco getting me." Like he is doing it on purpose.
My mom was able to come out for a week. It was so nice to have her here to help.

Ok now that he is a month old I will announce him. Getting the blog up to date will be even more difficult for me now that I have two. But we are so excited to have our little Coco baby! We started calling him Coco months ago because of my Dad. When he was growing up he thought that he when he became a professional baseball player he would change his name to Coco Curriente. So somewhere along the pregnancy we gave the name Coco to Carter. Of course the whole pregnancy we referred to him as Carter. But since he was born we seem to call him Coco a lot more. Probably his sisters fault. She is really good at saying Coco.

Carter was born on January 11, 2011 at 7:59 am. He weighed 5lbs. 15 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Coco had a rocky start. Right after he was born his breathing seemed shallow so he was taken to the NICU. He was put on oxygen for the next day or so. Then there seemed to be one excuse after another of him getting strong enough to leave with us. After almost 6 days in the NICU we finally were able to bring our handsome little man home. Leaving the hospital without your baby has to be one of the worst feeling in the world. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn knew things with this new member of our family. He is a sweet baby and has been really good for us. We couldn't be happier to have him home with us.

Gigi has had an adjustment to make with him. But she loves him! She is always talking about him and trying to help us take care of him. It is really darling. She'll say things like "Coco in my bed" when she wants him to sleep in her bed. It is too cute. I love her even more everyday. I have had to change the way I interact with her though and become more attentive and affective with my discipline.

Bubba and I both win!

When I was pregnant with Gigi, Stephen and I made a bet over her gender. She was sure she was a girl and I was sure she was a boy. In the bet we agreed that if I was right I would get a Coach diaper bag and if Stephen was right he would get a new big screen t.v.. Well this Christmas season I got the bag for Christmas and Stephen and I agreed there may be no better time for our family than now to buy a new t.v.. So it took us two years longer than we thought it would and we now have one of each children but we finally both won!

Christmas in Las Vegas

Daddy and Gigi on a camp out in the downstairs living room. They needed camp out food so we went and got Wendy's. They played and watched movies for awhile and I wrapped presents upstairs. Then Gigi missed her momma and came home early from the camp out and we all ended up having a sleepover in mommy's bed.
I could not have been more thrilled to stay home this Christmas. I was worn out and the thought of celebrating the holidays at my own home sounded lovely. Of course it is never Christmas without our families to share it with and 75-80 degree weather. It looks like Christmas on t.v. when I watch movies in snowy places but if I want that really Christmas feeling it needs to be warms and sunny with palm trees wrapped in lights. So we put up our tree and decorated the house and played Christmas with out little family. Gigi's favorite things this year include the choo choo on our tree. She loves trains and so she watches Polar Express daily, we took her to the Magical Forest so that she could ride a train, she wants to watch her train on the tree (luckily we found one that mounts into the tree so I got to determine how often it is turned on, it is a little loud.). She also learned how to say Santa and recognizes him and his hat. She kept saying "tanta hurry!" It was too cute. She also will put on Santa hats and then say "ho ho ho!" I figured out that came from the Polar Express. These babies are so impressionable. Well Santa did hurry and brought her a great kitchen and a stocking full of candy that she loved emptying out and putting in her kitchen. She also received very nice gifts from her relatives and by the time we were almost finishing opening gifts she had met her limit. So it was good that Stephen and I decided not to over do the whole gift thing. She acts like such a big girl that I have to remind myself that she is still a baby. Stephen and I did pretty good this year too. :) It was a great Christmas and we were very blessed this year. What a different year 2010 was compared to 2009. We have truly seen miracles in our life.