It's Potty Time!

Mia went on the big potty for the first time today! I thought it was going to be another false alarm (lately she just likes sitting on there), but she finally tinkled! It was so funny because I kept clapping, and she kept saying "again, again!" I know she doesn't quite understand what happened yet, but I'll take it!

She has been so sweet lately. I have been out of commission the last couple of days because of my back. (This little boy is doing a number on my body!) Mia has been coming up to me and saying "Mommy, hurt back" and then scratching my back! It is the sweetest thing. I think she knows I am physically unable to deal with all her usual 'antics,' sho she has been a little less ornery lately! :)

We're getting closer to having her new room together, so once we do, I'll post some pictures. Sorry I don't have any pictures of her to post this time, I'll try to take some for next time!

Happy (Belated) Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July! Here are some pictures we took of Mia. Brock's mom bought her a bubble machine, so she was getting a kick out of that. We also got a little video of her surrounded in bubbles (we took the video on our camera, so the quality's not that great...)

She also got to see some fireworks, which she loved! I wasn't sure whether she would be scared by them or not, but she was even looking for them the next night! We told her when you hear it, you look, and then it goes boom. So she kept saying, "Mommy, yook, boom!" So cute.

Yesterday was our anniversary, 6 years! I can't believe it has been that long already. Katie and Tony babysat Mia for us, and Brock and I had such a good time. We didn't do anything extravagant, but we got to go to the Cheesecake Factory and to a movie, and it didn't involve cutting food into tiny pieces! It was nice to have a night off and just be the two of us. Thanks Katie and Tony! But I was sure glad to see my little girl in the morning, although she was still asking for Katie and Tony. :)

Of course when we got home we asked how Mia was, and we got a kick out of what happened. When Katie went to put her in her bed, Mia kept saying she was hungry. Yeah right, they said she had eaten almost 2 pieces of pizza for dinner! But Katie felt bad, so she took her downstairs to eat some fruit. Then when that was gone, Mia said she wanted fishies, so Katie gave her a few (Tony kept telling Katie she was being manipulated!). Finally Mia said she wanted to go to bed, so Katie brought her back up there. She laid down, and then started saying "back, back!" Katie finally realized she wanted her back rubbed. Oh, Miss Mia! She sure knows how to get what she wants! I think Katie will be onto Mia's tricks next time she watches her! :)

One more note for all the other mommies out there... Babies 'R' Us is taking back all bottles containing BPA (the brands they carry) and letting you exchange them for BPA-Free bottles. My sister-in-law told me she heard they were doing this, so I called the store to confirm. Yesterday I brought in all my used bottles (without a receipt), and they let me exchange them for brand new BPA-Free bottles. I got over $110 worth of new, safe bottles! The only part that kind of stinks is that there is not a lot of selection in the BPA-Free category right now, but if you look at your options online before you go, you won't be so confused in the store reading all the boxes like I was! I loved the Avent bottles for Mia, but I was planning on getting new ones for our little guy after all the controversy in the news about BPA. What a great way to save a few $$! I have no idea how long Babies 'R' Us will be doing this (I don't think they are advertising it at all), but you may want to give it a shot if you have bottles containing BPA at home and were planning on replacing them anyway.

That's all for now! Until next time! :)

Dance to the Music!

Lately we have discovered that Mia loves Shrek, especially the "Karaoke Dance Party" at the end! Here is her getting her groove on. (She's saying "Dance, Music!" in case you're wondering, as in "Dance to the Music," the last song they sing.) I think she watched that part about 8 times last night!

A Day at the Pool

Today we took Mia to the pool, and of course she just loved it! Here are a few pics...

Lathered up with sunscreen and ready to go!

Waiting for her driver...

Playing in the water!

I just had to take a picture of her during naptime the other day. Check out all the bracelets on her arm!

More Pictures

Sorry we've slacked a little on the updates!! I wanted to post a few new pictures. We took Mia for her 18 month pictures 2 weekends ago, and here are a few of our favorites...

And here she is right before we left the house - I'm glad the photographer could make her smile more than I could!

This is her and her morning ritual. After breakfast, she asks for her milk, her chair, and her beloved Tigger and Pooh show.

The other day, she grabbed the spray bottle, and I didn't realize she was drinking all the water from it until it was almost gone!

Today she shimmied (is that a word?) her way into the fridge like she usually does when I open the door and was eyeing the grapes, her favorite......and then proceeded to chow down on them!! Look at that mouthful!

I've honestly never seen a child so little get so excited about clothes. This is what she put together today... Hilarious!

She has been such a character lately. I had a really rough day with her yesterday, but I know it was due to her shots last week. (She'd been running a low-grade fever for 3 days and was so irritable, I even called the doctor to make sure it was normal!) She was throwing bad tantrums all day long, and by the end of the day I was spent and so frustrated with her. Then today I was getting her ready, and she looked at me out of nowhere and said "Pretty mommy!" Oh, I could have melted! I was like, ok, all the misery of yesterday is forgotten! It's so funny how one minute you can be on the brink of losing your mind, and the next you don't know what you ever did without your little one!

The past couple of days, she has been saying "I didn't do it!" Great, I don't know where that one came from, but I'm sure we'll be hearing much more of it in the future! She also says "I'll be right back!" quite a bit, and it's funny because she actually does leave, goes and does something, and comes right back! So funny.

So I can't even believe I'm going to post this picture on our blog because it is so gross, but it is pretty funny. The other day, Mia and I were eating lunch, and we heard a bunch of commotion outside because our neighbor was having a sprinkler system put in. We looked out the window, and this, unfortunately, is what we saw...

I know, disgusting. But I couldn't resist taking a picture and sending it to Brock at work with a "Wish you were here!" message. Thought you might get a chuckle out of it also. Just what you want to see when you're eating lunch.

Sorry for such a long post! I've also added more pictures to our Shutterfly album in case you're interested. Most of the pictures from our blog are on there, in addition to some others. Until next time! :)

18 Months and in Heels?!?!

Well today our Miss Mia is 18 months old!! I just can't believe it. Anyone with children knows how amazing it is to watch them grow, learn, and change so quickly. It's the best! Over the past 18 months, she has brought so much joy into our lives. It is amazing how quickly time has gone. We actually got her "big girl bed" delivered today! To be honest, it was kind of bittersweet. It was so much fun watching her get excited about her new bed and dresser, but sad to think that soon she will be moving out of her crib and that she won't be the baby anymore. But she is so excited about her new bed, hopefully it will be an easy transition for the both of us!

A few funny things - the other night I was gone and Brock was giving her a bath, and the phone rang. She told Brock "phone ringing, get it!" Also, lately she has been saying "hi guys!" when she sees us. It's so funny! She is still also calling me "Ang", I wish I could get it on tape. It usually happens when she is in her toy room and she wants me to come in there. She says it over and over until she realizes I am "Mommy" to her, not Ang!

From the time she could walk, she has loved shoes! Now anyone who knows me well knows this trait is definitely not from me. However, she is a girly-girl nonetheless, complete with a love of shoes, purses, and jewelry! She particularly loves high heels and is always pulling them out of the corner of my closet. And she has always been able to walk in them, too! I finally got a video of her in action...

Here are also some recent pictures:

Mia and Granna

Sleeping in the carWatching the "big truck" next door out the window!Belly shot - over halfway there!

Summertime!

It is getting hot out there! And for Mia, that means sunglasses, being naked, and playing at the park! Here is a recent video of her and all her craziness...

Here are also a few recent pics.

Eating a popsicle in her Bumbo - she loves watching Tigger & Pooh in there!

Loves her sunglasses!

It is so much fun hearing her talk and watching her make the transition from saying single words to communicating whole thoughts. The other day she was eating lunch, and she said "cheese, all done... banana, yes!" She does not hesitate to tell us what to do, either! She'll point to the couch and say "Mommy, sit!" or "Daddy, lay down!" It's really funny - I'm sure she'll be ordering the baby around, too! She is definitely at a fun age.

On a totally different note, last Friday we had a really bad storm and 2 houses in our neighborhood burned down. There is literally nothing left but the outer shell of each home. One got struck by lightening, and the wind was so strong that the house next door immediately caught fire, too. Fortunately everyone made it out, but one of the families lost a dog. It was really neat how all the neighbors came together to help the families. One of the men who lost his home was trying to let people know that even if you have a fire safe for your important paperwork (passports, birth certificates, etc.), those are fireproof, not waterproof. He said to put everything in plastic bags because although they had all their paperwork in the safe, it wasn't protected from all the water damage (from melted pipes, the storm, all the water from the fire hoses). I thought that was a really good tip. Also, fortunately for them, they had all their pictures on archive CDs in the safe. Again, they all got wet, but the restoration company was hoping they weren't damaged by the water. They said those should be put in plastic bags, too. Another thing we are going to do pronto is change all the batteries in our fire alarms. When you see something that close to home, it makes you realize it could have been any of us in that situation. I think the families are doing as well as can be expected and are just thankful they all still have each other.

That's it for now - hopefully we'll have some pics of Mia in her bathing suit to post soon! :)