New Years Eve 2010-->2011

In attendance: Mia/Randall until 7:30pm, Matt, Harold, Dave, & Stacie. We played cards after dinner and they had champagne. Matt sweetly bought me sparkling cider, which I had (watchout!) 3 glasses of :) I passed out at 10am but set my alarm to 11pm. When I fell asleep I had the city festivities on my laptop streaming. When I woke up the battery power had run out and through procrastination to get the powercord and a last minute realization that the internet stopped working we had a fairly anticlimactic turn of the year while trying to fiddle with the computer to catch the countdown. Some amazing confetti "fireworks" (see below) made up for it afterwards (one inside - - whoops, and then the other outside) but we ran back inside when we think we heard celebratory gunfire (yikes!).

Happy 2011 everyone. The year of our fourth family member's birth :)

The Palmer's visit

Dave and Mia playing in the tent that Randall and Mia usually were playing in a lot this winter break. We were goofing around waiting for the Palmer's to arrive. It was too funny that a 6'3" man was in a kids tent so I had to post this picture :) sorry Dave! See what your daddy will do for you Mia?

Snow ball fight at our corner playground. Matt has an unfair advantage with the shovel against even 2 opponents (aka cousins): Bryce and Ethan.

Randall playing at the children's museum.

Randall, Ethan and Bryce on a pirate ship

After two days of fun including a Christmas light show at Macy's, snowball fights and snowman building, and a trip to the children's museum we had dinner (take out) and went back to the Palmer's hotel room where the boys all wrestled (didn't bring my camera-darn!) and we all had a great time. Thanks Palmer's for driving to see us. We hope you had as much fun as we did :)

Christmas day

In attendance were: Mary, Libby, Matt, Harold, Randall, Dave, me and Mia.

Mia and mommy reading on the couch together. Thanks Dave for my new book. I love it (ORIGINS: How the nine months before birth shape the rest of our lives).

The whole clan after dinner (mushroom/tomato risotto, fresh baked bread, salad and asparagus). You can kind of see our Christmas tree (that is a first tree for Dave and I).

Mia and her aunt Libby playing

The family

Decorating Christmas cookies yum!

Christmakah

Mary came early for the holiday festivities (12/22) to spend a little alone time with Mia before the house got all its visitors. She came with a big girl bed for Mia, which Mia loved/loves. We were lazy about a side rail and put her old toddler mattress next to the bed but after weeks of never falling we eventually took the mattress (along with the old crib/toddler bed) out of the room and into ours for our little boy to use in the spring.

Her first time on her new bed with flannel snowflake sheets

Silliness on the new bed with "Tebby Dare" who she is growing more attached to every day.

Although this blog is almost always of Mia updates. . . here are our first girls, Gogo and Mojo, enjoying our new couch with the Christmas tree (and Mary) visible in the background through the mirror. By the way, the cats are being very good about not scratching up the couch (knock on wood).

Grandma & Mia all smiles before leaving for the children's museum.

Dave and his girl at the dinner table Christmas Eve:

Eggplant Parmesan. . . that's a traditional meal no? ;)

23 months

Mia is more and more regularly forming long, grammatically correct sentences. Can you tell what they all have in common?

I don't want it on my head

I don't want the dinosaur

I don't want to wear diapers anymore

I don't want to pick a book anymore

First haircut 12/19/10

After months and months of pushing hair out of her eyes and pulling barrettes out of her hair Dave and I have finally decided to give Mia her first haircut. We went to one of those Kids Kuts places to make it special even though I'm hoping to keep it up on my own to save money. They gave us a lock of her hair in an envelope, a certifercate of bravery and Mia got a dum dum afterwards. Mia did fantastic. She was so happy to sit on the little character they put her in. She didn't fuss or fret or anything even with water being sprayed in her face a bit. She looks so cute with her bangs. What was funny was that afterwards, when she got the dum dum she didn't immediately put it in her mouth (though it was unwrapped). She held onto it and only ate it once we were in the car. Odd huh?

Before

During

After

Graduation

My mom and dad came all the way to Philly on a Thursday so we could drive 3 hours to Binghamton, NY Friday night for my Sunday graduation only to drive back to Philly Sunday night so they could fly out Monday. What super terrific supportive parents :) Thanks guys.

My favorite part about graduation? It wasn't Billy Baldwin's talk or even walking across the stage and getting my diploma holder (they send you the diploma a couple months later). No, my favorite part was how despite being set in a huge event center that I was sitting close enough to where my parents were sitting that I could see my mom shed/wipe every tear of happiness from her cheek.

It makes me well up just knowing how much my parents love me and how proud they are of me. The true secret though is that I never could have made it this far without the great beginning they provided for me and the continual support they show me. I hope I can be as good a parent to Mia (and her sibling to come) as they are to me.

Also, how could I forget my husband, Dave. Without Dave to lean on everyday after coming home from the lab: failed experiment after failed experiment I may have given up. Without Dave taking the reigns on Mia during my final pushes of dissertation writing and oral defense preparation I would have taken at least another semester to finish. Without Dave, Mia and her sibling to come, I would have no one to strive for but myself and sometimes I wonder if that would be enough. Perhaps. But it is oh so much more fun to compliment my work/school with my amazing family life (that includes you too Mojo and Gogo!).

Finally, I had such a great time visiting with friends back in Binghamton. They helped make me feel so special from lunch at Tapatios to a homemade breakfast at Charlie/Marias to dinner at Fuji San. It is sad to say but it made it harder to leave again. . . it was such a tease to have my strong friendship network again just for a few days. I miss you guys a whole bunch and am glad that we are only 3 hrs away though selfishly I feel 3 hrs just isn't close enough.

Tapatios lunch

Fuji San dinner

16 week prenatal appointment

16 weeks on Thanksgiving

The stats

My appt was 11/30/10 and she said I was 16 wks pregnant and 5 days at that point.

My weight was up about 3 lbs, which is good though unfortunately the holiday sweets may've had more to do with that then I'd like. My blood pressure was 102/70 and pulse was 68 bpm.

The baby's heart rate was 156 bpm and he/she weighs 2/3 lbs.

What's next

Our next prenatal appt with Christy is 12/30 at 4pm but since we want a mid-pregnancy ultrasound and also want to be in the hospital system (just in case) we were told to make an appt with a local CNM (certified nurse midwife) and that he/she will give us a referral for an ultrasound. In order to be in the hospital system they ask that you see them at least 3 times (at 18-20 wks, 28 wks and 36 wks) so we'll have to do that in addition to our homebirth midwife appts, which are monthly at the moment but that just means more getting to listen to his/her heart beat so I'm okay with it.

How I am doing

My sciatica was bad recently so I got a referral to a chiropractor but first I am going to see if getting back on the wagon with exercise helps. I have a feeling it is going to by strengthening my back muscles. I have also had a couple of day-long headaches but at least they go away. I think with Mia I had a headache that basically lasted several weeks with only brief periods of relief.

Something new

Dave and Mia continue to attend all my appointments and Christy even listened to "Mia's baby" with the fetoscope. That reminds me! The midwife was able to listen to the baby with a fetoscope (basically a stethoscope) and usually you can't do that until at least 18 weeks. She said it is because I'm small. She said that though the doppler is probably harmless, it is still sending out soundwaves to the baby and if they can listen to the heartbeat with a simpler instrument they will and they even have one with a long tube so I can listen as well. She said it is a more natural sound anyway because it is the actual heartbeat and not reverberations of one.

Thanksgiving in NH (Grandma's)

The drive to NH was a grueling 11 hours from door to door. It should have only been 7.5 hrs of driving but with holiday traffic (out of Philly, in NJ, NYC, and then CT) and stopping to get meals it was quite a long day. We planned a stop at Great Grandma G's house in MA, which is 2.5 hours from our final destination. Mia surpassed my wildest expectations being a trooper on the drive. Not only did she nap twice but she played well by herself and loved facing forward for the first time ever, which helped Dave and I be able to split the driving more easily since he can't sit in front of a rear facing car seat. Grandma Gs stop was lovely and as usual Mia had a great time playing with her great grandma and even gave her the beads off her neck. Going to NH for Thanksgiving was very relaxing despite the cold, ear and sinus infections we were all somewhat fighting. Mary gave Mia her Christmas gift (an art easel) early so she and Randall could play with it during Thanksgiving and they really had a blast with the chalk, colored pencils and especially the paint. There was a lot of aunt/uncle/niece/nephew bonding time over books, blocks, peek-a-boo and good old fashion tickling. After bedtime scrabble and card games and even a trip to the nearby town for shopping/movies during the kids nap while grandma generously stayed home with the sleeping babes. Mia and Randall experienced their first snow of the season and had their first hot cocoas ever. The night before we headed back on the road we picked up and trimmed grandma Mary's Christmas tree. The food was divine but the company was even better: I love my family :)

Mia with Great Grandma G (notice grandma wearing Mia's beads)

Mia and Randall coloring with chalk at the new art easel.

Uncle Dave and Randall giggling over blocks

Tio Harold reads a book before the feast

Thanksgiving dinner 2010

First hot cocoa

First snow of the season (she's trying to catch the snow on her tongue)

Mary is in the background with her dog Lucy

Randall in the snow

Mia is definitely her father's daughter

Putting the ornaments on

prenatal update (13 week appt)

Week 12

First Philadelphia prenatal appointment (2nd altogether):

We were with Meredith (my CPM) from like 4:10pm until about 5:10pm and it was very laid back and not at all rushed. We talked a lot about my sciatica (which she said she could refer me to a chiropractor if I needed/wanted) and my nutrition (I was the same weight as my 8 wk appt so she recommended some healthy fats to consume on the go: avocado spread on toast, nuts, nut butters on banana, making sure my dairy is whole fat, even some Luna bars etc). I think I have just been to busy to eat as much as I need to and also I've been biking to/from work everyday (though it is only 1.5 miles one way). Anywho, she said I was just about 13 wks and my fundus was at 13 cm. My BP was 104/62 and my pulse was 64. The baby's heart rate was 164 (funny how it is a whole 100 beats faster than mine). She found the heartbeat immediately, which was nice. Mia was getting ansy/hungry/disinterested by then so she wasn't really into it like Dave and I were. She suggested I gain 2-3 lbs by next appt (Nov 30th). Oh and one more weird thing, I was given the pee stick and told how to dip it and shown the color comparison thing on the side. She said if it is negative (glucose/proteins), throw it away and if it deviated from the "normal" color to show it to her. That was an interesting way to introduce the idea of taking an active role in my own care . . . even though it is just a pee stick. I'm thinking that at our next appointment we will get referred to a CNM so that we can get in the hospital system (just in case) and we can get our 20 week ultrasound done so we can see if the baby looks healthy and whether it is a girl or a boy.

Week 14

22 months

22 months old!

One day, after Mia pulled off some new socks she had on she realized they left behind some lint in between her toes and ever since then she has a mild obsession with separating each of her (and your) toes and looking for lint.

Mia is getting into pretend play much more now. She recently went to a corner of our basement and said she was going to the store and brought us various items: pancake, smoothie, cookies and whatever we asked for. Then she pretended to drink some when i "handed" it back to her.

Bubbe/Poppop got her a US map puzzle and Dave taught her to say California when I went there for a conference recently. I was shocked when I returned how she can both "California" and "Pennsylvania" nearly perfectly.

Mia is definitely not ready to potty train yet. She was asking to run around nude a lot lately but peed on floor twice even when we told her where the potty was and not to pee on the floor. She will sit on the potty for long periods of time and voluntarily wants to often but nothing ever comes out. We are not rushing things though especially with all the holiday traveling we have coming up.

Mia now makes the funniest facial expressions and laughs in hysterics when I mimic them.

I even caught her making a fish face the other day. It is a game now and she will ask you to make a funny face.

I am happy to report that Mia likes her new daycare although she has recently started crying when we drop her off. She still reports liking it whenever we ask. On fair weather days Dave rides with her on his bike.

Mia is now sleeping in her crib without the 4th side in preparation for the brass twin bed her grandma is giving to her on Christmas. We never got around to getting a bed rail and had a puffy comforter under the side for weeks but she never fell out and we recently took the comforter back (what? it's getting cold!).

No longer a baby. Mia doesn't need/want to be carried to bed anymore, which is just in time for my awful sciatica pain. She just gives hugs beforehand and then climbs into bed. We always ask what song she wants us to sing to her to bed and she usually says "twinkle twinkle" and then for an encore she has been known to ask for "doe a deer".

Mia can now open doors, which was making naps harder and middle-of -the night wake ups harder but we have dealt with that by consistency in replacing her to bed and all troubles have basically subsided now.

Get to work! Mia has a new chore: feeding the cats and she loves it!

She also loves playing with the broom and pretending to sweep (I'm thinking of looking into getting her a mini broom so she can actually help out is that mean?)

Mia talks a TON and it is so much fun to finally be able to just hold a fairly normal conversation with her. Today when I smelled something and asked her if she pooped she said, "no" and I said, "is that the truth or are you lying?" and she said, "lie down?" and then put her head down on the floor. Ah, language learning can be so much fun. I gotta remember to put that in our Mia quotes book.

Formal discipline on the rise? Like many toddlers, Mia has trouble learning or listening to our rules at times. Frustrated, I tried a formal time out for the first time mid Nov. although I guess the "experts" say they become ready somewhere between their 2nd and 3rd birthday. Mia wasn't listening to me when it was time to go upstairs after breakfast to change her diaper and get dressed for "school". She got very angry and fell to the ground so I picked her up and told her if she didn't listen to me and go upstairs like I was asking she would get a time out. Sure enough she didn't listen so I put her in a boring spot and said you are on time out for not listening to mommy sit there until I tell you to get up and then I walked away and set the oven timer for 1 minute. Wouldn't you know it? She stayed put the whole time! I came back and got down on her level and explained why she was in time out and asked her to apologize. She did, we hugged and then she went upstairs perfectly nicely. Score! Just like Jo-Jo :)

I'm a big girl now. Mia takes showers with us now. Sometimes she still has a bath but she's loving (and requesting) the showers. Also, although our booster seat for Mia at the dining room table wasn't really that high, we recently removed it because Mia was having trouble getting in and out on her own. This change has really sparked a "I'm a big girl" attitude in her, which is adorable. Dave and I are working on not using the word baby with her since that is how people refer to baby #2 and I don't want her to get a sense that the baby is taking her place.

A fun thing Mia likes to do:

go into my underwear drawer and adorn herself with my panties.

memberships

We recently got memberships to the Philadelphia Zoo (apparently Americas first zoo, you can see this written in the fine print on the zoo's hot air balloon ride if you zoom in)

and another membership to the Philadelphia children's museum called the Please Touch museum. That one gives us privileges to many children's museums around the country, which is great. We also get unlimited carousel rides, which is nice since that is Mia's favorite thing to do. When Mia woke up from her nap after the children's museum she immediately started talking about the horsey ride and other things as if she had been dreaming of them. Anyhow, we forgot our camera to the museum and our batteries ran out only moments into the zoo but I will update the picture of Mia waiting to enter the zoo. She had woken up way too early that morning and fell asleep on the way to the zoo. I had joked that she should wear this giraffe costume that someone gave us at some point but then she became very serious that she wanted to wear it and who am I to stop cuteness in its tracks?

And this photo is for Dave who I recently learned loves tortoises (especially ones that eat leaves)