Baptism

Gia Therese Allegri was baptized on December 11th at 2:00 in the afternoon at St. Therese Catholic Parish.  Father Michael Roach baptized her and her Godparents, Jennifer and Jeff Bianco, were there to welcome their God Daughter into the faith!  It was a wonderful day of family and celebration!  She wore the baptismal gown that Trey and I both wore at our baptism 28 and 31 years ago! :0)

We love you GTA!!!

 Godfather (Jeff), Godmother (Jen), Gia, Mommy, and Daddy

 It's rough!

Gia with Grammy and Pops

Grammy, Mommy, Fr. Mike, Daddy, Gia, and Pops

The gown you wore was also worn by Mommy and Uncle Trey at their baptism!

 Baptism time

 PaPa, Mommy, Fr. Mike, Daddy, and May

The fountain

Momma Said Knock You Out!

It's been awhile, I apologize.  But boy am I back, and I have a good one for ya!  So it has been so wonderful being a Mommy to Gia...there is no better gig in town.  I fall more in love with this girl, and feel so incredibly lucky to call her mine....but man....when you enter parenthood....WOW, you enter a DANGER ZONE of mothers out there.  I have encountered some Mommas I truly hope I never become...so today I pay tribute (yah right) to the following Moms---and I pray I am never like you ;)


Negative Nancy
This is the mom that no matter what you talk about regarding pregnancy, motherhood, child development...you will always feel like someone wound up their arm (like in the cartoons) and the just socked ya right in the gut.  Well...unless you are me...and you can't keep your mouth shut and your conversation goes something like this:
Reagan: Man, I tell you what I am beat.  This waking up every 2-3 hours to feed is for the birds!
Nancy: Oh you think that is bad, wait until she gets really sick and craps all over herself and her bedding in the middle of the night---you stumble around trying to get new bedding on and then she throws up on you.  You then have to get into the shower at 4 a.m. to wash the puke out of your hair and then you are wide awake with a sick baby.  Yah, wait until then...
Reagan:  Wow Nancy---I am not sure what you want me to do with that information...jump off a cliff?  I am just stating the fact that I am tired and it may take me a minute to get used to waking up so much...not sure how you thought that story would motivate me to keep doing what I am doing.
Nancy: I am just saying...
Reagan: Yah, I know---you are always just saying something....

Interrupting Iris
This is the mom that when someone asks you a question about anything dealing with your role as a parent, she interrupts and explains it for you---because she had a baby first---she is the pro here and you just suck.
Random Person: Hey Reagan are you breastfeeding Gia?
Reagan: Yep.
Random Person: I have a question about pumping, do you mind if I pick your brain.
Iris: I nursed my child and she was the best nurser ever.
Reagan:  That's great Iris, Gia is doing very well too...anyway, sure, shoot your question at me.
Random Person:  How often do you pump.
Iris: Well I pumped every 2-3 hours because it was important to me to get my stock built up.  I am really good at pumping and breastfeeding.  I would nurse my child and then immediately pump so I could trick my body into thinking I needed more milk.
Reagan: Well, there ya have it.
Random Person: Clearly directing the question at me...So tell me about the type of car seat you went with.
Reagan: Well we had no clue what...
Iris: We chose a Graco--I read tons of reviews and that's what we went with.
Reagan: Iris, you want to just field the rest of the questions here...I don't think I am needed.
Iris: Huh?
Reagan: Yah....

One Upper Wanda
This mom pretty much just speaks for herself....ALL THE FREAKING TIME.
Reagan:  Gia slept for 5 hours before waking up for her first feeding...rock on!
Wanda: My child did that really early on.
Reagan: I am really excited for Gia to see Santa this weekend.
Wanda: My kiddo didn't cry at all.
Reagan: I am so pumped! Gia smiled today, it was the coolest thing
Wanda: My child smiled in my stomach.
Reagan just walks away.

Dear Lord, please always remind me to just  BE Gia's mom---no one else needs my input, and if they do....they will ask!  This I pray! ;)

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub!

Bath Time!!!

GTA ~ One Month Old!

Gia is changing so much everyday and growing like a weed...I just can't believe it!  She turned one month on Thanksgiving day making our day of thanks so much more special.  We had a very busy week(end) with lots of family and traveling.  Everyone that met her was in love immediately, she sure was a hit!  Thursday we spent Thanksgiving with Daniel's family in Shawnee.  Friday morning we hit the road early to Brookfield where we had the Cunningham and Edgar Thanksgiving.  We are all beat today but it was a wonderful weekend.

Update on Gia:

-Eating great and still nursing around every 3-4 hours
-Takes a bottle of breast milk great if I am not with her
-After her meal around 9 or 10 at night she will usually sleep about 4 hours, then she is up between 2-3 hours for feeding throughout the night
-Back to swaddling!
-She is a jabberbox at night...she sleeps great making her moans and groans...keeping Mommy and Daddy up!
-Transitioning into 0-3 month clothes
-Had to move to up to size one diapers to avoid blowouts! :)

Activity Time with Daddy!

Gia at 3 weeks old!

 It's very important to stretch out my muscles...

 Rattle time!

 Who on Earth is that gorgeous girl?

We like to have our special time after dinner!

BBQ Facial

Soooooo.....When people tell you that you will experience a form of exhaustion that you cannot imagine once baby arrives....They are right.  I am shocked everyday the amount of sleep I actually need to function.  Before Gia, I was a 9-10 hour a night sleeper...I loved my sleep and when it was interrupted or taken from me...not many people enjoyed my company.  Now...that is simply not the case.  I am functioning on anywhere from 5 1/2-7 hours of sleep...however none of that is ever consecutive...they are chopped up by a baby who is starving and needs a diaper change!  :)

My mom was in last week to help out and we were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch.  I had Gia in her bouncy seat on the kitchen table.  I hadn't realized that the bouncer had a built in music box to it.  So we decided to play around with it.  Mom and I sat eating our bbq chicken sandwiches listening to all the different sounds the bouncer would make (nature, lullaby, heartbeat)...

Are you familiar with a jello neck head bob?  If not, just think of the term and picture it in your head.  That is what we looked like. Slowly our eyes rolled into the back of our heads, and our faces neared the bbq chicken sandwich on our plate.  I couldn't believe how fast I could fall asleep.  Meanwhile, Gia was wide awake staring at the ceiling.  Had we listened any longer I fear we would have woken up with a Gates BBQ facial and my daughter would be riding the dog around the house.  Luckily, we quickly jolted ourselves awake and decided this music was maybe good for baby, but certainly not good for Mommy! 

That bouncy seat will no longer play any tunes...it will simply bounce.

2 Weeks Old!

Where in the heck did the last 14 days go?  During my pregnancy I couldn't get a day to go by fast, let alone 2 weeks...and now here we are on the week of your due date Gia!  I cannot believe it!  You are more beautiful then you were yesterday....and that is not easy to do!  Your Daddy and I are enjoying getting to know you and what you do and don't like.  Here is an update about you so far!

Likes:
~to be held close to skin
~to sleep with your hands above your head
~kisses from Daddy
~butt pats from Mommy
~to eat constantly
~to poop no matter where you are or what you are doing! 
~car rides

Dislikes:
~swaddling
~not being able to lay flat on your back
~bath time (you showed us this when you pooped in the sink the night of your first bath!)
~getting your diaper changed
~the binky unless you ask for it

You are an amazing eater, nursing every 2 1/2-3 hours.  You were introduced to the bottle last night when you were starving and Mommy was frantic...you took it like a champ and gulped it down.  Today was my first day at home alone with you and we did great (even though last night was very long because you seemed to have a tummy ache or be starving...not sure which one!).  We even went to the grocery store in the rain--rock on!

I love you baby girl, more and more everyday, and my heart is filled with joy that you are mine.  Okay, I am going to hop off here and snuggle with you! I love you sweetheart.  Here is a picture of you a few days ago that I took with the camera, I think it turned out great...we decided to use it for your announcement!

~Mommy