A Day of Firsts

September 10th was a big day for Gia. Not only was it her first day of preschool, she also got her hair cut for the first time!   We've been meaning to cut her hair for a while now. Curly hair can be difficult to deal with and when you're a 3 year old who can barely sit still long enough for your mom to comb it, it can get messy. And full of knots.    My mom is a hairdresser, so you'd think we would have done a million hair cuts by now. We tried at the beginning of the summer, but every time my mom had time, Jon wasn't around. (I really wanted him to see her first hair cut.) Then my mom had foot surgery and couldn't work for 6 weeks.
Now that she's back to work, we were finally able to find a day that worked for everyone.   So after Gia's first morning at school and our quick cookie-baking session, we headed to Adora Bella Salon in Franklin Lakes to see Yadi. Gia was so excited!    The salon has a really cool chair just for kids. It looks like a regular hair cutting chair--it goes up and down and swivels--but it's tinier and has a "seat belt" to keep kids in. Gia climbed right up.

She didn't love the cape so much, so my mom put it on her backwards. That way it still protected her clothes from the falling hair, but her arms were free.

Rather than washing her hair in the huge (not to mention uncomfortable) sinks, my mom just used a spray bottle to wet her hair. And then the cutting started!

 The whole thing took about 20 minutes and Gia loved it. She loved that she was being treated like a big girl and she loved looking at herself in the huge mirrors. She started to get antsy near the very end, but my mom was just about done and so she sat still until the end.

  And then there were kisses from Yadi and a lollipop for Gia. 

The best part? Her hair looks awesome!  

First Day of Preschool!

We've had an exciting few days over here. Gia had preschool orientation and Tuesday was her first day in the 3 year old class!  

    As I mentioned before, Gia does really well in new situations as long as she knows what to expect. I wasn't worried about her going to school at all for a variety of reasons.  First of all, she's going to the same school and we had such a great experience there last year.  And, 4 of her classmates from last year are in her class again this year, so it's not like she's going into a whole new group of kids. And most importantly, one of her teachers this year was her teacher last year! Talk about a really nice safety net for her school experience this year!   Monday we went to orientation. I reminded Gia that we'd be going to a new room at the same school and that Jean, her teacher from last year, would be there with a new teacher, Jeannie. I was going to stay with her the first day and the second day I was going to drop her off and then come back later to get her. She was a very excited, but also a little unsure. As we pulled up to orientation she asked "Are you going to stay with me?"    I was a little surprised at her apprehension but I reassured her I wasn't leaving. (In retrospect, I think this year was a tinge harder for her because she's older and she fully understands that I'm leaving her. When she first started school I don't think she fully grasped the concept of me leaving her until I'd already left and she'd had a great time, thus making it no big deal.)  We had a great time checking out her new classroom and meeting her teachers. They did a modified version of the school day and Gia happily sat on the rug for circle time, sang songs, listened to her teachers and ate her snack.    Monday night Gia picked out her own outfit & went to bed early in preparation for the real FIRST DAY!  

  Tuesday morning was busy. We aren't used to getting up and out so fast in the morning. Although Gia is a total morning person, she likes to lounge around and eat some fruit, and then have breakfast and play and watch some tv before she gets dressed. Well, that couldn't happen Tuesday and Gia wasn't so sure of things. She said she didn't want breakfast and she wasn't going to go to school. She wasn't being difficult about it--this wasn't a 3 year old exerting her independence and shouting "I'm not going!" It was more of a quiet, sad, oh how unfortunate that I just can't go to school today Mommy kind of thing.  

     After a quick pep talk (about all the fun she'd have and how much her friends would miss her), she ate her waffle and was excited about school again.

   

  She was all smiles and even let me take approximately 7 million pictures of her. And when it came time to drop her off and leave, she kissed us goodbye and ran off to play. 

When we went back to pick her up, she was happy as a clam. She was so excited to see us and tell us about her day. She made a color wheel, painted, had a snack and got a sticker. A sticker is like gold to her.    And, to end a perfect morning, after school we baked chocolate chip cookies together, because it's a First Day of School Tradition. 

Labor Day

Although the forecast wasn't great, we decided to head down the shore anyway on Labor Day to see my mom and stepdad, who were spending the weekend down there.   I'm so glad we did. The weather was great & Gia absolutely loves the beach.    Side note about Gia's pony tail: While we were in Wildwood, I insisted on putting Gia's hair in some kind of pony tail for the beach. (She really prefers cute little bows but I vetoed that idea because they do nothing to keep her hair out of her face and then she spends the day pushing her curls out of her way and getting sand all over face in the process.) Most days, the best I could convince her to do was a half pony tail. By the end of the week I convinced her to do 2 half pony tails--mini pigtails. She would not let me do a "big pony," which is what she calls a full pony tail. But, for my mom? She'll do anything. I didn't do a thing to her hair before we got to the beach. So when we arrived I handed my mom a pony tail holder and told Gia that Yadi needed to do her hair. No discussion, no issues...BAM! Adorable adorable "big pony".    I'm in love with these pictures of Gia rocking the "big pony," even though it makes her look so grown up!

   She loves to collect shells and rocks and throw them back into the water. 

 

If she wasn't running around by the water, she was on the beach chair, snuggling with Yadi.  

  My mom always has a cute beach hat with her, and this time, Gia found it and fell in love with it. She wore that sparkly fedora for hours! Most of the time it was pulled way lower than in this picture.

I'm not going to say this is the last beach day for a while. I'm still hoping for one more beach day before it's *officially* fall...

The Name Game

Baby boy Quinn has a name!    But we're not telling :0)   What I can tell you is this naming thing is no joke. When I was pregnant with Gia, Jon and I quickly discovered that we don't agree on names at all. Jon likes Irish names and traditional names. Me? I like Italian names and names that are less traditional but not totally you-neek (aka unique. Get it? It's a play on the people who spell perfectly normal names in wacky ways. Mathieu for example. What happened to Matthew?)   Anyway, we decided, after a few cursory discussions, to not even talk about names until we knew if Gia was a girl or a boy. After the 20 week ultrasound we started talking and it took a few months to come to an agreement.   I remember the night we decided. Jon was online looking at baby name websites and was throwing out his favorites. I was vetoing most of them. One of his suggestions was Gina. Not really my cup of tea, but it made me think of Gia, which I said aloud. Jon immediately said he liked it. So we tossed it around a little while longer. I told my mom one night shortly thereafter (via Facebook messenger) and she loved it too. It took us a few weeks of sitting with it to officially decide on it.     Gia's middle name is Danielle, which Jon picked. It's always been one of his favorite names. Once we decided on Gia, we talked about middle names and knew we liked something with an "L" sound in there. Gia Danielle flowed well and sounded pretty so I {happily} agreed to it.

Gia Danielle -- less than an hour old

I knew that naming number 2 wasn't going to be easy. In fact, if it was a girl, we knew it would be even harder. We love the name Gia so much and it really just fits her so well. How would we ever agree on another girl name that was as pretty as Gia and that we both loved?   After our Gender Reveal we started the long process of making lists and checking out every baby name website Google could find us. Again Jon gravitated toward Irish names, suggesting things like Aiden, James, and even Seamus. And of course I wanted Italian names like Rocco, Marco, or GianPaul.    We finally came up with a list of names we both liked (there were 5 or 6 on there) and we slowly started whittling away at the list. Vincent was on our list, until my stepdad came up with "Vinnie Quinnie".  So, yeah, we crossed that one off pretty quickly!    About a month ago we were in the car, on our way to the shore. Gia was in the back, asleep, and we were talking about names. We came up with a first name and a middle name that we both liked. And then a few days went by and neither of us was 100% sure that it was the name.    I wasn't sure it was the name because I thought of another name that I loved--one that was not on the agreed-upon list...and one that Jon does not really like. I was secretly holding out hope that Jon would change his mind.   Yesterday we revisited the name discussion and Jon explained why he doesn't like my newest choice...and I had to agree with him. Suddenly it lost its appeal and our previously decided upon name was shiny and new again and I loved it.   So there ya have it. The very LONG version of how we came to baby boy's name. Now you just have to wait till October 22nd to find out what we picked {and why}!

The Land of Make Believe

Last summer we took Gia to the Land of Make Believe in Hope, NJ. It's a small amusement park and water park meant for little kids. Last year, our trip was one of the first times she'd gone on rides and we had so much fun.
I was worried we'd have to skip this summer because I'm pregnant and not really up for trekking around in the heat, but last week, we decided, spur of the moment, to go.  This pregnancy is so different from when I was pregnant with Gia. I feel better the farther along I am; and I feel better the more active I am. (Don't get me wrong, I'm still exhausted and achy and all that good stuff, but in general I feel pretty good.)
Instead of getting there at 10 am when it opens, we did the late shift and it worked out perfectly. Gia napped in the car, stocking up on all the energy she'd need to run around for a few hours. We got there a little before 2pm all the early birds were already leaving. We scored a parking spot right near the entrance. And, since it was later in the day, it was already starting to get cooler.
Gia went on lots of rides and loved them all.

    And of course we spent over an hour with the animals at the petting zoo.

Later, we went on the train two times. Here we are at the station, waiting for it.

We both have crazy eyes in this picture.

I love this litte face so much.

 

At the end of the day, Daddy convinced Gia to ride on a mini free fall ride. Somehow she wasn't scared. Till she got on, that is.

Jon didn't realize quite how scary it was till they got on. He talked her through it--telling her she was ok and that it was almost over. She didn't cry and she didn't freak out. I don't think she truly loved it, but she was a trooper and made it through. I was really proud of her for acting like such a big girl.
Add another fun summer day to the books!
 

Watch out Tiger Woods!

While we were in Wildwood we took Gia mini golfing for the first time. In true Gia fashion, she loved it. There are so few things that she doesn't like...it really makes taking her most places a breeze. 
We went to Duffer's on a sunny, non-humid, gorgeous morning. Gia loved her golf club and the fact that she got a pink ball. She didn't really care to hold the club the right way though. Nor did she care for the actual rules of the game.
Her version of the game goes something like this.
1. Hit the ball (the right way).

2. Watch it roll for about 2 seconds.   3. Pick it up and run to the hole with it.    

    4. Drop it near the hole.  

    5. Use the club (in a very awkward way) to shove the ball into the hole.    

   

    6. Yell "I WON!"

 

7. Proceed to pick up Mommy's ball or daddy's ball and "help" us get it in the hole the same awkward way. 
8. Repeat 17 more times.

 

The other day we went to one of Gia's friend Gianna's 3rd birthday party at an indoor play place in New Jersey. It's right next to a mini golf place. I didn't think she spotted the golf place, but I was wrong. As we were leaving the party, Gia said, "Look Mommy! Golf! I want to play golf!" So on Monday we had some cloudy weather and were looking for something to do (Jon was off) so we took her back. She had just as much fun the 2nd time around.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

A few months ago I bought Gia a kite. She was so excited and couldn't wait to fly it. I put it in the playroom, just waiting for a windy day, and of course, forgot all about it. In the middle of the stifling July heat wave she found it and had been asking to fly it every.single.day since then.     Luckily I came up with the brilliant idea to buy her cousins kites too, and tell Gia we'd fly them when we went to Wildwood.    Luckily we had a few breezy days: perfect for kite flying. 

Turns out my husband is an expert kite flier --hurt wrist and all--and he got Gia's kite off the ground in a few seconds. Literally. Like, in under a minute it was flying high. 

 

 She was thrilled.

I predict there will be many more kite-flying beach days in our future.