6/17/21 – Manatees Are ‘Stinct

This morning when I dropped you off, I took your photo in front of the gate sign. My mind immediately saw the photo from the first day of school and how little you were. Before I could leave the parking lot, I had to put the two photos side by side and I shed a tear. I am absolutely dumbfounded as to how this time has gone so fast! The side by side comparison is striking. Although it is clear that my baby is gone, you have grown into a really amazing, smart, strong, beautiful girl and I’m confident you will take over the world!

I picked you up for gymnastics. On the way, you were chatty so I tried to capture as much as possible. Often, if you realize I’m taking a video, you stop me…but I just want to catch as much as I can of your perfect little voice and the fun things you have to say. You learned about Manatees today and how the are “stinct” (extinct) because people try to put them in their boats lol.

We tried to stop at Dr. Dan’s office before gymnastics but they closed early today. You did great in class today. You really like Coach Trey! We went home for dinner and talked to Daddy before bed. When we got it bed you told me how you are missing him so much. I promise you he’s missing you too. This is one of the hardest weeks of his life. I wish we could be there to support him.

I love you so much!

6/16/21 – Donuts Before Dinner?

You really didn’t want to get up this morning. I kissed your forehead and whispered I don’t want you to miss water Wednesday. You opened your eyes and told me “I woke up before that noise went vrrroooom” (my hairdryer). We sent Daddy a good morning video. He sent one back and you watched it like 15 times then went to the kitchen to make him a card. When you finished we headed to school and you were excited to play in the water.

When I picked you up we were headed to meet Chrissy, Olivia, Kingston and Cheryl for dinner. You asked to stop at Publix for a donut on the way. You listened so well this morning that I said yes! You thought it was awesome to have donuts before dinner. You made a sticky note with your name on it for the bakery lady and the cashier. You asked each of them if they wanted you to write your first, middle or last name.

We headed to dinner. You waited patiently for our table coloring in your Water Wow books and shared nicely with Olivia & Kingston. You are your entire steak, applesauce and Mac & cheese.

We talked to Aunt Deb on the way home and Daddy once we got home. You asked him why it was taking so long to get his Mom better? Why isn’t it shorter?

You ate a banana and a half a popsicle, watched a little bit of paw patrol and put on two more graduation tattoos before climbing in bed.

I love you so much!

6/15/21 – A Pretty Good Sick Day

I kept you home from school today although you were definitely feeling better. We had to take Harry to the Vet and you were excited that he got to ride in the car. We went home after his visit and I had to teach a webinar. You were trying to poke your head in the screen, but I got you to go play in your room for a bit!

We headed downtown to my nail appointment. You were chatting with the lady next to me and you showed her your new necklace and said “my Grandma Weezie gave me this necklace. It has a G on it because my name is Giovanna.” When we were leaving you ran into a dog named Elsa who would shake for treats. I had to drag you out of there!

We picked up Marina at the office, went to lunch and then went to sign loan papers for the office building. You were so good during the closing, you scored 4 parking token coins from the receptionist and practiced writing while we signed. When we finished, you wanted to go downtown to the “watch store” which is a jewelry store that has some unique clocks in the window which you are fascinated with. They were open (usually we are there on nights or weekends when they are closed) so we went inside for a few minutes. No way were you scamming me into bringing one home though lol. We walked a few doors down to share a milkshake at the Creamery.

We headed home to relax. You took a bath and then we made pizza while watching Lion Guard. All of a sudden you got really hyper and were jumping around on the couching walking like a lion. We headed to bed and you fell asleep fast and early.

I love you so much!

6/14/21 – Please Eat Your Soup

When I got out of the shower you were laying completely sideways in bed. I was expecting to keep you home from school today. But when you woke up at 8a you were happy and spry. You immediately went and got dressed and got yourself ready so I took you to school. Daddy told me that you were holding his hand all night while you snuggled with him.

On the way to school, you were telling me all about how the days go for you. I loved capturing it!

When I jumped in my car for lunch I texted Miss Amber to check and see how you were doing. She replied that actually you were not doing so hot. You have been lethargic with lots of coughing, and not your normal self. She said an early pickup would be best, and maybe a home day tomorrow. I went and got you right away. We went home and made a bed on the couch. Harry was happy to stand watch…over you and the fruit you asked for. You rested and watched some TV. Fortunately I got you to basically huff eucalyptus. A little while later, we counted all your coins from your piggy bank and found you have $56.44.

You really haven’t had much appetite. You were writing a letter to Daddy to tell him you were sick so I made a sign that said “please eat your soup.” You read it yourself when I showed it to you! The absolute best part of being sick is popsicles and movies all day. Daddy had to leave after dinner to drive to Ohio because his Mom was not doing well. We talked to him a few times during his drive. When we went to bed to watch TV you decided you needed a PBJ. Of course I got up and made it for you. Once you finished, we turned the TV off and you were snoring in no time!

I love you so much!

6/13/21 – You’re My Favorite!

You slept this morning until 8am. You jumped on Daddy and said “Big Boy Daddy…You’re my favorite!” When we came out to the living room, Bianca & Becky were waiting for you. You weren’t feeling fabulous and really just wanted to lay around. I made waffles while you guys watched Finding Nemo. Bianca was rubbing your forehead, trying to help you feel better.

Once you perked up a little, we headed to the Meadows to swim for a little bit. When you got in the pool, you couldn’t even tell you weren’t feeling great earlier. Daddy was holding you up in the air and you were jumping and giggling. At one point, you were laying on the raft & I thought you might take a snooze. I carried you to a lounge chair to see if you might sleep. You popped up a minute later, of course afraid to miss out on any fun. We had lunch, played some more and then around 3p you announced you were ready to go home. You wanted to play with Bianca before she had to leave.

You & I jumped in the shower when we got home and then Bianca ran in and joined us. You ran and put your nightgown on and you guys played for a bit. We did your nails, first with some fake nails that were long and then I painted your fingers and toes. After dinner, Bianca had to leave and you walked her out to her car. You guys are so cute together….I just love it!

You wanted to take your shopping cart around the block, so we did. I couldn’t tell you the last time you did that, but just like old times, I had to carry it home lol! You were fading and I didn’t mind. When we got home, I asked you if you wanted to watch some TV with me. You climbed up on the couch and chose Star Wars. I asked if you wanted to snuggle and you said “of course I do!” You laid your head on my leg and 3 minutes later you were snoring. It was a few minutes before 7p. I took you to my bed around 7:30p and put some chest rub on you. I hope you feel better tomorrow. This was a special, fun, busy, emotional, amazing weekend. I hope you truly know how special you are. You are going to do amazing things in your life and I am so grateful to be in the front row to witness all you accomplish!

I love you so much!

6/12/21 – Graduation Day!

This morning, I let you sleep until 8am. When you finally woke up, you were very excited to put your graduation dress on. A short time later, Ms. Sandy & Grandma Weezie arrived. Ms. Sandy gave you a balloon, flowers and a card that played a song and moved which you loved! Grandma Weezie gave you a necklace with your initials on it. It was so pretty! You wore the necklace, the new ring I gave you and we wore our matching bracelets for your big day!

We dropped you off at school and walked across the street to the building where the ceremony was. As soon as I walked in the building I was emotional. Everything was decorated with such cute photos, awards and artwork from all the graduates and I was just overcome with pride and joy. I cried a lot and everyone was teasing me. I can’t help it. I’m so proud of you and excited to see you continue to learn and grow into the smart, strong, beautiful woman you are meant to become…but I’m still dumbfounded that time has gone so quickly. When the ceremony began, you walked out first, accompanied by Pomp & Circumstance (certainly an emotional song) with your voice recording saying “My name is Giovanna Koontz. I’m five years old and when I grow up I want to be a firefighter.” The tears flowed freely from then on!!! You received your diploma, showed me your ring on the way back down the aisle, then the performances began. Your class sang slippery fish together, then each graduate recited a nursery rhyme and then sang “I’ll go to Kindergarten When I’m Five!” After the performances, they played a video montage of photos from the last three years along with music. You were sitting on my lap while we watched this. I had my arms wrapped around you, kissing you while tears rolled down my face. You are remarkable. You are awe inspiring. You are leaving preschool and entering Kindergarten as a smart, strong, confident, funny, caring young girl. I am so proud of you I can feel it in my core. I love you so much! We took some photos and then headed to the after party.

The after party was at a huge arcade with tons of games and room to run and play. The photo booth was definitely more popular with the parents than the kids because none of you wanted to stop playing to take pictures!!!

We headed home after the party and relaxed for about an hour then Bianca and Becky arrived. You guys immediately started playing and you were reenacting graduation with Bianca. We made dinner then watched Raya and had popcorn. Both of you were pretty tired and I thought you were both going to fall asleep snuggling on me during the movie. You didn’t but when the movie ended, we took you both to bed and you were snoring in 30 seconds. This was a HUMONGUS day for you. I am so proud of you. I will always be proud of you no matter what. Although you will graduate many many more times in your life, today will ALWAYS hold a very special place in my heart.

I love you so much sweet girl!!!

6/11/21 – Senioritis

This morning when I woke you up (which took forever), you kept saying you don’t feel good. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was senioritis (lol) or real since there’s been a cough going around school. I was considering letting you stay home because I had no in person meetings at work just to let you get some rest and hopefully feel better for graduation tomorrow. Carlos was coming to clean at 9am so I told you let’s go to my office and then come back home when he’s finished. I texted Ms. Amber on our way to the office to tell her I was thinking I might keep you home and she said they actually really need you to come to morning rehearsal…it’s the big dress run through. She said if you weren’t feeling good, she would let me know so I could pick you up before lunch. She let me know you had a great rehearsal with no complaints & you were on the swings with friends. You were in the clear to stay the rest of the day!

When I picked you up you wanted to go shopping downtown. First you tried to get pizza again, but I had just picked up groceries and was planning to make you some chicken noodle soup. We ran to J. McLaughlin really quickly to look for a dress for me for tomorrow. You chose my dress and were so excited to do so. We went home & made wings and chicken soup. As soon as we walked in, you were rehearsing for tomorrow. You even made Daddy perform!

We ran to the mall for a few minutes to see if they had any cute dresses. You were more interested in the escalators than the dresses though lol. We did buy one dress and over you paid. When the screen prompted my signature, you signed your name. There wasn’t much else there, so we went back home, took a shower and watched more of Rio 2. We jumped in bed to get some good rest for tomorrow’s big day!!

I love you so much!

6/10/21 – Can We Go On A Date?

When I woke up you were snuggled up with Daddy.

I woke you up and you got up and immediately did all your jobs. While you were doing your hair, you were putting in so many bows and saying “just wait til my friends see this!” Harry got to go to school for drop off. You hurried to finish your eggs so Harry could sit by you in the back seat. You were so excited to have him walk you to the gate.

When I picked you up you ran and jumped into my arms. You walked Ms. Jenny to show her a robin egg that you found on your rock and then asked her to come to our car to give her a paper you wrote “Love You” on. You told her “I’ve been waiting for days to give this to you!” You showed her your car seat, how you buckle one buckle like Mommy and how quickly you can do it. She was melting over how sweet you are.

I started to drive home and you said “can we go on a date like we did before? A day date?” I said “sure! Where do you want to go?” You said, “I want to go to downtown and walk around and see what I want!” We stopped at Il Panificio for pizza. You wrote a note in the car that said “Thank you for the pizza” to give to the guy when you ordered. He was surprised when you gave it to him and he said it was the nicest thing and he wished more people would do that! You also grabbed some rainbow cookies.

You directed me to drive south on Main Street and we ended up at Main Street Creamery. We ordered and you went to the table and wrote a thank you note to the lady who helped us. You also gave her an extra pen from my purse & told her you had an extra so you wanted to share. I am so proud of how kind and thoughtful you are!

When we finished you wanted to walk up Main Street and go to some shops. You found a blue beaded bracelet you wanted me to have and then we found matching Mama & Mini bracelets and a dolphin ring for you! I bought you the ring as a graduation gift. You were soooo excited.

We headed home to meet Daddy and when we pulled in the driveway Lauren & Captain were out and came over to play. You got out your bike and Captain followed you up and down the street! You wore him out!

We took Daddy to man night. You stood in the parking lot and called a family huddle. You said “here’s the plan… I will go with Daddy. Mommy you do your thing at TJ Maxx then come get me!” You hammed it up at man night and had cherry bombs! You told them all how hungry you were.

We headed home to get a snack. You tried the entire way to get me to stop at a restaurant for an appetizer (which you call an appetite!). I said no we need to go home. It was already 8:30p. When we pulled in the neighborhood, Ingrid was walking Benji so you asked me to pull over so you could say hi to them. You asked me if you could drive, so I let you sit on my lap and drive my car around the block. That made your day!!! You wanted to take a 2nd lap but decided against it when you realized you wouldn’t be able to watch TV if we did. You were so hungry you ate an entire grilled cheese! We watched a few minutes of Bolt and then as soon as you finished we headed to bed and you were out in two minutes.

I love you so much!

6/9/21 – Fun With My Hair

This morning you were sleeping so deep I could barely wake you. I kissed you a thousand times and rubbed your forehead until you finally started to wake up!

Daddy picked you up from school and you guys came to my office to pick me up. When I saw you in the kitchen, you gave me a huge hug. I told you I love your hair. You said “Ms. Shelley asked if she could do something fun with my hair.” We went to the Dreamers Academy open house again and took Daddy this time. You told me that you were going to sit with us and watch “the movie” presentation, but as soon as we walked in, you ran into the room where the kids were playing. When we finished, we you asked to go to Da Ru Ma for dinner so we did. Unfortunately, they had over an hour wait, so instead we walked a few doors down to the new L&L Hawaiian BBQ that our neighbors just opened.

When we got home, you changed into jammies. You & Daddy were playing on our bed and he pretended to be your dog. You thought this was the funniest thing he’s ever done. Listening to you giggle was the best sound I heard all day. I love watching the two of you together. You ended up with major hiccups not exactly a great way to get ready for bed, but it was worth going to be a little later!

I love you so much!

6/8/21 – I’m Having Two Dinners!

When I got up to shower, you and Daddy were snoozing like twins. You reallllly didn’t want to get up today! You were a little congested so I don’t think you slept really well. When you finally did get up and running, we ran out of time for breakfast so you grabbed a banana energy ball and a cheese stick for the road. Odd combo but you were happy!

I wanted to take your picture when we got to school, but you were so excited to get inside the gate & were so chatty about your outfit with Ms. Shelley that you ran straight in. I didn’t want to stop you because you were enjoying your conversation so much so I settled for a big kiss.

When I picked you up, you ran to me and jumped into my arms telling me how much you missed me. My heart melted. We stopped at Il Panificio for cheese pizza after school. We called Daddy on the way there and you told him the plan was “to get cheese pizza at Il Panificio, then to Mommy’s office until she’s done with her computer. Or phone. Then Rico’s pizza. I’m having two dinners!”

On the way back to the office, I asked you “do you want to call Ms. Sandy? You said, “I will, I wanna spend time with you first then we can call her.” More Mama heart melting. I had to go sign one more quick closing and you were so good. You sat in the conference room, ate two slices of pizza and your fruit from lunch and chatted with Bianca.

You helped me bring in the groceries when we got home and then determined you needed a Band-Aid and a heating pad for your bug bite!

We made ribs for Daddy. After dinner we went to HomeGoods. On the way we called Grandma Weezie and sang her the kindergarten song (I will go to Kindergarten when I’m 5). You told her you are growing because you eat so much broccoli and you asked me to make stir fry with broccoli tomorrow for dinner so you could grow even bigger!

At HomeGoods you schmoozed all the workers, you had one lady opening all the jar candles so you could sell them lol. You unloaded the cart and paid with my debit card all by yourself. Everyone was amazed by you!

On the way home, I was telling you how overwhelmed with love I felt the day your were born. It was a magical day. I told you I hope someday you experience that feeling and have a baby of your own. We started to sing some songs and then you told me you were tired. As soon as we walked in, you changed and peed. You were whiny and I asked you if you would like me to rock you in your chair. You said please Mama. This was quite possibly the very last time I will rock you to sleep. My heart is full of love for you. I had fun with you tonight.

I love you so much!