It's that time of the month again...

It's that time of the month again, and no, I don't mean THAT time of the month!!!  lol  Here we are again.  Another month has passed already and we all know what that means – it’s monthly picture time!!!   Our dear little Mia is growing like a weed despite all our efforts to get her to slow down - little turkey!

our 8 month old carnivorous beastie!

Mia is still along and skinny baby, but she is finally FINALLY starting to fill out a bit in the cheeks and thighs… a little, little bit.  lol  We’re hoping that now that she’s eating solids on a more regular basis that she’ll fill in a little more.  Of course, she’s started moving around more so we aren’t holding our breath.

Here are some photos from our 8 month photo shoot.  I couldn't get that little turkey to hold still for anything!

Got ONE semi-still photo...

...and then it was all downhill from there!

Hugs to Raffi - the giraffe

Oh, what's this...?!?!

We aren't sure why, but the giraffe made her giggle!

Tried one without the giraffe...

Not sticking around for THAT!

Ohhh, that's new!

Aha!  Got it!

Oh!  There it is again! 

My sweet angel - almost 4 months post op.

We sure do love this sweet little face!!! 

At 8 months, Mia:

·  Sits wonderfully well on her own and the occasions that she falls over are few and far between

·  Can move herself from laying to sitting

·  Has started inch-worming forward on her path to crawling

·  LOVES holding on to mommy’s fingers to go from laying to sitting to standing

·  Eats solids every day

·  Takes two naps a day – one in the morning around 11 and one and one in the later afternoon around 3, usually between 2 and 3 hours each on a ‘good day’

·  Is FINALLY starting to smile and interact more with “strangers” when we go out places – yay!

·  Watches people eat with an open mouth of her own in “baby bird” fashion, hoping someone will take pity on her and give her “tasties”

·  Is called Mia-Moo, baby, stinky cheeks, monkey, sadness or fuss-budget when she’s fussy, Mi Amour, silly goose, turkey and carnivorous beastie (because she’s at the phase where EVERYTHING goes in her mouth)

·  Is now officially a THREE-toothed carnivorous beastie

·  Is finally in size 2 diapers and also wears size 2 baby shoes

·  Can still fit some 3-6 month dresses, tops and bottoms

·  Is in 9 month size clothing for any one-piece outfits and for pajamas so that they fit her long little body

·  Has started shaking her head from side to side (like saying ‘no’)

·  Smiles and giggles all the time

·  Still only regularly says “ga-ga-ga”, even though mama and papa are working with her on “ma-ma-ma”

·  Is still a MAJOR slobber-puss and still goes through multiple bibs per day – she honestly can NOT go without one

·  Loves to stand up against her Leap Frog table and play with it

·  Loves to bang and rattle anything that she can get to bang or rattle

·  Loves it when mommy wears anything with string ties on them – they seem to make a most delicious treat to chew on and ‘floss’ between her gums with

·  Is finally ticklish on her tummy and you can tickle her with your fingers instead of just blowing zerbits on her belly

·  Likes to fake cough to get our attention

·  Shrieks this high pitch wail that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up when she’s upset or if you take away something she wants but shouldn’t have – little stinker

·  Has realized she can make cool noises by rubbing her teeth from side to side on different objects

·  Now, officially, has THREE teeth to rub on things – her top right middle tooth

·  Usually goes down to bed super easy

·  Loves to snuggle before she goes down to bed (we aren’t sure who loves it most – her or us!)

·  Usually wakes up really happy

·  Is still SUCH a total joy and delight

Mia now officially has THREE teeth!  After four months of endless drooling, her top right middle tooth finally broke through the skin yesterday.  It’s hard to tell if it’s actually one of the middle teeth, or if it’s the one next to it because it came in on the clefted part of her gum line and is angled slightly towards the other side gum.  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see on that one!  Unlike her other two teeth, this one she does NOT like us to touch at all.  If we try to touch it, she bats our hands away and fusses.  The one time I tricked her into gnawing on my finger so I could feel it, it seemed like it was painful to her for me to rub on it at all, even though it had already broken through.  I was actually kind of dreading her teeth on that front clefted gum area coming in because I’d heard on the cleft group that they can be a pain sometimes and often seem harder to “teethe” in than other teeth.  Luckily  for Mia, so far so good.  (Knock on wood!)

Oh man!  Not quite - she's a fast and strong one!!!

There we go!  A SLIGHT glimpse of tooth number three!

Mia has figured out that she can pull herself upright in her swing by pulling on the tray, turkey!

Leap Frog tables are the BOMB and Mia loves hers!  It's surprised me how quickly she's figured out the many different parts of it.

Her new favorite thing is to stand up against it to play - my little big girl!

I had a good scare today that really threw me for a loop.  I had put Mia in her high chair to eat a baby arrowroot cookie and was trying to get the dishes done.  I usually sit right there with her, but I wanted to get the dishes done before Zeus got home and she was about only about three feet away from me.  I was working on the dishes and kept looking her way to check on her.  She’s started sticking her tongue out when she’s eating and the food tends to fall off and slide down her chin.  I think she’s feeling her bottom teeth with the underside of her tongue, and maybe she’s also just being a stinker because she’s smart like that and knows that it gets a rise out of mommy.  Well, she kept doing that with the cookie and on one of my many constant visual checks, with her tongue out like that she’d worked a piece of the cookie to the back of her throat and was kind of gagging on it.  I ran over and tried to sweep it out with one of my fingers but it just went further back.  She wasn’t getting any air and quickly was turning ashy gray and blue around her mouth.  I grabbed her out of the high chair, turned her face-down and tipped her head downwards.  I gave her a firm pat on the back and out came the cookie.  I turned her back over and she was fine.  She didn’t even cry and scream, though I felt shaken and felt like I was crying and screaming silently on the inside.  I snuggled her tight for a very long time after that.  No more dishes during snack time.  So scary, but I’m so grateful that I was right there and that I actually WAS checking in on her so often visually.  I was also so very grateful that I hadn’t left her there to run to the bathroom or something and come back to find her passed out or worse.  Lesson powerfully learned!

Man, this little sweetie pie is going to be the death of me!

I HATE POWER NAPS

Power Naps.  Argh!  It's definitely a hate/hate relationship for me and power naps.  I was going to put that it's a love/hate relationship, but I realised it's NOT.  I am NEVER able to take them.  My husband's head hits the pillow and he's already snoring away in dream land, but not me.  Sadness!  My brain won't shut down so I lay there for 30-45 minutes TRYING to get to sleep and by the time I actually fall a sleep (on the rare occasions that I do) it's already time to wake up.  That is NOT, however, why power naps are not my friend today. 

Little story for you about why I am NOT a fan of power naps:

Got up early to go to a doctor appointment with Zeus.  Woke Mia up at 7:30 am, packed her in her car seat still in her jammies and headed to the doctor's office.  Got there and fed her, then afterwards ran some errands to waste some time until traffic died down.  Spent WAY too much on the "goodies" in the dollar bins at Target (but that's ANOTHER story) and then headed home.  On the way home, a short 15 minute drive, Mia falls dead asleep about 10 minutes from the house in SPITE of me talking loudly to her and loudly repeating her name (which actually works sometimes).  Got her home, fed her a bottle and laid her down in her crib.  Apparently that 10 minute power nap has replaced her TWO PLUS HOUR morning nap, as she is babbling and cooing away in her crib. 

I'm still crossing my fingers madly, hoping she'll "play" herself to sleep.  Yes, I know, highly unlikely - and call me crazy but I'm still crossing those fingers!!!

Forward Momentum

So, Mia may not totally have the correct form of crawling down yet, but as of yesterday has finally mastered what Zeus and I call "forward momentum".  She use to get up on her hands and knees, rock back and forth, and then push herself backwards.  She would scoot backwards all over the floor in this fashion, often ending up against or under random furniture.

Well, as of yesterday, she's learned to inchworm herself forward to go after things she wants.  It has been so much fun seeing her learn how her little body works.  I catch her, on various occasions, with this stunned and fascinated look of concentration on her face as she's learning to do things.  I SO love being a mommy, and being HER mommy in particular!!! 

Speaking of "forward momentum", I'm trying to work on that myself.  Like Mia, lately I've felt that I'm doing a lot of turning in a circle without getting anywhere lately.  That, or I see where I want to go or where I want to be and I face in that direction but only seem to be moving backwards, farther and farther away from it instead of towards it.  Hopefully, like my little Mia, I will soon get down that same kind of "forward momentum"!

She also LOVES to stand up.  I put out my fingers and she'll pull herself (with my help) to standing.  I'm not sure if it was HER mimicking MY look of excited, open-mouthed wonder, or if it was ME copying that look from HER!  Either way, we BOTH get really excited when she pulls herself to standing.  Luckily she doesn't do it on other things yet, but it's just one more reminder that I need to baby proof the house and move her crib mattress down a notch or two!

I THOUGHT we had mastered solids - feeding her rice cereal and baby fruit or vegetables with the majority of the food ending up in the baby instead of on the bib.  I was very excited about it and how good she was doing.  Then yesterday and today happened.  She still opens her mouth for the food, but then has decided she likes the feel of then sticking her food-covered tongue out and letting the majority of the food slime down her face and bib.  ARGH!  I'm not sure how to get her to quit doing this, but it's seriously becoming a HUGE mess.  Aye mi amour!

Happy Valentine's Day

Love is...

Birthday Surprises

So my husband had a really fun surprise for me for my birthday this year.  He got one of our good friend's, Chrissy, to watch Mia and surprised me with a night at the ballet.  I had no idea where we were going and his telling me to "dress up" got my mind a wondering as to what it could be. 

Neither of us had been to the ballet before so it was a really fun surprise.  We got there an hour early and were able to go to a little pre-show event where they explained this particular ballet - La Sylphide.  It was not only interesting, but informative.  They explained some of the pantomiming the ballet dancers would use to help tell the story and explained the story line.  I'm so glad we were able to attend that - it really helped us understand and enjoy the show.  Hooray for birthday surprises and trying something new!  :)  It was a beautiful ballet and we both really enjoyed it and our fancy night out.

We couldn't take photos, but the set and costumes were beautiful.  Her is a photo I found online at the www.balletaustin.org website:

"La Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. The original choreographer of the ballet was Philippe Taglioni, but most are more familiar with the version choreographed by August Bournonville. His version of the ballet, performed first in 1836 in Copenhagen, became the foundation of the Romantic ballet tradition."

Of course, we could and DID take photos of us in our "dress up" date clothes.  :)  Yay for those self photos - good thing Zeus has long arms.  lol

Me and my honey.

Had to do a "re-do" to get him with a SMILE.

Me in front of the Long Center where the ballet was held.

My handsome man in front of the Long Center overlooking the downtown city lights.

A very fun surprise of a night.  Thank you honey, for a fun and thoughtful night out on the town for my birthday!

Photo Overload

So, I've been way behind in posting lately, so I'm going to try and catch up at least a little by posting some of my favorites from the last little bit.  :)

We ended up traveling to El Paso twice in December, at the beginning of December for the anniversary of Zeus's mom's passing, and at the end of December for New Year's and the Sun Bowl. 

First trip out:

enthralled by a story book - Victoria, DJ, me, Mia and Carlos

Mia's first taste of bean juice - Zeus was way excited.  Mia only took a few swallows... :)

...then decided to try sucking the beans out of mama's (refried) bean burrito instead

Pobrecita got an ear infection this trip out. Back at grandma Lina's after a trip to the ER with a fevered screaming baby.  On medication and eating the doctor's orders while trying to eat her toes at the same time...  that's my girl!

Visiting Zeus's mom and sister's grave sites.

Had to hit Chico's Tacos on the way out of El Paso.

Stopped on the way back in Fredricksburg at the holiday town square. Tia Bertha, mama and Mia - BRRRR!

Time for a quick family shot.

Then a little further down the road, more lovely lights.

back at home - first time trying solids - don't even THINK about putting that in my mouth

mama knows all the tricks - rubbing the gums gets the mouth open...

...so you can get the spoon in. Tricky, tricky!

Kuck!

Mid December we headed to Houston for Mia's one month surgery follow-up at Shriner's Hospital.  Zeus's friend Robert was kind enough to hook us up with a reduced rate room so that we didn't have to rush the trip and be on the road 6 hours in one day.  Thank you Robert!!!

Mia and Dr. Blackwell - the plastic surgeon who did her repair.

 

The hotel we stayed at had a fun little decorated section in the lobby.  Had to get a pic of Mia and Santa.

Papa's turn with Mia in front of the chimney and Christmas tree.

Christmas party at Chrissy's and decorating cookies.  So fun!  Santa even showed up and delivered presents to all the kiddos.

Mia and papa on mom and dad's first anniversary - dinner at Hut's where we ate all the time when we were dating.

Mia "hangin" at Hut's while mommy and daddy ate.

Family photo on December 26th - Anniversary dinner at Hut's.  :)

All bundled up with papa and ready to hit the road.

Seriousness. Mia playing on the floor while mama cleans her little room and puts away her clothes.

My little investigator checking out the tray on her stroller while mama has her post op follow up visit at the doctors office.

Checking out every nook and cranny of the stroller.

Getting so big - she can finally sit up in the cart!  These smaller Ross carts are the perfect size.

However, the larger Walmart carts work great for tired babies who are done sitting up.

 

Ahhh!  So comfy!  We kept tucking her arm back in and she'd stretch it back out again.  Silly girl!

Yeah, my baby girl LOVES cups and even knows how to "work" them.  She see's anyone with a cup and she gets "excited baby body" and opens her mouth for it.  :)

LOVING the bouncer... until mama realized her little hands were turning PURPLE!  :(  Guess she's still a little to small for the arm holes and it was cutting off circulation.  Sadness on so many levels!