Mia popped out Tooth #5 today!!!!

Current mood: happy

That right! Mia just added another tooth to her growing collection. The tiny left side tooth (next to her front teeth) finally broke through today, making the grand total of 5!!! Go Mia!!! She is just making sure she has enough chompers for her birthday cake!!!

Me and my notoriously bad timing....

Current mood: hot

I am so notorious for bad timing. Everytime I plan someting, something always goes bad and I regret not waiting alittle longer to do it so something better would happen. Yesterday was no exception of this. Anyways, yesterday was fun but HOT! and when I say HOT I don't mean, wow its really warm out feels like 80, no no no no it was the type of hot that when you walked outside you felt your skin sizzle!! Welcome to Riverside County Summers....ick!

Anyways, I have been putting off going to Babies R Us for awhile now, and yesterday I just HAD to go. After Mia's "after breakfast poopie" we were officially out of wipees! It was still early (around 10ish) so I got Mia ready and off to the store we went. I figured I'd hit the store before the heat really set in since it was already really warm. The weather website said that it should only be in the 90s (which the day before felt like it)

We shopped around a bit and since my tons of coupons were on the verge of expiring I decided to buy her a treat since summer is officially upon us (meaning its starting to get aweful hot! and since we were budgeting we can't use the AC as freely as we used to) I bought her a tiny plastic pool. I figured once the peak of the heat was over during the day she would break in her new bathing suits and she could take a dip. But what to do with the pool between swims? Well I got the bright idea to buy her a big bag of tiny plastic balls to put in the pool while it was empty of water so she could play with them in our living room. The balls are similar to those balls at Chuck E Cheese.

Once we left the store it really REALLY felt HOT. Wow it must be mid-90s by now, I thought. Poor Mia and I forgot our sunblock so we both raced back to the car. As I fumbled with getting her situated in her car seat, I could literally feel the sun beating down on my back... man its HOT! Then I looked at the tiny plastic blue pool... oh no how am I going to fit this thing in my car?!? So I struggled and struggled but eventually got it in the car. By then I was all sweating and fried. I jumped in the car and blasted the AC. My car temp. gage only ready 95 but it felt hotter.

Oh and another thing, I was stilll on the lookout for a birthday dress for Mia but have been unlucky everywhere I go. So while at the stop light on the way home I saw Kohls across the street. "Hmmm... maybe I should peek in there, I mean I AM right here and I hate to go back out especially since its so hot" so I went to Kohls.

I got out of the car and it literally felt hotter from just the 2 min drive! So I threw on Mia's Padres hat on her and ran off to the store. I put her in the store stroller and off shopping we went. I found some REALLY cute summer dresses that were 60% off there! but no fancy ones. I looked and looked while Mia played and jipper jabbered. Then I saw it... the perfect little pink poofy dress!!! It was perfect!!! so I grabbed it and went to the fitting room to try it on her before we bought it.

She had a great time in the fitting room. Walking all around and playing with the giant mirror. Eventually I got the dress on and she looked adorable!!! Especially since she walks, seeing her little stiff walk in that dress melted my heart. So I took it off and tried on the other summer dresses, she kept wanting to get away and at one point even tried to crawl under the wall into the next person's changing room! Nooo! I grabbed her before she could. Anyways since we have a tight budget, I only bought the poofy dress. The lady at the register fell in love with Mia, but of course all Mia did was stare at her. The lady tried her best to get her to smile or at least do something other than stare but was unsucessful, the only thing she got out of Mia was a raised eyebrow as to say "who are you? I don't know you, I don't like what you are doing" haha Sigh... little Mia. Anyways I got her out of the store roller and back outside we went.

Once I walked out the searing heat just hit! OMG!!!! We were literally baking and we were in the shade! So I quickly walked to the car as fast as I could, melting along the way. I put Mia in the car seat gave her more water to drink and jumped in the car. We went straight home after that, and Mia fell asleep in the car. I think the heat got to her because even after taking her off the car she was still knocked out and didn't budge for another 30 mins!

Once she woke up I got her lunch ready as Daddy played with her. I put the pool in the middle of the livingroom and filled it with those little balls. Adrian put her in the middle of it and she went nuts!!! She LOVED it! More than I thought she would. She would throw the balls around, move them all around with her hands, hit them together and just had fun. Then she crawled out of the pool and started picking up all the outside balls and threw them into the pool. She had a great time. Then I fed her lunch and we rested a bit.

We really needed to stock up on food, especially her favorite, (avocados) so we decided to hit up Cardenas in Perris. They sell avocados 3 for a dollar. So we packed up and into the heat we went. I didn't think it was possible, but it was HOTTER! Once we got to Cardenas we bolted out of the car and into the air conditioned store. Poor Mia was getting tons of sun and she already was all sweaty and turning pink. So we shopped a bit but they didn't have all the food we needed, so you know what that means... we had to hit WinCo on the way home. So we bought our food and raced out to the car and sizzled. We looked at the car temp and it read 116!!!!! OMG!!!

We drove off to WinCO and the temp dropped alittle it read, 114! Man thats hot. So we raced into the store and bought the last of our food and went home. It was aweful!!!! but is common for summer here in Riverside, so best get used to it right!?!

Well anyways this morning I am up, and I looked at weather.com to see what the weather will be like today. It says today should be the high of 90!!! What?!?!?! I should have gone out today and not yesterday!! We just fried ourselves for no reason!!!! Great, my notoriously bad timing strikes again. I looked at the temp for Sun City yesterday and it was a record high for the day... a whopping 110!!!!! Sigh... oh well at least I don't have to go anywhere today haha

Mia and Mama love her baby fries!

Current mood: surprised

I have mentioned before that I am constantly on the look out for more recipes for home made table "baby finger food". This time I came across a simple recipe for sweet potato french fries. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes, infact I can't stand them, but Mia loves them. I decided to give the recipe a shot.

All you have to do is cut a sweet potato into long fry like strips, put them in a bowl with a tiny bit of olive oil, a dash of cinnimon and ginger and pop them into the oven to crisp for about 30 mins. Sounds simple enough. Anyways while she was napping today I decided to give it a shot and cooked some up. Once they were brown and toasted I took them out the oven and let them cool. There were a ton of fries and I was afriad if she didn't like them, then they would just go to waste since I knew Adrian and I wouldn't eat them.

Then once they were cool enough to touch, I was brave enough to give one a taste.... O-M-G! they were actually really good! They didn't need any salt or sugar (the recipe called for brown sugar but I didn't have any).. the cinnimon and ginger gave it just enough flavor to taste good on their own. They were crispy on the outside and warm and soft/mushy on the inside. Perfect finger food for Mia. I soon got her up from the nap and gave her a fry.

At first she didn't know what to do with it. I tried to let her taste one but she just tried to suck on it. I then had to eat some in front of her and she finally got the idea. Before you know it, BOTH of us were chomping down on the fries like no bodys business. They were really good. Soon the plate was empty and she moved on to her avocado and then blueberries.

It was definately a tastey snack, I think I will make more tomorrow because its 10:30 at night and already I am begining to crave them! haha


Here is a copy of the recipe I found online if your interested......

Sweet Potato Fries


Ingredients:

6 medium to large sweet potatoes



Directions:


Scrub sweet potatoes, clean and/or peel them if baby cannot handle the skins
Preheat oven to 400degrees(F)

Cut into sizes that will suit your needs or, cut into strips that you may then cut down after baking

In a large bowl, add about 1/4 cup of olive oil.
To this you may add cinnamon, ginger, a pinch of brown sugar, etc.. (I add cinnamon and sometimes a bit of brown sugar).

Toss the cut up sweet potatoes into the bowl and stir so that the potatoes are drenched with the olive oil mix.

Dump mixture onto a baking sheet and drizzle the remaining olive oil in the bowl over the potatoes on the baking sheet. Stir and swirl the potatoes on the baking sheet before placing in oven. Bake for approx 30-45minutes or until tender.

The skins may become crispy but the actual potato "meat" will not. They will be a bit mushy like. These will not look or bake up like regular white potato French Fries so don't be alarmed.

This is the basic way to do it and you can improvise as much as you want

The Big 50 week mark!!

Current mood: breezy

Thats right, Mia has hit the big 5-0 mark in weeks! A couple of more under her belt and she will be one!!! YIKES! My baby girl is growing up way to fast. I am so glad I have kept up with her blogs this whole time because I can reminse and go back to any time period in her young little life and read about it. Not sure how I will contiune this or even if I will once she hits 1. I really only wanted to do this for a year because it is alot of work and takes up alot of time to keep them updated, but I think in the end its worth it. We will see what happens.

Anyways, this week was loads of fun. We got to go to many new places and do new things. The first new thing is she got to play with "finger paints" for the first time. Granted it was more dye (made out of a jello and water mix) she still had fun smacking and smearing it all over the paper. I even framed one of her creations and put it on the fireplace mantal. I am so proud of my little artist.

We also celebrated Adrian's first father's day this week. Mia and I don't have much money so instead of buying a gift, Mia made a special one just for her Daddy. I got some of the left over playdough I made the week before, and we made a hand print of Mia's hand. It didn't come out quite as I hoped it would but we made it work. I colored in her hand with a blue marker to bring it out more and she gave it to her Daddy. He LOVED it! and right away put it on the mantal. He had tons of fun with her that day and we even made it to her very first San Diego County Fair!

The fair was fun and Mia did great. She did so well that she even got a compliment from a stranger towards the end of our time there. The lady said she was so impressed and shocked by how happy Mia was, esepcially since she had seen crying fussy kids all day. Mia had fun, she didn't get any fair food this year but she did get to taste her first cinimon roll and a lick of Daddy's icecream drumstick. While at the fair she had her first close encounter with barn animals (cows, sheep, goats, chicken etc) and she didn't like them at all!!! She would cling to Daddy like no body's business, and though she never cried, you can tell in her face she was scared. She did pet 1 goat and grabbed the face of 1 sheep and that was the extent of it. Ah well, just means we have to expose her to more animals inorder for her to feel comfortable with them. I mean our cat is as fat as a cow, but that is just not cutting it anymore.

Another new thing that happened this week, is Mia attempting to use a spoon. For some odd reason while I was feeding her she started to always put her fingers in her mouth and touch the food or attempt to act like she was feeding herself with her hand. Needless to say that got really messy, so I started giving her a spoon to hold while I fed her. She loves the feeling of participating during meal time. She often puts the spoon in her mouth and now even reaches out with the spoon to tap the food. What a big girl!

I have been trying to become more creative with meals and adding new things here and there. I noticed the less and less she eats of baby food the more "regular" her poopies are. When she does eat her processed baby food she starts skipping days or going really hard balls again. So I make it a point more now than ever to feed her home cooked meals and giving her tons of fresh fruits. She still eats her homemade beans and pasta (with cheese sprinkled on it), chicken and pasta and potatoes but now I've learned to balance low fat plain yogart with bananas and strawberries to add to her diet. She still eats blueberries, strawberries, mangos and of course avocados but now I've added a fresh banana as well. I previously omitted bananas from her diet due to her constant constipation but with the introduction of table food that hasn't been a problem lately and I have slowly started experiementing with bananas again. I am always on the look out for more recipes on the internet and experimenting. So far shes been a great eater and I have yet to find something she doesn't like. (Other than fruit juice)

She made her first trip to Frys this week but what was more fun was what happened afterwards. We went to the Temecula Duck Pond. We had not taken her there in MONTHS so it was a fun treat for us all. We got to relax, play and have tons of fun. Daddy and Mia had TONS of bonding time and I took TONS of pictures of them. He even ran her around a bit while balancing her on his shoulders. She didn't seem much interested in the ducks but she LOVED the grass and couldn't get enough of it. She still didn't like walking on it but she loved pulling it out of the ground.

As for her walking, she is getting better and better at it everyday. She is slowly starting to learn how to bend her knees so her walk isn't so stiff. Her balance also getting better and she can walk alot longer before tripping or falling. She now prefers to walk rather than crawl, and the only time she crawls is when she really wants to go somewhere fast and she falls from walking. I am going to miss her cute little crawl but I am way excited about her walking. You can now put her on the ground in the standing position and she will walk away. She can also stand up from the ground now like a pro. Oh and another thing she started doing is attempting to do summer-salts!!! She is always trying to stand on her head and roll over though she hasn't quite done it yet. This drives me insane with worry, I keep feeling she will snap her neck! I try to stop her but she always does it anyways... sigh little Mia so stubborn.

A big event happened in the world this week as well. Micheal Jackson died, granted we haven't really followed his music since the 80s it is still a sad thing to happen. Mia still likes dancing to his music though! haha

Another HUGE thing that happened, and it just started happening this morning, is she is saying another new word!!! Thats right, you can now add "Bye-bye" to her vocabulary! At first I didn't really catch it but then I started listening and sure enough she says it. If you say "byebye" to her she will wave at you and say "baab-baee" It isn't as clear as her current three favorite words, hat, mama and dada.. but you can definately tell shes saying it. Such a cutiepie pie.

Well that about covers it for the week. Wow lots of stuff. I am sure I will add more this coming weekend since we are off to San Diego yet again for another birthday party and to shop for her birthday party. Lets see if we have any adventures.. I am sure we will.

Another fun day together....

Current mood: happy

Well we were planning on going down to San Diego again for some Mia party shopping and a few errunds but once the day got going... it just got to late to go. (Mainly due to traffic). We were all ready and set to have a fun day and it was such a beautiful day out we just couldn't pass up the chance of going out together as a family anyways.

So after lunch we headed off to Fry's electronics in San Marcos (about an hour drive south of us). Adrian needed a new memory card for the computer and I guess they had some sale going on or something. I wasn't paying attention. All I knew is that it would be Mia's first time at Fry's and I thought it would be a nice family outting and drive.

Mia was being her normal silly self, singing, making faces, and playing in the back seat. She was really happy due to her extra long mid-morning nap. Once we got to Frys we loaded her into the basket and off shopping we went. Every Frys has their own theme, and for San Marcos its Underwater World type thing so they had big aquariums of fish! and clam stuff everywhere. I took a few pictures of Mia to pass some time, since Daddy was taking FOREVER browsing haha. We showed her the giant fish tank which she seemed to be amused by it. We have no money to go to SeaWorld so this is as close to fish as she will get for now haha. After alittle more shopping it was time to go home.

It was such a nice day out it would have been a shame to go straight home, so we decided to stop off at the Temecula Duck Pond on the way home! YAY! One of my favorite places. We had not taken Mia there since she was really little. I don't even think she could roll over yet, or if she could she barely learned how. So it was fun to see her actually enjoy herself. At first she didn't even want to touch the grass, she barely picked at it. By the end she was crawling all over it, tearing it up and attempting to EAT it! haha. The whole pond/park is on an incline so she couldn't really balance herself to walk though she did try and yes she did roll down the hill once. Daddy horsed around with her and put her on his shoulders and ran all over the place, which made her scream and laugh. It was really cute to watch them play. We spent a good deal of time there before we decided to go next door and eat at Pat & Oscars. Another favorite of ours.

At Oscars we sat Mia down in a highchair and we all grubbed out on some awesome food. Poor Mia still got her baby snacks but she will be eating breadsticks with the rest of us really soon! haha She did good though and had a great time.

We later went home and I don't know if it was the sun or what but I got a POUNDING headache, so there wasn't much fun time once we got home. At least not for Mama. I let Mia play a bit and off to bed she went. Phew.. what a fun eventful day.. I love family outings like that, even if it is just to the store and a park its so much fun for all of us.

Adrian's First Father's Day & A Day at the Fair

Current mood: accomplished

Phew.... what a day! I am really tired (as always) my eyes burn and I am so ready to go to bed, BUT! I want to blog about our special and fun day today. I can't rest until I do! Besides, tomorrow we will be hitting up San Diego once again and I am sure I will have another blog instore to write haha

Today started great. It was Adrian's First Daddy's day and Mia and I wanted to make it as special as we could. I did manage to pick up two cards for him (one from me and one from her) but that was pretty much all I could afford. That didn't stop the creative juices in my brain from flowing. I decided to have Mia make a hand print in some of the left over home made play-dough I had, and that would be his present from her. So I rolled out the dough and prepared everything but Mia had other plans. She likes to squish the dough with her fingers so getting her to keep her hand straight and from squishing the dough was hard. Eventually we got a decent print and I baked it in the oven, while we played in the living room waiting for Daddy to wake up. Once it was done baking I took it out of the oven and ACK!!! It got all disorted and ugly!! NOooooooo!!!!! So I attempted to reshape it back as best as I could, but it didn't look as good as when I first put in the oven. I did get a marker and colored in her hand print so you could see it better and after all that, it finally didn't look so bad.. phew!!

A little while later Adrian finally woke up and came downstairs. We both greated him with a Happy Father's Day and Mia gave him her present. He LOVED it! and its now sitting right on the mantal.

We then did a first, we had breakfast (more like brunch) at Mc Donalds. If you know us, we HATE!!!!!! that place with every ounce of our being. The food is aweful and makes us sick. Then why did we go there? Well they are doing a promotional thing right now that if you buy an extra value meal you get a free coke glass. If you know me, I love collecting those sort of things so we forced ourselves to eat McDonalds. BIG MISTAKE! just like predicted we both got alittle sick, so we hung out at home alittle while. We had been planning to take the baby to the San Diego County Fair today, so once we finally started feeling better and after Mia go in a quick nap. We were off to the fair!!!! Oh wait something else big happened before that....

Just to jump off topic for a quick second. Mia attempted to feed herself with a spoon for the first time today!!! Thats right! While I was feeding her lunch, I gave her her very own baby spoon to hold. After watching me feed her, she would gentally tap the spoon into the food and once she even put it into her mouth afterwards! WOW! she is attempting to feed herself now! I can't wait to try it out again tomorrow, I will be sure to take pictures this time or maybe a video.

Ok back to our SD Trip. The trip down wasn't so bad. Mia played in the back seat with me and though never took a nap she was in good spirits. We finally made it to the fair! I was so happy. Going to the fair is like a little tradition for Adrian and I. We go every year (except last year, since I was to huge and pregnant and due any day we couldn't go), this year was going to be special. We were going to introduce Mia to that tradition. The weather was AWESOME! not hot at all! and just perfect. We got there after mid-day so the sun wasn't so brutal. I still lathered up Mia with TONS of sunblock anyways and made sure she wore her lucky SD Padres hat.

The crowd wasn't so bad, it was definately managable. We all had a blast! Mia seemed to enjoy herself except for when we saw the animals. If you know Mia, she is not scared or shys away from anything.... however we finally found her weakness..... barn animals! The first thing we did when we got there was take her to see the barn animals. They had this huge covered area where they kept their, cows, sheep, goats, etc The smell alone, in that place, could knock a person out cold! We still took her to see the animals. First it was the Cows. She didn't know what to make of them... and when we brought her close to one she just clinged onto Daddy like no bodies business. We figured.. hmm... maybe the cows were to big, lets go check out the goats. We showed her the goats and though she never cried, she would climb all over Adrian in such a frantic way he had to take her away from them. She did hesitently touch one goat and grab the eyes of another, but that was the extent of it. She looked so scared the whole time we just finally left. Ah well.... guess she isn't used to animals. We then took her next door to check out the petting zoo and the smaller animals. The petting zoo was PACKED and the animals were pretty much the same as the other place. We didn't want to torture her more, since her reaction was so bad at the other animal place, we didn't take her inside. We did show her a few chickens, but she could care less. She was still really uneasy. Then I took ahold of her. After talking to her and showing her the chickens she finally started to relax, she relaxed enough to start talking herself and would wave at people when I asked her to. Then they had a dog on display. It was a big black juvenile rotwieler. They were displaying it because it was up for adoption. We brought Mia over to meet the doggy. Again she gave the same reaction, wanted nothing to do with the dog and wouldn't even look at it. The dog tried to warm up to her by giving her kisses but she wanted to leave.. NOW! So we finally got the hint and left. Ah well.....

Then it was off to the game area. We walked all around (getting tempting by every carney there to play their game) until we finally found the game we wanted to play. It was a little fishing game where you fish with a pole and try to catch a duck or a fish. Once you caught one you check the bottom of it and it had a number. The higher the number the better the prize you get. So Daddy bought a chance at the game and took Mia out of her stroller so she could play. Once he handed her the fishing pole she pushed her hand away and didn't even want to touch it. So Adrian held her and fished with the other hand and wouldn't you know he fished up three prizes in total!! So she won a big flower, a teddy bear and a little red horse. YAY!

We walked around a bit more and Daddy held her alot. The cute thing was, if Mia and I ever made eye contact over Adrian's shoulder she would give me the BIGGEST smile ever! How cute! Then it was FOOD time!!! We bought a freshly made cini-bun and grubbed out on that after we found a bench to sit and eat. Mia even got a tiny taste of the cinni-roll. Afterwards, we fed Mia some snackies and a small meal. She got it all over Daddy and stained his shirt. (A Father's Day gift I guess! haha) We bought ourselves a few more treats and soon it was almost time to go.

I got my polish sausage and large pickle (a tradition my Dad and I used to do ever since I was a little girl and we used to go to the fair together) and Adrian got his icecream. As he munched his icecream I went into the suvenior shop and bought a magnet (another thing I collect) and a SD County Fair shirt for Mia. When I got back I caught Daddy giving Mia a taste of his icecream!!!! Of course I had to scold him alittle but let her get a few more licks in anyways haha. I then had to use the restroom (which had a HUGE line ARRGH!) and when I got back Adrian said some lady came up to him and said what a happy baby Mia was and how surprised she was that Mia was still in such a good mood dispite us being there all day. The lady said all she had been seeing all day was babies and kids melting down and blowing up all day, which is why she was so shocked to see Mia laughing and playing in her stroller. Thats my girl! We packed up and it was time to go home.

After a short walk to the car (yes we paid for premium parking haha) we went home. Mia knocked out mid way home and by the time we finally got home she woke up and was ready to go! Oh no! haha I let her play in the livingroom until she finall showed signs of slowing down and she got sleepy. Adrian fed her a bedtime bottle and she went right to sleep.

Wow talk about a busy fun filled day. I am so happy we were able to make it to the fair it is one of those family traditions I would like to see continue. Well with all that being said I am off to bed. My eyes are really burning now haha.

Mia the artist!

Current mood: creative

Me and my crazy ideas strike again... this time I made some eatable home-made finger paint! I have been dying to show Mia an empty canvas and have her go nuts with it with paint. Well she is still to little to have real paint (Since she still sticks everything in her mouth) so I researched online and found a cute little recipe made out of jello and water.

I prepared the table with tons of plastic and plenty of wipees, paper towels and a bowl of water just to be safe. I stripped Mia down to her diaper (which she didn't mind because it was so HOT today) and sat her on my lap.

I dunked one tiny hand into the paint (more like dye) and let her do what she wanted. At first she just looked shocked at her hand all red (the dye was red cherry flavored jello it was all we had haha) and I showed her to smack the paper. Soon she was smacking the paper, rubbing the color all over it and jibber jabbering. I tried to take a couple of pictures but it was hard to balance a baby on my lap and dye everywhere haha. We both got a kick out of it and after a few "paintings" were done it was time to clean up.

Since it was my first time doing this, I was alittle careful about how much I let her play in the paint. So I only let her dunk one hand and its the opposite hand she uses to put in her mouth. I also figured cleaning up would be cake since there wouldn't be that much of a mess. WRONG! well true as it was, there wasn't much of a mess but that red dye would not come off her hand for nothing!!!!! It took me forever to get it mostly off and by the time I finally set her free to play there was still traces of it... ah well. We had fun though, can't wait to do it again and on a bigger scale!!!

Well I just had to share that little story

Wow week 49!

Current mood: awake

Happy Friday everyone! Like her favorite football team, Mia is now 49 weeks old! We all had a busy week, but not as busy as Mia's!

It started off with a trip to San Diego for her second Cousins' HS graduation parties. It was great seeing the family again and many of them haven't seen her in months. So of course we loved showing her off as always but she refused to walk for anyone. Sigh.. little Mia always doing things HER way. We did manage to get her to walk for her Grandma and Grandpa Santos (at their house after the party), but only after much coaxing. She also got some gifts from her Grandma and Grandpa! A few new books and a two puzzles! She has never had puzzles before but LOVES them. It doesn't matter where in the house I put them, she always seems to find them and demand that I let her play with them. With each day we play puzzles she is getting better and better at it. Though she has only put one piece back to the spot it is supposed to go once, she is learning to put the pieces in the vicinity that they are supposed to go. So shes slowly getting there.

We also took alot of Mama/Baby trips around town this week. Mostly to do some Mia Birthday Party shopping but it was still really fun. We went to the outlets, a couple 99 cent stores, and of course grocery stores with Daddy. She started to eat Avocado this week and she LOVES IT! so she ate all of Daddy's stash of avocados and we had to stock up on them again. I give her one at least once a day. She is getting really good with table food and I rarely feed her baby food anymore. I mostly feed her that if we are out and about since its too hard to store home-made foods that need to be refrigerated in her diaper bag. I now cook her a big pot of beans, some pasta, and chicken to last her the week. I mix it up a bit so she doesn't get stuck eating the same thing over and over again. I like cooking for her but man it is alot more work than just opening a jar of baby food. I guess I better get used to it, I will be cooking for her for a long LONG time now... all I know is Daddy is really enjoying the homecooked meals haha.

We did our first art project this week too! I made some home-made eatable playdough for her to play with. She loved squishing it between her fingers and of course attempting to eat it (which I wouldn't let her). She made her first squished art sculpture and we even got some hand and feet prints. It was alittle messy but tons of fun. I can't wait to do it again.

As for her walking, she is getting better and better everyday. She is starting to learn to bend her knees while she walks so she doesn't look so stiff. The real big thing that happened is she finally learned how to stand up from the ground consistantly. This was another big milestone for her since before she could hardly and rarely stand up from the ground. She would often times use us, or furniture to pull herself up then walk. Now she can just stand up and walk from anywhere in the living room! She even started dancing more. She will swing her hips back and forth, and move her arms either like shes trying to fly or just back and forth. Its really cute. She will mimic you too if you show her yourself, but she mainly does it to music and of course Yo Gabba Gabba.

I have to include this little story in this blog since I thought it was really cute. I was woken up early by Adrian (as he climbed into bed for the night) and he told me that he fed the baby at 4am this morning. I asked him why? and he told me this....

He said that he was working from home upstairs and wasn't making much noise. It has been really warm and humid lately so Mia's bedroom door was slightly opened. Then all of a sudden he heard "Da-da... Da-da" so he got up and peeked around the corner into her room. She was sitting up in her crib calling for him. Of course he melted and just HAD to get her. (Not really sure why she was up so early) So he got her up, took her downstairs to change her diaper. He gave her a diaper to play with as he changed her and she was all excited to see him. She took that diaper and started fanning herself with it and made herself laugh. They played alittle while before he fed her a bottle and put her back in bed. Alittle Daddy/daughter bonding time. It was a cute story I had to include in today's blog.

Well that about covers the week. We plan on doing more shopping for her bday this weekend in San Diego and maybe even hit up the county fair! I can't wait for that and I hope we can find time for it. I am sure if we do go I will have tons of new stories and of course pictures to post. Till then I am going to grab some breakfast before the little one wakes up.

Outings, playdough, and fun

Current mood: creative

Recently, I got the itch to go out during the day with Mia. Usually I like to stay home and be a hermit. I don't have any money to spend so whats the point in shopping right?... Well it started yesterday. I really got the urge to go out so we (Mia and I) got up bright and early and zoomed off to the Lake Elsinore Outlets (about 25-30min) drive from the house. We got there right when it opened so there weren't a whole lot of people to bump or crash into. I went there orginally looking for a nice birthday dress for her but NO ONE sells them!! ARGH! We didn't come home empty handed though, I bought her a "birthday girl" shirt and a her first bathing suit for her Beach Birthday in Oxnard. She did good, I think she likes to go out like that.

Today we got up early again and zoomed off to the Dollar Tree in, again, Lake Elisnore. I had seen a few items there awhile back that I wanted to pick up for her birhtday party. We had fun shopping and of course it was easy on the wallet since everything is 99 cents! haha After buying some cute butterfly decorations it was off to the 99 cent only store across the street. They had nothing good so we went home. I fed her lunch and soon after, Daddy woke up. So we were off again. We went to Cardenas in Perris to stock up on more avocados for Mia. (Her new favorite food) and mangos (her favorite snack). We were going to be quick so we didn't take down her stroller or cart seat. Instead Daddy carried her around the store and when his arms got tired her put her on his shoulders!!!! I was uneasy about this since she is still so tiny, but she held on to his head and he held her arms. It was cute to watch them walk around the store like that.

After that it was off to WinCo for some more blueberries and some carne asada, which Adrian will BBQ tomorrow YAY! We also picked up some stuff to make home-made eatable playdough. I got the recipe off the internet and choose the eatable kind, not so she could eat it, but because she tends to put her fingers in her mouth ALL the time and I didn't want her to get sick or poisoned.

Once we were home I fed her an early dinner (home-made chicken with bell peppers, pasta and potatoes, an avocado for a appietizer, and blueberries for dessert). Then I prepared the playdough. Surprisenly its really easy to make and all it is, is salt, water, and flour. It is a bit messy though since flour flys everywhere! Once I made the dough I let Mia play with it. She really liked to squish it between her fingers and throw it on the ground. I kept her first artisit "sculpture" then rolled out some more for her play with. I got a few imprints of her hands and feet and when we were all done I baked it to harden it (per the directions) and now I got my own clay momentos haha. Hopefully they will last, the directions said you can paint them and stuff. Not sure if I will do that but it was a fun little art project I shared with Mia, infact it was our first together.

In between mixing the playdough and preparing the little balls for her to play with I had Yo Gabba Gabba playing on the TV. She loves that show more and more everyday. Now she is starting to dance with it. She will walk to the middle of the livingroom and sway her hips back and forth to the music, or start flapping her arms like a bird, or moving her waist and arms back and forth, its really cute. I really need to try to capture that on video.

Thats about it, I am tired from our long busy day but I had to share those little stories. I am off to get some rest since it will be another busy day with Mia "the Artist" tomorrow haha

Mia loves her Avocado!

Current mood: mellow

Mia showed another Daddy trait today, she LOVES avocado! haha I am not a huge fan of it, actually just the smell of it makes me queasy but not Mia. We decided to have her sample it and before we knew it, the whole avocado was GONE! Yay another thing to add to the Mia menu.

An update on her walking. She is walking everywhere now, and gets a kick out of it. But now shes trying to pick up speed!!! She attempts to take off and run but of course he legs can't catch up to her so she eats it, but that doesn't stop her from trying again!

We took her to Target today to buy her a treat! She came home with two new toys, a lady bug toy that when you push its head down all these little balls fly everywhere in his tummy and alittle pop-up toy where you push or turn little things and little animals pop out of doors. She loves it loves to slam the doors closed. Right before bed she actually started to learn how to pop them back out!

We played with her puzzles more today and she so entriged by them, it really makes me realize my little baby is growing up. After her bath I put on some of her old new born lotion just so she could smell like she did as a baby newborn. It brought back so many memories... sigh... they grow up too fast!

Another LONG and FUN day in San Diego

Current mood: exhausted

I am pooped! Boy what a day! We went to San Diego today for a dual high school graduation party for Adrian's cousins' Vinny and Geni. It was great to see the whole family again. The bash was held at his Tia Ana's house and it was wall to wall people. (If you know her house its BIG! so thats saying alot!) Wow, I still can't believe they graduated high school! I remember them both as little kids!!! (Remember, I've been apart of the family since 1998! thats 11 years!). They really made me feel old today! haha

Mia did great on the ride down. We left alittle later than we usually do for San Diego parties so she was able to get in some rest and lunch before we left. She smiled, played, and jibber jabbered throughout the ride down (and no, no nap). Once we got there we were greated by family and we got some awesome news! Mia will be officially dethroned as "baby of the family" (Cardoso side), Adrian's Cousin Robert and long-time girlfriend Cherylynn are expecting their first baby together! It was great news and both are so excited. I have never seen Robert beam so much in all the near 11 years I've known him. I had talked to Cherylnn a couple of weeks ago at Adrian's niece's 5th birthday (Natalia) about the possible chance of her being pregnant and that they were "trying". It happened on their first attempt! haha Now I know for sure its an "Estrada" gene because we got pregnant with Mia just as fast! haha Anyways, Mia was a star again as usual. Most of the family had not seen her since March. So it was a HUGE treat to see her again and they commented how cute and BIG she has gotten. Of course we bragged about her new walking skills and everything else.

After being stolen by (Great) Auntie's left and right and even her Grandpa Chalo for a while we finally managed to get her back. She refused to walk for anyone which I am not surprised. She ALWAYS does that to us.. makes us look like we are lairs! haha I finally had to bust out some videos I had of her walking from my camera just as proof! haha Overall she did great at the party, no fussying, no crying and did amazenly well for not eating much since lunch (other than some watermelon and a quesodilla that I didn't even know she was given till later GRRRRR!) and no naps. The party itself was great. It really brought back some memories of when I graduated high school and my big move from home and into college life. Vinny is going to UC Santa Cruz, and Geni to UC Riverside. Both are really excited! I am really happy for them.

So after the party we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Santos' house for a quick visit. There we fed her some dinner and she perked right up, though she was already red and puffy eyed from being so tired. Grandpa Santos took out some baby puzzles for her and she LOVED THEM! Oh my goodness she was so happy playing with them and she even put one puzzle piece where it belonged! They were big wooden pieces of sea creatures and you place them in the picture spot where they belonged. She played with them and examined the whole board and pieces for a long time. Then Grandpa and Grandma GAVE them to her to take home and keep! YAY! and some other children's books so we can start reading to her. I can't wait to play puzzles with her tomorrow, its going to be fun.

After puzzle time she FINALLY showed off her walking skills to Grandma and Grandpa (of course only after TONS of coaxing). They have brand-new installed hardwood floors so it was a new surface for her to walk on, so it took awhile before she was comfortable enough to walk on them. After she got comfortable, boy she was EVERYWHERE, in the small area between the couch and wall, next to the fireplace, under the coffee table, EVERYWHERE! She was having a blast and talking up a storm.

We visited a bit longer and of course got to play with their two adorable kitties, which Mia got a big kick out of. At one point she walked up to Simba and grabbed him by the fur and head and screamed with excitment. They are both really good cats and really good with kid torture since they have to put up with it alot when the other grandkids come visit (Natalia (5) and Brianna (3)) haha. The visit was fun but we eventually had to leave, it was so late. We got about a block away before I realized we left one of her favorite toys at the house, so we had to turn back around and get it... sigh.. joys of parenthood, backtracking for lost toys! haha Anyways once we were all set up to drive away, and before Adrian could finish his U-turn to leave.. Mia was knocked out. She fell asleep before we even hit the end of the block and didn't wake up until we were home. Even when we were home she was all groggy and out of it. We fed her a warm bottle and off to bed she went. She went right down and was out like a light. Hmm... that sounds like a good idea for myself! I am so tired.

Anyways we had a awesome time in San Diego but man it was a LOOOONG day, I am so ready to hit the sack now. So night night...

48 Weeks Today!

Current Mood: Happy

Mia just turned 11 months yeseterday, and 48 weeks today! Time is not showing any signs of slowing down..but thats ok I got my running shoes on and I am ready to chase it down!

Since Mia turned 11 months yesterday I already wrote a huge blog about all the things shes done over the past month, so I don't really have much new to report. So in order to attempt to avoid redundency I will quickly review the new things she did just this week.

She went to her first San Diego Padres game this week! Though they lost in the 18th inning we still had tons of fun. Mia really seemed to enjoy herself. I can't wait to take her Disneyland next month! I think she will like it... especially since we watch Donald Duck and Chip n' Dale cartoons every morning during breakfast!

She jumped off the ground for the first time this week as well. I think she was overly sugared up from the fresh strawberries I fed her. She was being all silly and after taking two huge steps she jumped in the air! Surprisenly she actually landed on her feet before she fell foward. It was really cute.

Now on to the big news! She started walking this week! Thats right, Mia has officially joined the rank of Toddler-hood and is walking like a big girl! She no longer likes it when you hold her hands to help her and rather walk by herself! Though she still needs some more work on how to stand up from the ground (she can do it but still struggles a bit with it) once she gets standing its off she goes. Alittle wobbly and alittle shakey but she walks. She walks far too! over 10 steps now. She could go farther but our living room area isn't that big and with her always throwing toys around she often trips on them too (just like her Mama and Daddy!) haha I am so excited, I've been telling all my friends about it. Next step... running! haha I think I will enjoy her slow baby steps for awhile before that time comes haha.

This week has been great! full of fun and a great milestone to enjoy. Go Mia!

11 months old today!

Current mood: accomplished

This is it! The countdown has officially begun.... this is Mia's final month before she reaches the big 01! Wow, seriously... time is flying by so fast! This has definately been an eventful month (like every month it seems) however, it also constained one of the biggest milestones of all.... she started WALKING!!!! WOW! I will get to that in a bit, lets get started now shall we?!

The month started with two new teeth! She popped them both out at the same time (again just like her bottom two) this time it was her top two front teeth. The day she popped them out she was unusally clingy to me and whiney. I didn't figure it out till the days end when I put my hand in her mouth and felt around. Sure enough there were two tiny little pointy teeth growing there. Ahh... no wonder! She cheered up by the next day and it was business as usual. She has not sprouted any new teeth since then but she has a few coming in strong. They just haven't broken the surface yet.

She is getting much better with using her teeth and munching things. With alittle reluctancy due to my over-protectiveness, she started on table food this month. I have since warmed up to it a bit and actually really enjoy cooking her own special little meals. She eats home-made beans now and I mix it with either tiny paste (just as a filler) or white rice and just recently started adding a touch of cheese for flavor. She loves it! I also boil her chicken, mash it up, and add veggies like carrots, potatoes and corn to it. She likes that too but not as much as her beans and rice! haha Since blueberries and strawberries are currently in season she has been eating them everyday. She loves blueberries but it is the strawberries that really give her a boost in energy. It never fails, after she eats them she starts zooming around the place. Its really cute! I will have to freeze some before the season is over so she can have some a few months from now haha. Another favorite of hers, is Mango. We have been stalking up on fresh Mango and she goes nuts with it. I do too, its so tastey and sweet.

Earlier this month she started refusing to let us change her diaper! I don't know what brought it on but thank goodness it only lasted a few days. She would even start crying looking at the changing table. Once she learned that she was going to get her diaper changed no matter what she finally stopped putting up a fight... phew.. Another thing that lasted for most of the month and just recently cleared up is she was also refusing to be put down for bed. Both naps and bedtime was horrible. She would scream at the top of her lungs and just throw the biggest fit ever! I would end up just having to lay her down and practically run out of the room and shut the door behind me while she just went nuts. Thank goodness she is finally getting back to her normal self and I can start putting to her bed nicely now. Putting her blankey around her, kissing her on the head and stuff.

A huge event happened this month as well... she was Baptized! After months of planning the big day finally came on May 17th. Both sets of Grandparents and Aunties and Uncles, and cousins came for her big day. She did great, no crying or fussing in church and when the moment came for her to have the water poured on her head (something I was concerned about since she throws HUGE fits during bathtime when I wash her hair) she didn't make a sound and let the Pastor do it. I was so proud of her. After a couple of small mishaps that happened in church (one cousin's foot got smashed so hard it bled, and the other cousin choked on some candy really bad) we all celebrated at our house. Her New Nina and Nino were so proud of her and overall it was good day. We just need to start going to church now haha

She is doing more baby jibberish now. She was doing a cute little sound that sorta sounded like she was whispering really fast "thick-a thick-a thick-a" but it now morphed into something else that I can't even attempt to sound out in writing, but she uses her tounge alot and its really cute. She also imitates you if you stick your tounge out at her, she will stick hers out back at you. Its a fun little game we do together in the back seat of the car while Daddy is driving.

She explores alot more now and with that we had to upgrade our baby proofing. We used to sit two chairs next to each other to block her way out of the living room and just a few days ago she learned to crawl underneath them and escape! When you say "Hey get back here!" she will quickly squeal, laugh and take off in a full blast super crawl trying to get away from you as you chase her. Now we took out the chairs and put her baby gate cross the exit. She has yet to find a way around it.... notice how I said yet... haha With her exploring she also learned how to climb our stairs and she climbed all the way to the top by herself! Of course I was right behind her to catch her just in case she fell.. which she didn't. We don't let her get on our stairs but I was practicing walking with her (by holding her two hands) and she walked over there and saw the cat at the top. I thought it would be a treat for her to try to get the cat and get some stair climbing practice in. It was cute.

She also got to go to a couple of parties this month. At one she met her best friend Koa, at his 1st birthday party. They first met while still in our tummies (Mona and myself). So it was a treat for us all to watch them meet for the first time. Not only did she catch Koa's eye but also another little boy there too (2 years old) it was funny how they always managed to come around her while she played haha. The other party she went to was for her Big Cousin Natalia's 5th birthday! She got to hit another pinata with Daddy's help and she is getting better with it... she is really warming up for her upcoming birthday! She also showed off her assisted walking skills and overall was a good baby the whole time.

She rode her first ride this month too! It was a small fire engine ride that was in front of Toys R Us. It didn't move much and she was quickly bored of it. Not surprising since she is "Super Baby" and likes to play rough and to be tossed around (literally) haha

Due to money issues and cut backs, we decided to cut our TV and cable completely. At first I thought it would be hard living without it, however, Adrian set up the computer in such a way that it plays on our TV. He copied all 300+ DVDs we had plus downloaded all the seasons of my favorite shows, including Mia's as well. So everyday I wake up in the morning, fix Mia's breakfast and start our line up consisting of 2 looney tunes, 1 I love lucy, 2 disney shorts (donald duck and/or chip n dale), 1 Gabba Gabba, something from the history or travel channel (Man v Wild usually), 2 penguines of Madagascar etc.. you get the picture. So we have that going while we play. Mia doesn't mind, since the TV loss she has been really catching up in her "Yo Gabba Gabba" show haha She even learned a new way to dance from watching it. She now does the "Funky Penguin" and moves her hips side to side. She now does that whenever there is music playing and she feels like dancing. Sometimes if you say "Dancey dance Mia" she will move her hips side to side. Its really cute.

She also started to really play peek-a-boo now. She will throw her blankey over her face and wait for you to say "wheres Mia?! Where did she go!?" then she will throw it down and give you the biggest laugh and smile as you go "There she is!!!" and she will repeat this over and over. I love doing that with her on long trips in the car.

She also went to her first San Diego Padres game this month. We decided to take her because it was "Meet the players" day, unfortunately though we got there just a tad bit late and barely missed it. But we still had fun anyways. Mia got a new Padres hat and got to play in the grass. She was good and never cried once, it really seemed like she enjoyed herself. We can't wait to take her again.

She also is learning how to brush her hair! Haha I have recently really set time aside to brush her hair. Not so much because that she needs it, but more for the fact I know it feels good and its relaxing. She loves her hair brushed, she will sit still with her blankey and lets me do it. We can sit there for almost a half hour doing it haha. Anyways since I have started using my own brush on her hair she now takes it and tries to comb her own hair with it. Its really cute to watch her try to do it, I have been trying to capture it on video or a picture but I haven't been able to yet. Hopefully I will soon.

She is also starting to become greedy with her toys and things. Not so much with me, though she does do it sometimes but mostly with Daddy. If you are holding her blankey and she notices, she will race over to you just to pull it off of you and use it herself or throws it on the floor so you can't use it. She also doesn't like when Daddy plays with her toys, she will take it away from him and throw it. If he hands it to her she will throw it on the ground.. wait a second then pick it back up and play with it. She refuses to have him play or give her toys. Its really funny, but Daddy things shes greedy! haha Thats my girl! I was the same way when I was her age haha

Another big thing that she started doing this month is listening to commands. You can say "Wheres your blankey, go get your blankey" and she will stop what she is going, crawl to her blankey and get it. She will get her "Kitty" too or snackies or whatever else she recongizes. Sometimes when she is tired and whiney I say "Wanna sit with Mama? go get your blankey first" and she will grab her blankey, drag it to me and wait for me to pick her up and sit her on my lap. Its amazing how she can recongize objects like that... just makes me realize what a big girl shes becoming.

Speaking of big girl now on the the HUGE thing of the month... she is officially WALKING!!!! HOORAY! Before I get to that, I wanna go over how she got to that point. She has been practices how to walk for awhile now. I believe she first started assisted walking (with you holding her hands) the end of April. We would practice with her everyday and she started to show signs of interest in walking herself, especially when she took her first couple of steps. Then progressed started to slow down. She insisted on crawling more and when you would try to encourage her to walk on her own she would just lean over and fall down so she could crawl. She contiuned to cruise around the furniture and would let go so she would stand there, but then would fall to the ground and crawl away. Then she slowly learned how to stand up from the floor. First it was from a bent position, now she can stand straight up from the ground just using her legs. We were really excited by this but still she wouldn't walk by herself. It almost seemed like she could only really take one step and had trouble getting the second foot off the ground consistantly. Though I was begining to believe she wouldn't walk before her first birhtday, I still practiced everyday with her and eventually she learned to walk with just holding 1 of my hands. Then it happened... I am not sure if it was due to her natural sugar rush from the strawberries she ate but she took two giant steps forward all by herself then jumped off the ground!!! Then she landed with both feet, balanced herself then fell forward to crawl away. She did it right in front of Adrian and myself who got a HUGE kick out of it. She only did it once, however the next day she began walking!!! I missed the moment she took her first steps but Adrian saw it and yelled for me. She saw me coming and fell down. Daddy was so excited and said she had walked 6 steps all by herself while holding her blankey! I was so happy to hear that but kinda of sad I missed the big moment! (I was in the kitchen preparing lunch). Then she did it again! and again! and by the end of the day she was pro. She has since taken more than 10 steps and even tried doing it fast (not really a run yet but more of a fast walk). I can't believe how well she is catching on. She has always had the strength in her legs, and the balance but she has never had the confidence to do it. Now that she has seen herself do it she is on a roll. She takes off and is always trying to walk now. We are so proud of her! I managed to be able to capture it on video and I have uploaded on of them. So that was her huge milestone for this month.. shes walking. Wow I can't believe it, she sure is growing up so fast. Funny thing is she started walking right before her 11 month birthday, guess she wanted to be able to say "I started walking at 10 months!" haha

Well thats about it for the month. So many new things and new adventures. I can't wait to see what her final month before she hits "1" brings. I wonder if she will start running! Oh-no! I better start really baby proofing the house now haha

Summary:

Feedings: Other than the incorporation of table foods (beans, rice, chicken.. etc) her feeding habbits haven't changed much. She still eats a big bowl of wheat oatmeal in the morning (her favorite) followed up with a 6 oz bottle, tablefood for lunch with some blueberries or strawberries or other fruit for dessert and water from her sippy, fruit for a snack in between, and either stage 3 dinner (mac and cheese is her favorite) or table food for dinner. For bedtime she still gets a 8oz bottle of formula.

New Things: WALKING!, combing hair, greediess with toys and blankey, first ride, first steps, standing up by herself, 2 new top teeth, Baptism, new baby jibberish, sticks out tounge when you do, peek-a-boo, met Koa, climbed stairs all the way to the top, eating table foods, dances with hips, listens to commands, first Padres game, and hopped off the ground while standing.

Weight: 19 lbs (per bathroom scale)

Goals met from last month?:
She hit every goal but one set from last month. She does stand alone now, unassisted. Infact she can stand up now from the ground. She not only takes a few steps, she full on walks now. The only thing she hasn't learned is, how to point. I am sure that will come in time since I am now starting to point to things myself when I identify things. Maybe she will pick that up soon as well.

Goals for next month:
Learn to run, eat more varitey of tablefoods, learn more commands, jump

Mia is offically WALKING!!!

Current Mood: Excited

Thats right! Mia is officially walking! I had almost given up any hope of her walking before her 1st birthday since she never progressed past 2 steps before falling or making herself fall so she could crawl instead. So we were ALL shocked to see she decided today was the day... the day before she officially hits 11 months she walked!

It all started while I was cooking in the kitchen and Adrian was watching her in the living room. I was just about to set the steamer on cook when I heard, "OMG Angie! Come here shes walking shes walking!!!". I turned to look but all I could see was the top of her tiny head moving around, then it disappeared as she fell when she saw me. I ran over, "What?!?! How did it happened?! What did she do?!" I asked excitedly to Adrian. He said that she was just holding her blankey with one hand in the air and just started taking steps all by herself! I asked him how many and he said at least 6!!! I was so happy but at the same time alittle bummed that I missed the huge moment! Then sure enough there she went again, step, step, step, step.. my little girl was walking!!!!! We both cheered her on and she was trying out her walking legs!

I then ran to the phone and quickly called her Grandpa and Grandma Pizano (who happened to be on the phone talking to each other.. so they three-wayed my phone call) I got to tell them the great news and they both cheered! Mia walked two more times while I was on the phone with them, so I quickly hung up and grabbed my camera. I was able to get a couple of short clips of her walking. One of her walking in circles and one of her walking towards me crying haha (ya she needed a nap)

Thats my girl! She is officially walking! and managed to do it while still 10 months. Though she didn't beat the family record (held by my brother who walked at 9 months) she is runner-up! I am so proud of her!!!!

Mia walking!!!! 6-10-09

Step, Step, HOP!

Current mood: amused

Ever since I introduced Fresh Strawberries into Mia's diet, she goes NUTS with energy. Its almost comical to see how she reacts after eating them. Especially if I follow them up with some fresh blueberries. WATCH OUT! haha Well today was no exception.

Mia hasn't really shown much interest in walking by herself anymore. She rather crawl since she does it so well. This has been a sort of road block for us, but at least she still insists that you still hold her tiny hands to help her walk. She still loves doing that. However, when you let her go, or if you encourage her to walk by herself she will take a step then lean over and fall on the floor to crawl...ah well.

Anyways today after feeding her strawberries she was all wound up. She not only took TWO giant steps by herself, but after her second step she jumped in the air! Both feet off the ground! haha She landed still standing, then she leaned over and fell on her hands and knees to crawl. Adrian and I couldn't believe our eyes but also busted up because it was too funny to watch. She contiuned to try to bounce in the air while she crawled on the floor and just went nuts haha

I guess Strawberries give her that extra boost she needs, looks like I will be stalking up on those now haha

Mia's First Padres Game!

Current mood: accomplished

Mia is officially a true San Diegan at heart. She went to her first Padres game today!

It was orginally Daddy's idea go to go the game and we choose to go to this game in particular since they were doing a special promotional thing. It was player picture day, where you got to meet the players and take pictures with them. So we all got up extra early and on to the road to San Diego we went.

Mia did great in the car, she slept most of the way so she was wide eyed and bushy tailed by the time we finally found parking near the stadium, PetCo Park. Despite living in San Diego myself for 7 years, and being away from Oxnard for almost 11 I had yet to see a Padres game! We also moved away from San Diego the same year they finally finished building and opened PetCo Park. So today was a special treat for all of us, one to experience the new Stadium we watched them build, and two to go on a big family outting together. All three of us. It was our first big family outting so we were all excited. Ok back to the game....

Despite having to pay $20 for parking, we got a really good spot. It was literally just a couple of blocks from the entrance. So once we got the spot, I noticed how WARM it was outside. Luckily being the prepared Mama that I am, I packed extra clothes for Mia just incase it was warm. So I changed her diaper in the back seat of my car, threw off her sweats and warm socks and on went her shorts and sun block. She was wearing her special pink "My First SD Padres Tee" shirt that I bought for her. I put on her pink hat and Daddy loaded her in her stroller. Man the stroller was jammed PACKED with stuff.. all Mia's! You name it we had it! haha

After a short walk through town we made it to the enterance. The stadium was pretty cool and very open. I was expecting it to be crowded and squished (which I HATE since I am clusterphobic), it wasn't like that at all. We gave them the tickets we printed out at home and they gave us a gift. A little picture frame with the Padres Mascot, The Friar, and a palm tree on it. That was pretty cool. We got there an hour early because we wanted to Mia to take pictures with the team so we hurried down to the field level and waited with the crowd. Unfortunately, we got there a bit too late because we missed all the players. Adrian Gonzales (star player of the Padres) was the last to come around, but he finished taking pictures right before we got our chance!!! NOOO!!!! Ah well, at least Mia got to go on the field and we got some cute family pictures together.

We walked around a bit more, checking out the stadium and consession stands. They were doing a special military recognition thing today so all the Padres were wearing fatigue colored uniforms, and TONS of marines dressed in their fatigues marched through the stadium. Everyone gave them a round of applause as they marched to their seats. There were at least a couple hundred of them. While walking around, we ran into a dog adoption stand. Mia got kissed by this big dog who fell in love with her. It was really cute. We then finally made it to my favorite place... the suvenior shop!! I really wanted to get Mia something special from the game but we are on a tight budget so we had to shop carefully. I really wanted to get her, her very own Padres hat since they are her second favorite team (Next to the SF Giants!!). They only sell Dodgers hats where we live so its hard to find her a SD or SF hat. After shopping around we found it!! It was perfect! We found her a pink toddler Padres hat! It was a bit big on her but with alittle adjustment we got it to fit. So Daddy bought her the hat and she got to sport it out of the store. I was so happy. To my surprise she actually left it on for the most part.

The game was just about to start so we wanted to get some food before-hand. Just as we made our way back to the food court they sang the national anthem so we got to see that. Then the game started and we got to see the first inning, the Padres were pitching and the AZ Diamondbacks were at bat. The Padres shut them out the first inning and the Stadium ROARED! It was really cool. Mia liked watching it too! Then our tummies grumbled so off to the food court.

After standing in line for a bit we finally came away with our 5 for 5 meal (1 hotdog, 1 popcorn, 1 drink, 1 cookie, and 1 bag of peanuts for 5 bucks) and some nachos for Daddy. We had bleacher seats since we weren't planning on staying for the whole game (we bought the cheapest we could) but I didn't feel like being squished like a sardine, especially as I tried to eat so we decided to sit on the grassy area they have that over looks the field. I laid out a big blanket and we all sat around and watched the game. I fed Mia in her stroller then unleshed her on the grass. She wanted to walk right away but once she felt the pokey grass on her feet she was unsure so she just ended up crawling around the blanket.

Then the sun started to really heat things up and beat down and at the same time, Adrian and I both decided it was time to go. We made it to the 5th inning at least! haha So we packed everything up, I changed Mia one last time (which she got a huge kick out of since she could scream and hear her echo in the bathroom), and we said goodbye to the stadium. Overall, we had a BLAST and Mia really enjoyed herself. We took TONS of pictures which I will have to upload soon. We had so much fun we decided we are going to try to make it an annual family yearly outting. Again, we are a Giants fan family, but we can root for the Padres once a year at least haha.

Oh before I go on, the Padres did end up losing their game. Awww.... in the 18th (ya I said 18th!) inning they lost 6-9, ah well... maybe we shoulda stayed, Mia would have given them the luck they needed to win! Oh well maybe next year.

After the game we went to OUR FAVORITE Italian restaurant in the whole world. La Bellas, in Chula Vista. We had not eaten there since I was pregnant with Mia! So it was a big treat to go there. They have the best sauce, cheese bread, manicotti, and minstrone soup ever!!!!! So we had an awesome meal. Mia sat between us most of the time, playing with crackers and toys and eventually went into the high chair once our food was served. We sat her across from us and gave her, her snackie wheels she loves. We all grubbed out and when our bellies were full it was time to make the trip back home.

Mia didn't even make it to the freeway before her little eyes rolled back and she knocked out. She didn't wake up until we hit Temecula! Once we got home, we let her run around a bit to get some energy out, then I gave her a warm bath, and some oatmeal and formula for dinner and off to the bed she went. She went right down without a fuss! I then laid on the couch for a bit and took a short nap myself before I started this blog.

Phew what a day! It was loads of fun and I can't wait to do it again! I am now off to upload the pictures!

47 Weeks Today!

Current mood: awake
And there it goes.... another week flew by at lightening speed. Mia has reached week 47! These weeks seriously need to start slowing down or Mia will be the one pushing 30 and I will be old and grey! YIKES! haha

This week, like many weeks, was lots of fun. No big mishaps... or at least I can't think of any off the top of my head (a good sign) and she even had a couple of adventures.

On Saturday we went all over town shopping. We were pricing out things for her fast upcoming birthday party errr... partIES! (Yes we are having two, one in Oxnard and one in San Diego). Though she wasn't in the greatest of moods starting off, she loosened up by our last destination. She even got to ride her first ride! A little red fire-engine in the front of the store of Toys R Us. She was pretty bored with it since it didn't go very fast and in her DareDevil eyes probably thought the ride was more for "Baby Newborns" that her!

We also made a trip to San Diego for her big Cousin Natalia's 5th birthday. Of course she got to hit the pinata which was always a treat for us to watch. We were alittle late (a couple of hours) but they made sure to wait for her before they did the Pinata. Daddy helped her get candy once the pinata was destroyed or should I say decimated! haha and he even went on the big trampaleen with her. She didn't care for that much since she is used to being the one bounced, not being boucned with someone. She showed off her walking skills to the family and thats pretty much ALL she wanted to do. After a rare nap on Daddy, we ended our day with some drunken noodle from our favorite Thai place on the way home. It was a fun day.

She is still eating "big people's food" and getting better at it. This week I made her some boiled chicken mixed with steamed carrots, potatoes and corn. All home-made from scratch. Well I didn't actually kill the chicken but you get the idea. She liked it but by the end of the week I think she grew sick of it since she was eating it at least once a day. I still feed her some baby food but am really working towards more table food now (its cheaper and healthier for her since I make all my food fresh, no cans, no jars) I just need to come up with better ideas for a menu so far its just chicken and veggies, and beans and rice.

She started a new dance this week too! The Funky Penguin! She copied the kids and DJ Lance Rock from her favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba. I was so shocked to see her actually imitate what she was seeing on TV. She was actually dancing, swinging her hips back and forth and moving her shoulders. Now when music comes on, instead of rocking back and forth like she used to or bouncing, she swings her hips now. Its really cute.

She is also learning how to listen to commands! At first I thought it was a fluke that I asked to find her Kitty and she did! but now I noticed she actually understands! If I ask her "Wheres her...." or "Go get your...." she will. Its usually her kitty, blankey, water, balloon or ball. If shes focused on you (and not distracted by TV or other things) she will actually start to look around for the object, then go get it. She is still getting used to the whole concept of "bring it to me" but she is slowly getting it.

She LOVES playing peek-a-boo now, where she hides herself behind her blankey (puts it over her head) while you act shocked and say "Wheres Mia?! Where did she go?" she will then pull it down and flash you the biggest smile and laugh. What a cutiepie!

Overall, the week has been fun. This weekend should be interesting, we are going to attempt to make it to her (and my) first Padres game at PetCo park!! They are having a special event where you can meet the players and take pictures with them. Though we ARE a Giants' fan family, we will let the Padres be our team for one day. We mainly want to do the whole baseball game experience with her, plus she comes from San Diego blood and will always be a honorary San Diegian at heart (though she was born in Riverside). Anyways, I think it will be fun. Hopefully things will work out and we can make it. Well I am now off to get some breakfast and rest alittle before my whirlwind of a daughter wakes up haha

Mia does the Funky Penguin!

Current mood: amused

Happy June everyone! Today Mia started doing a new dance called the "Funky Penguin". She was watching her "Yo Gabba Gabba" show (as usual) and DJ Lance was showing everyone how to do a new dance where you waddle like a penguin. Mia got a kick out of this and while balancing on the TV stand she spread her legs apart and started moving back and forth using her hips. It was the cutest thing EVER. She even started lifting each leg up and down while swinging her hips. After the dance was over I quickly rewound the clip and showed it again.. sure enough Mia did it again with the little kids on the TV.

So of course I ran and grabbed my camera and rewound it, yet again, and was able to capture it. Though the video doesn't show her doing it as well as the first two times you still can get the picture.

Ever since then, when she hears music she swings her hips, haha I think I got a natural born dancer on my hands... she sure didn't get that from her Daddy or Mama!haha

Mia doing the Funky Penguin 6-2-09