You came to my room at 330a, snuggled up next to me and scratched my back for a minute then went to sleep. When I got up this morning, you had your hand on your head sleeping like you were just absolutely exhausted lol!
You got yourself dressed in your cherry shorts & Steelers jersey. You came to my room wearing your Elsa shoes & a princess crown. You announced “I’m a queen, but I don’t need a magic wand!” Then you brought me a crown & a wand, telling me I’m the princess and you are the queen!
School posted a picture of you with Carter Micale working on one to one correspondence & number recognition. I love seeing what you are up to at school and how happy you look.
When I got home, I made dinner & you were ready to fly your plane outside. You told me to water the plants & you would fly the plane. But, a thunderstorm was rolling in and you told me we needed to stay on the porch so we were covered & don’t get struck by lightning!
We took Harold for a walk & saw Captain (the golden retriever) & Enzo ( the doodle) walking with their families. You of course stopped to love on all the dogs. As we walked we saw tons more dogs, and you stopped to pet them all. When we got home, you and I built a huge Lego tower. You wanted Daddy to take you to bed.
When I woke up, I realized you brought your stuffed snake to bed when you came to my room. You didn’t want to get up so I finally got you up at 815!! You had to eat breakfast in the car.
At school you were busy in the city this week. You were building in blocks & created a town in the sensory table!
We took a bike ride after dinner tonight then you looked for shooting stars with Daddy. You two looked so cute together. I love seeing your arm around his neck.
We headed to bed to do a few Lingos, then when it was time to sleep you were wiggling around. I asked you to please close your eyes and calm your legs. You said “Mama, I just opened my eyes because I wanna say I love you. And I want a drink of water.” It was after 10 before you were finally asleep!
This morning, you came to my room around 2am. You rubbed my face and said “I love you Mama” before closing your eyes & going back to sleep. When you woke up, you wanted help picking a fancy dress to wear to school today. You chose your flamingo dress and your pink shoes! I braided your hair (you asked for a fancy braid) while you ate breakfast.
On the way to school, you sang me some creative songs you made up! You popped out of the car, smiled for your picture, then kissed me and said “I’m ready to go in now!” Go shine sweet girl & learn as much as you can!!!
Ms. Sandy couldn’t come today, so I picked you up from school. You asked me why I was there because I told you earlier that Ms. Sandy would pick you up. We ran to my office & Daddy was there to pick you up because I had a late closing. You gave me lots of kisses and were on your way. Daddy cooked burgers and chicken kabobs & when I got home, you were playing in the driveway with Captain. As soon as you saw my car, you ran up and climbed in my car. I let you steer the wheel and turn into the driveway. You were soooo excited about that. I saw some dog fur on your hand and I asked you if that was Captain’s hair? You said “it’s Captain’s slobber AND Captain’s hair!” We came in and you told me all about your day. You ate half of my dinner and wanted to watch a movie. Since it was already 8p, we watched the last 30 minutes of Monsters Inc., then headed to your room for bed. We did 2 kids Lingos, then you scratched my back & I scratched yours. It was 10p before you were asleep, but once you were, you looked absolutely angelic!
You slept in until 845a!!! When you woke up, you came out dressed and ready to go. You asked to go to the beach and you wanted to call Grandma Noot to invite her to the beach. You held your hand over my mouth & wouldn’t let me talk (like you were telling her the biggest secret lol). You said “we are going to the beach.” She asked when. You said “in a minute.” She asked if you are leaving now. You said “well, I didn’t do my jobs yet. I didn’t brush my teeth or put up my hair and I didn’t eat my breakfast yet.” I was cracking up laughing. Then you took my phone, went to my bathroom & you were whispering to her because Daddy was still sleeping. She couldn’t hear a thing you were saying, but played along like a great sport! We ate breakfast, packed up & headed out to the private beach on Longboat Key.
used your panties as a holster for your light up sword!
It was hot but beautiful & the water was perfect! You swam hard with your mermaid fin. Chrissy & Katrina met us with their kids also. We had a picnic on the beach then swam some more. Around 3p, Grandma Noot mentioned ice cream and that was it… you were all done! We stopped at Kilwins & we all got ice cream. On the way home, we played games finding things with different colors that I called out. You took a very long bath playing in the tub when we got home. You wanted to eat your dinner on the couch (Daddy never lets you, but he did tonight) & watch a movie. After the movie, we headed to bed. Since you didn’t nap and had such a fun day, I knew you would be really tired. You wanted to see some pictures of you on my phone. I showed you videos from Orange Beach when we were at the AAA-CPA conference then you wanted to see videos from when you were two. I can’t believe how much you have grown. A few minutes later, we turned them off, scratched your back & you were out like a light.
Surprisingly, you were up early for gymnastics even though we went to bed so late. Daddy went golfing so we were going to meet him later. You chose PB&J for breakfast instead of eggs, which you thought was hilarious. On the way to the gym, you called Grandma Weezie. She invited us over to swim after class.
You did great at the gym. There was a new boy, Grayson, who you welcomed and showed what to do. We had to stop at a client’s house on the way home to get a document signed. We had a little time to kill before heading there, so we went to get donuts. You jumped out of the car, talking on your toy phone, and had your purse full of toys, in case you needed them lol.
Serious Face Mask!
On the way to the client’s house, you told me “I’m a beautiful girl because I’m a big kid.” You also told me “you can call me baby girl, but not baby baby!”
You were chatting the clients up and you were very well mannered. We left, ran home to grab swim suits, then meet Grandma Weezie at her pool. You insisted on wearing your new smiley face swimsuit. You swam hard in your mermaid flipper & you brought your glitter noodles. We only stayed about an hour & a half, then we stopped home to change into dry clothes.
You were hungry & Daddy had just laid down to take a nap after golf, so I took you to lunch at Brio. You very politely asked the host for “a table for two please” and when the server come over you ordered your lunch “may I please have a milk to drink and grilled cheese and oranges and strawberries!” You were an angel at lunch.
On the way home from lunch you looked droopy. You have been begging to go get “your microphone” at TJ Maxx (you call it PJ Mask) since the last time we were there and I didn’t let you get it that night. I told you that you had to earn it and you certainly have. It has been a good currency for the last week or so. Every time we had to talk about something, I reminded you to make a good choice if you wanted to earn your microphone! So, I told you to close your eyes because we had a long drive to get to PJ Mask lol (it is actually across the street) but I knew you needed to nap and if you had that microphone we had no shot! You did fall asleep & I picked up Daddy so we could run errands while you napped.
We went by the lot & Paul & Peggy were out, so Daddy went in to visit with them. A few minutes later you woke up, so we went in too. You loved petting her cats & then she offered you a snack. You excitedly told her, “You know what the two best things are with apples??? Peanut Butter & Honnnnneeeeyyyyyyy!!” You bellied right up to the bar with an apple, peanut butter & honey. Then you wanted to explore her house. You made your way downstairs and wanted to put your feet in the pool. You were then wanting to get out because you heard thunder and you didn’t want to get wet. However, two minutes later you were naked and swimming all over! We were getting ready to leave (it was almost 6p, they were ready for dinner & I needed to get something together for dinner) and we walked through their home gym. You were lifting weights, jumping to hit the speedbag and slamming the battle ropes! It was hilarious.
On the way home, the discussion about the microphone resumed. Daddy wanted to pick up a pizza, so I told you we would take a bath, eat pizza then go. You said, well mama, what if instead we take a bath, eat our pizza, then get my microphone?!?! I was like, that’s cool – it’s the exact same plan!! lol. That’s exactly what we did. You were super happy to get that microphone. You sang all through Whole Foods with it too.
When we got home, you showed it to Daddy & were so proud to have it. You were looking very forward to making popping corn and watching a movie. Daddy found a new Peanuts movie that we hadn’t seen so we watched that. It was really funny and you were laughing so hard. You were sitting right next to me on the couch and I had my arm around you the whole time. It was the perfect night. When it was over, I took you to bed. We read 4 books & I was starting to get sleepy during the last one. You kept tapping my shoulder & I would read that page. I slept with you allllll night!
You had me lay out all of your new outfits on the bed so you could choose what you wanted to wear today. You were laughing really hard that the outfit you chose was a little big on you. You were saying “big clothes are so funny Mama!”
On the way to school you were singing me a silly song you made up about the Paw Patrol characters & then one about the Lorax. You always end with “Did you like my song?”
Daddy sold the boat today & the buyers came to pick it up. They looked at it yesterday and immediately agreed they wanted it. I don’t know why, but last Saturday I just felt like that was one of our last rides. I didn’t expect it to go so fast! I will miss boating with you until we get the new boat, after we move into our new house. It’s definitely bittersweet. You have literally spent your entire life on that boat. We have made so many happy memories, you have taken so many naps and you have experienced the water, breeze, sun, rain, dolphins, birds,etc on that boat. It will be weird not having it, but I look forward to what’s to come with you on the next one!
Ms. Marian sent me a text with a picture from your photo shoot for the Karen Rose advertisement. Your picture was circled and it said “Our G!” They were so excited to see you in print! After school, Ms. Sandy helped you do your new Dinosaur Koala Crate. You made fossils, felt dinosaur feet & head & got a dinosaur themed game to play.
After work, Daddy took you to the storage unit to grab his golf clubs. You were happy to find your BMW car and you wanted to drive it. You kept getting stuck & that frustrated you. You were pouting with your hand on your hip.
You were asking Daddy “spell your name.” He did. Then you said “Spell your last name.” He said, “it’s the same as yours.” You said, “I know but spell it like you did your first name.”
You new thing is you set a reminder on your toy phone from your play kitchen. That made me laugh when I heard you do that.
Grandma Noot came over to have dinner and hang out with you & you guys sent Daddy & I on a date! You had fun with her & listened very well. You guys played your dinosaur game, then snuggled on the couch and watched The Lion King after dinner. When I got home, of course you were still up, wiggling in bed. So, I came in & laid on the bed with you & Grandma Noot. You were giving us both instructions about how & where to scratch your back lol. By the time you finally fell asleep it was around 11p!!
You got this morning and darted to your room to get dressed before I could get there to help you. You came back to my room to report “Harry came to my room while I was getting dressed the whole time. He sat on my bed and made it stinky!”
You are back on with matching outfits so you came back to my room dressed & then went to my closet to pick out a pair of shoes lol. You love walking around in my high heels.
You talked to Fed on the way to school. You love FaceTiming with him. I picked you up from gymnastics and I had to run back to my office to sign something. You were hungry and you wanted to “go to the Pizza place by the beach” which means the place on St Armand’s Circle that we went to a few weeks ago. You were cool with it when I told you that was too far, but we could go to Il Panificio, which is right by my office and sells slices. You wolfed that slice down while chatting with Romo. We left shortly after that, went home to pick up Daddy and change clothes & went to man night with Daddy, Tom and Shelley & Kelly (Daddy’s friends from Ohio). You chatted up with the waitress and had so much fun. You got some cherries and juice in a shark that she dumped out into your water. You were super happy about that!!! You were trying to get back to TJ Maxx to get your microphone, but when we left, we drove by and you could see they were closed! phew!
On the way home, I asked if you wanted to sleep in my bed. You said, “well first, I will sleep on my bed on the floor (meaning your Frozen couch in my room) so I can watch TV, but then I will have to go to my room.” You ended up jumping in my bed and we watched one episode of Bubble Guppies. We were both ready to snooze as soon as it was over.
You slept great, especially since you were in my bed all night! When I woke up, you were all snuggled up next to Daddy, sleeping so sweetly. When you got up, you were happy to do your jobs and eat breakfast. You ran to your room to dress yourself and came back looking adorable. You have all of a sudden decided you like matching rather than mismatching clothes! You inhaled your eggs and several rambutans, which you are fascinated with right now!
You had a great day at school. I came home early from work and you couldn’t wait to tell me you had no pee accidents (not even a dribble!), you got to be the leader, and you napped without even opening one eye!
I told you we were going to meet Daddy and Grandma Noot for dinner. You said I didn’t know Grandma Noot was coming. That’s awesome! You wanted to put on a fancy dress. When you decided on your Anna dress, you decided everything tonight would be Anna…. shoes, panties, hair tie, even the toys your brought in your bag were only the Anna dolls! In the car on the way to dinner, you were telling me all about John & how “he doesn’t like to clean up, or play on the playground, or nap or anything. Zero. He just wants to stay home!” You also told me that your favorite friends are Lillian, Chase & . I asked you what you like about school and you said “I like to be the line leader, I like to to teach my friends and help them sing the ABCs and I like to help open the drawer, clean up and get the soap.”
You were so good at dinner. You ordered your own food, played with your magnets and Annas and told all your stories from school today.
We were telling Grandma Noot that you didn’t want to sleep last night & you told her that I left the room. You said, “Mama doesn’t mess around. But daddy does because he’s a big one!” You chose to ride home in Daddy’s car & I ran to Publix. You got to take your scooter for a ride & you ran into Ms. Moe & Jack Daniels. As soon as I got home, you told me all about it. You took a bath & insisted on wearing your googles again lol. After, I blow dried your hair, we played for a little bit, then read books. You were trying to be a wiggle worm and I told you if you don’t lay still, I will have to leave again. You said, “uh oh, because Mama doesn’t mess around!” You asked me to scratch your back – gave me very specific instructions about where 🙂 – and you were out in no time.
Last night, you came to my bed around midnight – waaay earlier than normal. I Was still writing last nights’ blog post when you came. I asked why you woke up and you told me there was a light on that woke you up. You were so happy to be in bed with us. You snuggled with Daddy, then rolled over to me and asked me to scratch your back. You really wanted to go to sleep in my room last night but I ultimately got you to your room. So I guess it’s no surprise you ended up here earlier than usual. You gave us both lots of kisses then drifted right back to sleep.
Daddy took you to school. On the way you told him “the girls keep saying my name.” He said “well, you are probably really popular.” You said, “no the girls know my name but the boys don’t because girls are smarter than boys.”
When I got home from work, we harvested the ripe tomatoes on our vine and then ate them. They were so delicious. You seldom eat tomatoes, but you wolfed those down! While I was cooking, you were playing dress up, putting all of your jewelry on you, Daddy and even me. During dinner you said “that’s my Mama there! She makes all the good food!” After dinner we played and you brought Harry into the dress up game, making him wear lots of different sunglasses. He wasn’t thrilled, but he cooperated lol.
I had trouble sleeping last night, so I wanted to go to bed early. I tried to get your to settle down, but I was unsuccessful. You were jumping and squirming all over the bed. I gave you a two minute warning, if you didn’t lay down, I was leaving. You didn’t lay down. I left and went to my bed. Daddy tried to put you to bed, but you ended up coming to my room right away. I was out like a light, so I had no idea!!!
Of course because you went to bed a little later last night, you didn’t want to get up this morning… But it was your first day of school! You have been looking very forward to going back and telling me how much you miss your friends, especially Henry Higgins, Hannah Berlin & Lillian. I can’t believe this is your last first day of preschool at Discovery Days. This time has gone so fast…
In this moment, I can feel how fast the rest of your school years will fly by. I’ll blink and you’ll be leaving for college.
Each day you evolve into someone new, and I find myself missing the person you used to be while also feeling delighted to discover each new word or gesture you learn and share with me.
I am so proud of you, Giovanna. Every fiber of my being radiates with pride for the person you are and the young lady you are becoming. You are clever, kind, courageous, and so, so beautiful.
I know you will have fun today. I can’t wait to see your beaming beautiful smile this afternoon and hear all about your first day!
I just found out late last Friday that due to COVID, the classroom rosters would be adjusted for the month of August. After looking very forward to starting Pre-K, Ms. Marian advised that you would remain in the Bears class for August. I didn’t say anything before today, because I didn’t want you to be less excited about starting the new year.
About half way through the day, I received an email from Ms. Marian about you. She said “Great first day, although she was adamant that we made a mistake to keep her in the Bear Class….“you know Miss Marian, I’m really suppose to be in the Pre-K Class with Ms. Shelley, because my mom said so”….LOL. I think I convinced her that you make the rules for your company and I make them here. Then I told her that Ms. Noelle and I were counting on her to help the other kids in the class….cause we needed “big kids” to be leaders. She bought it….phew!”
Happy to be with Lillian!
Riding Gus the Catepillar
Getting tickled by Daddy
When I got home from work, you were so excited to tell me all about your day. You were happy to be the big kid leader for the little kids. After dinner, we took Harry for a walk, and ran into Jim Zilli. He took you for a ride in his convertible & you were so excited about it. We saw Ms. Moe & Jack Daniels walking and you were waving to her from the car, cracking up laughing! Our tomato plant has a few tomatoes that are almost ripe. You were not happy you couldn’t pick them today, but so excited to see them ripening! You were saying “the tomatoes are red today!!!!”
We went in to play for a little while, then to your room to read books. You flipped through each page, showing it to me before you let me read them to you. You had a hard time laying still tonight. Once again, I fell asleep with you. I’m not sure how I’m more tired than you!! lol. I’m proud of you and I’m so happy you had such a fantastic day!
