Future Four Eyes?

I've been wearing glasses since I was in fourth grade.  Wesley got his glasses in third grade.  We hope for the best, but we're preparing ourselves for the possibility that Mia might one day have to get glasses.  I saw a book in Mia's book order from school that might come in handy when that time comes, so we bought one.

It looks cute, and I think she'll be able to relate to it.  I let her try on my glasses this evening to see what she thought.  She took them off pretty quickly.  To her, it was probably like trying to see through the bottom of a Coke bottle. 

Wordless Wednesday: Ready for Spring School Pictures

Under the Sea

Today, Wesley and I took Mia over to Fair Park to the Children's Aquarium for the first time.  They just reopened last fall after extensive renovations, so we were eager to see the new exhibits.  It's on a much smaller scale than the Dallas World Aquarium that we've taken her to a couple of times, but it was still very fun for her.  She didn't stay in the stroller long because she wanted to explore.  She would run up to each tank and look inside.  I love her curiosity.  The only two things that creeped her out were the sharks and manta rays.  Can you blame her?  They kind of give me the creeps too, but they're still fun to watch.  We watched them feed the sharks and manta rays.  Then, Wesley took Mia over to a different pool with sting rays that you can touch, but Mia would have none of that.  She was very much in a look but don't touch kind of mood.  We all give the Children's Aquarium two thumbs up!

Ready to go see the fish!

 We saw some Dallas landmarks on the way into Fair Park such as the Texas Star ferris wheel...

 and the Cotton Bowl where the OU/TX football game is played every year.

 At the aquarium, Mia had to check out the albino alligators.

 Looking at turtles

 Liked the hermit crabs but wouldn't touch them.

More turtles (they were a favorite)

Taking a break

 Smiling at a stingray that waved a fin at her.

Posing with the fish purse she got at the gift shop.

 

A Band-Aid and a Kiss Fix Anything

Mia is really loving her new class.  She likes to give her friends hugs when she leaves, and then she tells me what they did in school that day.  I'm so glad that she gets along with all of the other kids.  However, these kids are pretty active.  I'm sure Mia keeps up just fine with them, but she's coming home more frequently with bumps and bruises.  She bumped the side of her head at school the other day which resulted in a bruise.  This evening she was adamant that she needed a Hello Kitty band-aid for her "owie".  I tried to tell her that it would be no fun to take it off later, but she insisted.  After it was on, she wanted me to give it a kiss.  I obliged, and then she said, "Tay too, Momma. Better!" ("Thank you, Momma. All better!")  Here is a picture of her bandaged daycare battle wound:

I made some cupcakes last night, so Mia wanted one after dinner.  She usually just licks some of the frosting and then says she's done.  Today...not so much.  She devoured that thing.  Here she is somewhere in the middle of eating her cupcake:

And here she is after she polished the thing off.  Right here she's saying, "Another one! Another cupcake, Mommy!"  

I had to decline her request.  She didn't mind because when she was done I gave her a bubble bath with the strawberry scented Dora bubbles she loves so much. 

Sweet Valentine

Mia's class had their Valentine's party yesterday.  She came home with Valentines and lots of candy.  All we heard all evening was, "Candy! Candy!"  I finally had to put it away so that she didn't end up in a sugar coma.  We gave her a little plastic candy machine that dispenses two M&Ms at a time.  She loves that thing.  I'm glad I bought extra M&Ms because she won't leave it alone.  We also got her a Mickey Mouse Valentine's light that looks like a cartoon light saber.  She's been going through a phase lately where she doesn't want me to brush her teeth.  I explained to her that no brushing means no candy, so she relented.  She dutifully hops up on her bathroom stool and opens wide for me to brush her pearly whites!

Snow and T-shirt Weather

Wednesday Mia and I had another snow day.  I didn't really expect the weather to be bad enough to warrant a day off from work and daycare, but we had a layer of snow and ice on the roads that morning.  We were pretty laid back because the temperatures stayed below freezing for a couple of days.  On the other hand, you have today when temperatures got up into the 70s.  That's Texas weather for you.  Mia and I have been enjoying pink eye, so I wanted to get out of the house this afternoon.  We went to our neighborhood park and discovered a new playground tucked at the back of the park.  We haven't been to that park in a few months due to the cold weather.  It was a nice surprise, and Mia had fun playing on the playground and watching the ducks in the pond.

Mia has been having a visitor at her bedroom window lately.  A bird likes to come peck on the window in the mornings.  I guess it's trying to attack its reflection.  On our snow day morning Wednesday, I woke up to Mia talking over the baby monitor.  She was saying, "No! Stop it bird! No! Mia's room! MOMMY!"  It was a funny thing to wake up to Mia trying to tattle on the bird.

Mia is now talking about herself by using both her first and last names.  If you begin any sentence with "Are you...", she replies, "No! Mia McGee!"  The other day she was crawling all over me.  When she finally got settled, I asked her, "Well, are you comfortable?"  She pointed to herself and said, "No Mommy. Mia McGee!" Silly goose.

Fun at the park

Wordless Wednesday: Ready for Bed

Weeeee!!!!!!!!

Playing in the Snow

Snow Princess

Well, today is Snow Day #4!  I can't believe I only worked one day this week, but I didn't have to use any vacation days!  This has to be a first for my work to be closed for so long.  We woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground.  The afternoon weather report said that DFW got anywhere from 2"-7" of snow depending on where you are in the metroplex.  I measured about five different places in our yard.  They all measured 4 inches of snow!  That's not nearly as much as we received last February when we got a foot of snow, but it's definitely plenty of snow to play in.  I found Mia's pail and shovels to play with outside.  They work for snow just was well as they do for sand!  Mia loved playing in the snow.  I even helped her make a snow angel!  I kid you not, two people walked down the street on snow skis!  When we were both thoroughly covered in snow, we filled a bowl with snow and brought it inside to make snow ice cream.  I had never attempted that before, so I googled it.  I found a recipe that called for 4-5 cups of snow (I used about 6), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup milk, and 1/2 cup sugar.  It was really good!  I gave Mia a bowl of it, and she loved it!  She gobbled it up, then said, "More snow ice keem, Mommy! More! More!"  It was a hit!

Inspecting her mittens (or "mimmits" as she calls them) to make sure she's ready to go outside.

 Fun in the snow!!

 Hard to see but this is Mia's snow angel!

 Eating yummy snow ice cream

Keep Those Snow Days Comin'!

Snow day #3 yesterday was fun, but I was feeling a bit under the weather.  However, Mia was still zipping around going 90 to nothing, so I kept up as best as I could.  I was incredibly happy to find a sticker book in Mia's art supplies that she got for Christmas.  She made some "sticker art", and that kept her occupied for quite awhile.  It's interesting to see how her art turns out.  In a way, it kind of shows how her mind works. 

For lunch, Mia and I bundled up and walked two blocks to our favorite diner, Norma's.  Norma's has been a staple of Oak Cliff cuisine for decades.  Corn muffins, chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, and then peaches for dessert.  Yum!  The sidewalks were basically a sheet of ice, and I carried Mia the whole way there and back.  I was pretty tired when we got home, but it was good to get out of the house for a little while.

Mia must have been pretty tired, too.  Even after her nap, she sat quietly on the couch with a cup of dried cranberries and yogurt-covered raisins (a favorite snack combo of her's) and watched Hello Kitty.  I tried to capture this rare moment of stillness with a picture, but she kept leaning around me to see Hello Kitty.  Funny girl.  The rest of the day was spent like we usually do with books, toys, and coloring.  We also danced a lot to Mia's Silly Songs with Larry cd.  All in all it was a great day!

Showing off her sticker art

Trying to see HK.  I guess I was in the way.

Snow Day #2

I have never had two consecutive snow days from work until now.  Today was my second day off due to the icy roads.  Mia's daycare was closed also.  I couldn't stay in my pajamas all day again, so I got us both dressed.  We didn't go anywhere, though.  Mia had toys and books strewn all over the house.  She's getting really stir crazy.  She's a two-year-old ball of energy, so it's hard for her to stay cooped up in the house for two days.  I tried to keep her occupied.  We read books, colored, played with her toys, etc.  She likes going upstairs to our family room, so we spent some time up there.  Wesley and I have been sorting through tons of boxes and papers up there, and it's still kind of a mess.  Mia doesn't care.  She just pulls out a bunch of toys and either lays in the floor coloring or sits on the futon watching the Disney channel.  I think she was craving a change of scenery.  I just found out that her daycare is closed again tomorrow, so we have Snow Day #3 to look forward to.  I kind of feel like a stay at home mom right now.  I love it!  I've been doing laundry and keeping the dishes washed.  It's a good feeling.  I'm gonna have to get creative on Mia's entertainment tomorrow.  It's far too cold to let her play outside, so I'll have to come up with activities we haven't done yet.  I'd better get to thinking about that!

She had so many toys piled around her room. It was like a mine field!

 Mia started tossing all of her toys in the crib.  I guess when you're bored you just make up your own games to play.

 Reading Garrison Keillor's "Daddy's Girl".  She crouched like this the whole time she was reading it.  I guess she felt comfortable like that.  I would have had to sit myself down on the floor.

 

Old Man Winter

We got our first snow day of the winter today.  A huge cold front descended on us and brought sleet, snow, and freezing cold winds with it.  I just read that tonight may be the coldest night Dallas has seen in 15 years with an expected low between five and ten degrees.  Brrrr!!  We put Mia to bed with three blankets on her!  Knowing her little hot-natured self, she'll probably kick them off at some point, though.  Mia and I got to stay home and have a snow day, but Wesley had to go to work.  He made it there and back home safely.  He's going to take my car tomorrow though because my 4 wheel drive is better than his (or so he told me).  I don't like the thought of him driving on those icy roads.

Mia and I had a fun and relaxing day.  Other than locking herself in her room this morning, the day was without incident.  It took me five minutes and a paperclip to get her out of her room.  She wanted to watch Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, and (new to her repertoire) Strawberry Shortcake all day.  Sometimes I feel like I'm reliving my childhood with those shows.  Plus, she has Hello Kitty dolls, a Raggedy Ann, and a ton of Sesame Street books.  She and I stayed in our pajamas all day long.  I loved it!  I got some cleaning done, but we kept things pretty low key.  We've been trying to teach her colors.  She's getting better at it.  I held a pile of her necklaces in my hands and asked her to pick each color.  When she got it right (which was most of the time), she would put that necklace on.  She loves games, so that worked pretty well.