So much has been happening over here, and we haven’t had the time and energy to update until now! We’re delighted to share lots of great news with you.

The BIG news is that we’re expecting a little sister for Gia in early February! We’re excited and quite frankly, surprised, to welcome another girl. We would have been excited and not at all surprised to welcome a boy. My women’s intuition apparently does not apply during pregnancy, even though it’s supposed to be heightened during such times. Oh well. I’m sure that it will return someday.

After a couple of months of terrible morning sickness, being in bed for 20 hours a day, complete exhaustion, nausea (and yes, vomiting … and really, it wasn’t as fun as it sounds), I started to feel much better in the middle of August. If I’d had morning sickness with Gia, she’d be destined to be an only child. Drew heroically took on intense daddying while I was sick, and the two of them had oodles of quality time together. My mom also helped a lot when she was home, and I’m not sure what we’d be doing without her!

Gia started to walk at about 17 months. We were relieved that it took her so long, and have loved watching her be on her feet, walk, run, dance, and become more independent. Another big move toward independence: She started preschool the day she turned 20 months, and is loving it. She’s there 3 days a week for about 8 hours (!) … I miss her while she’s gone, but we know that it’s the right thing for her development and fulfillment. her teachers are wonderful, and report that she enjoys stacking blocks, helping, putting things away (and knows where things go – hey, genes and early training do pay off!), art, the sandbox and water play, and is starting to play with other kids. I’ve personally witnessed her enjoying eating bubbles, burying her legs in the sand, and saying an enthusiastic "Hi!" to a couple of her classmates. She’s also started to nap there, and after 2-1/2 weeks does not need us to visit, so our family system is starting a new groove. We’re really happy to have found a loving place for her to learn, explore, play and build relationships, and that she will have a solid “second home” by the time her sister arrives on the scene.

We are amazed at and delighted by how smart, communicative and adorable Gia is … she knows and says our first names, knows whose shoes, clothes and cars are whose, and which auntie is which and has given her something specific (Auntie Wendy has a dog and gave her bubbles, a hat and sunglasses, Auntie Alice taught her about the "wee wee" toe and gave her the tweeting birdie, Auntie Grace lets her go through her treasure chest of a purse and gave her books, Auntie Sara has a swing – "whee!" …). She’s learning to count (one … two ... three ... nine!) and identify colors … so far, she’s pretty consistent in saying "blue," "pink" and "yellow" for appropriate objects. Two days ago when we were in the car, she suddenly said, "Yellow!" And I asked her, "Gia, what’s yellow?" Instant response: "Pee!" We didn’t teach her that, really! She answers that a baby dog is a "puppy," and that a baby goose is a "gosling," and knows what she wants to wear in the morning, often opting for her teal crocs (she makes the signs or says the words "shoe" and "croc") and her turtle shirt ("turtle!") from Uncle Art and Auntie Sima. Gia will loudly declare "Done!!" when she’s done, or when she wants us to be done with something (like the dishes, a phone call or computer time), and also knows what is "Mine"” She also likes to be funny and make us laugh, and has a hilarious laugh herself.

Gia has a continued fascination with other kids, with buckles (on her stroller, high chair, carseat, anything she can get her hands on …) and the way things work, as well as with phones, computers, running water, sprinklers, and really anything we do or are interested in. I accidentally discovered one day (while not wanting to get out of bed) that she really loves being under the "tent" (i.e., the comforter) and being sung to. This morning, she pulled on the comforter and said, "Pop! Mop!" … which meant, sing (she’s associated a song from Gymboree that talks about popping bubbles) and get my milk! She’s especially fond of Twinkle Twinkle and this morning requested the ABCs (conveniently the same tune).

About feet: One evening about a month ago, a barefoot Gia played with mommy’s bare toes, saying "Wee wee wee!" … then pointed to daddy’s toes, which were, as usual, hidden in black socks. When he pulled them off, she recoiled … I eyed the black lint on them and imagined the scariness of his size lint-dotted 10-1/2 feet to a 32” tall toddler. "Do you want daddy to wash his feet?" "Yesh!" So he washed them, but upon his return, she still avoided them, and in fact hugged me closer and indicated that he should put his socks back on. The next morning, she pointed to his feet under the covers, and when he pulled out a bare foot, she looked at them for a moment, and then said, "No! No!" So he hid them again. That evening as they sat on the couch, he was purposely barefoot to get her used to the idea. She was about to climb off his lap when she spotted them … and immediately crawled up higher in avoidance. After a number of subsequent exposures to daddy’s feet, Gia finally got over her fear, and now will even pet his feet. She’s so brave!

Ok, this has been a ridiculously long update. I see why we decided, months back, to do more frequent, short ones. We'll aim for that again! Live and learn.

Briefly, on the parental side … It’s my plan to give myself some time to rejuvenate and create some reserve before I give birth again, so that I really have as much as possible to give to this fresh new life we call Baby #2. When called, I’m doing a bit of work in Northern and Southern California (those trips end with the end of my second trimester), but have not been focusing in building a business yet. During the times that Gia is playing at school and I’m not doing work, I’m going to yoga, spending time with friends and family, resting, seeing the myriad of doctors, and focusing on sustaining relationships and financial consciousness (that is, catching up on email, phone calls and bookkeeping). We'll post more of an update about Drew soon.

We’re looking forward to keeping you abreast of our family developments, and hope that you’re thriving yourselves.