The Walsh Family

Happy 2nd Birthday, Harrison!!

2010-06-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

Our youngest child, Harrison is celebrating his 2nd Birthday Today! Happy Birthday, Little Man.

Recent Pics for anyone still checking this site...

2010-04-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

2009-06-01T11:07:00.001-05:00

Birthday boy is having a fun day!

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2009-05-20T17:57:00.001-05:00

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Easter Portraits

2009-04-22T12:22:00.002-05:00

Here are the kiddo's on Easter!

2009-04-10T11:19:00.001-05:00

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FWD:

2009-04-05T20:13:00.001-05:00

2009-04-03T08:31:00.002-05:00

Almost there!

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2009-04-03T08:31:00.001-05:00

Almost there!

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2009-03-28T09:08:00.001-05:00

Mia's tats.

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New Pics

2009-03-19T19:58:00.003-05:00

2009-03-18T10:20:00.001-05:00

Snacktime in the sunshine.

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2009-02-17T15:59:00.001-05:00

Cruisin' the lake with my Homey.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

Mia decorated a Valentine's cookie just for you. Have a LOVEly day!

Little Man's first visit to PF Chang's

2009-02-10T11:30:00.001-05:00

Snow Inauguration Day!

2009-01-20T11:44:00.004-05:00

New Year, New President, New Family Portrait

2009-01-19T09:04:00.003-05:00

Greetings Everyone! There are all kinds of new things happening at the moment. This is a New Year, we are getting a new President of the United States and of course we've added a new family member since our last family portrait. So, I thought it would be a good time to shoot an updated portrait for the new year. It was a little challenging, but we did get one that we like. Hope you like it too.

No pictures, please!

2009-01-19T09:03:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

I guess our New Year's Resolution should be to update the blog more often in 2009. I'm not making any guarantees, though. For now, I'll just say "Happy New Year's from the Walsh Family!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-19T22:34:00.006-05:00

The Christmas season is even more exciting for us this year with two little ones now. The house is decorated and Mia is being such a good girl about not ripping the tree down. She even made an ornament in her mother's morning out program today and picked out a special spot on the tree for it.

We took both of the kids to the zoo to see the Lights Before Christmas with some friends. Mia and Harrison were little angels even though both had not napped well today and it was their bedtime. They enjoyed the lights and the weather was absolutely perfect. (The pictures are out of focus because I am not the best photographer, but you get the idea how much we enjoyed it.)

The weekend will be busy and filled with Christmas activities and visiting family. Clay and I are really enjoying this holiday season. Having children truly does make it even more special for us.

The annual trip to the mall to visit Santa was yesterday. Harrison looks a lot like Mia did in her first Santa picture and Mia, well, she was terrified of him again this year.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!!

Just for fun...

2008-11-09T18:47:00.004-05:00

Today we shot some "just for fun" portraits. Here are a few of them for you to see! Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:47:00.007-05:00

Mia had a great time trick-or-treating for the first time. Even though she was too shy to say "trick or treat" to anyone, she still got too much candy. The suckers are her favorites.

Some new pics...

2008-10-20T07:03:00.004-05:00

Harrison is 4 months!

2008-10-15T14:48:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that 4 months has already passed. Harrison is growing so fast that he is already the size of the average 7-month old! He now weighs 16 pounds 2 ounces and is measuring 27 inches long. He is rolling over now and is quite the talker with all of his baby babble. I love to hear it. He is teething so we are expecting that first tooth to pop up some time soon. He makes me smile everyday with the way he smiles with his entire face, and sometimes, his entire body. He is completely captivated by his sister Mia and he loves to watch her, talk to her and smile at her. They are both a joy to be around.

A little video

2008-09-22T13:24:00.006-05:00

Just a few pics from the weekend and a little video I took this morning of Harrison. The "monkey" you hear in the background is Miss Mia. She was trying to make Harrison laugh.

Mia's New Infrared Pics

2008-09-06T21:40:00.001-05:00

Mia's 2 Year Portrait

2008-08-26T10:14:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I know.... she turned 2 almost a month ago. Anyway, here is her 2 yr. portrait!

Checking in....

2008-08-14T14:32:00.006-05:00

Hi there, my name is Cindy. Remember me? :)

Thought I would stop by for an update. Mia is busy as ever for a 2-year-old. We took her to the Georgia Aquarium for her birthday and she had a blast. I think she was more intrigued with staying in a hotel room than she was with the actual aquarium. I recently started taking Mia to My Gym once a week and she loves it. She has so much fun jumping and literally climbing the walls. I think it's been good for her. We have a lot of fun there together. Her 2-year checkup confirmed that she is a healthy little girl. She is long and lean weighing 27 pounds and measuring over 35 inches tall.

Harrison is growing like a weed. At his 2-month check-up this past Monday he weighed 13 lbs. 9.5 oz. and measures 24 3/4" inches long. He looks every inch of that too. He's so long! He is breastfeeding well and sleeping even better. He is sleeping very long stretches at night. For example, I put him down at 9:00 last night and he slept until 5:30 this morning. It's nice for mommy to get more sleep at night. I don't know how I got so lucky to get 2 terrific kids like Mia and Harrison.

The weather as been more mild this week and not so hot. I hope the trend continues. I am anxious to get back into walking. I have lost 31 of the 43 pounds I gained with this last pregnancy, but I am ready to be rid of it all and feel more energetic. :)

Happy Birthday, Mia!!!

2008-07-28T08:43:00.002-05:00

Mia had a wonderful Birthday weekend. On Saturday she had a birthday party where she had many visitors and received a ton of gifts. On Sunday she traveled to Atlanta, Georgia and stayed in a hotel for the first time ever! On Monday, her actual birthday, Mia visited the largest Aquarium in the world. Needless to say she had quite the action and fun filled Birthday weekend. Mia is now officially 2 years old, and growing up so fast.

Without further ado... here are some pictures of the party:

Tons of presents

Giant singing Elmo balloon

Elmo at the beach

Mommy and her birthday girl

Stealing GranE's ice

New Crocs...she couldn't get the old ones off fast enough.

Money!!!

kiss the piggie

Woah, where has the time gone?

2008-07-23T09:36:00.015-05:00

I just relized that I have yet to post even once on the blog this month so far. My apologies. Harrison is growing like a weed. Mia is too. She's getting bigger and smarter than you could imagine. Her vocabulary is really taking off and she's trying to refine her pronunciation every day. She keeps a smile on our faces all the time. And now, for some pics...

Fun in the Pool

Loving the Lake

Happy Girl

Full Belly

"Hello?"

Thumbs Up!

7 1/2 week Portrait #1

7 1/2 week Portrait #2 (Little Old Man)

Ball!

Schwing!

We're patiently awaiting Mia's 2nd Birthday. It will be here very soon... Next Monday to be exact! I'll cover the big day right here on our blog. Stay tuned!

Bath Time!

2008-06-30T20:25:00.008-05:00

snapshots

2008-06-19T21:01:00.009-05:00

Welcome to the world, Harrison!

2008-06-12T11:49:00.002-05:00

I posted a birth story when Mia was born and thought I would do the same for Harrison's. Enjoy!

On Sunday, June 1st (9 days before my due date) I woke up around 5:30am with contractions that were approximately every 10-15 minutes. They felt like menstrual cramps and I lay in the bed for about an hour without them letting up. I got up and decided to make coffee and breakfast and the moving around did not cause any change either. We were starting to get excited thinking this is the day! We decided to go for a family walk around the neighborhood at 9ish. It was a slow walk but the contractions were definitely manageable although they were starting to change patterns. We were out for about 30 minutes or so and decided to have some showers and get ready for a visit to GranE's house. We had previously made plans for MeMe to pick up Mia at 3:00 to spend the night since she spends every Monday with MeMe.

During the shower my contractions were starting to get stronger and the warm water felt so good on my back as I pressed my hands up against the shower wall. By 10:30, my contractions had become much stronger and were now about 5 minutes apart. I found myself sitting on the exercise ball for some comfort and it helped so much. Mia was so cute. Whenever a contraction would stop me in my tracks she would stop too and lean on whatever I was leaning on and make a moaning noise with me.

We decided that a trip to GranE’s was definitely out of the question and we were debating on whether or not to go to the hospital. Looking back, I’m not sure why there was any question about it at all. LOL! We didn’t call the hospital or the doctor and the thought never even occurred to either of us. I did call GranE to let her know that we would not be making our visit, and Clay did call MeMe to meet us at the hospital to pick up Mia.

By the time we reached the hospital just before noon, which thankfully, is only about a 10-15 minute drive, my contractions were only 2 minutes apart and quite painful. We parked in the parking lot and MeMe got there just in time. We walked up through the front doors and up to L&D. I think the nurses were annoyed with us because we had not called the doctor or anything. Sorry, we had other things on our minds! I got dressed in a gown and requested a doula and was trying my best to breath through the contractions. They checked my cervix at noon and I had already dilated to 5cm and was 90% effaced!! DH and I were both pleasantly surprised. I just knew I would get there and they would tell me 2cm, maybe 3cm.

The nurse was trying to get my IV and antibiotic going as I was GBS+ again. The nurse tried the top of my right hand and couldn’t get a good vein. So she tried my wrist on my left arm and after much digging gave up there and tried the top of my left hand. After much digging there and going through a vein she FINALLY got it. Not one single contraction made me actually cry but this woman’s crummy job on getting a port inserted did! The top of my left hand and wrist are completely bruised and still swollen 3 days later. Ridiculous!

My doula arrived around 1:00. She and Clay were both great coaches and a wonderful cheering section. I was doing well with breathing, cold washcloth to the face and even a fan. I was so HOT! Shortly after the doula arrived I opted for some Nubain. I had been planning a natural birth with no epidural and since I had made it to 5cm relatively easily I figured I could go all the way. The Nubain didn’t do anything for the pain but I was a little more relaxed. Around 1:45 I was having a contraction and toward the end of it I felt a tremendous amount of pressure. Just as I was about to tell everyone what I was feeling there was a small pop sound and my bag of water gushed all over the table. With Mia, it just trickled out. It was a wild feeling. The contractions got a bit stronger after my water broke. At 1:55, I had dilated to 8-9 cm and was still 90%effaced. By 2:15 I was completely dilated, feeling the "ring of fire" and SO ready to push.

I never dreamed that the urge to push was going to be so strong. The doctor on call was there and I’d never laid eyes on him before that day. I started pushing at 2:15 and it was definitely the hardest thing I have physically ever done. I didn’t push for long and I never felt like I could get good pushes going. One nurse kept telling me to hold my elbows out as I was holding on to the back of my knees but I just didn’t see where that was helping at all. I was trying my best not to push with my face. It felt like I just never quite got the hang of pushing. Every time I wanted to tell someone that the lying position was not working for me the urge to push was so uncontrollable that the words could never leave my mouth. After several pushes the doctor told me I was going to have to have an episiotomy and as much as I did not want it, I trusted that he was making the right decision. After 14 minutes and 7 pushes, little Harrison entered the world weighing 7 lbs 15 oz. I got to hold him immediately and he was just perfect. We cannot get over how much he looked like Mia did when she was born.

In addition to the episiotomy, I also tore up into the vagina. I can’t remember what the doctor called it exactly. It did not feel good while he was stitching me up, that’s for sure! He did promise me that once it healed I would never know it had been there. I have been feeling great and really am surprised at how good I have been feeling. The episiotomy site hasn’t really been bothersome so far. The recovery has been very easy. Harrison is breastfeeding very well and Mia is slowly adjusting to being a big sister. We are working on her being gentle with him. And we are loving them both very much! Clay has called me superwoman several times since that day and in all honesty, I did feel like superwoman! :)

One of each taken today...

2008-06-06T17:34:00.003-05:00

Portraits of Harrison Sleeping

2008-06-05T14:46:00.004-05:00

On the third day...

2008-06-04T18:27:00.012-05:00

I snapped a couple of pics of Harrison with his eyes open.

As you can see... Harrison spends most of his time dreaming of the womb and eating. Thankfully he's a good eater like his sister was when she was a baby.

Mia is still a beautiful sweetheart, but is taking a little time to adjusting to having another person in the house.

Cindy and I are doing great. It's amazing how easy the adjustment to having very little sleep has been, considering we hadn't done it in about a year and a half. Tonight, we might just have to sit down and have a glass of wine together - for the first time since last fall.

Clayton Harrison Walsh Jr.'s Birthday!

2008-06-01T16:53:00.007-05:00

He's here! Harrison arrived at 2:29pm weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz. He and Mom are doing great! He seems a little tired from his journey.

Here are some pics...

Many more to come.

Happy Birthday, Harrison!

This could be the day

2008-06-01T07:20:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning around 5:27 having contractions. This could be the day!

38 Weeks and Counting......

2008-05-27T21:31:00.005-05:00

Yes, I am still here and pregnant. It's been a while since I've made a post. Thank goodness Clay is keeping up with it or you'd never see how Mia is growing. Things are going very well with the pregnancy. My belly is HUGE! So much bigger than the first time. I have lost my belly button and it is actually inside out now. I am 38 weeks today and had my weekly appointment. I am 70% effaced and 1 cm dilated. Yay, progress!!! It was exciting to hear that news. I started losing part of my mucous plug last Wednesday and that was VERY exciting since it never happened with Mia. I am feeling good and the weight gain is under better control than the last time. The walking has helped a lot. We are ready for little Harrison to make his appearance!

Still waiting...

2008-05-27T07:36:00.002-05:00

While we are still waiting for Harrison's arrival... His big sis is still as cute as can be.

One more from the beach...

2008-05-19T08:12:00.002-05:00

I Didn't publish this photo with the original beach pics post, because it was used as a Mothers Day gift for GranE and MeMe. Thanks to GranE for the wagon, and to MeMe for the bathing suit! Mia sure loves the Ocean.

Surreal Mia...

2008-05-16T08:11:00.005-05:00

Ok... Since we got so many comments on the last post... I've just got to share this interesting looking picture of Mia that I took about a month ago, but just got around to editing.

Next time I shoot some pictures of Cindy and Mia... I'll be sure to post them here immediately!

Happy weekend, everyone.

Also, Cindy is doing good... just gettting a little uncomfortable. I think Harrison will be a bit bigger than Mia was when she was born.

May 2008 HHI Pics...

2008-05-06T12:11:00.021-05:00

We went to the beach this past weekend... Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Hope you like 'em.

By the way... I have no way of knowing if anyone ever reads this blog because we get so few comments. So please drop a line when you come by to visit as it makes us feel like posting more often if we know who we're blogging for.

Hope everyone likes the pics. We should have some pictures of Mia's little brother sometime in the next month or so!

My 2 favorite people....

2008-04-15T13:05:00.002-05:00

Mia and her baby brother....

2008-04-14T21:09:00.001-05:00

Photo Update...

2008-03-25T11:45:00.018-05:00

"Hey"

"Love my baby brother"

Chompin' on Ice

On the Boat

Eatin' more Ice

Searchin' for more Ice

Chewin' on some Ice

Gonna toss this shoe into the lake

Watch it float away!

That was fun

Update from our corner of the world.

2008-02-19T14:26:00.018-05:00

Hello all!

Just thought I would give you a quick update on our little family. We are doing well. Clay is working hard, as always; Mia is busy, busy, busy, as always, and I am trying my best to keep up with her! It's so hard to believe that February is already half over. I am now 24 weeks pregnant and our (still nameless) little guy is growing. This pregnancy has been just as easy and uneventful as the first one was and we are happy about that. This little guy is such a mover and is so active. Mia was quite the opposite and so laid back. I am enjoying all of his movements because I only get to feel them for a few short months.

We have done absolutely nothing to get the nursery ready. We have a few clothes for him but that is mostly because Grandma Rhonda bought him (and Mia) several things on her last trip. We have bought 2 of the much needed swaddle blankets for him and that is it. We really need to get to planning things out because the months are just flying by and he will be here before we know it!

As for the name, we have had SO many that we have tossed around. This baby is so much harder to name than Mia was for some reason. Harrison, which is also Clay's middle name, has been the one constant in our naming debates. It has gone from being the baby's middle name to finally the first name. I think I like it as a first name. Now, the debate seems to be the middle name. There are just so many choices and none of them seem to really be "clicking" for both of us at the same time!

18 Month Portrait

2008-02-12T17:57:00.000-05:00

We shot Mia's 18 Month Portrait this weekend. Yes a couple of weeks late. I like these two but can't decide which I like best. So you get to see both of them.

Serious

Smiling

Which one do YOU like best?

18 Months Old

2008-02-06T15:00:00.001-05:00

We can hardly believe some days that Mia is already 18 months old. The days seem to fly by and she gets smarter and cuter with each passing one. Her 18-month check-up was last Friday. She now weighs 24 1/2 pounds and is 32 inches tall. She is as healthy as they come and had to have 1 shot. She was more upset about having to lie down on the table for the shot than the actual shot. She was a big girl about it. She will have to have one more at her 2 year check-up but then she will be finished with them until 4 years. Thank goodness. That is always the worst part!

Mia is completely weaned from breastfeeding now and it went very smoothly. She is still on goat's milk but we are going to try her on cow's milk again this week. We hope her little system tolerates it better now. The goat milk is quite expensive, but she's worth it. Mia is just loving life. She is talking so much now. I was keeping track of all her words but I swear she says a new one everyday so it's hard to keep up.

We have been going to storytime at the library on Thursday mornings and she has so much fun. The first day we sat on the carpet in a circle with the rest of the mommies and little boys and girls and it took Mia all of 2 seconds to feel completely comfortable and she was in the middle of the circle checking everyone out. There really is no sitting and listening to a story at all. It's so much fun to watch her being so social. She absolutely loves being around other people, of all ages.

IR at the Park

2008-02-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, we had a picnic at the park. While there, I shot a couple of Infrared Photographs. Here are two interesting ones of Mia...

Mia walking through the Park

On the way to the parking lot I took this shot of Mia walking next to me. The solar flare is pretty bad, but it made for a cool effect... a Halo around her head! Yes, she is an angel.

Mia meets some new people...

2008-02-01T07:47:00.000-05:00

Last night, we went to the USC Spring Preview. Mia had a lot of fun running around on the turf and meeting all kinds of new people. Here are just some of the people Mia met...

Here she is introducing herself to the USC Softball Team.

Mia got to see her favorite bird... Cocky!

Eventually she decided to join some of the Softball Players for a little autograph session.

At the end of the evening, Mia made a new friend.

Baby Boy 4d Image...

2008-01-22T09:38:00.001-05:00

Here is your first picture of our little baby boy! He's trying to flex his muscles or something in this image. I've colored it up a little so that it's easier to see. Hope you like it! We never had 4d images of Mia while she was in utero. We think this is just too cool.

Hello everyone, new poster here...

2008-01-22T09:29:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone... I'm Clay. I'm Cindy's husband and Mia's Daddy. Cindy has been quite busy keeping up with Mia lately, and so I'm going to start posting pics and thoughts every once in while just to help keep it up to date. The picture shown above is a picture of me when I was around Mia's age. I'll let you decide if she looks like me or not.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T11:07:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. Mia was so much fun to watch opening presents and playing with her new toys. She was so cute when she noticed what Santa left for her in our living room. She still does not like Santa. She frowns and makes her disapproving sound whenever she sees his picture. I really hope we did not scar her for life. Here are some pictures to enjoy for now.

Yep, this thing is still in the living room! Mia loves it there, too.

What's up?

I love to dump the entire bag of building blocks on the floor.

Christmas festivities with the fam.

This Secret Santa toy is so cool!

Whatchu talkin' about, Howey?

I LOVE shoes!!!!

Some of my silly cousins.

Mommy, share your candy, please.

Hello?

Please stop. You're mushing my face!

This looks fun!

Happy New Year!

Highchair Hijinx

2007-12-14T09:26:00.000-05:00

Evidence of Mia's new favorite thing to do!

I'm a big girl now!

2007-12-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

For some time now, the first thing Mia does when I put her in the tub for her bath at night is pee pee. I put her in and she stands there for a second and pees. I thought maybe we should go ahead and buy a potty seat for her to put on the toilet and give it a try every so often before her bath. I bought a little Dora the Explorer seat a couple of months ago. She loves to point to Dora and Boots while she is sitting on it but she never would pee pee in the potty. BUT, tonight she did! I had just turned the water off and she walked to the cabinet and opened the door and pulled out her little seat. She walked right over to the toilet with it in her hand and proceeded to try to put it on herself. I helped and was all excited that she was doing this all on her own! I undressed her and took her diaper off and sat her on it. She had an audience because Clay was home and I think he was just as excited as I was. She sat there a few seconds looking at both of us and I was trying to coax her into pee peeing in the big girl potty. Clay finally turned the faucet on at the sink and the running water must have done the trick. She pee pee'd in the potty like a big girl! I was so proud! I think she was too. She's really growing up so fast.

In other news, Christmas is shaping up to be a special one this year. Mia is really enjoying the lights on the tree. We placed non-breakable ornaments around the bottom so when she does feel curious and takes them off, it's no biggie. She has a gift bag under the tree that is also filled with plastic Christmas balls that she is free to play with whenever she wants. She likes to hand them out when we have company over.

What a difference a year makes.

2007-12-10T13:41:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

We made the trip to the mall last Saturday for a visit with Santa. Mia did great while we waited in line for about a half an hour to sit on Santa's lap. When we were next in line, Mia was waiting and smiling at Santa. Once we crossed the velvet rope she started clinging to me and let me know there was just no way she was sitting in that fat man's lap and actually smiling. We had them take the picture anyway. Yes, we may seem like cruel, horrible parents but we did it. To make me feel even more cruel and horrible I cannot help but laugh at this picture everytime I look at it. I hope we haven't scarred her for life.

Mia's Latest Adventures

2007-12-05T12:09:00.000-05:00

We have quite the little adventurer on our hands. This morning we were getting ready for breakfast. I had pulled the highchair out from the table and she was playing with the straps. She has always been fascinated by them. Now that I think about it, she has probably been spending all this time figuring out how to get out of them when she's strapped in! I walked away for 2 seconds to get something out of the pantry. I walked back into the kitchen and looked in on her and she was STANDING in the seat of the highchair. I have no idea how she climbed up there because I didn't see it but it scared me half to death. My first instinct was to get her two feet back onto the floor or I would have snapped a picture. :)

Here are a few pics from Thanksgiving.

Big sister Mia

2007-11-24T09:53:00.000-05:00

Mia is going to be a big sister! She is going to be the best big sister, EVER! The new baby is due on June 10th. It's an active little booger on the ultrasounds we have seen. All over the place and so different from Mia already! We are excited. I've been feeling pretty good and been doing very well with exercising in hopes of not gaining as much weight as the first time.

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We traveled to Charlotte and had a great time and a great dinner as always. Mia traveled well and had a lot of fun. I haven't downloaded the pics yet but will update the post with some later. We are hoping to start decorating for Christmas this weekend. Ta-ta for now!

It's been a while....

2007-11-16T12:20:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a long time since I updated so I will reward you with lots of pictures. Mia is doing great. She had a little cold but is fully recovered. She is working on the last of her molars but no new teeth have broken through. She is Miss Busy. I am officially a stay-at-home mom now and we are having lots of fun. We started going to the gym 3 times a week and I think Mia is starting to have a good time there with the other kids. It's getting cooler so our daily walks are dwindling down. It's so hard to believe that Thankgiving is less than a week away! This time next week we will be pulling down the Christmas boxes from the attic. Where does the time go. Enjoy the pics and have a Happy Turkey Day!

Autumn? What's that?

2007-10-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

Don't even get me started on how the temperature was 94 yesterday and we are well into the second week of OCTOBER. Here are some pictures from the weekend. We went to a family reunion, picked out some pumpkins and explored our devilish side. I have no idea why the last picture is so tiny. Enjoy!

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy

2007-10-03T15:41:00.001-05:00

Mia is busy as always. She loves to plunder through my purse. Her favorite items being my cell phone and car keys. She likes to eat the keys. I have never understood why, but she has always liked chewing on metal objects. Yuck. She has been doing well lately. Her newest word, or should I say phrase, is Lordy, Lordy, Lordy. She picked that up from GranE. It actually comes out sounding more like lerdy, lerdy, lerdy and it makes me laugh every time she says it.

It's official. I am going to be a stay-at-home mommy. My last day as a full time employee will be November 2nd. I'm very excited. I will remain employed with the hospital as PRN. Maybe I'll return one day after Mia has started school. I am looking forward to devoting more time to her although I think it's going to feel strange not working. For a while, it will probably feel like I'm doing something wrong or playing hookey from work.

I managed to survive being away from Mia for 3 days while we were in New Orleans. And the only reason I did survive is because GranE gave me constant updates on Mia. Clay and I had a great time even though our team did not win. We had a fabulous dinner at my favorite New Orleans restaurant, Bayona. You really must try it the next time you are in NO. Bourbon Street is smelly as ever but I imagine it just would not be the same if it didn't smell.

Mia's Playground

2007-09-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

Mia and I have been checking out the playgrounds all around town. This particular one did not have swings but we still had fun. She loves the sliding board and most of all she loves all the other kids. I was reminded how bratty and honest kids can be. One little girl came up to me and told me that Mia was too little to be there. Mia swatted at her and barely touched her and the little girl was whining that Mia hit her. Then the little girl started swinging on a bar next to where we had been playing and almost knocked Mia down. We left. Mia takes it all in stride and was not bothered by the little girl at all. Mommy on the other hand needs more practice at the playground and playing well with others. :)

Mia still loves the appliances. I have to watch her when I'm emptying the dishwasher now because she can climb onto the door. She likes to "help". She is the best helper, too!

Growing up so fast

2007-09-06T15:44:00.001-05:00

I need to improve on my updates here, but who has the time! Miss Mia keeps me busy and I love it. She is getting into everything and it is so much fun. Shortly after returning home from Folly Beach, we took Mia to a children's museum in town called EdVenture. It is such a neat place. It is all hands on and encourages children to jump right in and touch everything.

There was a small section dedicated to toddlers, but the majority of the museum is geared towards older children. Mia had a lot of fun just being able to touch things and to be around all the people. We will definitely be going back. I can see her really enjoying it even more when she's a little older.

We attended my stepbrother's wedding a few weeks ago. The couple were married by the lake in the evening. It was hot but very nice. It was nearing Mia's bedtime but she was such a good girl and was happy to visit and be cute for everyone. She was so cute dancing with her daddy. I try not to think about her doing that at her OWN wedding. It is way to early to be getting all teary eyed about that.

Mia is doing great with her walking. It's amazing how far she's come in just one month. She is going from sitting to standing using only her legs with no assistance with holding on to anything. Babies are truly amazing. We are expecting her to start running any day now. LOL! We went out to eat last night and she walked all the way from the table to the truck. It was a bittersweet moment for mommy watching her big girl being such a big girl! And I can't forget to update about her many teeth. I discovered this morning that she now has 16 teeth. Yes, 16!! Her top right cuspid broke through Monday of last week and when I looked this morning, her left cuspid has also cut through the gums. People think she is older because of all of her teeth!

As you can see, Mia LOVES the stairs. We finally had to break down and buy a babygate to keep her from scooting up them all the time. Some of her other favorite playing spots in the house are the kitchen cabinets, specifically the "tupperware" cabinet. She really liked getting into the cabinets under the sink where the no-nos are kept, but we put cabinets locks on those and I received quite "the look" from her the first time she tried getting into those cabinets and could not. The still loves the fridge and the freezer and can now climb up onto the dishwasher door when it's open. I am starting to think we spend entirely too much time in the kitchen!

It is daddy's favorite time of year again: Football Season. Mommy got a new Under Armor (the most comfortable material!) shirt and Mia a new cheerleader outfit. She's the cutest cheerleader ever, if I do say so myself! Football season also means that she gets to spend more time with her GranE which GranE couldn't be happier about. The first game was last Saturday night and she even spent the night. I am still not sure how I am going to leave her for an ENTIRE WEEKEND in a couple of weeks when we go to NO. I will not even think about it.

That's about all I can think of right now. Oh yes, and she's getting so much more hair. It sticks up and I call her little fuzzy head. She ignores me and does not think it's as cute as I do. She is going to be quite the sassy handful. :)

One year check-up

2007-08-20T11:39:00.000-05:00

Things have been busy lately and I have not been able to update the blog like I wanted. Our computer is still being repaired therefore I have no new pictures to post right now. Mia had her one year check-up last Tuesday. She now weighs 21 pounds, 12 ounces and is 28 3/4 inches long now. She seems much taller than that to us, but the nurse measured her THREE times, and I even measured her once when we got home. Dr. W was very pleased with Mia's growth and development. She is now in the 50th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. We were sad to learn from Dr. W that she is retiring early and will no longer be Mia's pediatrician. We really liked her and she just loves Mia. We promised to keep her updated on Mia and send her pictures so she can still see her grow up.

Mia is walking all over the place. She is still doing the scowl and I have figured out that I am to blame for that one. Monkey see, monkey do. I discovered that she is actually giving me "the look". I have been trying to give her the look instead of telling her "no" and "stop" all the time. Now, she is giving it back to me!!! It is too funny. Her top eye teeth are close to popping through. Dr. W was so surprised to see that she has almost all of her teeth except (what she called) her 2-year molars.

I know I wanted to report a few other things but I seem to be sick and my brain is not working properly right now. Will update again soon...hopefully with some pictures!

Beach buddies

2007-08-03T08:54:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Folly Beach

2007-08-02T09:32:00.001-05:00

We are having a great time! Mia loves the ocean and isn't eating the sand this time. :) Enjoy the pics while we are enjoying some sun and relaxation.

Party Time!

2007-07-30T10:43:00.000-05:00

Mia's first birthday party was a hit! She had loads of fun and was so sweet and lively even though she was running on fumes because she'd only had a 30 minute nap before the party. She was too excited to sleep. She had visits from grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and friends. Some of the fun gifts included her Elmo riding toy, books, a Leap Frog Lilly counting doll, a toolbench, a ton of clothes, her very own remote, a piggy bank that plays "It's a Small World", and some cash to start her very own savings account.

She LOVED her cake. When we put it down in front of her she didn't quite know what to think. She stuck one little finger in the icing and tasted it and liked what she had in front of her. She was careful to savor every bite and was so dainty with it. She eventually got both hands in it and started getting actual cake. The sugar in her system erased all signs of her needing a nap but she crashed shortly after that. She was such an angel all day....no big surprise there.

She had a great first birthday. It was a special day for mommy, too. One of my Babyfit friends described her son's first birthday as being better than her own. I couldn't have said it better myself. She seemed to have changed so much over the past two days. She just "looks" and acts older. Since her birthday, she has been walking more on her own and her daddy FINALLY got to see it. We are so proud of her. Enjoy the pictures!

Happy Birthday, Mia Pia!

2007-07-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

Where does the time go? Really? It feels like just yesterday that I was lying in a hospital bed gazing at this amazing little person that I had just given birth to only a few short hours before. It sort of felt like a dream at the time. Dreams do come true and she is living proof. This has been a truly blessed year. Mia started her birthday off early at 6:30 this morning. I walked into her room singing 'Happy Birthday'. She liked that. As she was having breakfast (banana pancakes and yogurt) I looked up at the clock right at 8:43 and we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her again. She is getting the hang of the birthday song and has figured out it IS all about HER! She had a short birthday nap. I think she is too excited about her party. I will post party pictures later. We have some birthday celebrating to do right now. Here are some updates and pictures. We will see you later.

Although you can not tell from this picture because her cute little tongue is in the way, our big girl has 14 teeth! Tooth #13 broke through on Tuesday and #14 quickly followed the next day! And I have the nerve to wonder why she has trouble sleeping sometimes. Who wouldn't?! She is a big girl and rarely complains.

Her newest thing is with the headband. She was in the bathroom with me one day and she needed something to play with so I handed her a headband of mine. As some of you may know, she likes to hold onto things...always has. Well, this headband is now a daily part of her playing, sleeping, and eating routine. LOL! She will find it on the floor as she is crawling around and will stop to pick it up, sit up and proceed to get it "just right" on her head. Then, she will go about her business. She has taken naps while wearing it. She eats meals while wearing it. It has even become a part of the nighttime routine when we are in the glider reading. I slip it off her head once she has calmed down and is just about asleep. She is so funny.

I may have mentioned how much she likes to play in the refrigerator and the freezer. If she is in the living room playing and she hears me open one of the doors, she will make a bee-line for the kitchen. This also applies to the dishwasher. She likes to "help" me unload and load the dishes. The kitchen has never been MORE fun. She brightens everything in life!

Full of Personality

2007-07-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

Chillin'

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Devilish grin
My daddy says playing in the freezer isn't very "green", but I sure love to plunder in there.

Mmmm, taters.

Dinner with Aunt Sandra

4th of July

2007-07-04T10:08:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

11 Months Old

2007-06-28T12:13:00.000-05:00

Only one month to go and she will be a one year old. She will be ONE! I still can't believe it. She woke up some time after midnight last night and as I was rocking her I sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She just smiled so big. Such a sweet little thing.

I found another tooth on Tuesday. Yes, that makes 11 teeth. It completely caught me by surprise. It's a top molar on the right side. I don't know how she does it and still keeps a smile on her face. Her hair is growing so fast. She actually has hair now and it even blows in the breeze. I love to see that! She's been having a few tummy issues this past week with diarrhea and LOTS of poopy diapers. She had her first ever diaper rash but it is much better now even though the pooping contiues! Otherwise, she seems to be feeling fine. She has not had a fever and is eating and drinking fine.

Her daddy bought her an early birthday present the other weekend. It's a baby grand piano toy that she just LOVES. She stands in front of it and dances and it is so cute. We got some video but our computer at home is on the fritz so I have not downloaded it yet. I'll add it to the post later so you can see how dang cute she is playing with it.

Mia is spending the night with her GranE tonight and staying with her all day on Friday. I am going to miss her and I am even starting to chicken out. I'm sure I will barely sleep a wink because I will be missing her so much and wondering if she's sleeping well or if she's keeping her GranE entertained into the wee hours of the morning.

Happy 11-months, Mia Pia!!

First Steps

2007-06-24T22:48:00.000-05:00

Mia took her first unassisted, big girl steps today. I was so excited and so proud of her. Her daddy made the prediction this morning that today would be THE day and it was. All morning she had been letting go of furniture and our hands and just standing my herself to play with or investigate whatever object was within her reach. She was standing at the coffee table, banging on it, and I was sitting on the floor near her. She let go and took two very balanced steps and I don't even remember what I said but I know I was very excited. I was trying to get Clay's attention so he could at least see the second step but he thought my gasp was for something else. At least I didn't scare Mia with it. It isn't really an event you can be prepared for so there is no picture and no video. But, there will be many more steps to come so I'm sure we'll eventually get some video.

Since I really like to put a picture with every post you can enjoy these. They were taken a few weeks ago when we attended a USC baseball game. Mia got to meet her favorite bird! USC's mascot, Cocky, is really big and I fully expected him to scare her but her reaction was just the opposite. He posed for pictures with her and she was sad and cried when he left. She loves that bird.

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-17T15:34:00.000-05:00

Father's Day was nice. Daddy got new socks, a new belt and some chocolates from Mia. The three of us took Grandpa and met Uncle Danny at Longhorn's for lunch. It was tasty as always. Mia ate salmon, steak, veggies, and some sweet potato. Even had a little bit of some apple caramel dessert topped with vanilla ice cream we had at the end. By the way, Mia officially has 10 teeth now so she had no trouble at all with the steak. :)

She was her usual flirty, friendly self and making everyone smile. We are so blessed! Afterwards, we spent a little time at home with Grandpa and then headed out to Papa's where we ate MORE steak and took a boat ride.

We stopped at a point to visit one of Papa's friends who has a very, very tiny lakehouse. It was cute. Mia enjoyed walking in the grass and feeling it between her toes.

We also stopped by a piece of lake property that Clay and I are interested in possibly purchasing. The house is smaller than what we are in now and needs lots of work, but it could be worth it just to have the lake property. We are thinking we could build something else in it's place several years down the road. Clay has already planned all of Mia's birthday parties in the covered picnic area that is near the dock. There is a fabulous screened porch on the back overlooking the lake and that is my favorite part.

Time for a baby gate

2007-06-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

Man, she is so smart and figuring everything out. Here she is climbing the stairs. Luckily, she only got up the first step.

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Little Miss Busy.

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Playing in the kitchen. I think she really wanted to climb into this drawer with the pans. Before I started the video she was banging them and having such a great time. Btw, that rackety noise in the background is the dishwasher.

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And finally, one of my favorite pictures from her playing in the kitchen. She looks like a little bulldog. LOL!

The riverwalk

2007-06-04T22:59:00.000-05:00

She woke up bright eyed at 7:30 this morning. She had breakfast and then her Grandpa came over to visit. Can you believe I did NOT take a picture of them together, yet AGAIN! Oi. Mia had a good time with her Grandpa but was showing signs of being sleepy so Grandpa left so she could settle down for a nap. Ah, what a joker she is. When I finally did get her to sleep she only slept for 30 minutes. I think she is about ready to give up the morning nap but I keep trying because she shows signs of being sleepy. I really wish she could talk sometimes. :)

By the time she wakes up it's lunchtime so we have some lunch. She's been eating pretty good the last couple of days even though I know her new toofies that are coming in are really bothering her. I thought a good walk outside might be good for her but today was a warm one. The neighborhood is nice for walking with the sidewalks and all but there just isn't enough shade. So, we packed up and went down to the Riverwalk. It's so pretty down there and nice and shady for the most part.

Mia always enjoys being around other people and interacting. She makes a friend at every restaurant we take her to! There was a man at the river with his granddaughter. The man was kind enough to ask whether Mia is a boy or a girl before commenting how much she must be enjoying our stroll. How nice to ask something so simple rather than saying, "He must really love being outside!" It burns me up to no end when someone assumes she's a boy. Grrr.

Anyway, it was a rather hot day and I could feel my face getting very red so we called it quits and headed toward home. She fell asleep after about 10 minutes sowe rode around for a while. We are going through some real issues regarding her sleep right now so I take her napping how I can get it right now. She slept for an hour and with gas prices they way they are today, that was one expensive nap! We encountered a big afternoon thunderstorm which she peeked at but dosed right back off. It was over as quickly as it started and it was sunny again when we got home.

After dinner, Mia got ready for bed, Hawaiian jammies, and she played in her bedroom window for a long while. She likes to stand there like a big girl and talk to the trees and the bushes. She danced to me sing the shake your booty song. She loves to dance and I love to watch her. We played patty cake, she thoroughly inspected the Diaper Champ, then she started acting sleepy and climbing on mommy. We settled down in the rocker. She was nursing like a champ until daddy got home and she perked right up. 10 minutes later she was doing her karate chop at mommy which we think means she is trying to get your attention....my back was to her when she did it. She was ready for bed again. After much rocking, comforting, and holding she finally fell asleep just before 11:00. We are not sure what is going on right now but we are sure we don't want it to last long!

10 Months and a trip to Hilton Head Island

2007-06-01T12:23:00.000-05:00

This post is a little past her 10 month birthday but Happy 10-Months, Baby Girl!!! Wow, she is such a big girl. She is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything and trying her VERY best to walk. She has had more boo-boos than we like to count and they are all mostly on her poor noggin'! God made babies heads hard for a reason. The boo-boo cries are just heartbreaking but she is comforted quickly and on to the next adventure. She has recently discovered the stairs and we are going to need to make a baby gate purchase pronto.

Tooth number 10 is still trying to make its debut. She learned 'dada' over the weekend but I haven't heard much of it since. So far I've heard her say 'mama', 'bye', and 'dada' but she doesn't use them often. Sometimes I think she is saying 'hi' or 'hey' but I am never completely sure. She may have a very limited vocabulary but she has no problems communicating her needs and wants.

We had a wonderful time in Hilton Head this past weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect. Mia was definitely aware of the fact that she was not home and didn't sleep that great, but her sleeping habits have improved greatly since we've been home. We had a nice weekend and just took it easy. Went to the beach one day, took a nice walk one night and just chilled out. We didn't make it to the pool but figured there are so many pools in the family, it was no biggie.

I'm sure there was more I wanted to say but am drawing a blank at the moment. I had a hard time choosing only a few pictures so enjoy all the pictures and the video a the end. Have a good weekend!

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My name is Mama

2007-05-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

You can't tell by looking at these pictures, but Mia wasn't feeling all that great today. Her gums were bothering her from teething. She's a trooper. By the way, she has NINE teeth now! She wanted to be held a lot today and I happily did that for her. I even took a nap with her today. I need to slow down and do that more often because I love snuggling with her.

Her Grandpa came to visit her today and we all had such a nice visit. For some reason, I did not get a picture of that. Mia is crawling all over the place these days and is even starting to let go of things while standing and stand ALONE! It amazes me and scares me all at the same time. She's going to be walking soon. My baby is growing up so fast!!!

My smart girl also knows how to use 'mama'. It's no longer just a sound for her, it's a real word. I LOVE IT! I have been working on 'dada' with her but so far she is not doing the 'd' sound. I know she'll pick up on it soon. She's like a little sponge and picks up things quickly. We had such a great day playing in the mirror and making funny faces, laughing, and being silly. It's fun being a mommy.

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T23:10:00.000-05:00

Today was my very first Mother's Day. It was so totally AWESOME! I got to sleep late with my snuggly Mia in the bed next to me. We got up and Clay had coffee ready and even made breakfast! You know how incredible that is if you are aware of the fact that he is not very familiar with a kitchen. :) He then went on to completely amaze me and baked a cheesecake, from scratch. Yeah, I think he has been holding out on me. LOL!

I finally "get it" about this day. I guess you really have to be a mother to truly understand it. It still didn't really hit me until I read Mia's card to me. Clay helped her make it and it made me cry. I was suddenly filled with the most wonderful feeling that only Mia can give me. It is such a complete and whole feeling. It was just a perfect day. My sweet baby was also saying 'mama' all day. How perfect is that?!

She is also crawling now. I know, we were completely convinced she was going to skip it altogether but she is really crawling. It is the cutest thing EVER! I wish I had the video ready to post. I will try to post it soon. She's really growing up. My little tiny baby is crawling!!! It's good to be a mom. :)

Hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day, too!

9 Months Old

2007-05-05T11:10:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I haven't updated Mia's site in almost a month! I guess we've been a little busy. Now, to see if I can remember everything that has been going on in the last month. That will be a miracle! We took Mia to the Spring game in April. We went with Jess, Todd and Jakey and had a great time tailgating before the game. Mia was a perfect angel even though she really needed a nap. She finally fell asleep on her daddy before we began the walk to the stadium and slept even after we'd found some seats in the shade. It was a beautiful day! I was even able to meet a July mommy and baby, Stefanie and Hope, from Babyfit.

Mia really seems to be having so much fun. She still doesn't show much interest in crawling as all of her attention is toward pulling up and walking! She scoots around but it's usually to get a toy she wants or to get into position to stand up. She laughs all the time and makes the funniest noises. She is such a funny baby. She even makes herself laugh!

She was baptized on April 22. Wiley, who married Clay and I, performed the baptism. Mia was such an angel and was after Wiley's glasses as soon as he got her in his arms. LOL! We completely forgot to put some bloomers on her and her diaper was showing under her pretty little dress. Ooops. The shoes I had planned for her to wear ended up being too small. We spent a lot of time trying to keep her dress down and her socks from falling off. It was pretty funny!

Mia had her 9-month check up last Monday. She is now up to 19 pounds 14 ounces and 28 1/2 inches long. They stuck her big toe to check her iron levels (which were great) and she didn't cry at all. My big girl. Then they stuck her juicy thighs twice for two vax shots and that made her mad. She got over it quickly and was back to her sweet, happy self in no time. Her doctor just loves her and offered to take her if we ever decided we wanted to give her up. Uh, yeah, like that would EVER happen!

On the move...

2007-04-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

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Springtime is here!

2007-04-09T10:40:00.000-05:00

Ahh, my second favorite season of the year, Spring. I love watching the grass turn green again, the flowers blooming and the trees coming back to life. It's a beautiful time of year. It is especially beautiful this year because we have Mia with us. She is blooming right along with the trees and the flowers. She is practicing her walking and crawling at the same time! She isn't actually crawling yet but she is getting up on her knees. She likes to pull up and stand a lot and then walk to us while holding our hands. She is ready to GO!

She absolutely made my day (like she doesn't do that every day) and said 'mama'. I know she has said it over at her MeMe's house, too, but she has moved on from that to a 'goo' sound. When I here her doing the 'goo', 'gook' sound I try to get her to say 'Mmm, good'.

I had to take her to the doctor again last week concerning her eye. It was getting very watery again and gooky. It was infected again, or still infected, not sure. We are trying the antibiotic drops again and so far they seem to be doing the trick again. We really want this tear duct to open up on its own and STAY open. I do not want them probing her eye. Just the thought makes me shudder! I can't imagine letting anyone stick something in my baby's beautiful eye. So, we are thinking positive thoughts and praying it opens up. While at her the doctor's office last week, they weighed her. She had all her clothes on and heavy shoes and she weighed 19 pounds 14 ounces. Her 9-month appointment is at the end of this month on the 30th.

We are having Mia Pia baptised on April 22nd. We are planning to start going to church on a regular basis. We were going to start on Easter Sunday but we did not make it, so no Easter pics to post. We are going to do a springtime picture of her and I will post that when it is ready.

I am still breastfeeding her and we plan to go at least a year with that. I'm so happy that it has worked out for us as well as it has! Mia loves her "real" food, though. She is eating 3 meals a day now and loves her fruits and veggies. I tried giving her asparagus spears the other night at dinner. She liked how she could pick them up by herself and chew on them, but she was not crazy about the taste. We will try that again some other time. I recently started giving her cheese toast so that she can feed herself and she absolutely LOVES it. I have to be careful and only give her a few pieces at a time because she will shovel them all in her mouth, one right after the other, until she has two cheeks full of cheese toast! She's so funny.

She recently tried cottage cheese and liked it. She had scrambled egg yolks (not the whites!) the other morning for breakfast. She seemed to like it okay. She is still a big fan of her oatmeal. She is even eating meat now! We are sticking mostly to chicken and turkey but she has had ham, too. I have been making her own little chicken dinners and she just gobbles them right up.

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Almost 8 Months Old

2007-03-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Mia and Grandma Janice

I realize I must start every post off by saying, "I can't believe she's this old already", but that's how I feel when I realize another month has passed by. And so QUICKLY!!! We had an eventful week. We attended Aundrea's wedding last Friday and Mia was the cutest child there. She wore a pretty dress that Grandma Janice bought for her along with white patent leather shoes. She looks so precious. She was a perfect angel at the wedding and stole everyone's hearts. Aunt Connie and Uncle Jimmy were there along with Aunt Susan and Uncle Jeff. We had a good time.

Reagan, Mia, Erica, and Erin

Sunday, we went to visit Papa and Mia was able to see her Grandma Rhonda, Aunt Toni, Aunt Courtney and 3 of her cousins. They all had a fun time. Mia didn't quite know where to start with all that long blonde hair to play with. We had a nice dinner and Mia tried chicken for the very first time. She handled meat for the first time pretty well. She likes eating regular food and she still tolerates the strained stuff but she likes to chew and pick things up herself.

My mommy tells the funniest jokes.

I haven't caught it on film yet, but Mia can now wave bye-bye. She has a lazy bye-bye wave like she's brushing you off and the full-fledged wave where she puts her whole arm into it. She's such a smart girl. I have been teaching her to say mama and I think she's going to surprise me any day now with it.

Mia a.k.a. Big Girl also prefers to stand whenever we give her the chance. She needs help getting up but not for long, I'm sure. We all think she would be just as content to skip crawling and go right to walking. Here's a little snippet of her trying to pull herself up.

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I got a little bit of video of Mia "playing" the piano. Grandma Rhonda is going to have to teach her how to really play someday. She's definitely got great potential. :)

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Mia with "hair"

2007-03-21T21:43:00.000-05:00

Quick Update

2007-03-16T13:42:00.000-05:00

Mia now has 8 teeth and we believe she is also in the process of cutting a molar. The baby girl is a tooth producing machine! I sure hope they don't all fall out as fast as and as close together as they came in. Poor tooth fairy might have to file for bankruptcy!

Mia has been doing very well. She sleeping pretty good at night and occasionally she will sleep all the way through. I miss those nights. She got off track after getting her first cold. I had to take her to the doctor last week for an eye infection caused by the clogged tear duct. We had to do eye drops for about 5 days and let me tell you, she just LOVED that! It was really looking much better but I have noticed the last couple of days that it is watery again and she's waking up with dried gook in her eyes in the mornings. I am really hoping the tear duct opens up and stays open soon. If not, the pediatrician is talking about probing her eye! Not fun!

The following picture is for Mia's Birthday Buddy, Charli. Charli has been sick and we just learned today that she is traveling a rough road at the moment. This is a hug for you, Charli. Keep smiling and we love you, Sweetie!

Happy Birthday to Mommy

2007-03-05T08:43:00.000-05:00

I had a fabulous 36th birthday. Spending it with Mia made it so much more special. Clay took us to Motor Supply for lunch where Mia sat up in a highchair (out in a restaurant) for the very first time. It was the perfect height for her to gnaw on the table. Gross. She only tried that once, thank goodness! She was a perfect angel and everyone oohed and ahhed over her.

After lunch we went to the park. It was very breezy, but such a pretty sunny day. I'm looking forward to the days when we can all go to the park and Clay and I will be spending the entire time chasing Mia. She's so much fun!

She had so much from with my present from GranE, I can only imagine what she is going to be like on her first birthday. Now, all I can think about it what do we want to do for her very first birthday to make it super special! I had a wonderful day, got some great presents, had some great food, and special birthday wishes by phone from people that I didn't get to see or spend time with yesterday. Life just doesn't get much better than yesterday.

You're how old?!

2007-02-28T21:12:00.000-05:00

Our girl is 7 MONTHS OLD today! We can hardly believe it. She keeps getting sweeter every day. She's still doing great with real food. I think her new favorite is bananas. She is so funny to watch and she mmmm's everything. I love the faces she makes on the foods she isn't quite sure about. For instance, we gave her mango last week and she LOVED it. I gave her some again tonight and I do believe she actually shuddered after the first bite. I tried a few more times and got a shudder after each bite. We are still sticking to oatmeal, fruits and veggies. We aren't venturing into the meats until at least another month or so.

As you can see from the picture, Mia is all about standing. Poor daddy's nose! When we try to sit her down on the floor, her legs are straight as arrows and she doesn't want to sit, she wants to stand. We think she'd be perfectly happy with skipping the crawling thing altogether and going right to walking. However, she has been practicing her crawling stance. I've been putting her on her tummy more and she's working on it. It's going to be so cute when she can follow me around the house.

The weather has been beautiful for the last few days and Mia and I have been taking advantage of it and getting some walks in. I will be so glad when Spring gets here and we can get out on a regular basis like we were doing before winter. She is so cute in the stroller. She has to hold on to everything and the stroller is not exception. It's so cute to look down at her and she's laid back, relaxed, and has her arm up on the side taking in all the sights.

Valentine's Day and Other Cute Moments

2007-02-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

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Punk Mia

Funny turtle

Look at all my teeth!

Look at me!

6-Month Stats

2007-01-31T00:55:00.000-05:00

Mia's appointment on Monday went well. Aside from the cold, she is in perfect health and growing strong. Her weight is up to 17 pounds 8 ounces and she is now 27 inches long! Her head circumference is at a very smart 17 inches.

Monday was a rough day for Mia. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery from this cold!

6 Months Old

2007-01-29T12:13:00.000-05:00

Duran Duran's Littlest Fan

Our little sweetie-pie turned 6 months old yesterday. She's getting so big and so smart and I call her my "big girl" all the time. She is eating solids twice a day. She has oatmeal and fruit in the morning and veggies and fruit in the evening. Some of the newest foods she has tried are green beans, peas, apricots, prunes, apples/blueberries, carrots, mashed potatoes, avocado, and corn. Sweet potatoes and apples are still her favorite. :)

I have the cutest butt.

Mia is sitting up very well without assistance. She used to end up on her face but now she can push herself up. You can just see the excitement on her face with this newest accomplishment. Her latest sleeping thing is rolling over in the crib to sleep on her tummy. Most of the time she rolls over and then gets mad that she's there. We roll her onto her back and she rolls right back over. When she gets it just right, she seems very content sleeping on her tummy. Mia's top teeth have been trying to come in. She is having a little harder time with them compared to the bottom two, but she is still handling it like a trooper. I could see the whites of the two front teeth for the longest time and most recently noticed that the teeth on either side of those are also coming in. She amazes me! I felt for them this morning and can feel the two top front teeth have just barely broken through the gums. Hopefully, she will be easy on mommy.

Hangin' out in Daddy's new truck.

Clay and I have been sick with a cold for the last week and unfortunately Mia has caught it as well and is sick for the very first time. She has been sick all weekend and it is just pitiful! She can't breathe well through her nose and has a yucky cough. I am pretty sure I am not her favorite person right now because I am constantly coming at her with the snot sucker. I have gotten a little more efficient with it but it just does not get enough out and doesn't seem worth all the stress and upset it causes her. Her 6 month check up is today and hopefully the doctor can give us some pointers on relieving some of the congestion for her. I will post an update with her latest stats some time after the appointment.

5 Months Old

2007-01-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

The Proud Parents

Where's my food and water?

Mmmm, sweet taters!

I am so cool.

Are you kidding me?! These ears are SO real!

Mia turned 5 months on December 28th. My little baby girl is growing up too fast! She's been rolling over a bit more but she's too busy trying to sit to be bothered with rolling over lately. She is not sitting up on her own but she certainly is giving it her best shot. As soon as we lie her down on her back, her head and legs are off the table trying to get back up! She is balancing herself more when sitting but does not stay that way for long. She is so much fun!

She is loving solids! We have pretty much stopped giving her rice cereal. That stuff was gross anyway. Besides the rice cereal, she has had apples, sweet potatoes, oatmeal and bananas. She loves them all and I think she's particular fond of the sweet potatoes and bananas. I can't wait to see how she likes green beans. She also tried pear juice and loves it but we are going to stay away from that for a while longer.

You can't really tell in the pictures but her hair is growing more! It's also turning a golden color which makes it harder to see in the pics. ;-) She is doing fantastic! She is so smart and so sweet and so funny! She's absolutely perfect for us!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! We braved the crazy people and the traffic at the mall and took Mia to meet Santa. She was absolutely perfect. We waited in line for about 20 or 30 minutes and she never once protested.

We went to church on Christmas Eve morning with Papa and Rhonda. It was a first for Mia and I believe a first for Clay and I as a couple. Mia and I spent most of the time outside listening to the music, singing and sermon. She was awfully tired and could not get comfortable sleeping on my shoulder.

After church we went to MeMe's and Mia had a good time with her cousins Erin and Reagan. She slept through the present opening but loves all her gifts.

Later that afternoon we visited Grandpa and Janice. Mia spent most of the time on Janice's hip and was all smiles. Janice gave her sweet potatoes during dinner and Mia gobbled them up. She also gave her a little taste of the yellow part of a deviled egg but Mia didn't like that too much at all. She was awake for the gift opening this time and shortly thereafter the day caught up with her and she was tired!

I gave Mia a bath and then Clay read The Night Before Christmas. We had bought the book for her and are starting a tradition of reading it every Christmas Eve. Mia loved the illustrations and between the pictures and watching her daddy read, I am not sure which one she liked the most!

We woke up Christmas morning to see what Santa left for Mia. It was so exciting! Santa left her a sweet Build-a-Bear named Claire. She is so soft and sweet and was wearing white satin bloomers, a red sweater and a white fuzzy hat. Mia loves the sound and giggles that she makes. He also left her a set of sippy cups to try for the first time and a cute teething toy that lights up and makes cute boingy noises.

After opening presents we headed to Papa's house. More excitement, delicious brunch, and more present opening. Mia missed the present opening again. All this Christmas excitement was wearing her out. She had a 2-hour nap at Papa's and she really can sleep through anything!

Mia had a great time seeing her Papa, Rhonda, aunts, uncles and cousins. She was showered with lots of attention, hugs and kisses. All the grandkids made handprint ornaments for Papa's tree and also drew pictures to make their very own Christmas plates. Clay did Mia's for her and it turned out so nice. Her little handprint looked adorable and I can't wait to see it on the tree next year.

That afternoon, GranE, uncle Danny, Emily and the kids came over for more yummy food, family time and present opening. It was nice and crowded! Joshua wanted to help bake apple pie so badly and there just was not enough room in the kitchen. Clay was helping me in the kitchen and I was quite impressed with his apple pie making abilities.

Mia slept through dinner and missed half of the present opening because she was hungry. Everyone in the whole family was very thoughtful and Mia got lots of toys, clothes, books, and very special Christmas ornaments. There's no way she can get bored, that's for sure!

In none Christmas related news, Mia is eating more rice cereal. We started feeding her twice a day and she is actually swallowing it all now. She tries to grab the spoon and feed herself and makes lots of Mmmm noises and shows that she is very pleased with the new grub. She recently tried applesauce and at first made a sour face but took to it immediately. I am very excited about making her food now.

Mia LOVES to play with her feet and as you can see she also loves putting them in her mouth. She cracks me up. She is so funny! She's a very happy and comical baby. She loves to laugh and squeal and is even rolling over a bit more. She's still getting stuck on her arm but with practice she'll "get" it. The other morning I went to check on her and she was sleeping halfway rolled over. She amazes me everyday!

20 Weeks Old

2006-12-15T08:33:00.000-05:00

Mia now has a SECOND tooth! I saw it last night and could NOT believe it! I didn't expect the second one so soon, but then again, this is all so new to us! Tuesday was MeMe's birthday. We celebrated by meeting her and Aunt Toni for lunch at Wild Wings. Afterwards, Mia and I went shopping at Wally World. She was a perfect angel and had me laughing all over the store. She is such a little comedian.

It's been a very busy week for me at work. Our department moved to a different building and I have been busy unpacking. I love my new space. I have 3 BIG windows and a lot more privacy. It's very nice and I'm even more productive! Clay and I have pretty much run out of time on finding a new sitter. GranE and MeMe have been a huge help but unfortunately they cannot watch her every week. I really don't want to put her in a "big" daycare. I am going to first try to find someone that will watch her in our home. That would be my ideal choice next to quitting my job and concentrating solely on her. I am not that worried about it because I know it will work out in the end.

I can't believe I nearly forgot to mention that Mia tried rice cereal for the first time on Monday. She seemed to like it okay. I thought it tasted kind of nasty but I did mix is with breastmilk so it would be a little familiar in taste. I'm not sure how much she actually swallowed but it was fun trying it for the first time. I'm excited about trying real food eventually!

19 Weeks Old

2006-12-11T12:28:00.000-05:00

This has been a busy week for Miss Mia. Last Thursday, while she was staying with GranE, she rolled over for the very first time. I almost cried when I heard. Clay and I did miss the first time but she has rolled over for us since and it's so amazing to see her do that. This morning we were playing on the floor and I noticed that her first tooth has popped through as well! Our little gummy bear is getting teeth!!! That almost made me cry, too. It is amazing children can change your priorities in the day-to-day routine and show you what is truly "important" in life.

18 Weeks Old

2006-12-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

Somehow I missed posting for Week 17. I guess I waited and posted the 4 month in its place. Anyhoo...Mia has been staying with her GranE while I am at work and is having a ball everyday. Too bad GranE can't retire early. She's been teething and handling it very well, I might add. I'm sure her little gums are sore and achy but she is such a tough little girl. She makes me smile just to think about her and she truly is my purpose in life right now. I take one look at her and know what is truly important in life.

Clay and I went to the annual HBA holiday ball last weekend and had a very nice time. It was fun shopping for a dress and shoes. Not much to add right now. Been very busy.

4 Months Old

2006-11-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

Our little Mia Pia is 4 months old today! She's growing up so fast and changing every day. I feel like she is going to roll over at any time now but it still might be weeks before she does that, only she knows! She is tolerating tummytime more these days and when I remember to put her on her tummy, she is holding her head up higher and looking around instead of just munching on her arm. I am teaching her to stick out her tongue at people and she's catching on pretty quickly. LOL!

We took her to the doctor yesterday for her 4-month check-up. She is now 25 1/2 inches long and weighs 15 pounds, 9 ounces. She's very smart with a nice round head circumference of 16 inches. Dr. W said we could introduce real food starting with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk or water and eventually move onto fruits and veggies. How exciting is that! I'm looking forward to seeing her reaction and making baby food for her.

Yesterday also included those dang shots. Of course she cried but this time it wasn't a you-hurt-my-feelings cry, it was a I'm-pissed-off cry. She was mad, to say the least, but I was surprised to see that once she was picked up she pretty much stopped and was fine. That precious child just does not seize to amaze me. Such a little trooper.

Her first Thanksgiving was so much fun. We started the day off by going to Papa's to fry turkeys. Mia met two of her cousins, Ronni and Heather, for the very first time.

We made our traditional trip up to Charlotte to Auntie Kim and Uncle Hiram's. Mia travels very well even though she isn't a fan of car rides. Maybe her mommy sitting in the backseat next to her had something to do with that this time. :) GranE rode with us and we had a ball as usual with no shortage of laughter. Cousin Trey is really growing into a nice, cute young man. He's like Mia, changes everytime I see him.

For dinner we had smoked turkey, fried turkey, the infamous cranberry "Jell-O" mold, GranE's best-ever dressing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, mashed potates, bean salad, and 2 kinds of cranberries. I think I'm forgetting something. Just talking about it makes me want to eat it all over again! Let's not forget the desserts. Auntie Kim made the most awesomest carrot cake, an oreo cheesecake and a pecan pie. Yum-E!

The long weekend was nice, too. I went into work for a little while on Friday to do some packing for our move and Mia stayed with Daddy. We went shopping for a new (PRE-LIT) Christmas tree and found a very nice one that we were both pleasantly surprised with once we got it up. We chose colored lights thinking Mia would like that better than just white. I think we were right. Mia loves to lay on the floor next to the tree and just stares at the lights and talks to the ornaments. The house is all decorated and we are just waiting on Santa to bring us some presents!

I can't forget to mention the Carolina-Clemson game this past weekend. Go cocks! Here's a pic of Mia and Daddy watching the game. Yes, the Gamecocks won!

Just because....

2006-11-19T22:02:00.000-05:00

16 Weeks Old

2006-11-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Despite the new bald spots on the side of her head, her hair is getting longer on top. It's downy-like and now sticks up some when you rub the top of her head.

The tear duct is opening up more in the right eye. Yay! We are so happy about that. I am so tired of torturing my baby girl every morning trying to get the gook out.

We dressed Mia up in her cheerleader outfit and went to visit MeMe and watch the USC/Florida game last Saturday. Boo, we lost.

We have to find a new sitter for Mia. I'm really hoping maybe Clay can work at home a couple of days a week instead. That would be IDEAL! We have about 3 weeks to do something. GranE is going to be watching her a couple of weeks. I know she is looking forward to that!

We are all getting very excited about Mia's first Turkey day. We are making our traditional trip to Charlotte to visit Aunt Kim, Uncle Hiram, and Cousin Trey. :)

Have a good weekend!

15 Weeks Old

2006-11-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

Rattle time

Mia has been spending a lot of time in the floor playing. Mommy has really been keeping her in the floor so much to encourage her to roll over. I'm not in a huge hurry but it did occur to me that she can't accomplish things like that if we are holding her all the time. As much as that pains me to say, I'm trying to give her some space to grow. She's getting a little more comfortable with tummy-time. I'm getting really excited about Christmas. Clay and I have decided that we want to get her some books and Baby Einstein DVDs and even one of those doorway jumpers. I think Mia will have a ball in something like that.

Just chillin' in front of the tube

Clay and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary this past Sunday. We had a nice dinner at home with our Mia Pia. I cooked shrimp and scallops in a brandy cream sauce with bacon wrapped asparagus and garlic bread. It was yummy and I got to light it on fire! It was fun and I managed not to burn the house down! For dessert we had the top layer from our wedding cake. It was just as delicious as it was a year ago. Yes, we have been eating cake all week, too. :)

You talkin' to me?

It's been a good week with the exception of one incident. I've only lost a 1/2 pound since my last weigh-in. I really need to step up the walking and cut out the cake!

Playtime

2006-11-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

We have playtime on the floor everyday and Mia grabbed her rattle so I had to start recording in case she decided to do something else! This video is about 10 minutes long but oh so cute!

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