Mia's Playground

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

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

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

Greetings from Folly Beach

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!

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!

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

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

Happy 4th of July!

11 Months Old

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

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

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.