Little Miss Mia

Mia's first two teeth, yay!

A friend bequeathed a talking Elmo doll to us, and Mia has taken a particular liking to it. He talks when you squeeze him. However, Mia isn't able to squeeze him hard enough, so she puts him on the floor and body slams him to make him speak. If Mia didn't like it so much, I'd have put the doll out of reach by now. Come on, you have to admit Elmo's voice is annoying at best...especially after hearing the same five phrases over, and over, and over, and over.

Thanksgiving '08

Sebastian imitating a Pilgrim during dinner

This was the first Thanksgiving Sam and I have spent without other family members. I missed the chaos of a family-filled house, but it had it's perks, too. It was by far the most relaxing Thanksgiving I've ever experienced. Since it was just us, and Sebastian doesn't have a discriminating palette, we took a few food shortcuts (i.e. bought Sis. Schubert's rolls and whip cream in a can rather than making them homemade as usual....GASP!) . I absolutely love to cook, but making things more manageable in the kitchen made all the difference. I was able to focus on the fam rather than stressing about my meal plan. We took the unconventional route this year and had prime rib rather than turkey...yum.

My favorite Thanksgiving dinner moments:

• Sebastian is thankful for "honeymakers [bees] and juice boxes"
• We let Sebastian try some of the sparkling grape juice, to which he scrunched up his face and said, "that's a little spicy!"
• Mia ate wide-mouthed like a baby bird
  
• Sebastian: "We just ate cow!? I love eating cows!"

Thursday morning we drove out to the sticks to cut down a Christmas tree. As it turned out they didn't have any trees that we liked, so we ended up buying our tree at the local grocery store -- hah!

Yesterday we had glorious weather, so we hiked to the top of nearby King's Mtn. Sebastian walked the entire way (with very little complaining). That evening our friends from D.C., the Bergheims, paid us a visit while in town. (Julia is prego again...another girl!)

I'd say we've had a great holiday so far!

Photos

My brother Neil is a professional photographer among other things.  He usually concentrates on architecture and nature, but he sure has a knack for catching great candids of my kiddos.  He took the B&W's that I posted for Mia's birthday.  Not wanting to leave out Sebastian, here are some from our trip to TX in October:

 

Latest project

After the last tab curtain project, I decided to try something a bit smaller.  Tah-dah: a nursing cover (a.k.a. Ta-Ta Tent, or my favorite, Hooter Hider).  I love these things!  The neckline is stiff and bows out, so you can see your wee one without flashing everyone in the room.  Brilliant.  Wish I had invented these.  Alas, I'll have to settle for copying them.  

Ladder 31: Our heros

If you're reading our blog, you're probably pretty familiar with the story of Mia's entrance into the world exactly one year ago. If you haven't heard it, let's just say she came rather quickly at the end, so we had to call 9-1-1. Thankfully we did, because she was born minutes later. Her safe arrival is owed to the fabulous firefighters/paramedics of Charlotte's Ladder 31 who were first on the scene.

They have taken an interest in Mia since Day 1, referring to her as their "little girl." They have paid us a few visits, but I was pleasantly surprised when they stopped by today to pay homage to Mia on her first birthday. How thoughtful! And they even brought gifts! Above and beyond the call of duty, if you ask me.

Mia is ONE!

I cannot believe this day is already here! Mia's entrance into the world was a bit indicative of her personality. She is feisty and always rearing to go. She doesn't hesitate to communicate her wants and dislikes, although she is incredibly tolerant and patient, allowing us to tote her from here to there with no complaints until she's at the breaking point.

She is quite the welcoming party. When I arrive home after an outing alone, Mia's reaction is full of smiles and high-pitched squeals. I must admit I've gone out and come back in several times just for a repeat. (She inherited her mother's tendancy to over-react...not sure if that's good or bad.)

Her vocabulary consists of "doggie, hi, ruff ruff, & uh-oh," the latter being her favorite. She loves to announce that she is about to drop the toy she is clutching by saying "uh-oh" in advance, as if to give us a head start on our responsibility of retreiving it.

I have never been good at putting my feelings into words, so in the simplest terms: I love this little girl more than I could ever have imagined.

As Sebastian would say, "Happy Birthday, little chica!"

(Thanks to Neil for the wonderful photos!)

"Look Daddy!.....

...Mom bought some little pink band-aids for Mia! Aww, how cute."
- Sebastian, in a high-pitched doting voice