Don't Mess With Mia's Elmo Balloon!!!!

Current mood: amused

We all learned a valuable lesson today.... Don't mess with something that Mia really likes!

Today, Adrian, Mia and myself went to Cardenas to pick up some food. They have the cheapest, best tasting produce there AND make great fresh Jugo's de Agua! Yum Yum!!!

Mia did good in the store until she noticed some balloons that were near the bakery section. She quickly reached out for them and was getting alittle upset because I wouldn't give them to her. I quickly told Adrian we needed to get out of that section ASAP! So we zoomed off with her in the cart before she could make a big scene.

After we got all that we needed we got in line. Right away Mia noticed ALL the balloons floating next to the registers. Uh-oh! There was no escape this time. All the lines were LONG and every cashier had tons of floating balloons!!! What to do?! Well Daddy decided that since she was such a good girl in the store he would reward her with a balloon. We found a mylar balloon with a picture of Elmo on it and she lit right up when we handed it to her. She quickly claimed the balloon and wouldn't let either of us hold it.

She played and played with the balloon all while we were in line. Then it was our turn to pay for our food. The balloon was the last thing that needed to be scanned. We weren't sure how she would react when we had to take the balloon away from her to get scanned but what happened shocked us both!!!

Adrian took the balloon away from Mia and handed it to the cashier to scan it. Instantly Mia got this look on her face that we never seen before! It was pure ANGER! and RAGE! She did NOT like that cashier lady holding HER Elmo balloon. She clinched her fists tight and actually started shaking!! She gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound as she stared at the lady in such a way that if she had magical powers I am sure the cashier would have burst into flame! Then the cashier couldn't get the balloon to scan right! She tried and tried while Adrian and I started to get nervous. Mia was NOT happy about the delay and wanted her balloon back NOW! By this time the cashier noticed the Angry/Furious Mia, and gave her back the balloon and scanned another balloon nearby instead. Once Mia had her balloon back in her tiny hand she was happy again. I was shocked I have NEVER seen her react like that before to anything. So of course I took the balloon away from her again to see what she would do and sure enough she did it again!!! Thats when I knew not to mess around with her Elmo Balloon!

She held the balloon all the way home and refused to let it go, even in the car. At the house she contiuned to make faces and shake if we even touched her balloon. It was kind of intimidating!! haha

Well I know now for sure, never mess with Mia's Elmo Balloon!!!!

Week 81! and another fun Grandpa Visit

Current mood: tired

Wow talk about a busy busy BUSY week this past week was. It was so extremely busy I didn't have any time to write little blogs all week, yet I have so much to write about!! So instead of making this a massive GIGANTIC blog I have decided to break it up a bit. This blog will be a short review of the week and my next blog will be in more details about the fun stuff that happened. (**Update** I just finished writing this blog and turns out I just wrote about everything anyway... so be prepared! Grab some water maybe a cookie and use the restroom because its going to be awhile haha)

This week was a HUGE week for us. Adrian and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary in LAS VEGAS!!!! Granted our real anniversary was back in Oct. we could not break away until now. What makes this a huge event was the fact it would mark the very first time that I would be away from Mia longer than a 12 hour period!! Thats right, up until then I had no been seperated from Mia longer than half a day. So needless to say it was a bit hard to break away but knowing she was in such good hands helped. Plus I was excited to spend some much needed quality time with my hubby.

So we asked Mia's Grandpa and Grandma Pizano to come down and watch her for us. Unfortunately Grandma couldn't come since she had work but Grandpa was here in a flash. He came up Saturday and didn't leave until today!! (Friday)

Mia and her Grandpa had a blast getting to know each other again and had so much fun together. The whole time she got treated like a royal princess. She warmed up to my Dad right away and soon she was stuck to him like glue. She demanded he always hold her and carry her around, and Grandpa loved doing it.

Mia even got to open some Christmas presents from her Ordonez/Pizano family members that were brought up by her Grandpa. Shes just like her Mama, she LOVES opening presents.

Well anyway, we left Sunday afternoon and came home Tuesday evening. I missed Mia so much! All we talked about was her while we were in Vegas. I kept calling to check up on her so much that Adrian made me stop. Every phone call home I could hear what a good time she was having. At one point I even got to talk to her on the phone and that warmed my heart. It was pretty strange at first for Adrian and myself, walking around without lugging around a stroller or making sure Mia was happy and content at all times in the car... but it was a nice vacation/breather for us. Our trip in Vegas was wonderful and very relaxing. We reserved a Grand Suite at Mandalay Bay and it was stunning! I am sure I will have an upcoming blog all about that... till then its back to Mia.

While we were gone, Mia and Grandpa really bonded. He made all her meals and became a pro at entertaining her. He said they chased each other around, played in her tent and box house, read books, watched Elmo and the 3 stooges together, shared pairs and apples and just had a blast together. She even said a new word we had not heard her say before.. "Dance!" My Dad said that she was dancing to music and when he said "Dance Dance Dance" she turns to him and said as clear as a bell "Dance". What a cutiepie. Again, Mia got the royal treatment. He even rocked her to sleep every nap/bedtime! He would sing to her too! However, everytime he sang "Twinkle Twinkle" to her she would run over and pinch his stomach for some reason! lol Just that song too! Her favorite song was definately the "Wicked Witch" song from The Wizard of Oz! She would dance and dance to that song.

The whole time we were gone she was on her best behavior. The only two times she threw alittle fuss was, first, when the mouse to the computer died and Grandpa couldn't get her show on! Mia got MAD and Grandpa began to get anxious, luckily though he took some old batteries out of an older remote and got it to work again. Phew!!! The second time was when she was playing quietly in her tent. Out of no where she starts to fuss and cry. My Dad thought maybe she hurt herself somehow. He called her out and when she emerged her was pulling at the back of her diaper... yep she went poopies and she didn't like that she went in her tent!!! haha Those were pretty much the only times she was not happy. The rest of the visit was loaded with lots of fun and games.

Like I mentioned before, we got home late on Tuesday. Mia was just about to eat dinner when we pulled up. I ran into the house as fast as I could and ran right to her. She was excited and happy to see her Dada and myself again. Thats when the whinyness and fussiness starts up again. She started refusing to eat her dinner and was fussing. My Dad said it was the first time she had acted like that the entire time! I guess she is a bit spoiled by her Mama and Dada! haha We later gave her the presents we bought her from M&M world and after playing a bit she went to bed.

We had asked my Dad to stay an extra day since Adrian had Wednesday off and we could team up (Adrian and I) and clear out our garage. A project we have been meaning to do forever but can't with Mia running around. So that day was spent cleaning, but Mia and Grandpa stayed inside and played some more. He even took her to the park across the street and Mia got to show off what a big girl she is now by climbing all over the jungle gym all by herself!

Then Thursday came and Grandpa decided to take Mia on a shopping trip to her favorite store, Toys R Us! I let them go by themselves while I stayed home, cleaning more and resting. When they got back Mia was knocked out in her car seat holding a brand new Elmo book. Next to her sat a giant fuzzy Elmo chair that talks!! Talk about spoiled!!! haha Grandpa took her out of the chair and carried her in the house. For the first time EVER Mia stayed asleep! She slept on her Grandpa so happy and content for the next 30mins or so. My Dad said they had a great time in the store. He put her down and she zoomed all over the store while he chased her. So she got lots of excerise! When she finally woke up she was bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to go again. She quickly broke in her Elmo chair (which also spins) and even got dizzy from it while Grandpa pushed her around. Then Mia, myself and Adrian ganged up on my Dad and convinced him to stay one more day! It didn't take much convincing from Mia before he agreed! YAY!!!! So he packed her up again and took her on another shopping trip, this time to Khols and Super Target to get some things he needed. When they got back my Dad and I cooked up some steaks for dinner and Mia ran around playing and kicking back on her new chair that she LOVES! (she wont even use her old chair anymore) Mia later got dinner and off to bed she went. The rest of the night was spent watching a movie, eating popcorn and catching up with my Dad. It was great.

Now we get to today. After spending some more quality time with Mia, Grandpa finally had to said goodbye. It was a sad goodbye but we know we will see him very soon. Grandpa was not the only one we said goodbye too, we also said goodbye to a old family pet... Draco.. aka Beardie. My 5 year old Bearded Dragon that I raised since a tiny baby. Since Mia's birth I had been unable to take care of him the way he needs to be and we have been looking for a new home for him. My Uncle Anthony found out and asked if he could have him. My Uncle LOVES animals so it worked out perfectly for us. So we packed up beardie and off he went for a new life and a new home.

I think Mia sensed that her Grandpa was going to leave because she started to get upset everytime he left the house to pack his car. After he left, we were watching Gabba together on the couch when all of a sudden she jumped up, ran to the family room and started to whine saying "Grandpa... Grandpa" she was actually calling to him and looking for him. She went to the guestroom looking for him then looked outside the window! It broke my heart! I called her back to me and we finishe watching her show. I know she misses her Grandpa, we all do. She still looks for him and every now and then calling to him. She no longer said "Ammm-pa" its more like "Omm..pa" or "Paammpa" its really cute.

Overall the week was been great, so much fun and so many memories. I wanted to make this blog a short summary but meh.. you know how that goes. I just wanted to highlight some of the cute stuff that happened. I am sure there are some stories I missed and hopefully I will remember later and jot them down. Till then I am off to enjoy my little family and to get some rest!

*VIDEO* Mia getting Dizzy on Elmo Chair

Mia got spun alittle to fast on her Elmo Chair... but she loved it!

Big week 80!!!

Current mood: cold

Happy Friday Everyone! Its a cold, rainy day!!! Actually its been a cold raining err... stormy few days! I love this weather though, you get to cuddle up and veg out on the couch.. YAY!!!

Well this week started off rock n' rolling! Yep, we had a small 4.3 earthquake to wake up to. Those are always scary and make you really realize how unprepared we all are when the big one comes! YIKES! Mia slept right through it though, I wonder how she will react to them when shes older? I wonder if she will be a big chicken like her Mama and scream and cry??!?! haha

Earlier in the week, I went outside to water my plants and when I came back in Mia had found Dada's pair and was already working on eating it! I really didn't think she would eat the entire pair but to my shock she did!!! and it was a HUGE pair too!!! I thought it was cute until I realized why eating to much fruit is bad... and boy did Mia remind me that. She had gas the ENTIRE day!!!

Well this weekend was the Charger playoff game so I dressed Mia up in her little Cheerleader outfit! She actually fits in it now and looks so cute!!! After running around a bit we took her out for a bit. Everyone fell in love with her. Too bad the Chargers ended up losing but we still had a great day together as a family cheering them on anyway.

This week I have been going through all my old boxes and totes and reorganizing everything. While doing that I have come across so many things.. some of Mia's old newborn things like diapers and hospital papers. I can't believe shes already a year and half! It really seems just like yesterday she was a tiny newborn. I have also found a few things that I had in my totes that Mia liked! One of them being my old beaded necklace collection from college. I was just about to toss them out when Mia discovered them and fell in love with them. She loves putting them ALL on and running and dancing around the house.

Mia is also finally starting to take her naps and go to bed better. Just like the good ol' days!! I am so happy and really enjoying it since I know it won't last long. She finally goes to bed without crying and fussing. The only bad thing is, she no longer likes me to rock in her rocking chair before bedtime. She just wants me to put her down in her crib so she can go to sleep!!! I miss having our cuddle time before bed but I rather her go to sleep without crying more. Just means I need to cuddle her more during the day!

Thats about it for the week. In a few days will mark a HUGE!!!! milestone. It will be the first time in Mia's little life that we will be apart for entire day!!!! Can you believe it, shes 18 months old and I have never been apart from her more than half a day! Well this weekend (after many delays) Adrian and I are FINALLY going to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary in LAS VEGAS!!!!!! We are so excited to go but still I hate having to leave Mia. We are leaving Sunday and coming back Tuesday! Her Grandpa Pizano is coming down to watch her for us so she doesn't have to leave her house. I am anxious about leaving her but I know shes in good hands. I am finally ready to leave her for a day... but it will still be hard! I LOVE MY MIA!!!

Well we will see how this weekend goes. Till then, keep warm, safe and dry!

It's Raining It's Pouring....

WOW! What crazy weather we are having. For living in a place that doesn't see a whole lot of rain we sure have been making up for it the past couple of days. Its been POURING outside, along with thunder showers! Its getting so bad I had to bring my outdoor plants inside before they got washed away!

So needless to say we have been saying inside mostly due to the storms. Usually Mia gets alittle stir crazy being cooked up but she has been pretty good lately. I have been taking advantage of my time and going through some old totes of mine in attempt to free up some space. I came across my old collection of bead necklaces so I decided to give them to Mia. SHE LOVES THEM!!! Oh my goodness! She is constantly wearing them, taking them off and on, and stashing them in her tent! At some points she reminds me of Mr. T with all those chains around her neck! Its very cute though and I don't mind.

Well the storm is supposed to be here the rest of the week. I LOVE the rain! Its to relaxing to me and I enjoy cuddling up with Mia on the couch to keep warm. Bring on the rain!!!

Status Update

cuddling on the couch with my little munchkin, reading a book together and listening to the rain outside....life is good =)

Rootin' for the Chargers!

Current mood: full

We don't follow football as close as we used to when we had TV, but today was special. The San Diego Chargers were in the playoffs and Mia had to break in her new Charger Cheerleading Uniform!

So I busted out her Cheerleader uniform and dressed her up. The last time I had her in the uniform (6 months ago) the skirt came all the way down to the middle of her shins... now it fits perfectly!!! She really looked like a little cheerleader just like her Mama used to be!

She played with my old HS Cheerleading Pom Poms which happened to also be Charger colors (blue and gold) and ran around the house having fun. We watched the Charger game for a bit (thanks for a pirated internet stream) until halftime then we went off to BestBuy. (Daddy had to return something) We wanted to go show her off.

She went nuts in BestBuy running through all the isles full blast and running away from us whenever we tried to catch her. Eventually she came across two yellow and blue balloons. We let her play with them for a bit while we checked out their cameras... BAD IDEA!!!! Once we left the camera section she got all upset. The balloons were tied to the display so we couldn't take them with us. She demanded Daddy put her down and once he did, she ran as fast as she could around the corner and back to the area with the balloons!! Then she started to whine. We didn't pick up on it at first that she wanted the balloons so when Adrian picked her back up she threw a fit. He put her back down and sure enough she ran around the corner again back to the balloons. Thats when we realized what she wanted... so Daddy broke the string off the display and gave her the balloons. Her eyes lit up and she was so happy.

She carried those balloons all around the store. After getting a few "oohs and ahhhs" on how cute she looked in her uniform we paid for our stuff and headed off to dinner at Red Robin next door.

It started to rain so we had to rush in. Right away we were greated by the waitress who was dressed in a Charger jersey. She immediatly complimented Mia on how cute she looked and gave us a table. That waitress so was nice to us and even brought Mia an extra juice even though we just ordered her water.

The game was playing in the restaurant so we still got to watch the game. Unfortunately the Chargers ended up losing. Ah well..... Mia didn't mind though she was happy with her balloons from BestBuy that she refused to let go even as she ate. Once our meals were done we went back home. On the way back to the car it started raining harder so I had to hold Mia's balloons. She got MAD!!! and started screaming. I quickly had to give them back to her once she was buckled up in the car.

Once we got home she ran all around the houes with her balloons and refused to let them go. Infact we have been home over an hour and she is still holding on to them while she is laying on the couch.

Its too bad that the Chargers couldn't win but it was still fun to root them on for the day. Gooooo! Cheerleader Mia!!!!

*VIDEO* Mia in playing in the box 1-16-10

What a wacky start to the day

Current mood: exhausted

If waking up to a 4.3 earthquake this morning at 4am wasn't enough, it sure didn't help that after getting Mia up for the day we saw something horrible outside in the front yard. A little orange cat (the neighbors cat) was chasing and maiming a tiny helpless little bird. Mia decided then she would try out a new word and said "Birdie!" I was shocked. I got her to say it a couple more times before she decided to stop. I couldn't figure out how she knew that word without me even saying it... then I remembered. One of her favorite toys she got from her Nina and Nino for Christmas was a tiny light up/singing bird we call "Birdie". She loves this toy and often times takes it to bed with her. She knows what it is, all you have to say is "find your birdie... wheres your birdie?" and she will find it and carry it with her. So now we can add "Birdie/Bird" to her vocabulary list.

Later, I gave her a banana to munch on. She was havin a good ol' time chowing down and playing with her toys. Then she got behind me and started playing with my hair. I couldn't see her and thought maybe she was running her hands through my hair (thats what it felt like). I didn't mind... then something urged me to look over my shoulder and I am glad I did! Mia was not running her hands through my hair, but instead running her banana through my hair!! YUCK!!! My hair was being brushed by a sticky, nasty banana!!! Sigh.. Mia!!!

The rest of the morning was pretty good. I was very sleepy and didn't have much energy to chase her around so I put on some Gabba for her to watch. While she was zombafied I took the opprotunity to put some of my plants from my indoor garden outside to get some sunshine. I didn't think she noticed I stepped away for a few seconds but she did!! When I came back inside she was sitting all innocent on the family room cough holding a big fat pair! "Where did you get that?!" I wondered.. then I remembered. Adrian had brought the pair home from work since he didn't eat it and left it on the table. Mia, of course, waited until I was out of the room, got up and snatched the pair for herself. She seemed really excited with the pair so I didn't take it from her. I didn't think she would eat much of it since she loves to waste food. I was wrong.. she actually ate the WHOLE pair!! And that sucker was BIG too!!! I was shocked! She was all content and after finishing the massive pair she played some more until Dada got up.

Now its alittle after noon and Mia and Adrian are napping. I am going to go nap myself, I just wanted to share those little stories before I did. Hmm... I wonder what other weird stuff is in store for us today????

Status Update

today is going to be an interesting day... its not even 10am yet and already I have been forced awake by a 4.3 earthquake at 4am this morning, watched the neighbor cat kill a bird outside our house while Mia says "birdie..birdie" and then she decides to put Banana in my hair... I wonder what the rest of the day will hold for me

Week 79!

Current mood: content

Happy Friday Everyone!!!! I have Mia zombafied in front of the TV watching her Elmo, so I think I will be able to write her weekly review blog now.

The horrible "Cardoso Family Cold" has finally let up. We are not longer "sick" but we still have small signs that we were sick. Mostly with the congestion and coughing. Each day is getting better and better though, and we are much better than last week! YAY!

So to celebrate our wellness we decided to take Mia to the Temecula Duck Pond to run around this past weekend. It so happened that it marked the 1 year anniversary that we took her there for the first time. (The Duck Pond is very special place for us and holds alot of significance for us) So taking her there, as always, was lots of fun and special. She ran all over the grass, tried to shake trees, and of course tried to run into the street.

Mia also shocked me this week by eating a new forbidden snack! Yes, I caught her with the cat bowl and munching out on cat food!!!! YUUUUUCK! I know I know!!! She liked it too!! and was not to happy when I took it from her. I now have to keep a closer eye on her.. even more than I already do!

Mia also hit a HUGE milestone this week.... she officially turned a year and a half!!!! Thats right, my little one is now 18 months old!! I can't believe how fast time has flown by! I am so proud of her though, she is growing up to be a very beautiful, smart and fun little girl!

Daddy took her to the park to play and so did I. The weather was nice for awhile so we took full advantage of that. When I took her to the park, it wasn't planned but she made me haha, I was so surprised by the fact that she is so independent at the playground now. She can climb up the jungle gym, play all by herself up there, and get back down by herself without any help!! I said it before and I will say it again, my little girl is growing up too fast!!!

I also took her down to see the Emu down the road a bit. It was a nice walk for us and she seemed to really enjoy looking at all the animals. They had a llama, Emu, Ducks, Pig, chickens and goats! We even saw a spotted ground Owl with a ground squirrel!! We had lots of fun and I wanted to take her back again but the weather has become really cold and chilly again... so maybe another time when the weather warms up a bit.

Thats about it for the week... well at least of what I can think of at the top of my head. Overall its been fun and I am glad we are all finally feeling better and have recovered from that horrible cold. Its supposed to be really stormy this weekend so I don't think that we will be going out to much (I would HATE to have us all relapse after finally kicking this cold) but we can still have fun cuddling at home with the warm fireplace going. I am looking forward to that!!! See you next time!

An Unexpected Trip to the Park

Current mood: happy

We had really nice weather today. The sun was shining and it was a very cool nice day. So this morning, I decided to take Mia with me to Lowe's to buy some totes and some plant stuff I needed for my indoor garden.

While at Lowe's I put her in one of those giant "car" baskets. The ones with the steering wheels and that are shaped like a racing car. She loves those carts but they are horrible to manuver around the store. Needless to say I knocked a few things off the shelves here and there, and accidentally rammed her into some displays a few times. She didn't mind though, and was on her best behavior. She really enjoyed our little shopping trip together. She played with the pots I bought and jibber jabbered like crazy all around the store. She especially liked the garden department and pointed at all the different plants around her.

After our little shopping trip was over, we went back home. I decided to take Mia out in the front yard with me to water my strawberry, tomato, and Pomagranet plants. I thought some more fresh air would do her good and it was so pretty out.... BIG MISTAKE!!!

I thought she would have fun just watching me water the plants, since she liked watching me water our Christmas Tree when we had it... WRONG..., once she saw the dirt get wet she dove right in and started picking up clumps and throwing it all over the ground and rubbing the excess wet dirt on her shirt!!! NOOOO!!!! Sigh... So I quickly tried to distract her away from my potted plants and put her near the drive way. BAD IDEA!!!...

She took off towards the park! I quickly grabbed her hand and she practically led me to the park. I wasn't planning on going to the park since I was tired, hungry and it was close to Mia's nap time, but she got her way anyways.

While at the park, I let her run around and explore. She eventually made her way to the jungle gym and dirt. She played in the dirt for awhile and then decided to play on the jungle gym. To my amazement (since it has been awhile since "I" took her to the park) she climbed up the steps all by herself and didn't even need me to get back down or play up top! I was below making sure she wouldn't fall off but she never even came close. She played in the little plastic tunnel tube and loved hiding from me in there. She walked all around uptop and I just stood there below amazed on how big my little girl is now. She no longer needs Mama to hold her hand to play up top, she is big enough to do it all by herself now. It was a bitter sweet moment for me but I enjoyed watching her have fun. She explored and played and when she was done she made it down all by herself without any help from me!!! I was so proud of her! I let her play in the dirt some more before I finally told her it was time to go home. I then carried her home and fixed her lunch and off to bed she went for a nap.

The park adventure wasn't planned, and it was a sort of spur of the moment thing, but I am glad we went. It really gave me a chance to see what a big girl she is becoming. I am so proud of my little munchkin! I can't wait to see what other adventures are headed our way.

A short video of Mia repeating words back to me

A short video of Mia repeating words back to me. Kitty, Shoes, Dada, Mama, Agua....

It is EXTREMELY rare to get Mia to say words anymore, especially on command. She really has to be in the mood for it. So when she decided to repeat words, I quickly grabbed the camera to capture it. The video quality is bad due to poor lighting (couldn't help that, our livingroom is always that dark at night) but you can hear her very well.

A trip to the Emu Farm and a Weird Sighting!

Current mood: adventurous
Mia had a bad night last night. Not sure what was going on but around 5am she started waking up over and over again crying her little eyes out. Adrian and I took turns in trying to comfort her but we couldn't figure out what was wrong. She never fell back asleep soundly the rest of the night, so I got her out of bed a little after 8am.

We started our day as usual. She seemed to perk up a bit after breakfast. It was still pretty early and the weather seemed pretty nice, so I decided to give her a little treat and take her out on a walk. I wanted to take her down the road a bit to the Emu farm. (Yes we live in a pretty rural area). I call it the Emu farm but in actuality its someone's backyard! They own a few acres and they have Emu, goats, chickens, Llamas, etc. running around. It is all fenced in by a chain linked fence and the animals usually walk right up to you. I haven't taken her there since May so I thought she would really enjoy it.

So I got ourselves dressed and ready and off on our little adventure we went. She didn't care much for being pushed around in her stroller but she kept quiet. Eventually we made it to the farm. The first thing we saw was a giant black Llama! It walked right up to her and Mia got a huge kick out of this. She pointed at it and laughed and giggled. Eventually it walked away and Mia got mad, so I took her further down to see the Emu.

There is a makeshift pond there and inside were two ducks, a mallard and his girlfriend haha. On the bank of the pond there was a big fat black pig playing in the mud and next to the pig was a giant Emu! Mia liked watching the animals and became really excited when the Emu walked up to the fence. She chatted with it for a bit and seemed to enjoy herself. Then it was time to go.

I was pushing her along when I noticed something extremely strange. In the middle of the farm, sitting right on the dirt was a big owl!!! It was just sitting there, motionless for the most part but every now and then it would turn its head to look around. I thought it was strange to see an owl sitting there, especially in the wide open and in the day time! (there were no trees around). Then I noticed something even more amazing than that... I kid you not, no more than 3 feet from the owl sat a little brown ground squirrel. He was just sitting there, he wasn't scared of the owl and the owl didn't seem to care that he was there at all!!! I watched them for a short while, then busted out my camera and took a picture. Unfortunately the picture didn't come out to great since I had to take it through the fence and zoom far up so it wasn't that great. I still thought it was a pretty weird site to see and I am glad Mia and I got to share that together.

We later left and walked back home. It was a nice little adventure for us, I think I may take her back tomorrow... we will see

Daddy takes Mia to the Park

Adrian wanted to treat Mia to the park for her 18 month mark. So after her nap and lunch, I got Mia dressed and ready to go. I said my goodbyes and watched them walk across the street to the neighborhood park, holding hands.

They both had tons of fun. Mia ran all over the place picking up leaves, sliding down the slide, and having fun. However, her favorite thing to do was play in the dirt! She loves to pick it up and watch it fall to the ground, examine it and even eat some too!!!

After making a big mess of herself and running around a bit more it was time to go home. Before they went home I just happened to drive by in my car on my way to Walgreens and I spotted them. It was a such a cute sight to watch Daddy and Daughter playing at the playground together (she was in the dirt haha).

I wanted to post alittle something about their adventure mainly so I could show some cute pictures Adrian took of the camera... enjoy!

Mia is officially 1.5 years old!!!

Current mood: happy

Thats right! My little Mia girl has reached a milestone! She is officially a year and a half aka 18 months old!!! Wow, and it seems just like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. I can't believe how time flies by. I am so glad I have been keeping up with these blogs because it is so much fun to go back and read/remember all the things she used to do and how she was. My favorite thing to do is to go back 1 year ago from that day. For example, a year ago today she was 6 months old! I even have her picture posted and she looks so small. My little girl... growing up so fast.

I guess I should get started on the month in review. These blogs always end up being a mile long no matter how much I try to shorten it. I think I need to find a new way of reviewing the month so the blog doesn't become so Gi-normous!!!

She now has a new favorite song. Its "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". She loves it whenever someone sings it to her and she even claps when you are done. Her ultimate favorite version is definately The Wiggles. Whenever we set up YouTube so she can watch it, she goes completely nuts and smiles, dances, and claps. Its really cute.

She is becoming more adventurous with foods she eats. She is always hanging around the table whenever we are eating and wants a piece of whatever we are munching on. She likes Pomagranets and Jack Cheese. I finally figured out why she didn't like her grilled cheeses anymore and it turns out it is because she doesn't like sandwhich cheese (just like her Mama) once I started to use Jack she devoured them like nothing.

The holidays hit this month. We went as a family to buy our tree and she had a blast running through the tree lot. She loves touching all the trees and trying pull off the needles. She took her annual picture with Santa and though she didn't smile, she didn't cry either. I think the picture came out pretty cute and we have it framed on the fireplace mantal. Christmas was also a blast but consisted of TONS of traveling. We spent the day before Christmas Eve with her Grandparents (Pizano) in Oxnard, Christmas Eve with her Nino and Nina and cousins in Oxnard, Christmas morning at home with her Mama and Dada, Christmas Afternoon with her Great Grandma Estrada (in San Diego) and Christmas Night at her Grandparents (Santos) in San Diego. Phew!!! She was showered with tons of presents and we all had a great time.

While in Oxnard she got to meet her newest cousin Sophia!!! We were curious on how she would react to seeing a new baby newborn but she was more interested in playing with toys and watching her shows on TV ... ah well haha

Also she has mastered the art of climbing out of her pack and play. She did her first escape at her Grandparents house (Pizano) and since then we had officially retired her pack and play. She only climbed out of her crib once but hasn't done it again since we removed her bumpers. Also, since this happened nap and bedtime have been awful. She no longer goes down quietly, she ALWAYS blows up and cries her little eyes out EVERYTIME! If you stay in the room with her she will be ok but as soon as you make any effort in getting up and leaving she will blow up!! Its been a battle and it seems like we are the ones losing! I miss how she used to take naps so easily.

She also has learned how to feed herself with a fork!!! She has been using a spoon for sometime and finally graduated to the fork. She wants to stab everything with the fork now and has become pretty good with it. She even recieved her very first toddler fork set from Santa this year and she loves them.

She voices her opinion alot more now. Her new favorite word is "No" she is always saying "No-no" and shaking her head. Whenever you ask her to do something or ask her a question its always "No-no". If you do something she doesn't want you to do (like sing) its "No-no" Everything is "No-no" If her show ends its "No-no" and if shes really mad its "Nooooooooo!!!" Once I started playing some rave music for her and she was having a good time dancing, however, when the song ended she ran to the TV saying "Nooooooooooo" until I put it back on, then she would dance some more.

Another thing she does, is she started learning how to run away from us. When she has a dirty diaper and you ask her to come with you to change it she quickly runs away from you and dives into her Elmo Tent to hide. Its actually pretty funny to watch.. especially when she dives in the tent. She literally dives in like Superman! Her feet and legs are stretched out and stiff and she flys in! That little tent is like a safe haven for her. I allow her to feel that and never pull her back out. I instead call to her and coax her out. I feel its good for her to have her own little space to hide in and to call her own.

I have also taught her the sigh for "Potty" and just recently has she been signing back. If I see her going poopies I sign to her "potty" and if she went she will actually sign back. If she didn't she won't. Sometimes if you catch her right after she "finishes doing her business" and you sign to her and she confirms it she will then run to her changing room and wait for you to change her diaper. What a smart girl!

Since Strawberries are no longer sold in the stores since they are out of season I had to find a new fruit to take its place. I decided to experiement with Oranges and turns out she LOVES them!!! I have to make sure I don't give her to much since it is very acidic but she does love eating them. Every morning she will get her two oranges slices and she goes nuts. No wonder I was so addicted to Oranges when I was pregnant... she really does like them ever since then! haha

She is now my little climbing monster. She climbes on EVERYTHING she can, diaper boxes, chairs, toys, anything and everything. I have to keep a close eye on her even more now because of this. I often find her on top of the highest places!

She is laughing more and more at Cartoons. She now loves to watch Donald Duck and Chip n' Dale. She is always cracking up at them.

She also has a new favorite book. She loves books but always ends up just eating them and chewing them up so we often times have to hide them from her. However, she got this special little book for Christmas that lets you "touch and feel" the animal pictures. Its a pretty big book and she LOVES it!!! It is the only book she will not chew up or eat and she takes it everywhere with her. If she climbs on a box she has to take it with her, if she goes to bed she has to take it with her, if she takes a bath she has to take it with her... you get the picture. She loves her book!!

A not so fun thing also happened this month. Mia got her very first fever and got sick. Infact we ALL got sick! The Cardoso household was literally a hot bed of bacteria! We all got the worst cold ever! and only recently have we finally gotten alot better. We all still have a minor cough but worst of it is finally over.. only took 2 weeks!! UGH!

We also got to celebrate New Years this month. It was definately a unique celebration. We were all sick so we couldn't do much and about 3 mins after Midnight Mia woke up crying her little heart out because she couldn't breathe out of her nose. The rest of the night was spent soothing Mia and trying to get rest.

I caught her eating Mew Mew's Cat food!!! I know!!! What is worse, is she actually liked it! Now I have to feed the cat somewhere where Mia can't find the bowl! haha

Thats about it for the month. I still can't believe my little baby is a year a and half!!! She is growing up so fast. Overall, other than the cold, the month has been good to us, I can't wait to see what next month brings us!!

SUMMARY:

NEW THINGS:
Twinkle Twinkle is her favorite song, likes Pomagranets, met her baby Cousin Sophia, learned to climb out of her pack and play, fell out of her crib even with it lowered, uses a fork to feed herself, first fever, first cough, favorite book is her "Quack Quack" book and she doesn't eat it!!, loves oranges, dives into her tent to hide, signs "Potty" after she goes, favorite word is "No-no" and always says it to everything, climbs on everything including boxes and chairs, ate cat food, loves Donald Duck and baby Einstein

GOALS MET FROM LAST MONTH?:
Actually she has somewhat met some of the goals that were carried over from the previous month, however, some she still refuses to do. She hasn't really said any new words and still refuses to say words on command unless SHE wants to (which is really rare) She has also learned to entertain herself a bit more but it still needs some work. She still doesn't have a huge variety of foods she likes to eat, however, she is trying out new things here and there.


GOALS FOR NEXT MONTH:
Not blow up everytime it is bed or nap time, take daily walks with Mama outside for exercise, eat more new foods and add a new meal to the menu

Status Update

Adrian just got back from taking Mia to the park and I am baking her favorite! Sweet Potato Fries (with a pinch of ginger and cinn.) to celebrate her 18 month mark. Now she took over our TV and is watching her Elmo. I think we spoil her too much sometimes =)

A fun time at the Temecula Duck Pond

I wanted to post some pictures of our time at the Temecula Duck Pond. It was Mia's 1 year anniversary of going there, the first time we went out as a family since we all got sick together, and the first family outing of the new decade!... We all had lots of fun

Mia's secret snack

Current mood: amused

I am about to write something that happened early this morning. I have been debating on whether or not to include this story in Mia's little blog collection but ultimlately decided... why not? Kids will be kids and I am sure one day when shes old enough to read and appreciate these blogs she will laugh and be glad I did. Or maybe not.. either way I did still find it alittle amusing. Here it goes...

She woke up this morning happy and in her normal perky mood. I let her run around and play a bit before breakfast. Thens he discovered the cat. To make Mew Mew more accepting of Mia we make sure shes well fed and fat and happy. So I poured Mew Mew a bowl of cat food and Mia got a kick out of watching her eat it.

I then gave Mia a banana to munch on while I cooked her up a grilled cheese. She ate both.. I then have her some orange and she was set. She didn't act like she was still hungry so we carried on with the morning. We sat in the livingroom and watched her cartoons and shows for awhile.

I then needed to use the restroom. I normally take Mia inside with me so she can become familiar with the whole process since potty training is around the corner for her. However, this time I just wanted some privacy so I closed the door. She was sitting on the couch watching Gabba quietly. It wasn't long before she noticed I was gone and ran over to the bathroom so she could chat with me through the door. I didn't mind chatting with her since I could keep track of what she was doing and make sure she wasn't causing any mischief. Then she suddenly took off. She normally waits for me to come out, but I figured maybe a certain song came on Gabba and she wanted to go watch it. So I finished up and left.

When I came back to the livingroom I found her sitting on the couch watching her Gabba with a paper bowl in her hand and munching on something. She then licked her finger and scraped the bowl and licked her finger again. I stood there puzzled. "Where did you find that bowl?" I couldn't remember ever giving her a bowl and I knew the kitchen table was cleared of any bowls. Then I realized... maybe she got in the trash!!!! I looked at the trash but it was still sealed shut ....then it hit me! "Oh no!!! That better not be!!!!" I ran over and sure enough, she was munching on Mew Mew's CAT FOOD!!! YUCK!!! "MIA!" I grabbed the bowl out of her hand! cleaned her hand off and cleared the couch of all the cat food crumbs that fell. I couldn't believe it!!! I was so grossed out but she seemed to like it!!! and looked at me confused like "Why are you taking away my snackies?!" I then ran and gave her another banana and a bowl of kix to make sure she filled up.

Sigh my little Mia... she likes kitties so much she decided to eat like one!

Week 78

Current mood: busy

ACHOO!!!!COUGH COUGH!!! That has been the theme of this week. Yep, this week the Cardoso family all got sick with the same nasty cold. It was definately no fun.

The week didn't started off completely bad though. Mia started to officially feed herself with her fork and spoon. She can now feed herself egg with a fork, her fruit, and feed herself her Mac and Cheese with her spoon. I am so proud of her, my little one is growing up so fast. Now that I have let her feed herself and she some what has the hang of it, mealtime has been getting a bit better. She doesn't fuss or throw food like she used to and actually has fun trying to get her food onto her fork. If you try to hand her food or put it in her mouth, she will automatically take it out of her mouth or hand, put it back in the bowl then try to stab it with her fork herself. If the food falls off the fork she will put it back in the plate and try again. She is so cute! Actually I just realized something.... she started doing this last week!! I guess I didn't include it in last weeks weekly update. Ah well.. it still deserves to be mentioned.

Well thats about the only good "fun" thing that happened this week. The rest of the week was surrounded by all of us sneezing, blowing our noses, and coughing. She is still slightly congestion, has a runny nose, and coughs ALOT during the night. She now sleeps with the plug in VICKS, a warm mist humidifer, and warm jammies (I put on VICKS vapor rub on her as well) That seems to settle her night time cough but she still has it. She has a hard time sleeping since her congestion is at its worst at night too. Poor baby, I can't wait until we can finally put all of this behind us.

Adrian and I have recovered alot better from our colds as well. We pretty much just have slight congetion and the annoying cough. We are hoping that by next week we all will be better and we can put this awful cold behind us.

This was also a pretty big week. We celebrated New Years!!! Though 2010 didn't start off to well health wise for us, we have some pretty big hopes for the upcoming year. I have a good feeling about this year and so far (other than the carried over 2009 cold) we are doing really good. I even recieved some unexpected checks from Unemployment!!! YAY! so I can help pay off some bills.

Overall this week, we haven't done much as a family.. as in going out. Infact since I came down with my cold I haven't left the house. Adrian and Mia caught their colds at the same time about 3 days before I did so they were getting better, faster than me. With that being said, Adrian has really helped out with taking care of Mia. They even went to Frys together just the two of them. That was no picinic for Daddy!!! She was EVERYWHERE and even threw her first big scene at the store! Poor Adrian when they finally got home he was so tired from chasing her and getting her out of trouble. Sigh.. little Mia.. she is definately an active little trouble making toddler now haha!

We also got 1 visitor this week. No it wasn't a friend or family member.. but a Praying Mantis!! haha I thought it was neat, especially after learning that they are a symbol of patience and that was the one thing I really needed this week... being sick and taking care of a sick family. Things are on the up and up now and we all are feeling better.. YAY!

Thats pretty much how the week went. Hopefully I will have more exciting stories to share next week. I hope we will all be 100% over this germ invasion soon. Till then I am going to get some much needed rest while the little one is napping.

The Cardoso Family Cold: Update

Current mood: sick

Its been a week and day since the dreaded cold germs invaded our home and bodies. We are finally all on the mend... THANK GOODNESS!!

Adrian is much better. His voice is back to normal pretty much, his congestion is very little, however he still has a cough. He has been sleeping in the spare room since his cold began (due to his monstrous snoring) and only recently came back to our bed. His snoring is so much better now and barely audible, however, its still slightly there. So needless to say he isn't 100% yet. He hasn't driven into work all week and has been fortunate enough to work from home. Tonight will be his first day back to work, physically. I think hes ready, his energy level has been alot better lately.

Mia is also doing much better. Last night I went in her room to check on her before I went to sleep and it was the first night she wasn't snoring. Her breathing has gotten so much better now. Though she still has some congestion. Her boogies have finally gone back to clear and her nose is finally draining more consistently. Adrian gave her a bath last night to help drain her nose and it really helped. She is back to her perky self and is less and less whiney and fussy. You can still hear her congestion in her nose but it has been improving slowly. I still put VICKS on her every night to help. Luckily she has not developed a cough.. hopefully she won't.

Last but not least... Me. I am finally getting better. I believe the worst is behind me now. My congestion is still there but not as bad as it has been. My nose no longer gets plugged on both sides and I am also able to blow my nose easier now. The need to blow my nose has lessened as well. Though my voice was horrid yesterday, it is finally getting alittle bit better. I no longer sound like a 90 year old smoker! haha The body aches have been gone and for two nights in a row I have been able to sleep better. There still needs to be some improvement on that but its better. The only thing that is really bad right now is my cough. I have also developed a cough like Adrian, however, mine is more hacking and gagging. Its borderline dry heaving. Its a dry cough and hurts really bad when I do. The throat tickle is non-stop. I often wake up in the middle of the night with it and it drives me nuts because I have to cough and cough... and cough. HALLS has been my new best friend despite the fact they do get me queasy. My throat has also gotten alot better, however, with the non stop coughing it does still get sore from that.

Thats the lately on our little sickly household. I am glad everyone is finally getting better. I am hoping that we will be back to normal... err... somewhat normal by the weekend so we can go out as a family and all get some much needed fresh air. I have to admit though, this was definitely one of the worst and longest lasting colds I have ever experienced and its been horrible. Adrian has been a trooper through all of this and I am so glad and amazed that he is not like most men who whine and cry about every little symptom. He has helped me so much despite how he felt to make sure I was ok and getting better. I am so lucky to have him.

The Praying Mantis Visit

Current mood: inspired

This cold has been one of the worst ones I have ever experienced!!! It is kicking my butt BAD! I have only had 6 hours of broken sleep in the past two days, my throat keeps hurting so bad I can't swallow, both my ears ache, my nose gets so congested I can't breathe out of it, my body aches and I just feel crummy to say the least. Plus to top it all off, as if it couldn't possibly get any worse, but I just started my period! I know I know TMI but still, with that comes feeling even worse. I feel like throwing up now, my stomach is cramping and my head hurts!!! This is getting out of control!!!

Anyway, this morning Mia woke up in one of her bad moods again. Nothing was making her happy and she was screaming and fussing every two seconds. Sometimes for no good reason at all. Her nose is draining alot today and she is still sick, which is what I think is the main reason for making her moody. This morning was definately a struggle of patience for me. She started doing things that really aggravate me like messing with the TV (turning it off and on, making turn to static), eating paper she finds, and just other things. I kept finding myself saying NO STOP THAT! DONT EAT THAT! DONT TOUCH! every two seconds. Of course she would blow up in an ear piercing scream when I would take it away from her, stop her, or smack her hand telling her no.

It was finally getting really bad. My patience level was nearly gone, I was still feeling very sick from everything, and I just had it. I was getting very close to losing my patience with her and it took every ounce of strength in me to remain calm. Then something caught my attention right in the middle of the battle. Something on the sliding door screen. I looked closer and sure enough it was a Praying Mantis. I have seen maybe 1 or 2 since we moved here, and its a very rare thing to see. I quickly grabbed the camera and took a picture of it. It was just hanging out there. I then picked up Mia to show her and she seemed to like it for a little while. Of course when I put her back down she blew up again. I soon put her to bed after that.

Then I became curious. I wondered if seeing a Praying Mantis meant anything. I am not a heavy believer in the mystical and or symbolism but sometimes I like to just have fun with it and entertain myself with the meanings of certain things. So I looked it up on the internet and sure enough... seeing a Praying Mantis does symbolize something. What is the meaning? Patience is the number one thing. Infact a website said it most when it described:

"When it appears in your life it is asking you to direct your energy, your thoughts, your actions in a different way. Asking the following questions can give you the necessary insight to help motivate appropriate changes. Have I lost patience in a particular situation? ..............."

BINGO! According to this interpretation, I was losing my patience with Mia and I need to redirect my energy. WOW. I read that stunned and intrigued. Again, I am not a heavy believer in all of that stuff but still it did make me stop and reevaluate my patience level and situation. I am more calm down and ready for whatever Little Monster Mia has in store for me the rest of the day. I feel calm and collected and refreshed... and for that I have to thank the little Praying Mantis for their quiet little visit to our home.

Mia's adventure with her Daddy at Frys

Current mood: amused

Since Mia and Adrian both got sick at the same time, they both are pretty much over the worst part of their colds. Me on the other hand I am so sick!!! Its awful. So to give me some extra rest, Adrian decided to take Mia with him to Frys Electronics in San Marcos (45 mins south of us). Of course I jumped at the chance to rest in a quiet house.

So I got Mia all dressed and ready to go. She was all excited to finally leave the house after being quarantined for almost a week because of her cold. So sporting her new white shoes she got from Grandpa and Grandma Pizano, she was out the door with her Daddy.

I rested a bit here at the house as my cold symptoms started to get worst. I wanted to try to straighten up the house a little bit since its been on the decline since I got sick but I only managed to clear off our kitchen table. The rest of the time was spent just surfing the internet and resting.

They were gone for a couple of hours and didn't get back till dark. When I finally heard the garage door open, I greeted them at the door. Adrian carried in Mia and I greeted her. Right away she wanted to get down and run all over the place. Adrian unloaded the car and looked completely pooped!!! He couldn't believe what a little Monster Mia has turned into!!! Right away he said "I don't think I am ever going to take her back to Frys again! It was horrible!" I couldn't wait to hear the impending story and afterward I thought I would share it.

Mia and Adrian used to go to all kinds of stores together, Frys, BestBuy, WinCo etc. They would always have lots of fun and he would even let her run loose sometimes just to burn of some energy. So he thought he could do the same thing today at Frys... boy was he wrong...

Not only did she decide to throw fits in the cart, but she went absolutely nuts in the store. At first Adrian let her run loose in the furniture area. Of course she started getting into ALL the displays and messing up everything. Eventually she ran into the Book Manual area and she just went insane. She LOVES books so you better believe she was in heaven once she saw the big fat books. She started getting into all of them making a big mess. Eventually she found one she liked and started messing it up. Thats when Adrian finally had to take it away from her and boy did that make her angry. She screamed at the top of her lungs and threw the biggest people turning scene ever. Adrian was shocked and embarrassed (her first real store tantrum for him) so he had no choice but to give the book back to her. He later found a more kid friendly book and traded her for the Manual and she agreed. She ran around a bit more and came into the Pen isle. Right away she started destroying all the boxes of Pens and when they started flying Adrian tried to stop her. Of course she wasn't happy about this and started just hitting and throwing all the pens she could out of frustration. Adrian quickly picked her up to stop her from making a bigger mess but she still managed to kick them wildly as he held her! haha He eventually moved her on down the isle.. thats when she found a bucket of pens and started getting into that. He had to try to wrestle that away from her as well. Then she ran into the Stereo area where they were blasting some Salsa music. She took a small break from her rampage to stop and dance a bit. She danced right in the middle of the area, spinning and walking around with her stiff legged dance. When the song was over, she went back on her rampage. Eventually Adrian grew tried of chasing her and attempted to put her back in the cart. BAD IDEA!! She blew up again, this time so bad he had to take her back out and carry her. They went to the cashier area to pay for their stuff. The cashier lady was named Leilani too!! When Adrian told her that Leilani was Mia's middle name and why she said she was a "Hawaii" baby too!!! haha He paid for his stuff and Mia waved goodbye to Leilani. Then she decided to wave bye to each and every cashier they passed by on their way out of the store. Everyone thought this was really cute and waved back to her. Adrian loaded Mia into the car and back home they went.

Wow did Adrian really have his hands full today. I guess she really is getting older and becoming more and more of a handful. My little Mia isn't a baby anymore... shes a full fledged toddler now!! Uh-oh... I think we really have our work cut out for us with this one for sure!!!

The Cardoso Sickness: Update

Current mood: sick

Wow what a start to the new year. Everyone in the house is sick... even the cat is sneezing!!! I finally got hit hard with the cold and only today am I even able to really talk pain free (due to the massive sore throat problem I had) but I am constantly blowing junk out of my nose!! EWww ya I know great picture huh? and coughing a bit

Well Mia is doing much better. Each day she gets better and better, the only thing now is her congestion. Poor baby can't blow her nose yet so I am constantly chasing her around with her snot sucker. Only recently has she been letting me suck out those boogies.. but I think its only because she realizes she can breath afterwards. We have her humidifer in her room at night and I rub baby VICKS on her before bedtime. She still gets real congested at night and snores alot but she is waking up less and less from it. Infact last night she only cried a couple of times.. compared to the every hour cry she was doing earlier in the week. She is becoming her active perky self again and is less and less whiney.. YAY! Thats a huge bonus for us!

Adrian (who I believe brought the bug home from the post office) is also doing better. He has finally stopped snoring and is sounding more and more like himself. He does still have his cough and congestion but he is doing ALOT better.

As for me, I am just at the middle part of the cold. I caught it later than both Adrian and Mia so they are a few extra days of recovery ahead of me. I had one of the worst sore throats I have had in years these past few days, however, today it has finally become mild. I am only on 3 hours of sleep due to the congestion in my sinus' and I am constantly blowing my nose. On the bright side of all of this, Adrian has been babying me and I am loving it. He has pretty much taken full charge of the baby and has been letting me get some rest. Hes been spoiling me and making sure I rest. Infact he is at the store right now for the second time, getting me MORE medicine and kleenox! I feel so loved!

Overall we are all on the ment finally... man this plague has been awful I am just glad its almost over!!

Mia is 77 weeks today!

Current mood: sick

Happy Friday and Happy New Years Everyone! Despite the hard week this week has been, I did remember to write Mia's weekly update! Unfortunately, I am really sick now and so I don't think I can write to much.

The week started off fun and full of family celebrations. We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Pizano family, and Christmas with the Cardoso family. She was loaded down with tons of presents and had great time with all her cousins.

The rest of the week wasn't so great for us. Adrian brought home a cold from the post office and gave it to Mia. Both have been extremely sick all week long. I have been running around playing nurse and only today have I finally been over come by the cold. My throat hurts horribly bad and now my nose is starting to run... great.

Poor Mia has really felt horrible. She doesn't eat much, doesn't play much and cries constantly. She even had her first fever! It reached 101 but we got it back down to normal by the next morning. Despite all this horriblness, she did manage to do a first. She fed herself with a fork for the first time. She almost made it through the entire meal of egg! I was so proud of her. She likes feeding herself too, I think its because she feels like a big girl when she does!

Well thats about it. Most of the week has consisted of trying to make Mia feel better and cuddling her. Hopefully next week I will have more happy stories to share.. till then I need to lay down. My head is starting to pound now and my throat is showing no signs of letting up. Sigh... being sicks is awful!

New Years Eve at the Cardoso House

Current mood: sick

Happy 2010 Everyone!!! We finally made it! This is the year of new beginings. A new year, a new decade, new everything! I am really hopeful and excited about this upcoming year, hopefully it will brings us all happiness and joy!

As happy as I am about starting this year year, it hasn't started off to great. Well actually its more like its started off really "out of the ordinary". Ever since I was a really little, I always remember watching the ball drop in times square on TV. It was sort of a family tradition for us growing up. Well as I got older and moved out, I contiuned with that tradition and even included Adrian in it. Well due to financial constrants, we had to get rid of our TV/cable this year errr... last year (2009) to save money. So needless to say, we were not going to be able to watch the ball drop this year. Adrian also had to work but luckily he was able to work from home.

So about a half hour before the New Year was to hit, he came downstairs and attempted to find any web streaming of the event. Unfortunately, since the East Coast celebrates it early... there was NOTHING. Everything was over. He checked all the local new stations, radio stations EVERYTHING! The only thing he was able to come up with was a tiny little feed that was coming from a local station in Las Vegas. Hey its better than nothing right? Well I am not to sure about that. The broadcast was all messed up. You could barely hear the news person on the ground level in Vegas. His mic kept cutting in and out and when you could hear him, all you heard was him arguing with the techinical support people about changing some battery or something. It was actually pretty funny. Then all of a sudden they cut to the circling chopper above. That guy sounded like he was on the phone or something and he didn't know he was on the air. We heard him not only cuss about the Fire Marshall giving him grief about his fly zone and apologizing over and over for spinning the camera around uncontrollably. As the new year crept closer and closer we started to wonder if we would be able to hear any count down at all. Eventually about a 2 mins before midnight they finally got the sound to work for the news man on the street. We were happy... then suddenly the camera cut to this old man. I think he was like the mayor of Vegas or something. He was on the bandstand with his wife and seemed like he was already "partying" pretty hard before his speech. When the mic was given to him all he kept gong on and on about was how bad 2009 was, how bad the recession is and so on. Eventually people behind him started pointing and trying to get his attention. He finally paid attention to them and said "Oh .. ya... 5..4..3.." Adrian and I were shocked! We weren't ready for the count down and by then it was almost over!!! So we quickly hugged and counted down, literally the final couple of seconds! No music played, no one really celebrated but us. We were happy.

We opened up the sparkling cider, poured ourselves some glasses and cut our fudge cake. A little tradition of ours. We toasted, hugged and rang in the new year. Then about 5 mins later just when we sat down Mia woke up miserable and crying. Her congestion has become really bad and unbareable for her. So we decided to get her up and help her. I went upstairs to find her in the corner of her crib unable to breath really well. She stood up and started to cry. I held her for a bit, brought her downstairs, changed her diaper and sucked out all the boogies I could from her nose. I then rubbed some baby VICKS on her, bundled her up and brought her to the livingroom. We wished her a Happy New Years and I cuddled her in my arms for a bit. When it was time to put her back in bed, Adrian came up with me and set up her warm mist humidifer and new a new VICKS plug in for her room. I rocked her for a bit before finally laying her down. She refused to let me leave and wanted me to lay on the floor next to her crib. So I did. I waited for her fall asleep and after an hour of waiting she never did. All she did was toss and turn and make sure I was still there. By this time the floor began to hurt my back and my throat was becoming really sore. I needed some rest so finally I just had to leave her. I asked Adrian to check on her when he could since he was just outside her door working from home at the tech center. I went to bed soon after.

I woke up with one of the worst sore throats ever!!! I have not had it this bad in literally YEARS!!! I am miserable and I can't sleep. Swallowing takes alot of effort and is extremely painful. Ah well... looks like I am finally sick.. BLEH! What a way to start a new year! Ah well. Hopefully today will be good, I hope Mia feels better, Adrian gets better and I get some rest and feel better. Only time will tell. Till then..

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!!!