Happy 1/2 Birthday Mia

Hard to believe, but Mia is 6 months old today. Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but it really shows the Mia we have been seeing the last week or so. She is always smiling with her tongue hanging out. A lot has gone on since we posted after Mother's Day so we appologize for the break in our blog but we are back at it again.

Mia just fought off her first cold with a cough after many restless nights in her crib and the humidifier blasting. Through it all she was as happy and playful as she usually is, and I marvel at how resilient she seems to be so early in her life. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Vernon for helping us take care of Mia while we traveled to Albany for Billy's wake and funeral, and our thoughts and prayers will be with you always Kathy, Bill, Katie, and Jeremy.

Upon returning from Albany we were able to spend some quality time with Nola, Papa Doc, and Aunt Eli with some outdoor adventures (thanks to the nice weather) and a family barbecue. We were all able to enjoy Mia's first moments in her new stationary jumper and highchair, both of which she seemed to enjoy right from the beginning. The jumper is definitely her new favorite and we've even spent some time in the backyard with her jumping around watching Docket run circles.

Friday we go to the orthopedic and we will let everyone know how the appointment goes with a blog later this week. In other BIG news this week, we are in the process of looking to sublet our apartment starting in July as we found a single family home in Watertown that we are going to rent. We are so excited to give Mia the space she needs to move around and still have room for visitors - now equipped with your own full bathroom too. Stay tuned for moving news as July gets closer.

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the Moms who read the blog. I tip my hat to you and can truly appreciate all that you do. We spent our first Mother's Day in New York with my family. Nola and Papa Doc were there from Virginia as well as Aunt Eli, Uncle Oli, Estie, Poppy, Nancy, Mark, Jenny, Marg, Tom, Maureen, Mike and a surprise guest, Matt. It really was great to see everyone and introduce Tom and his family to Mia. Both Josh and I were very surprised and excited to see Matt. Since he moved to Chicago, our visits have been few and far between - but we always remember the time he spent on our couch with fondness. He really is a great guy and a very special person.

Our trip to and from NY was really eventless. Mia slept the entire trip both ways, which is a VAST improvement over our last trip when she screamed through the entire state of CT. The trip home was a bit long because of the amount of traffic, but we made it back in one piece.

So - Saturday morning I was packing for the weekend. Josh was watching Mia and gathering her stuff. All of a sudden I can hear him rushing around - and clearly he does not want me to know what is going on. Josh rushed into Mia's room with her and closed the door. Well, curiosity got the best of me and I opened the door to see what was causing such a commotion. Josh simply turned to me and said "How do you get ink off a baby?" What???!!!! Apparently, Josh was having Mia sign my Mother's Day card and the pen exploded all over her hands. Well, as you can imagine, her hands then touched her legs, her onesie, her face, her feet etc. etc. etc. It was so funny!! We can only thank god that it was a ballpoint pen and not a Sharpie. She arrived in NY inkless.

These days Mia is growing like a weed and developing pretty rapidly. She pays more attention to her surroundings and focuses on people that are around her. She has started to interact with her environment - touching things that are within reach, talking to Josh and I, and following Docket's every move. She has started to recognize some of her toys and lets you know which ones she wants and when. I can't believe all of this has happened so quickly - and I am looking forward to all that is to come.

We are still waiting to go to her 6 month checkup as well as the appointment with the specialist at the end of May. I am not so sure we are going to make the 6 month checkup without starting food first. Mia seems to be getting hungry about every two hours these days - which is a telltale sign that she is ready for "a little somthin, somthin". We spoke to Dr. Shirley today and she really would prefer we wait until 6 months, but did give us the go-ahead to use a few teaspoons of cereal to supplement after Mia has her formula. I think we are going to start that tomorrow.

Alright - off to watch some of the Sox/Celtics and then to bed. More to come later in the week. New pics are on the picture portion of the site.

Mommy is a Great Celtics Fan

5 Month Update

As you can see above, little Mia is tired of just lying flat and is really starting to explore the world from different viewpoints. It seems she is starting to get used to this teething thing as well. Our breakdowns have not been as intense or as long during the evening the last week or so. We've started to understand what her different noises mean now, still too hard to describe with words, and she is definitely adding the "I need attention" scream to her repertoire.

In addition to my SAHD status on Friday's, starting with this past Monday, I will be home for three straight Monday's while Meg works and gets more hours. This extra time is so rewarding during the week, as we normally only get to spend a few hours with Mia when she is not sleeping. Who knew our little girl was an artist too - apparently she has been working on a Mother's Day Project at daycare and we cannot wait to see the finished result. Meg welled up just hearing about it. I better get some tissues on Thursday before picking up Mia next week.

Well - keep checking the photo website as that is updated a little more often and we hope you enjoy. Thanks to Sean & Karen Kennedy for inviting us to BC Fun Day last Saturday. It was great to get out on a beautiful day and spend time with our friends and their kids. Mia now has her first girl friend, Alexa, who is 7 months old.