First Bites

Grammy and Pawpaw visited us this weekend. Mia just talked and laughed the whole time it seems. I think sometimes she was showing off. We went shopping in the Bishops Arts District here in Oak Cliff and had ice cream at Espumoso which just opened. Grammy dipped Mia's pacifier in her Mocha Almond Fudge so she could have a taste. She liked it! One of Mia's big moments of the week came yesterday when we fed her with a spoon for the first time. We've been putting rice cereal in her bottles sometimes for the past month. Last night, we mixed up some formula and rice and put her in the high chair. She was curious at first, but she didn't know quite what to think. She ate several spoonfuls before she decided she'd had enough of that for one night.

Mia at 22 weeks old

Blowing raspberries at Grammy and Pawpaw.

An escape attempt thwarted by Mommy.

Grammy and Mia
Giggling with Pawpaw
"First bite...okay, this is different..."
"I think I'm getting the hang of this..."
"All done! That was pretty good!"

Baby and Bunny

Mia's favorite toy is her bunny blanket. It's just a blanket with a bunny head attached to it. If you put it in front of her, her eyes get wide and she throws her arms around it. She loves that thing. More pictures of the weekend to follow tomorrow.

Mia with her BFF

My child the super hero.
I don't know why all of her bibs wind up backwards.
She ends up looking like she's wearing a cape.

Happy Father's Day!

Uncle Darvey came for a visit this week. Everyone had a good time, and Mia enjoyed playing with him. We all went to Cafe Brazil for lunch on Saturday. It got a thumbs up from all of us. Mia slept through the lunch, but I'm sure she would agree. We all went over to Mesquite one day to get Mia a Bumbo chair. Rather than pay $40 at Wal-Mart, we opted to buy one on Craig's List for $15. You can't beat that. Mia seems to like it fairly well. She can't really fall over, so I think she likes to be sitting up and looking around. Mia "made" a Father's Day gift for her Daddy at daycare. It has both of her footprints on it and a saying. It says: "Walk a little slower Daddy, said a child so small. I'm following in your footsteps, and I don't want to fall. Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they're hard to see; So walk a little slower, Daddy, for you are leading me." Isn't that precious? Also, Holly and I are going to take Jon and Wesley out to Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse for a Father's Day dinner. Not tonight, of course, because Father's Day is a crowded time in restaurants as we all know. Jon and Holly will bring little Harper along when we go. We hope that Mia and Harper will become good friends as they get older. In honor of Wesley's first Father's Day, I must include a picture taken the day Mia was born. I had been in labor for several hours, and the pain was getting to me a little. This is a picture of me during a contraction when Wesley was trying to keep my spirits up by making me laugh. If that doesn't show what a wonderful husband and father he is, I don't know what else could.

Mia in her Bumbo chair

Marcus and Mia

Mia at 21 weeks old.
She was blowing raspberries at me.
There was drool all over her!

Husband of the Year
Happy First Father's Day, Daddy!!
Daddy and Mia on Father's Day

An Appreciation for the Arts

On Saturday, Wesley and I took Mia to the Dallas City Arts Festival in downtown Dallas. Anticipating large crowds and full parking garages, we decided to take the DART train to the festival. There is a station not too far from our house, and it was the first time for all of us to ride the train. Due to the construction of a new train line downtown, we had to get off of the train at Union Station by Dealey Plaza. The DART bus system was providing shuttles for free, so we rode the bus as close as we could to the festival. We still had to walk a few blocks, but it's always fun for us to look at the buildings downtown. The arts festival was packed with art, people, food, and music. There were plenty of things and people for Mia to look at. She rode in her baby carrier while we were there. An interesting thought sprang to my mind at one point when I had to change Mia's diaper on an outside table by the train station (no bathroom in sight)...I wonder what strange places other moms I know have changed a baby's diaper? Any mom will tell you that they can turn just about anything into a changing table with a waterproof lap pad. I've changed her in my lap before, but she's gotten too long for that, not to mention really squirmy nowadays. There was plenty of great art at the festival, and it was nice to get out and have a little fun before the summer Texas heat becomes too stifling. It's almost too hot already, so our outdoor activities may be limited in the middle of the day from now on. The last thing I want is a baby with a sunburn. Thank goodness for spray-on baby sunscreen.

Mia at 20 weeks old

Mia on her first train ride.
It's hard to get a 4 month old to pose on a train.


Mia finally looking at Daddy on the train after much effort.

Mia taking her first bus ride.
Mia and Mommy at the arts festival.
The pointy building behind us is my favorite Dallas building "Fountain Place".
It looks like it's twisted, but you can't really see that here.

Pictures for Papaw

Papaw, Nana Bev, and Uncle Ryan just got back from a vacation in the Badlands in South Dakota. They saw Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and lots of black bears among other things. Papaw sent Mia this onesie from the Black Hills and another one that looks like pink camo, but that one is still too big.

A New View of Things

Wesley put Mia's high chair together the other day. We aren't spoon feeding her yet, but she's beginning to show signs of wanting a bite of whatever we're eating. I let her lick a corner of a Cheezit for about half a second. We thought we might start sitting her in the high chair once in awhile to see how she likes it. Naturally, if she can see everything that's going on, she's happy. Because she can't sit up on her own yet, Wesley put a small pillow and one of her blankets around her to pad the seat. This is a picture of her first time in the high chair Uncle Tyler bought her.

Mia in her high chair

Mia at 19 weeks old

Baby's First Symphony

Mia went to her first musical event on Tuesday. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra was performing a free concert outdoors at Kidd Springs Park. Wesley's mom (Nana) was here visiting Mia for a couple of days. Luckily for us, that park is two blocks from our house. I strapped Mia in her baby carrier for the walk. We all grabbed camping chairs and headed for the park. There were a lot of people there, and the weather was perfect. Mia behaved very well. I think she liked it. They played different music from around the world. Much good music was enjoyed by all. I hope they do outdoor concerts more often.