Monday Morning Mia

We're back from Thanksgiving, and we're all a bit sleepy here. Walter has barely moved since we returned, and Mia went to bed at 5:15 last night. Ben and I are functioning, but barely.
We had a great trip to see the grandparents in the big city. Mia learned about the subway system and got to ride several different trains and buses. She ate turkey for the first time (2 bites) and learned about the joys of bread.








She met Elmo, Grandma's cat, and fell deeply in love. We hear he's sleeping by her crib, waiting for her to return.











We had a playdate in Brooklyn with Katie. Mia and Katie shared their opinions on the most important topics--shoes and toys.










We got to celebrate our friend Jake's first birthday. Last year, we met Jake when he was just a day old in the hospital. This year, we got to eat cake and veggie booty with him. Mia got to play with all of Jake's new toys, and everyone had a fabulous time.








We met Penelope in Brooklyn for the first time. Penelope was born in August, but we haven't had a chance to travel to meet her before this past weekend. Mia was more interested in pulling up on the table than playing with the baby, but we had fun nonetheless.









Needless to say, Mia is absolutely wiped out from the whirlwind. Between beginning to really cruise along the furniture, finally eating a bit of solid food, and meeting so many new people, she needs another vacation!

Happy Monday everyone!

Monday Morning Mia--Sunday Night Edition

We're heading out for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but wanted to put up our Monday post before we leave town.
Today is Mia's nine month birthday. She is 39 weeks old, the same amount of time I was pregnant. It is impossible how quickly this time has flown by. We drove by the hospital today on our way to lunch, and the shock of the nine-month mark hit us. Nine months ago we held a newborn baby in our arms, a baby just minutes old. We had no idea what to do, how to act, how to feed her, how to soothe her. In the hospital we just stared at the beauty of her, the tiny fingers, the perfect little mouth. We drove her home from the hospital at fifteen miles below the speed limit, practically with our hazard lights on, in abject fear of all of the things that could happen. The next few weeks after her birth are a blur, but they involved much sleep on her part and not enough on ours.
Eventually, we started to figure things out. She loved to be wrapped up tight in her swaddling blanket and rocked to sleep. Ben would stay up with her watching bad tv when she wouldn't go back to sleep in the middle of the night. We went for long walks once I recovered, just to be out and about. We avoided baths like the plague, as they were guaranteed to make Mia scream.
So much has changed since then. Baths are the best time of the day. There are no more late nights. There is much standing in the crib, pulling up on bookshelves, trying to walk by holding on to a hand or a couch pillow. There is much tickling and laughing and raspberry-blowing. There is even a little hair on her head. And of course, there is guacamole-eating.
Nine months. Who could have imagined.

standing up

hadn't put up a video in a few days, thought we were due. Please pay no mind to the pile of laundry in the background. It's hard to take care of when she wants to play.

Over the weekend we heard a good friend refer to people she knew as "kidded". Not necessarily as a bad thing, but it's amazing how all the assumptions built into that short description can be proven true. I suppose if I can spend 4 hours on the livingroom floor playing with blocks and reading "Hop on Pop" with my girl, there's just no hope for me anymore. oh well.

Monday Morning Mia

Sorry for the late post, but Ben is at a conference and Mia and I are home alone. Even Walter is out in the country. We're doing just fine on our own, but free time is a bit of a luxury. Mia is on a nap-strike, so I'll just post a quick note.

Mia is growing and learning in leaps and bounds now. She is standing up on everything in sight and trying to begin to cruise around on furniture. She will also let go while standing, which is frightening to watch because she of course isn't ready to stand on her own yet.

We traveled to DC this past weekend to visit friends. As usual, Mia did superbly on the plane, although it is getting more difficult. She doesn't want to sit for long periods of time, so she did get antsy on the flight, but not terribly so. We went to the National Zoo on Saturday and saw the pandas. Mia actually did get to see the father panda as he ate his lunch, and she looked like she was enjoying watching him. We got to visit with old friends and their now almost-2-year-old son, and other friends we haven't seen in a long time. It was a great trip, although too short.

Our camera ran out of batteries when we reached DC, so I don't have any photos to post. This will have to suffice in the meantime.

Monday Morning Mia

Or, Sunday with the family.









Our morning started out fairly typical. Ben, Walter and Mia walked up to the park while I stayed back to straighten up the house. All of this was just too much for Walter.







Walter and Mia napped the morning away. It could be that we have started giving Walter Benadryl to help him sleep. He's been waking up at 4:30 every morning since the clocks changed, and well, that's just not acceptable to us. A few nights of sleeping medicine never hurt a hound, right?

When Mia woke from her morning nap, we bundled her up and headed to the Children's Museum. While she's not quite old enough to enjoy most of the museum, there is a playroom just for crawling babies. There are soft foam mats, tons of baby toys, and even a fish tank. Mia had a grand time, playing with the other babies in the room and figuring out how to navigate the foam stairs. Best of all, she saw fish for the first time and was enthralled.









It's back to regular weekday life here. But man, we do love Sundays.

Happy Blog-a-versary!

It's been one year since we started this blog. It seems too obvious to say so much has happened. We're just so incredibly happy that it's been such an amazing year.
A quick update--Mia is now pulling herself up to standing in the crib. It happened this morning and it hasn't stopped. No napping, that's for certain.
Thanks for your readership over the last year!
Love,
Us

At long last, proof

We talked up her mobility quite a bit recently without offering any evidence. Well, after quite a wait, we finally got her on camera crossing the room. She used to be too interested in the camera, and would stop whenever we broke it out, but how else is she to get her pet panda?