1st Haircut

Sniff! Sniff! Our baby girl is growing up! Giovanna had her first haircut on Saturday. She did not like being in the chair alone, but she was fine once she sat on mommy's lap. Thank you Auntie Laura for a beautiful first haircut and the teddy bear.

Ho! Ho! NO!

We braved the frigid temperatures for our annual trip downtown to do Christmas shopping and for Giovanna to sit on Santa's lap. Giovanna still does not like Santa. Maybe next year! Enjoy the pictures. They are just some fun cute pictures we've taken over the past couple of weeks.

Giovanna sitting on Santa's lap 12/11/09

Giovanna and Gunnar wearing Yo Gabba Gabba! glasses

Giovanna loves to wear Gunnar's Blackhawks ear warmer

Giovanna crawled onto the recliner with Bruce and fell asleep

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lees!

Yesterday I had a Baby Lee #2 doctor appointment with an ultrasound. We did not find out if we're having a boy or a girl. The baby is measuring about 2 weeks larger, but they are not changing my due date. They checked my blood sugar and everything is fine, so they are not concerned with gestational diabetes, it looks like we just have a big baby! I am feeling the baby move around all the time. This baby is just as active as Giovanna was. We used to tease that Giovanna was running a nightclub because she was partying in my tummy and it was late at night! Looks like Giovanna will have a business partner!

This is a profile view

Baby Lee #2 is waving hello to everybody out there!

"Hello out there from in here!"

I Do

Oh the joys of talking! We have noticed that Giovanna started saying "I do" when we ask her certain questions. Below is a video of a few of the cute things she does. She knows who Donald Duck is, and whenever she sees him, or someone talks about him, or if Joe sings the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song, she talks like Donald. You can't really hear her too well in the video, but it is too cute. Enjoy!

Zing Zang Zoom!

On Friday night we went to see the Barnum and Bailey's Circus, Zing Zang Zoom, at the Allstate Arena. We arrived early to see the "preshow" where you got to meet clowns and other performers, and also see a variety of mini-shows. Joe was chosen to be and audience participant for one of the Ringmaster's magic tricks. It was pretty funny to see him in the spotlight! Giovanna seemed to like the elephants, and those are my favorite too!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a great Halloween this year. Gunnar was able to spend the day with us. He dressed up like a Magician, although, all the houses thought he was either Harry Potter or a Vampire. Giovanna was Minnie Mouse. Unfortunately, the ears were way too big, so we just put her hair in pig tails. It was a really cold day for trick-or-treating, but we still had a spooky good time! We met up with Auntie Vicki and Jack by their house. Gunnar was a great big brother and started bringing Giovanna's pumpkin up to the doors for trick-or-treating until we more consistently got people answering their doors. Then the fun began! Giovanna caught on to trick-or-treating really quickly. She was having a blast running to the houses and climbing up the stairs. Poor thing made it up and down one block before we decided to put her back in her stroller. Gunnar's pillowcase was so heavy by the end of the night, and Giovanna made out like a bandit too! My parents came by earlier in the day, and we went to visit Joe's parents at the end of the evening where Gunnar and Giovanna did some more trick-or-treating!

Giovanna in her Minnie Mouse Costume

Gunnar getting Giovanna excited for Trick-or-treating

Gunnar in his Magician's cape and bow tie

Giovanna wanted to be in the picture too!

Gunnar and Giovanna going through his candy

Giovanna getting ready to go tick-or-treating by Grandma Annie & Grandpa Bill's house!

Iced Apple Picking

Holy Cannoli! It was so cold outside today, but that wasn't going to stop us from the perfect pumpkin search, and apple picking! The grandparents came with us to Kuiper's Family Farm where we visited the Pumpkin Patch, and Apple Orchard. We froze, but had a great time as well. Below are some fun pictures from our bone chilling adventurous day.

Here we're on the hayride to the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkin. However, when we finally arrived to the patch, it was so muddy we decided to pick a pumpkin from the pile at the barn.

Weeeeeeeeeeeee Grandpa!

Giovanna was not a big fan of sitting on the pumpkins this year. It was sooooo cold!

We discovered that Giovanna loves Hot Apple Cider!

Joe and Gunnar picking the perfect Golden Delicious Apples.

Ozark Gold was my favorite, and Gunnar didn't complain!

Joe's favorite is Golden Delicious. Once again, no complaints from Gunnar!

Finally, Gunnar's favorite apple, Red Delicious. He searched for the reddest apples because those were sure to be the most delicious!

It's Up To You NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

We just got back from our trip to New York yesterday. Joe and I agree that it was an amazing vacation. Unfortunately, Gunnar was not able to come with us since he has school. I must say, while I thoroughly enjoyed visiting New York, I'm glad to call Chicago home. Chicago 2 New York 0. We were not impressed with the food. Chicago Pizza definitely outscores New York's pizza. I'm not supposed to eat hotdogs while pregnant, but I've been dying to try a Nathan's hotdog. So, I allowed myself this one hotdog since it will probably be many years before we get back there. I was disappointed that I wasted my one hotdog on a New York frankfurter when it could've been a good ole Henry's hotdog right here in Chicago. They don't offer YELLOW MUSTARD in New York! How can you not have yellow mustard for a hotdog? It was all the brown mustard, you know like Mr. Mustard?!?! You'll have to ask Joe about the onions! Ask Laura about the pickles! We all have a story! Below are some pictures we'd like to share with you.

This is Giovanna's first airplane ride! She did very well. We were a little nervous about how the flight was going to be, but she did just fine.

We visited Ground Zero on our first evening there. At first, I was a little disappointed because it's just one big construction zone. They have huge fences and barricades, so you can't even see what is being built. Then we rounded the corner and came to the firehouse that we think was the first to respond to the scene. Engine 10 Ladder 10. That is where it felt like Ground Zero to me. On the side of the building, people still put flowers and candles as a memorial to the fallen firemen. I started to get teary eyed when I saw it. There was a poster with all the pictures of fallen firemen from that day. There was also a HUGE bronze plaque with the scene from 9/11 with the planes crashing into the Twin Towers, and all the people working to help others escape the fallen debris. It was very touching.

The next day we visited the Statue of Liberty. It's difficult to see, but we are standing at the bottom of the wall, right at the corner! Ya we look so teenie tiny! It was awesome seeing the majestic statue.
When we finished taking pictures of the statue, we let Giovanna run around on the lawn. She had so much fun. I think this picture is precious of her pointing towards the statue.

There was also a great view of New York's skyline from the island, so we took a picture!

The following day we went to Coney Island for a Nathan's Hotdog! We all agree that they are hyped up more on tv, but tasted ok. Again, the no yellow mustard thing really bothered me. Laura asked for pickles and they questioned, "Do you mean raw pickles or relish?" Joe asked for tomato on his hotdog and he must have stunned them because they asked, "What did you want on your frankfurter?" These pictures are our first bites of our Nathan's Hotdogs!

Times Square was awesome! It is so much bigger than I imagined. There is so much activity going on. Between all the monitors and people walking around, talk about over stimulation!!! Oh, and we saw the "Naked Cowboy!" My favorite part about Times Square is that they blocked off the streets and setup tables. So, you can sit and have a drink, or eat a muffin, and just watch what's going on around you. Very cool place to be.
Finally, our last full day there we went On Top of the Rock! A friend at our step-class recommended that we visit Rockefellar (not sure if spelled right). We went to the viewing deck, and THAT was so cool, I can't even come up with a word good enough to describe the experience. You actually go outside on top of the building! The view is amazing. It was an extremely windy day, but so cool to see the city from this view. We also went to Central Park. Again, I did not fathom how large that park really is. We only spent an hour or two there, and you can easily spend an entire day. That'll have to be for next time!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?!?!

I wish I knew how to rotate the pictures so you could see without turning your head sideways!

Happy 1st Birthday Giovanna!

We cannot believe how fast this past year has gone. Our baby girl is turning ONE! We had a birthday party for her last weekend and had so much fun with all of our friends and family. Thank you to everyone who was able to come and celebrate with us. It was especially nice because Gunnar was able to be there. Below are some pictures from Giovanna's special day. And. . .a few funny videos too!

Giovanna opening a card she received in the mail from Uncle Frank in Georgia!

Giovanna received a car for her birthday. This is a funny video of her trying to get in.

Daddy playing with the helium balloons leftover from Giovanna's party.

The Stroller Shuffle

Grandma and Grandpa Rizzo gave Giovanna an early birthday present. She now has a stroller to push around baby Abagail. To our amazement, she stands up and walks with the stroller! Our baby girl is growing up too fast!

Is She Turtle Enough For The Turtle Club?

We have a turtle toy, where the shell has shapes cut out, and Giovanna's supposed to put the correct shaped "block" in the matching hole. Well, she's not old enough to get that concept yet, but she definitely likes to wear the shell on her head like a hat! It's really funny when her hair is in a pony tail, and the pony tail pokes out of one of the cutouts on the shell! Ha! Too cute! The video below is Giovanna demonstrating her triumphs! Also, just a few cute other pictures. Oh and Annie made the pink with brown polka dots dress for her. Love it!

I love this face!

Fun With Food

We have been having sooooo much fun with food lately. Since Giovanna can eat what we eat, she's been introduced to a whole new world. It is so neat to see her reactions to all the new flavors. She is getting better at controling the food in her mouth and actually swallowing the food instead of it landing in the seat of her high chair only for us to find at the end of the meal! Below are two cute pictures of Giovanna eating. Last week we had burgers on the grill, so what goes with burgers??? PICKLES! Yes, Giovanna had her first pickle and loved it! We also found that she does really well eating Barilla's new Piccolini (the tiny versions of pasta). Below is a picture of Giovanna and her bow ties! This is also an exciting week for us, because Gunnar gets to spend another entire week with us. It is his last week of camp, so he's been busy with that. Tomorrow we have plans to go to the beach, and he will finish out the week at camp on Friday. Today was the talent show, and Gunnar did a card trick for his talent. It sounds like it went over pretty well.

Most Beautiful Babies Contest

We have entered Giovanna into a Most Beautiful Babies Contest through WGN. If you would like to vote for her, you can click this link and rate her! http://beautifulbabies.trb.com/wgn/babies_home_gallery,0,6303296,permalink.ugcphotogallery?u=lees2007 If she wins, First Prize is $5,000 and a photo shoot!

Below is also a video of our little monkey. I can't believe how much she's climbing now! Climbing on this music table is her "new thing." She's doing it all the time! Yikes!

BIg Girl Seat

Hooray for the summer weather! Giovanna finally got to swim in her froggy pool. Sooooo cute! It was also great to see everyone from Georgia that was able to make the trip up for Father's Day weekend. Today we also went to the Fire Department and had her "Big Girl" car seat installed. They were so nice and demonstrated how to install the seat so if we ever have to switch to grandma and grandpa's cars, we're set! Gunnar is also spending the week with us. He started Summer Day Camp on Monday. They played Duck Duck Splash and it sounds like he really enjoyed himself. Today they had a field trip to Lincoln Park Zoo, and tomorrow is the Sidewalk Chalk Contest.