This is a blog about our baby, Gianna, who was born on September 22, 2006.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
January 31, 2008
Today I took some pictures of our Kindermusik class. Emi, from Japanese class, came today to preview the class. Here's Emi and Gianna playing with their musical balls. When there's music on, Gianna is all smiles. Gianna is always on the move! Here she is with her egg shakers. Makia is the boy standing next to her. I have a video clip of the children in music class. I wanted to edit out the end, but I didn't know how to do it.
In the afternoon, Uncle Peter and Pumpkin came to play. Pumpkin had got a hold of Gianna's bath sponge. We had a great time with Uncle Peter and Pumpkin. They even stayed for dinner! Uncle Peter bought us pizza, while I made some watermelon martinis...for the adults only, of course!
Today I decided to take some pictures from Japanese class. Gianna still enjoys going to class. She especially likes the songs we sing in Japanese. Here she is touching her atama. She understands that atama is head in Japanese. It's cute to see Gigi stand up and dance when the music starts. The other children usually just sit with their parents. Here's Gianna showing off her choo choo (butterfly) movements. Once the bubbles start flying around for the shabondama song, all the children get up! Gigi LOVES the bubbles! Here's Peterson sensei blowing the bubbles. Smiles and bubbles! Here's Gigi, Jayden, and Emi all trying to catch some bubbles. On our way home, I had given Gianna a bottle of milk. At a stop light, I looked back to see her fast asleep with the bottle in her mouth.
NOTE: It's not really a bottle. It's a Born Free Toddler Cup.
Below is a video clip of Gigi playing the piano with Grandma.
Gianna and I visited Grandma and Grandpa in Wahiawa. We went to Costco with Grandma, then went to the market for some other things we needed. I cooked pot roast provencal for dinner, and Uncle John came over to eat with us. Unfortunately, Auntie Wendy could not come.
Here's a video clip of Gigi singing and dancing for Uncle John, Grandma, and Grandpa.
Today we hung out at home with Papa. In the afternoon, Gianna was a bit crabby, so I remembered a piece of advice a read in a magazine, "If you have a crab, then add water." It works all time! When Gigi is grumpy, I just let her get wet, and she is all smiles again. It was a bit windy, so I brought out warm water for Gianna to splash around in. Papa was keeping an eye on Gigi while I shuttled warm water from the kitchen to the lanai. Here's our wet, but happy baby. I didn't even bother putting on a swimsuit or sunscreen. She was so grumpy, that I just picked her up and took her outside to turn on the hose. There's her t-shirt hanging on the gate. In the evening, Grandma and Grandpa came to babysit, so Papa and I could go to E & O Trading Company for a private cocktail class with Joey. That's Uncle Mike in the picture, our gracious and talented host for the evening. Uncle Peter took this photo of us...the happy parents! It sure is fun to still be able to have a night on the town with good friends, good food, and good drinks! Thanks grandma, grandpa, Peter, and Michael!
This morning we went to our Mommy and Me class at the movement center. It was PACKED! It has never been this crowded before. Anyway, here's Gianna holding on to the parachute. Halle is to the left of her. She has grown so much! Here's Gianna in the middle of the action. Connor had decided to hang out in the tunnel, and Gianna was wondering when he was coming out. Here she is passing a purple ball to Connor. She's pretty good about sharing. She just has trouble waiting her turn. Here's Connor with his stash of balls. What a cutie! Here comes Gianna! Gigi was determined to get her turn in the tunnel. For lunch, we met all the grandaunts and granduncles, along with the grandparents for a dim sum lunch. Unfortunately, Gianna was just too tired to make it through the lunch. All of her usual distractions just didn't work. Not even dessert! I had to excuse ourselves from the table and take Gianna outside. This RARELY happens, but she was just exhausted from our morning activities.
This morning we went to Stroller Strides, and I had a good workout. After class, the playgroup event was a visit to the aquarium. This was Gianna's first time to the aquarium. We parked our stroller on the lawn and headed to the outside exhibit. Gigi LOVED looking at the fish. She's pointing to one of the fishes that are in her book from the Hapuna Prince Hotel. There was an opportunity to touch a hermit crab and some sea anemones, but Gianna was more interested in splashing the water they were in. I had to take her away. Inside of the aquarium, the exhibits were quite spectacular. Gianna was able to get up close to the fish! Here's Gigi with Alexis and her older sister. These girls are the daughters of my Stroller Stride instructor, Jill. Gianna looks a little scared. Look at the beautiful colors in this display. It's like we are right out there in the water! Here's Gianna next to a lion fish. There was much more to see, but we had to leave to meet Auntie Jen and Auntie Tyra for lunch at Punahou.
Gigi had a great time at school. We said hello to a lot of people, and we were lucky enough to play with some 2nd graders. It was a fun time.
When we got home, Gianna asked for some milk. After drinking her fill, she dropped her bottle on the floor. It's one of her nasty habits that I'm trying to correct. Instead of getting excited and upset, I calmly ask her to pick up her bottle and hand it to me. I tell her that if she does not do what I ask, then I will not play with her. Gigi has begun to immediately pick up her bottle without a fuss, but now I'm also making her clean up the spilt milk. Here she is cleaning up the mess. She definitely does not like this part of the job. She grumbles while wiping up the floor. Oh well, that's my CinderGianna!
This evening we went out for drinks and dinner with Uncle Mark and Auntie Mirella at Rum Fire, a new restaurant/lounge at the Sheraton Wakiki Hotel. All of the following pictures are courtesy of Auntie Mirella. Thank you! We sat outside on comfortable chairs/beds. I brought Gianna's bear with us, just in case she fell asleep. You never know. It could happen. Here we are checking out the menu. We ordered most everything on the menu and EVERYTHING was delicious! The ground was covered with AstroTurf, and the bed was just the right height for Gianna. OOPS! I didn't see the sign until after we sat down and ordered. Luckily, the outside areas were not crowded, and the few people who were there did not mind that we had Gianna with us. Yes, the sign was correct. We were in the FIRE PIT area! How exciting! We tried to keep Gianna on the bed by giving her books, toys, and presents, but she was determined to explore this new dining venue. The sunset was hidden behind some clouds, but the whole atmosphere was just perfect! Here's Gigi shaking it! She heard the Tahitian music and started to shake her stuff! We walked over to see the entertainment that was going on by the pool with Auntie Mirella. Here's all of us: Papa, Auntie Mirella, Uncle Mark, myself, and Gianna. The rum sangria was very tasty! At the end of the evening, we were able to say hello to Chef Colin. We all highly recommend going to the Rum Fire. We really enjoyed it!
