Today was a very special day for Mia and I. We went out, just the two of us, to Temecula. I have not taken her out since BEFORE I got pregnant with Alex back in January of this year! Since she is so heavy I wasn't able to pick her up due to risking the pregnancy. So its been a loooong loooong time and long over due. So I was really looking forward to today.
Since Alex has been having all these photo shoots done left and right, I felt Mia should have her picture taken too. I wasn't sure how she would be since the Halloween photo shoot didn't go as well as I would have hoped, and shes in that difficult stage but I thought I would chance it anyways. I mean what could I lose, since Sears was offering a free photo collage and free sitting fee anyway.
So this morning I scheduled the appointment for later in the afternoon. Then I gave her bath before breakfast in hopes of taming her wild hair! It didn't work... she was still all poofy headed by the afternoon. I also decided to skip her nap so we could get back early. So once Adrian was up for the day and Alex was fed I got Mia ready to go. I attempted again to fix her hair and for the first time ever even put hair spray in her hair... it held it together alright but by the time we were in the car she messed it all up again by throwing her blanket on her head... sigh... ah well. I also packed TONS of "prizes" and her favorite snacks are bribery foods if I needed it.... (I am so glad I did!) before we left.
Once it was time to go I packed up Mia in the car and off we went, just to two of us. We had so much fun, singing songs together and talking. Once we got to Sears I took her off the car and put her in her stroller and off we went. We checked in and they took us back right away.
I quickly dressed her in her holiday dress (a cute hand me down from her Cousin Brianna) and she got excited that she was wearing her "Snow Princess" dress (she calls it that). Then the photographer had her stand on this little "X" they had on the ground and surprisingly she listened. It did take some coaxing to get her to look at the camera but she did so good. They took TONS of pictures, with tons of poses and she did really well. They had her stand up, lay down, sit, sit in a chair and on a sleigh and hold a red flower haha. I did have to bribe her with "gummies" infact TWO packs of gummies but she did really well. The whole session took no longer than 10 mins and we were done. I rewarded her with her two packs of gummies and we went shopping for a bit while we waited for the photos to be processed.
I also promised I would take her to see Santa so we found him in the mall. She didn't like him again and clammed up and didn't talk, move, or take her eyes off of him. I then took her to the "Princess Store" aka The Disney Store, again as promised, and she had fun looking at all the toys and princesses. I told her I would reward her good behavior at the photo shoot with a toy so she picked out a fork and spoon princess set. It was only $5 so I bought it for her and off we went back to Sears to review the pictures.
Once we got there I gave her a dried pineapple and the photographer and I reviewed the pictures. They ALL came out SOOOO CUTE!! I had such a hard time picking what I wanted. I had a $30 budget so I just barely made it under that. I ended up coming away with 3 8x 10s and a free collage. Mia got a bit antsy while waiting for me to finish so I told her I would give her another prize if she was good. That settled her down and when we were done I gave her a little Fairy Pig (I had found earlier in her closet) it was "new to her" so she was all excited and happy with it. I then paid for our pictures and off we went to the car.
I put her back in the car and she got mad that I didn't take her to see Santa. I explained that I already did but she was still little upset. I loaded her back in the car and off we went back home. We chatted a bit then she knocked out in the car.
It was so much fun being with her, we really bonded and had lots of fun together. I can't wait to take her out again and I can't wait to post the preview pictures from Sears once they are available!!!
