Giada gets a SISTER!

We are thrilled to announce that we are having another girl. Keira Ryne Deardurff will make her appearance in March. We had a lot of fun with our Halloween reveal with our family and my students and co-workers.

 

Halloween was "pushed back" a day due to bad weather and rain. Giada was a boo-tiful ghost! Giada got to trick-or-treat our neighbors who always have some of their horses dressed up and plenty of carrots for the kids to feed them. We have a few neighbors with horses and Giada loves them. Then we passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came by our house. Mommy enjoyed a sucker while passing out candy and Giada thought it looked yummy. She kept pointing to my mouth and signing "please" and saying "Mmmmmm". So we let her have a few licks and she was in heaven. Spoiled girl.

Giada has gotten brave and two weeks ago began taking her first steps without holding on to anything or anyone. She is still perfecting her steps, but we are so proud of her. She's slow and wobbly for now...but we're certain its only a matter of time before she's up and running!

Giada LOVES to look out the big windows we have in our house, especially when her daddy is outside.

Pumpkin Patch

The date has been set for baby #2's gender reveal. We will have an extra special Halloween this year as we share the news with family and friends as to if we're expecting a girl or boy. I love hearing everyone's guesses. I will say this pregnancy has been pretty different than my first. From how I feel to what I want (and DON'T want) to eat. I'm sure there are many contributing factors such as the fact that I have a child to chase/look after and I'm two years older. It's been enjoyable (except when I'm hungry and nothing sounds good to eat), and funny how we're noticing the differences. At my first doctor's appointment we had a "scare" because the doctor said my uterus was higher than expected for that time in my pregnancy. So she order an ultrasound because she thought we were further along than originally expected or we might be having more than one baby. Brian and I were both a little anxious entering the ultrasound room after hearing that, only to find that there was one baby and (s)he was measuring right at 12 weeks. At my second doctor's appointment my uterus was right where it is supposed to be. This little one is already quite the attention seeker. This week I've thought I've felt movement. It has happened a few times and always when I pick Giada up.
This weekend the work continues on Giada's big girl room. Brian has been painting trim all week and today he and Charlie are putting it up. Next job is to clean the carpets and then move Giada in!
We decided against going to the Fall Festival this year. We had a very busy week and just didn't feel the madness was worth it. I always thought it would be amazing to be pregnant during the Fall Festival to get to eat all the greasy, fatty food. Ha! And here I am pregnant during the Fall Festival and somehow my priorities are different.
Friday Mommy and Daddy were off work and we spent the afternoon with Giada at Goebel Farms picking out pumpkins and looking at the animals. It was a beautiful day!

Not sure at first.

Starting to warm up to the idea.

She loved the giant pumpkins.

"How about this one?"

"What's this?" Giada's favorite question as she explores new things.

Giada is crazy about her Daddy. Love these two.

Our beautiful girl.

Fall Fun

October is here and Giada is 14 months old! Giada is cruising all over the place, but not quite ready to let go of Mommy or Daddy's hands. We are in no rush, she is fast enough without being an independent walker. She loves music and dancing. She is talking more and more and her words are getting clearer to understand. She is fascinated by the mirror. She loves to look at herself, play peek-a-boo with herself, and of course kiss herself in the mirror.
Giada got her first hair cut a couple weeks ago. She did so good sitting on Daddy's lap. We just had the back trimmed so the sides can catch up. No mullets in this family!
Giada is just getting over a cold. Of course when you have sinus drainage down your throat, milk doesn't taste very good. Therefore, we discovered that Giada LOVES white grape juice. Not apple juice, not pear juice, only (watered down) white grape juice.
Giada loves to share her food with Wrigley when she eats at the dinner table. He loves this. However, it proves to be interesting when we eat at a restaurant or someone else's house, because not everyone has a Wrigley to eat all the food Giada throws on the floor.
Shoe shopping for Giada is on my to-do list. The girl HATES to wear shoes. Her feet are tiny and she takes her shoes off every chance she gets. With winter coming up (and learning to walk) our plan is to get some that we can tie pretty tight so she can't pull them off like she does her sandals.
We are hard at work getting Giada's big girl room ready. Last weekend Brian and my parents got the room painted. This week's job is getting the trim painted and put on the walls and windows. Then will come cleaning the carpets and setting up furniture. Brian is sanding down an old dresser and then he'll stain it to match her crib. Her crib will convert into a toddler bed and eventually a full size bed.
Giada still doesn't have a mouth full of teeth. I think she has 7-8. This week, while fighting a cold, she had a molar come in. She is one tough little girl.
Baby #2 is growing right on schedule. I am 15 1/2 weeks pregnant and feeling good. I have another doctor appointment this week. I just love to hear that heartbeat. We should find out the gender of baby #2 in about another month. We have discussed names and have agreed on a boy and girl name. We aren't sharing that news until we announce the gender.

In this video it is hard to tell if Giada is laughing or crying. She is laughing at her Daddy blowing raspberries on her. Right after taking this video, Brian put Giada down. She crawled right over to me, lifted up my shirt, and blew raspberries on my belly. We all 3 laughed hysterically. We love our girl. She is such a gift from God.

Giada is a BIG sister!

SURPRISE! Giada is a big sister and Wrigley is a big brother (again). We are very excited to announce that we are expecting baby #2 in March 2014. Giada and her little sibling will be about 20 months apart.

Giada is learning to walk. She's not an independent walker yet, but she is getting close. I have been back at work for about a month (in 3rd grade this year) and trying to keep up with the demands of a 1 year old and a new grade level while growing a life has definitely been challenging. Luckily, I have an AMAZING husband to help when my body just physically can do no more. This pregnancy has already proven to be very different than the first, as I'm sure many of you Mommy's reading this know. I remember napping a lot when I was pregnant with Giada, and this time around napping after work just isn't an option. I've been feeling nauseous and tired, but we got to hear that precious heartbeat today and its comforting to know all is well with baby  #2. We should know the gender of baby #2 in early November.

I will try to post more often, at least a couple times a month, with more details of what is going on with my family especially Giada. Here are some pictures from her 1 year photo shoot.

1st Birthday

Today is Giada's 1st birthday. It is amazing how fast this year has gone by. Brian and I remember thinking we'd never sleep again those first few months, but now our little blessing sleeps about 11 hours a night. She is an incredible baby, always happy, a great eater, good sleeper. She does great with her sippy cup. We are starting to wean her off breast milk and onto whole milk.
We had a small birthday party to celebrate her first year Saturday with our family. She wasn't too interested in opening presents (oh how that will change as the years go by) nor was she very interested in the cupcake (her mommy & daddy don't like them either). She got some great gifts. Her favorite is her wagon. She and her cousin Tyler played with it all afternoon. Wrigley loves to walk along side it as she rides. I love to watch Giada and Wrigley interact. She loves him and he adores her. Saturday he rubbed his head along the rug to itch his ear and Giada crawled over to the rug and did the same thing. Those two crack me up!
I only have two more weeks off this summer, but I feel so good about the time I've had off. I worked less this summer than I ever have. I feel relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to go back to school. Of course I will miss her like crazy, but I LOVE my job. Plus, Giada is blessed to be with her mamaw all day while her mommy & daddy are busy at work.

We visited the fair on Daddy's birthday. Giada was NOT a fan of the moo cows, or any of the animals really. 

Birthday party girl

She's 1, why would she sit still for a picture?!?

Giada & Tyler playing with her new house. Can you see Tyler's face in the window?

wagon rides

Our family ♥

11 months old

This summer is flying by and oh how I wish it could last forever. I do love teaching, but I love being a mommy so much more. We love to read books and she has her favorites. We have lots of dog books and she will find the dogs in the books and say "uff" (woof).
I've said it as a teacher and now let me say it as a mom:  "I'm not a fan of teeth." Giada is working on her 3rd and 4th tooth. Both top teeth decided to come in together. She is such a trooper. Its hard to know she is uncomfortable and not really be able to do anything to help. We are excited though because getting a few more teeth opens up more food possibilities!
I've said before that I don't think Giada is in any hurry to learn to walk, but she is ready to learn to talk. She can say "Daddy", "Momma/Mom", "Hi", "uff(woof)", "iggy(Wrigley)", "uh-oh", "more", and is constantly jibber jabering and singing.

11 months old!

Spaghetti

Her laugh is my favorite sound in the world!

kiwi

Pool time - Wrigley is never far away!