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Finally a smile!

October 31, 2005

Mia's first Halloween seems to have been a success! It was quite busy, but at least we got our money's worth out of that costume!

Friday night we went to the zoo. Saturday morning to the MOSH (Museum of Science and History). Saturday night a costume party, and Monday night was Trick or Treating at the mall. So although she's been in costume 4 times, it took me until we were about to undress her for the last time to finally catch a smile. You'd think she didn't like looking like a chicken or something!

Tonight we drove out to the mall for trick or treating. That meant we left our jack o'lantern unguarded and a bucket of candy on the front porch. Jack survived but the candy was gone.

That's ok though! Most of the stores were giving away candy, and Mia raked in her fair share. A couple of the stores were a little more inventive. The Apple store had us come in and take a picture which was immediately sent to our email. (Somebody give that marketing department a raise!) And, the wine bar was giving away a free glass of vino to anyone in costume.

We had a good time even if Mia's still not quite sure about all of this. We did realize that about the same time she's mastering rolling over and trying her best to crawl away is the same weekend that we dressed her up as a chicken every day. Think it's just a coincidence? Hmm...

Posted by Kimberly at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)

She's mobile (sort of)

October 30, 2005

Mia is really trying to crawl around now. Today, she actually managed to move herself forward a few inches. She grabbed onto the carpet ahead of her and pulled with all her might. Her little toes were trying their best to get traction and propel herself forward. Finally, she sort of coordinated all of these movements together and moved forward a bit. She looked a little shocked at first that her efforts seemed to have paid off! Then she flashed a big smile-- probably at the celebration dance I did for her.

Child-proofing, here we come!

Posted by Kimberly at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)

I'm having trouble controlling the VOLUME OF MY VOICE!

October 29, 2005

Mia has learned that she can talk really really loudly. It started about the time we came back from our vacation. I wonder if there's any correlation to her being doted on 24/7 by a houseful of people and coming home and screaming, literally, for attention.

Yesterday at lunch she started yelling at the top of her lungs but she wasn't crying. In fact, she looked pretty happy. She was just talking away, but in her yelling voice.

Today she's been doing it all afternoon and I have to say that it's getting a little bit old.

We tried to explain to her that she has to use her inside voice, but she doesn't seem to care. Maybe she'll grow out of it. Hopefully, that will be tomorrow.

Posted by Kimberly at 07:10 PM | Comments (1)

Farmer and his chicken

October 28, 2005

We took Mia on her first Halloween outing tonight. For those of you who don't know, she was a chicken and Daddy was a farmer. Luckily, a timely trip to Kansas helped us find an authentic farmer costume!

All night, we kept hearing people shout, "Hey, look at the chicken!" "There's a little chicken!" "Aww, it's a farmer and his chicken!" and the likes. It seems that the chicken costume was a big hit!

See more Halloween pictures!

Posted by Kimberly at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)

Back from vacation

October 27, 2005

Mia and I have been visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Kansas for the past week and a half. We had a great time. Mia had everyone wrapped around her little pinky finger by the end of the first night. A Grandma to play with in the morning when she wanted to wake up too early and a Grandpa to play with in the evenings when she didn't want to go to sleep! But, for the first half she slept better than she has in months. From 7 pm to 7 am without a peep! For 4 days. Then she was back to her old antics of waking every couple hours.

Even the actual traveling wasn't so bad. Neither Jacksonville or Kansas City is a hub so we always have to change planes and since they're another 4 hours (at least) from the airport, it makes for quite the long day of travel. On the way there she was a little angel and on the way out people near me commented that they hadn't even known there was a baby on board. On the way back, she had one episode during landing on the first plane. They shut the air off and it got really hot in there. Plus, I'm sure her ears needed to pop and she'd already been traveling for 10 hours at that point and it was heading into cranky evening time. During this little tantrum I kept seeing a guy across the aisle glance over with what seemed to be a sympathetic look. When we finally made it off the plane (and she stopped crying because we were walking and it was cooler) he stopped me and asked if I had a connecting flight. He then proceeded to tell me that I should just stick a pacifier in her mouth next time so she won't scream like that. Hello??? If it was that easy, don't you think I might have thought of that? Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a complete idiot. Yes, Mia did suck out a few of my brain cells-- primarily the memory ones, but I think I could still figure out something like that.

All in all it was a successful trip. Good practice for Thanksgiving when we do it all over again! At least next time I'll have some help.

See the Kansas Pictures

Posted by Kimberly at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)

A Bumbo for my very own

October 13, 2005

Mia's bumbo arrived yesterday and she's having a blast. We went to lunch and she sat there contentedly for most of it until she got tired and fell asleep on my lap. At home I scatter some toys around her and she'll play happily for quite some time. She even had a few bites of avocado in it this evening.

Posted by Kimberly at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

Big Girl Seat

October 10, 2005

Mia loves her new carseat. It's so nice to not have to listen to her scream for the entire car ride. It sits her up more, so I'm assuming this is what makes her happier.

I had been so used to the infant carrier that can come in and out of the car that I was wondering what I was supposed to do when we switched seats. I'd have to move her in and out of the car every time. What if she was sleeping? Where would she sit at the restaurant?

Well, she did fall asleep on numerous occasions, and I successfully moved her in and out without waking her. She also seems to like sitting in the stroller better without the infant seat in it. So, I don't have to carry her in one arm while pushing the stroller with the other. At least not as often. And as far as the restaurant goes, she's got her bumbo which will let her sit up and be part of the action. She never stayed in her carrier long anyway. She'd always wake up and get all upset that she had to lay in there like a baby when there was a party going on!

So, the switch has passed and all's well. Next step: high chair.

Posted by Kimberly at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

Bumbo Seat

October 06, 2005

Mia borrowed Gavin's Bumbo today at lunch. Well she absolutely LOVED it. I had decided not to buy one because I thought she was going to outgrow it soon, but she actually fit in it quite well. Since Gavin was sleeping, she got to sit in it for the first half of lunch and she was happy as a clam, letting me eat in peace with BOTH hands. Well, just based on that alone I was pretty much sold. I came straight home and ordered one. It should be here early next week. We can't wait!

Posted by Kimberly at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Mia's 4 month checkup

October 05, 2005

Tomorrow is Mia's 4 month birthday and she weighs 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. 95% of kids are smaller than she is. She's huge!

I thought she'd been teething for the past few weeks, but the pediatrician said it could just be a really, really, really long growth spurt. It could be a little of both, but not to rule out the idea that she could be having a month long growth spurt. After all, she has gained 4 pounds since her 2 month appointment.

So, we'll see if we see a tooth show up anytime soon. Otherwise, we're hoping this growth spurt ends tomorrow!

Posted by Kimberly at 06:50 PM | Comments (0)

Bed head

October 04, 2005

If you hadn't yet noticed from the pictures, Mia has bed head 24 hours a day. Believe it or not, we do try to comb it on occasion. The only time it truly looks tame is during her bath. Actually, when her hair is wet, you can hardly recognize her. She looks like a completely different girl. But, if you rewet it during the day to try to comb it down, you can watch it rise back up as it dries. And after a couple minutes, it's sticking straight up in the air again. I guess eventually it'll grow long enough that it'll be too heavy to stick up anymore. In the meantime, please excuse her hair!

Posted by Kimberly at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

Baby Sign Language

October 03, 2005

Apparently babies can learn sign language much earlier than they can physically learn to speak. Some 7 month olds will let you know they want "milk", or "more" of something.

So, we're starting to show her signs now to see if it works for us. She doesn't seem all that interested yet.

Daddy: "Here comes a kitty, Mia look at the kitty. Pet the kitty." Then show her the kitty sign.

Mia: "Oh look, a bird."

I guess we'll keep trying. One of these days she just may pay attention and start signing back. After all, it worked for Robert DeNiro in "Meet the Fokkers".

Posted by Kimberly at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)