The Beach

Last week, I picked up a Bumbo for Mia. She loves it and is thrilled by the new vantage point. We are working on holding and grabbing objects instead of just grabbing fabric and my hair. So far so good if you put the object near her hand but she is not reaching out for things yet. Sam taught her to put her arm up as her mobile gets closer to her which is really cute although it will be a while before she can reach it on her own. She is also talking alot more and has figured out that we move our tongues when we talk so she is doing the same which changes the sound of her noises. Also...mega cute!

This past weekend we took Mia to Myrtle Beach for the first time. She put her toes in the sand, felt the waves cross over her feet, and took a dip in the pool. To say the least, she was pooped by the end of Saturday with all of the new experiences. I think I expected her to react with delight to the ocean but she just stood there and intensely studied the ground as if to say..."I thought I had the ground thing figured out but this is a new one!" It was really fun to watch her take in the new sights, sounds, and smells of the beach.

Oh and if the pictures look more washed out than usual it's because we forgot the digital camera this weekend so they are taken on a disposable camera.

3 months!!!

Mia turned 3 months old yesterday which is crazy. I feel like she is changing rapidly every day now developmentally. It's really a joy to watch her change each day.

Last week she hit her 3 month growth spurt a little early which unfortunately also threw off her schedule big time! She started waking up 3 times a night to eat but now we are back down to once per night but it's always at a different time. C'est la vie and I am told by those with children under a year that it is always something throwing off the schedule so we should get used to it!

This week, I picked up a Bumbo for Mia so now she can actually sit up and enjoy looking around rather than always being on her back. She seems to really like the vantage point so far. Also, she is working on supporting herself on her elbows when she is on her stomach...super cute and I will try to get a picture for the next post.

This weekend we are going to Myrtle Beach for a couple of days. We are dying to see her reaction to the ocean and water. We might even take her for a dip in the pool. We'll see!

Make sure to check out the new photos and video's. And a quick shout out to Miss Kristin Barry who is in "baby waiting".....we can't wait to hear the news!!!

Dear Mia

You are 12 weeks old today which totally blows my mind. The time has flown by so quickly. If I were taking a "normal" maternity leave, you would be in daycare this week. You still seem so little to be in daycare and I am so glad that we get to spend another 3 months together at home.

Last week we went to visit your two new friends born on Rustic Lane...Jill and Cylus. These were humbling moments for me. You are a small (petite as daddy would call you) 3 month old but next to these little babies I all of the sudden saw how big you have grown. We have been through alot in the last 12 weeks...thinking you were sick, sitting up in the middle of the night, gooing and gaahing at all of your little accomplishments, traveling in the car, walking in the neighborhood, nap training, etc, etc, etc. You have already grown into a very cool little girl. You show such emotion with your eyes, smile at any stranger in your path, pull up your dresses to show your belly, and shriek in delight at the smallest things. It's wonderful. Every day you do something new. We are on our third night in a row sleeping through the night...literally. And as I type this you are FINALLY taking a nap longer than 50 minutes (you are at 1 hour and 15 right now...yay!). Yet another milestone.

We love you very much and you are such a joy in our life. Happy 12 weeks!

Love,

Mommy

Zzzzzz's

Why is this blog titled "zzzzzz's" you ask? Because Mia and Mommy are finally getting some. Mia has slept through the night 4 times now (7pm to 6:30/7am). Other nights she is sleeping 7pm to 4am then 4:45ish to 6:30/7am. Mommy is starting to feel human again and Mia is more rested than she has ever been!

It's been a busy few weeks. Two weeks ago Mia had her 2 month appointment. Everything checked out well and she got 4 vaccinations which she was not pleased about in the least. At the time of her appointment she weighed in at 9 pounds 5 ounces and by now she is most definitely in the mid 10 pounds. Her next appointment is not until 4 months. Mia has been holding her head alot more these days and also grasping any fabric or my hair within her reach. You can also tell that she can focus much further away than before.

"Uncle" Danny and "Aunt" Farrah came to visit from Atlanta. We had a great time catching up and received some great moral support as we transitioned Mia's naps to her crib (which came with some crying).

For those who haven't heard me talk about it "Mia" is the American Girl Doll of the year this year. She is only available in the year that she is the girl of the year so we went ahead and purchased her to be a present in probably 7 years! Think how much the American Girl Dolls will cost by then. Anyways, Mia and her purple skates arrived last week and she is already packed away in a closet. I think Sam might cut my maternity leave short so I stop spending money! ;-)

This past week, Sam and I were able to go out to dinner courtesy of Miss Kristen Tietjen who came to babysit. It was great to have a night out just the two of us. We are looking forward to Kristen being back in Charlotte over the summer so hopefully we can get a few more nights out!

Don't forget to check out the the new pictures and video's via the links on the left hand side!

Road Warrior

I think this was by far Mia's biggest week in terms of excitement and different experiences. We started off the week by driving with Sam up to Eastern TN (while he went to a client) and visiting a very good friend of mine who lives right over the border in VA. Mia's first long car trip did not go very well. There was a lot of crying and a lot of pulling over but c'est la vie. She did great staying in the hotel and did great at my friends house taking in her new surroundings everywhere we went.

On Friday, we drove to DC for Mother's Day. By this time Mia had figured out that we were going to be in the car for a while so maybe sleeping was a good idea! We still stopped to eat several times but the car ride went much better than earlier in the week. The Heffernon, Funk, Tatspaugh gang all descended on my great grandmother's house for the weekend. It was truly a treat to have 5 generations of women all in the same house (from 97 1/2 to 2 months!). Sam set up a mini photo shoot to remember the occasion. My dear husband also order 2 dozen roses for each mother in house! So do the math and that is 8 dozen roses. We were all very surprised and enjoyed them greatly.

My cousin Jamie also came down to DC with my parents and hung out for the weekend. She was a natural with Mia and we are telling her either her calling is open a daycare center or have 5 children! Everyone was thrilled to spend the weekend with Miss Mia who is now much more interactive then the last time they saw her. There's nothing better than when she flashes you a real smile!

Finally a Laid Back Week

Not much to report for this last week. Mia's antibiotics kicked in and now she is finally congestion free and feeling better. I think she ended up passing her illness to me which I had at the beginning of last week but now it's all gone. I guess that is how it will be going forward...just passing the colds/etc around between all of us!

Last week Mia started to develop a much earlier bedtime. She now likes to go down for the night around 6:45. As of Saturday she is also sleeping stretches of 8 or 9 hours. Now we just have to work on those 8 hours being when mommy and daddy are asleep instead of 6:45-2:30ish! We'll get there I'm sure.

Sam and I got out for our first "date night" since Mia has been born. Thanks to Lisa and David babysitting, we went to a theater Charlotte show and enjoyed a few hours to ourselves. It was great.

Look for the updated pictures and video's (links on the side).

Lastly as you can see, Mia has really grown an affection for her index fingers. She does not like pacifiers, hasn't really found her thumb yet, but her index finger is always in her mouth!

Auntie Erin Comes to Visit

This week was a big week. Auntie Erin came to stay for the week and hang out with Miss Mia. And Melissa came to visit from Raleigh at the end of the week. We had a ball....except for Tuesday where Mia cried all day. Mia visibly grew up this week. She was more interactive for longer periods of time, had tons of smiles, and most importantly wore pants for the first time. Even though she was over a month old, even the newborn pants would fall right off of her until this week.

You'll notice a running theme in this weeks pictures....."Things on Mia's head". What can I say other than Auntie Erin was in town so you shouldn't expect any less! A good time was had by all. We enjoyed long walks in the neighborhood, a trip to Target, and even a dinner out at a restaurant. Thank to Erin for all of the help this week. We loved having you here.

All for the last 2 weeks Mia has been a bit stuffed up. We finally went to the doctor to get her checked out and ended up with some antibiotics for a supposed sinus infection. Medication aside (this one tastes like bubblegum though...) the bonus was that Mia had an official weight check. As of Friday, she weighed in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces which to us seems so much bigger than what she used to be.

Off to another week of exciting adventures. The picture link and video link to the left are updated so be sure to check them out!