back to basics

mia's been having a rough time going to sleep these days. last night was particularly difficult. she had taken a late nap and was excited about a new hot wheel car she had gotten that day. she wouldn't put it down. nor would she take it out of her mouth (these damned molars - it's like she's an infant again with the putting of things in her mouth). 45 minutes past her bedtime i finally just took the car away and told her she could have it back in the morning. hoo boy did that not go well.

now, mia's not one for throwing temper tantrums (i totally jinxed us with that last post, didn't i?) and it's usually not a problem for her to let go of things. but man, with the combination of car love and overtiredness it was not a happy scene. there was screaming and crying and her throwing her body from one side of the bed to the other trying to get past me and get to her car. i finally had to just restrain her. rocking her back and forth, singing her lullabyes until she calmed down. i haven't had to do that for about a year. and honestly? i've missed it.

so we rocked and sang and she calmed down and asked me to snuggle her to sleep. which i did. just another refresher on having a baby in the house, i guess.

and speaking of babies...we have another checkup today and mia is really excited to go and listen to the baby go "BANG! BANG!" in my belly.

oh mia, you're so good at being 2.

so mia's 2 now, did we mention that? and so far? so far it's not terrible at all. i mean sure, she's way more independent lately, but that's to be expected. she's still not having full blown tantrums, though. i imagine she's saving that for when the baby gets here. so let's enjoy her now :).

***

mia is finally tall enough to open the door to her room on her own and this only means that she has figured out how to stay out of bed as long as possible at night. once she's asleep she's golden, it's getting her there that's a challenge. she's learned that the following things will keep us in the room with her:

- snuggle me
- potty
- i peed (different from needing to go, and she knows it)
- i poop (liar!!)
- kisses, mama
- where charlie go?

***

the other day my belly was particularly stretched to the limit and i was really veiny. while mia and i were sitting on the couch watching elmo i pulled up my shirt so she could see #2 moving around. of course the baby stopped moving right away (it's first game of hide and seek!) but mia stared on anyway. then she poked me in the belly and asked me "who colored mama?" she wouldn't drop it, either. wanted me to wash up.

***

we played hookie as a family last week and went up to apple hill to pick pumpkins and what not. mia had her very first face professional face painting. i wasn't sure she would sit still once she realized that a stranger was going to be touching her but she was so enthralled by the paints that she sat stone still the whole time. of course, she didn't smile, either, but that's ok. didn't she look cool?

of course, as soon as we got in the car she upended her sippy cup of water on her arm (also painted) and rubbed it all off. we had left the pumpkin patch and there was no longer a need for the body paint, apparently. she's so my kid.

***

she's a talker, this one. she's been talking since she was about 11 months old so it's not really a surprise. what is a surprise is that she never shuts up. and that she speaks in complete sentences. all. the. time. no really. all the time. it's like having a voiceover for your whole life when you're with her. she comments on every little thing around her. and yes, i know at some point she is going to stop talking to me all together and i should appreciate it now. but dude. all. the. time.

she reminds me of her uncle ben when he was her age. the constant smiling and talking. never upset, always smiling. always talking. and her imagination is picking up, too. not quite like ben's did but still. it's pretty amazing to see her making things up and playing on her own with her toys and telling me all about something that she's imagined.

pregnancy - 24 weeks

i'm a lot bigger this time around than i was with mia. and people can't seem to stop telling me as much. though they are kind enough to note that i don't have a fat face yet. isn't that sweet?

this baby seems to move around a lot more than mia did. josh tells me i'm imagining things because he remembers me telling him every single time mia moved. but she never moved at night and this one does. so i guess that's the difference. mia slept at night. still does. does that mean this one will be up all the time? god help us.

i'm starting to get really worried about having a baby in the house. i was never worried really worried with mia. i mean, it came and went but down deep i knew i would be ok. and as soon as she was born and in my arms i knew all i needed to know and would be able to take care of her completely. so far i'm not feeling that with this one. as a matter of fact i'm scared to have a tiny baby in the house. what do you do with babies again? i'm toddler conditioned now.

i've never been one to grab an infant out of someone's arms. never one that "had to hold the baby". but yesterday i fond myself reaching out for 3 month old baby - testing myself. it didn't last long. the baby, though cute and cuddly, was squirmy and bendy and couldn't hold itself up. then it started to whimper and then cry. "ok, here you go" and i handed him off to someone. anyone.

holy crap, i'm having a baby. just when i was getting comfortable with the toddler thing.

weights and measures.

mia and i had dr. appts. say, oh, a month ago. let's talk about them now, shall we?

as mia turned 2 she weighed in at 21.5 lbs and is now 32 inches tall. so in the past 6 months she managed to take on a pound and maybe an inch. and josh was told that we were to feed her more and make sure that she ate because she's so tiny. for those of you paying attention you'll notice that josh took her to her appt. this time. the only appt. i have missed in 2 years as i had an ob appt. at roughly the same time - i'm already having scheduling conflicts with the kids!

mia and i had talked about her appt. for a couple days leading up to it and she was all prepared for them looking in her ears and seeing how big she'd gotten. there weren't going to be any shots and her daddy was going to go with her - woo hoo! yeah, no. she cried the whole time. poor thing. which made it traumatic for her to then meet me at my ob appt. only to find more doctors!

as for me and #2: i weighed in somewhere between 112 and 115 which means i gained somewhere between 5 and 8 lbs. last month. shut up, i don't want to hear it.

mia was very nervous with the doctor in the room with her mama and so she sat on my lap while we listened for the heartbeat. she showed the doctor exactly where the baby would be, too. she kept telling her the baby was high up in my belly (she's usually very specific about it being down low) but the doc wouldn't listen and so we waited and waited for her to find the little bugger. s/he was right where mia said s/he would be. kinda freaked the doc out. and then we heard the heartbeat. "loud!" said mia "bang! bang!"

so yeah, the baby's doing well. and is loud. and bangs on me a lot.

babies everywhere!

because saturday was a holiday we resceduled our regular gymnastics class to monday morning. and you know what? it SUCKED. it was full of BABIES!! mia walked in ready to jump and play and run amok with the other toddlers and found herself the oldest in a large group of babies (the oldest other kid was only 15 months old and though it's a class for walkers-3yo there's usually a couple kids of each age group). her smile faded quickly. what was she supposed to do with all these babies?! where were her friends?!

at first she found she could play around the babies. sure, they couldn't really run or climb but they also weren't going to slow her down on the baby/toddler gauntlet! but the tumble track and trampoline were a different story. they kept falling down. they couldn't hop. they were in her way.

but at least she could count on the parachute, right? no. all those babies wanted to be held by their moms. which left no one to lift the parachute up and down. at one point mia just got up and walked away to play on her own.

it's funny, being the mom of an active toddler, how quickly i forgot about the younger toddler stage. suddenly mia was the "big kid" in the group - it was weird. she was patient with them - but there was a lot of sighing. i can only imagine that this is what it's going to be like at home for the next couple years.

happy new year!

we had a busy weekend (again. aren't they all?) celebrating rosh hashana with josh's family on saturday and then working around the house on sunday. it was a great weekend, over all.

first we got all gussied up (well...mia did, anyway) and went to services and then out to lunch on saturday and then drove on down to visit family. good lord does mia love her cousins! big kids are the coolest, you know. especially when they're as big as sam and ze'ev. mia followed them around all day and tried to do whatever they were doing. and the boys were so patient with her - it was awesome to watch.

after stuffing our faces and visiting we headed home and mia slept the whole way (hooray!). when we got home mia went to sleep as peacefully as can be and josh and i stayed up chatting until midnight (2-3 hours past our regular bedtime!). and it's a good thing we did, too, because mia woke up covered in vomit around midnight. she puked in her sleep and was covered in it. poor thing - she was so confused. josh stripped the bedding while i gave her a bath and got her ready for bed. again. she was so sweet the whole time, too. she's such a trooper.

after brushing teeth and getting her some water to rehydrate we put her back to sleep and she was out right away. 15 minutes later she was covered in vomit again. ugh.

thank goodness the crib's set up and empty in the nursery because we were out of sheets and pillows at this point. in the crib she went. luckily she was done for the night.

and you'd think she'd sleep in the next morning, right? well you'd be wrong. up with the sun at 6:30. all smiles and giggles.

pregnancy - 20 weeks

"half way" there now. i've been feeling pretty good. the pinched nerve happens less and less now and the headaches are all but gone (finally!). i've ballooned since last month and am not looking forward to seeing how much i've gained. i know i'm supposed to gain weight and it's not like i've been trying to watch it at all (mmm....chocolate) but still - i had just gotten back into most of my "skinny" clothes and it's a bit weird to have to pack them up again.

anyway - here's the belly:

i love this shot. and i love that mia is just out of the frame yelling at me to cover up my belly. she's so funny - it's ok if i'm topless but if i have a shirt on it has to be pulled down over the belly at all times.

we had our big ultrasound on monday and it went well. the baby is in there alive and punching me in the gut all day long. we explained to mia for 2 days that we would be looking at the baby with a special camera and we'd be seeing it on the tv. she seemed to understand and was even getting excited about it in the doctor's office. but when it was happening she was very suspicious of the whole thing.

1. i had to put on a robe in the middle of the day when not at home. why?
2. i had to lay on the table. why couldn't she lay on the table, too?
3. the lady pulled up the robe to expose the belly!! ahhh!!!
4. tons of goop was applied to the belly and mia was not allowed to touch it.
5. she was touching my belly!!!!

we told her that the tech (who was awesome and why couldn't i have gotten her with the first one i had with mia instead of some eastern block meanie?!) was taking pictures with her special camera and we could see them on the tv - just like when daddy takes pictures.

she wasn't buying it. her eyes, squinted and distrustful, went back and forth from the belly to the screen for minutes on end. and then she got bored and played in the room while we oohed and aahhed over the new little one (who, by the way, has a mean left jab and isn't afraid to use it. josh just might get himself a boxer after all).

and after the ultrasound i felt great. relieved, yes, but also physically great. with mia i left feeling beaten up and bruised for days. not this time. thank goodness.

and it's a good thing i liked the tech, too, because it looks like i'll get to see her again in 10 weeks. the ob's office just called to tell me that they'd like me to go back for a follow up at 30 weeks because it looks like i have a low-lying placenta (or placenta praevia). and after a couple minutes of me just staring into space and trying to to cry at work i hit up dr. google to find that it's not really a big deal.

everything will be fine. say it with me, now. everything will be just fine.

the people's chicken and other bits.

mia has been learning the difference between what people do and what every thing else does. people, by the way, do quite a lot. every day she tells me something that people do, not charlie. and not the rocks, and not the plants, and so on and so forth. and then there are all the people out and about doing things! all the peolpes are eating! all the peoples are walking! the peoples are quite busy, it seems.

yesterday we were at ross returning some shoes and she passed by a basket of crap and a chicken caught her eye. i told her the chicken wasn't hers and we kept walking. as we walked she told me all about how it was "the people's chicken, mama. not mia's."

***

last night josh asked mia for a hug and kiss as she was on her way to bed and without so much as slowing down she told him "next time."

***

josh has taught mia that when we're stuck in traffic she should yell at all the other cars "get of the way, cars!" it's only funny for a minute.

***

she up and grew on us all of the sudden. mia has been stuck in roughly the same size clothes and shoes for about 6-8 months now. which is fine with me. she has the tiniest little feet - so narrow and dainty. we just picked her up a few pairs of size 5s to get her through the fall/winter (she's been wearing a 4.5 to 5 without complaint, mind you) and decided to size her feet while we waited at the store on sunday. turns out we've been binding her feet. she's a 6 and we were told to buy her a 6.5 since she's growing. i'm still a little freaked out that she up and grew a size like overnight.

my baby is no longer a baby.

the best party ever.

saturday was more fun filled than we really expected. from the gymnastics with friends to the party (with even more friends) to the sleep over to the shopping the next day. it seemed like it would never end. and we're all still recovering, i think.

the bounce house was delievered friday night right before mia went to bed and she just had to get in. so we all bounced and squealed and had a good time. then she said goodnight to the bouncehouse and went to sleep. the first thing out of her mouth in the morning was "jump, mama? please?" so we put on jackets and headed outside to bounce at 7am.

then it was off to gymnastics with katia and special guest star, gemma! it was a strange class in that mia actually listened and particiapted the whole time. it was as if she was just waiting to turn 2 and then she would do the things that all the other 2 year olds do. and after an hour of jumping on the trampoline and running under the parachute we went home for lunch and naps.

and then the party started. i can't really even say what it was like to have all the toddlers running and bouncing and swimming and squealing. it was awesome. no meltdowns. no tantrums. no fights. and about 8 cameras to catch all the action. (if you want to see a big selection of the photos from the party go here or just check out our flickr photos on the right side of the screen)

and then there was the sushi. what 2 year old's party would be complete without a huge sushi spread? not ours, that's for sure. the kids all sat together in the living room and ate and ate and ate. as did their parents. it was one of josh's finer ideas.

josie and her moms spent the night and we escaped mia's attacks the next morning when she realized that they were all in the living room. sleeping. she immediately pounced on the bed. and then off of the bed. and then on the bed. and then off of the bed. and...well you get the idea. thanks for staying the night, guys!

after a mean breakfast (thanks, josh!) we went shoe shopping with gemma and her folks. here's the thing about mia - she loves to shop. i blame this on the klapow genes bacause she certainly doesn't get it from me. she tried on all the shoes in the store exclaiming "i like these!" with each pair. gemma, on the other hand, was not having it and kept insisting that her zoe and elmo light up shoes were fine, thank you very much. and she would just wear them to the wedding if that was alright. it wasn't :)

and so the party officially ended. she was asleep before we hit the freeway and slept for 4 straight hours. as did her mama.

i know this is a quick and lame recount of the party with no funny stories but people? i am tired. and the pictures tell the story better than i ever could.

happy birthday, mia. i hope you had as much fun as your parents did.

mia's birthday elephant

so there was a man dressed in a green elephant suit outside the chevron today. he was not outwardly promoting anything, no sign waving or message on his t-shirt, so the purpose of the elephant was not entirely clear. so it must have been mia's birthday elephant because today is mia's birthday and why else would that man be in an elephant costume.

on our way to school i told mia about her birthday river as we crossed the river and also her birthday rapid transit bus. before we got to her school mia pointed out to me that i had failed to mention her birthday train so as we passed the train mia screamed excitedly about mia's birthday choo choo.

let the festivities begin!

this past weekend we had the first of 2 birthday parties for mia. she's turning 2 this week, you know!

this party was for close family and friends in our area. and it was so much fun! the kids were well behaved and entertaining themselves. the grandparents got to soak up all kinds of mia love and i got to eat lots of cupcakes. a perfect day all around.

and mia got to practice blowing out candles and singing happy birthday to herself. we'd been practicing the song all week leading up to the party and when it came time for the big event she helped people when they sang "happy birthday to..." by inserting an excited "ME!"

she even helped make the cupcakes (not that she ate any. weirdo.)

and this coming weekend we get to have another party - this time with all our flickr friends! can you say baby cage fight? oh yeah.

oh yeah, i'm pregnant!

i'm not quite sure how i suddenly got to be 18 weeks along and haven't written anything about it yet - but that's exactly what has happened. i think about it every day (obviously) and what i would write down if i were going to - and then i don't. so now i'm going to try and make up for the last few months. please bear with me - i really want to have a record of this for later. You can check out all the photos from the pregnancy here. if you would like to relive my pregnancy with mia (and who wouldn't!) you can check here (there is also a link to the right).

***

5/29/06
memorial day 2006 - another holiday start (we found out about mia on christmas day 2004). the test came out really dark. no doubt about it dark. i was so scared and excited all at the same time. after 3 miscarriages between september 2005 and january 2006 i was not prepared for another one. but there was no doubt about this test - there was something going on. holy crap.

we sat on the information for a couple days and then told family and close friends. i'm sure people were weary of me telling them i was pregnant at that point - just knowing they'd have to console me later. bah.

***

7/3/06
at nine weeks i wrote this down elsewhere:

i'm pregnant. 9 weeks along now - or so the calendar tells me. i really can't get a grasp on it, though. and because it's my 5th pregnancy and i've lost 3 in a row i don't really want to talk about it. well...i do...but it's hard. i want to be all screaming to the world "i'm tired and bitchy becuase i'm having a baby!!!" but i might not have a baby and then i will have screamed for nothing. again. so i'm not telling anyone. just immediate family and 1 or 2 close friends and the invisible friends on the internet.

so here's the breakdown:

• i'm pregnant
• but i might not really be pregnant. again.
• if i am i could still lose it. again. (everytime i go to the bathroom i obsessively check for blood. every stomach ache i have i'm sure i'm having a miscarriage. )
• i could totally stay pregnant this time!
• holy shit - how are we going to pay for daycare?!
• i need a drink!!! - oh yeah, i'm pregnant.

i can't even tell the people who know how scared i am. how sure i am that when i go in to have my ultrasound on wed. that i'll end up having to schedule a d&c. again. i'm trying so hard to stay positive and at the same time brace myself for the possibility that it's not going to work out. and so it goes.

and so here i sit, crying my eyes out over something i can't do anything about. again. i haven't cried like this in a long time and you know what? i feel a bit better now. 9:30am is not too early for ice cream, i have decided.

***

7/5/06
and then there was this:

pretty cool, right? here's what i wrote down that day:

i'm stunned. apparently there is a small person living in my stomach. swimming around, heart beating, newly formed hands waving. living.

we (josh is awesome about coming to appts with me) went in for our first check up and ultrasound yesterday. he was calm and collected, not a care in the world. i was anxious. sweaty. near tears.

as i laid down for the ultrasound i closed my eyes and waited for those words "doesn't seem to be a heartbeat". but instead i heard "there's the little one..." my eyes flipped open and tears streamed down my face. no joke - it was right there on the screen. my little one. and just one. "alive and single - just how we like 'em!", said josh.

so we stared for a while and had pictures printed up for us so we could stare some more. and that's what i've been doing since yesterday.

i'm in all sorts of shock and disbelief. i really didn't expect good news. i mean, i really hoped for good news, shit - even twins! but did i expect it? no. part of my defense mechanism is to set myself up for the worst. that way i can only be pleasantly surprised because i "knew it wouldn't work out". this might sound silly, and it might not really help, but it's what i do.

basic dr. visit stats - i'm starting this pregnancy at 103 lbs. 8 lbs. less than i was when i started with mia but a whole lot flabbier.

***

8/1/06
2 week check-in with the doctor. ganied 1 lb - putting me a 104. the heartbeat is there and strong, whew!

i was really bugged by the doc that checked me out this time (we rotate through the docs in the practice until the last couple months). he was nice and all but he was way more interested in how josh was handling the pregnancy than me. must have asked him 4 times if he had any questions. and he only let us listen to the heartbeat for a couple seconds.

but still! it was there!

***

mia told the daycare instructors that i was pregnant.

she was sitting with a pregnant teacher and they were asking mia about the baby in the teachers fat belly and she told them matter-of-factly "mama baby belly".

they thought it was pretty cute and told me about it when i picked her up that night. they were shocked to find out that i was actually pregnant. she's smart, i'm telling you.

she's been so sweet about the baby. i really think she might know what's going on (sort of). she pets my belly and gives it hugs and kisses. if you ask her where the baby is she's very clear that's it's down low in my belly (not sure where she picked that up - but she's right). she's gonna be an awesome big sister.

***

the first few months i felt nothing but headaches. i kept hoping they would pass...but no. i never did get "sick" though. but the headaches, ugh! like the worst hangover ever and i couldn't even take anything to make it better.

i didn't want to eat and when i did it was crap (just like a hangover!). the worse i felt the less water i wanted to drink and then the headache got worse....and around and around we go.

i've also got a mean pinched nerve in my left leg. if it keeps up like this i might just chop it.

***

8/29/06
16 week check-in with the doctor. gained 3 lbs. - putting me at 107. good lord...3 lbs?! all those burgers are catching up to me, damn it.

i was starting to get worried about the baby again. 4 weeks is really too long to go between visits, i think. and then, just a couple days before my appt. i felt the first little kicks. a whole month earlier than i felt mia and it was such a relief. i will gladly have my guts kicked for an extra month if it lets me know the baby is alive and well.

and apparently it is.

***

9/7/06
and that brings us to today.

the headaches are finally subsiding which is wonderful. i finally feel like a normal person again (relatively speaking, of course).

i have moved into maternity clothes full time as of 2 weeks ago. my body remembers pregnancy well and wants to jump to the end, i guess. a full month earlier into the fat pants with this one than i was with mia. at least it's still hot here so i can wear my clothes from my first pregnancy (all summer clothes). and by the time winter rolls around i'm guessing i'll be pretty hot anyway.

i've done pretty well with avoiding the negative thoughts about the pregnancy. i have all but stopped having vivid, out of nowhere thoguhts of miscarrying. of planning how we would handle things, how long it would tak me to "recover" from this one. if i would ever want to try again.

yesterday was rough, though. yesterday i realized that there is always the chance that something could go wrong. that the baby could be unhealthy. or deliver early. or not at all. it was a rough night. and just as i was beginning to slip into a depression about it? the bugger kicked me as if to say "get over yourself. there's nothing you can do so just chill out and enjoy it." kick kick. good advice, little one. thank you.

***

so there you go - 4.5 months all rolled into one not-so-short entry. and yes, i added the cliche pregnancy ticker - it'll be gone in a few months :)

not mama's. (also, she's hiding things.)

or daddy's, or charlie's, or yours for that matter!

mia is very clear on what belongs to who in the world as of late. she will point to things and tell me who owns them and i have to agree with her. she's already good at arguing her points.

lat night at dinner (without josh) she ebgan doling out the food: mia's chip, mama's chip and daddy's chip - which she placed at the empty space where daddy should have been. it sat there all throughout dinner just in case he showed up. she's a sweet one.

***

mia doesn't like to count. or so we thought. i think it's just that we're always suggesting that she count. and asking her how many things there are around us. so she counts to 2 and there area always 2 things.

but the other day i was folding laundry and she was typing on the keyboard and singing otuloud when i noticed that she was hitting all the numbers and the little shit counted to 12. 12! of course when i asked her to do it again she got a sly little grin on her face and stopped at 2. little bugger.

what else is she keeping from us?!

pretty boobies

yesterday mia woke up earlier than normal and i was home to greet her all bleary eyed and bed headed in the hall. i picked her up and she chirped a happy "good morning" to me. then she looked down at my chest and told me in the sweetest voice i've ever heard "pretty boobies, mama." and then she pet them for a long time. she really meant it and it made my day.

ok, she probably meant my shirt was pretty but i takes what i can get, people!

look! an update!

enough is enough already - i'm here to catch you all up on the last month. every day there is something that i make a mental note of so that i can tell you all how funny/ridiculous/weird/sweet mia is being. and then i forget to tell you. sorry. i've been busy. and tired.

ok! moving on!

the following is a list of things that i can remember from the last month:

when you tell mia "guess what?" she will respond with "i love you". it's awesome. except when she's bored with me asking her guess what and she responds like a bored teenager.

***

she will finally smile for the camera if you promise to let her take some photos, too. it usually comes out looking like this:

***

daycare suggested that mia might be ready for potty training as she was having dry diapers for most every day. and going on the potty everytime the offered it to her. hooray! so we got her some cloth training pants:

after 3 washings they didn't work. she hated them. we switched to pull ups and now she's about 60/40 with the potty. she's lazy about it but i don't really care because i'm lazy, too. diapers, they are so convenient!

***

mia's in a big kid bed now. she made the transition smoother than we could have imagined and hasn't looked back. this is a photo of her mat on the ground (total squatter style room that i except to see again once she hits 16) - she's in a twin bed now and after 1 night hasn't fallen to the ground. we're hoping she'll skip the falling out of bed thing.

***

she sings all the time and wants us to sing with her. but if josh gets too carried away and starts dancing and really getting into things she gets disgusted and tells him "nooo, daddy!" already embarassed by the old man.

***

cats are scary. she has been traumatized by a neighborhood cat who jumped up to her a little too quickly. she got scared and screamed. the cat got scared and hissed. nightmares followed for DAYS. and now she won't go near a cat. so don't ask her to. our friend conchita tried to give her an animal puppet to play with and mia freaked out because it was a cat. stupid cats.

and yet she loved BEING a cat:

***

as soon as we get in the car after daycare we are "almost home" "almost at the river" and "not home yet" all at the same time. she loves driving over the "pretty river with fishies" (and sometimes a boat!) and says goodbye to it as we pass. she's a sweetie, this one.

***

she's not always sweet, though. when we're boring her she begins to act out, not listen, etc. you know, the typical toddler stuff. but she does it all with such a smile on her face it's hard to be mad for long. even when she's in timeout she's a happy camper. she sits in the tiny dark hallway and giggles. stands on her head. talks to her toes. just waiting for the beep of the microwave to tell her that her 2 minutes are up. and then she's back to normal again.

next we'll move on to the not so new news and tell you all about mia's new room.

she's a weirdo but she's ours.

it's funny the things mia will suddenly notice. things you thought she knew about before but apparently? not so much. this week mia noticed that josh is hairy. "hairy legs? hairy arms? hairy face? hairy neck? hairy head?" yes, josh is hairy. i compared him to the dog (who is also quite hairy) and she thought that was pretty cool. josh did not.

***

mia does not like josh being in the bathroom with her anymore. he has to wait at the door for her to finish. he is also not allowed to push the cart at the grocery store if i am around. she would rather sit still and try to make the cart move by swinging her legs back and forth than let daddy push the cart. it's mama's job.

***

mia's cousins came from texas to meet her and play 'til they dropped. ian is almost 4 and aidan is almost 2.5 and they are BOYS. they fit that "all boy" stereotype pretty well. sweet boys, yes. but boys that wrestle and fight and run and jump and get time out. mia was havnig a great time watching them play but was content to sit on the sidelines and not get hurt. silly boys.

the thing about older boys is that they go to time out. a lot. mia doesn't go to time out. (there was a time when we did the "think time" routine that her daycare was doing but her new daycare doesn't do that and she has since forgotten it. anyway...) after a day and a half of visiting mia came home, walked up and slapped me (not hard) right in the face and screamed out "TIME OUT!" i was shocked. i asked her if she wanted time out and she got very excited and squealed "YES!" thanks jen.

the lies we tell.

i just had to promise mia that i would take her on an airplane after her nap. you know, instead of going to the vet. she's going to be so disappointed.

daddy's girl weekend

i asked mia if she had fun this weekend and she said "yes, daddy." and my heart melted and slipped into my belly.

saturday morning josh got up with mia and let me sleep in. until 9. 9!! they played and giggled and watched sesame street. i lay in bed listening to them play airplane while chasing the dog around the house, read book after book and make breakfast together. it was like a random mother's day.

after i took her to gymnastics and she had a nap josh took her to the park (while i napped!) for at least an hour. and they were together all night.

sunday night we went to a rivercats game. mia sat on her daddy's lap and ate chili cheese fries and drank lemonade. sadly, she didn't enjoy baseball the same way she enjoys basketball (and how could you). she kept saying "no ball?" no worries, we were all bored, mia.

these two were made for each other, i tell ya.

we're alive!

we're just getting back to our normal routine after a short vacation with friends and a visit from mia's aunt jessica. boy are we ever tired. tired, i tell you!

aunt jess is the coolest!

jessica came to visit for 10 days and mia now has a new idol. within the first day i had been pushed aside in favor of "an jayca". it's amazing how similar teenagers and toddlers can be: they both giggle non stop, need naps in the middle of the day, eat like horses or not at all - but you never know which one it's gonna be, and completely wear you out.

aunt jessica is queen of the night-night game and i love her for it. it started back in december when we went home for christmas and has since evolved to a more complex game that includes "hiding". everyday since jess left mia runs into the living room as soon as we get home, lays her dog shaped pillow on the ground and throws a beanbag chair over her head. "nigh nigh. my hiding." followed by giggles and demands that you get under the beanbag chair with her. such a nerd.

jessica left on monday and we've been sad and lonely without her. mia is bored and i'm tired of crawling under the vinyl beanbag with her. please send her back, mom and dad.

to the beach!

we have been dying to get to the beach since we were invited months ago and the day finally arrived. we all piled in the car and drove the 5 hours straight to aptos, ca.

mia's a HUGE fan of the sandbox at school, loves the water and loves her friend, josie. sounds perfect, doesn't it?! umm...no. turns out our kid hates the beach. the water's too cold and the beach sand sticks to your body OH MY GOD GET IT OFF!!!!! sigh...maybe next year.

we spent one perfect and exhausting day with the kids at the monterey bay aquarium - i couldn't believe how much they loved it. we thought that they would acknowledge the fish but not be too overly excited by them and proably fall asleep in the stroller. man were we wrong.
there was running and screaming for "more fish! more penguins! shark!!" they even got to hang out in a giant penguin egg - how many of you can say you've done that?!

if i could take mia there everyday i would. it was that good.

ah but we had to go home. :( we spent our last day on the coast between santa cruz and san francisco. there was a lot of time spent in the car and mia didn't nap. she was cranky and whiny (which is odd for her, really). by the time we got home that night she was done with us all and ready for bed. as i was changing her into her pj's i thought she was a bit hot and dusted off the thermometer (she's never sick, you know).

103.7

holy. crap. so we loaded her up on tylenol and she sweat out whatever little bug she'd managed to pick up. thank goodness.

other things

barnacle - i think a week out of daycare really threw her for a loop and she ended up attached to me for nearly a week. and the whining, oh my god, make it stop! i even had to send her to her room the other day:

mia: waaa...
mom: stop whining or you can go to your room. do you want to go to your room?
mia: yes.
mom: ok, go to your room, see you later.

at which point mia went to her room, played for 5 minutes and came back a happier baby. hasn't happened since.

"i want it" - not quite as sweet and cute as her "thank you" but still pretty cute. except when it's combined with theh whining. then it sucks.

playdoh - mia's discovered playdoh. but playdoh isn't for making things. oh no. playdoh is for taking out of the container and putting back in the container. over and over again.

"red!" - everything is red. if you ask mia what color something is? red! what shape it is? red! what it IS? red!

***

i will leave you with a photo of mia and her friend, owen. the cutest kids in town.

mia did it!

this morning mia woke up a bit earlier than ususal so i didn't rush in to get her. after some initial grumblings she was quiet and i thought maybe she had gone back to sleep. and then i heard the giggling.

as i stood at her door i heard her exclaim "mia did it!" she sounded so pleased with herself and i couldn't think what she could have done form her crib. it took me a minute to realize what she had done - what had caused that huge smile on her face.



she had taken off her pajamas, removed her wet diaper and put her pajamas back on again. they were inside out, the pants were on backwards and she had shoved both her legs into one pant leg. the shirt wasn't completely on but she didn't seem to mind.

"mia did it!"

these are the mornings when i am reminded how lucky i am to be her mom.