Blowing Kisses

Mia Hana Rose, at 19 months is truly an angel. She has sparkly eyes, wispy hair, beautiful skin and the sweetest demeanor imaginable. She is bold at times, shy at others and continues to be the light in her mama's life. Mia is a stunning beauty with long lashes and Great-Grandpa Durham's lips. She is strong and stable, running with ease, nimbly climbing in and out of "the big bed," and up and down the stairs on her own. She is still long and lean and has the cutest tummy ever. Looks like Auntie Missy's favorite nickname has finally been passed on. Mia is allowing me to cut her fingernails now (a huge relief) and her fine motor skills are improving everyday. She eats with a fork and spoon and most of the food actually makes it into her mouth. Mia doesn't love vegetables. Dr. Lin says it's really common for kids her age, but I wish she would eat at least something green. One time, I snuck a pea into a Mia-size handful of meat. She took one bite and spit the entire mouthful out. She would not be fooled.

Some of her favorite foods include, but are not limited to; yogurt, apples, pears, grapes, noodles ("nu-nus), gardenburgers, rice, dipping sauces, cheese, melon, meat (braised), waffles, cereal with milk, black olives, salmon, tomatoes, bananas and, of course...tacos! Mia loves tacos. She calls them "tatos" and her favorite flavor is carnitas. Oftentimes, her first word of the day is "tato," as if she were dreaming of them all night and wanted to be sure to put in her dinner requests to the chef early. She eats salsa picante and loves black beans and rice. Gramma takes Mia to Baja Fresh for tacos de carnitas every Friday after library song circle. It's no surprise that my last visit to Baja Fresh went something like this:

Me: Hi, we'd like two tacos de carnitas and some mango salsa, please.

Counter girl: Oh, I know her...she usually gets two orders of mango salsa!

5 minutes later, at our table...

Me: Mia, do you like you're taco?

Mia: Aggressively nodding, "YES!"

Girl mopping the floor who happens to be passing by: One time, I saw her eat 3 whole tacos!

Yes, she's now a regular. From now on, I just have to say, "she'll have 'the usual.'"

She still loves putting things in containers, but mostly, she loves taking them out. She's starting to realize that everything has a place and she's eager to help put away her toys at bedtime.

Mia has a budding sense of humor that comes out when she bursts into laughter while reading one of her new favorite titles, Yummy Yucky. She can listen to "I've been working on the railroad" 25 times in a row, each time growing more cheerful when we start "strumming on the old banjo." Gramma has taught her 45,000 songs and Mia knows all the moves that go with them. Which leads me to Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving in Alpine was beautiful. Dan and Christine put out an incredible spread and being on the vineyard was calming for us all. We only stayed one night, but it felt like a real vacation. The Gladstones were there, but Sarina was on bedrest--baby Oliver was a bit eager to get a move on at that point, so she and Pete were only there via skype. Missy was in Kansas visiting Chad's grandparents. Another one of Kara's friends was there with her two girls, so there were 5 kidlets total and Gramma decided to do a music class for them after dinner.

Everyone gathered in the living room and each kid found a lap. Gramma led about 10 songs while she and Bop played the guitar. It was pretty magical watching everyone sing with glee. The class ended with a train of kids and moms choo-chooing through the house. Needless to say, everyone felt so blessed and thankful to be together in such a beautiful setting.

On our way home from Alpine, I decided that Mia and I would stop in at the Woodburn outlet mall to run in quickly to see if there were any good deals on cheap clothes--mostly for myself, since none of my clothes have been fitting lately. We found a parking spot that was about a city block away from the store I wanted to check out. Since it was late in the day, I figured I could leave the diaper bag in the car and just carry Mia. She's not a huge fan of shopping, and I try not to take her when I can, but I decided to roll the dice this time. After 5 minutes in the store, she pooped. Not a small poop. A large poop. So, I scooped her up and walked back to the car to change her. In the five minutes we had been in the store, I saw two or three things I wanted to buy that were screaming deals that I couldn't pass up. We went back in, sans diaper bag. This time, she made it about 2 minutes. She pooped AGAIN! Not a small one. A BIG one. So, I surrendered, packed her up and went home. Serves me right for shopping on black Friday!

The long weekend offered a much needed rest for us and it was exciting to begin counting down the days to Christmas.

Gramma and Bop brought over a beautiful Christmas tree and Mia helped me decorate it with all our ornaments. She, of course, discovered the Christmas taco early on and wanted to point to it each time we came downstairs. We put up lights and decorated the house and every time we came home, it felt warm and cozy. Mia loved watching the lights turn on each morning. She quickly learned which stocking belonged to her and loved reading all the Christmas books (which I got for a quarter apiece at the neighborhood book sale!). Each time Gramma came over, she brought Mia an ornament from her collection to hang on our tree. So fun!

Gramma also sent us a digital advent calendar for the computer. Each day, Mia clicked on the snowglobe and watched a 30 second video of something happening in Winterland. It was Mia's first real exposure to screen-time, I'm proud to say, and the little snippets were the perfect amount for an 18 month old. Her favorite one was the three elves and Santa playing Jingle Bells in a jazz quartet. She couldn't get enough.

Auntie Missy and I took Mia to look at the big tree in Pioneer Square and she loved the hustle and bustle of the evening downtown. Afterward, we went to Baja Fresh and Mia had "the usual."

Mia loved opening each Christmas card and taping it on the door. The first one we got was from the Haucks and Mia was elated when she saw pictures of Audrey and Henry greeting her each morning. She now knows the names of everyone on the door as well as everyone on the fridge and is particularly fond of Auntie Lart and Uncle Mart (she's still working on the "K" sound!).

Mia helped me make our Julekake Christmas bread and thoroughly enjoyed the process. She kneaded, stirred, punched-down, sampled the cherries, and ATE! She probably ate more Julekake than I did this year. She particularly loved it for breakfast with butter with a bit of fruit.

Mia got to hang out with the Bastas crowd and particularly loved her Auntie Casey. Auntie Robin finally got to meet her and fell in love instantly. It was so good to have them all in our house.

Mia learned all the big Christmas words (wreath, tree, present, lights, Santa, stocking, bell, candle, candy, party, star on top, etc...) and it's going to be impossible for me from this day forth to keep track of everything she says. Her vocabulary grows everyday and I'm constantly amazed that she can really tell me what she wants. On a side note, the other day, Mia busted out with, "Dammit!" and a big smile. I'm going to go ahead and blame Auntie Missy for that one. Back to Christmas. One of the most magical parts of Christmas for Mia was the beautiful angel that our neighbor Kelly put out in her back yard for Mia to see each night. It is about 3 feet tall and every night, Mia loved looking out on her and blowing kisses. It's now January, and Mia still asks if she can see if the Angel has returned.

Holly, Jesse and Ella had a wonderful Santa Party on the 23rd. Missy, Mia and I walked down and after about 30 minutes, SANTA arrived! Ella's Uncle Jeff missed the whole thing, but we all got to see Santa. He knew everybody's name and had a present for each child. At first, no one wanted to go sit on his lap, but when he called Mia's name, she rushed over to him, took the present he had for her, stuck her thumb in her mouth and ran back to her mama. Of course, Missy and I shook our heads quietly and tried to contain the laughter.

On Christmas morning, Gramma, Bop and Auntie Missy, having spent the night at our house, woke up and helped me celebrate Mia's first coherent Christmas with a wonderful, relaxing morning. Mia got a beautiful new kitchen and tons of toys. She was a bit overstimulated by all the presents and wanted to play with each one as she opened it. I learned my lesson that less is definitely more, but I must admit, I had a hard time resisting a few new toys for her. Aunt Rainey sent books and clothes for Mia and the LaToufs sent box after box of presents too. Mia dug into her stocking like a champ. I think her favorite stocking present was either her new slinky or her electric toothbrush (thank god, we can finally brush her teeth without a fight!).

Christmas night, we spent with the Jepsens again, but this time the Gladstones weren't there. Sarina and Pete made it and Sarina was about to pop with baby Oliver. He ended up arriving days later, healthy and perfect! Mia played piano and sang songs and had a ball on Christmas night.

On the 28th, Auntie Lark, Gramma, Mia and I all piled into the car and drove down to Lark's childhood home. Euni designed it and it was a very special day. Lark told us all about the history of the area and, despite the fog, Mia got to see red barn after red barn. She loved it! Seeing where Lark grew up gave us a small window to why she is the amazing person she is. We loved hearing the stories of Euni's various undertakings and were honored to bring home a couple of Euni paintings to try out in our home. We found the perfect one and it feels like we've had it forever. We knew it was going to be a perfect day because, when we picked up Lark at the farm, a huge flock of swans flew overhead through the mist. It was breathtaking and I think one of the most beautiful things I've seen. I'm pretty sure Mia saw them, but it was clear that much of her focus was placed on Lark's roosters.

On the 26th we had our traditional Christmas celebration with Grandpa Rick, Grandma Marla and Uncle Devon. We even got to see Great-Grandma Jan. Mia loved her new vacuum and new book and particularly loved playing with Devon.

We spent NYE 2010 with our dear friends Uncle Dave and Auntie Courtney. Mia was intrigued by Courtney's belly and amused by Dave's puppet show. They brought her her very own cell phone and she's already running up a ridiculous bill. I may have to take it away from her if this continues.

If you ask Mia a question that requires her to form an opinion or decide what she'll eat for her next meal, she always precedes her answer with, "uuuuummmmm...." When I say, "Mia, do you know how much your mama loves you?" Before I even finish, she replies, "A LOT!" Because she's still working on the "K" sound, many of her words are just a bit off. Examples: Who says moo? A tow. What does a pig say? Oint. What's your favorite food? Tatos. What shall we do, Mia? A boot. So cute!

Mia still wakes up VERY early. I bring her into bed with me around 5:30. Sometimes she goes back to sleep. Sometimes she begins pawing my face and saying "light...boot." I resist. I beg. I plead with her to sleep longer. Then, I get up and turn on the lights and read. She is always cheerful in the morning and I consider myself lucky to wake up to that sweet, smiling face, regardless of the excruciatingly painful hour it might be.

Mia is definitely approaching the 2s. She loves to stop her feet, back up and holler when she's frustrated. I wouldn't call them tantrums yet, but I might call them fits. Usually, they last a fleeting 20 seconds or so, but they may be a small taste of what's to com. I know she is smart and I know she is strong-willed...a potentially dangerous combination.

It is an honor to be Mia's mom and participate in this journey we are on together. She lifts my spirits on a daily basis and I am so enjoying learning how to parent her. Each day brings new discoveries for her, whether it's new ways to pretend to cook eggs, or showing me that she's memorized parts of a book (she can fill in the blanks to many of her favorites, including Moo Baa La La La, The Vegetable Rap, Goodnight Moon, Oh What a Busy Day). She is a bright eyed little beauty and being with her is a daily gift that I continue to cherish.