Electric Ponytail

I can put Mia's hair in a ponytail! I've been waiting for this forever. Now, not all of it is long enough just yet, but it's so cute! She looks like Pebbles Flintstone. I've been putting hair clips in her hair (which she frequently removes herself immediately), but she never tried to pull down the ponytail. It stands straight up, and looks like she stuck her finger in a light socket. Who cares? Too cute, too cute.

I took Mia for her 15 month checkup with Dr. Curry this morning. She zoomed all over the waiting room playing and babbling to the other babies. She was still happy when the nurse brought us back to the exam room where she got to play with some toys. Then...Dr. Curry came in. I absolutely love him because he is brilliant, nice, and so good with kids. However, the second Mia saw him, she ran to my lap and started freaking out. I wouldn't have thought she would remember him from her last appointment, but I guess she did. She must have thought, "This guy being here means shots! Save me Mommy!" She did get the shots, but she only cried for a few seconds. Then, she was given a tongue depressor to play with as she sat on the exam table. Somehow, this made her forget about the nasty shots. Her measurements this time were 22 lbs 8 oz (less than 50%) and 31 inches (75%). I knew she had gotten taller, but I was surprised that she has only gained one pound since her twelve month visit. Only one pound gained in three months? The kid eats all of the time. Constantly. I'm sure it's because she is so active now. Dr. Curry said she's doing great!

Close-up of the ponytail
I know it's a little crooked, but undeniably adorable.

What to Wear?

Mia had a hard time deciding what to wear today. She took several shirts out of her dresser and carried them over to the ottoman. After she built up a pile, she couldn't make up her mind which one to put on. She gave up and took them all back one at a time. She put them gently (although unfolded) back in the drawer. It's cute how she sometimes has an opinion on things such as what to wear. I chose an outfit for her which she liked, but she vetoed the shoes I picked out. I put those up, and thankfully she liked my second shoe choice!

A Walk in the Park

Today, we took Mia to the Main Street Garden Park in downtown Dallas. It's a brand new park that just opened a few months ago. It's a good sized park with plenty of nice, cool places to throw a blanket on the ground and relax. There is also a dog run, an outdoor cafe, and a toddler playground they call the Tot Lot. Mia isn't much into sitting down and relaxing now that she's walking so well. It's go, go, go all of the time. We walked from one end of the park to the other and back exploring as we went. Mia loved having a wide open space to take off in without me hovering over her worried that she'll fall and hurt herself. She toddled all over the place and seemed to really enjoy herself. She insisted on picking up every leaf she saw, especially the magnolia leaves. We spent some time at the Tot Lot which wasn't very big, but then again, Mia isn't very big, so it worked. In keeping with the modern theme of the park, the few pieces of play equipment were sort of futuristic looking. Mia enjoyed spinning this yellow bowl-looking thing that was apparently meant to be sat in while someone else spins you. We tried to sit her in it and do that, but it was purposely mounted at a slant to make the spin uneven. Mia didn't like that because she kept almost falling out, so we gave up and let her just stand there and spin it herself. We hope to go back, but the Texas heat has arrived, so our opportunities to be out and about will have to be planned carefully from now on. It was a great afternoon!

That Left a Mark!

Yeah, folks...that is the imprint of a set of one year old chompers on my baby girl's arm. When I arrived to pick up Mia on Monday, one of her teachers said that she had been bitten again. It was a different child this time. Apparently, Mia was playing with a ball that the little boy wanted. She didn't give it to him, so he bit her. He bit her really hard. This picture was taken this evening. It looked even worse when I saw it Monday. I know my girl is sweet, but everybody needs to stop taking bites of her! I told Mia that she has permission to bite back next time. She has plenty of teeth to fight back with. She has five teeth on top with a sixth breaking through plus three teeth on bottom with a fourth just peaking through. I think she can stick up for herself with ten teeth! As long as she doesn't become the one biting the other kids for no reason, she can protect herself without getting in trouble from me. Who would've thought one year olds could beat up on each other? Geez...

Big Wheels Keep on Turnin'

We had a fun trip to Russellville, AR this weekend. Wesley's friend, Josh, was getting married, and Wes was the best man. It's a long way from Dallas to Russellville, so we decided to break up the drive for Amelia's sake and stayed the night in Heavener on the way up and on the way back. Mia has been taking road trips since she was three weeks old, so she's a pretty good little traveler. However, by the time we got home this evening, she was sick of being in the car. On Friday, the three of us went up to the Runestone before we left Heavener so that Mia could play on the playground. Also, the views up there of the town are beautiful, and we never get tired of looking at them. The Runestone is where Wesley proposed to me, where we had Mia's baby shower, and so many other special memories through the years. Mia had never been there, so we took advantage of the beautiful morning to go play. Of course, Mia doesn't really know how playground equipment works yet, but she played some. She had a very engaging conversation with a pine cone she found as well. It was a fun morning.

At the wedding on Saturday, Mia did as well as you could expect of an almost 15 month old. She was fairly well behaved during the ceremony except for some goldfish crackers that I had to retrieve from the floor and a few outbursts each time she saw her daddy. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't go to him while he was standing up by Josh. She kind of ran around a lot at the reception while we waited for the wedding party to take some pictures. I guess she was letting loose a lot of pent up energy. It was impossible to take any pictures with my camera. Wesley took his turn chasing her when he got to the reception. The colors of the wedding were black and white which I absolutely loved. The cake was gorgeous, and the decorations were elegant and classic. Congratulations, Josh and Kim!

As per a previous post, Mia is now having duckie-less baths. We're saying sayonara to the big, pink duck. Mia doesn't quite know what to do with the whole tub to herself. She kept having to chase her bath toys around the tub. She likes it, though, because there is more water to splash. As I've said, the kiddo loves bath time.

Mia showing Mommy her book during a pit stop.Mia held her new ball on the way to Runestone. I know that she wanted to play with it up there, but it would be my luck that it would go hurtling over the edge of the mountain. We decided to leave it in the car.
Mia and Daddy on the slide
Swinging with Mommy
Looking at the view of Heavener from the overlook.
Mia is lovin' having more water to play in without the duck.

Bubble Beard and a Mohawk

Mia LOVES bath time. You just say, "Mia, are you ready for a bath?", and she takes off for the bathroom. She points at the tub as if to say, "Hurry up, lady! I'm ready to play in the water!" Mia has always been good at taking baths since she was a newborn. I don't even really have to worry about getting water on her face. She doesn't really care, but I try to keep the water out of her ears for sure. She loves picking up her bath toys and putting them in the little basketball hoop/net that is suction-cupped to the side of the tub. She gets excited over the bubbles in her bubble baths, too. She loves to lean forward until she just touches the surface of the water with her face in the bubbles. Then, she leans up with a "bubble beard" and giggles because she already knows that it's gonna make me giggle, too. The other night Wesley was shampooing her hair and decided to try out a mohawk. It made her hair look long, for once! Actually, her hair is getting longer. I've been experimenting with hair clips, but they haven't looked right with her hair so short...until now. I put a pink hair clip in Mia's hair for church this Sunday. It was the debut of a hair clip for her in public. She left it in all morning, and it was still there when I picked her up after the church service. She looked so cute! Little girls are so much fun!

This one's blurry, but it's the only full-length shot I could get. She was ready to go hunt some Easter eggs at church!
Heading to church and happy as can be on Easter Sunday!

Where the Wild Things Are

Uncle Darvey and Aunt Denise came for a visit last weekend. We had a great time while they were here. I had to work Friday, but Wesley and Mia took them to Lake Cliff Park to walk around and play. On Saturday, we all went to the Dallas Zoo. Mia and I went there in October by ourselves through a promotion through the daycare. Wesley had to sleep during the day since he was working Saturday nights at the time, so Mia and I went alone. On that first trip, she was only mildly interested, although she liked the bright colors of the flamingos and the constant motion of the meerkats. This time, Mia was much more alert to what was going on. As soon as we got there she started saying, "Wow! Oh, wow! Wooooow!" as she pointed at each animal she saw. She had a blast looking at all of the animals. She liked the monkeys even though one of them pick up a stick and chucked it right at us. Once again, the meerkats were her favorites. She loved watching them scamper around and poke their heads up out of their hole. The weather was great for a zoo trip, and we had a great time!

Now, tell me that's not wild hair...
Being silly with Uncle Darvey
Watching the meerkats with a little support from mommy.

First-Time Auntie!!

Meet my handsome, brand new, and very first nephew: Connor Lane Stacy. Now, I'm an aunt! I was so excited to meet the little cutie a couple of weeks ago. He's so little! Tyler and Shawnna are proud parents and rightly so! He's going to be a sweetheart. Well, he already is. He was perfectly well behaved while we were at their house and weighed nothing. After hauling around a 14 month old all of the time, he was a piece of cake. I could have held him all evening. I wanted to, but I thought I should share him. Everybody wanted a turn cuddling him. We're so glad to meet you, Connor, and we love you lots!

Aunt Jess with little Connor

Papaw and Connor on his birthday

Nanny and Papa with Connor