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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

thoughts on sleep

I've been reflecting on Gigi's sleep habits and wanted to share a little... we've been so blessed that she has been sleeping between 5-7 hours every night since she was 6 days old.
I have some friends who have had really rough times as far as babies/sleeping goes, so I don't at all mean to brag. I don't know why God chose to bless us this way, but He did. In this time, we've heard lots of comments like, "she's spoiling you! (my mom)", "don't get used to that!" (Gigi's doc), etc.
But through it all, we've been praying, and have been confident that the Lord is bigger than everything, I mean, he created Gianna, so He's definitely big enough to control her sleep habits! Thanks also to a friend, one of our pastors' wives, Heidi, for encouraging us to just keep praying and have faith that God could keep it up.
So I guess my motive behind sharing all this is simply to give God all the glory. Ultimately, it's not how well we stick to our Babywise philosophy, or how much we love our daughter, or even how much we pray, that is the reason behind this miracle of sleep-- it it is simply because of God's amazing grace and for that we are so thankful!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Go Angels!

Just a quick update from little ol' me...
Last night we went to my second Angels game and they won in the 11th inning! We had to stay until the end because it was Big Bang Friday! Too bad I just slept right through those fireworks; I heard they were awesome. And supposedly there was a really annoying lady behind us but I didn't notice that either. We went with my Unc A and his girlfriend, Angelina. I'm still looking forward to my first Dodgers game though! It's in July.
Love,
Gigi
P.S. A big thanks goes out to my Unc A for making my really cute birth announcements!!

Monday, June 18, 2007

I'm 6 Weeks Old!

Hi Everyone. I wanted to personally update you all on ME, now that I am six weeks old! I'm getting bigger every day, working on my double chin and my leg & arm rolls.In the last few days, I started smiling more at my mommy and daddy. It's cool, because it always makes them smile back at me. I also started "talking"-- saying things like "goo" and other cool words that mom likes to try and imitate.

We had a fun Father's Day yesterday. We went to ESPN Zone so Daddy could watch the Dodgers on the really big TV. I pretty much slept the whole time, which is what I usually do at loud restaurants.
Well, that pretty much sums it up for me, it's time for me to take a nap. I do have a new photo album for you to look at. Mommy just loves taking pictures of me, must be because I'm so cute!
Click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157600392699240/

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Bennett Family Fun

Granny & Grandpa feeding Gigi at the game.

Well, this post is a little late, but I wanted to finally say that we had a great time with the Bennetts visiting! David's parents and his sister Carly (& her boyfriend Chase) all came to visit for a long weekend over the first weekend in June. We went to Gigi's first baseball game (to see the Angels because the Dodgers were out of town), and also saw David's aunt and uncle Jann & Bill there. Gigi went to her first Mullets baseball game too and saw her daddy pitch, and the Bennetts all got to take part in Alex's birthday party racing extravaganza. Also, 3 out of the 4 Bennett-side aunts came out from Riverside on Sunday to go to dinner. It was great to see the extended family that we don't see often.Bennetts & Pavones at Alex's birthday.

Also, last weekend we were down in SD for my friend Sarah's wedding-- I was her matron of honor. It was probably the most beautiful wedding I've been to, or at least way up at the top of the list. :) The ceremony site overlooked the beach in Carlsbad where Sarah & I learned to surf. :) And Gigi looked adorable in a dress that almost matched mine!











Here are the links to the latest albums:
Bennetts visiting: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157600316696737/
Alex's party: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157600320657063/
Sarah's wedding: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157600344682238/

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

What's in a name?

By now, most of you know the significance behind Gigi's name. But just in case you don't, I wanted to give a little explanation...The First Name: "Gianna" comes from Italian and it means "God is gracious." I found the name online, a while back, and wrote it down on a scrap of paper and put it into the desk drawer. Months later, after 2 miscarriages, we decided it was a fitting name, because we really felt the power of God's grace after finally being able to get (and stay) pregnant. We also liked it because it lent itself to the nickname "Gigi" (I've always loved nicknames). A good college friend of ours, Shannon Flett, has a friend (who we knew casually) named Gigi and I always loved the name (and she's a great surfer too!).

The Second Name: Last September I lost one of my best friends, Brianne Nicole Shelton. She died in a plane crash while heading to Mexico to do a medical missions trip. The day I found out that she died, was, oddly enough, the same day I received the call from my doctor's office telling me that after a series of blood tests monitoring my hormone levels, I was indeed pregnant. It was a day of roller-coaster-like emotions, to say the least. We found out Gigi's due date was May 12 and we realized that it was Nurse's Day; Brianne was a nurse, and a darn good one, from what I hear. From the beginning, I felt strongly that Gigi was a girl-- and the middle name was perfectly fitting. We hope that when she's older, Gianna realizes how special her middle name is and that she becomes a young women who makes as much of an impact on her sphere of the world as her namesake did.
The Third Name: In keeping with the double "N" pattern, we chose a last name for her that had the same double letters, and reflected my love of Jane Austen. Just kidding! Now let's just wait and see if she lives up to this name, and ends up with a "Bennett Butt."

Here are pictures of Gianna with Debbie and Kelsi Shelton (Brianne's mom & sister), and a tummy time photo with her special blanket from the Sheltons that was made with the fabric from one of Brianne's scrubs (top of post).