New Discovery

Mia has just recently discovered that she has feet. I'm sure she knew something was down there, but she didn't pay much attention. She has now found out that if she grabs her foot, she can put it in her mouth. It's not only feet that she puts in her mouth either. Normally, if there isn't a pacifier in her mouth she sticks either her fist, her bib, or the closest available thing in her mouth. Sometimes that's her blanket, sometimes it's my hand...you get the idea. This in turn has resulted in a constant fountain of drool. As usual, Mia thinks it's all funny. She finds herself as well as the rest of us quite amusing. I'm sure all of this will be more of an issue when she starts crawling and puts who knows what in her mouth. I'm going to have to be best friends with a mop and broom to keep things off of the floor that might (to her anyway) look like a tasty treat to investigate.

Also, Mia went for her 4 month checkup with Dr. Curry this week. She weighed 12 pounds 3 oz. and was 25 1/4 inches long. I don't put much stock in percentiles but it was funny to me when the nurse said Mia was in the 25th percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for height. I asked her if that was okay, and she just said she's tall and skinny. A skinny kid with a "Buddha belly" as I call her little round tummy. I asked Dr. Curry if the low weight was a problem. He said of course that it was due to all of the spitting up and that she's small for her age but that it doesn't seem to be affecting her ability to grow. Final word: she's doing just fine. Well, that is until she received two simultaneous shots in her little thighs. Then you would think the world was coming to an end. I hate those cries. The ones where something hurt my baby, and I can only try to soothe her. Those cries can just about break your heart. Thankfully, it was time to eat, so I had a bottle ready. She was better in no time. As a child, I thought my mom was mean and had tricked me when we would go to the doctor for shots. Then they would offer you a lollipop afterward like that would make up for all of it. Now, I realize that it was just as bad for her to see me hurt as it was for me to get the shots. The things I continue to learn about motherhood amaze me. It's very different from this perspective than to be the child. The knowledge of being on both sides of that relationship is a powerful tool. Hopefully, I will use it well. On a side note, Dr. Curry said that since Mia's eyes are still blue, they will most likely stay that way. I wonder about that because Wesley and I both have hazel eyes. Don't worry. She's not a "milk man baby." Both my dad and Wesley's grandpa Bob have always kept their blue eyes, so you never know. I guess we'll just see.

Mia at 18 weeks old

Mia examining her feet in the bathtub.

A Quick Hello

Our Memorial Day weekend was fairly quiet after our trip to the mall on Saturday. Mia and I went to church on Sunday, and the rest of the weekend was spent doing things around the house. It was a nice weekend. Today, Mia turned 4 months old. I just wanted to post Mia's picture of the week that we take every Sunday.

Mia at 17 weeks old.

Starting an Expensive Habit

Today my friend Jill and I went to Northpark Mall to pick up my Mother's Day gift from Wesley. It is a charm bracelet with a cross and a baby carriage charm from my favorite jewelry store, James Avery. This was Mia's first time at James Avery (and Northpark too for that matter). I already have a beautiful cross necklace from there that Wesley gave me for my birthday, and we have bought Mia a girl silhouette necklace charm with her name engraved on it. This was Jill's first shopping trip with Mia, but she has three boys of her own. She's used to squealing kids, and she has the "Mommy touch" to make Mia happy when she's fussy. Mia seemed to like the James Avery store. I took a picture for the occasion because Mia will probably go there on a fairly regular basis since Jill and I are James Avery junkies. It was a fun shopping trip, and Mia seemed to be especially excited when we were looking at shoes at Dillards. Jill was thrilled about that because shoes are one of her great loves, and she's looking forward to taking Mia on many more shopping excursions! Shoes...jewelry...I'm afraid I've created a monster. I can hear it now, "But Mommy, YOU got some. I want some!"

This is Mia last weekend in a hat that Aunt Rachel got her.
That's Grammy holding her.

Mia and Auntie Jill getting ready to shop.

Mia's first trip to James Avery. One of many, I'm sure.

This is my charm bracelet. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo.
I couldn't get the camera to cooperate.

Sad Tidings

It's been several days since our last posting due to an unplanned trip to Heavener this last weekend. Wesley's grandma Patsy passed away last Thursday. Even when these things are expected, the loss is still significant. The service was sweet and funny, just like Patsy, but it was marred by the sadness of the occasion. She was a wonderful lady, and I feel very grateful that I was able to know her. When Mia was three weeks old, we visited her in the hospital and got some pictures of Patsy, Mia, Carol Ann, Wesley, and Marcus all together. I'm so glad that we did that. Mia had a busy weekend seeing all of the family. There were many people she hadn't met yet, so everybody wanted a turn holding her. I don't think she was hardly set down at all. She also got to meet her cousin Dylan for the first time. His mom is Wesley's cousin Melissa. Dylan is 3 years old and such a cutie. He was a blur of energy and kept Melissa on the go. I can't picture Mia at that age yet. I'll turn around one day, and it will be here.

My dad mailed Mia some pajamas last week that we just had to let her wear. I'm a big fan of the pjs that have cute stuff on the feet. I guess my dad is too, because he sent some that have ducks on the feet. As always, Mia looks so cute in them!

On a personal note (since this is somewhat of a journal for me), I have reached the first milestone in my weight loss goals. I have officially lost ALL of the baby weight I gained with Mia. I'm on a roll, so I'm going to keep up the healthy eating to lose a lot more. Just wanted to share!

Mia's 16 week picture

Mia in her duckie jammies from Papaw.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all of the mommies out there are having a wonderful Mother's Day. Mia's class at daycare made Mother's Day gifts for us moms. It is a flower made from her little handprint. It is so precious! I appreciate my own mother more every day. In case I don't say it often enough, Thanks Mom! You're the best! Being a mom comes with so many more challenges than I had anticipated, but I love every second of it. Even when it's 2am, she's crying, and she just threw up all over my pajamas. I still love it! Sounds crazy but oh so true. I can't help but think back to this exact time a year ago when Wesley was in the hospital. I was already pregnant but didn't know it yet. I had to leave work to take him first to the doctor and then to the ER where we sat all evening until he got admitted to the hospital. I was so scared he was going to pass out in the waiting room. All turned out well, and he's had no more problems from that episode since then. What a difference a year makes! Now, we're the parents of a beautiful little girl who is our whole world. It seems as though she does new things almost every day. The other morning Wesley laid her down next to me in bed to feed her. I asked him where her bottle was, and he said "She's got it". What? She's got it? I looked down, and Mia was holding her bottle in her little hands like a pro and just chowing down. That lasted for about half of the bottle when I think her arms got tired, so I helped her out for the rest of it. She hasn't grabbed on to it like that since then, but sometimes she'll put one hand on it as though she's thinking of trying it out again. She'll get the hang of it soon, I'm sure! Also, we had a successful photo session yesterday for Mia's 3 month pictures. As soon as they come in, I will scan in a few. They're so cute!

Mia's handprint flower

Mia holding her bottle for the first time at 3 1/2 months.

Mia's 15 week pictures taken on Mother's Day.
She had so many beautiful pictures today that I couldn't choose just one.
Here are a few of my favorites.

Scared Silly

I came across this picture, and I just had to post it. I laugh every time I see it. Mia is about six weeks old here, and she looks like someone just jumped out and said, "BOO!"

You Reap What You Sow

Mia is now over three months old, so tell me...when will she stop throwing up most of what she eats? Now, this is my first child, but still it seems a little unusual to me. The first six weeks of her young life, she didn't gain any weight at all. She's now getting bigger, but I'm not sure how. She went through 10-15 bibs this weekend (at least). I changed her clothes three or four times yesterday when I was trying to take her picture. I had to do an extra load of laundry on Sunday to wash all of the stuff she threw up on (including three of my shirts). My dad thinks it's all hilarious, and I can't say that I blame him. Apparently, I was exactly the same way as a baby. He has no sympathy for me, saying "For nine months, every piece of clothing I wore smelled like spit up!" I guess you could say that I got what was coming to me. Generally, it just makes me laugh. I laugh because sometimes she smiles after she throws up like she's saying, "Oh, I got you, Mom! I so got you!" Keep laughing, girlie. Some day you'll have a baby, too! Mia is so funny. She's a constant source of entertainment!

Mia is 14 weeks old this week.

Here is one of her first outfits of the day.

This was another clothing change. The look was completed with a pair of pink sneakers. This was the first day that Mia has worn shoes! They didn't seem to bother her at all.


Here is Mia at the end of the day after a much needed bath.