Ginevra in June

Howdy Humble Readers...

Mummy's water bottle is better

I hope you're enjoying a beautiful Saturday, where ever you are.  It is an absolutely stunning day here on the flatland, sitting at about 25C with a little bit of a breeze to keep things comfortable. 

Enjoying the sunshine

After having spent the morning out in the sun (more about that later) and a yummy lunch, our hobbit-hole is now very quiet.  The wee-lings and my Beloved are all sleeping, and dinner is in the crock pot (Chicken taco chili... it smells soooooo good!) so I have some time to write.

Look at those eyes!

June has been another busy month for our wee sweet girl.  She's up to 24 pounds now, and is standing 32.5 inches tall.  Her hair continues to amaze me with its precious curls, and I think her eyes may be changing colour.  There's a very visible hint of green around the irises, and they certainly aren't the sapphire blue they used to be. 

Hangin' with Gramma & Pip

 Despite my earlier worries, Ginevra's vocabulary continues to grow, and while many of her words are still a bit mysterious to those who don't know her well, I'm able to decipher most of them.  In the past week or so, whenever she learns a new word Ginny has begun to repeat it over and over.  For example, last weekend she learned 'gramma' and the whole drive to Gramma's house on Sunday she said it over and over and over.  Other words that are new in June... garbage, spoon, fork, fishy, green, Elmo, cookie, Grover, Ernie, and naughty.  She's also learning a lot of animal sounds and the animals with which they correspond (cow = moo, lion = roar, turkey = gobble, gobble)

Ahhhh-wwweeeeeee!

Ginny has also figured out Pippin's name.  We don't call him by his full name most of the time, but instead we call him O.l.l.i.e.  Ginny, when she gets up from a nap or when he wakes up and needs to eat, will shriek "Ahh-weeeee! Ahhh-wweeee!" and run to find him.  She still has good days and bad days in terms of dealing with a bit of jealousy.  It's always at it's worst when she's tired or hungry, or when she feels the need to cuddle.  But, she does have good moments as well, and quite often will be found trying to lean over the side of his little bassinett to give him a 'smoo' (which means smooch in Ginny-speak).

My seat!

She's also become a big helper.  When I change Pippin's diaper, she will take the diaper right away to the garbage.  She'll also carry things like the changing pad and wipes for me.  She's begun to help with the laundry, taking wet clothes out of our front load washer and handing them to me to put in the dryer.  Ginny would love to help with the dishwasher... she's fascinated by it, but we don't let her near it just yet.  In the last week she's also started helping in the kitchen when I'm cooking.  Most of the time that's basically just standing on a chair at the counter beside me while I prep things for dinner, sometimes banging a spatula or two around.  Ginny has even 'helped' give Pip a bath, passing me the wash cloth and the shampoo. 

Helpin' in the kitchen

Part of my motivation for having Ginny help me in the kitchen already is to continue to expose her to new foods.  She has always been a good eater, not really turning her nose up at much other than cooked carrots (which she now enjoys).  I want to keep her on that path, and so I'm hoping that she'll enjoy helping in the kitchen and trying new foods.  Currently she loves ice cream of all varieties, yoghurt, ham, cheese of all sorts (including feta, parm, and goat cheese), broccoli, grapes, bananas, pb & j, grilled cheese, pasta of all kinds (including stuffed pastas), chicken curry, fish, perogies & farmers sausage, and anything sour/bitter (like pickles, lemons, and vinegar on her french fries).  Her absolute favourite food is rice... chicken fried rice, tomato risotto, salsa rice with black beans.  The list just goes on and on.

The wonders of baking soda and coloured vinegar

I realized, not long ago, that I was remiss in teaching Ginny to eat with cutlery herself.  Up until very recently, she was either still being fed by one of us or using her fingers.  While this is still mostly the case, I'm now working hard on getting her comfortable with a spoon and a fork.  This of course, has led to some epic messes... including the blueberry-applesauce stains on the kitchen ceiling that resemble a Jackson Pollack painting.  She understands the concept, but it's still early days.

What can I get into now?

Ginny has recently fallen in love with Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Grover.  It's funny because she hasn't really watched much Sesame Street yet (maybe two episodes?), as it is always on when she's napping and I haven't had the forethought to record it.  I think her only real exposure to it is the characters on her diapers.  We have begun to watch " 'Mo" and "Gookie, Gookie" on Youtube every now and then and she goes mad for it.  Especially when Elmo sings.  She just loves it. 

Sitting in her reading chair

We have gotten into a routine of only bringing out three of Ginny's toys each day (her toybox is in her closet).  We alternate them so she doesn't get too bored with them.  She's also found a great love for her books.  Ginny has a good little library started in her room, and almost every day she grabs a couple of books to bring out to the living room to have with her toys for the day.  Much to my chagrin, she has destroyed a couple of them already, but thankfully they weren't the really nice hardcovers... mostly her board books.  Ginny loves to crawl up into my lap and point out monsters and mice, ladybugs and flowers. 

Alle-alle Mummy!

Ginny is a brave little soul.  She will climb and reach and generally give me heart palpitations at the drop of a hat. 

Ginny & the Bear

Today, my Beloved and I took her to a small wildlife park to the south of us.  She loves animals and will freak out in glee when she sees a lion or a tiger or a bear on tv.  This particular wildlife park is known for it's tigers, monkeys, and bears.  When Ginny first saw the tigers this morning she immediatly began to 'roar' at it.  She was enthralled when the handlers did a show with the two tigers.  She was also intrigued by the monkeys, the little black bear, and the ostriches.  As an aside, today was the first off-road workout for our new stroller, and I absolutely love it.  It handled the gravel pathways and grassy areas remarkably well.  Pippin slept through most of the adventure, of course. 

Sharing Mummy's blizzard at DQ after the zoo

Ginny has learned to pretend, having play-time picnics and tea on the floor.  She is aware of her shadow and play with it often.  She also really really likes to jabber at her reflection... in a mirror, in the black screen on the tv, or in the patio window after dark. 
My wee sweet girl isn't so wee any more.  But she's at a (mostly) fun age, and every day is an adventure. 

Getting the Pinterest bug early