Party Numero Dos!

Gigi hanging out with Granny.

Gigi loves her new swing from Yaya & Papa!

Gigi's second 1st Birthday party was a blast. We had a lot of fun with our friends & family in California. Unfortunately we didn't get the best weather for a pool party, but everyone still had fun hanging out and eating. Here are all the pictures... click HERE.

We're having a great time so far... more to come later!

WA Bennetts Visit!

Tiffany & Riley and Gigi & me, downtown Denver.

The Guys: David, Cade & Craig at Red Rocks.

We had a great time with David's brother & his family visiting us from Seattle. We went swimming, went to a Rockies game and did a ballpark tour, played in a park downtown, and then we also walked around Red Rocks Amphitheater one day. Gigi loved playing with her cousins, Cade & Riley. It was really cute to see Riley & Gigi interact as they are only a month apart. We miss them already and wish they lived closer!

Check out the many pictures! Click HERE.

Also, you can view all the rest of the pictures from May (pre-CA trip) HERE. 

Nap Poll Results/Diaper Update!

Here are the results for my poll. Thanks for voting! That was kind of fun, & I'll have to do it more often. :)

2 naps (morning & afternoon):  7 (46%)

1 morning nap: 0 (0%)

1 afternoon nap: 5 (33%)

2 or more catnaps/short naps: 1 (6%)

I don't remember: 1 (6%)

Other: 1 (6%)

Gigi is now doing 1 long nap after lunch most days, although some days if she's particularly tired or crabby in the morning she'll do 2 naps. Thank you for your comments too (see them again HERE) ... Jenn's comment really inspired me to just go for the 1 nap and see how it goes. It turns out that Gigi also gets tired around 10ish but if I keep her occupied she'll usually make it to lunch, and then get a second wind to play for a little while longer before her nap. 

I got my Bum Genius cloth diapers in the mail and I really look forward to using the diaper alternatives when we get back from CA. Traveling doesn't seem like a good time to really try it out. :) I've used both the BG's and the G Diapers a few times though and I really like them so far. Stay tuned for a more detailed update on this in June! 

Froggie stamp!

Today I took Gigi to her first Storytime at the Library. It was really cute, and she especially enjoyed singing songs and seeing all the other kids & babies. 

And, she got her first stamp! As a former gymnastics coach, I know how much kids like this simple pleasure.

Here are a few shots of Gigi finally noticing her froggie (aka "doggie"- close enough, gigi)-- she was way too distracted at the library so when we got home she finally checked it out.

Going for it... we'll see what happens!

So after a bit of research and inspiration from my friend Melody who's also decided to go for it, I'm going to try out some diaper alternatives! 

My plan is to do disposables at night and when going out for relatively long periods of time (where I might expect to change one while out), and then around the house and for quick trips I'm going to try cloth diapers and hybrids.

I bought my gDiapers (a flushable hybrid) starter kit at Whole Foods today and I'm going to order some Bum Genius cloths online soon.  There are many other brands, but these are the ones I'm going to start with.

I estimated that on the low end (6 dipes a day which is a very low estimate), if we used Pampers (what I've been using) for the next year, it would cost around $430 or more. So I'll keep track of the alternative supplies I buy and see how much it saves me. I assume it would have saved more when Gigi was going thru more dipes in a day but I wasn't ready to brave something new & crazy until now. gDiapers aren't really cheaper than Pampers (more of an ecological benefit) but the cloth ones would be cheaper in the long run.

I'm excited about the money saving, and environment-friendly benefits of this new endeavor! 

I'll keep y'all updated on how it goes. David is being very supportive of this, although I think he's a little concerned that I'm getting too in touch with my "inner hippie." :)

Have any of my blog readers tried something along these lines? If so, how did it go for you?

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday! After church we went to the Farmer's Market our town has this time of year, and even though there weren't many farmers there, it was a fun time. We had yummy burritos & lemonade and then walked across the street where I was surprised to be able to get a FREE Coldstone ice cream, just for being a mom! Yum! 

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out (including watching the Dodgers and playing on our new computer!).

 I'm so blessed to be a mom of such an awesome little girl. Each day with her is more fun! And to prove that, here's a new video of Gigi playing around.

P.S. The 1-yr old Nap Poll is still open!

Calling all moms, dads, grandmas, etc!

I posted a poll on the right side of the blog! Please "vote" and then if you have any comments on the topic put them on this post. I think it's interesting to see how other kids are napping... especially since I'm trying to figure out what's best for Gigi at this age... she's sort of in a transitionary period I think. Not quite sure if she can do the 1 nap everyday, but some days it works good (days with church, etc). I'm sort of leaning towards one long afternoon nap and then a shorter morning nap that will eventually phase itself out.
Please share what works/has worked for you!

Birthday Fun

We had a fun time with some friends celebrating Gigi's birthday. Here are a few photos:
the moms & kids: Meredith, Baby Anna, Kelley, Baby Jude, Me, Gigi, Brooke, Melody, & Baby Wyatt (missing: Britton)!

the fam

Gigi's "all done" with her cupcake!

Here's the album where you can see the rest: http://flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157604968196252/

Due to some technical difficulties, I unfortunately don't have a video of the cake-eating! :( But don't worry, i have another chance since she's having 2 parties (I do have a DVD of it, but my conversion software is not working to get it on the compy... time for a different type of video camera for easier editing!!)

P.S. Subscribers and/or those of you who read this in a feed reader, come visit the actual blog and see another cute photo from her b'day that is our new header!

Happy 1st Birthday Gigi!

Our little Gianna Brianne is 1 year old today!

I made her a birthday crown!

Here's her latest stats:

Height: 27 7/8'' (20th%ile)
Weight: 16 lbs, 11 oz (3%ile)
Throws: right
Bats: switch
Favorite food: cheese
Favorite activities: dancing & "reading" books

Here's an unedited video of her talking. Pictures to come later of her celebrating!

5.5.08

Happy!!

David got me this shirt for Christmas and I'm hecka wearing it today.

April

Here are our pictures from April. These are basically all shots of Gigi all around our house!
Click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bennettars/sets/72157604817249015/

Big Girl Menu

It's been a while since I posted something, and since I'm going to be 1 in 4 days I thought I should tell you what a big girl I am.

"So big!!"

Today for lunch I had yogurt, a quesadilla, and some plum applesauce. Other big girl foods I like are toast, ice cream, beans, rice, macaroni & cheese, and pickles. I'm probably going to love my birthday cake too, so stay tuned for that.

Love,
Gigi

P.S. If you didn't know, click on those blue words-- they are links!

Sweet Moves

Here's a little compilation of Gigi's different dance skills. She's pretty awesome.



Oh, and if you haven't seen the real "Evolution of Dance"-- check it out HERE.