mia | ten months

Dear Mia,

It seems like I was just sitting here writing to you, but no, an entire month has passed. And what a month it has been.

You were sick for a while, and teething for even longer. Those two stubborn bottom teeth are set to pop through any day now. You have been standing on your own lately and you love to have everyone watch and applaud your accomplishment. And just yesterday, you took two steps on your own, though I'm not sure if you knew what you were doing. You were pretty focused on Bert and Ernie in your hands.

You have the longest eyelashes and you know how I love your eyes. I love how you smile with your whole face - cheeks, eyes, nose - they all scrunch up and anyone watching can't help but smile back.  You can clap and wave, you love to rub your blanket on your face, and you love to play peek-a-boo with your blanket over your head.

You are obsessed with following your big sister everywhere and manage to knock down her towers and mess up her toys on an hourly, sometimes continuous, basis. You will likely find it much easier to keep up with her once you master this walking thing. In the meantime, I love to hear your little hands slap the floor as you crawl as fast as you can after her.

You had a terrible tummy ache yesterday afternoon and the night before. I can't figure out what is causing them and haven't been very successful in fixing them. I try my best to comfort you, singing and walking and rocking and patting, but they seem to take an hour or so to pass no matter what I do. After that, you are as good as new. I hope it is a phase that you will grow out of, and soon.

You have shown quite a temper lately. If something isn't going your way or your sister takes a toy, you are very clear about your anger - arching back, screaming, throwing your body to the floor. Fortunately, this does not happen often and you are quick to regain your composure. And, really, most of the time, you are a very content, happy girl. A good traveler, a good shopper (as long as I remember the Cheerios), and an all around easy going baby.  And you are an eater. We cannot forget that. To date, the only thing you haven't liked is watermelon, but it wasn't a very good watermelon to begin with, so I don't blame you.

I read something the other day that I've been thinking about a lot lately. It was an essay by a mother talking about how she loves her children, not because they are beautiful or smart, but because they are hers. It has stuck in my mind a few weeks now. I do believe that you are beautiful and smart and active and healthy and basically (almost) perfect. But even if you weren't all those things, I would love you just the same. I love you most because you landed here in our lives, and you are ours, a little piece of your daddy and me, and that's more than enough reason to love you.

With so much love for you,
Your mommom

PS: I even love the back of your head.  I have about a hundred pictures of the back of your head just to prove it.

a beautiful weekend

It was a beautiful weekend.  My heart feels full today from all the time spent with family.  Ryan didn't have to work, so we spent three whole days together.  I can't remember the last time that happened, and it will not likely happen again until November.

  ~ daddy and his girls ~

~ looking for airplanes ~

Out of town family came to visit, some regular faces, and a new one (love you Aletha).  I tried to take pictures of everyone, but didn't.  I had grandiose plans of a big family picture, but, fail again.  Maybe on the Fourth of July when we are all together again.  I did manage to take enough pictures to overwhelm the average person, though.  It's just what I do.

~ beth and aletha ~

~ momma and baby ~

 ~ big brother and little brother and big brother again ~

We BBQ'd ribs at my parent's on Saturday and had the strangest weather.  Thunder, sprinkles, lots of wind, and looming black clouds.  Sunday morning we had a big breakfast up at our house, followed by tacos for dinner back at my parent's.

~ laci and cousin Ryan and the iPhone ~

We laughed about our migration patterns and how we can't go anywhere without everyone joining in.  Staying behind always means running the risk of missing something awesome.  Though, to be honest, truly awesome things rarely happen. Aletha fell victim to our herd-mentality and had trouble leaving "on time" Sunday evening.  I assured her that nothing awesome happened after she left.

~ snow cones ~ 

There was also a very serious quest for cotton candy on Sunday which involved multiple phone calls, searching the internet, and some Facebooking.  It ended with a trip to Blockbuster, where they do, indeed, carry cotton candy, and my sisters returned with seventeen bags.  I do not kid.  Seventeen bags.  We ate half of them, and while it isn't exactly the same as cotton candy fresh from the fair, it did satisfy my hankering for fluffy sugar for at least another six months.

Ryan and I spent the day at home with the girls yesterday, mostly just to detox Laci from too much sugar and too much fun.  We had an impromptu dinner with his parents last night, which I believe was the perfect way to punctuate the end of a wonderful weekend.

 ~ baby Justin ~

Today feels especially quiet without all the cousins, sisters, aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents.  It almost feels lonely, except for the two little people who live here and who make sure it is never too quiet.  I am catching up on household duties that have been neglected, mostly blogging so far (very important), and also some laundry.  Because I'm wearing my last clear pair of comfy pants, which happen to be maternity leggings, and since I am not, in fact, pregnant, it feels a little weird.

I hope you had a wonderful, beautiful weekend too.

ladybugs

You can take a beetle and disguise it with a pretty red shell, and suddenly it becomes something you want to crawl all over your arms.

With that thought in mind, I put on makeup and did my hair today.

mini-friends

We had a date this week with my friend April and her two cuties.

Meet mini-Tonya and mini-April...also known as Laci and Lily.

What can I say about these two girls?  There was very little sharing, quite a bit of screaming (Laci), quite a bit of hitting (Laci again), and if Lily had been a little more aggressive, I'm pretty sure they would have been wrestling around on the ground putting each other in head locks.  Makes a mama proud, you know?

There were some moments of sweetness.  They are just two very opinionated, strong-willed, "I'm the center of the universe right now" little girls, and they behaved accordingly.  It will be interesting to see them interact as they get older.

In the other corner, we have the chill babies, Ike and Mia.  Mia wanted to pat Ike's head, which I can't blame her, it's a cute head.  And he has the same amazing blue eyes as his sister.

It was super fun, and April has the perfect backyard for little ones:  shade, grass, free of snakes...all the things we don't have around our place.  I'm looking forward to doing it again, although I'm not sure Lily will agree.  The funny part is, when I showed Laci these pictures, she says, "I go to Lily's house."  I'll take that as a sign she enjoyed herself.

And the best part of all:  kids who fell asleep in the car on the way home, and continued to nap for another hour.  Yes, we will do this again.

just a few thoughts

We had an uneventful weekend.  Ryan worked and the girls and I stayed home to nurse the tail end of sickness.  Mia has decided 5:45 is a fantastic time to wake for the day, and so now I sit, in the corner of a chaotic playroom, while she enjoys chewing on a pretend piece of bacon.

Lately, I don't mind these early mornings so much, which is good, considering their frequency.  It gives me a chance to be with Mia for a bit before big sister wakes up.  She gets her choice of toys, and I have the luxury of only one person needing me at the moment.

One of the rooms in our house is a playroom, dedicated to holding the girls' toys, and my toy computer.  It is one of my favorite things about living in a house again.  There is a big window facing the East and an even bigger window facing North toward our ponds, which makes this the brightest room in the house.  There is so much light, and I love it.  I stare out that window several times a day as I sit in my ratty, brown rocker with Mia.

Of course, the toys spill out into the living room, and my bedroom, and onto the table and the kitchen floor, but that's how these things go.  It really doesn't bother me.  If you visit my house, you will be surrounded by my kids and their stuff, but you will feel comfortable.

***

We showed Laci the eclipse yesterday through Ryan's welding hood.  She said, "Wow!" as I explained to her that the moon got in the way of the sun.  I'm not entirely convinced she understood, but it was fun anyway.

Mia has been trying to take steps on her own.  She only holds one hand when we walk now, but sometimes she forgets to move her feet when she leans forward.  She has two big bumps on her lower gum...teeth, finally, maybe.  She was already not feeling well, and now teeth, well you can imagine the snot and drool and discomfort and crankiness.

Laci wanted her nails painted for the first time.  She asked for green, but I only had pink.  She wanted me to take it off after a few hours, but I distracted her.  It gives her something to pick at.

We had calzones last night with homemade pizza dough.  They were alright, but I will roll the dough thinner next time.  I love homemade pizza dough. So easy, so good.

My mom came to visit yesterday and it was one of those visits that we both really needed.  It's not that we discussed anything important, or accomplished anything amazing, but we both needed some company and were perfect for each other.

I love having a house again, complete with fingerprints on every window and Cheerios on the floor.

"Enjoy the little things, 

for one day you may look back

and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault

from sickness to clapping and everything in between

Sickness.  Yuck.  I hate sick babies.

Laci spent most of this week sick with a fever and a cough.  Mia started coughing yesterday, no fever thankfully.  Today, I think things are starting to look better.  I was up only three times last night and feel surprisingly rested.  I say "only" three times because it was much, much, MUCH worse the previous few nights.

But in between long snuggles on the couch, and forcing down medicine, I think we managed to have some fun.

I made a new batch of play dough for Laci.  She insisted we make four colors: pink, purple, yellow, and green.  Within twenty minutes, she had smashed them all together in a ball.  We now have army green play dough.

Before the sickness took over, it was warm enough for a little sprinkler time.

Well, almost warm enough.  She didn't last long.

Mia and I sat underneath the maple tree catching some sun flare and eating food.

Last week, pre-sickness, we played on our new-to-us slide and Mia tried to pick the grass.  She doesn't so much like being confined anymore.

This week, mid-sickness, we still tried to play outside.  I asked Laci, "Are you sick?"  She responded in mime. She's quite a performer.

And, while we don't usually need an excuse to stay in our pajamas all day, I really think this outfit of Laci's requires an apology.  I'm sorry, I hope it never happens again.

Mia was confined to the pack n' play this time.  Those are puffs stuck to her feet.  And yes, in her hair.  I don't think she minds, but it makes me that much more anxious to get some concrete out there instead of dirt and rocks.

We made a few trips out to feed bread to Leroy.  He is getting fat and I think he needs a friend.  Laci loves him, and she calls him "Mama Leroy."  The little goldfish are "Baby Leroys." 

Speaking of funny things Laci says, I don't write them down nearly enough.  By the time I sit down to write, I usually forget what she has said, but here's a little conversation we had the other day after she pushed Mia down.

Me:  Laci, you're not supposed to push Mia down.  What should your punishment be when you push Mia?

Laci:  Huh?  (Her typical response to any question these days.)

Me:  Should you get a time out when you push Mia?

Laci:  Nooooo.

Me:  Should you get a spanking when you push Mia?

Laci:  (Taking a good minute or two to think, then holding up her index finger...) Just one spanking.  Just one.

At that point, what can you do besides laugh?

And one final bit of awesome from this week: Mia learned to clap.  And now, she claps all the time, and it is so stinkin' cute.  Except when she claps at 2:30 am, which she did the other night.  Then, it is only mildly amusing.