Monday Morning Mia

Sorry to not technically get this posted until almost afternoon...
It's so hot here that Mia and I went for our walk this morning instead of in the afternoon. It is going to be miserably hot and humid these next few days, but we do so enjoy our walks, so it looks like morning is going to be walk time for a bit. We have a new neighborhood friend--he's a few weeks older than Mia--and he and his mom joined us this morning.

Now we've cloistered ourselves in Mia's room with the AC on. Mia is in her crib, Walter is napping at my feet, and I'm typing away on the Boppy nursing pillow. Dan Zanes House Party is playing in the background. It's a bit different from our normal routine, but hey, we need the AC.

This is a big week for us. Wednesday we go to the pediatrician for a checkup and some shots. I'm dreading the shots-last time Mia didn't react well, and it was so sad to see her in pain. Luckily, she hasn't been sick yet, so we don't have a lot of experience with a sad baby. I gave her Tylenol after the last batch of shots and she kind of slept off the pain, but it wasn't easy for us. It's going to be a long day on Wednesday. However, I can't wait to see how big she has gotten. I am assuming the doctor is going to tell us to start solid foods, too. I don't think we're quite ready, but we're getting there. Maybe I'll go buy a box of rice cereal just to begin to get us ready.

We also have two "play groups" now. Tuesdays our babysitting coop meets. We haven't started the actual babysitting part yet. Right now, all the families meet, and we get to hang out with each other and the babies. Soon we'll begin the process of letting one mom leave and seeing how the baby does. For now, though, it's just lots of kids on the floor.

We are also starting a Thursday neighborhood group. Now that the babies are older and need more stimulation, and the moms are starting to get a bit bored of the playmats at home, we're going to begin meeting once a week or so to socialize. At this point, it's probably more for the sake of the moms, but I think the babies have fun looking at each other. No one can crawl yet, so it's still pretty much rolling around on the floor, but some people think that's fun.

Hmm...what else. Last night we went to a JP moms BBQ. We actually had a pretty good time. There were seven or eight families there, all with babies. It was the first time interacting with JP dads, which was pretty cool. The hosts' home had a nice shady backyard, so they put a big blanket out for all the kids to play on. People brought all kinds of delicious food, and it was very casual. It's nice to go out and not have to worry about nursing or crying babies or spitup. It somehow seemed very stereotypical, but in a good way. Lots of talk about when to start solids, everyone's sleeping (or not sleeping) patterns, traveling with babies, etc. Learned a lot, ate a lot, and had a nice evening out.

In developmental news, Mia is almost almost almost sitting up by herself. She still sits in the tripod, but she's begun to push herself up. She can't stay up long, but she seems to be very eager to be sitting. Last night at the picnic she also pushed herself up onto all fours, into a sort of crawling position. I don't think she's anywhere near ready to crawl, but it was funny to see her in a different position. We're in no rush for crawling--it means all kinds of babyproofing, which we haven't started to do yet.

We've also given her a sippy cup of water a few times. She doesn't get much water, but she loves drinking from the cup. She can hold it by herself if I put her in the bouncy seat, and she loves the feeling of the cold water. Most of it ends up on her bib, but it's fun.

She's also begun to sleep on her side instead on on her back. Now that she has discovered rolling, she rolls right over in the crib to her side. She now has a little toy she sleeps with, a pink cat with a little soft blanket attached. She grabs it tightly in her little fist and jams the blanket part in her mouth to sleep. It's adorable.

We didn't take many photos this week. It's really the first time we haven't captured every second of her life. But, luckily we have a huge archive of photos, so here you go. Thanks to Amy for the photos--we can't take credit for them.