Fun at the Park

We decided to take a walk to the park today. We all had fun!

So cool in her new shades.

It's hot out here...Daddy was nice and shared his water!

Hanging on for dear life

Sliding with Mommy!

Mommy, Daddy and Mia

Horrible Morning

We had what could rank as one of the worst mornings of our life...Mia had to have blood work done today. Just routine blood counts for her 9 month check up. I guess they figure the kids aren't getting shots at this visit...why not do blood work. We went in this morning, and of course had to wait a while to be seen. My stomach was turning flips just thinking about what was about to happen. When we finally were called back, the lady tried put the elastic band on both arms, but never seemed feel a good vein...but ended up sticking a freakin' huge needle in her arm anyway and "digging" around to get it positioned where she thought the vein was. Meanwhile, Mia is shrieking, I'm balling and Dale is on the verge of tears. Mia was so upset. She was hot and sweaty, and had those horrible "crying heaves" with huge tears running down her face. The lady finally stops searching and takes the needle out of her arm with no blood collected. I thought to myself..."There is no way I am letting her try the other arm...there has to be another way". The lady gave me a tissue and asked if we needed a minute to calm her down (and let me regain my composure). I told her no, we just wanted to get this over with. She then proceeds to put the elastic band around Mia's forearm, so she could look for a vein in her hand to draw from. Mia now knew what that meant, so she started to get upset again and fight back harder...she didn't want to be stuck again. For a 9 month old, she sure is strong. Not finding a good vein there either (thankfully she didn't try "digging" for one in her hand...I think I might of had to hurt her), she told us she was going to have to do a finger stick. I told her that was fine...what ever she had to do to just get it done. The finger stick was traumatic in it's own right. They don't use what you think of as a traditional finger stick. The device makes a long cut in the finger, not just a small hole like a blood sugar finger stick. Then they have to "milk" the finger to fill up two small tubes full of blood. It takes a couple of minutes of doing this milking to get enough blood for the tests they have to run. But she wasn't screaming near as loud as she was when the lady was "digging" around for a good vein.


By the time we got home, she was fine. She kept showing me the band-aid on her finger, but other than that, you would have never know it happened. It is amazing how rezilent kids are. Dale and I may be scared for life, but Mia's fine. :)

Bluebonnets!

Well, today we attempted to take picture in the pretty bluebonnets near my work. Mia wasn't a fan of the prickly grass and tall flowers. Here are some of the pictures we got. POOR BABY!

Maybe we will try again later this spring! Guess we need to practice sitting in grass to get her use to it before we attempt taking more pictures :)

She's crawling!

WOW! Strap everything down...Mia's mobile!!! We caught some crawling on the video camera this weekend when Fun Aunt Whitney was down here for a visit. ENJOY!

Easter 2009

We spent Easter in Wichita Falls with our families. We headed up there Saturday afternoon. Aunt Whitney had gotten her the cutest princess tiara, tutu and wand. Our families were so happy to see us. They are amazed every time we come home to visit how much Mia has changed. I can't believe she's already 8 months old.

The poor thing has been cutting teeth for weeks, but the 2 middle, bottom teeth finally broke through this weekend too, and Mia was a trooper. She stayed happy! The bottom right tooth broke through on Firday, then the bottom left tooth broke through on Sunday. We are so lucky...she's such a happy baby. She has tiny little "razor blades" cutting her gums, but she keeps a smile on her face.

Mia looked so cute in her pretty Easter dress. She is still a little young for Easter egg hunting, but mommy and daddy helped her.

A Busy Day!

Today has been a very busy day. Mia's Honey, Mamaw and Fun Aunt Whitney all came to see her today. She did so great with everyone, and she did great at lunch. She sat in her highchair the entire meal with no fussiness. Then she went with us to shop at the Gymboree near my work. We put the cutest hat and pair of sunglasses on her. She thought it was so funny, and she looked super cute. She then went with us to the Allen outlet mall. All the while staying pretty happy. When we got home she took a short nap. Then it was time for her 2nd photo shoot. We finally got around to getting her 6 month pictures taken now that the is 7+ months old :) I was really worried about what kind of a mood she would be in after being out all day and not having a very good nap. But she was GREAT! She was very happy and we got LOTS of great pictures. It was very hard to narrow them down. I wanted to get them all. I can't wait to see how the prints turn out. I was so proud of her. She's such a GREAT baby. We got really lucky with her. It was amazing looking back at her last set of photos and see how much she has changed in 3 months. She's getting to be such a big girl.

A lot has happened in the last month

Mia will be 7 months old on Wednesday. Can you believe it??


We had Mia baptized on March 1st in Wichita Falls. We had it done at First United Methodist in the chapel. John Dillard, the associate Paster, who has been there since I was a little kid was able to preform the baptism. Almost all of our family was able to attend. Sue and Coby's bunch were all sick, and they didn't want to spread it around (which was much appreciated) so they weren't able to come. Mia was so good. No tears, just smiles.






Since my last post she has tried most if not all of the 2nd foods. She is starting to become interested in trying to feed herself her bottle and meals. She hasn't quite mastered the bottle yet, and we got her some Gerber Yogurt Melts and Gerber Puffs to start getting her use to feeding herself. She hasn't quite taken to the Melts or Puffs yet, but we have only tried them once and there are lots of flavors to try. She likes to hold and chew on her sippy cup, but she hasn't figured out how to get the juice/water out of it yet.

She is trying very hard to crawl. She has started to "creep" slowly. She can push way up on her arms, and she can get up on her knees for a few seconds....but she hasn't figured out how to coordinate both movements into crawling.


We just hired a new nanny last week. I won't go into the long story about why the other one left. I am just excited because the new nanny is GREAT! Monday was her first day. She was so good with Mia, and Mia seemed to like her. She was on the floor with her ALL day playing. She read her a book. When Mia was down for a nap, she came downstairs to unload and reload the dishwasher. There was a large pan that didn't fit, so she hand washed it. Then she proceeded to wipe down all the counters. Dale told her that much work wasn't completely necessary, but she said she didn't mind. She picked up all of Mia's toys in the living room before she left. She's great! And super sweet! It's such a relief.

Mia's 6 month update

Well, Mia has officially tried all the "1st foods". She isn't a huge fan of peas, but she liked pretty much everything she tired. She had her 6 month doctor visit yesterday. She was on the "petite" end of the height scale, but that was to be expected when you look at Dale and I. She was a little light in the weight department. They want her to put on a about 2 pounds between each visit and she put on a little less than 1.5 lbs. Doctor said she isn't get enough formula (we try but she just won't drink more than 3.5-5 oz at a time)...Mia's a eater, not a drinker...so she suggested that we try offering the bottle first, then give her the food. She wants to check Mia's weight again in 6 weeks to make sure she is heading in the right direction. Doctor also said we could move on to the "2nd foods". She gets to try all the fun new combinations...and the dreaded meats. The meats smell like dog food....eooo. The doctor told us just to try one jar of each alone to check for a reaction, and then we can move on to the combinations of meats with other things that are a little more appetizing.

Mia is doing well developmentally too. As my mom always says "that's not surprising....she's a genius." She has been sitting up unassisted since about 5.5 months old. She has started to get up on her knees when she is laying on her tummy. She can't go anywhere yet, but she's trying. She loves all her new toys that she got at Christmas. She's big enough now that she can actually play with all of them. She loves the song "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes". She also loves her "Tea Time" activity table. She's a pretty happy baby (as long as mommy or daddy are within eye site). She is also "talking" all the time. Sometimes it seems like she is really trying to carry on a conversation with me.

She is changing so fast. Here are a few new pictures!

CARROTS....YUM!

She really likes carrots!

Things are going good!

Well, its been a little while since I posted an update. Lots has gone on in the last couple weeks. We are finally completely moved out of the rent house....YEAH! But our new house is still FULL of boxes....BOOO! The unpacking is going VERY slow. It's very hard to get stuff done these days with a very active baby! She doesn't want to nap much, so we spend most of our time off playing with her...which is a blast, but not conducive to unpacking :) I guess we are in no real hurry. I rather enjoy the time with Mia than worry about the number of boxes left to unpack.

Mia is doing well. She is feeling much better. She is still a little congested, but her cold is pretty much gone now. She has tried all the veggies, and she gets to start fruits next week. She is a big fan of green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes. She can hardly wait for the next spoonful. She sits there waiting with her mouth open, and says "MMMM" and "UH UH UH", letting us know she wants more now. She will eat the peas and squash, but they aren't her favorites. She is sleeping usually a 7 hour stretch at night, waking up at 3 or 3:30 usually needing a new diaper and her passy. Then she will sleep from 4ish till 6 or 6:30. This makes me very happy. I actually feel almost rested in the mornings. She is also starting sit up on her own. She's still a little wobbly, but doing it on her own. She's also rolled over a couple of times. Our nanny, Ashley, said she even tried to get up on her knees on Friday :)

Sick baby :(

Well, we may have our first illness. I just thought that Mia's restless sleeping and decreased appetite was due to the stress of the move, but overnight and today she has been extremely congested causing her to have trouble breathing. She has also developed a cough. I think that is why she hasn't wanted to eat much...she can't breath and eat at the same time. She has been very clingy, and hasn't been napping. I called the doctor's office today to ask them if there was anything else I could do for her other than saline nose drops and a bulb syringe. They decided that it might be more...maybe the beginnings of an ear infection. So, because of her age, they decided they really wanted to check her out tomorrow just to be sure. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's just a cold and they give us a antihistamine/decongestant. I was a chronic ear infection baby, and I know that was hard on my mom and on me...I just don't want Mia to have to go through that too. I will keep you posted. Hopefully it will be good news.

AHHHHHH!

I love our new house, but MOVING KINDA SUCKS! Our rent house is in shambles, our new house is FULL of boxes, Mia is not eating or sleeping well, and the dogs are nervous wrecks.


Mia was doing so well. She was eating so good, and she had started to sleep through the night...but the last few days have really thrown her for a loop. She has been waking up every 1.5 to 2 hours crying. I just have to go to her room, give her her passy back, rub her back, and she falls right back to sleep. Then she's up again a short time later. She also isn't napping hardly at all. So, she is now over tired, so that is just making her more restless. She is having her good days and her bad days eating wise. Yesterday, she did good, but today not so much and who knows what tomorrow will bring.


Dixie and Gabby don't know what to think of the digs. They have sniffed every inch of carpet in the entire two story house. They sleep in our room, and every time I go to tend to Mia, they feel they need to go explore again...no matter the hour. Try chasing a dog up and down stairs at 2am...not fun. They aren't eating well either. Lets just hope they don't use the restroom or get sick in the house because they are so worked up.


There is one bright light in this chaos I call my life right now....Starting Friday, I am OFF FOR 7 DAYS! And 4 of those 7 Dale is off too. So, our goal is to finish getting everything our of the rent house, so we can get our lives back to some kind of normal ASAP. Mia's room is top priority. It is almost all put back together. I just have to bring over her stuff for the walls and put her closes in her dresser. My mom is also coming on Monday to spend the night...she is going to help me unpack, hang pictures and shop for decorative things for the house. I am hoping things start to calm down soon and Mia and the doggies learn that is is home. I want my little family to be comfortable and cozy in our new place, but right now my family is very of kilter. Wish us luck!


I will try to get some pictures of the house posted in a week or so....give me a few days to get the house looking somewhat put together :)

FINALLY, SUCCESS!

Finally, success! Mia is doing so well on her rice and oatmeal cereals. She is eating so good now. She is still learning, but more is getting in her tummy than on her face, so that is an improvement. She even whimpers because I am not getting it in her mouth fast enough. So we are slowly increasing the quantity each day because she is eating everything I make. I am hoping that by next week we will be up to 4 Tbsp of cereal and starting veggies. I can't believe she will be eating three meals a day just like a big girl. It's so much fun to see her learning and exploring new tastes. There have been some interesting faces, and I am sure there are more to come. Next up....peas! Wish us luck!


P.S. One of the best things about being on solids now....she has slept through the night 3 nights in a row!!!! YEAH!

MOVING

WE ARE MOVING ON JANUARY 13TH. YEAH!!! The packing has begun. We have been taking a car load a day over to the new house...unpaking...then taking the boxes back to the rent house. The movers come the morning of the 13th to get the big, heavy stuff that we don't want to move ourselves. We are so excited. We love our new house. Dale says everyday..."Can you believe we own this house, it's a castle?" I just tell him in a joking tone..."Well, honey, NO, because we don't own it yet...the bank does!" (I know I'm a smart allic). But in all honesty, we are so excited about the new house. It is a place that we can really make a home. It is great as is, but I am sure over the next several years we will make it our own. New paint, new floors, etc... As Dale says, "we can do that in two years". Everything seems to be two years. I guess 2011 will be an expensive year. Better start saving now!

Mia and SOLIDS

Well, we finally got Mia back on a little breast milk mixed with soy formula....YEAH! Now it's time to start solids...which we did this week. We started with rice cereal. The first time she was a little confused as to what she should be doing. We got some interesting expression on camera. She seemed to lean into the spoon rather than let me put it in her mouth. The second attempt went better. Dale hasn't had much luck the past two days with rice or oatmeal cereal. She just isn't that interested or still a little confused as to what she should be doing. I am sure it will just take time, patience and consistency. Hopefully she will do well on the cereal so we can move on to veggies soon. But there isn't any rush. At least we got her on soy formula successfully! The rest will come with time.

Christmas

Well, I know this is a little late, but it has been a very busy couple of weeks. With Christmas, closing on the new house, packing, and working...I haven't had much time to get everyone caught up. This was Mia's first Christmas, and it was wonderful. She loved the paper and bows best! Everything went in her mouth. She ended up with glitter from head to toe. She got such nice gifts from everyone. Thankfully we are moving into a bigger house very soon so we have room for them all.