The Zoo

A few months ago, Scott and I took Christina, Samantha, Annemarie and Mia to the San Diego Zoo. Unfortuantely, on the way down, Samantha got sick so we had to meet Sis in Moreno Valley so she could take Samantha home :-( But, we made it to the zoo and if there was a cutout--one or all of the girls stuck their head through it!!

On the bus tour....

Yes, I know my niece and daughter would hate that I blogged this, but that's what happens when I ask for a nice smile and get this....

See, this is better......

We walked through the Atrium and this Blue-Crowned something or other walked right up to Mia and started nibbling her shoes. I have to say that Mia did fine--until the bird tried to get to the Cheerios that were in the crevice of Mia's stroller seat........

Mia's Party

This year, Mia picked out a Pirate Theme for her party. I offered every other theme I could think of (SpongeBob, VeggieTales, Dora, Princesses...) and she always came back to Pirates. So, that's what we did! Lately, we've done cupcakes instead of cake, so Sis invested in a cupcake tower so that we could display Mia's Pirate Cupcakes (artfully done by Aunt Amanda--thanks, Amanda!!).

Mia LOVES music, so Scott and I got her a little piano. In the picute above, it's hard to see the piano, but who cares about that--look at Mia's face!! She loved it and has played it pretty much everyday since her party!!

Mia has also been asking to go to ballet with Samantha. She will wander aroung the house asking where her ballet shoes and tights are.... So, we went ahead and got her her very own for her birthday. She also got a set of wings and a wand (which everyone was using to hit each other on the head with!!).

And this is the latest family picture.....kinda! But, Mia seemed to like the fact that everyone was singing Happy Birthday to her. And Annemarie told me later that she was proud of me for not crying during the party--whatever!

UPDATE!!

Well, I decided that I'd like a break from the never-ending homework and that I should blog. Below are some new pics of Mia, as she has just turned 3. I love birthdays and am quite sentimental about them (to a fault, some would say....). And I have been known to cry on the girls' birthdays, although, I can usually keep it together through the parties..... Mia is now 35 lbs and 35.5 inches tall. She's in very good health, considering. She does still have Asthma and (we think) environmental allergies, although everything she's been tested for has come back negative. After some concern earlier this year that her immune system wasn't functioning properly, her allergist has suggested letting her get sick so that her immune system could learn how to fight off colds, etc. Of course, this goes against my mom-nature, but he gave me reasonable perameters so, we're adjusting. She had a sinus infection last week and seems to be (slowly) getting over it--with no antibiotics! She's now in the 3 year-old room at school and is doing very well! But, the biggest news is that she has been officially discharged from ALL Early Intervention services!!! Woo-Hoo!! No more therapies!! She's "caught up" to where she needs to be--we're so proud of her! Listening to her talk, count, and watching run around the house--you'd really never realize all she's been through!! Annie is a blue belt in Karate and just received a stripe on her belt. She's doing great! She started Girl Scouts at the beginning of the school year and really seems to be enjoying that, a lot!! She's also doing well in school and starts middle school in the fall--AAAHHHHH!!!! We're trying not to freak out about that! Scott is working, working, working.....I'm *still* in school, but may actually be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel--I should graduate in June!!!! The girls are involved in the Discovery program at church and Scott and I are teaching (with Sis, Tony and Syd) the PLUS group (college age) on Wednesdays and the collge age class on Sunday nights. Mia still has a hard time actually going to class, but loves it once she gets there. And asks if we can "go to my church tomorrow?" :-) As I said in an earlier post, I am reminded at this time of year, especially, of how far God has brought our family. When Mia was born, we were told that she only had a 35% chance of survivial and that if she did survive, she would have a 65% chance of being severely to moderately disabled. Looking back, those numbers were just two of many that were being thrown at us during her first few days of life--it was a blur. But, God saw through everything and walked beside our family, just as He always has, and always will. I praise and thank Him for that.....

A little perspective....

Well, it's been a couple of weeks but I finally got Miss Mia to sit still for a few pictures (of course, I had to take one while she was strapped in her highchair and another while she was asleep, but whatever!). I thought I'd start with a picture from when she was about a week old (above). This is Mia during a "care" (and just so you don't have to search from 2006, a "care" was when Mia would get her diaper changed, her temperature taken, get fed, etc...). The pink blob on the left side of the picture is "Baby". When my sister flew to Wisconsin the day after Mia was born, she brought "Baby". Below, is Mia's birth announcement. This is the first picture we received of Mia when she was about a week and a half old with nothing on her face! (The wonderful nurses at Meriter snapped it for us in the middle of the night during a CPAP tubing change). Snuggled next to Mia is Baby.

Fast Forward 3 years: Below is Mia with Baby--her absolute favorite baby. Baby is about 12 1/2 inches long, about the same length of Mia when she was born.

And I snuck this one when Mia was sleeping.....it was hard to pry Baby out from under her, but luckily, she's a Kallner and sleeps like a rock ! ;-)

Just thinking.....

At this time of year, I have a tendency to think a lot about where the Lord has brought us. 3 years ago today, I was pregnant with Mia, running an errand with my mom, and standing in a parking lot in Baraboo, I sneezed--and my water broke. I was only 24 weeks pregnant--at the cusp of what is considered "viable". For the next 8 days, I laid in bed, praying I would lay there for another 10 weeks--at least. But, God's timing is not ours and just 8 days later, Mia was born. I have a tendency to relive the days in my mind, from 3 years ago, starting today and really not ending until we hit the anniversary of when she came home from the hospital--New Year's Eve. The first year anniversaries were a little painful; last year, not so much, and this year, I see how very much God has walked us through. And I am so thankful. I've been trying to get Miss Mia to sit still long enough to get a few pics with her "baby" for a little perspective of how much she has grown. Hopefully, I will have those to post by her birthday. God reminds me daily of the fact that He is always with me--sometimes, He just makes it so much clearer and I praise him for that....

We recently went bowling for the first time with both girls-I think ever. We had such a nice time and the girls really loved it! Lately, when I take pictures of Mia, she's doing this gooby smile--not sure why....but who cares! Love both my girls......

Fourth of July

The last day of church camp was the 4th of July. So, after unpacking and cleaning up, we headed down to the church. I was able to find Annie and Mia matching shirts--which is good while Annie still likes to match her sister! I talked Annie into pigtails--probably for the last time.

This is Mia with Janie and Adison, her friends from church.

Mia and Scott......Unlike Annie, Mia doesn't seem to mind the noise, at all. So, no more headphones on the 4th--yah!!

Out to eat....

I know Sami will kill me for this, but, hey, she posed for the camera!!

I lvoe this picture of Stina and Mia....so sweet!

But, don't be fooled! This is Mia, in her natural state--even if she is a little blurry!

Annemarie's Birthday Dinner

Annemarie's birthday happened to fall on a Saturday this year, so we told her she could pick a place for everyone to go to dinner. She chose Cheescake Factory (for the 2nd year) which we are more than happy with (gone are the days of Chuck E. Cheese-thank goodness!). So, we all treked over to Riverside for dinner. The best part was that Greg was visiting from Wisconsin so he was able to come to dinner with us. It was so nice to see him--the girls were sooo excited to see Greggie--and Mia eventually warmed to him!!

Mia's Silly Face

My first baby girl......

and my second baby girl!!

Mia has never wanted to even consider getting her face painted. But, at school one day, her teacher decided to apint everyone's face and Mia hopped right into line! Her teacher asked her what she wanted and all Mia would say is "Mommy", so, this is what she ended up with. LOVE IT!!

Mia has now moved into a Toddler bed. We had planned on moving her right into a twin bed, but the one I want (from IKEA!!) is going to have to wait until we can save a bit of $$. But, Mia was starting to hoist her leg up onto the side rail of the crib, so we had to do something!!

She's really happy in her bed, tries to jump on it every chance she gets and loves to run from the other side of the room and fly into her bed! She has gotten out of bed more than a few times, but we just march her right back to bed and now I think she's got the point. One time, I even caught her playing.....She's getting so big!

I love, love, love this picture!! I don't remember what day this was, but it was in the last few weeks. Mia had been saying she wanted to swim by herself, but refuses to wear floaties. So, Sis was able to find a floatey suit. We put it on her and tried to get her to kick around a bit--but now she refuses to let go of whoever has her! UGH!! Swimming lessons for sure for this one! But, she loves the water. She does look a bit over-prepared, what with the floatey suit, ear plugs, head band......

First Day of School

So, my sister took the three big girls back to school shopping. Everyone got new outfits (which they are wearing), shoes, backpacks, etc.... I love my sister for being such a great aunt! Which is evident in the selection of Annie's outfit. Now, Annie LOVES this outfit. But, it's probably a good thing that Aunt Cathy was with her to pick it out instead of Uptight-Mom..... It's cute and all, it's just that there seems to be A LOT of the pattern...kinda everywhere. But, like I said, Annie loves it and loves her Aunt Cathy for leting her get it. Luckily, Annemarie doesn't care anymore if I like her clothes, so as long as they're appropriate, I don't care....too much! What kills me is that with all the neon colors, skinny jeans, Vans, even leg warmers, it's like I'm reliving my youth. The music from the 80's I don't mind, but please don't bring back parachute pants!!

It's so hard for me to fathom sometimes that Christina and Samantha are in 8th grade! I remember the day they were born. Yes, I realize that makes me sound really old, but it's true!! Next year-HIGH SCHOOL!! Pray for Sis and Tony ;-) Annie is now in 5th grade with middle school just a year away! So as not to break from tradition, I cried on the first day of school, but at least this year, I was able to hold it together until I got home (which made Annie happy!). Luckily, Mia was home from preschool that day, so that helped!

A few days before school started, Christina and Samantha got new haircuts. Sami has some side-swept bangs. She likes her hair long and it looks really nice!

Christina's hair is especially different. She looks so much older and as beautiful as ever!

Alas, Annemarie did not get a haircut....and she's informed me that "even if I do get a haircut, I only want a trim, I like it parted down the middle and long because it's easier to put up in a ponytail when I'm running around chasing boys......." That's pretty much where she stopped--her dad was in the room!! ;-)