Phew..... what a weekend....

Current mood: tired

This has been another one of those whirlwind weekends, that when you finally get a chance to slow down and catch your breath you realize its already over.

The whirlwind started yesterday where it was errand day and boy we were all over the place. (Me, Daddy and of course Baby Mia). What was on the agenda? Well first we hit Temecula to check out Party City to get some decoration ideas for Mia's upcoming bash. However, before we even got to Party City we stopped by PetSmart which is next door to check out the doggies and kitties since it was adoption day. We don't have much money so this is as close to a zoo Mia can get right now haha. She didn't really seem to interested in dogs since she never really likes them much anyways, what really excited her was the Kitties! (Thats my girl, taking after me in my love for cats). We went up to one of the cages where they had two of the cutest little kittens. A grey one and a black one. The black one was hanging out by the door so Mia got to stick her tiny fingers in the cage and pet its tail. She was so happy. We then went into the store to buy some crickets for Beardie at home. She kinda liked the crickets but seemed to really get a kick out of the bag they were being carried in. After showing her some more animals, chinchillas, fishies, mice, hamsters, birds etc it was on to Party City. She had not had a nap so she wasn't as perky as she normally is. She could care less about the animals at PetSmart.

We didn't find much at Party City so we didn't spend to much time there. I did take a couple of pictures of her wearing some silly party hats though which we both got a kick out of. But again Mia was moody and could care less about hats. Then it was onto Toys R Us to buy big Cousin Natalia a present for her 5 year old birthday (which was today). The only time she lite up was when we put her on a blow up water-slide display. She got to bounce around a bit. After shopping we bought our gift and were just about to leave when we saw one of those little rides that are in front of the store for 50 cents. So Adrian dug in his wallet but only found 1 quarter, I dug in mine and found the second so of course we couldn't pass up the chance for Mia to experience her first ride! So Daddy put her in the little fire engine and I got the camera ready. He put the quarters in and the ride started...... it slowly moved back and forth but it was so slow that Mia was like "What is this?! this is boring! I get more excitment out of a car ride than this lame thing" She didn't smile or even really enjoy it, she just sat there waiting for the lame ride to stop. We on the other hand got a kick out of watching her. I guess being Ms. Daredevil, this ride really was just a "baby newborn" ride and not a cool one. So once the ride was over it was off to our next destination. Perris, to go to Cardenas for some food. (Temecula to Perris is about a 30-40mins drive)

Once we got to Cardenas she just fell asleep so we had to wake her up. Not good? Ya we thought so too but that little cat nap did wonders for her additude and mood. She was her perky self again and she enjoyed her little ride in the shopping cart. After we did all our shopping it was finally off to home.

Once we got home she played for a bit and it was off to bed. We all wanted to go to bed alittle early because we were going to San Diego the next day for her Cousin Natalia's little birthday party. It wasn't going to be a big one so we really wanted to make an effort to make it there. However, due to teething (which is really getting bad now) Mia woke up screaming and crying at 3am. Adrian took care of her and calmed her down, cuddled with her and gave her a bottle while he let me sleep. He later put her back to bed. I was later woken up by her screaming and crying again at 7am. I was so beat tired but I got up, cuddled her a bit, gave her tylonal, and gave her another bottle and put her back in bed hoping to get another couple of hours of needed sleep. Luckily with just a little fuss she went right down and I did get my couple of hours of sleep before woken up again by screaming and crying. Oh boy I thought for sure this day is not going to be easy.

Well we all got up soon after and got ready to go on our adventure to San Diego. Mia perked up some more and after some lunch we took off to SD. The dress I had her in, was alittle to big for her on the top but I was determined to have her wear it since it was too cute. It had princesses on it. So before hitting the freeway we hit VONS for some saftey pins. Once pinning her top we got on the freeway and off to SD we went. She did great in the car until about mid way then she wanted OUT! and Ms. Fuss Fuss arrived. So she cried her little heart out the rest of the way. Eventually we made it to Tia Rebeca's house (2 hours late). She came to life once seeing all the people but she still did her famous stare. She got to see Daddy's Cousin Robert and Cherlynn who instantly fell in love with her. She showed off her little walking skills and soon only wanted to do that the whole party. So taking turns between me, Adrian and Grandpa Santos she got alot of walking practice in. We visited some more and then it was Pinata time!!! Of course she got her wacks in while we recorded it. She seems to like it more and more she gets to do it. Once the Pinata was burst, her and Daddy picked up some candy and she kept wanting to take it right back out of her little grab bag and munch on it haha. We visited a bit longer and then Ms. Fuss Fuss was trying to come back so we went inside the house and she actually took alittle cat nap on Daddy. This is soooo rare since she NEVER sleeps on anyone..ever. It was a nice treat for him. As she napped I got to visit with one of Tia Rebeca's friends, Anika, who brought her baby newborn Analise (7 months old) I couldn't believe how TINY she was and she was soooooo adorable!!! I fell in love and the baby fever bug bit me HARD! Oh my goodness! I was gushing over the baby. I think I did alittle to much gushing because when I first saw her, I went over and was baby talking her like I do Mia. Mia was being held by Tia Rebeca next to me at the time and I think she got jealous because she kept hitting my arm trying to get my attention. I was so focused on the baby that I didn't realize what Mia was doing. She started hitting me harder and whining a bit till she finally did get my attention and then she flew into my arms haha. The baby was really cute and though Adrian and I agreed he wouldn't start trying for another baby till December of this year... I have a sneaky feeling it might happen sooner... shhhhhh! haha

Anyways after Mia's nap it was time to go. We packed up, said out goodbyes and off we went. Tia Rebeca gave her a little pink balloon to play witih for the ride home but we didn't make it far in the yard before it flew away. Poor Mia. We then drove to the Sports Arena area to pick up some Thai food at our favorite Thia place. Its my all time favorite place to eat EVER! I am not really into exotic foods but they make a dish called drunken noodle that is to DIE for! We had not had any since my 4-D ultra sound for Mia back in April of last year! It was time for another treat. So we picked up some of that and off to home we went. She did better in the car this time and she even played a new game with me in the back seat. Its a sort of peek-a-boo game where she takes her blankey covers her face, I say "Oh no! Where did Mia go?! wheres Mia?!" (I can see her little eye poking out to watch my reaction), then she quickly pulls the blanket down and I go "There she is!!!!!" and she gets all excited, screams and laughs so loud. It was the cutest thing ever!!!!! We did it a few more times before she finally got tired.

Once we got home we let her play a bit to tire herself out and to stretch her legs. Then she did something that totally shocked me!!!

We started a new game yesterday. She LOVES her little black stuffed cat and always carries it with her and smiles so big. I say "Kitty!" to her and she smiles and screams. Yesterday I was chasing her with it and she was laughing so loud and screaming. She knows this stuffed animal as "Kitty" and like I said before she did something shocking today. She was playing near the fireplace with "Kitty" then she dropped it and crawled full speed away from it and to the other side of the room. She was just about to pull herself up on the chair when I said "Mia! Go get Kitty! Where's your Kitty?" I seriously didn't think she would do anything but to my amazement she stopped, turned around and darted right for her Kitty. Sure enough she crawled to it, picked it up and looked at me! She listened to what I said!!!! I was so shocked and so proud of her I quickly told Adrian! I was so proud of her, not only did she follow a command, but she remembered where she left her kitty and knew to get it. She listens!!! wow!!! haha I started noticing this more and more especially recently when she wants me to pick her up and cuddle her on the couch. I say, get your blankey (which is usually right next to her) and "Sit with Mama" and she will grab her blanket and put her arms up for me to pick her up so she can sit with me. I thought it was a fluke thing at first that she follows commands like that but she does it. What shocked me most about the Kitty incident is that unlike the blankey which is always next to her, the cat was clear on the other side of the room yet she still knew to get it. Wow shes learning so fast.

Anyways after some more play time it was off to bed she went. Phew what a day! I can't wait to play with her more and to see if she can find her kitty again. I am so tired now my eyes are burning so I am ready for bed myself. I just had to write alitte....errr alot of what happened this weekend. I hope tomorrow I will be able to get alittle rest in but knowing Mia, that is highly unlikely haha

Week #46

Current Mood: Shocked

Mia is now 46 weeks old! Phew... thats alot of weeks! She is inching ever so close to that big "1 year!" mark! This is my last May weekly blog, we are practically in June already! Wow how time flies.

This week has had its little adventures, good and bad. I will start off with the bad first for a change. Due to what I believe was caused by her teething, Mia's additude quickly changed from her normal chipper/perky self into a whiny/fussy little one. She was becoming alittle more demanding and the one thing she started doing that was hair raising was crying when she got her diaper changed. I am not talking about little cry, I am talking about a full on blow up! She would even start to hyperventalate as you walked her to the changing table as she anticipated the impending diaper change. Each day got worse and worse and at the height of all this it was so bad she would scream that ear piercing cry and insist on rolling over. Diaper changes turned into a chore and literally would take almost 10 mins! It wasn't only me who struggled with her, but Adrian had the same problem too. We tried bribing her with toys, changing her on the bed instead of the changing table, changing her in a different room.. everything! NOTHING seemed to work. This went on for DAYS! and just when I was at wits end... she stopped. She is not back to her normal self and lets me change her without a fuss. What was all that about?!! I dunno... its just Mia being Mia and testing us I guess. Or maybe shes teething because her gums do show signs of two little ones almost ready to poke through.

Ok moving on now to happier things..She got to meet her little friend, Koa this week! We went up to Mona and Brett's house for his 1st birthday in Orange County. She did good on the trip up and back and even with the lack of sleep and naps she did good at the party too. It was so cute to see them together and interact with each other. She even caught the amerous eye of a little boy while there as well. (Hahaha.... it starts already and she isn't even 1 yet! ) Overall the visit was great other than a couple of diaper changes that didn't go so well. We are looking forward to seeing them again real soon.

Another big thing that she did this week is she climbed our stairs! All the way to the very top, and by herself at that! I was close behind her to make sure she didn't tumble backwards and she never did. By the third step she was scaling them like a pro. I would have had the video camera out to capture the moment but it all happened so fast and I didn't want to leave her side, plus I was cheering her on. When she reached the top of the stairs she wasted no time in exploring the upstairs. She crawled all over the place and I eventually had to grab her and take her back downstairs because she was getting into to much trouble and mischief! haha

She finally got her first taste of real people's food this week as well. I finally loosened up a bit and allowed her to eat some home-made beans and rice. Both she loved and ate them all like a big girl! Today I might cook them up for her again to see if she still likes them.... which I think she will.. I mean dispite how light skinned she is.. she IS still Mexican! Its in her blood to love those foods! haha

Thats about it. Other than demanding to be "walked" everywhere now (and just recently graduating to walking with 1 hand!) she is getting along just fine. Well I was woken up extra early this morning and now I am starting to get sleepy, I think I will crawl back into bed for a bit before she wakes up for the day. I think I can get in at least an hour and a half.... at least I hope I can because once she is up.. its go go go go until she goes to bed! haha

Mia is officially a Mexican, she likes beans and rice!

Current Mood: Happy

Well if you know me and how I am with Mia, then you know how OVERLY protective I am of her. I am always on constant watch of all her actions, how her routines are, and especially what she does and doesn't eat.

I felt everything was going ok, until I kept getting repeative comments from family (both sides Pizano/Cardoso) about her eating habbits. I usually keep my ears closed to any criticism or jokes/teasing because she is my daughter and I do what I feel is right for her. However, it wasn't until Adrian started jumping in too that I then started to realize maybe I am being alittle to strict and harsh on certain things. Mainly what she eats. I have been semi-loosening up on other things (ie. how rough Adrian plays with her, letting others feed her and change her diaper, etc) but I have been really stern about her diet.

To be honest, it mostly stemmed from her not having many teeth. I figured we would introduce more "adult" foods once she gained more teeth. (Right now she only has 4 with two more coming in anyday) I waited awhile before I even introduced baby food to her. Actually per her doctor, he said not to introduce it until she was 4 months old. I waited until she was almost 6! and even that was with reluctancy. The semi-solids and puffs, snackies and stuff all came way after that, and again I was reluctant. Mia, on the other hand, LOVED the foods. She never choked (another fear of mine), never threw up or had an allergic reaction. She learned to chew really early which also helped a bit. So I began slowly showing her different foods. Mostly fruits (ie. pears, watermelon, cantalope, mango, blueberries, strawberries, etc) Most of this all comes from Adrian's encouragement and sometimes him doing it behind my back! Like her first taste of candy at a birthday party and eating popsicals!

Anyways what really started making me realize I was over doing the whole food restriction thing started during her baptism weekend. My over protectivness was in high gear and I actually snapped alittle at both my Mom (who fed her alittle bit of spanish rice) and my mother-in-law (who fed her some potato from a burrito). I wasn't out of line with either but I was mad and my face showed it. I didn't want to hear how "shes old enough for this..." "this won't hurt her" I was just angry they were feeding my baby something "I" didn't even feed her. Later that night I reflected on many things and how certain things were handled. One of them being her experiencing new foods and my over protectiveness of that. Later I found out a few other friends I have who have babies all around Mia's age if not younger were already on table foods. Then after talking to my bestfriend, Mona (whos son, Koa, is a couple of months older) eats all kinds of variety of table foods. She was as over protective as I was once, but she said she had to let it go once the babysitter was feeding him all kinds of different stuff anyways and he was ok. Adrian spoke up at that party too and mentioned how I am too over protective of her diet and I need to loosen up. So after a long talk with Adrian I finally realize I am being alittle to harsh. Which leads me to today...

I finally decided it would be ok for Mia to eat adult food, of course if it was baby-friendly food. So I cooked a small pot of fresh homemade beans (I learned how to make awesome beans thanks to my Mother-in-law) I cook them with a tiny bit (a clove) of finely minced fresh garlic, which counter-acts gas build-up from beans and a tiny bit of onion for flavor. I didn't add any salt so they were pretty blan. I wasn't sure if I should mash them or feed them to her whole. So I decided to feed them to her whole since it would promote her chewing practice. I got a small bowl, set her up, and gave her her first bean. She didn't make faces or spit it out, infact she kind of liked it! Before I knew it, the whole bowl of beans were devoured and she wanted more. Thats my girl! A true Mexican, already liking her beans! haha I had some white rice steaming and after that was done I fed her that too. She loved the rice and ate tiny little clumps. She LOVED to feed herself, which was a real treat for her when I let her. She never choked or anything and when she was done she drank her water from her sippy like a pro.

She is really growing up. So after today's experience and seeing she is ok with table foods I am considering lightening up my grip on what she can and cannot eat. Adrian put it best when he said, "shes almost 1! what do you think that once she hits that "Magic Number" all of a sudden she will be ok at eating table food?" I guess I have been alittle harsh, I mean I do want her to be able to eat her birthday cake on her birthday! haha So we will see what other new food adventures she will encounter. Though I am going to loosen up about the whole table food subject I am SOOOOO NOT going to loosen up on my ideal of feeding her healthy non-processed food as much as possible. I keep all her sugar and sodium intake to the bare-minium and I have never let her eat processed sugars (corn syrup) only natural sugars that come from fruits and veggies themselves. I know I can't control her meals for all her life and eventually she will venture into the dark-side of refined foods and sugars but if I can give her the best start in the begining for developing healthy eating habbits then I am going to do whatever I can do give her that best start. Afterall, she is still my little Butterfly Princess.

Mia climbed up our stairs today!

Current mood: shocked

My little munchkin..aka Mia the Explorer has accomplished another giant feat... she has conquered our stairs! Thats right, Mia climbed up our stairs today. All 16 steps and all by herself without any help from Mama (who was right behind her waiting for that tumble)

She climbed up a couple of steps before a few weeks ago but I haven't really let her on the stairs since. Today, however, as I was walking her around the living room, kitchen and family room she guided me towards the stairs. She saw the cat, Princess Mew Mew pearched on top of the mid-level part. She got all excited and that is what motivated her to climb the stairs.

She got up one step, another step, and by the third step she went pro! She zoomed up the stairs chasing the cat. Once she got to the mid-level part (our stairs are sectioned in to two parts) she played with my vase stand and cat scratch condo a bit. Then she saw the second half of stairs and with alittle encouragment from her little pumpkin toy she climbed all those too!

Once she reached the top, she found Princess Mew Mew again and bolted after her, but Mew, who sensed the impending doom, ran and hid. This didn't detour Mia the Explorer. She crawled around the tech center, found her basket of clean laundry and threw out the clothes. Then crawled to the laundry room, tried to pull down a net of dirty clothes then crawled to me for her to walk. I walked her around and she went into her room. Once she was in there she went nuts with her stuffed carebears and toys. After some fun I finally took her back downstairs and told her Daddy all about her adventure.

What a big girl! I am so proud of her!

Yay Mia is letting me change her diaper again!

Current mood: accomplished

As you probably remember, something happened to Mia where she REFUSED to get her diaper changed and if you did pin her down to change it, she wouldn't go down without a fight. She would scream at the top of her lungs, attempt to roll over as fast as she could, cried till her little voice reached the ear piercing pitch, and flooded her face in tears. I have no clue what brought this on but it has lasted DAYS!

I was afriad it was a new stage she was going into. Each diaper change was a battle and was horrible. By the end of what should be a 2min. thing turned into 10mins and both of us were exhausted from the war we put each other through. It wasn't just me, Daddy also had his share of battles as well. NOTHING worked! We tired everything from, calm talking, singing, demanding, stern voices, distracting toys, everything.. you name it we tried it.

However now she is FINALLY going back to the baby I once knew. She still doesn't like her diaper to be changed but she is tolerating it more and more. It started yesterday. I decided to completely ignore her while I was changing her diaper. I wouldn't make any eye contact, I didn't talk to her, all I did was sing her favorite songs in a comforting voice and did my business. At first she struggled but after notcing I wasn't even lookin at her she calmed down and played alittle with whatever was around her. I thought it was a fluke but after doing this for the rest of the diaper changes throughout the day, it got better and better. Today was the big test though. I wanted to see if she would contiune to be on good behavior and what do you know.. she still is! YAY!!!

I know this is all temporary and more battles will rise in the near future... but at least I can rest and really enjoy the calm before the storm! haha

Mia finally meets her future boyfriend, Koa!

Current mood: happy

Today was a big day for Mia! She finally got to meet her friend Koa in person, outside the tummy. (They met previously at his babyshower but both were still in the tummies haha) Today was Koa's 1st birthday party at his house in Laguna.

Before I get into the party, I just wanted to mention Mia is going through a very tough phase right now. Not sure if its just a phase or that shes teething ...yet again. She has become very whiny and fussy again and the one thing thats been very hard is she REFUSES to be laid down. Whether it be going to bed, changing her clothes after a bath or mainly... getting her diaper changed. She screams bloody murder and just panicks while she tries to roll over and crawl away. Its really getting out of hand and I don't know what to do other than keep laying her down again and fighting with her till I get the new diaper on. Sigh... I hope this passes soon. Anyways, with her current mood I was alittle nervous about what to expect at Koa's party. I was hoping she would be good but for the first time I was unsure how she would act.

We got up early to get an early start to Orange Co. (about an hour and half away) We kept her up from her morning nap so she would sleep in the car and be rested once we got there. Again we had some bad diaper changing moments before we left, but she seemed ok in the car. She fell asleep and slept most of the way until we hit traffic. Then her little eyes popped open and she was ready to go! She did good though, playing games with me in the back seat, playing with her toys and eating snackies.

We finally made it and into the party we went. It was a PACKED house. Everyone showed up for Koa's big day! There had to be at least 25 people and kids stuffed in their tiny two bedroom house near the beach. It was TONS of fun though. Right away she took a shine to "Auntie" Mona and finally got to meet little Koa. They both seemed alittle interested in each other but rather go play with their toys. Koa is already walking and was quick to show off his skills to Mia who wanted to try herself but can't just yet.

The first thing EVERYONE commented on was how tall Mia is. We put her next to Koa and she is actually a tiny bit taller than he is! then everyone commented how cute she was. She was all dolled up in her summer shirt, shorts and a blue headband (All thanks to Cousin April who gave her, her clothes). She got a kick out of playing with all his toys and even got to use his Jump-a-roo. She bounced around while all the little kids played with balloons in the living room. She wanted to join the fun so bad and when a balloon fell her way she was quick to grab it and play with it. Then she caught the eyes of a little boy from across the room. His name was Logan and he was almost 2 years old. He took an immediate liking to Mia and even helped her bounce in the Jump-a-roo. For the longest time he wouldn't leave her side. Not even a year old and Mia is already attracting the boys!! Oh-boy! not looking forward to the future haha Koa later came over and visited with Mia as well. It was so cute to watch them interact and play.

Then I got to see Mona's two younger sisters, Jessica and Janette. I have literally not seen them in alittle over 11 years!!!! I remember both as little kids and was so shocked to see them all grown up. Both live in Colorado now so it was a treat to see them again and catch up. An even bigger suprise happened later, I got to talk/see Mona's Mom and Dad who live in Australia via her computer video conference thing. Again, I haven't seen them in YEARS! (over a Decade to be exact!) and it was awesome to show them little Mia and introduce my husband, Adrian. Both thought Mia was a cutie. Then later we took her out to the balcony to eat come lunch and little Koa and Auntie Mona came out and visited a bit. We took some pictures of the kiddos but both refused to look at the camera but we still got some cute pictures of them.

After hanging out a bit it was cake time!!! By then Mia was really starting to get tired so we knew our time was limited. We all sang to Koa and he dove into his cake getting more on himself than his mouth. Then it was present time and thats when Mia for the first time really started getting alittle whiny in front of people. She was extreemly tired since she missed her two naps and she got up really early. So unfortunately we had to say our goodbyes. She said her special byes to Koa the birthday boy, Auntie Mona and everyone and off we went for the long treck home. I was relieved not to have had any major meltdowns other than when she got her diaper changed (twice) in Mona and Brett's room. She did really well considering she was really tired and was kept from crawling around due to all the little ones running around like crazy (we didn't want her to get run over). I was hoping she would sleep on the ride home but nope! She refused to sleep and made it a point to let us know how mad she was and how she wanted out of the carseat all the way home. She didn't cry to much but would yell in anger every now and then. ARRRGH!

Eventually we made it home and I thought for sure once I put her jammies on she would want to go to bed. WRONG! As soon as we got home she perked right up and played for another 2 hours!!! just crusing and crawling around. Eventually she got tired and off to bed she went. She went right down like a good girl.

Phew what a day! It was really fun and can't wait to visit again.

45 weeks!!! Oh My!

Current mood: adventurous

Happy Friday!!! Here I am again for my weekly blog update on my little Butterfly Princess Mia! This week was a HUGE week for her, between milestones and new things she was officially Baptized as well!

The start of the new "Mia" week was very busy for all of us. We were all getting ready for the big day, Sunday, it was her Baptism. Her Grandpa and Grandma Pizano came down on Sat. to help watch her while Daddy and I finished up some last min. cleaning and preparing. She had fun with them, not only did she force an endless maranthon of "Yo, Gabba Gabba" on them, she showed off all her new skills. Walking with hands, standing alone when letting go of something, attempting to walk between a chair and the couch, and being the eating machine that she is! haha. It was fun. Her Nina, Nino, and cousins all came down that night but she was already snoozing away. The next day was her big day, her Baptism and everyone came down to see her. Her Grandpa and Grandma Santos, Tia Rebeca and her cousins too! It was a great time, dispite little disasters here and there we managed to pull it off. YAY! She looked like a little angel in her dress and was really good in the church, I am so proud of her.

A not so fun thing also happened that weekend of her Baptism. She threw up for the first time. Not baby spitting up, but full on gag throw up. Oh-no! We all think it must have been a hair she swallowed that tickled her throat since she is a human vaccum cleaner when it comes to small things on the carpet. After Nina fed her a popsical she was all better. I am keeping an extra, EXTRA close eye on her now, you never know what she will put in her mouth. For some reason her favorite is my hair! I am so close to just shaving my head so she can stop eating my hair! Haha

A new thing that she started this week was playing more with her little Monkey stand up toy thing-a-ma-giee. She is now using the balls like they were intended to be used. She not only puts them in the spiral part to watch them twist down but she also puts them in the little elephant's ears. They come out the trunk and she puts them in the ears again. Thats a first, since I have been trying to show her how to do it she never seemed interested until she figured it out on her own. Go Mia!

She also stood up from a bent position. She has never been able to do that before with just using her back muscles and arms. She would always just pull herself up to stand but never just stand up. She tries it from sitting on the floor but just can't get it, so she did the next best thing. She crawled to me as I was sitting on the floor. Put her hands on m thigh, lifted her butt in the air, straightened her arms and stood up! I was shocked! She did it one other time yesterday as well.

The other HUGE thing that happened this week is she took her first steps!!! Now I still don't really consider it "walking" yet but she is pretty darn close to it. Earlier this week it was a big deal that she took 1 step successfully but a few days later she took 2! without falling. I couldn't believe it, but I am not to surprised. She loves to walk and whenever you put her down she insists you take her hands and walk her around. She loves it. Though she hasn't been able to take that second step again, she does have that 1 step downpad!

Phew, what a week! So many things going on and so many new things to watch. I am so proud of my little one, everyday is a new adventure. I wonder what today will bring?!?!?

Mia took 2 steps today!!!!!!

Current mood: surprised

Mia is on the move! She really wants to walk, so I take every opprotunity to practice with her around the house. Whether its greating Daddy in the morning by walking up to him (of course with me holding her hands) or like yesterday walking up and down the isles at BestBuy while Daddy was shopping. She enjoys it so much.

Today we had a big moment just about 30 mins ago. I was playing with her on the living room floor like I always do. Chasing her around, tickling her, picking her up and spinning her around to make her laugh. I then put her on the floor standing up and she just stood there. I backed up a bit to give her some walking room and I called to her, encouraging her to walk to me. Sure enough she took one step.. put her foot down, regained her balance, then slowly took another step, put her foot down, regained her balance then leaned over the rest of the way so I could catch her. I quickly picked her up, gave her a big hug while celebrating. I called up to Adrian who was upstairs and told him the good news. She took two steps! I was so happy.

I then put her down again to try again but she wanted nothing to do with it. Ms. Fuss Fuss kicked in (due to not having her afternoon nap and it was getting close to bedtime) so that was that.

I am so excited, I can't wait to see if she will do it again tomorrow!

Bam..bam..bam! Three new things today!

Current mood: excited

Sigh... little Mia always waits until there is no one around to try new things or to do any of her old things! We had a house full of family yesterday and she didn't want to do any of her new things for anyone. Eventually at least we got her to say "Hat" for her Nina and Nino but that was the extent of it. She refused to wave hello (which she always does), blow kisses, clap, or anything! I guess today was no exception, only when we were alone she decided to do three new things!! all within 15 mins of each other... talk about being on a roll! Haha

The day started off great. She slept in alittle and was really rested up and happy. Infact the whole day she was GREAT! No fussiness, no whinys, nothing but smiles, laughs an jibber jabbering. It was an awesome day. Ok back to what I was saying before... today started off great. After Mia's breakfast I called my Dad up to chat a bit on the phone while Mia went on playing with her toys. In the middle of my phone conversation Mia decided to try walking all by herself! Like I mentioned yesterday, she is becoming braver and braver each new day. She was holding on to her chair, let go, turned towards the TV and took a whole step forward without falling!!! Usually she attempts to take a step but falls by the time she get gets her foot on the ground. Not this time though! She actually made it to the ground without falling, the foot that is! Then she regained her balance a bit and attempted to step with the other but fell. I ignored whatever my Dad was talking about on the phone because I was so shocked and overjoyed I just started celebrating with Mia! haha When I told her Grandpa what she did he was all surprised and happy for her too! Then she crawled to her little musical monkey toy to play with it.

On one side of the toy there is a elephant and you can put the tiny balls into his ears and they roll out his trunk. I have been trying to teach Mia how to put the balls in his ears but she never seems interested, so I gave up months ago. But for some reason today (not sure if she saw Cousins playing with it yesterday) but she grabbed the tiny ball and put it in his ear watched it fall out his trunk then put it in his ear again two more times! Again I was overjoyed, cheered her on and stopped talking to my Dad who was still on the phone haha. I told him what she did and right away he called her "Amazin Mia" again. Mia was not done with her tricks though... she did another first less than 10 mins after...

I was sitting on the floor with Mia still talking to my Dad on the phone when Mia crawled up to me. She put her tiny hands on my thigh, lifted herself up with her arms and had her butt in the air, a sort of bending over position then poof! she stood up!!!! For the first time she used her arms and back to stand up from a bent position! Usually she pulls herself up with her arms on furniture to stand but she has never been able to stand straight up from a bent-over position! This was a first! Again I cheered, smoothered her with kisses and hugs and celebrated with my Dad on the phone.

I am so proud of my little girl. She is going to learn to walk very soon. She gets so extreemly excited to walk when you hold her hands and just recently, infact I think today was when she started it, but she now can walk with just holding one of your hands! You still have to be careful that she doesn't end up spinning to the ground when you do this but she did manage to get the hang of it a couple of times today. She is so on the verge, infact she doesn't even like it anymore when you put her down to crawl. She quickly stiffens up so you cant sit her down and she starts marching in place for you to walk with her. Its really cute! she had EVERYONE walking her around yesterday for this very reason.

My little girl is growing up so fast!!! Sigh.. where is the time gone! lol

Mia got Baptized!

Current mood: accomplished

Wow, and I mean WOW! What a weekend... this weekend is definately been the KING of all busy weekends for us. The main thing is... Mia is officially Baptized and though we had a few little emergencies... things went pretty smooth.

I have been busting my butt for the past MONTH but mostly the past week to get the house all prepared and ready for the event. Unfortunatly due to our financial situation at the moment we had to keep her party really small. We only had her Grandparents (both sides) her Tia Rebeca and cousins Brianna and Natalia, and Nina, Nino and cousins Tracy, Sarah, April and of course the little cousin on on the way (haha) over. But we had a blast anyways.

The weekend started on Saturday as her Grandpa and Grandma Pizano came early in the morning to help watch Mia as I got some last min. things taken care of around the house. As I buzzed around the house, and Adrian buzzed outside doing yard work... Grandpa and Grandma had some much needed bonding time with Mia. She was on her best behavior and of course made them watch a marathon of "Yo Gabba Gabba" haha. She did do one thing that shocked us all, she almost attempted to walk by herself. She was holding onto her walker, let go, turned towards the couch and tried to walk to the couch. She couldn't quite move her legs so she just tipped over until she reached the couch for balance then walked to it. Shes almost there! She is getting braver and braver everyday. She even attempted to climb the stairs for the first time as well! She only made it up a couple of steps but she did it! The visit went great until the moment before bathtime. She was playing by the fireplace.. AGAIN... (one of her favorite places to play) and she fell and bumped her head. I was upstairs cleaning the bathroom when I heard the scream... I flew down the stairs to see what was the matter and Mia was hysterical. She never really cries like that so of course I went into Mama Bear mode and took Mia from my Mom and calmed her down. I wouldn't let anyone touch her until I felt she was ok. Eventually I did give her up to Daddy who calmed her down as well and when I knew she was ok I went back to cleaning. Boy that was no fun! Poor Baby. She later got her bath and she was fine and went to bed. Then Daddy and I took off to pick up the salads for her party the next day at Pat and Oscars. It was just the two of us and we had some fun. It was actually the first time I actually rode in his car since he bought it in March! Later that night her soon-to-be Nina and Nino and cousins showed up around midnight-ish and of course crashed when they got here.

Then came the big day!!!!! The house was buzzing with everyone trying to get ready for the Baptism. It was going to be at 11pm but you know how it goes when you try to get ready, no matter how much time you think you have... it flys by to fast and before you know it your LATE! haha We were trying to avoid that situation as best as we could. Her Grandpa and Grandma Santos, Tia Rebeca and cousins showed up around 9 and the house really started to buzz. Kids were everywhere, grown-ups running around and visiting.. it was a mad house and in the middle of it all was Mia just being her little happy self. She showed off her walking skills and played. Grandma Santos and Tia Rebeca had to run off to Target real fast because they forgot the girls shoes! Luckily Target is just down the street so they were back in no time. Grandpa Pizano and her Nino ran off for some much needed coffee and some water we needed for our water cooler. Nina was getting her cousins ready and I was running around like a headless chicken. As soon as people started showing up.. the stress level rose. I tried to make sure everything was taken care of while I was trying to get ready myself. Then it was time to go to the church. I was soooooo nervous. Seriously, I was more nervous then than I was for my own wedding!!!!! haha I wanted everything to go smoothly but didn't quite know what to expect. I decided to get Mia ready at the church since her baptism dress was so long and poofy I was afraid she wouldn't be able to get fastened in her car seat.

We all caravanned to the Church which is luckily down the road. The day started really warming up by then and as soon as you walked out in the sun you began to feel roasted! and for us wearing black it was horrible! haha We all made our way to the church and was suprised to see the turn out of people. We didn't expect that they would actually have a service around the baptism but they did! We walked in and were greated by all the congeration. Mia was quickly complimented and everyone already knew she was the "baby getting baptised". I was on stress mode, I dropped off the video camera and digital with my Dad so he could set up for me while I grabbed Mia's diaper bag and dress and with my Mom ran off to the bathroom to get her dressed. They didn't have a changing table so we had to make due with the sink and chair. I got her all dolled up and walked her into the church. I let her Nina hold her while we set up and took some pictures. Then it was time... the service began. It was a beautiful service but I was really so nervous I can't really remember to much of it. I know my Dad recorded most of it so good thing we have that. Then it was time...... the big moment. Her soon-to-be Nina and Nino, Daddy and I walked up to the baptising alter pool thing. The Pastor read some scripture, gave some blessings and did the lighting of the candle and offering of gifts. Her Nino was holding her the whole time then it was time for the actual baptism. Pastor Scott took Mia laid her head backwards and poured the blessed water on her head and baptised her. Mia who was alittle squirmy at first.. quickly froze and allowed the Pastor to baptised her. He then gave her back to her new Nino and finished the services. It was a great moment. Mia was good the whole time.... all through the service. It was her first time in Church too! Nino held her most of the time and she sat there contently. When she began to get squirmy she would play with her soft little knitted cross she got from the Pastor. Overall, she was a great baby and looked like a little angel in her little white dress and bonnet.

After the service we all stuck around to take some pictures infront of the alter. Then disaster happened.... and boy when it rains it POURS! it started with poor little cousin Brianna. Her foot got stepped on and her big toe was smooshed. She screamed in pain and before we knew it started to really bleed... bad. Tia Rebeca whisked her away to the bathroom trying to comfort and clean her up. There goes pictures with Tia and cousins in front of the alter. Then we took a few pictures with us and Nina, Nino and Mia... then cousin April decided to shove all the candy in her mouth she got from the church people. When we saw this Lauren aka Nina tried to take it out of her mouth but she ended up inhaling it and stopped breathing! She was choking .. BAD... April tried to gasp for air but couldn't breathe! Her face started turning red as her Mommy shoved her fingers down her throat trying to grab the candy lodged in her throat. Then Nino grabbed her and leaned her over and attempted to dislodge the candy by smacking her back. Eventually it came out and she could breath again. (Mind you this is in the middle of the whole church!) So off they went to the bathroom to comfort and clean up April. I wanted to get a picture of the New Nina and Nino and Adrian, Mia and myself with the Pastor but because of the April incident it only turned out to me Mama, Daddy and Mia. It wasn't bad though we still got some good pictures. Then it was off to home we went to party!

Once we got home it was busy busy business again. Mia needed lunch, I needed to set up food, and we still had to pick up the food and cake. Luckily everyone pitched right in to help. Grandma Santos fed Mia lunch as my Mom, myself and Nina set up the kitchen for the incoming food. Nino and Grandpa Pizano zoomed off to get the pizzas we ordered and Adrian ordered the cake. Once the food arrived and everyone ate... things FINALLY slowed down and we got to really visit. It was great having the family together and enjoying themselves. Cousin Sarah made friends with Cousin Natalia and they played and played. Cousins Brianna and Tracy also joined in the fun. Cousin April went down for a nap and soon Mia did as well. Again, Mia is still doing that crying when we put her to bed. Grandpa Santos went with me to put her to bed and attempted to calm her down and put her to sleep in her arms. I warned her, that Mia isn't the type of baby who falls asleep on people and sometimes you just need to walk out of the room and let her cry for a min. or two before she puts herself to bed. Grandma just didn't have the heart to leave her crying like that so I let her have some alone time with Mia. Sure enough after about 10 mins of trying to put her down unsuccessfully, she had to just walk out and let Mia cry. After a couple of mins she stopped and she was asleep. We all visited more and Daddy then picked up the Icecream cake from ColdStone... yum yum. Mia soon woke up and so did cousin April. We took more pictures with the cake but when we went to serve it, it was frozen solid! Oh-no! Even my best knife couldn't cut through it. Then Daddy got the idea of putting the cake outside for a bit (it was REALLY HOT! outside) while we opened Mia's gifts. It was a great idea too because by the time I finished with the gifts the cake was ready to be served.

Before I go on, I would like to mention alittle something about her gifts. She got all kinds of goodies. From her Grandpa and Grandma Pizano she got a really pretty baptism gold frame to put her picture in and a sweet little picture album for all her pictures. She then got a special white bible from her Nina, Nino and cousins. It wasn't just a Bible, but it was blessed as well. Inside the box her Bible came in was a small baby Rosary, her very first one! It is so pretty. Her Grandpa and Grandma Santos, Tia Rebeca and cousins gave her a HUGE gift bag full of new summer clothes! So many summer dressed and tops, pants and everything! She really made out.. big time!

After present and cake time. We all kicked back and visited some more. Eventually it started getting late and Grandpa and Grandma Santos, Tia Rebeca and cousins were the first to go. Everyone else rested alittle bit more and kept visiting.. then the third disaster of the day happened. For some unknown reason (we think she may have swallowed a hair) Mia started gagging while Grandpa Pizano was holding her. The gagging soon turned into a full on dry heaving. I knew the unevitable would happen.. Mia was going to throw up. I ran to the kitchen to get some paper towels. I wasn't sure what was going to come out. Mia started choking more and started to throw up alittle. I ran to the bathroom to grab a towel, I still wasn't sure how bad this would get because she was gagging really bad. I didn't act fast enough because she ended up throwing up all over Grandpa's hands. EWW!! I gave him the towel. Mia was still choking and trying to get something up. We checked her mouth but couldn't feel anything. Then Nino took her over again she kept heaving. Nina grabbed her sippy cup hoping if she drank something it would wash down whatever was making her sick. Mia didn't want to drink anything and soon started to really scream and cry. Everyone started to get worried. Then Daddy brought over a cold popsical.. something Mia can never resist. Nina fed her the popsical so she could wash down whatever was tickling her throat and sure enough that did the trick. No more throwing up or gagging. Mia has never thrown up like that before so it was a new experience for us all... poor baby. She was all better after she finished her yummy popsical though.

After things calmed down a bit it was time to go for Grandpa and Grandma Pizano. After some sad goodbyes it drove off. Then it was Nina and Nino's turn to go home and after more sad goodbyes they left as well. Though it was so sad to see everyone leave.. it sure nice to finally flop on the couch and breathe! Mia on the other hand didn't want to settle down, she wanted to get into trouble and play. Both Daddy and I really had no energy to keep up with Mia so I gave her a warm bath and Daddy fed her, her bedtime bottle and off to bed she went. To my surprise there wasn't a fuss and she went right down. She was tired from the HUGE day... I don't blame her. I then came downstairs and messed with with internet while relaxing. Then rumble..rumble..rumble...shake..shake..shake... thats right, we ended up having little earthquake! I waited for it to get really bad while thinking "great this is all we need now, a huge eathquake while we both are dead tired" luckily it was only a 4.7 and was centered in Los Angeles... not to big. I continued to play on the internet and here I am.

Wow talk about a busy weekend. I am so glad things went well and Mia is officially Baptized. What a wonderful thing... now we just have to go to church! haha

44 weeks!

Current mood: busy

Its... FRIDAY!!! I can't even begin to describe how fast this week went. It is literally like a blurr to me. I guess its because I have been so extreemly busy getting things prep'ed and the house ready for Mia's big weekend. Thats right, its her Baptism weekend and lots of her family from both sides will be coming down to celebrate. So with that... unfortunately I haven't really been able to spend alot of quality time with Mia. Daddy has stepped in and watched her while I run around the house like a headless chicken haha. But this week isn't without its firsts and big events!

The first big thing was she turned 10 months this week! Thats right, Mia is officially a double digit month! haha and on her month "birthday" she did something huge! She pooped out TWO new teeth! She is now the proud owner of a new pair of upper middle teeth! That comes out to a grand total of 4! No wonder shes been on the cranky side lately. Especially on the day she pooped out the teeth. She was so clingy to me and didn't want to be let go or put down. She wanted to cuddle all day and her mood was very fussy. Now I know why, I'd be fussy to if I had new teeth coming in. The very next day she was back to her normal perky, happy self. Phew....

We also celebrated my first official Mothers Day! YAY! I was spoiled by everyone and it felt good. Mia got me a HUGE balloon with a bear holding a heart which says "Happy Mothers Day" and she LOVES to play with it. She literally carries that balloon everywhere she goes. Its the funniest thing to look over the couch and see it moving around and you know shes crawling underneath haha. Overall, it was an awesome day for me, I got to spend it with both loves of my life.

Well one thing that isn't so good, that she started this week is REFUSING to go down quietly when taking naps or going to bed. Oh my goodness! She yells and screams like if she fell off the roof or something. This just started around the time her teeth came in, and even after they broke through she STILL does it. Its a battle and she HATES to go to bed. Not sure if its a phase.. .seems like it and boy I hope it passes soon. (I seriously doubt it). I used to pride myself on how well she would go down to sleep. I would put her down, give her, her blankey and she would find a comfy spot to lay down and there ya go! not anymore. As soon as she even sees her bed its all over. The pinch/red faced, silent cry - blood curlding scream, tears and tantrum Mia comes out. Sigh... its no fun especially since she does this every time and needless to say, Adrian wakes up too. We will see how the rest of the weekend goes and if she goes back to the good Mia again especially since we will have family over.

Thats about it, wow I haven't written a short blog in a LOOONG! time haha Like I said before I have been busting my butt trying to get things ready so I really don't have too many new stories to share. I am sure I will make up for them this weekend, infact I know I will! haha

Mia has TWO new Teeth!!!

Current mood: shocked

It all makes sense now..... Mia has been acting unsually clingy today. Early this morning she woke up screaming and crying from what we thought was her first nitemare. Though it still may have been, it may have been more than just that. After much comforting from both Adrian and I and a bottle she went back to sleep for another couple of hours.

After she got up for the morning she was unsually EXTEEMLY clingy to me. So much that I couldn't even put her down on the ground to play with her toys. She not only wanted to be held, but she wanted to be cuddled close. She didn't want to play or do anything. Eventually it was nap time and I put her to bed and she just BLEW up.. I mean hardcore. The red face, tears, silent cry screaming the whole 9 yards. I thought she was just testing us to see how hard she needed to cry before someone got her up. So I left her in bed (I feel so bad about it now that I know what was really wrong with her). She eventually cried herself to sleep and slept for a couple of hours.

When she woke, she was still very clingy. Even as Adrian held her, she would scream for "Mama" and wanted me to come back into the room everytime I left to go do something. So I cuddled her and spent some time with her. I then put some Yo, Gabba Gabba on (her favorite). She usually plays with her toys and watches it, sometimes climbs on the TV stand so she can dance, but not today. She still didn't want me to put her down, not only did she insist on sitting on my leg but as soon as I put her down on the carpet so she could sit between my legs (I was getting sore from her sitting on my thigh) she just blew up, spun around and desperatly climbed back on me so she could sit on my leg again. This time she put one of her hands on my chest to make sure I was sitting right there watching her show with her. Eventually I picked her up and just cuddled her on the couch as we saw two episodes. After her show was over I tried to play with her but she only wanted to be held. Then I thought hmm... I haven't checked her mouth for new teeth in about a week, lets see if she has any bumps or signs of new ones coming in. I put my finger in her mouth and felt around... nothing... I felt the back and sides... nothing... then wait a min... what is this?!?! I felt her front top teeth and sure enough I felt something pokey and sharp! I called to Adrian "We got a new teethie!!!!" I lifted up her lip and looked and sure enough there was her little white tooth poking through, and not only that, the one right next to it was there too!! Again, she grew two teeth in one day!!! I was so proud! I congradulated her and cuddled her more. Then ran off to show Daddy, who was all suprised and happy too.

It all makes sense now why she was so clingy today. She wasn't feeling good. She didn't have a fever or anything but I guess she just felt blah... She now has 4 teeth! My little girl is growing up!!! Anyways, I gave her a nice warm bath and some tylonal before her bedtime bottle just for any future discomfort while she sleeps. Hopefully she will have a good night. Wow... 4 teeth!

Mia Hits the Big 10 Month Old Mark!

Current mood: accomplished

Well she finally did it, she is officially a two digit month age! The big 10 is here! Wow, shes growing so fast. It definately is getting harder and harder to keep up with her! As always, this month was filled with tons of new things, adventures, and fun.

The month started off with another brand-new holiday, Easter! Mia got to experience what Easter is like in our family. She colored some eggs (more like plopped eggs into the dye as it splashed all over the place) while wearing her Daddy's black shirt, which make her look like a monk it was so big on her. She got a visit from the Easter Bunny who left her a big basket of goodies. She got baby food, snackies, toys and candy (which she gave to her Mama and Daddy to eat! haha). She even got to hunt for Easter eggs while wearing her puffy pink Easter Dress. She found her eggs and got to munch on the sweet treats hidden inside (yogart melts, her favorite). We even all went out for dinner at Red Robin where she got to play with another red balloon. She loves balloons.

She also got to go on a couple of walks to visit the Emu farm down the road from us. Once was just with her and Mama (in which she didn't care much for the giant birds) and the second time was with her Grandpa Pizano and Mama. This time she got more enjoyment out of the little animals. She got to see goats, llamas, Emu, Squirrels and all kinds of other cute creatures.

Then came a big day, her Mama's 29th birthday! It was great celebrating it with her and Adrian. Both spoiled me so much and showered me with treats and presents. One of the most speical presents of all was a cute little coffee mug with her picture on it (one of my favorites of all, her with her butterfly wings and wand). She also gave me a card which made me cry because it really hit me... wow I really am a Mom. The day was wonderful and it was alot of fun.

We did some changes to her diet this month as well. Due to her recurrent constipation we decided to start giving her barley oatmeal for breakfast and backed off on her banana flavored kind. It is helping alittle bit, but not as much as I would like it to. She doesn't mind the change to much though she does prefer her banana one better. Speaking of food I have also learned to make her own baby food from scratch using my steamer and baby food processor. She loves fresh sweet potatoes but isn't to keen on fresh squash. I haven't really had the time lately to make some more but it is actually kind of fun doing it. She also LOVES her popsicals! It is starting to warm up a bit here and we are all preparing for the HOT summer. She goes around the house in onesies now and sleeps in them as well. Daddy started giving her popsicals as a treat more consistantly but I wasn't to happy with the type he was giving her. I felt there was so much sugar in them, granted it was "natural sugar" and none of that corn syrup or fruitcose (whoever you spell it) I still didn't feel right giving her those. She was getting all sugared up afterwards, and though very cute, I want to get her on the right path of good healthy eating early in life. So we bought some plastic popsical holders so you can make your own at home and thats what I have been doing. So far we are using her baby juice (since she HATES drinking it) and freezing that. She seems to really like it now, eventually I would like to try to make my own juice fresh from the actual fruit. Not sure how that will turn out haha but I am always up for the experiment.

She started pulling herself up more this month and she also likes to sit on her feet. She bounces on her butt when she is happy and she also dances this way too when there is music on. She has also been trying to learn how to hop up into the standing position from sitting on the floor. She tries and tries but always falls. She is cruising a whole lot more now and goes from chair to chair, or couch to chair or where ever she is. She is even starting to let go and balance herself, standing up. A few times shes attempted to walk by herself but after a step she falls down. Oh, and speaking of walking, she started walking "assisted" this month as well. She LOVES when you hold her tiny hands and help her walk. She gets so giggly and excieted she takes off practically running. She might start walking in a couple of months now.. hopefully maybe before her first birthday!

We took her out shopping a few times. Once to San Diego to buy a baptism dress for her. It only took one store before we found the PERFECT dress! Its EXACTLY what I wanted for her. Its long, white and has tiny embrodered flowers on it. Its very similar to my wedding dress which I didn't even realize until I got home. I can't wait for her big day... May 17th! She also went to the mall one day and of course Babies R Us a few times. Oh at the mall, we took a break and sat on the bench together as a family. It was so cute, Mia sat down in between us and we all had snackies to eat. It would have been an awesome picture moment for sure! She also would always get TONS and I mean TOOOONS of compliments everywhere we went from all the people on how cute she is. That is always a treat for Adrian and I, we both are such proud parents. She also went to BestBuy with just her Daddy once and though they were only gone a couple of hours I missed her so much! I couldn't wait for them to get home so I could hold her again. I think I have a bad case of seperation anxiety, I HATE not being around my little one. We also visited her Grandparents Santos while in San Diego which is always a treat for us all.

A big visit also happened this month was when her Grandpa Pizano came to visit and babysit her for a whole week!!! I had lots of spring cleaning to do and he offered to come watch Mia so I can do my cleaning. I quickly jumped at the opprotunity and though I didn't get all the cleaning I wanted done, it sure was fun having him down. In between my cleaning breaks we would go out shopping together, take walks and went to the park (she went down her first slide AND got her first baby tan!) and all sorts of things. He really got to spend some quaility time with Mia and they played together ALL the time. She even started doing her new "spider crawl" while he was down. We all got a kick out of that. He was always so proud to push her around in the shopping cart or stroller and we took TONS of pictures and videos during the whole visit. It was alot of fun, hopefully we can do it again real soon.

A BIG thing that happened this month was she started taking baths in the big persons tub!!! It was tons of fun to watch her explore, splash around and have fun. She did really well for about a week until the bad things started to happen. She fell and had her first big ouchie where she bled. Ya, she hit her mouth on the tub as she fell down and that was sooo not fun for any of us. Though she only cried alittle bit, I felt so bad. The very next day she started fussing in the tub and went to put her head down to cry and she put her face right in the water and inhaled. Of course she started to choke and scream and it was the end of bathtime. I calmed her down and she was fine, however, after having two bad bath days in a row I decided to bring out old blue. Her blue baby bathtub for the next few baths. I am not quite sure if she is officially ready for a full transition to the big girl bath just yet.

Another not so fun thing happened this month is she had another diaper malfunction and BOOOOY it was horrible!!!! I wrote a whole blog about it already and I really don't feel like getting into the details again, especially since its lunch time right now. Just know it got EVERYWHERES and it was a disaster, but we survived and it taught me some more valuable lessons.. one of them being make sure to always have spare clothes in her diaper bag at all times! Haha

This month also had the return of Ms Fuss Fuss again. Not sure what brought this on but she seems to come to visit more and more now. We have also noticed that she is begining to become more attached to me. She cries whenever I leave the room or put her down before shes ready to get down. This even happens while Daddy holds her! I find it sweet but still, its kind of trouble-some for me for the times Daddy is babysitting her and I am trying to get things done around the house. As soon as she sees me its all over, she wants Mama. She even calls out to me "Mama!!!!" Not really sure how to remedy this, I am sure it is just a phase.. hopefully.

She is also starting to "test" us now to see how much she needs to scream and cry before she gets her way. At first we catered to her, because she never really cries like that.. but as soon as I started to realize and recongize why she is doing it I have become alittle more hardened. I will let her cry if I know she is ok... and I no longer run and rush to her aid when she throws her little fits. Daddy on the other hand still needs to learn she is just testing us and not to rescue her all the time. She is getting real good at the crying bit too... she will scream and cry, turn red faced, do the silent cry and there goes the tears! if she realizes she can't get what she wants eventually she will stop and go play. That is why I know shes testing us and isn't really hurt or anything.

Another not so fun thing happened this morning. I believe she had her first real nitemare. Poor baby. It happened about a quarter after 6am. Adrian had just crawled into bed for the night and I was half awake. Then a blood curddling scream came through the Baby monitor! I sat up like an arrow.. the scream followed by another scream and cry, I ran (literally) into the babies room to see waht happened. I looked over her crib at her and she was on her side, eyes clothes and asleep while holding her blankey.. then she started screaming and crying again this time she rolled over to her stomach, opened her eyes and was just crying really hard. Not the hurt kind of cry but the scared kind. I quickly picked her up and calmed her down she was still upset. Daddy then came into the room to check on her as well and right away she practically jumped into his arms. He carried her downstairs as I prepared a warm bottle for her. It was too early for her to get up for the day and was hoping she would fall back to sleep after the bottle. Sure enough after Daddy fed her the bottle she went right back to bed for another couple of hours. Poor baby.... I think she inherited my nitemares.. I always have them. I am just glad she was ok.

Ok back to fun stuff. She learned how to climb into her blue chair and from that she learned to to climb on the couch! We were so surprised and happy by this but not its getting kind of scary because she is doing it all the time and we are so afriand she will fall of the couch so we constantly have to be right on her to make sure she doesn't fall.

She learned a new word too, "Hat". Daddy showed her how to say it and she can recongize a hat too if you ask her "wheres the hat?!" she will look at it. And sometimes she will repeat "H-at".

She made a new game out of throwing our boxed DVDs all over the place. She is constantly in the box and throwing DVDs out and carrying them everywhere. Thats also a new thing, she carries her toys with her as she crawls around. Mostly her blankey like Linus from the Peanuts. She drags that blankey all over the gound and picks it up as she cruises the furniture.

She has also learned to wave "Hello" to people and to blow kisses. We love having her do this to people in the store and they just fall in love with her. She can also wave hello if you just tell her to do it without even showing her. She is recongizing the command.

She also celebrated her first "Cinco De Mayo" as I dressed her up in the little Mexican dress her Grandpa Pizano bought her from Juarez. I took tons of pictures and we had alot of fun. She also helped celebrate my first Mother's Day too! It was my first official one since she was born and I had TONS of fun. Both Mia and Adrian spoiled me tons and I felt so loved and appreciated. I got flowers and a card from my parents, a card from my Mother and Father-in-law, a call from my Sister-in-law Lauren, and tons of treats, goodies and two cards from Adrian and Mia. It was a very special day and I am glad to be a Mama!

Overall the month has been wonderful. Every day she seems to start doing something new and there is always new adventures happening. I have to cut this alittle short since she woke up from her nap and its lunch time for her. I can't wait to see what next month brings since we are nearing her 1st year birthday!!! ACK!!! I can't believe she will be 1 soon!!!

Summary:

Feedings:

Not much has changed from last month. She is still eating 10oz for bed and 6oz for breakfast along with a big bowl of oatmeal. She gets her veggies for lunch and just recently started eatting "dinner" meals such as baby mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatsauce etc. She gets a popsical snack some days and she also gets her regular snackies as well. She is drinking TONS of water now and seems to really like it.

New Things: First Easter, Mother's Day, Cinco De Mayo and celebrated her Mama's brithday. Colored eggs, hunted for eggs, visited the Emu farm, ate a few new foods, pull herself on furniture more, sits and bounces on feet, dances to music more, tries to stand up unassisted, attempted to take steps by herself, Grandpa Pizano visited for a week, assisted walking, first tan, letting go of furniture, big girl bath, ate her first home-made babyfood, climb into her chair and climbed onto couch, says "Hat", throws toys, carries toys as she crawls, waves "hello" and blows kisses, and unfortunately first big ouchie where she bled.

Weight: 18 per bathroom scale

Goals met from last month?! Yes we have met every one of our monthly goals. She does use her walker more and finally goes forward! She has learned to like "dinner" meals (something other than veggies and fruit) like mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatsauce, and chicken and noodles etc. and though she doesn't wave "byebye" she does wave "hello" close enough haha

***UPDATE****

Since I finished this blog some time this afternoon another new thing just happened. Mia sprouted two new teeth!!!!! Thats right, shes now the proud owner of two top middle teeth! The go well with her previous two bottom middle teeth. She seems to pop them out two at a time! haha I am so proud of her!

Goals for next month:

Have her stand alone unassisted, take a few steps, and point to things.

My First Official Mama's Day!!!

Current mood: loved

I was finally inducted into the exclusive Mama's Club today... Yep we celebrated my first official Mother's Day today!!! I know I was 8 months pregnant last year and I did get a single rose from Mia but today was different and more special. I really got to hold her and appreciate being a Mama.

The day started off great. I had received my first Mother's Day card from my Mother-in-law in the mail (yesterday) and it almost made me cry, it was so special and so sweet. Later in the morning I got a knock at the door. When I opened it I was greated by a BIG vase of colorful flowers! Roses, dasies, carnations the works! It was from my Mom and Dad, who wished me a happy 1st Mother's Day! The card that they sent overnighted, didn't make it on time but the flowers did. I felt all special and put them on the fireplace mantal. Mia got all excieted to see them too, she loves flowers. I then called up my parents to thank them and to wish my Mom a happy Mother's Day. I got to talk to them and it was great. Then came the phone call from my Sis-in-law Lauren. Eventhough it was her birthday today and her own Mother's Day she rememebered to call me and wish me a First official Mother's Day. I really felt loved! We chatted awhile, shared some Mommy stories and caught up on things. All those things were great, but what topped it all off was spending time with Mia!

She woke up in the greatest moods. She usually is pretty happy in the morning but today she was extra happy. No whinyness or fussiness at all! She giggled and we played alot and spent some quaility time together cuddling on the couch and watching.. Spaceballs the movie! haha (It was the only good thing on TV) She then got tired and it was off to bed for her afternoon nap. I then crawled into bed myself, next to Adrian who was still snoozing away. He eventually woke up and wished me a Happy Mother's Day again... (he also was the first to wish me a Happy Moms day at midnight last night). Later Mia woke up and we all spent some time watching tv and enjoying our family togetherness. I then got my first present of the day from Adrian... REST!!! thats right I got to go upstairs and take a LOOOONG nap!!!! That is something that I rarely ever get! It was so nice. While I was snoozing, Adrian took Mia out to the store to get some treats.

When I woke up from my long nap, I noticed Mia was taking another nap as I passed by her closed door. I groggily walked downstairs and was greated by Adrian who had a HUGE Mother's Day balloon waiting for me. It was a giant bear holding a "Happy Mother's Day" heart! He said Mia had picked it out at the store they went to. He then took me over to the kitchen and showed me my all time FAVORITE chocolate fudge cake! and my favorite flavored Sobe drink!!! I was in heaven. He had bought me a BIG bag of my favorite type of sunflower seeds the night before and knew I loved them with a cold glass of Sobe. Since I was college, a way I would relax after a hectic school schedule and finals was to veg out on the couch, watch a good movie or TV with a big bag of Frito Lay sunflower seeds and a big Sobe! I hadn't been able to do that in years so he thought he would treat me to my two favorite things. What a sweetheart. But the surprises weren't over yet... he took me to the fridge and showed me that he bought my other two favorites.. a pepper turkey sandwhich from the Deli and italian pasta!!! I huged him and thanked him. He also had two cards waiting for me, one from him and one from Mia. I decided to wait to open them until Mia was awake from her nap.

While waiting for the butterfly princess to wake up, we called Adrian's mom and talked to her. I thanked her for her beautiful card and chatted for awhile. She always makes me feel extra special. She always tells me that I don't feel like just a daughter-in-law to her, but a real daughter. I am so lucky to have such a great Mother-in-law. Anyways, the baby then woke up with alittle coaxing from Daddy. (she was sleeping into much and we didn't want to her to end up going to bed late) She sat on the couch with Daddy while I opened my cards next to them. I thought for sure that her card would make me cry so I choose to read the card from Adrian first. Bad idea... his card was so sweet, I only got through half of it before I started to bawl. It was so sweet and so special. What he wrote inside was so touching, but what really got to me was him saying, thank you for being such a great Mom and the reason why Mia is so sweet and special and wonderful is because of me raising her. I can't word it just like he did, he said it better than I can repeat. It was so loving. So after little cry, I opened Mia's card. It had a big Garfield on it (My favorite cartoon kitty) and it said I was the World's Greatest Mom. Adrian wrote what "Mia would say if she could write and talk" and it was so sweet as well. She thanked me for being such a great Mama and for all her num-nums and baths. It was so cute. So I thanked both of them and felt so loved. What a great Mother's Day. We enjoyed the baby a bit more till it was bedtime and off to bed she went. Thats when I popped open the Sobe and munched on my sunflower seeds as I vegged on the couch.

Today was a very special day for me. I couldn't ask for a better day, a better daughter or better husband. I am so blessed, happy and glad they are in my life. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel special or loved by my little family... but on days like these I get spoiled just alittle bit more which I didn't even think was possible since I am so spoiled everyday. I love my family!

Wow! 43 weeks old!

Current mood: blessed

Happy Friday!!! Mia is now 43 weeks old! Wow soon I will just say the month then week. When I say weeks alone, it makes her seem so much older haha. Well this week was filled with TONS a "new firsts" but unfortunately is also has a "not so fun" thing. I think I will start with the good stuff first.

It seems like everyday there is a new thing she starts doing. Just when you think she will back off and cruise along normally she surprises everyone by doing something new. Once and a while she will hit a milestone we all weren't expecting and that really shocks everyone. For example, this week she is becoming braver and braver. She is starting to let go of furniture and just stand there by herself. I know this isn't new but attempting to walk afterwards is! She is slowly starting to let herself go, then she turns and tries to take an independent step forward. She does fall on her butt but she tries anyways. She is determined to learn to walk. She gets such a kick out of us holding her hands and helping her walk. She always laughs and squeeks as she steps around like a big girl. Now she wants to do it by herself. She just has to learn her balance. We thought that was a huge deal however she top'ed herself a few days later when she climbed on the couch for the first time!

She has learned to climb into her little blue play chair and she loves to rock back and forth in it. (Also for the first time this week) The chair is right next to our couch and it didn't take long for Mia to notice that if she climbs into that chair she can climb onto the couch. Sure enough she did! Now she always climbs on that chair to get onto the couch. She loves to stand up holding the back of the couch and look around. I think she feels really high up there or or king of the mountain because she screams with joy and talks alot.

She also celebrated her first Cino De Mayo this week. Adrian and I nor our families really celebrate this "american made holiday" but I did take the opprotunity to make it fun for Mia.... well actually it was more fun for Mama haha. I dressed her up in the little Mexican Folklorio dress her Grandpa Pizano bought her from Juarez, Mexico when he was down there on business last year. It didn't really fit her the first time we put it on her when she was about 3 months old but now it fits perfectly. I gathered any "Mexican" type decortations I had around the house ie. my old kitchen rooster, chili peppers and even Tortilla warmer and made her pose with it. It was alot of fun sending pictures to family via emails wishing them a Happy Cinco De Mayo from Mia. She looked like a little Mexican Doll! So precious!

She also learned how to wave "hello,byebye" now. I have been trying to teach her how to wave but she really didn't pick up to much on it. Now she is finally showing interest in waving. She loves to wave now but what is really impressive is you can ask her to "Say Hi!" or "Say Byebye" without showing her to wave yourself, and she will wave automatically at the person. This is so cute! and when we are at the store and we have her do this to strangers, they just fall in love with her. Adrian and I were really excieted when she started doing this, but she blew us away even more when she learned how to "blow kisses!" Thats right, she blows kisses now too! I didn't even know she knew how to do that until we were at the Cable Company and one of the office ladies blew a kiss to her and Mia blew a kiss right back! Now she does it all the time if you show her first. She is really learning to mimic now. Oh and another thing I want to add in, whenever you cheer at her for doing something good like say "Good Girl!" she automatically claps for herself! Its really cute. She also claps when she is really happy.

Another thing that "Amazin' Mia" did this week is add another word to her baby vocabulary! Thats right, she can say "Hat" now. Daddy has been working with her for almost a month with identifying and saying Hat and finally this week she learned how to say it. If you show her a hat she knows what it is and if you ask her to "Say Hat" she will say it! Sometimes it does take some practice on how to remember how to say it but once she remembers she says it over and over.

She is dancing alot more now too. I even got it on video. She pretty much only dances when there is happy music on and especially when she watches her show "Yo Gabba Gabba". There is a part of the show where they all jump around and sing and she just loves to stand up, hold onto the TV stand and bounce around or rock back and forth. Even if you sing to her sometimes she will start to bounce or rock.

She is also learning the art of throwing things. I think she gets a kick out of throwing something, you giving it back to her just so she can throw it again. She constantly throws all our DVDs all over the ground, throws her little toys and has always been notorious for throwing her bottle after she finishes it. I am not to sure if this is a good thing since throwing things around isn't, but I have to admit its really funny and cute.

Well onto the part I have been dreading the most. The bad thing that happened this week. She got her first big owie last night. She was playing in the tub during bathtime and she slipped and fell and hit her mouth on the tub on the way down. She burst out in crying but settled down pretty quick, however she did start to bleed! I know!! It was horrible, but to my amazment I remained calm during the whole incident and took care of business like a veteran mom would! Wow, huh? I got her cleaned up, soothed her, and gave her alittle bit of tylonal for the pain so she could sleep, it was bedtime already. Shes fine now, though I still haven't seen her this morning yet to see if there is a bump or bruise or scab. She is sleeping in for once.

That is pretty much how the week went. It has been fun seeing her do these new things and watching her grow. I can't believe she will be 10 months this Monday! Scary how time flys by so fast, it feels like if you don't take at least alittle bit of time to reflect on stuff, things will pass you right by. That is also why I make it a point to keep track of things on her weekly blog updates, it really forces me to stop, slow down, and reflect. It gives me appreciation for the stages shes in and to reflect on the stages shes past. Overall, I enjoy writing my blogs and I hope one day she will enjoy reading them too.

Mia's First Big Ouchie!

Current mood: accomplished

I was originally going to post about a a new thing that she did today and it was going to be a fun blog, however, right before bed she experienced her first big ouchie =( So this entry isn't going to be all fun and happy things....

Today me, Daddy and Mia all took a trip around town to run some errunds. We first hit the bank to pay Daddy's car payment, then it was off to Babies R Us to price out some baby gates. We found a really nice one for the stairs and a few other baby proofing items like wall socket covers, sharp edge cover etc. Yep, she is getting around so much that we have to officially baby proof as much as we can. As we paid for our stuff another baby was in line ahead of us. Mia went nuts, she started talking to the baby and smiling like crazy. She LOVES babies and kids, which really gets Adrian and I thinking about giving her a sibling soon. She needs a playmate BAD! haha Anyways, after that we went to Time Warner Cable Company to see if we qualify for their service. Our current provider is MediaCom and they are HORRIBLE!!!!!!! They have terrible customer service, their service alone is always all messed up, we keep losing internet connection and they don't do anything about it! I can go on and on about them but I will just move right along. Anyways turns out MediaCom monopolized our whole area so we can't get Time Warner... sigh..however it wasn't a total wasted trip. When we got there all the customer service ladies, including the female guard just fell in love with Mia. They couldn't get over how cute she was and she even waved "Hi" to them. She showed off her new walking skills on their carpet as I held her hands. Then it was time to go and thats when she did a first! One of the ladies blew a kiss to her and she did it back!!! She has never done that before. I showed her a few times but she just ends up doing her "indian warcry" instead. However, this time in the store she actually blew a kiss. We were all surprised so the lady did it again and sure enough Mia did it back! Everyone melted at her and it was tons of fun for us. Then after picking up some dinner at Rosa's Cafe (Our favorite Mexican place in all of Riverside) we headed back home.

Once we were at home, it was play time as usual. It was really hot out today so we treated her to a home-made popsical. She HATES drinking juices and only likes her water and milk. So I bought one of those do it yourself popsical containers, filled it with her baby juice and froze it. She LOVED! it after that. She devoured the whole thing in minuets. I am glad we finally found a way to get her to drink her juice! Haha

Ok now on to the not so fun stuff. Her first big time ouchie happened today. It was bathtime and she was playing in the tub. She is still using the big person's tub and is really getting used to it. She loves crawling around, splashing, playing with her floaty toys and unfortnately likes to climb and stand. So you know where this is going. Anyways, she likes to hold on to the edge, or tub spout, and pull herself up to the standing position. This totally freaks me out everytime and I have to gentally pull her away and sit her back down. She crawls around a bit then shes back to pulling herself up again so she can bang on the walls. I am usually spotting her with my hands literally less than an inch from her. I had to catch her a few times as she slipped but she still wouldn't stop climbing. So Yep the unevitable happened.... she fell and I couldn't catch her in time. BAM! she hit the tub on the way down. I caught her before she hit the water but it was too late she was screaming that silent cry. I quickly picked her up from the tub and consoled her. I grabbed her towel so she wouldn't get a chill and covered her head and back, as her front was pressed against mine for warmth. Adrian was home and heard the whole thing. I took her to the tech center room just outside the bathroom. She quickly calmed down so I figued it wasn't a big thing and she didn't get to hurt. WRONG! Thats one thing about Mia, shes a tough little cookie, no matter how banged up or hurt she gets, she doesn't keep crying she usually only cries for about a min. then stops. Which leads me to always believe shes ok.. its not till the bruises show up that I actually realize she really did get hurt. Today was no exception. After she was calm, I was just about to put her back in the tub (to show her not to be afriad of it and that she was ok) and I looked at her face (it was dim in that room) and I saw the blood all down her chest and face. I quickly tried wiping it off and took her back into the bathroom where there was light. Weird thing is, I was completely calm the whole time.. I always thought if I ever saw her bleed I would freak out like a headless chicken or cry hysterically, but that wasn't the case. I quickly called out to Adrian to go downstairs and get me a ice cube and a clean towel. I had flash backs to when I was little at my Grandma's house and the numerous times I split my lip or banged my mouth and how my Grandma would always put ice on it and it made it feel better. Adrian came back with a towel so I could wipe away the blood and see where her cut was. Mia wasn't even crying like I thought she would be. I then took her to my room and laid her on the bed. I used the ice on her mouth to get her to open it and I looked around inside. The bleeding stopped right away and I finally found the spot where it was hurt. It was her upper right hand corner inner part of her mouth. There was a small bump on it. Either she hit the tub and split her lip, or she cut it on her tiny teeth on the bottom of her mouth. I got her all cleaned up and contiuned with her bedtime routine of lotions and putting on her jammies. She was alittle fussy but no more than usual when I dress her. What concerned me the most was if her ouchie would interfere with drinking her bedtime bottle or her sucking her fingers (which she does to soothe herself to sleep). So before giving her, her bottle I gave her alittle bit of tylonal just incase she was in any pain. I then gave her, her bedtime bottle and she drank it like nothing. The cut didn't seem to bother her, I put her to bed and she started sucking her fingers. That didn't bother her either... phew!

So ya I got another New Mama Badge to put with my collection. I am very proud of myelf on how I handled the situation. It gives me confiedence that I will be able to handle these sort of things in the future. Hopefully they will be in the far distant future but you never know.

A New Word! and Verbal Command!

Current mood: fascinated

Like I mentioned in the previous blog, when Mia starts doing new stuff it comes in spurts. She did two new things today!

I have been teaching her how to wave "hello" for awhile now. As a morning routine, when I get her up from her crib I always make it a point to go to the window and wave hello/good morning to "mr. Sun" (or "Mr. Rain Cloud.. if its cloudy), then I take her to her 12 month picture frame and we say /wave "Hello, Me" haha. Anyways, she recently started waving "hello/good Morning" to things. If you show her to wave she will wave. However, today for the first time she waved "hello" by just a verbal command. I didn't have to show her to wave!!

We were in Target picking up some stuff, just the two of us. I really have been craving my favorite StarBucks drink (Chai Tea Latte) (oh and there is a Starbucks in Target). I became additcted to them when I used to work at the District Attorney's office. However, once I got pregnant with Mia I stopped drinking them and haven't had once since!!! Yep almost a year and a half! So today I decided I deserved an early Mother's Day treat. There wasn't a line so that encouraged me more to get a Chai Tea Latte. So after we paid for our things (which included a cute little pink baseball hat for Mia) I went over to the Starbucks section of the store. As I waited for my drink to be made, I noticed two older women sitting at a table nearby. Mia was sitting in the cart being her charming cute self.. and I could over hear the women saying "look at the baby, aww how cute" I then leaned over to Mia and told her "say Hi Mia!" I really didn't think she would do anything but to my amazement she turned to the ladies and waved at them!!! I was so proud of my little one. She waved "Hello" all by herself without me couching her! The ladies got a huge kick out of it. It was a fun moment.

Ok onto the other new thing. For anyone who knows Adrian, he is notorious for wearing baseball hats. Thats all he ever wears (except for work that is or if hes dressed up). Ever since I met him, its amost like a baseball hat is attached to his head surgically. He is never without one. Anyways, he has been working with Mia everyday for the past few weeks, in showing her how to identify and say "Hat". I think its cute he works with her, but thought she was way to young to understand the concept of naming an object let alone say the word. I was proven wrong once again! She started to associate what a hat was and when Daddy would ask "Wheres the hat?!" he would always look to his head, even if his hat wasn't on or grab it if its nearby. I thought that was pretty cool but she amazed me more today! Actually it started yesterday... She started saying "H-at". I thought it was fluke thing but she kept saying it. I figured it was just a word she learned but didn't know the meaning of ... that is until today! I put Mia's new pink hat on to show Adrian how cute she looked and he said "Wheres the Hat?!" and right away she said "H-at" We both were shocked, so she did say it. Then what sealed the deal came later. She was playing in our DVDs again and I showed her, her new pink hat again and I said "Say Hat!", "H-at" she did it! Everytime I said Hat she would look at the hat and say "H-at". I even got it on video (which I will upload later). I am so proud of her! Now she can add another word to her vocabulary right next to , Ma-ma, Da-da, and Num-num! YAY!!

Well she is in bed now so no more new things today, I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.