Miss Independent Goes to the Beach

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posting this month. Things have been busy around here. We had a visit from cousin Jamie which was wonderful. I'm realizing what the power of a baby will do to get your northern relatives to visit! Whatever works!

Last week we were at Myrtle Beach with my parents and grandparents. It was so great. We had wonderful weather for the most part, a great view, and just had an all around great time. We were so sad to come home.

In the past few weeks Mia has become quite curious and independent. Anything within her reach she will grab and put in her mouth. She is not discriminatory in any way....remotes, my hair, daddy's glasses, cups, spoons, anything we happen to be eating, kitchen towels, formula cans, it doesn't matter....she wants to hold it and try to put it in her mouth. As a parent, it's great to watch. All of the sudden she is so interactive, so smiley, so much fun. You just want to indulge every curiosity she has...within reason of course!

Mia has become so independent in an 5 month old kind of way. She definitely has an opinion about everything these days, what toy she wants to play with, when she wants to eat, when she wants to sleep (she just is put down in her crib these days after 2 hours of awake time and falls asleep on her own), she wants to do everything she can on her own. It's really amazing to watch. Grandma and grandpa bought Mia her first sippy cup and she just stuck it right in her mouth as if she had been using it forever.

We had so much fun in the water while at the beach. Mia took to the pool like a fish. We went every day and every day she perfected the art of splashing even more. This has now made bath time very messy! We are definitely signing up for the pool next year in the neighborhood and we are looking into joining the YMCA soon because they start baby swimming classes at 6 months.

Overall Sam and I were very relieved that the vacation went so well given that the last trip away was so stressful. But she napped like a champ and after a day or so got over her "stranger" anxiety and loved hanging out with everyone.

Other updates: Mia is now up to 12 pounds 5 ounces (as of a week and a half ago) so she is probably more than that now. We have finally broken into the 3-6 month clothes...yes I know she is about to turn 6 months! Also, we are up to a little more than half a bottle of formula and the rest breast milk. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will be fully on formula and I can finally eat something and Mia will have a happy tummy.

There are so many new pictures so make sure to check out the link and we have tons of vacation videos to upload so look for that in the next couple of days too.

So Much Fun

I think I can honestly say that the last week has been the most fun yet of Mia's life. She is changing ever so subtly every day but in big ways and is so curious. Now she is rolling over many times a day and doesn't mind the tummy time as much because she can roll on her back when she wants to. You can just see the satisfaction on her face when she does it and knows that she made it happen. She has been grasping toys for a couple of weeks now but now when you dangle a toy that she is interested in in front of her she literally grabs out for it. Actually it doesn't have to a be "toy" that she grabs out for....it can be hair, your nose (which is my favorite), daddy's tie, other babies feet (see picture), you name it if she sees it she'll grab it. The bouncy seat which she has despised up until this point is her new best friend. It has a cause and effect setting on it where when you grab and play with the hanging toys it makes the music and lights work. She just thinks this is FABULOUS and now sometimes tries to play with all the toys at the same time. She is rocking her exersaucer and she has two favorite pieces....this thing she can bend and put in her mouth to chew on and a thing that you can spin around and it shows different pictures. In the past, when she stands up and sees her toys on the floor and she wants to get them but only leans forward like a plank to get them...which ends with her being on her stomach. Now as of this morning, she has figured out that if she squats in the standing position that she can reach her toys on the floor and pick them up and stand back up. Small things but really cool.

We are back onto the bottle and trying to get some new formula into her slowly so stay tuned on that. She seems to be feeling better on the no diary, no soy diet which is great. She has fallen into two stable naps and a catnap so mom can finally get some stuff done around the house.

We had a really busy week this week. We went shopping with Auntie Lisa and her family. We went wedding dress shopping with Auntie Lisa (rumor has it though that Lisa was jealous that Mia got all of the attention from the sales people). :-) We had a play date with Madeline and Nick. And we went to the doctor to get checked out. This week she has gained a little weight so this is good. Next week we go to the gastro appt to make sure they don't think anything else is going on with poor Mia's tummy. Phew...that was alot of stuff. Be sure to check out the pictures and videos. Some new ones will be up by the end of the weekend.

Auntie Erin Comes to Visit

I struggled with what to call this weeks blog...Auntie Erin Comes to Visit....Mom's New Diet....Thumb Sucker....so many things have changed over the last week or so it's crazy.

Let's start with Auntie Erin coming to visit. Erin came home on the plane with us from Boston which was super helpful. Mia did really well...took her bottle on the plane and did her best to sleep through all of the loud speaker announcements and the bathroom door opening and closing right behind us. We got home and quickly got her into the car and back into bed so she could finish the night off. Saturday she bounced back to her regular self and was happy to be home in her own bed. She started napping like a pro and all was good. We had a great time during the week. Auntie Erin taught her lots of camp songs outside which she really enjoyed. We did lots of shopping. Mia's favorite store was Sephora...as you can see below. So many colors and stuff to look at!

Next up...Mom's New Diet....when we were at the doctor on Monday for her 4 month appointment they decided to test her again for a milk protein allergy because she is not gaining very much weight. This time the test came back positive. There are 3 formulas which she can take and we are trying the least smelly one (although it still smells like cat food). Miss Mia is voicing her opinion loud and clear that she does not want any of it....we are trying to change her mind. So in the meantime, I have to be on a dairy free and soy free diet which is not as easy as it sounds. Your obvious offenders such as milk, cheese, yogurt, etc are out but so are the hidden dairy items that are in most breads and packaged items. I tell you if I don't lose weight on this diet then I don't know what else will do it! C'est la vie....we just want Miss Mia to feel a little better no matter the cost.

Thumb sucking....Mia never has been a pacifier girl. She looks at a pacifier almost saying "only babies take those...I'm a big girl". Well as of last week she has discovered her thumb and is actively sucking it. Very cute...I will try to catch it on video so you can see it. Let's just hope this does not become a multi year habit...you can throw out a pacifier but you can throw out a thumb!

Till next week...

Back Home

So week 2 in Boston was a little bit better. Mia finally got used to her surroundings 2 days before we went home...sigh. But we still had a great time, saw sooooo many people, and enjoyed lots of the MA summer air.

Auntie Erin came home on the plane with us which was a BIG help. Having scheduled our flight home before Mia gave herself a bedtime of 7pm. The 6:30pm flight was stressing me out. But she took her bottle and managed to catch some zzzz's despite all of the noise on the plane from the loud speaker and the bathroom door behind us opening and closing.

Our first day back, we went to our first 2 year old birthday party. Mia was a special guest known as "baby Mia" to the birthday girl. Mia had a ball just relaxing in her car seat watching all of the little kids play on the play ground. The birthday girl also gave Mia her exersaucer to use for a couple of months which Mia is totally enjoying. Thank you Meredith!

Yesterday, we went to Mia's 4 month check up. Her new stats are posted to the left. She is now 11 pounds 8 ounces which is on the small side. Just to be safe, they are running a few tests to make sure she is really just a "petite" frame and not that she is allergic to something and therefore not gaining weight. But we are pretty sure she is just "petite". Cognitively, she is doing great for her age. She is very interactive with people and toys and rolled over from front to back last week for the first time. Any 4 month check up can't go without shots unfortunately. But Mia did well. She was a little agitated the rest of the day but wouldn't we all be!

If only Mia knew what happened after she went to sleep...this week she is missing out on margarita's on the porch with Auntie Erin.

Boston....and stuff

Ok, ok, I know I am a bit behind on posting so here we go. A couple of weeks ago we were gearing up to come to Boston. We had a great visit from our friends Nick and Maddy (two other Deloitte babies) which was super fun. We had a little photo shoot to show those back at work what we are doing with our maternity leave. Mia wasn't terribly cooperative but stayed quiet long enough for us to get at least one good shot.

Then we came to Boston which was Mia's first plane ride. Courtesy of daddy's upgrade, mommy and Mia sat in first class...she is already being spoiled. Things went really well and although she didn't' sleep that long she was entertained by the new experience. Our first week in Boston was a fun one although Mia has been a little crabby because of big time teething. We visited with so many family and friends. We made friends with Farley and they seem not to mind each other although Farley gives us this look like "what the heck" when she starts crying.

Mid-week her uncle Meelad came in from Memphis to visit before her baptism. Sunday was Mia's baptism. She did very well and did not cry when the water was poured over her head. We also did not spit up on our 80+ year old baptism gown which was a plus!

We had our first check up from Dr. Lloyd to make sure that Mia's teething blisters were just blisters and not Hand, Foot, and Mouth so that we could play with our new friends Caroline (Lloyd and Leah's baby girl) and Aden (Lanie and Mark's baby boy).

Today Sam and Meelad flew home and Mia and I will be here another week. It's been great to catch up with everyone although even 2 weeks is too short of a time. More next week and I promise to be better about updated the blog Jamie!

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!!!