Books For The Girly Girls

Both my kiddos love to read. Jensen doesn't sit still for much but he will sit down for a good book. This makes me over the moon happy because I have always been a big reader and think it is such a big deal to cultivate a passion for it at a young age. It definitely helps that we have a super cool library here in Midlothian that my kids love to go to and play at then hunt for and check out the perfect books...its seriously awesome!
Lately, Gianna has expressed interest in only one type of book...her type of book...girly girl books. So, this post is for all you mommas out there with girls who are looking for more books for your girly girl. Gianna is, more than ever, into dressing up and her newest obsession, accents and acting things out. So, not only do I need to read her a book nowadays but she gets to pick the accent that I read it in and she acts it out. (Watch out Oscars...this mother daughter duo is a force to be reckoned with!)
When Gianna was born, our dear Aunt Nancy bought Gianna the book Fancy Nancy and Her Friend Bree. It was my first time seeing this book and over the years it has absolutely become one of Gianna's favorites. It wasn't until about a year ago that I realized Fancy Nancy was a series of books so we started reading all of them. Gigi's friend Aubree recently turned us onto the Pinkalicious series and there began the obsession. So here is a brief list and description of Gianna's favorite girly girl books and we would LOVE to hear yours to add to our collection...happy reading!

Fancy Nancy by, Jane O'Conner and Robin Preis Glasser

We are definitely partial to Fancy Nancy as she was our very first girly girl book but also because she like to use cool fancy words. Gianna LOVES to try and incorporate Fancy Nancy's vocabulary into her vocabulary which is just too awesome! Some of the books, like the sticker books are also really fun because they let the child dress up the character in the story. It says ages 4-8 but Gianna has been enjoying these books since she was about 2 1/2 and the brightly colored pages definitely kept her attention.

Gigi, God's Little Princess by, Shiela Walsh

When Gianna was dedicated at church, her Auntie Nikki and Uncle D got her this adorable book and DVD series and the very fact that the little girls name is Gigi is just too awesome! It has an amazing spiritual message for little girls that they are all princesses because they are daughters to the greatest King of all God! Not to mention it incorporates all things pink and pretty! Its the perfect book for any little girl 3 and up.

Pinkalicious by, Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

The Pinkalicious series is newer to us and we are having a great time reading this series of books and there are a lot to choose from. What we love best about this book series is that there is always lesson tucked in, she has an amazing imagination and she LOVES all things pink just like Gianna! There are also books called Goldilicious, Purplelicious, Silverlicious and Emeraldlicious. We haven't got to them all yet but Gianna's favorite is Goldilicous because its about Pinkalicious' imaginary unicorn Goldilicious and Gianna's favorite animal right now is a unicorn because, "even though they aren't real, they are the prettiest."

Shoe La La by, Karen Beaumont

Now this book is just plain fun to read! This is easily a 2 years and up book due to the colorful illustrations and fun rhyming, "Shoes with zippers, Shoes with straps, Shoes with buckles, Shoes with taps," but definitely fun for the older girly girl too because it's about 4 friends getting ready for a party and getting to go shopping and try every type of shoe. It's fun for any girl...even us BIG girls! lol

Penny Loves Pink by, Cori Doerrfeld

This book is specific to a girly girl about to have a little brother. It was THE PERFECT way to introduce the idea of having a little brother when Gianna was about 2 and to this day she loves to read it...mostly because she has it memorized and can "read" it to me. But this is just the most clever idea on how to introduce a world of pink to a little blue. Definitely a favorite in our house!

And finally...the new found, Ladybug Girl by, David Sowman and Jacky Davis

Part of Gianna's fascination with dressing up doesn't stop at princess gear...nope, she's into cute bugs and super heroes too. Key word being cute! So this series is perfect for her. Definitely falls into the 4 and up category and its quickly becoming a favorite. Can't wait to read more of them.

Seriously...it's July already?

This year is flying by! (But really, don't they all?) For the most part I'd say it's all been pretty good with the exception of a few health problems. I have been rocking my New Years theme for the year which was FOCUS (like I said I prefer themes over resolutions). I didn't exactly stick to my no social media apps on my phone (it only lasted a whole 3 months) but I must say I have cut back tremendously on social media. Living so far from home really made it difficult because it really is helpful to be able to see what's going on with everyone and I was getting hounded for not posting enough pics of the kiddos. lol The over all theme is still a work in progress and I am always looking for ways to focus on my top priorities...God, family, health.
Staying involved in church, bible study, and life group has been great but I find my focus on just time with me and God and really spending time in His word while showing my kiddos what that looks like and teaching them ways to do the same has been awesome. Gianna really enjoys waking up first thing in the morning and doing her devotional while we listen to worship music. In fact, she has already become much more disciplined than me so if we miss a morning you better believe I hear about it.
Gianna started preschool this last month and she absolutely LOVES it! She has talked about going to school since she understood the concept and every day that's a school day is good day for her. She spends the rest of the day telling us how amazing it was and all about what she learned. Her favorite part is meeting new friends though which is what she always says about church too. Her teachers always tell us that she is very attentive and listens great in class but is definitely a social butterfly during play time. It definitely warms my heart to hear that she is doing so well. Gianna going to preschool has also been great for Jensen because he loves getting that one on one mom time and I love it too! He's getting SO big SO fast that I know its only a blink of an eye and I'll be sending him on his way to preschool too! (*tear*)

As far as focusing on health, a lot of changes have taken place this year. I decided a while back that I really wanted to focus on modeling for my kids what healthy looked like and that meant I needed to... get healthy! I have seen the negative effects that focusing too much on diet and exercise and obsessing about being skinny can do as well as the complete opposite by not eating well and not exercising so my focus has been moderation which I think is the real definition of healthy. The result has been that I have lost 25ish pounds without really "dieting", I'm going to the gym or doing something active 4 to 5 days a week and as of April I started running, which I said I would never do, in an effort to complete a 5k (which I am doing in less than 2 weeks!) It has helped me to set small goals along the way and that has been one of them. Another BIG help has been throwing out that stinkin' scale! I finally got rid of that thing and only know what I weigh as of my last doc appt. (It is seriously the best thing in the world to do...highly recommend it!)
My kids LOVE the gym we belong to so it makes it easier for me to go during the day and take them because they love to be there too. Not to mention it feels good to hear Gianna say, "Good job working out mom!" I absolutely could not go it alone and have used the book "Made to Crave" as I did before getting pregnant with Jensen as a tool to not only find the healthy life style I want to embody as an example for my kids but use it as a way to grow my relationship with the Lord. I have been so fortunate in the last couple months to co-lead a bible study on this book and something I have become so passionate about in an effort to help others along in their journey and it has been such a blessing!

So, that is how my theme for the year is going so far...in a very tiny nut shell. We have also been super busy with family visiting which has been so great! This year we have had a family member here every single month except May when we went to CA. How cool is that? It definitely makes it easier to be away from CA having visitors so often. Having family come to visit has also given us the excuse to get out and explore Texas which we really love more and more all the time. The rest of this year and into next year will be just as busy as my sister Chelsea is getting married this time next year to her now fiancé Joey (eek!) and I am the Matron of Honor along with my sister Chloe who is the Maid of Honor so there is lots of fun planning and events to partake in.

So, yeah that's what's been going on! Here's hoping that the second half of the year is just as awesome as the first and that I survive my 5k on the 20th! Lol...until next time!