Best Friends

Josh has loved Mia since before she was born. He used to daydream about her and imagine all the fun he was going to have teaching her to ride a bike, tie her shoes, cook and swim. Since she's been around, the love he so blatantly feels for her manifests, not only in the words he speaks to her (constantly reminding her how much he loves her), but also in his daily interactions with her. He has a relentless drive to do things that will put a smile on her face and is totally committed to ensuring her safety and comfort. Mia's Daddy loves her more than he can even begin to articulate. A stressful day, a sleepless night, a rainy Saturday morning... none of it impedes the joy he clearly feels when he sees little Mia. And she is equally as elated by his presence. She shudders with happiness when he enters the room and cannot contain her excitement when he peek-a-boos around a door with bright, happy eyes. They are best friends. And they have found each other.

April began with, yep, you guessed it...more parties. Mia was a lovely little Easter Baby at the beginning of the month and got to visit all her family after egg dying and cookie decorating. She loved banging the Easter eggs together and especially loved the little white bunny from her Auntie Gina.

April had a few sunny days, but most were visited by that typical Oregon drizzle. Mia came down with her second ear infection and spent the first part of the month fighting those symptoms. It is torture for us to see her uncomfortable. Fortunately, it only lasted about a week and she bounced back pretty quickly. It's amazing how happy she remains, despite temperature spikes and a nose that was running like a faucet.

Mia has walking toys to help her move around, but she prefers to push her little white chair, which is decked out with tennis balls to ease the pushing (a dad invention). She still loves keys and phones (hmmm...do I sense a bit of foreshadowing??), but her favorite toys are currently her books. She will happily thumb through her board books for extended periods of time and seems to love every one she's read (with the exception of the truck book, which she WILL NOT even give the time of day). When nap time arrives, if Mia isn't ready to go right to sleep, often she'll sit in her crib with a book and read to herself until she's ready to shut her eyes.

It's nearly impossible to take Mia anywhere without being stopped by folks who want to play with her. She flirts with her toothy grin and her long lashes--I'm always surprised by the people who want to talk with her. Last week, the checker at Fred's called over his buddy to "check out how cute this baby is, dude!" I think she likes the attention. She just seems happy to be out and about, experiencing the world and enjoying the people in it.

Mia is so close to walking. She's taking more risks with standing unsupported and she maneuvers around the house easily with her white chair. We guess she has a couple more weeks of supported practice in her before she'll need her running shoes.

Mia is eating almost everything we give her. She still hates green beans, but loves toast, beans and rice, tortellini, avocado, kiwi, melon, mango, salad, strawberries, chicken, pickles, eggs, yogurt, squash, and of course...CHEESE. That girl would eat cheese and nothing else if she had her way. And I'm not kidding about the green beans. I gave her some and she almost started to cry. No green beans.

April started out fun, but continued on with the daily grind of working for the weekend. April is notoriously long for teachers because it signals the beginning of the slide to Summer vacation. And there's still SO much to do before then in the classroom that it would be in bad taste to begin counting the days at that point. Nonetheless, I must admit that I'm looking forward more this year than ever before to the end of the school year.

We continue to enjoy the time we have with babyMia more everyday and Josh and I are in total agreement that she is the coolest person we've ever meant.

Blueberry eyes and strawberry smiles

Yes, Ms. Miapie Herself is holding on to her baby blues with all her might. And what a lovely contrast they offer when she accessorizes her dazzling smile with the pounded pulp of a spring strawberry. Yes, organic California strawberries are her current fave. Frankly, we can't wait to introduce her to the much superior Oregon gems as soon as they arrive. She would be happy to eat, sleep and breathe strawberries, if only that cheese on her plate weren't beckoning to her. Yes, much like her grandfather who has been known to randomly stop by the house to drop off a small brick of his new favorite cheese, Mia is a fromage connoisseur. Josh and I delight in watching her savor each bite of the finer things. Other mealtime delicacies she is enjoying include; peas, asparagus, beets, squash, yams, chicken, mushrooms, blueberries, applesauce, plums, peaches, pears and pasta. She picked the right family!

While March came in like a bit of a lamb this year and is winding up with roaring wind of a lion (and buckets of rain with it), Mia continued to grow and amaze all her family. She is an incredibly strong little thing and is gaining crawling speed daily. Especially when her gaze falls upon her best friends Reggie (who has adopted the nick-name "Edgy-Reggie," for obvious reasons) and Jake the cat. Mia would love to rub her face in the fur of either one of her four-legged companions, but, under our watchful eyes, simply grabbing their fur and tugging their tails will have to suffice. Both of them have approached me on several occasions asking me if I would please "do something" about the new tenant.

Early in the month Mia spent some time trying out her Bridgetown Velo tricycle. She is seriously going to tear it up when her legs reach those pedals. When we were blessed with some early Spring sunshine, Mia got to try out her sunhat and start exploring her deck. That first sunny day simply required that Mia dive into her first strawberry.

Mia's current nickname is "snaggletooth." She was "booger-faced-snaggle-tooth" for a couple of weeks as she shook the last remnants of her 2 month long cold. Now, she's simply, "snaggle-tooth." Yes, her grin is dotted with teeth, but not all in a row. We think she's only days away from having her full set of front chompers.

Mia's personality is my favorite part of her. She is sweet, curious, confident, determined, smart and loving. She finds humor in so much of her daily life. It's not uncommon for her to have a giggle-fest or to crack up laughing at a seemingly insignificant little thing. She plays games constantly. She still loves peek-a-boo and is really beginning to follow along when we read books. Her current favorites are "Puppies" and "Kittens." She loves waving "hello" and bye-bye." It makes leaving her each morning slightly less bitter since she looks at it as an opportunity to flap her wing and flash her toothy smile.

Mia has started to get her groove on. Upon hearing any beat, she begins to rock her body and nod her head to the rhythm. In fact, her need to dance cannot be contained. She's not picky. So far, she seems to love all the music we've played for her.

Mia got to celebrate her Irish heritage this month with multiple St. Patrick's Day events. First, she came to cheer on Mama at the Shamrock Run and then attended the athletes brunch at Gramma and Grandpa's house. She got to hang with her auntie and neighbor baby Ella.

On St. Patrick's Day, Mia celebrated the wearin' o' the green annual St. Patrick's Day dinner and, while she didn't partake in the corned beef and cabbage, she did enjoy her first taste of Guiness.* She loved playing with her cousins Iris and Audrey!

Mia is growing fast and is quite a healthy little thing. She is currently 18 pounds, but nearly 30 inches long. She is pulling herself up on everything and loves climbing up and down the stairs. Baby Ella passed down her walker toys, so Mia is experimenting with those and we predict that she'll be walking in the next two months (if not sooner).

Mia's favorite word is "Edgy," but after that it's definitely "da-da." She knows one sign, "milk" and she makes it whenever I prompt her to say, "ma-ma." She's no dummy!

She still loves trips to the park and is really starting to love getting out and seeing the world. She gets tons of attention wherever we go and never fails to light up someone's day.

Josh and I are finding that, even with daylight savings, there simply isn't enough time in the day with Mia. We selfishly keep her up past her bedtime so we can steal a few extra moments with our beautiful little girl. We count the days until the weekend and try to enjoy all the time we have together before starting the work week. She is simply a joy to have around and everyday, as she grows and changes before our eyes, we love her even more than we did the day before.

*Just kidding! : )

Baby Love

Mia's 8th month was dedicated to building up her immunities, as they say. She fought a cold much of the month and, since she doesn't love taking naps at daycare, she suffered a bit of sleep deprivation. Josh and I ensured her that we knew how she felt.

This wicked cold that wouldn't quit was happy to set up shop in Mia, myself and Josh at various points throughout the month and it seemed that we all just kept passing it back and forth to each other, despite our persistent hand-washing. We continued the hot steam showers and cranked up the humidifier, but little could be done to battle the faucet of a runny nose. Fortunately, Mia's little spirit went largely unaffected. We were amazed at how happy she remained when she didn't feel good. I know I complained way more than she did!

The beginning of February marked my full-blown return to work, and I believe it's true what they say about having more compassion when you have a child of your own. As I look out over the sea of all my 160 students, I have a new perspective. I see them all as someone's child and I know that someone out there worries about them and cares for them in a way I never really understood before. Fortunately, they are all understanding of my need to absolutely fly out the door after school as I respond to this magnetic pull toward home I feel come the end of my work day.

Mia has adjusted beautifully to daycare. While her nap schedule is a bit of a challenge (she really hates to miss out on anything), she is happy when she's there. Josh says she dives to the floor to begin playing when he drops her off. She loves the teachers and is getting to know the other babies. And now that Spring is coming, she gets to go out on walks in the 4-person stroller. I've come home and seen them out and about. It's hillarious.

Mia's current favorite toys are things that twang. She loves plucking the strings of the uke or the guitar. She loves twanging the door stoppers. She loves twacking the plastic strip on the refrigerator, which will likely break off any day now. Speaking of the fridge, she loves standing in it, peering over her food options. I can't help but imagine her in about 13 years, standing in front of a fully stocked fridge mumbling, "Mom, there's nothing to eat."

Mia has officially gone on her first bike ride. The first sunny day of the year came and we immediately packed up and headed to the bike shop to purchase Mia's first helmet. We packed her in the bike trailer and went for a ride around the neighborhood. She was happy for about 90% of the ride and seems to be keen on trying it again. She's also taken a spin on her BTV tricycle in our driveway. Super fun.

Mia's first Valentine's Day was quite a success. She received Valentines in the mail and was in her first school concert. She happily rode around in a wagon with the other babies. Josh videotaped it for me and said she was a star (I would've been there, but I was being tortured at 8th grade parent night). Our neighbor, Kelly baked us chocolate treats and homemade candies and Grandma Marla made sure we had heart-shaped cookie cutters to bake V-Day cookies.

Mia is growing stronger everyday and is experimenting with standing unsupported. She still loves pawing at Jake and she tolerates Reggie's constant attention. Meal time is still one of her favorite times of day and she seems unsatisfied until she's had her cheese course. Quit the gourmet already! Daddy fixed her a delicious mix of mushrooms, thyme and barley which she chews up with all four of her teeth. Yes, she has four teeth. No they are not in all in a row. We like to refer to her as Baby Snaggletooth on occasion.

Other favorite foods include chicken, oatmeal, plums, peaches, edamame with yogurt, quesadillas, sweet potato squares, and peas.

The weekends cannot come fast enough for our family. On about Tuesday night we start planning and plotting all the fun things we want to do with Mia when work isn't getting in the way. Despite all our big plans to go out and venture into the world, we often find ourselves enjoying slow mornings that allow us to just be with the sweetest of all the peas.

Mia loves to be held. She hasn't really displayed signs of separation anxiety from her parents, but if you are caring for her for the day, she wants you close by! Gramma referred to her as "ivy" one day after Mia insisted on exercising her clinging muscles. Gramma did not complain! Josh and I are so happy that Mia seems to be so happy with such a large number of people. She has developed a strong sense of trust and clearly feels good with the people who care for her.

Mia is growing and changing daily. She is stronger today than she was yesterday and grows more curious of the outside world every time the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. She loves music and is starting to feel the rhythm when we bust out the beats. Gramma was teaching her NIA, which she liked, but, in order to ensure that she honor the family's NE PDX roots we'll have to contract Auntie M to teach her some hip-hop moves before long.

This family is ready for Spring! We are ready to be done with cold and flu season and ready to have the doors and windows open to enjoy the sweet smell of daphne blossoms and flowering cherry trees. Mia is geared up for playtime outside and is looking forward to the adventures that come with the changing of the season.

DaDa, BaBa, MaMa, fffttthhhhbbsssstttt!!!!

She's talking! Mia has discovered that she has the ability to make her parents explode with delight by playing with her new friends, consonants and vowels. Her cache of words now includes "mama, dada, kitty cat, Reggie, baba, and fffffttttthhhhbbbbsstttt (one of her faves). At times, it seems that she is so intent on telling us about something, that she produces every sound she knows, one after the other, and it all comes out sounding like a little story she created. Mia is excited by her new ability, especially because she knows how excited we become when we hear her experimenting with language.

In addition to her new talking skills, she is officially on the move. Ms. Mia Hana Rose has developed a look of quiet determination and when she wants something, she goes for it. Her crawl is not an ordinary one. She keeps her hands and left knee down at all times, but pushes with her right foot. Josh and I were debating whether she'd ride a snowboard and surfboard goofy footed like we do. Ultimately, we decided she'd probably be able to go fakey* at a whim, due to her superior sense of balance!

One of Mia's favorite pastimes currently is pulling herself up on everything. She's beginning to prefer standing to sitting and loves scaling the couch or coffee table. We were recently talking about how incredible it is how far she has come in such a short time. It's difficult to even remember the days when she couldn't sit on her own, or when she stayed in one place when placed on the floor. We have officially arrived at the time for cabinet locks and baby gates. We found out the hard way that Mia could (and would) open the cupboard to the garbage can and learn how fun it could be to grab the bag and pull it over. Fortunately, Reggie was at the ready to help with clean-up.

Speaking of Reggie, he is Mia's new best friend. His favorite time is meal time when Mia plays "Fun with Physics" and "The Gravity Game." She loves dropping Cheerios and bits of banana as Reggie sits at the ready, waiting for a small snack. I had no idea how much I would grow to appreciate him and his ability to lick up even the most microscopic crumb of food. Yes, we have tongue tracks (as my mom calls them) on the floor. Yes, he occasionally licks Mia's fingers when they're covered with avocado. Is this a battle we want to fight? I think not.

Mia still has her big, blueberry eyes and everyone seems to thinks she's going to keep them. Her hair is slowly starting to fill in and her little muscle body is still long and lean--although she is developing a little tummy that absolutely requires kissing. She has four teeth, two on the bottom and two on top and her smile continues to dazzle even the most unlikely of folks when we are out and about. Her favorite toys are still the rattling types, especially ones that make a good sound when whacked on the wooden floor. She loves measuring spoons and measuring cups, jingle bells, and anything that lights up and makes noise. She's learning how to turn the pages of her board books, and she giggles with glee when she hears Mary Travers singing "I'm Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor." She loves bath and shower time, but does NOT love laying on her back to have her diaper changed. I've actually noticed my heart rate rise as I struggle to control her wiggling.

We made a quick trip to Bend for some fun in the snow with Auntie M and Chad toward the end of the month. Unfortunately, the trip was cut short because Mia came down with a bit of a cold and decided she didn't want to sleep at all. Fortunately, we still got some good sledding in.

January was a month of transitions for our whole family. I'm back to work full time (quite a shock) and Mia is in daycare three days a week. She seems happy with her new daily routines and is adjusting beautifully. She has little baby friends and, when Josh drops her off in the morning, she lunges out to get down to the business of playing. We think about her constantly while we are away at work and we count the days until the weekend.

Mia is a joy to be around and, while we are now both away from her more than we'd like, it makes us appreciate her and cherish the time we have with her that much more.

*switch to her non-dominant foot

Everything Possible

There is a moment when one has meandered through the early years of her twenties when she officially realizes, I am not a child prodigy. I will never be a professional athlete. I will not be the youngest person to summit Everest, nor will I be the youngest person to do much of anything. And while one can certainly focus on the subtle feeling of let-down that accompanies that realization, it is good to accept one's fate and look forward knowing that great adventures can still follow and good work can still be done.

When I look at Mia, all I see is possibility. As much as I try to stay in the present and enjoy each moment of her current magical state, I can't help but become starry-eyed thinking about all that she will do in her lifetime. I'm not particularly attached to her becoming the first woman to compete in the Tour de France (or even the Giro d'Italia, for that matter), and it's okay if she doesn't cut her first live album before college. But I must admit, I have a sincere longing for her to live her life fully, embracing the myriad opportunities and welcoming adventures that surely will present themselves to her. And with all the milestones she reached in the month of December, it's difficult not to begin imagining all that Mia could become.

Josh and I are eager for Mia to experience this beginning part of her life surrounded by love and happiness, so that she will have a strong sense of confidence and a general feeling of well-being. We also want her to be surrounded by music, culture (sometimes not so easy to do from the comfy confines of SW PDX), language and nature. We want her to begin to realize the great possibility that awaits her as she lives her life and, if she so chooses, she can experience art, music and literature (Moo Baa La, La, La will have to suffice at this stage) starting right now.

And what better time to dive into the world of music than the Holiday Season? We busted out our collection of Christmas music on December One as Daddy commenced constructing his light display ala Clark Griswald. He took it to new levels this year and even took the time to attach a short, battery-operated string to Baby Mia's stroller. We rocked Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas in the evening as we decorated the tree, which is WAY more fun with a curious, bright-eyed baby. She loved the ornaments and the feel of the prickly branches. And as the gentle lilt of Aaron's Ave Maria filled our home and soothed her to sleep, Baby Mia officially decided she would give her parents an early Christmas gift and drop her 5:00 a.m. feeding only to awaken with those shiny blueberry eyes at 7:00. We were tempted to shout "Hallelujah!" from the rooftops, but alas, we refrained.

For a little Country/Folk twang, we also played a lot of Emmylou Harris through this holiday season. Christmas Time's A-Comin' was the perfect accompaniment to all the holiday baking we did. Mia practiced her Plank pose and Downward Dog (Reggie is really a gifted teacher) on the kitchen floor as we baked Julekake (cardamom bread), Nog Logs, Star Spritz, Raspberry Crescents, and a new fave, Chocolate Espresso cookies. It wasn't until mid-December that I noticed that the previous four or five grocery store trips all involved a butter purchase (you're welcome Tillamook Creamery). Not kidding. I think we went through ten pounds of butter. Our house had a constant smell of nutmeg, cardamom and fir tree. I hope Mia will forever associate those sweet smells with feelings of comfort and joy.

We listened to Il Divo in the morning before Mia's morning nap. And as Los 4 Guapos belted out Noche de Paz, Mia decided that would be the background music for one of her major December milestones. She crawled. First she went for a book. Then, she went for a little light-up thing. Then the Christmas tree. She saw stuff she wanted and she went for it. As her strength developed over the month, so did her determination. She is interested in paper (she prefers newsprint--we'll see if she remembers what it was in 10 years when newsprint will likely be a thing of the past. Pardon me as I silently mourn the coming loss of my daily morning paper), presents, little toys that light up and make noise, musical instruments--especially the ones that Grammie Chris got her for Christmas, and, of course Jake, the cat. In fact, she loves Jake so much that she bursts into laughter when she sees him and her little body trembles with delight. Fortunately, Jake is so starved for attention that he'll take what he can get and welcomes Mia's clumsy pawing and tugging.

Josh took Mia out on lots of shopping dates this month and quickly realized that she is a total chick magnet. He threw her in the front pack and strutted through the stores as the ladies swooned over her sparkling eyes and sweet smile. He dutifully responded with, "well, she takes after her mother." Seriously, he told me he did.

We braved the cold for Tuba Christmas early in the month. Mia was well dressed in her fleece snow suit, but was happy to warm up with Irish Coffees and apple cider after the show. Speaking of snow, Mia got to experience her first encounter with a beautiful snow storm that hit the 29th. Unfortunately, her rookie parents decided it would be fun to go out for a walk in the blizzard and failed to cover her little hands. She evaded frostbite but her little pink mitts definitely took a few extra minutes to thaw when we got home. On the upside, our house was like a little snow globe for a couple of days and every window displayed a beautiful wintery scene.

Mia was a star for all the Christmas festivities. She bounced from party to party and enjoyed meeting her second cousins, Evan, Madeline, Abigail and Gracie. Those three girls passed Mia around like she was a little doll and she didn't complain once. In fact, she seemed to light up with the interaction and attention.

December ended with a few bumps in the road. Mia came down with her first cold and we quickly realized how lucky we are to have had such a healthy baby. It was, quite literally, torture for us to see Mia suffering with such inconsolable discomfort. I decided I better call the doctor to see what to do and when I rattled off her list of symptoms (runny nose, cough, low-grade fever), the doctor said, "so, what's the problem?" And I replied, "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO TO MAKE HER FEEL BETTER???" And she replied, "this is your first child, isn't it? So, we spent lots of time taking hot steam showers, getting acquainted with the bulb syringe (Mia hates it), and doing lots of rocking and quiet time. And as Mia was whimpering and crying one night, she called for me. That's right. She said, "mama." Between Josh and I, we've heard it about 8 times. The first time I heard it, I said, "hah, it almost sounded like she said, 'mama.'" And Josh said, "She did." And, with our mouths hanging open, once again, in awe, we gave her big hugs, not quite believing that it actually happened.

We closed out the year with our fifth annual Jarecki party with oysters, fondue, champagne and a new addition of bacon wrapped dates. Sinful. And the answer is, no, we did not make it to midnight. In fact, the party was more of a happy hour and was over by 6:30.

The end of the year signified a coming transition for our family that will, without a doubt be a difficult one. I will begin preparing to go back to work in mid January and will have to remind myself daily how lucky I was to have been able to stay home with Mia until she was 8 months old. I take comfort in the fact that, in our new, albeit more separate lives, Mia will continue to develop and explore all that is before her. And the possibilities for Mia are endless. She is surrounded by love, language, music, culture, art and nature.

Everything Possible is a song that makes up the soundtrack of my life and, I haven't sung it much to Mia until recently, perhaps because I am preparing myself for the first of many transitions that we will face in our lives. It is now clear to me why my parents and my parents' friends sang it to Missy and me so frequently with such hope and love in their eyes.

Chorus of Everything Possible by Fred Small:

You can be anybody you want to be

You can love whomever you will

You can travel any country where your heart leads

And know I will love you still

You can live by yourself

You can gather friends around

You can choose one special one

And the only measure of your words and your deeds

Will be the love you leave behind when you're done

I can only hope that the messages she hears in the beginning of the soundtrack of her life will influence her as much as they influenced me. And I must agree with her Gramma who repeatedly exclaims (sometimes hollers from her balcony), "She's a love. That's all she is."

Gracias

When Mia was one month old, I sincerely thought that Josh and I would never eat dinner at the same time again. I thought I'd never sleep more than three hours in a row and was quite certain I would never successfully start and complete any single task in one day. I also thought my mom would continue coming over everyday, literally saving my life with every minute she let me nap. The month of November brought with it a return to normalcy. Of course, my definition of normal is quite different today than it was one year ago. But we have officially arrived at a place where we sit and wonder, "what did we do before Mia came?" And while that first month was so filled with unknowns and fragile (sometimes painful) moments, today we find solace in our new daily routines. Mia has a dinner time and a reliable bed time (6:30 strikes and she's out like a light). For my friends without children, it's difficult explain the joy we find in knowing when Mia will be ready to settle in for the night. In June, I never would've thought it possible. This sense of normalcy is anything but mundane. On the contrary, we are excited by it and comforted by our growing sense of confidence as new parents. We really know our daughter and find relief in the fact that we can soothe her when she needs soothing. We can sing her a favorite song (still a fan of the Little White Whale!). We can offer her a favorite toy. We can hold her in the position that gives her ideal access to her thumb. In some ways, I feel more settled into my new role as a mom than ever before.

It is fitting that the month of November began with our family's first annual chanterelle mushroom hunt followed by a good old fashioned cider pressing party. Nothing says fall more than a chilly day out on Lark and Mark's farm filled with apple chopping, turning, churning, and pressing. Mia happily oversaw the whole event. Her favorite part was watching Daddy turn the antique press (after having ridden his bike all the way out to the farm, no less!) with a "git 'er done" sense of dedication and focus. Sure, he suffered from a minor strain to his pectoralis major. No one said cider pressing was light work!

The month has been filled with new adventures that Mia seems to welcome with a genuine sense of wonderment. We've been swimming in the local pool, we've visited the library several times, and we've even had lunch out at a restaurant with Great Auntie Cyndie and Auntie M, an adventure that I was pretty sure I'd never have again.

As expected, Mia, is continuing to grow more and more charming every day. Her eyes seem to be staying that beautiful ocean blue (although, should they change, they will, no doubt continue to be beautiful!). As one of her grandmas said, "She looks like her dad with her mom's face stamped on top." She has a smile that melts our hearts and two pearly whites peeking through her bottom gums. She is constantly looking for new challenges. She has mastered the art of the sit and the roll and is moments away from crawling. Surely she'll put that off until mom and dad stop procrastinating the baby-proofing of the house, right?

As her bright eyes shine, so does Mia's little personality. I remember when she was born thinking, "I can't wait to get to know her." I am amazed at how much of her personality has already developed. She is determined, curious, aware, independent, strong and sweet. Josh and I fight over who's turn it is to pick her up after she wakes up from her naps because she inevitably flashes an unforgettable grin that never fails to melt our hearts.

One of Mia's biggest adventures in the month of November included one of the culinary variety. Mia's first experiences with solid foods have been a huge success so far. She prefers oatmeal over rice cereal and seems to be warming to the Hubbard squash that was given to her by our neighbor Kelly. Josh can't wait to give her homemade pizza.

Mia celebrated her first Thanksgiving and made the rounds to visit all the family and friends who were so excited to see her. She got to peer at her growing cousin Maehle, hang out with cousins Audrey, Henry and Iris, and then got to meet Coen and Gavin (Jepsen) Gladstone. One can only hope that Mia and Gavin and Coen will have as much fun together as the Durham girls did with the Jepsen girls years ago.

Josh and I make it a habit to count our blessings and speak often about how thankful we are for each other and all that we have. But this year, it is just different. Besides being generally thankful for our loving families, we are particularly thankful this year that they all live nearby. Besides appreciating living in a house we love, we feel particularly blessed to be in what feels like a small haven, surrounded by the beauty of the woods. And aside from being thankful that we have a sweet little baby in our family, we are particularly grateful that Mia is healthy and growing stronger each day. What a gift she is!

Rollin' Along!

That's right, folks. She rolls. She rolls from front to back, back to front, left to right, and right to left. One quiet morning of playing on the floor was interrupted by Mia's burning desire to get off her back and get onto her tummy, without any help. I'll never forget that evening when Daddy, Uncle Brian, Auntie M and I were circled around Baby Mia as she twisted and turned until she flipped herself over from her typical Savassana to a sturdy Upward Dog. All four of us were eagerly cheering her on with encouraging hollers..."Come on, Mia! You can do it. Go, Baby, Go!!" And she did it. And we were all in awe.

Needless to say, the month of October flew by and Mia is growing fast! It was a whirlwind kind of month that was filled with parties, fun and new adventures. Most importantly, Mia got to welcome her new baby cousin Maehle to the world on October 8th. She is beautiful and healthy and Mia can't wait to play with her. What fun those two are going to have! Not that this blog is about me, but I must say, I love the fact that I'm now an Auntie.

When I say parties, I mean lots of parties. Mia attended her big cousin Audrey's 3rd birthday party the first weekend of the month. It was a costume party with a super-fun carnival put on by her super-creative parents. After that, she attended a BTV (Bridgetown Velo) birthday party and was quite the hit there. She also went to her Cousin Sarah's beautiful wedding. A couple weeks later, she hosted her very first Pumpkin Carving Party. We plan to make it an annual event because it was such a great time. Daddy spent the day creating a beautiful harvest setting with the help of the pristine sunshine and gorgeous fall leaves. We had carving competitions, homemade doughnuts (fried on the spot), hot stew, pumpkin seed brittle dipped in chocolate, and cornbread muffins all followed by a roaring campfire. Mia had many of her little baby friends over, including Lowe, Ella and Cousin Henry. As her Grammy said, what a difference a year makes!

While Mia has been talking since she was very young, October was the month that she really found her voice. Her repertoire of consonant vowel combinations quadrupled and she's currently loving the sound of high-pitched screaming, followed by smirks and giggles. She enjoys chatting with the baby in the mirror and singing along to Baby Beluga, her favorite bedtime lullaby.

Mia is on the verge of doing many things. She's about to sit up on her own. She's about to crawl. She's about to begin eating solid food. She's about to begin standing / leaning (while supported, of course), and she's about to grow some teeth. The coming months are sure to be filled with milestones!

Mia's favorite toys are her blocks and stacking cups. She loves coasters, my coffee cup (it's Mexican Talavera--she certainly has good taste!), the sound of the guitar, and her duck family that lives in the bathtub. Gramma found out that Mia loves to watch the fall leaves in the bird bath and the sound of October rain. She will happily stare at the leaves for a good solid five minutes. And those of you who were wondering if Mia still likes her thumb, the answer is, yes! She can't get enough of it at nap time and bedtime.

October ended with with a costume parade. Mia went as a three different characters. The Ducks were playing that day, so, obviously she had to don her Duck Cheerleader outfit for a spell. But before that, she reserved the right to remain cozy in her Jack-o-lantern jammies. Finally, she humored her mother and dressed up in her shrimp costume. I do believe she was the only shrimp on the block. Thank you, Mia, for your patience, and I'll expect the obligatory eye-rolling in approximately 14 years.

As I look out on the forest that surrounds our house I believe I can safely say a good strong windstorm will put an end to the falling leaves and will bring the inevitable chill of winter. My baking and knitting will likely continue into the holidays and Mia will certainly continue to use that voice of hers. She is developing a taste for her favorite people in the world. Unsurprisingly, they include her parents and grandparents, aunties and uncles. Josh's face lights up every time he sees his daughter and consistently complains that he doesn't get enough time with her. The echoing sound of all the pre-baby advice ("enjoy this time, because it goes so fast") is ringing in our ears and we're quickly realizing that the advice was spot-on. We enjoy every moment with sweet Baby Mia and feel blessed that she is in our lives.