Phoebe's 6th Birthday -Party

Phoebe turns 6 on Dec 20th, and her party will be on Saturday, January 7, 2012. It looks like we'll have it at Stacey's Dance Studio from 11:30-1:00. The theme will be Hello Kitty. We'll have a hula hoop contest, relay race, tumbling, playtime with the parachute and some dancing. The kids will also be able to choose between having their faces painted like a kitty or pirate and if they don't want face paint, they can choose a tattoo. Should be fun! MawMaw Tessie will be in charge of favors, and she always gets the good stuff! :)

Kinleigh's First Birthday

We came in town to attend Kinleigh's first birthday party in Picayune, which happened to be on Aggie's 30th birthday. We decided to stay the whole week since it was Thanksgiving. Kinleigh's party was so beautiful, they had a candy buffet, a beautiful cake, space walk for the kids and great food for everyone. Kinleigh wore the cutest outfit ever. They had minnie mouse ears for the guests to wear. It was a wonderful party, and we were glad that we could make it.

After the party we were heading to a dinner to celebrate Aggie's birthday, but we didn't make it in time. So we went and hung out with Scott & DJ Todd until Aggie got back to St Bernard. I ended up going out with them and left Mikey and Phoebe by Aggie's to hang out and sleep. We had a wonderful time and it was great to hang out with the family. It was me, Tammy, Aggie, Brian, Mom, Destiny, Brittanie, Max, Chris, Faud & Shan. Such a great night with no drama. Britt, Des, Max & Chris left around 10:30 or so. Great, great night.

Phoebe won 1st place for Red Ribbon Week

She brought home a certificate, but I thought they had just handed them out to everyone, lol. Then I saw this week's Bulldog Bulletin and she was listed as the 1st place winner for Kindergarten. :) YAY! Go Phoebe! (Click on the image to view it larger)

Our Mommy/Daughter Day Out

came after we went to soccer, lunch at Chelsea's, then the pumpkin patch! I had to work alot last week, so I told Phoebe that we could go off today and do something with just us two (dadda didn't mind). We got dressed in the same outfits (yellow shirts, white skirts and headbands).


First we went to the Mudpie Company and painted a Halloween piece. It was a pumpkin and you can take the top of it off and keep things inside. After that I surprised her with a trip 2 doors down from Mudpie, Gigi's cupcakes! They were huge! We sat outside on a bench and ate "some" of our cupcakes. After that we headed home. Phoebe & Dadda started carving the big pumpkin, then me & Phoe played outside for a bit, then came inside and carved Phoe's little pumpkin. It was a fun filled day! On Sunday, I took Phoe to the dollar store and let her spend the $10 that TeTe & Uncle Brian sent in her halloween card. She was so excited. I explained how much she had, how much each item costs and told her it was entirely up to her what she buys. She bought items she already had (well similar), but I didn't want to step in at all, and she was so happy with her choices. Then we headed to Target and she was amazing, as she usually is in the store, so we got an icee and popcorn on the way out. Another fun filled day with my girl! Aidan came over to hang out with Phoebe & Mikey while me & Tammy went to Macy's. Evan stayed home with his dad because he ran into the wall and hurt his nose pretty bad.

Phoebe lost her second tooth!

Phoebe (aka Toothless) lost her 2nd tooth at school today, while she was eating lunch. I'll post the story later. :) Here's what she left the toothfairy under her pillow:
And here's what the toothfairy left her:

Surprise Pizza Delivery (actually grandparent delivery!)

MawMaw & PawPaw came in this past weekend for a surprise visit. They didn't just surprise Phoebe this time, they got Mikey too! :) MawMaw called me on Friday around 11am saying PawPaw just called her saying he wanted to come to Texas and MawMaw headed straight home from the store to pack. They left around 1pm and got in around 8. They rang the doorbell and said "Pizza delivery" but this time they actually had a pizza! :) We had a wonderful weekend. MawMaw & PawPaw got to see Phoebe play a soccer game on Saturday, then we headed to Chelsea's deli for a victory lunch. We came home and rested for a while and hung out, then headed to Carrabba's for dinner, which was sooo good! I'll write more on the weekend and post pictures soon!

Phoebe lost her first tooth!

Phoebe's tooth fell out at school today. She had to go to the nurse who gave her a treasure box to put it in (although I sent her "first tooth" treasure box from home, lol. I think she just wanted to go see the nurse & tell her that she lost a tooth!).  Here's toothless =)

 

Phoebe's First Soccer Game

We received a flyer from Phoebe's school regarding a community soccer league. We considered signing her up for it, but wasn't sure if she'd be interested. So we took her to see the boys play and she said that she wanted to play. They were still registering for the church league they were on, so we signed her up with them. She's on Team Norway and Mr. Barrett (whom she already knows) is the coach. Yesterday, Oct 1st, was her first game. She didn't have team practice yet because the practice day after she signed up, was reserved for team pictures. At least we signed her up in time for those! We bought her some cleats and a soccer ball and she practiced during the week in our backyard. During her first game yesterday, she kept going after the ball and she did a great job! One kid that was on her team started kicking the ball towards the other goal and Phoebe said, "hey, our goal is on this side, ya know?!". We were cracking up. But she had a great time and really surprised us. She fell a few times, but got right back up and kept playing without saying a word. We are so proud of her!

Go Team Norway! #4

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!