The Girls

Last month, Tony took the girls to Disneyland for an Uncle Tony Day. YAH!! So, we was able to get a picture of the love when they got there....

Then, Scott and I took them about a month later. Disneyland had a special offer and you could go back for free within 30 days, so that's why the girls lucked out with two trips in one month ;-)

And this is all of us standing in the "C" over at California Advernture. It was the first time I was able to ride the rides at California Adventure (I was pregnant with Mia when we went last). It was hot, but we had so much fun!!!

It's been so long....

And here's Mia in all her glory ;-) She is getting very big! Here's the stats: she's 24lbs., 8 oz and 31 1/2 inches tall. She now has 14 teeth and she's working on 2 more. She has been officially out of hibernation for a month now and is doing well. She does get rather antsy in church because she hadn't been in church in about 6 months. But, she'll get there. She's been enrolled in the Early Start program (the early intervention program in CA) and is doing well. She was evaluated in March at 17 months, 14 months corrected. She was falling anywhere from8 to 13 months, depending on the skill with some skills hitting at 18 months. She's still not walking and is wearing holes in her pants and pajamas in the meantime! We think (and her teacher agrees) that it's more of a confindence thing. Her doctor is happy with her muscle tone, etc., so we're trying to help her gain more confidence with some tricks from the physical therapist.

As you can see she is able to get off and on her zebra by herself......

and then it's down to her knees!!!

So she's going to be evaluated again by the physical therapist in June and we're waiting for an appointment for an evaluation by occupational therapy (fine and gross motor skills). Her teacher, Netti, comes to the house once a week with different toys and techniques to get her on track. Her verbalization is getting much better--Uncle Tony and Aunt Cathy are excited because she will say ca-ca. yah. ;-) But, she is also saying mama, dada, baby (at least it's the sound she makes when she wants her baby) and bubba. But she's also making so many more sounds than she was before. We are very proud of her......She is still on medication for reflux and has another appointment with the GI doctor in a few weeks. I'm hoping to finally be rid of that medication. God has truly blessed us!!

Poor Kona

Mia likes to get in Kona's crate, much to Kona's displeasure!! But, she's really cute, even if the photo's a little grainy! I'll try to get a photo of her locked in (heeheehee).

Another Trick

Awhile ago, Mia figured out that she could put things on her head. And then she figured out that she could do it with food.

Here she is, so proud, of the pears on her head......

But, then I had to clean her up and so we decided to give her a mohawk.....

and then a sprout! She still doesn't have alot of hair, but it works.....

She's found the TV

Well, Mia has never been very interested in television, which I have been fine with (unless I needed to shower or something!). But, now she's found it. Right now, her favorite is VeggieTales and the basketball playoffs, yes, basketball. So, one morning, I went to get some coffee and the news was on. I came out of the kitchen and this is what I found.

Mia was in quite a mood on this morning. She brought me her sandals and wanted them on and then took a sweater out of the clothes bag that doesn't fit for me to put her on. Whatever, she was happy. I love it when she lays on her tummy. It makes her look like she's so big.

Then she spotted me and and I got "The Look"!

Break Time

I'll take this break to share a little about how my sister is doing. These are her feet while we were out shoe shopping with the girls last weekend. She loves these sandals and buys them every year in various colors like white, brown and black. Well, we had already been shopping for quite some time when we realized she had on one in each color. Of course, I took a picture (heeheehee). But, this is how she is .....poor honey can't even put on the same shoes....ahhhh ;-)

Don't let that grin deceive you! Inside that sweet face is a little stinker!

Mia's been working on some of her fine motor skills, including using silverware (notice no bowl or plate.....she throws them so they don't stay on her tray for too long--I told you! ;-) )

Anyway, she is doing very well. Depending on the food, she's very good at getting it on the fork and getting it in her mouth. The spoon, well, we're still working on that!!

This is the face that I get quite often. Please feel free to post a comment and tell me what you think she's saying....I have my own ideas that I'll share later....

March for Babies

As some of you may have known, we were able to participate in the March for Babies fundraiser for the March of Dimes. As it was our first year, we arrived early to check everything out. There were two walk distances to choose from: a 2 1/2 mile "stroll" and a 6 1/2 mile walk. So, we decided that, because I knew it was going to be warm, that we would do the stroll this year. We looked at the map and I noticed that everyone started out in the same direction and then there was a split. (Go ahead....you know what's coming!) Well, because the walk started at Riverside Community College, I was extolling to my nieces the importance of a college education and, yep, we missed the split. Before I knew it, we were well on our way to walking 6 1/2 miles through Riverside on one of the hottest days we had had up to that day. The girls, however, were very excited and assured me that they would be fine. So, off we went. There were a few difficult spots, but we ended up having a really good time and seeing some beautiful parts of Riverside.

There were some booths and one of them was NICU trivia. The question the girls picked was, "What does NICU stand for?" They knew an so they got a little blow up ball, beads and temporary tatoos. You can tell by the shadows that it's EARLY!! I think we got to RCC at about 7:40am!! But there were family and team booths to look at and things to see to keep everyone occupied until we headed out!!

Annie and Samantha

Annie and Christina

And here is everyone at the FINISH LINE!!!! As we crossed the Finish Line, there were volunteers who were handing out "We Did It!" stickers. Well, the girls thought that if we put the sticker on Mia's head then she wouldn't eat it.....they were right, she didn't!

I have to say that I am very proud of the girls. They toughed it out and there was actually very little complaining. At least now we know what to do and not do for next year!