Catching up

I think I am officially the WORST blog poster EVER.  That being said, I'm still determined to keep good records for Mia so she can look back someday and see how much fun she had her first year of life!  So here goes with a good 2+ month recap:

April was a big month for development...you learned to:

• roll over from back to tummy
• find your voice - first it's screeching, then grunting, then the "fake cry"
• eat vegetables - and you LOVE them!  Green beans, peas, squash, broccoli, carrots
• sit up by yourself!...which also means you can now use the high chairs in restaurants and sit in the front of the grocery cart
• hold your own bottle
• you like grabbing everything - hair, necklaces, rattles, paper - whatever you can get your hands on!

April also had:

• your 1st night to stay with a babysitter (that wasn't family)
• your 1st hail storm
• your 1st Easter
• your cousin Adrianna's surgery (we went to visit her in the hospital, but thankfully she did great - no cancer and recovered just fine!)
• your 1st encounter with a reality TV star - we met Phil Keoghan, the host of "Amazing Race" at daddy's MS150 bike ride
  

  Mommy was WAY more excited to meet Phil than you!

  
  

  Easter bonnets are so last season

  Veggies are best when served on the face

Happy Bunny!

May has more firsts:

• 1st time to "raspberry"/"sherbert"/whatever you call the "plllttt" noise!
• 1st time to meet some great aunts on your mom's side
• 1st time at a St. Lawrence wedding
• 1st time to eat fruit - bananas, apples, peaches, mangoes, pears
• 1st time to sleep unswaddled - thank goodness...I was worried you were going to be 19 and still need to be swaddled!
• 1st time at a street festival (Grapevine Mainstreet Days) - we went with the Bimmerle's
• 1st time to win "fan of the year award" - daddy's soccer team votes and you have been to more games than most of the guys!  And this season was a big one...they win the season with a 13-0 record...GO DADDY!
• 1st "word" - I say this loosely, because you don't actually know what you are saying, but you definitely say "mama" and then later that same week "dada"
• 1st Longview Friends Memorial Day hangout at the McNulty's - get to see all the friends and play with your new friend Mallory
• 1st time to go swimming...we are SO happy!  You LOVE it!  You will be a water baby after all!!

Your 6 month appointment has you weighing in at 17 lbs 10 oz (85th percentile) and measuring 26 3/4" (80% percentile). We have surely jumped from our 3 month appt! I asked the doctor if that was concerning, and he said to you are just "healthy!" We are so thankful for that! You are a very happy baby who loves trying new things! You are definitely our child!

These photo shoots are getting a little out of hand...

So excited that you like the water!

Just chillin' in my float - "Hey mom - get me another bottle!"

More happy pool time

June - you are now 7 months old!  In the last 3 weeks, you have really made some progress towards crawling.  You push up on all fours, and you've officially taken to scooting/army crawling, especially if there is something you want to grab...electronics are the best motivator, so you now have your own remote that we've removed the batteries.  I think it's only a matter of time before we realize how un-babyproofed our house is!

Other fun things that have already happened this month:

• Cousins Trey and Adrianna stayed with us the last week in May/first week in June.  You got lots of love and attention from them!
• We went to Franklin for the annual BFE event + Kassidy's other baby shower.  You had a great time hanging out on the farm...and experienced several firsts there - 1st time to touch a kitty, 1st time to swim in a dirty pond (what? we're trying to build up her immune system :)  Uncle Dustin even came in for the event and came home with us to hang out in Dallas for an extra night before we drove him to the airport.
• We went over to Mike and Sara's for you to swim in their pool and for us to watch game 6...You were there when the Dallas Mavericks won their 1st NBA title!!!
• Your Grandma's cousin Chin comes to Dallas to visit you from Singapore and brings an adorable Chinese outfit for your to wear - should fit by next Chinese new year
• You can now drink out of a straw!
• You got to meet your new friend, Baby Anna, in Houston and stay with your other friend, Eli, while mommy hangs out with her friends - thanks Cath and Christy for a fun weekend!
• You've decided you love Chloe!  Well at least her tags on her collar - you will scoot clear across the room for a chance to grab them, even if it means a tongue bath when you finally get them!
• You are starting to try to pull up.  You still need help with the grip, but if you grab onto our hands you can get yourself standing. 

We are getting ready to spend 9 glorious days in Colorado with Dustin and away from this heat!!  We'll see how you react to fireworks over the 4th!  Next pics will be from the mountains...
 

If you can't beat em, join em

Cute pregnant Jenna in front of the diaper tractor that Brock made

Nana & Papa think they are in heaven getting a little Mia time!

Happy 1st Father's Day Daddy!!



Vain already?!? I caught you kissing yourself in the mirror



Ride em cowgirl! Trey is a great horse for Mia!

"Mommy - was I like this when I was a baby?" - Mia with Anna

Who knew your play mat would turn into your favorite chew toy!

"Do you think I can get her tags without all that licking??"

Leaving Mia

Who leaves their 4 month old first child for 9 days to go on vacation? ... Harlows do, yep... and so happy we did.  We just got back from our first vacation without Mia to a little Dutch island called Bonaire (close to Aruba).   We spent 8 wonderful days scuba diving, relaxing in the sun, eating and drinking to our hearts content and doing nothing.  Mia spent lots of quality time with her grandparents, aunt, and cousins.  She is so loved and they ate up all the time they got to spend w/ her.  Thanks to skype, we got to see Mia everyday.   In the one week we were gone she graduated to the next size diapers, is now able to grab her own toes, figured out how to eat rice cereal (not just spit it out) and has a new love for Chloe  She turned 5 months last week, so in celebration of Easter, Mia's sporting her sweet bunny ears.

Here are some pictures of our vacation ...

Slideshow Link:

http://brockandtiff.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=16475703&AlbumKey=HW6Pb


Here are some recent pictures of Mia ...

Mia News Network

I am really bad at keeping up with this blog thing.  But we've just been having so much fun watching our little angel grow and change that I find it hard to sit down and type about it.  But I want to keep this current so I can have this as a keepsake for when Mia gets older.  So here goes, lots of updates:

Mia turned 4 months old on March 1st.  At her doctor appointment, she had gained more in the last month then she had in the 3 months since her birth! She went from 9 lbs 5 oz at 3 months to 13 lbs 1 oz.  Holy cow, that formula must be good!!  (Sidenote: a little after her 3 month weight check, I weaned Mia.  It wasn't my original plan, but after we started supplementing, she decided the bottle was better...so after some mommy guilt of having to give it up, we jumped into this formula feeding and I can honestly say we are both happier for it!)

A few other things to note from that doctor visit:

• Mia got her second round of vaccinations, which just kills me when she hurts so badly
• The doctor gave us the green light to use selsen blue (the adult dandruff shampoo) for her cradle cap...and it seems to be working well!
• He also told us she has a hyper-pigmented belly button, which bascially means the very bottom of her belly button is really dark, like she has some funky belly button lint.  But he reassured us that she shouldn't have to worry about being made fun for it in middle school because when you get older, you don't see that part of your belly button
• She got excellent marks on her development, and being the overly competitive parents that we are, we are very proud

The first weekend in March had us traveling 15 hours in 3 days to go see my grandparents and Mia's great grandparents in Levelland.  It was her first time to meet her Great Grandaddy Paul and Great Gramma Darlene.

4 generations - all smiles

Mia, me and my mom with her dad, Great Grandaddy Paul

All of us with Great Grandaddy Paul and Great Gramma Darlene

JanMudder can't get enough of her!

So backing up a bit, here are some pics of what we've been up to for the last 6 weeks:

Dallas had some of the craziest weather this winter.  We had several days of snow and ice in February where the whole city shut down...the media referred to it as "Snowmageddon".  Mia seemed to like it all bundled up in her cozy blankie!


 Super Bowl is always a fun day with friends, and this year Mia got to wear her too-big Tony Romo jersey to the party at Mike & Sara's.  Who cares if the Cowboys were the furthest thing from a Super Bowl contender...she was stylin' in her jersey!

Brock had a day off of work and we took advantage by spending the afternoon at the Arboretum.  If you've never been, it's this beautiful garden with some amazing views of the Dallas skyline.  It was a beautiful day, and Brock got to play with his new wide angel lens and he got some pretty cool shots of our little flower head.

Mia got to take her first plane ride!  She and I went with Brock's mom to Florida to spend a couple of days with Mia's Great Aunt Hazel and Great Uncle Justin.  While we were there, I had to get some beach time, and our little beach baby got to put her toes in the sand for the very first time.  She really did love the water and the beach, but the people on our flight home probably didn't love us too much...she did NOT like flying home!  But it was worth it to get these pics!

So now we're back to present day...Mia got to experience her first St. Patty's day party at the Pace's.  She hung out with her friend Mallory, who also looked adorable in green, and I got to have a fun day with friends, thanks to Brock for giving me a hall pass!

We leave for our first trip away from Mia this weekend.  She will be in very good hands with her Grandma Iris watching her most of the week and then Nana and Papa coming to watch her for the last weekend.  I know she'll be fine, but I worry about me :)  I am very excited to dive again, but I know I'll miss my boogie!  Let's hope we can all have a good week!  Maybe I'll make Brock post blog updates on our trip...this long posting has worn me out!

3 Months Old

Mia is 3 months old today!  And she is so happy that today is an icy snowy day and her daddy got to stay home with her.  A couple of things to remember on her 3-month birthday:





Snow day with Daddy!


• We had a dr. appointment yesterday where Mia weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz...that is only a 6 oz gain from last month's appointment, and it puts her at only the 3rd percentile.  So we are instructed to work towards fattening her up!  That means replacing 2 of her feedings with formula bottles every day...that way she's still getting the benefits of nursing but with some guaranteed calories throughout her day. 



Happy baby!!





• So a couple of weeks ago, Mia found her hands.  Since then she has been putting them in her mouth every chance she gets.  Well, now she has discovered that she can hold onto things and put those magical things into her mouth as well!  She has this cute little stuffed crab that is her new favorite chew toy.



Crab claws are delicious!

• This past weekend my parents - Nana & Papa - came in to visit and they babysat while Brock and I went out with our friends Sean & Christina.  While we were dressed up, we decided to take a family picture.  I don't know what it is about him, but Papa has a way of making her smile some of the biggest smiles she'll give! 





Family pic - smiling big for Papa!





Uncle Sean & Tia Christina

• Also while they were in, we had a little picnic in the backyard on Saturday...only in Texas can it be 80 degrees on Saturday and 20 on Tuesday.  So with the absolutely gorgeous day, Mia got to wear her sun hat and her silly looking sun glasses that Nana insists she loves...but why does she always cry when she has them on??  Fancy loves them so much more!

"These sunglasses make me look ridiculous...I'm giving them to Fancy"



"I'm so Fancy!"

• Even though she is small, Mia loves her jumperoo.  We have to put something under her feet - a kitchen pot, some magazines, the box for the scattergories game...it's really cute to see her when she gets going...we've got an active one on our hands!

Look at me...I can stand!



So Far Behind!

So much has happened since the last blog posting! I feel like a bad mom for not keeping up better, but here goes:


December was a whirlwind! Lots of family time and fun around the holidays.

• My mom surprised me and came in to babysit so Brock could take me on an overnight date to Ft. Worth for my 30th birthday. We saw a Cirque show at Bass Hall, had some great food and spent our first night away from Mia. It was fun, but we missed our little girl! But she had fun hanging out with her Nana. Thanks to both of them for pulling off such a wonderful surprise!

The best birthday gift!!

• The very next weekend my friend Whitney came in from San Francisco to visit. We had such a great time catching up and hanging out. And with Whit's help, we were able to have a few successful outings...what a much needed visit from a friend!!

Mia hanging out with her new friend Whitney

• Christmas was spent two weekends in a row. The weekend before Christmas my brother Dustin flew in from Colorado to meet his niece for the first time. He wants her to do more tricks, but even he couldn't help falling in love.  The rest of my family came in too, including Brady and Jenna (my brother and sis-in-law) who are expecting in July!  Mia will have a new cousin that will be very close to her age...so fun!!

Uncle Dustin and his new sidekick

• That Sunday, Brock's family came in to join us for a special celebration...Mia's baptism.  She was baptized in the United Methodist Church, and she slept through it all!  The service was really nice, including the Pastor taking her out into the congregation to introduce her to people individually, and afterwards, the whole family came back to our house for a barbeque feast. 

Grandma with Mia in her Baptism gown


• The next weekend was Christmas in Longview to celebrate with Brock's family.  Mia's first Christmas was really nice...her aunt Mei Mei, cousin Adrianna and Grandma Iris spoil her with love...all weekend, the 3 of them "fought" for baby time to hold her.  Going to church on Sunday was especially fun for Grandma where she got to introduce her and show her off to some of her church friends. 

Cousin Adrianna with Santa baby

• Mia's first New Year's was spent having a low-key night at the Hanna's with the Bimmerle's and Claire making an appearance.  For her, it was just another night, but it was nice for us to get out and have a wonderful dinner with friends!

January has flown by!  But it has been a month of milestones!

• At her 2 month appointment, Mia weighed 8 lbs 15 oz (10th percentile) and was 22 1/4 inches long (50th percentile).  Our little munchkin is long and skinny...Brock thinks she's going to grow up to be a model...what pressure!!

• She is maturing so much...including holding her head up better, smiling tons (we just love her smiles...it makes it all worth it!!) and doing some fun new tricks...she has found her hands, which are in her mouth quite a lot these days - not just a thumb or a finger, but the whole fist!...she has also learned to roll over (11 weeks)!! 
• We also had 2 weekends away in January...both were a blast!
• The first was a weekend in Franklin where Brady & Jenna live...she had lots of firsts there including her first pearl snap shirt (yes, it was from the feed store), first time on a tractor, first time to see donkeys and goats, and first picture with a baby goat (we feel like there are boud to be more...)

1st time on a tractor



1st time to see donkeys



Uncle Brady brings out the country in Mia



I luv goats!

• The second weekend away was Brock's mom, Grandma Iris's 60th birthday party.  That was so much fun - you know how much I love party planning!  So with Melissa's help and Brock's aunt & uncle coming in from Canada to surprise the birthday girl, we pulled off a pretty fun weekend for her.  And she was of course proud Grandma getting to show off her little granddaughter to all of her friends.

Lookin' good at 60!

• We had more visitors come to meet Baby Mia...Brock's cousin Dorea and her friend Wenqi came in from Pasadena, CA where they are studying at Cal Tech.  They hung out with us the weekend of the birthday party and had fun doing some traditional "Texas things" including trying chicken fried steak and eating at Whataburger.  It was also a fun surprise for Iris to see her niece at her party!

Yummm...chicken fried steak!

Phew!  I think I got it all...I promise to be better about keeping up with this...it's much easier to do in smaller chunks than this novel of a post. 

Next week Mia turns 3 months! 

Until next time...