Farm fun!

We went to a farm/orchard about 25 minutes from our house on Saturday. They grow all kinds of stuff all year long it'll be great to go back and pick fruit. And it's so close, I can take Gianna anytime we're looking for something to do. It was a pretty cold morning, so we didn't quite enjoy it as much as we might have otherwise, but Gianna still loved seeing all the animals. She especially loved the chickens, who seemed to like her too! She kept trying to kiss them, it was so funny! She also had her first donut (a fresh homemade cider donut)...she couldn't get enough! It'll be nice to go on a warmer day so we can be outside and see the animals more.

Gianna and her favorite chicken, this is the one she tried to kiss!

With Daddy by the sheep, this was the most I could get of her attention while she ate her donut.

Today we went to the park to do some sliding. Enjoy the videos!

Fun weekend

Clearly I am a horrible blogger since it is Thursday and I am just now getting to post about our adventures last weekend. On Saturday we took Gianna to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. It was really fun and neat! It took Gianna a little while to get into it, but once she did, she had a really great time. She especially loved all the little slides in the toddler play areas. But here are a few pictures of her enjoying the ducks and the kiddie-sized supermarket (her favorite).

She got soaked and she loved it!

Pardon me! (Apparently she really liked the orange juice.)

This store had self-scan. Very convenient for shoppers who like to press buttons!

On Sunday we took Gianna to the nearby Catholic school playground which has some great slides. And since this day, sliding has been her absolute favorite activity. Luckily, the weather has allowed for this new obsession and we found an indoor play place that has one too. Doug would follow her down the slide and she would squeal with glee at seeing him come down face first! Too funny!

Family ties

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. We started two weeks ago by flying to Atlanta. Where Doug joined us a for a long weekend. We had a great time seeing Nick, Elizabeth and, of course, Isabella. The girls were so cute together, giving hugs and kisses and holding hands. We went to the zoo and the park and music class and Chuck E. Cheese's. We definitely kept those girls busy! And the moms and dads got a chance to have fun too. Nick and Elizabeth were kind enough to get a babysitter for an evening so the four of us could go out to dinner. It was one delicious meal! We ended our trip on a little bit of a bad note when we all got sick the night before we were supposed to leave and then that snow storm came through the east coast and our flight was cancelled. So we had an unexpected extra day in Atlanta, but we were so happy and fortunate to have family who welcomed us back with open arms! We were so grateful! We thought our flight on Monday would be cancelled, but we actually made it home and only an hour late.

Two days later, Elizabeth and Isabella came up to NJ to see us before heading to NY for Doug and Nick's grandmother's birthday. We didn't do much during their short visit, but we were so happy to have them and show them our new-ish home.

Then we had a short visit from my parents after Elizabeth and Bella left Friday morning. They left the next morning when we left for NY, but Gianna was thrilled to spend time with Paca and Gaga. She actually rarely says these words, she mostly uses signs she made up for them.

We had a great time with all of Doug's family in NY. Although, I have to say, Gianna was in a pretty bad mood most of the time. I think she'd had enough of all the unpredictability of her life lately! She still seemed to enjoy seeing Bella and her second cousins.

So things have finally returned to normal. Gianna seems to like being home again and we're all happy to settle back into a routine. Here are a few pics. Elizabeth has some from their house of the girls being nice to each other on her blog www.edeangelo.blogspot.com

Playing at the table together

Watching their favorite: "Little Einsteins"

In her "gagas" from Grandma and Grandpa

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday we took Gianna to a narby park. Not a slides and swings kind of park, just lots of land and paths and a bridge that Gianna fell in love with. She's really into going up and down hills, bridge, etc. She loves being outside and tells us often that she wants to go out by saying "go," "side" (outside), "coat," and "hat." Despite the cold yesterday she had a great time running around the park (note the "weeeeee!" video) and picking up grass and twigs and pebbles. We're getting her in shape for our visit to Atlanta on Tuesday to see her cousin Isabella, who is always on the move!

On the bridge with Daddy

Our little nature guide, "Look Mommy, a twig"

And here's a small tree, Daddy.

Peeking with Mommy at Daddy over the stone wall

And below is a picture from Friday after Gianna did some drawing in her favorite place, the bathroom (her studio, I guess). She asks for "paypay" (paper) and "pen, pen, pen, pen, pen..." until I give them to her and then she heads straight for the bathroom to do her work. Anyway, I took her shirt off so she wouldn't accidentally draw all over her shirt. This is what happened. It's hard to see, but those are pen marks all over her belly. We'll stick to pencils in the future.

Ain't no mountain high enough

Okay, so it's more of a hill than a mountain, but Gianna hasn't had much experience with different terrain, so she's just finally getting good at going up and down hills. This is facilitated by no longer being afraid or let's say wary to walk on grass. Despite the cold, she was loving her time outside today.

We had a great time with Nonna and Pop-pop this weekend. She loved playing with them and if she couldn't see them, she immediately asked where they were. "Nonna? Pop-pop?" She especially loved swinging (aka, "weeeee!") in the sheets that Nonna made into curtains for us. So here's a few pics of that. Plus a few more of her fun on the hill with Daddy today.

A day in the big city

On Monday we decided to leave the 'burbs and take a day trip to Manhattan to visit our dear friends Meghan and Riley. Riley is just a few weeks older than Gianna, so it was great for the girls to get together. Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pics, but here's one of the girls "reading" together. (The other picture is just a super cute, happy picture from this weekend.) Monday was a beautiful day in New York so we made the most of it and went to Riverside Park to swing on the swings and play on the slides. The girls had a great time...despite the aggressive squirrels. We hope to do it again soon!

Superbowl weekend

This post actually has nothing to do with the superbowl, but it is about what we did this weekend. On Friday night we went to my cousin's high school basketball game. Gianna thoroughly enjoyed herself. She loved all the clapping and wanted the boys to give her the ball. She was so excited; it was so cute. Unfortunately I fogot my camera! But here are a few pics from the rest of the weekend and a video of Gianna using a fork to eat her apples. She only likes to eat foods where she can practice using her spoon or fork.

Here she is video-chatting with Bella, Nick and Elizabeth, and Nonna at her new table. And wearing Daddy's belt, one of her favorite things to do.