Gratuitous Cake Photo

Hanging Out with the Dudes at the Car Show

Gia at the car show with the Stoebner/Schryver "men." Her fave car---the Smart Car.

Gia Gia Quite Contrary

Last week and this week Gia has started demonstrating a new behavior---kicking her toys. At daycare. And at home. Rrrrr! Apparently this is to be interpreted as "testing her boundaries". Of course, I always work with her to pick them up and put them back nicely, but it's the oddest thing. She just....kicks them. No [apparent] trigger, no warning, just a good 'ol fashion drop kick. I'm seeing soccer in her future.

Water Park

Rob, Gia, and I along with my brother and his family (Renee, Conor, Parker, & Addison) hit the water park over their Spring break. We had a GREAT time!

We were pretty proud of Gia---she went down the slide, by herself, over and over and over and over, and even---face first! Not sure if she'll do this when she's three--but for a two year old, she seemed pretty brave.

Eating Peas!

This is how you get children to eat vegetables...encourage them to play with them!

Gia Playing with Daddy

Gia has way more fun playing with Daddy than with me. Pictured here, she's squirting him with a water bottle (an empty water bottle). Wait until I surprise Rob and put some water in it! Ha, ha, ha.

No Runner Up in Ethiopian Cooking Contest

Last week I was jazzed to participate in an Ethiopian cooking contest judged by none other than the head chef/owner from Queen of Sheba. Of 25 or so entries, I did not win. I "accidentally" sneaked a peak at the scorecard. Apparently my Misir Wot (lentiles), were too runny, but---delicious. I noticed the three winners all had meat as their main dish---clearly a case of vegetarian discrimination. In any case, Gia enjoyed a sampling of the various dishes (as you can tell from the picture).

Try, if you can, to find the two tiny braids I inserted in the front of her hairline. No joke--I had to use a toothpick to get them out. It will be a while before I braid again....she is really wiggly and it hurts my poor back to chase her around bent over, braiding.

The picture of her on the chair was taken when I spent 3 hours with customer service trying to figure out why my computer wasn't working. Gia sat quietly for the last half hour, watching the drama unfold. This was the climactic point where the customer service rep had me take my hard drive apart and tighten any loose wires. I'm proud to say I now know how to rip apart and put together a hard drive.