Monday Morning Mia

As I type this post, Mia is napping happily in her crib and I am working dilligently on my dissertation proposal. OK, I'm not working right now, but I have been good all morning. For those keeping score, I plan to turn in a draft of my proposal next week, and I'm shooting for a proposal hearing at the beginning of September, assuming my advisor thinks my proposal is good enough to go forward. Wish me luck!

Last week was ridiculously hot here, but Mia survived it like a champ. To be fair, we spent most of the week in the AC, but still. Tuesday we had a mom and baby group at a friend's house, which was a huge hit. Mia got to roll around on the floor with her friends, and I got to hang out with a lovely group of moms. We had baked goods and coffee and chatted about such fun topics as sleep and rice cereal. Best of all, the home was air-conditioned, so we stayed from about 10 am through 4 pm.

Over the weekend we went to the grandparents' in CT, and Mia took her first real swim in the town lake. She wasn't sure if she loved it or hated it. In the water she cried a little, but she cried more when taken out. It looked like she was having a pretty good time overall. Maybe now that the ocean has warmed we can take her to the beach sometime in the next few weeks.

Project De-Bink was a huge parental failure. We made it 2 days without much of a problem, but then Mia began to exhibit signs of uncomfortable teething, and the binky seemed to soothe her. She seems to get such great pleasure from the binky as she drifts off to sleep, and she doesn't really wake up needing it in the night, so it just seemed cruel to deny her. I'm not sure when we'll revisit Project DB. Maybe next month?

This week we plan to begin rice cereal. We have a brand-new box on the counter in the kitchen, new rubbery spoons, bibs and a booster seat. We plan to try to feed her on Wednesday when Ben is home, as this stage marks a huge transition for us. Mia seems eager to try food--she'll grab any food in sight, and she loves to pretend to drink from cups and mugs. Hopefully she'll enjoy eating the rice cereal and then we can move her on to more exciting foods such as avocado and peach. She'll be eating guacamole in no time.

It's so hard to believe that Mia is almost six months old. She is a happy, smily, chubby girl now--so different from the tiny little baby she was at first. I just can't believe how quickly the time has passed. It sounds cliche, but it really is true how time flies. While I look forward to her crawling and walking and talking and growing hair, I want so much to cling to these baby days. Before we know it she'll be driving and going to college.