Phoebe's first loose tooth!

Phoebe has her first loose tooth! Ever since Aidan lost his two front teeth, Phoebe kept asking when she'd lose one. The other day she said "Mommy, I told Mrs. Beckham at lunch today that my teef was hurting" :), she told me that I have a loose tooth!" She was so excited, then me & daddy told her that when it does fall out, the tooth fairy is going to come in her room and leave money under her pillow. She was really scared and tucked her head under my arm. We asked her what was wrong, was she scared of the tooth fairy and she said "yes, I've never seen the toof fairy before". So daddy looked up a picture of the tooth fairy online and showed it to her. Once she saw that the tooth fairy was tiny like Tinker Bell, she was excited again! Now we're just waiting for it to fall out. :)

Update on Phoebe's loose TEETH! It's not just one loose tooth, it's two! On the bottom in the front. One is wiggling alot, so we're thinking it will fall out soon. The other should fall out shortly after.

Fun Day at the Children's Museum

Brittanie, Chris & Maddi drove in last night and they're staying by Tammy's until Tuesday. Phoebe was so excited that Maddi was coming to Texas (she loves her some Maddi!). We went by Tammy's this morning to see them and they made plans to go to the Children's Museum. Mikey had his fantasy football draft today so he stayed behind. Aidan rode with us out there, which was great for Phoebe to have some company for the ride. All of the kiddos had a great time. Phoebe got to make an air balloon out of a tiny cup, 4 straws and a coffee filter, then she put it in the wind tunnel and watched it fly out of the top, which she loved! She got to do a little rock climbing with Evan too. We all had a really good time. Aidan rode back with us and came to hang out for a while. Mikey took out the bounce house for them to play in. Then around 6:00 Tammy & Maddi showed up for a visit (Phoebe was so excited that Maddi was coming to her house). The wind was kicking -I think we were getting some outer bands from Tropical Storm Lee that was hitting New Orleans because the wind was crazy. Then, after a while, it began to rain! Not pour, but rain enough to get our hair a little wet, but we'll take whatever we can get! We're under water restrictions and cannot wash our cars and can only water the lawn twice a week. So Mikey is going crazy since Big Red is all dirty. He keeps getting tempted to wash it, but we could face up to a $2,000 fine. So yeah, not gonna happen! Anyway, the night ended with Tammy taking Phoebe, Aidan & Maddi home with her. At least the kids should be worn out and fall asleep rather quickly, cause I'm sure Tammy is worn out herself. I know I sure am, but I got up at 4:30 this morning, just tossed and turned and finally gave in and got out of bed. So I think it's nite nite time for Mommy. :)

Thank you Lord for giving me another day to enjoy the blessings you have showered me with.

First Day of Kindergarten

Phoebe did great this morning! And when I picked her up this afternoon, while she's getting in the car she says "Mommy, I LOVED Kindergarten! And I can't wait to go back to Kindergarten again tomorrow!" Her friend Hallie from preschool came over this morning and we drove them to school together, then I picked them up and they both proceeded to tell me what a great day they had. Here are their pictures from this morning:

Kindergarten on Monday, oh my!

I think we're all excited and nervous about Phoebe starting Kindergarten on Monday. We took her yesterday evening to Meet the Teacher. She was so comfortable in the classroom and the teacher remembered her name from the Kindergarten screening she did on 8/11, which was great for Phoebe. She seems really excited, at times. :) But there are days that she holds on to my leg when I drop her off at Preschool. I'm not sure if it's due to them mixing the kids up (younger and older) for the summer camp, but hopefully she gets over it soon. If not, we'll have to consider other options for after care and see if that makes a difference.

Mommy earned a surprise, from Phoebe!

Phoebe gave me an "A" sticker today for not drinking diet coke this week. She said "you're not going to drink it ever again, right?". I said that's right, I don't plan to drink it again. She said "ok, you get a surprise when we get home". Once we got home, she said "no peeking mommy, I'm getting your surprise". She then walked over to me, told me to keep my eyes closed and placed this sticker on my hand. I live for little moments like these. I love this kid!

Hurricane Katrina 8/2005 - images during flood

I found these pictures on my computer and I figured I would share them since we're coming up on the 6th anniversary of the storm. You'll have an idea of what our community looked like during the flood. The people that you see in the pictures are deputies of St Bernard Parish. They found refuge on the 2nd floor of the courthouse, watching the water rise and not knowing it they would be high enough. They were unable to communicate with their families, since there was no source of power for at least 2 weeks. It was a horrid experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Not knowing if your brother was safe, just so so scary.

Visit from MawMaw & PawPaw :)

MawMaw & PawPaw (Mikey's parents) were coming in on Friday, August 5th. Then they had decided to come in on Thursday, but we chose not to tell Phoebe. Well the doorbell rings and we tell Phoebe it must be a pizza delivery, we told her to come and give the money to the pizza guy and when we opened the door, MawMaw & PawPaw were standing there. Phoebe was so excited, she began screaming, it was an unforgettable moment. We are so thankful to have such loving, caring, thoughtful, fun people in her life. We went to eat at Red Curry, then came home and Phoebe showed them how to play the Kinect. They all played Kinect Adventures and had a great time.

Mom & Dad had to go to work on Friday, but Phoebe stayed home from preschool and spent the day with MawMaw & PawPaw. This time they wore her out, when I got home from work, I was expecting Phoebe to come running to the door, but nope, she was passed out on the sofa. :) After she got up, we ate dinner (MawMaw & Phoebe made a taco train) and hung out.

On Saturday, MawMaw & PawPaw stayed at the house while me, Mikey & Phoebe went to Raegan's 9th birthday party. We came back home and they took Phoebe to Baskin Robbins to pick out an ice cream cake while Mikey grilled some chicken and veggies. Such a wonderful weekend! Thanks MawMaw & PawPaw, for loving our girl so very much. It means the world to us.

Oh and Phoebe learned "Sike ya out girlfriend!" from MawMaw, she had us cracking up!

Kindergarten, Gymnastics & Jazz!

So our girl is starting Kindergarten this month! I still can't believe it. We registered for her after school care today and chose her classes. She'll be taking Gymnastics again and this time she chose Jazz over Ballet. We'll see how she likes it!

Mikey's new "baby"

"Big Red" joined the Gioia family on July 23, 2011. This is Mikey's new baby. :)

2012 Ford Mustang 5.0 - V8

Stock photos - the real ones are below.

Phoebe's Haircut

Jennifer cut Phoebe's hair today. She cut off 8 inches so we could donate it to a program with Pantene Pro-v. For Locks of Love we would've had to go more and Phoebe was hesitant to go 8, so I knew more than that wasn't going to work.

Phoebe's making progress with swim lessons

We took her swimming by Tammy's on Saturday (July 2nd) and she was very cooperative with learning things in the pool. Well today was the real test, she had a lesson with her swim instructor. She's usually exhausted by the time we get to the lesson and doesn't want to cooperate. Today she floated on her back, by herself. It is so true that consistency is key. Now that she's getting in the pool every few days, you can really see the difference. She's like a little fish now. Mom & Dad are oh so proud!

Below is a video from July 2nd. This was when Phoebe learned to do canonballs, lol.

Happy 4th of July!

We went swimming by Tammy's today, per Phoebe's request! She did great in the pool again, she's certainly becoming more comfortable with the water. Mommy swam a bit today too, and I learned how to float on my back, only took 34 years! (Thanks Mikey & Tammy for the lesson) =)

Mikey & I took Phoebe to see the firework show in Kingwood tonight and it was great. Phoebe kept saying "I really like my surprise, thank you for my surprise, I really like the fireworks". One happy kid = two happy parents!

Happy 4th everyone!

Purse Stolen =(

Today my purse was stolen at work, and emptied out in the men's bathroom. I canceled all of the credit cards immediately, but I did forget about one. They were able to charge $1700 at Macy's.

7/1/11 - I had to go to the DMV and order a duplicate license, which took almost 3 hours. Thanks to the worthless low life people that did this... you suck.

Phoebe's 1st Vacation

We're going on vacation to San Antonio. This will be Phoebe's first "official" vacation. We normally spend all of our vacation time on trips to Louisiana, but we're taking a few days off this year to take Phoebe to SeaWorld. Aggie, Brian, Blake & Bradley are going, as well as Tammy, Rudy, Aidan & Evan. They're all leaving before us and hitting the waterparks, which is okay since Phoebe and I aren't huge fans of the water. Neither of us can swim, but we're hoping Phoebe learns this summer. I'll be sure to post pics of the vacay! I told Phoebe we get to feed the Dolphins and she told me this morning to make sure we pack food for them. :)

Phoebe singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber

The first video is Phoebe telling me how to use the Flip video camera, the second video is her singing Baby, by Justin Bieber. Love this kid!

Phoebe's 2nd Ballet Recital

Phoebe had her 2nd ballet recital today. It was held at Atascocita High. Below is a slideshow of pictures, you can click on the slideshow to view the pictures in the album.



Here's the video that we took. It's not the greatest because I was trying to watch it while filming! :) And trying to be sneaky with the camera since they asked us not to video it.

Video of Phoebe's Recital

Aidan & Evan made it through Kindergarten!

Aidan and Evan made it through Kindergarten! Not that we had any doubts, but it's still such an exciting time. Just another sign that they're growing up, and so so fast. Tammy & Rudy had decided to place them in separate classes, so they make their own friends and aren't together 24/7. It seemed to be a great move because they did great and they're such happy kids. I can't believe they'll be in the 1st grade in August!

Congrats on making it through Kindergarten! We took them out to Olive Garden tonight to celebrate. They had a great time, and Aidan ate like 4 breadsticks, then took one out of the basket when we were about to leave, lol! It was too funny. Tammy & Rudy stopped and picked up Congrats Grad balloons for them and we brought little Hallmark Grad puppies that held a card with money for them, they loved everything.

Me & Phoebe attended their Kindergarten performance yesterday and they did so great! They both participated and sang every song. I remember in Mother's Day Out how they were both so shy, they've really come a long way and we are so proud of them! Pictures and videos coming soon! Congrats boys!

Phoebe Graduates Pre-K!

Phoebe graduated PreK from Little Friends. The graduation ceremony was held on Friday, May 27, 2011.

Kinleigh's Baptism

Kinleigh Reese was baptized today at Our Lady of Prompt Succor. She looked so beautiful in her gown. They chose Mike as the Godfather, which meant the world to him, and to the rest of us. We were really glad we could be there today. Below is a slideshow of pictures we took, you can click on the slideshow to view the album. Enjoy!

Congratulations Destiny!

Congratulations on graduating Destiny! I'm glad I was able to be there. I have a good feeling that you will continue to make good choices in life and I can't tell you just how proud I am of you. Your mom and JoJo have done a wonderful job raising you kids and I hope that Phoebe grows up to be respectful, well mannered and considerate as all of you are. And I LOVE the fact that you enjoy your life. You don't want to look back and regret that you let these years pass you by because you wanted something more. I love you Des! Congrats again... YOU DID IT! Woohoo!!