Giovanna's Journey!

You came to my room around 4:30a and snuggled back to sleep. I got up and showered first and when I finished, you and Daddy looked so sweet sleeping. I quietly made lunch, unloaded the dishwasher etc and let you two sleep as late as possible. I had to go in and wake you up at 8:05a because I don’t want to be late to school. You did great getting dressed, brushing hair and brushing teeth. You chose your leopard print boots and wanted me to wear the same boots. I told you I don’t have leopard boots, but I have leopard print shoes. So you asked me to wear and said “Match me Mama!” and you couldn’t wait to show Daddy. When we got to school, you couldn’t wait to show Ms. Amber either!!!

Ms. Marian called to tell me they are moving you up to Senior Pre-K after Christmas break. You will start visiting the classroom next week. She said you are ready socially and emotionally now, and have been ready academically for some time. She told me that lots of times you make very mature statements and ask lots of questions that show you are curious and thinking about things far beyond your years. She expects that you will leapfrog the kids currently in Pre-K very quickly. I know you will be so excited when they tell you that you get to move. You have been waiting forever!!!

When we got home ate, played and then we walked Harry. You were trying to push your cart and hold him at the same time, which wasn’t working well. I ended up carrying the cart while you were walking Harry. We saw Ms. Moe and you were excited to tell her about the bike you want for Christmas! When we got home, we played for a few minutes before heading to your room to read Christmas books and the Advent calendar book. Tomorrow, we get to see Santa again and you are so excited!

I love you so much!

Daddy woke you up at 7:30a. You asked for oatmeal then hardly ate any, but you got ready much better today. School drop off was also MUCH better this morning. No crying or refusing to go in, and we were finally 15 minutes early instead of running late! I hate being late!! You were excited to bring your Spanish book.

I went to tour St. Martha’s school this morning as well. I have been wrestling with where you should go to school next since this time last year. It is a huge decision and I want so badly to make the best choice for you. The school was great, would be a great fit academically and the location is perfect, but they will not accept a religious vaccine exemption, so it’s not an option.

On the way back to the office I picked up a canvas print of you with Santa from the photo session we had a couple of weeks ago. The clerk in the photo department apologized to me because she showed your photo to everyone. She said it was the most beautiful image she had seen and she couldn’t help but to show it to everyone even though they aren’t supposed to. My heart was so full. I’m so proud of you. I thanked her and told her no apology needed. I was touched she thought it was so beautiful.

Daddy texted me and asked to pick you up from school again. He did and you were so happy about it. You came home and played much nicer with Harry. You have been really rough with him lately, hugging his neck too tight, etc. so it was great to see you snuggling with him. When he wouldn’t stay in your room last night, Daddy kept telling you it’s because you are too rough with him. You want him to sleep with you so bad that you immediately eased up!

You had snack & then when I got home you and Daddy were headed to dinner. We went to Zoe’s Kitchen. You walked right up to the counter & placed your order. Answered all his questions about side dishes and drinks lol. He was like I can’t believe her! She knows what she wants! While we were eating dinner you instructed us to take turns talking about how our day at work was. You said “so Mom, tell us about your day.” Then dad. Then you.

We went to Whole Foods after we finished dinner. You wanted to get chocolates like DaRuMa has. You told me you didn’t care if they were rectangle like DaRuMa, they could be circle or square or oval. lol. On the way home we had another upset. You threw a fit in the car and were kicking my seat because you didn’t get your way. We we got home, I got you out of the car and we went straight to bed. In your room, you continued to talk back, refused to lay down and I told you I would have to leave if you weren’t going to listen. I have lost my cool with you more the last week or so and I don’t know why. You are definitely pushing buttons and talking back a lot. I left and we started over twice before reading your Advent Calendar book and then finally going to sleep at 10. I don’t want to empty each other’s buckets. I apologized to you when we went to bed for the third time and we snuggled. You said I love you Mama. And it makes it all better. I hate losing my cool and I don’t want to have upsets. I also want you to be respectful and explore boundaries. I’m trying my best to get this right, but it is HARD!!!!!!

I love you so much!

You came to my room about 5:50am and climbed in bed. You fell back to sleep and I woke you back up at 8a to get ready for school. You had a little upset again at the gate not wanting to go into school, but you recovered quickly.

You had Spanish after school & Daddy picked you up as a surprise. He wanted to take you to Ringling bridge to see the water then over to St. Armand’s circle. You asked him to roll down the windows. He said but it’s cold outside. You said “it’s ok. I have my coat on! I want to see the water!” You said “I wish we could take a boat out there” looking at the water.

After dinner, you were so excited to finally get to open your “Tuesday Surprise” which you have been waiting for. The surprise is a giant Disney Advent calendar of books. You were happy to open it and wanted to read more than one book, but you were patient and waited.

I got my nails done today, so you wanted to paint yours to match. You got rainbow toes and as I was about to paint the same reindeers I had on my nails on yours, you changed your mind & asked for stripes instead!

When we went to your room to read books and listen to Christmas music, you worked hard to find a hundred excuses to leave the room – you had to potty, you were starving, you wanted to bring Harry to bed. It took forever, but you were finally asleep in my arms around 10p.

I love you so much!

This morning, you were slow to get up of course after being up late the entire break. But once you were awake, you did get dressed, brush hair & teeth especially after I reminded you that we are working to earn our surprise for tomorrow (I got you a Disney Advent Calendar book, which will start tomorrow). In the car on the way to school, you wanted to call Daddy. When he answered you said “I’m sorry Daddy for not waking up for kisses before you left.”

When we got to school, you really didn’t want to go inside. You cried for a minute and Ms. Amber texted me that you were happy and having your snack at the table a few minutes later. I picked you up and you were happy to go to my office because I had to finish a closing. You love to color with Sharpies and use my clip board. We played tick-tac-toe while we waited. Bianca also played some games with you. You were so good and patient. I told you I was sorry, I know it’s boring here and you said “it’s ok Mama. Finish your work!” You are such a sweet girl.

We called Daddy on the way home. You told him, “look, we are on a busy street too!” When we got home, we had dinner and played for a little bit. We headed to your room to read 5 Santa books in bed, then Polar Express. You were extra wiggly. Even though we went to your room at 8p you weren’t asleep until after 9:30p. I was really trying hard to get you more rest tonight!

I love you so much!

You came to my room around 2am crying hard saying you were scared. I’m not sure why this started in the last week or so that you are so upset. You calmed down quickly and fell back to sleep. I went in and woke you up at 9am.

When you got out the hush puppy beanie babies you said “oh my gosh look at this! A reindeer basset hound… Are you kidding me? And a Santa basset hound!” You couldn’t get over it lol! After playing Polar Express and with your stuffies for a while, we made handprint ornaments. I had to make you put a shirt on so we could finally take a picture where you weren’t naked!

Daddy showed you the Google Earth cam & you asked to see Antarctica. Then he showed you Siesta Key, Rick’s Cafe in Jamaica and New York City. When he showed you where Broadway was, you said “that’s like Broadway the dog. That building has the same name!”

You played outside with Harold and then helped me water plants. Ingrid Walker, a friend of mine, moved in two doors down this morning. I was out front talking to her and of course you ran out to see what was going on. When we went back inside, we added some more decorations to the Christmas tree. You helped me put a few more ornaments and some snow all over the tree. The snow definitely confused you & you asked why we were putting it on. But once it was on, you thought it was really pretty. Now, it’s perfect!

Daddy left to run some errands & we ran to TJ Maxx. On the way you said “I’m starving!” I tried to feed you some lunch several times before we left, but you kept saying no. You asked for a burger, so we went to Burger Fi for a burger and milkshake! You wrote your name on the back of the page you were coloring and your Gs are now perfect. Just like that! You struck up conversation with the couple next to us who had a dog that you HAD to pet lol. The wife told us she was an elementary school teacher for 30 years and she swore you were 6 or 7 years old. She couldn’t believe you were only 4.5 years old! You asked them questions about their dog, a Havanese, and told them all about Harold. You told them my dog has much bigger ears than your dog! When we left you thanked them for letting you pet their dog.

We headed to TJ Maxx (finally) and you sat in the shopping cart with your legs crossed. I was dying…lol. On the way home, you asked if we could watch Wreck It Ralph because you couldn’t remember what the girls dress looked like. So when we got home we watched it. We took a welcome gift down to Ingrid’s house and you were happy to pet Benji her dog. We took a couple laps around the block, you walked the first lap then took your scooter for the second lap. We saw Ingrid again walking Benji and she came in to get some of the veggie soup I made for dinner. You showed her your Polar Express train and had her play with the Rudolph toys. As soon as she left I tried to take you to bed but all of a sudden you were staring lol. So you ate a bowl of soup and then we went to bed. We read Polar Express and you were asleep two minutes after we finished.

This was a fantastic Thanksgiving break. I’m so grateful I got to spend so much time with you. It was fun, relaxing, rejuvenating and a great time to reconnect. It has been fun getting ready for Christmas and seeing the excitement in your eyes!

I love you so much!

You came to my room at 6am, snuggled up next to me, rubbed my face, said “Mama, I love you so much” and fell back to sleep until 10am! I don’t think you have EVER slept in that late! You played with your Rudolf toys and the Polar Express train. Daddy put the lights on the tree while we played. I’ve never been much of a homebody, but your love for home days is really starting to wear off on me! I love being home with you and especially at the holidays…it’s so special!

We made pizza on the Green Egg for dinner and you ate half of mine! After dinner, we decided to take Harry for a walk. I told you to get your shoes & you said “I need to put my hair up and get my Elsa braid…everything is just a mess!” I was cracking up laughing. You wanted to take your bike. You told me “be careful going into the garage because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

When we got home, we decorated the tree. You told me at least 15 times how much you love decorating the tree. Me too sweet girl. Although I love everything I get to do with you. It’s nostalgic as I have flashbacks of my own childhood and decorating the tree with my Dad, at the same time as I am consciously present to making these life long memories with you. We had fun and the tree was beautiful. Believe it or not, I broke 3 or 4 ornaments and you broke none!!!! It was 9:30p so we raced to the bathroom, then read Polar Express. After we read, we snuggled and you were out in 2 minutes. I love you so much!

You woke up at 4:30a, came to my room and climbed in bed. You had a bad dream and were crying that you wanted to change beds because something was very scary in my room. You took Daddy back to your room to go back to sleep. He sat in the chair & you laid in bed and fell asleep quickly but not for long. He got you back to sleep & he fell asleep in the chair. Then around 8am you woke him “yelling” wake up, wake up, wake up! You both came into our room and laid back down for a few minutes, although you were not looking for any more sleep!

Carlos came to clean so we jumped in the car to get our Christmas tree. On the way you said “goodness gracious my neck is killin me!” We met Aunt Deb and Fed there and they brought Broadway. I’m not sure if you were more excited about Fed, Broadway or the tree lol! After choosing an absolutely perfect tree, we went to fancy breakfast. You told me “I am going to be the goodest girl!” You already are sweet girl….you are sooooo good!

When we got home from lunch you helped us decorate the house for Christmas. We ate breakfast late and skipped lunch. You asked for a charcuterie board for dinner and you tore it up! You didn’t stop playing with the Polar Express train and you loved taking the Rudolf people for rides on the train.

When the tree was delivered, you chatted the delivery guy up about Little Mermaid & asked him if his daughter saw Little Mermaid Live. You said, “it’s like the regular Little Mermaid but not a cartoon!”

We went to bed to read Polar Express then you wanted to read more. I told you it was almost 10p and we needed to go to sleep. You started to whine. Then immediately you started to sing “he sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake” and rolled over and went to sleep. All I have had to do all week is sing that when you aren’t listening and you shape up really fast!!! It’s not like you are far off to begin with.

I love you so much!

You were so excited today to have a “Home Day” because you don’t want to nap at school. We watched Frosty in my bed and then took a shower. You ate oatmeal for breakfast and Aunt Deb stopped by to drop off pies and the turkey for Thanksgiving. She brought you a turkey cupcake & you wanted to drop the oatmeal like a bad habit for it lol!

We played lots of games on my bed. You used your shopping cart to bring Sorry, Life, Sequence, Connect 4, etc and we played them ALL! I finally got you to agree to have some lunch. You asked to “eat lunch outside because it is such a beautiful day out there!” So, a naked picnic is what we had! When we finished lunch I asked if you wanted to go to Whole Foods. You said “No. Let’s have the groceries delivered bc I wanna stay nakie!”

You eventually got dressed because we decided to take Harold for a walk. You opted for a flannel, long sleeve, Elsa nightgown, no panties, a princess crown, Elsa braid & rainboots! Quite the combo lol. You asked me to teach you how to pick up dog poop…so I did. I don’t think I’m getting out of that job any time soon lol.

We stopped by to visit Grandma Weezie & deliver a couple of gifts to her. She gave you a Thanksgiving book. You were working in your workbook and a little disappointed it wasn’t a coloring book. I reminded you to be grateful and instead you said, “thank you for thinking of me!” You told Grandma Weezie all about how Fed is coming over tomorrow to make turkey cookies and that he’s the cookie expert! “Fed is a good cooker of those!”

We headed to Whole Foods to pick up groceries & had a Facecall with Ms. Sandy. We even took her through the rainbow car wash – you couldn’t wait to show her!

When we got home you were starving so I made your dinner. Shortly after, Daddy came home from work and we ate dinner. After dinner you wanted to watch A Bug’s Life. You snuggled up in his arm and then before we knew it you were snoring by 7:20p! Apparently, home days are exhausting lol! He put you in bed around 8p. I prepared all of the food for tomorrow so I can play with you more tomorrow and just warm things back up. I’m excited for you to help prepare the turkey. I’m looking forward to creating holiday traditions with you. Especially this year, you are so excited for the holidays and so into it. Seeing the season through your eyes is absolutely magical. I only wish I could freeze you in this moment in time. I know it is going to fly by and I can’t slow it down or stop it!!!

I love you so much!