I had to wake you up at 8am. You were still tired from the weekend even though you slept so well! You finally got up and running in time to wave goodbye to Daddy. When you finally got dressed, you insisted on your entire outfit matching, including your shoes and socks.
https://youtu.be/c5Jdd4tuUig
On the way to school you asked me to “text Ms. Sandy and tell her I love her and to wear park clothes so we can go to Circus Park when she picks me up!” I did and she was cracking up.
She texted me from the park and said you were very melancholy today. You told her you did not get enough sleep or food today. You were just strolling around the park instead of your normal run run run. You said you had a good day but wee just tired. When you got home, you had a huge snack of applesauce, cheese balls and strawberries.
When I got home you were relaxing on the couch watching TV. I offered to make stir fry and stay home or pack sandwiches to have a picnic at Benderson park. You wanted to stay home and asked me to make broccoli soup so that’s what we did. Grandma Noot came over for dinner and we colored with sidewalk chalk and made “creations”.
Daddy came with us to your bed. You were snuggly but squirmy and it took from 9-10 for you to fall asleep.
The alarm went off at 7a so we could get up for tennis. Neither of us wanted to get up but we did. You asked me to “get back in bed and be snuggle buggies!” We did for a couple minutes then had to get moving. We beat coach to the courts when he arrived you told him “we were wondering where you were!”
After your lesson, you played on the playground and in the beach volleyball court sand while Rafe had a lesson and I chatted with Lisa Sessa. When Rafe finished, you guys were playing more tennis and then playing with some other kids that came to the park. Every time I asked if you wanted to leave to go to fancy breakfast you said no let’s stay and keep playing! We finally left at 11a and stopped at Publix to get some lunch and water. I was planning to go home after breakfast to stock up before we headed out again but we ran too late.
We went back to the Rye Road Giraffes and met Chrissy & Olivia. You had so much fun again. You rode the camels and ponies again, fed everything and jumped in the bounce houses. You fed the giraffes and zebras 4 bags of carrots and then took grain to the other animals. One set of goats you were cracking me up because you told the goat “oh buddy, you teared that up!” We saw the same guy from yesterday with the huge lizard and a velvet chameleon. You loved petting that gross thing lol. You had a blast and we left after about an hour to head home & get ready to go swimming at Marcela’s.
When we got home Daddy was there. He brought you back a surprise! He gave you a pack of 6 Disney golf balls. You were soooooo excited. You couldn’t wait to add them to your collection. We changed into swimsuits and headed to Marcela’s. Driving there you asked “can I raise the window down ?” (you always say it like this and I love it… just like I love how you say pattern as “patteren” and “take a break off”)
Marcela greeted us in the driveway and you said “I’m ready to swim! I’m already in my swimsuit!” You immediately ran and jumped in the pool. You splashed, did cannon balls and had a blast. You were trying to get me to join you and you said “c’mon Mama, that water is nice and cool!” I was like that’s no selling point for me! lol. I did get in with you and it wasn’t too bad. You told everyone about going back to see the giraffes today and you had them all cracking up with your stories. We ate dinner then headed home. You had such a fun day! We took a quick shower è & headed to bed. I showed you a few videos from today and you were asleep in 5 minutes.
You came to my room at 6:50a. You woke me up and told me you needed to pee. You went to the bathroom then closed the bedroom door. I thought you were going to climb into bed with me but you didn’t. You went back to your room and woke Bianca up! Then you girls ran upstairs to wake Becky up… You played alllll morning. We made pancakes, hash browns and bacon. You girls helped and then played some more with magnets and your camera. Harold was the subject of many photos and you were both taking pictures of your booty and laughing! Bianca kept asking where we are going but we kept it a surprise!
Poor Harold!
We finally got you both dressed, teeth brushed and then a dance party broke out. You guys were jumping and dancing to all sorts of music from Old Town Road to Gangnam Style to Gummibears. Then an inflatable sword fight broke out! We packed snacks, pbj sammies and headed out for your surprise!
We went to the Rye Road Giraffes. You got to ride camels and ponies , pet baby goats and llamas and feed giraffes and zebras . We saw a lazy kangaroo sleeping but not bounding around. There were bounce houses and although neither of you cared or was very interested, the Easter Bunny came and made an appearance! You guys played so hard and it was hot!!!
On the way home, we stopped at Speak’s Clam Bar for a late lunch. We played a few hands of Uno and then Bianca had to go home. We hugged and kissed them goodbye, then went into take a bath. We rounded up Grandma Weezie to go get some ice cream at Southern Cream. She hadn’t been there and you were excited to take her to a new place! Daddy Facetimed us while we were there and you were so excited to show him your Black Raspberry ice cream. The sunset was absolutely stunning on the way home and we had a nice chat about appreciating beauty around you. We were chatting with Grandma Weezie when we dropped her off and all of a sudden you said “Mommy, can we please go home now? I’m ready to snuggle. I’m tired because we stayed up until the morning!” We went home, jumped in bed and you were snoring in literally 3 minutes! Surprising you like we did was so much fun and I’m so glad we did it. I loved seeing you have so much fun all weekend with Bianca. I’m so happy we became friends with them!
Daddy is leaving today for wolfpack weekend. You have been looking forward to him taking you to school today since he’s not going to work. While you were getting ready I asked “can I do your hair G?” You said “no Mom, I can brush it. You can do the hair tie.” Ouch…. independence is amazing and humbling at the same time. My little girl is slipping through my fingers! I continued to get ready myself after I did your hair tie while Daddy made your breakfast. I heard you guys chatting and when I came out you were telling him that “burning love is when a boyfriend comes to your house and kisses you!” OK girl, that’s about all the growing up I can handle today!!! lol
Ms. Sandy had lots of Easter crafts lined up for the two of you for today after school. I could not believe how cool everything turned out. The second I walked n the door you couldn’t wait to show me everything. Ms. Sandy let you know that I had a surprise for you and that was the next thing you started to ask about. I just wouldn’t tell you what it was!!! You kissed Ms. Sandy goodbye and Daddy called on Facetime. As soon as you hung up with him, you heard that someone was here because the Ring doorbell chimed and Harold started barking. You ran in my room to hide and I told you this is your surprise, go see who is at the door! You ran down the hallway and as soon as you saw her silhouette you shouted “Bianca!!” You were sooooo excited. You both immediately ran to the toy room and pulled out all the paw patrol and magnets. We let you play for a bit then headed to DaRuMa for dinner!
You guys brought the Lion King and Little Mermaid toys and played behind our seats so nicely. The excitement of sitting next to each other was very high for both of you. Each of you must have eaten 10 Andes mints after dinner lol.
We headed home and you guys played until we finally got you to head to the bedroom. You were both tired and we didn’t tell you what we are doing tomorrow, we just encouraged you to get some rest so you didn’t sleep through it like you did when you napped at the beach a couple weeks ago because you stayed up so late. Bianca actually calmed her body fairly quickly. You were having a tough time but as soon as you stopped moving you fell asleep literally in 30 seconds! That was 12:15a though!!!!! The good news is we don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow until the giraffes at 1p! What else are you supposed to do at sleepovers besides snack and stay up too late?!?!!
I tried to get you up and moving this morning because I had a dentist appointment at 9a. You were slow motion for sure lol. Maybe tonight you will go to bed before 10:30p!!
I got this message in the SandBox App today:
Giovanna exercises her creativity and imagination through small world play in the sensory table! Wild animals, pieces of wood, wood shavings and fake ferns make an amazing habitat to explore!
Ms. Sandy picked you up after Spanish. I called you on the way home you told me you learned left and right in Spanish and learned about giraffes! You were so proud you could pronounce izquierda and derecha. I got home a few minutes after you and you guys were working on some easter egg craft projects!
We made pizza then played in the hose outside with Daddy. You were soaked from the hose playing, so you jumped in the bathtub to finish up!! In the tub you kept singing Old Town Road because it’s Bianca’s favorite song and you thought that was awesome! I showed you the picture from school and you told me all about how giraffes have really long purple tongues! We got out of the tub and of course to stall going to bed you were starving so you ate another slice of pizza. We brushed teeth and jumped in bed. You told me how much you love to snuggle with me as you climbed into bed and curled up in my arms. Twenty minutes later you peacefully dozed off and just looked like an angel. Just as suspected the late nights this week caught up with you.
I love you so much!
When I picked G up yesterday. G- picture please! Little ham ?
On our way to school, you sent your usual messages to Daddy, Ms. Sandy, Aunt Deb, Chrissy and Grandma Noot. Just as we were getting out of the car, Grandma Noot called to tell you that you made her day and warmed her heart with your message.
Ms. Sandy was off today so I picked you up from school. You realized you had forgotten your headband at school, so we walked back up to the gate and asked Ms. Shelley to grab it. You were crying and saying “remember how scared I was Mom when I left my mermaid at your office and I was afraid someone would take it.” I felt so bad that you were so upset. When we recovered it you climbed in the car and calmed down.
You wanted to go to Circus Park but I didn’t have any park clothes, so we went home so I could change. You had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, I packed some strawberries and a banana, changed and we headed back downtown. You had fun playing and started playing with a 6 year old girl named Zoe. We didn’t leave until 7:45p!!!!
When we got home you were hungry. I warmed up wings from last night & you ate 8 of them. You had leftover pasta and a hamburger! How you could be that hungry is beyond me!!!! We had another night of squirming and it took 1.5 hours for you to go to bed. I left your room 3 times and started to work on my laptop. You came back out and laid on the couch. You were finally tired & went to sleep at 10:30p! You are killin me!!!!!!
While we were getting ready for school, you were doing your jobs so well & after we kissed Daddy goodbye, you asked if we could stop for a donut. I said yes, if we are ready to go in 5 minutes. You hustled and we stopped for a donut on the way to school. You took the bag and my credit card to the checkout. You paid and used your manners so well with the cashier! On the ride to school you were telling me all about how your daughter is watching what we do like Santa to be sure we are being good.
You had Spanish class today. When I picked you up, Ms. Ida commented on how much of it you retain and how well you are doing. She said I know you practice at home, but she is amazing.
On our way home from school you were sending silly “mass-ages” (for some reason when it’s a text you call it a MASSage instead of a message lol). You were laughing at how silly the messages were to Daddy, Ms. Sandy, Grandma Noot & the FUPPAs and you would say something silly, then put both hands over your mouth as you squeal with laughter. It’s always while you are using my phone and I can never get a picture or video of it. I love your face so much when you do this. Your eyes just light up! Most of your messages are you saying “I love you so much, I wish I could sleep with you everyday and night!” and it really doesn’t matter who you are messaging lol.
You and I rode our bikes when we got home. After one lap you pulled in the driveway to get a snack. I told you it was dinner time, not snack time. Just as we were “arguing” about it, Daddy pulled in. You shouted “the GMC just pulled in!” We ate and you had Daddy & I doing “experiences” where we built with your magnets and golf balls.
You had some giant stone crab claws for dinner. We went outside to draw the balcony of the new house on our driveway so we could decide where to put the spa. We walked with Ms. Moe, Jack & Franklin. You brought your sidewalk chalk and left messages all over the neighborhood! You fought sleep again and it was almost 10:30p before you were asleep!
Ms. Sandy picked you up from school and I came home around 4:30p. I picked you up and took you for a surprise! We headed to the lot for a little ground breaking party! You were so excited that Olivia would be there. You played, ran and built magnets. Shelley Watson and her family were walking the neighborhood so you got to meet her boys, I think they are 4 & 6 years old. You were so happy to meet the new neighbor kids!
After celebrating at the lot, we went to Wicked Cantina with Grandma Noot for dinner. You went inside, walked up to the hostess and asked for a table for three please! The hostess was amazed by you and kept commenting how cute and sweet you are. When we were seated you had the waiter in stitches! He was from Venezuela and you were speaking Spanish with him. He brought you charro beans when you told him you didn’t like the black beans you ordered. He also brought you mexican cannolis. You were in love with them! We had such a fun night.
We headed home & met Daddy (he had to run back to work to finish something after the party). We took a quick bath and headed to bed. I thought you would be exhausted but it was still almost 10:30p before you fell asleep!
You and Daddy woke up before me, which is super unusual. After you pottied, you came and jumped on me to wake me up. I stayed in bed about 1o more minutes while you & Daddy went to the living room to snuggle and watch Incredibles 2. I made waffles while you played. Finally we showered and got dressed! We enjoyed a lazy day at home for the most part.
legs legs legs
We did run to look at the pool at the Meadows because we are considering joining this summer so you can swim. Fortunately, this will be our last summer without a pool! We also went to University Park golf pro shop so you could choose some fun colored golf balls! You were sitting in the car with crossed legs and I just couldn’t get over how grown you look!!! We went to lunch at Anna’s deli & you only ate about half a grilled cheese. Your appetite still hasn’t returned from the stomach bug you had last week!
legs legs legs
When we got home, Chrissy & Olivia came over to play. We made dinner, rode bikes and made chocolate chip cookies together! You asked Daddy to start the fire and we sat out there enjoying the cookies. You kept telling him you only had one cookie, but I’m pretty sure you had at least 3 cookies worth of dough!!! You said it didn’t count!
legs legs legs
After all the fun, we headed to bed. It was of course no surprise that you didn’t want to sleep. By 9:30p by the time you had drifted off to sleep….All day, every time I looked at you, I noticed your legs. You are growing, not just taller, but growing into a kid and not a little girl so much. It’s so bittersweet. At night, when you are sleeping, I just reflect, gratefully, on how I have a front row seat to watching you become your own little person. You are a bit more independent each day, but fortunately at bedtime, you still want to hold onto me. No matter what, my arms will always be open, to hold you, hug you, help you for the rest of your life!
This morning, we let Daddy sleep in since he had a rough week travelling for work. I wasn’t sure if we were going to go to gymnastics or not because since it’s spring break, we have tennis today also. I wasn’t sure if sending you to both in one day would be too much. When you woke up, I asked you and you wanted to go, so we got dressed and ran to gymnastics! You had a great class, stayed with the group and had a lot of fun!
I knew it would be tight because gymnastics is 9-10a and we had to be to tennis at 11a. But you needed to eat, so we met Daddy at breakfast and Chrissy, Olivia, Katrina & her boys joined us too. We ate quickly and headed to tennis. Coach Killigrew was amazed at your ability to do the scissor kicks on the agility ladder. He commented on it several times saying it is very hard for kids your age and you made it look easy! You had a little tougher time staying focused and I thought doing gymnastics was not the best idea. However, Coach got pretty stern with you and all of a sudden you got back in the game and you ended up finishing the lesson very well.
We went back to Cooper Creek and went shopping with Chrissy, Olivia & Katrina. We got some fun stuff at Five Below. You chose a coloring book with markers of course and you stopped at a chair outside the store to immediately use them!!! We went to TJ Maxx to see if there were any of your favorite highlighters there, but we struck out. You found a huge Incredibles set you just HAD to have! Daddy was at the golf store and we were going to meet him to go home but you said “Mommy I’m hungry for pizza. Let’s stop at one of these restaurants and get something to eat!” We stopped at Valentino’s and you asked the hostess “table for two outside please.” When she grabbed the kids menu and crayons you noticed and looked at me and said “I’m not even gonna color” because you had brand new Incredibles toys. She heard you and she was cracking up laughing. While we were eating you leaned over, put your hand on my leg and said “Mommy. I love you!” Of course that melts me completely every time! When we finished we were walking back to my car. We walked by C’est Le Vie and I asked if you would like to have a French pastry. You said of course. So we went in and you stood in front of their counter mesmerized by all the beautiful desserts. You chose a raspberry cheesecake one and we sat down and enjoyed it!
We finally headed home and you took the entire paw patrol out to help Daddy clean the grill. You two were playing and having fun. I ran to take a shower and get ready because I have FUPPA dinner tonight and we were supposed to meet Katrina and Chrissy for some quick Easter photos.
After getting myself ready, I got you dressed and we jumped in the car to head to Heritage Harbor to meet the girls. I knew you were getting tired because it was a busy day. I tried to get you to rest and lay in bed with me, but you watched a little tv and got up to play with Daddy. Of course, right before I turned into Heritage Harbor, you passed out… poor girl. Baby Olivia helped to sweetly wake you up. You played with all the kids, unfortunately got bitten by some red ants and then we headed home. You jumped in the bathtub and had a blast playing. I ran to dinner and you helped Daddy make burgers. When I got home you were sleeping soundly.
and ponies 
, pet baby goats 
and llamas 
and feed giraffes 
and zebras 
. We saw a lazy kangaroo 
sleeping 
but not bounding around. There were bounce houses and although neither of you cared or was very interested, the Easter Bunny came and made an appearance! You guys played so hard and it was hot!!! 
