Lordy, Lordy Looks Who's 40!

So, many of you know that I have been raised in a family that is, at times, just not very nice. But, we love each other very much....even when we're not being nice to each other! So, for my husband's birthday, I told him to askfor anything (family rule: Ask for what you want, be happy with what you get...). For years, he has asked for a new truck (we had to get rid of his truck when we got married or we would've had to live in it!). So, her finally got a brand new truck! For his surprise, though, he had to be blindfolded (all I had was a towel)

and led outside.................

where everyone was waiting to yell, "Surprise!" as I handed him the keys to a car.............

and then revealed his new truck! See it? (Scott, didn't see it at first, either. All he saw was everyone around Uncle Scott's work truck.....) It's about a foot in front of Scott, on the ground--it looks like a big rock..... Yep, after many years of being patient, he got a brand new Matchbox truck!! He really fell for it too....aawww, poor Scott! He's a good sport though and enjoyed the rest of his party!

School's over-time to blog!

My cousin Sarah sent me this picture from her wedding. Annie was 4 years old! She looks so small! But I thought I would blog it because she is just so cute! The girls are doing well. Annie is finishing up 2nd grade and we're getting ready for summer. Scott and I are done with school!!! We are NOT taking summer classes and after the year we've had, yeehaw!! Mia is doing well, also. She's sleeping through the night. She's actually been doing that for about a month solid, and had done it sporadically for about a month before that. Ocassionally, especially if her nighttime routine is off, she'll get up at 4 or 5, but she goes right back down for another 3-4 hours. Some of the time, she goes to bed awake even, but she talks to her mobile or fusses a bit and then she's off to sleep. The daytime routine does not go so smoothly, but we're working on getting her on a schedule. She reminds me so much of Annie, who was a cranky baby until I got her on a schedule and then she did great. So, now that I'm done with school, I can concentrate on that! On April 26th Mia had what we thought would be her last eye exam. But, we have to go back in June. Her eyes showed no change this time. But, at least it's 6 weeks between appointments. She's getting bigger, though and she kicked the nurse in the face while she was trying to hold Mia down for the exam-oh well!! :-) She said she was used to it, though. I think Mia is just about ready to roll over. She rolls from her back to her side but then goes back on her back, but I'm sure it will be soon. PT comes this Friday.....

Mia started cereal on Aprl 28th. It is weird to think that she would be big enough. But some things she does based on her actual age (7 months today!) and other things she does based on her corrected age (4 months on the 23rd). So, her doctor said we could try and so we did. She started off with rice ceral (which is actually devoid of any taste-I tried it.) Now, she's moved on to carrots (her favorite), peas and oatmeal. Tomorrow we'll be trying squash. She also gets a few sips of white grape juice mixed with ALOT of water. She lets most of it just run out of her mouth, but when she sees the cup, she'll actually grab it and try to bring it to her mouth. In the first picture, I was trying to get a picture showing her bib and she wouldn't help, so Scott held her hand for me...she thought that was funny!

This is her first actual bite and she tried to take the spoon out! At first it was alot of feeding her the same bite over and over, but she's getting better now. She does great at breakfast, and OK at lunch. We're sticking with the two meals for now.

Mia did pretty well......

but when she was done, SHE WAS DONE!! One thing we never have to worry about is wondering if Mia needs something. She always lets us know!!

Mia's getting really good at bringing her hands to her midline (very important developmental step-at least that's what the physical therapist said!). She's even started holding onto some toys-though not always purposefully-and bringing them to her mouth. These are her two favorites toy right now.

She also likes to chew on her bib, clothes, burp rags, etc....when her sleepers bunch up in the front like this one did, she'll chew on that too! This particular outfit is dedicated to Uncle Tony-when my sister was here last, she found this sleeper with little pink "24"'s and racecars all over it. Mia said, "I love my outfit and I love Uncle Tony, but I'm not so sure about this Jeff Gordon guy..." Thanks Aunt Cathy!!

On May 2nd, we decided that it was time for Mia to sleep in her own bed. She would have been in her bed much sooner, except, well, Mom just wasn't ready. But, then when she started making noise every hour or so and Mom stopped getting much sleep, well, it was time! Now, just so I don't get a bunch of angry comments, she is CHEWING on her little pink baby. She's not being smothered or anything. When she quiets down (yes, we let her cry herself to sleep when she needs to!), I check her to be sure what ever she's decided to chew on (usually her blanket) isn't on her face. She almost always kicks her blanket off, but it's warmer now and she's like a little heater (like Scott and Annie) so she does fine. She just looks so small in her big crib!

This is Mia on May 8th-the first day she went from her buncy seat to her highchair to eat. She hated it (which is why she looks like she's been crying), so we went back to the bouncy seat. What ever makes her happy!!

Curly Top with the Orange Belt....

Lately, Annemarie has been wanting me to curl her hair. It started when she watched the Shirley Temple movie "Curly Top" and then she also decided that she wanted to match her American Girl doll. But, she has been "blessed" with my super straight hair, so we were getting up 15 minutes earlier each day and curling it. My mom mentioned to Annie that her mom (Big Granma) used to roll her hair each night in squishy rollers. Annie said she'd like to try that. So, we bought some, rolled her hair (she only wanted the top done). She slept on them just fine...and then said she didn't want to sleep on them ever again!! So I'm glad I took a picture of her. But, the next morning, we still had to girl the bottom part, so we may just stick with the curling iron! Although, I may have her talked into rolling her hair first thing and then letting it sit while she eats breakfast! And no, I don't have the picture of the next morning....mornings are a little crazy, but I'll try to get one with her hair curly, soon.

This last Saturday, Annemarie tested for her orange belt in Karate. It took her quite awhile to get to her orange belt--she worked really hard, but she'd had some trouble concentrating, but we worked it out. So, the first thing they had to do was lay down and relax...thinking about how they will succeed, etc... Then everyone had to get up and perform one "move" in front of the whole class and parents. She bit her lip until it was her turn (that's what she does when she's nervous) but then she popped right up and did perfect! After many laps, jumping jacks, mountain climbers and push-ups (they REALLY work the kids!!), it was time to relax and reflect on the testing. At this point, I'd had to step out three or four times to keep Mia quiet. I finally strapped her back in her car seat and swung her until she fell asleep!! While the class was relaxing, the teachers placed their belts and certificates in front of them...

This is Annemarie receiving her orange belt....YAH!! They have to kneel while they put their belts on (even at home), then they take first postition (third picture), bow to their teachers, each other and their families. Then it's time to pose for all the parents. Annemarie worked really hard and Scott and I are very proud of her!!

Mia was in a pretty decent mood the other day, so I tried to get her to laugh.....this is as close as I was able to get. She will really laugh for Annie, Scott or my mom, but I think she gets tired of "performing" for me!

Finally time to blog....

Scott's parents visited with us for a week. It was so nice to see them. They had not been here since Mia was born. Needless to say, the girls got plenty of spoiling from Nana and Papa!!

Easter Sunday 2007

I was able to find Annemarie and Mia matching dresses (Annie is always asking to dress like her sister) and they looked so sweet. Of course, it was cold, but we just added tights and sweaters and everyone seemed ok.....

Mia slept right through the post-church photo shoot, but then she woke up....

with a pretty smile!

I know that it has been a very long time since I blogged--sorry!! The last month has been crazy busy!! My sister and nieces, Christina and Samantha, visited for 2 weeks and then a few days later, Scott's parents visited for a week. It was nice to see everyone!! This last Monday, Mia had her 6-month check-up. It's hard to believe that she's 6 months old!! She weighed in at 11 lbs., 8 ozs. and 23 inches long! She's in the 50th percentile for a 2 1/2 month old. Her doctor was very happy with her progress. She did receive her 6-month shots, too--she did ok-considering-but her legs were sore for a day or two. Mia's doctor did state that she will be getting the RSV shots next winter and that we will have to keep her in, again, and away from crowds. I figure that I'll revisit that with him this fall, just to be sure we know exactly what our parameters are. He also stated that we should not travel with her until she is at least 15 months old-corrected. However, since that is right in the middle of next winter's RSV season, we figure it will be at least a year before we can travel with her. We were hoping to see everyone in CA, but I guess we'll have to wait. The physical therapist visited Wednesday of the week and was so happy with Mia's progress! Mia is just about holding her head up all the way (with only the occasional bobble) and even thought she hates tummy-time, she's really strong on her tummy. She's not ready to roll over on her own, but we'll work on it! This next Thursday is (hopefully) her last eye appointment. At the last appointment, the doctor said that if she continued to progress as well as she has that this could be her last appointment until she's two!! I really hope so-we do not like eye exams!! The big news is that Mia is smiling ALOT, laughing and cooing and has cut her first tooth!! This is one of those things that apparently happens based on her actual age and not corrected. She's been drooling alot and chewing on anything she can. It's hard, though, because she cant' hold things in her hands so we have to hold the chew toys and such to her mouth for her. She is able to get her own hand in her mouth every once in awhile.

Annemarie is doing great. The warm weather has FINALLY arrived (it's 75 and GORGEOUS today), so she's very happy about not having to wear the winter gear. Of course, the bugs aren't out yet, so......Scott's working, working, working. he and I are both trying to finish school and are looking forward to having the summer off! He's turning 40 on June 8th--but I think he's ok with it. We're thinking of putting in a driveway this year (we just have gravel right now) but we'll see what we can afford. Life is finally taking on a somewhat more normal feeling-Mia and I take Annie to school everyday and then my mom comes over to entertain her while I try to get schoolwork done!

This is Mia in her CUTE bikini!! When my sister was here visiting we went swimming at the indoor pool at Tamarack with Kari and ALL the girls!! This was Mia's first time in a pool and she loved it. It was warm and probably just felt like a big bathtub to her. (Note the double chin!! She's very rolly--which I love!!)