Home in Dallas...

It's been quite a while since the last post. A lot has been going on. We moved to Irving, TX in January for job reasons. My (Steph's) parents have been helping watch Mia while we looked for a daycare facility.

Last Friday was Mia's first day in daycare. We looked long and hard for a place we thought we could trust, but when I picked her up from the daycare her face was swollen tremendously and they hadn't even noticed. Her eyes were practically swollen shut! I rushed her to the doctor immediately, and she was placed on Benadryl. Luckily she didn't have any trouble breathing.

I couldn't believe they overlooked something like that. I cried.

So now we've been looking for another daycare. I found a place nearby with a low teacher/student ratio, but it's VERY expensive. I guess you get what you pay for!! Mom and dad are going to watch her 2 days a week and she'll be going to the daycare the other 3 days.

Mia is doing great now. She loves to dance, color, talk, sing, and feed herself all kinds of fun foods. She just brightens our days!

Easter is around the corner. Guess we better go shopping for Mia's Easter dress!

It's been a while!!

So we haven't blogged in a LONG time! Life has been extremely hectic. I've (Steph) been traveling back to Texas and the midwest interviewing for a job, and as of last week, I've accepted a position at Southwestern Medical in Dallas. We are so looking forward to heading back to Texas. Now I just have to get credentialed, and figure out where we're going to live!

Mia has developed so! We haven't posted in a while, and a LOT has happened. Mia had her big 1st birthday. It was a blast! Steve's family came in town (including his Mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nephews). We all went to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and Mia had a great time looking at the sea creatures (especially the tiny jelly fish!) Over the past couple of months she has developed tremendously. She has been walking since 11 months, but not well until 12 months. Now she is REALLY ON THE MOVE!! She walks/runs everywhere, and gets into everything. Over the past 3 days she has also developed a little bit of a devious side. She's throwing tantrums, yelling "NO" to us, and defying us purposely. It's crazy! I know she's just learning to test her boundaries, but I have NO IDEA how to discipline a child. This is going to be interesting...

She is just the highlight of our lives. We can never get enough of her - she's extraordinary entertainment. Her favorite song is "Single Ladies" by Beyonce, and she loves to sing along and dance. It's quite hilarious! She is also saying "ABCD" of her ABC's. She loves to read books, watch cartoons, dance, sing, play in the tub, run around, and the list goes on and on!! She's also developed a liking for my makeup, brushes, clothes, and shoes. She's already an absolute DIVA. Well it's time to get to bed (for all of us). We'll be posting some pics soon!

She's on the Move!

Mia has a very unique way of getting around. She has been crawling this way for about a month. She is constantly trying to find something to pull herself up with, like the coffee table or our entertainment center. Mom is here this week and wont let her do any of that. Dad has basically spent all his time eating, asking questions about when we are eating, complaining we arent eating, sleeping, and watching TV, lol. We will be going on a one day trip to Yosemite National on Friday and we are really looking forward to that.

Today is Stephs last day on call for a while and she is excited about that and so are we.

New Developments in the world of Mia

Well, the past week has been very exciting for us and little Mia. One night as we were all laying in bed (yes "all" meaning Mia still sleeps with us, unfortunately) and Mia started babbling like crazy. Now prior to this all we could get out of her was many high pitched shrills and screams so this was very exciting for us. Then all of a sudden I hear the one word that I've been waiting for, Dada, we couldnt believe it, she was so cute, although we dont think she knows what it means, but its still adorable all the same.

Last night as we were sitting on the couch watching TV and also watching mommy work (like always), Mia started getting a little fussy. Steph made a comment about how she could be teething. I looked and sure enough Miss Mia has a little bottom front tooth poking through. Its so adorable. She is really growing so fast and its a little sad, but thats life. She is currently sitting in her recliner in the living room, glued to the TV watching Noggin, lol. Relaxing after a big bowl of Rice Cereal mixed with Bananas, yum!!! Its her favorite. She has moved up to 3rd foods and really enjoys Spaghetti and Chicken Noodles, its funny to see her using her little jaw to chew.

Stephanie has been working hard this entire year, but this past week has been something way worse. On average she has been getting up at 5 am and not getting home until 7:30 pm. And when she gets home, she is on the stupid laptop finishing reports until at least 10 pm. She has had no time for herself.

We are almost half way there and cant wait!

Happy Easter!

Steve finally found a church here in the California area that he likes. I had to stay home with Mia because I've been home ill. I'm excited that we may have found a church home. Since we didn't have a professional photographer, we decided to take Mia to the park for some Easter pics. We had two separate outfits. She is a great model, and except for trying to eat the props, she did great. Hope everyone has a blessed and Happy Easter Sunday! Missing everybody =(

Lazy Saturday

So we've started a family blog to chronicle our lives with our latest addition, Mia. She is 7 months old this past April 8th. She is developing like crazy. It seems like every day she is doing something new and amazing (at least amazing to us!) Today we took a walk to the park and of course she fell asleep in the stroller after only a few minutes in the beautiful sunshine. This evening she spent loads of time crawling around on the floor and attempting to put everything she could grab into her mouth. She has rediscovered one of her favorite rattles from months past, but this time she is using it more as a weapon, attacking the floor with it. She is giggling, and cooing, and screaming. She is still not saying many consonants, mainly just "goo" every now and then. But she loves to dance and bounce along with us to the music. Her favorite television channel is Noggin, and she sits in her "recliner" and watches it intently. She has pretty much outgrown her Baby Einstein DVD's, so I guess it's time we buy some more. Today we put her hair in two pony tails for the first time, and she amazingly allowed us to accomplish such a task. I hope to add more additions daily so we can look back on the amazing journey of our family. (In this pic we have put her in her crib for bed, but now that she has learned to pull herself up, she acts like she is breaking out of jail, and things have been difficult for us!)