Well, Mia finally got to go in the spa (the pool is still too cold). Uncle Tony volunteered to take her in and I said, "Go for it!" But, first I was able to get a picture of my sister, Cathy, with Mia. It's a rare thing to actually get a picture of my sister, but, really, she'll do anything for her nieces!

These are absolutely my favorite pictures of Mia from today. In the above picture, I could not get over how much she looks like my niece, Taylor, who lives in Colorado. And below, FINALLY! a smile!! It's very difficult to get a picture of Mia looking into the camera with a smile. This is as close as we got!!

Motorboat, Motorboat, go so slow....Motorboat, Motorboat, go so fast....Motorboat, Motorboat, step on the GAS!!!!!

As soon as Tony got in the spa, the girls swarmed him! They were very excited to have Mia in the spa with them!

Yah, Uncle Tony!!

We let each of the girls hold Mia in the spa so I could get pictures (and yes, Uncle Tony was just barely out of the frame!). The first one is Samantha. It's a great picture of Sami, even if Mia was blinking!

I am very glad we put Annie in swin classes when she was 5 because it's really paid off! She's fish, now! And she loves her little sister very much!

And this is Christina with Mia. By this point, I think Mia had figured out the water tastes good. Sis and Tony have a salt treatment system so the water tastes a little salty, which she seemed to love!

Yes, I made her wear a hat even though we were mostly in the shade. Most of you know how I am about sunscreen! Mia tried on several occasions to take off her hat...that's why I tie it on!! But, at this point I gave in a let Uncle Tony take it off!

November is Prematurity Awareness Month

Last November, when Mia was in the hospital, I read about Prematurity Awareness Month (everything has its own month... :-) ). Well, after the year we've had, I can now see the benefit of a month dedicated to this issue. Famous Footwear is a national sponsor of the March of Dimes. This month, whenever you buy shoes at Famous Footwear (in-store or online), you can donate to the March of Dimes. Now, I know what it's like to have to decide, " Do I or don't I?" Believe me, I feel compelled to donate to everyone-I have the mail requests to prove it! And when those kids want me to buy $10 candy bars so they can go to Washington DC, I do it!! But, this, for us, is different. In the spring (if Mia is in good health), we'll be walking in the March of Dimes Walk America. We are now a part of the "Preemie Community" and are very blessed with a daughter who is a testimony to the power of our Lord. Also, since it is the season of giving, Ronald McDonald Houses everywhere accept new stuffed animals to give away to children who stay there. Now, I know my daughter and nieces love to buy stuffed animals, but they have a tendency to take over our house! So, we'll let them buy them and then take them to RMcD House to donate! It's a win-win situation! Also, if there are any youth groups looking for a community service project, RMcD House has volunteer groups come in to make/provide dinners for the families that are staying at the house. We were able to eat dinner once with a church group from Madison and it was very nice (they all stayed to talk and visit, etc..). God laid this on my heart awile ago--He told us to go and we need to. I can't imagine going through anything in life without Him and there are people who are trying to. We need to go to them-just like Jesus did-and tell them (and show them) about the love of God. OK, I'm done..... :-)

Mia has always loved Libby. Now, she has 2 dogs to poke at. Kona and Libby are sure to be BFF and Mia will probably be riding them likes ponies very soon!

Mia's been practicing her waving. She's doing pretty well, too. But, then her waves were turning into pointing. Now, when she sees someone, she might wave and then point at them, or just point! Here, she's pointing to Uncle Tony....

When we were in CA in July, my sister told us about Red Shirt Fridays. She gave us all red shirts that say "Support our Troops" on the front and then have a poem on the back. She was able to get one for Mia, too! So, every Friday we show our support for all our troops by wearing our Red Shirts. I've never been able to wear my shirt the entire day....Mia inevitably barfs all over it!! ;-)

YAH for my new toys!! Mia loves her new bathbook--except we haven't used it in the bath! But, she likes it anyway!

And, yep, she's really crawling....kinda. Mia will get up on all fours and scooch a little, but mostly Army crawls. But, that's OK--she still gets where she wants to go!!