9/5/20 – Drink Wine With Mommy!

You slept in until 8:45a! Daddy & I were in the living room and you came around the corner with the biggest smile on your face!! You snuggled up on the couch with me with a blanket. Daddy was watching a show about barbecue & they were serving beers. You said “Daddy likes beer.” He said, “maybe someday you will drink beer with me?” You said, “well, when I’m a grown up I’m going to drink wine with Mommy.”

We had breakfast and you were in the pool before you finished. You got in and out a few times, taking quick snack breaks and also watching a little tv as well. We had a picnic lunch outside and then you played hard in the pool until almost 5p. We played tossing some balls, reenacting Lion King, chasing you on a float, Daddy was tickling you on the float & you guys were chasing me! You changed swim suits, then wore just the top for a while, then decided to wear just bottoms and no top like Daddy! You laughed at me for not doing the same!

We went for pizza then ice cream. Daddy mentioned that the ice cream place was about a 20 minute drive & it was already 8:20p. You slept in, but you played hard all day. You were so excited to go, so I said let’s try it. You fell asleep in the car about 5 minutes later on the way to ice cream. We were approaching the bridge to Sanibel, so we had to keep going. I got you a rocky road ice cream because you were looking forward to trying after talking about it so much from your Melissa & Doug ice cream shoppe. Daddy laughed at me when I got to the car with it and said did you really think she was going to wake up? I couldn’t take the chance & disappoint you in case you did wake up. When we got home, I got you out of your car seat, carried you to your bed, took down your panties & got your night pants on without you waking up. I’ve never been successful with this – maybe once after a late night at Disney, but that’s all! You swam and played so hard all day that you were absolutely exhausted.

I love you so much!

  • Sleeping In Late
  • Morning Snuggles
  • Snack Break

9/4/20 – Dance With Me Like A Wedding!

You came to my room around 5am & then slept in until 8:30 since you were up so late. Daddy & I were packing up the car & getting ready to leave for “bacation”. You picked your dress, did your jobs & packed even more toys! We had to stop at the flooring store to see our wood floors for the new house. You were so chatty to the clerk and told him how Harry Beary is a Basset Hound… lol. He was cracking up laughing. As soon as we left there, we headed to Cape Coral to stay in a pool house by the beach that we rented for the weekend. The drive was supposed to be about 1 hour 20 minutes, but took us around 2 hours because we had to stop for Harry to pee and then again for you to go too. You were so excited that he was going with us.

When we got to the house it was lunchtime. I was trying to unload the car and make lunch. You didn’t even care about eating, you just wanted to jump in the pool!!! So, I stopped and got your swimsuit out so you could jump in. You eventually ate your sammie… but just a few bites when I first put it out because you were swimming like a fish!! We were having fun chasing you and pushing you in a raft from me to him. Then, he was swimming with you on his back & you said, “Daddy, dance with me like a wedding!” My heart melted. I love how you love him and how he loves you. It’s perfect. Daddy also put Harry in the pool, which he of course hated, but you were cracking up. You couldn’t believe he was in the pool!!

After swimming for a while, you & Daddy watched a movie and played with magnets while I ran to the grocery store to stock up. When I got home, we went to dinner at a cute little craft taco place. You were so vocal there too. You ordered your food and also asked the “manager” (what you call anyone working in a restuarant lol) if you “please could I have some small juicy oranges like the other place?” (meaning mandarins like they serve at Wicked Cantina by our house lol). She brought you a few regular orange slices and at first you said they were too big, but you wolfed them down. After dinner, you asked the server “excuse me, what’s your name?” She replied, Julia. You said, “like my Mom, her name is Jo Ann. And my name is Giovanna Sofia Koontz.” You then spelled your name. She asked how old you are. You said, “I am 4 years old.” She was cracking up laughing because she heard your conversations throughout dinner and heard how smart and mature you are. She looked at Daddy & I and said, you can tell she’s really smart. She doesn’t seem 4! You are absolutely amazing. Of course I think so, you are mine. But consistently everyone else says so too. You really are a special person and I know you will do great things in your life.

I love you so much!!

  • Chocolate Chips Face!

9/3/20 – Help Me Sleep

You came to my room at 3:45am and woke me up and asked me “Mama, can you please come to my bed & help me sleep?” So I went with you and we snuggled in your bed. I woke up and took a shower & Daddy went in to finally wake you up at almost 8am! When you were ready to get dressed you asked me “please lay out all my new clothes, so I can pick what I want to wear.” When you were ready for breakfast you ate your eggs and then asked if there were any more bagels. There was one left, so I put it in the oven for you. When I put it on your plate you asked “what happened to the onion bagels?” I said, there was only one plain bagel left. You were so disappointed!!

Daddy picked you up from gymnastics & you called me & then Jackie on your way home. I was on the phone when you called so I had to call you guys back. When I did, you were like, Mama, when we called you didn’t answer!!! You guys had dinner together at home & Jackie & I went to Hyde Park. When we got home, you grabbed Jackie by the hand, took her upstairs & told her you guys were going to read Halloween books again. Daddy went to man night & we played and watched part of Toy Story 3. You were up until 10:30p! When we took you to your room, we read books, then Jackie left and we did Lingos. You were asleep in 10 minutes!!!

9/2/20 – Bagels & Ice Cream

This morning, you came to my bed at 6am. I was in the bathroom getting ready to go on my bike ride. You climbed in bed with Daddy & then told him you have to pee. You came to the bathroom & were surprised to see me! Unfortunately, your 4 day dry night pants streak is up. Your pants were only a little wet, but wet nonetheless. I got you back in bed, but it took about 30 minutes to get you to fall back to sleep. When you finally woke up, it was almost 8am! You came out to the kitchen and were really upset (I’m still not sure about what. I thought it was the night pants, but it wasn’t.) & crying hard. I went to your room to try to console you. I rocked you in the rocking chair for about 10 minutes and you finally calmed down. You told me that you were trying to get dressed, but I said a word, so you couldn’t…. not sure what’s up with that! Once I got you happy again, I asked if you wanted to try the NYC bagels that Joe Cusumano sent us. You were very excited about it & you ended up eating almost an entire bagel! When we got to school, you still had a few bites left & couldn’t wait to show it to Ms. Amber.

You helped Ms. Sandy start packing your clothes for “ba-cation” this weekend. You were super happy when she gave you your new unicorn backpack that we got at the Outlet mall last weekend. I think you forgot about it!

Daddy surprised us and took us to Southern Cream for ice cream!!! You were so excited! On the way there, the sun was in your eyes & Daddy held his hand up to block it for you. It was so sweet. When we got there you ran to the register to order your vanilla ice cream with strawberry on top. You played a little checkers with Daddy, then we had to pack up because a big thunderstorm was rolling in.

Leaving the ice cream place, you walked up to the register and thanked the workers for the ice cream. They were all dying at how cute and sweet you were. You told them “my ice cream quite melted, but it was really good! So could I get some more?” You have been saying “quite” a lot lately. Every time you do it catches my attention because you sound so mature.

You sang who let the Dogs Out on the way home, along with a Giovanna original about wanting the rain to go away. When we got home, we played with your new magnet set for a while then headed to bed to do a few Kids Lingos and read some Spanish Books. When we finished, we were snuggling & you put your arm around my face & said, “Mama, I love you so much. I’m so glad you had fun at ice cream!” You always ask me to scratch your back, then you roll over and ask me to scratch your belly. That does the trick every time! You were asleep in about 15 minutes!!!

I love you so much!

9/1/20 – Daddy You’re My Biggest Fan

You slept through the night in your room & it was day 4 with dry night pants! You came into my room dressed & ready to play. The last few days you have really wanted me to play paw patrol on the floor with you. Usually, you are ok with me doing my hair or making dinner, but you are really craving my direct attention, so my hair & dinner can wait.

On the way to school we played find the color, shape & letter game. You like to make me find the hard ones like rainbow & purple lol. When we parked at school, you insisted on rearranging your silverware in your lunchbox because I hadn’t done it “right” lol.

When I got home from work, you ran up to me shouting that you had no pee accidents and were wearing the same clothes all day! After yesterday’s mud puddle incident you were very happy to be in the same outfit! You also told me that Chase poked you in the arm with a really sharp pencil, but it was an accident & you didn’t cry. I brought home bagels from NYC that a client sent and you were speechless at how big they were.

You set the table while I made dinner & once we were eating, you got up a few times to “take a little break” and play instead of eating. Grandma Noot dropped by & when you saw her at the door you were happy & surprised. You asked right away “is it ok if Grandma Noot sees my nakey booty butt?” When I said yes, you ran & disappeared in your room. When you came back out you were completely naked lol. Your favorite way to spend an evening!

After dinner, we played Paw Patrol in the living room. You ran over to Daddy & said “Daddy you’re my biggest fan!” How right you are little girl! A little after 8p we headed to your room to read books. We ended up having a pillow fight with Grandma Noot. You thought that was pretty hilarious! Then, she read you some Cinderella before she left. We did 3 Kids Lingos then snuggled until you drifted off to sleep.

I love you so much!

8/31/20 – Surprise Ms. Sandy!

This morning, you took forever to choose your outfit. You were so excited to “surprise Ms. Sandy” with your shirt that it made the choice very difficult lol. You even picked the shirt you plan to wear tomorrow. After getting dressed, you wanted to play Paw Patrol. You were even eating your breakfast on the floor so you could keep playing.

You sat in a mud puddle at school when you climbed into a car on the playground. As soon as I got home, you were adamant about telling me that you didn’t have a pee accident, but you had to change your clothes because of the puddle. You were so funny telling me the story, so I tried to get you to tell me again on video, but you said “well, I just don’t feel like telling it again!”

After dinner, you were doling out ice cream cones from your Melissa & Doug ice cream counter. You would ask us what our choice was, but then you would serve us whatever you wanted lol! We also set up an obstacle course of golf balls for your Paw Patrols to run through.

You took a bike ride around the block & I was walking, because Franklin walked by without Gus the Dalmatian and you basically read him the riot act about not having the dog! You were racing a boy on a motorized scooter – and no surprise, you were beating him! You got carried away though and turned the corner without me and went home. We had to talk about it when I got home & closed the bike. We went inside & immediately went to your room to get ready for bed. You were more tired than I realized & you were snoring by 8:30p.

I love you so much!

  • Legs for Days!
  • Dinner time!

8/30/20 – The Weatherman Said…

You slept in until 830am. You woke up and came out to the living room while I was sitting on the couch blogging. You climbed up in my lap and snuggled with me, then Harry. Then you asked me “is it a school day?” I said “no, today is a home day. We might go to miss Sandy’s house to swim.” You said “well the weatherman said it might rain. My daughter checks the weatherman and the news all the time and she said the weatherman said it’s going to rain.” You were so excited to go that you immediately put on your swimsuit and waited to go!

We made pancakes for breakfast then went swimming at Ms. Sandy’s house. She made us all grilled cheese for lunch. While she was cooking, you were sitting on her couch watching Masha & the Bear. Your eyes were looking droopy, but you perked up once it was picnic time. Shortly after we ate, you looked at me and told me you wanted to go home. I thought for sure you would nap, either in the care or at home, but we watched Paw Patrol on my bed and just rested.

I made chicken wings for dinner and you loved them. You thanked me for making them several times. You ate a ton & were super proud of yourself. We took a bath & then had milk & chocolate chip cookies!!! We played Toy Story & Paw Patrol then watched some of Toy Story 3.

We headed to bed and you fell asleep super fast. It was a great lazy Sunday with you. I can’t wait until next weekend to take you out of town. It’s been so crazy the last few months and it’s been awful not to travel. Even though we aren’t going far, we will definitely have fun!!!

I love you so much!

  • Droopy eyes…
  • Chicken Wings!
  • Movie Night!

8/29/20 – Fun, Friends & Christmas Jams!

You partied hard at Auntie Rina’s last night so of course this morning you wanted to sleep in. Once I finally got you up, we were out the door to gymnastics without even having breakfast!! Baby Olivia’s first class was today and you were excited to usher her throughout the gym. When it was time for your class to start you were so upset to leave her that Coach Lexi had your class start on the floor with the Mommy & Me class so you could be with Olivia! As class went on, it was clear you were tired and hungry. You were upset very easily & even just laid on the mat crying for a bit. Coach Lydia came over to console you & she promised you a popsicle after class, which helped. When she brought the popsicle out at the end of class I about had a heart attack. It was all sugar & red dye! I didn’t say anything (which almost killed me but I was trying not to be “that Mom”) and when we got to the car I just said it’s messy & we can’t have it in the car. Plus, you hadn’t eaten anything yet to fuel your body!

After class, we went to fancy breakfast with Chrissy & Baby Olivia at Metro Diner then we went to TJ Maxx. You snacked on your leftover breakfast in the parking lot!!!! How can you possibly be hungry already??!!? Next we stopped at Whole Foods. You tracked your buddy Samson down aisle by aisle until you found him to say hi! When we were leaving, you saw hit gathering carts and waved, yelling Byyyyyyyeeeee Samson out the car window!! When we got home, we jumped in my bed because although you told me repeatedly that you weren’t tired, you definitely needed a snooze. You ended up napping almost two hours & slept til 5!

Ms. Sandy came over & we met Katrina & her boys at Lido Beach for a picnic & sunset. You immediately made friends with one little girl & you & Kingston played with her all night. The waves were a little bigger than usual because a hurricane hit Louisiana earlier in the week. All you kids thought that was pretty cool! Katrina buried you & Kingston before we left to get ice cream. We took Ms. Sandy to the new place we went to after the last time we were on the boat. Daddy let you try his root beer float & you were very proud to be the first one done! When we got home you took a bath played some more. When you got out, you picked your jammies and met me in the living room. You had on your Christmas jammies and the pants were a good 4 inches too short!!!!! Wow, you grew so fast!!! We had a late night because of your late nap, but the beach wouldn’t have been any fun without it!!!

I love you so much!

  • But I’m not tired Mama!
  • Yep, Not tired at all.
  • Ice Cream!!!
  • Long long hair!
  • Oops! Someone grew fast!

8/28/20 – I Just Told You The Truth!

You were crying this morning that you didn’t want to go to school. You ended up laying on Harry’s dog bed while you were whining so you had to go take a shower because that’s just gross! At first you were mad about the shower & then all of a sudden you flipped like a switch & were having fun & being silly in the shower!

When Daddy was ready to go to work you gave him hugs & kisses, but once he started his car, you ran outside and pleaded with him not to leave. In the car on the way to school, you were telling me a story, when I asked more about it, you said “I just told you the truth!”I asked you if you had any other truths to tell me and you just said No! lol.

In school, you did bear hunt yoga. You practiced balancing & following directions. You had so much fun! You also got to work on extending and creating patterns. When I get these updates from school, it makes me so happy to see you loving the learning environment you are in. I hope that never stops for you!

Daddy & I came home at the same time after meeting with our builder. You were so excited to see us, you ran up to me and gave me a huge hug 3 times and a ton of kisses. Then you said, “I want to go see Daddy” and ran over to give him the same. I told you to get your shoes on because we are headed to Auntie Rina’s house for a party. You asked me if Grandma Noot will be there. You were so excited that she will.

You rode Victor’s scooter in the house, played soccer outside, played guitar with her boys and showed Mr. Brian how to Snap Chat. You held the phone to show him and said “this is a good one!” and were giggling so cute. You had so much fun that you hardly wanted to eat, except for the mini cupcakes. You really wanted to eat them & I think you ended up eating 5 of them!!!!

You had so much fun you didn’t want to leave, but it was after 10p & we have gymnastics tomorrow. When we got home we jumped in my bed and watched Paw Patrol. You were out in no time!

I love you so much!!!!

8/27/20 – I Want To Be Pretty Like Mommy

Daddy took you to school because I had dentist appointment early. When I left, you were both still sleeping, so I gave you both a kiss on the forehead.

When he was ready to do your hair he said “I’m gonna do your hair really pretty.” You said “ like Mommy’s? I want to be pretty like mommy!” He said, “absolutely just like Mommy!” He texted me and said you were a perfect angel this morning. You guys went through the decades of music on the way to school & you liked them all but the 50’s!! lol.

After school, Ms. Sandy took you to her house because Kenda has been sick. You were so gentle and calm with her. Later, you told me “So, Kendababy. Her lungs are sick. It means she’s coughing.” You are so concerned and compassionate, I hope that continues your entire life.

After gymnastics with Daddy, you guys met Grandma Noot & I at Mi Pueblo for dinner. You were so excited when you got there & couldn’t believe we beat you there lol.

When we got home, you wanted to ride your bike. We started out walking with Gus the Dalmatian & Captain the Golden. The more we walked, the more people & dogs joined our group. At one point there were about 15 of us. Of course, you were chatting up Ms. Moe but then we saw Blue, the new puppy & you lost interest in everybody!! They kept walking, but we stayed and talked to Blue’s family until bedtime! When we headed home, you weren’t happy about it, but you were so tired. After a few books, you were sound asleep.

I love you so much!