Gemma went to Chinese class on Monday to meet Ali and Adrienne's teacher. It was funny because they were sitting in Chinese when we went to the hospital to have her, and told the teacher, 'We have to leave our phones on, our friend is having a baby', and then the next week they cam back and reported that it was girl, etc. The teacher asked the baby's name, and they told her 'Gemma', and the teacher thought about it for a minute, and said, 'like Pyjemmas?' (get it; pyjamas) and so now one one Gemma's nicknames is Pyjemma.

We'll be home on Monday. Isn't that unreal?

First Tantrum?

Gemma was playing with a paper tag from a toy on Saturday. I usually let her play with paper until it starts disintigrating and then take it away, so when the tag was getting a little gooey I took it from her and she howled her displeasure! I think this was her first willful moment.

She is growing up in so many other ways, too. Like how she notices when people are paying attention to her and not. She flirts like crazy with her friends at chruch and is very cute and cuddly with new people. It's like she knows everyone is watching her. Also, she recognizes her name!

And what counts as the first word? She has been making her consonant sounds all weekend: "ga ga da da da da da da ba bowbow da da da". So do we get to count that as Dada, or does it have to be in context?

In two weeks from now we will be in the air, making our way across the ocean to see you all!

In Gemma news today, we have a runny nose and sneezy. I (mommy) have passed on my cold to my whole family. I am on the mend but beacause both Chris and Gemma are feeling yucky I took a sick day to stay home and be nurse. We made chicken soup and had a nice long nap. Gemma is down for nap #3 right now. She was up every hour last night,coughin and fevery. Poor thing!

Other than getting sick, she is doing very well. She sits up all alone (but we still don't trust her enough to leave her unattended). I put the boppy around her and then turned my back for a second and she did a face dive out of it. She wasn't hurt, just wants to get around I guess. She can turn from back to front no problem, but has only gone the other way a few times. On her tummy she can rotate all the way around. And lately she has been using her toes to lift her bum up into the air. Its all so cute.

The bumper pads are back up, she keeps getting her feet stuck in the bars :) Still not sleeping through the night...but one day I hope! Now at night she often rolls onto her side to fall asleep, or onto her tummy in the middle of the night.

See you guys soon!

Gemma can travel

We picked up Gemma's passport this morning. She can officially come to Canada with us this summer. We were trying to think of alternate plans: putting her in our suitcase, mailing her with FedEx, dressing her up as a dog and putting her in a kennel on the plane etc. (JUST KIDDING!) It's such a strange thing to me that she is an official Canadian without ever having been there. I'm sure she'll enjoy herself in our home and native land...rolling around on carpet and grass and meeting all her friends and family. 4 more weeks! See you soon!

Good days and bad days

As I laid Gemma down for her afternoon nap I thought of how good today has been. She slept in until 9, was pleasant with me as we went to the grocery store and Starbucks, played so nicely while I watched the Lakers and then visited so well with Andy. She has been a delight today. There are days that are tough as she cries and doesn't sleep regularily...and if I'm tired then they are extra tough. Tuesday was one of those days. I marvel though at her timing, she always gives me a good day when I need it. It's like she understands the relationship we have...I take care of her when she needs me and she takes care of me when I need it. Thanks for the great day Gemma! (If only she could've helped the Lakers win)