One small leap for Mia kind...

Our little munchkin is two!  It is quite odd when to consider that Greg and I have been at this parenting thing for two years.  In some ways I feel just as inexperienced as I was when I started, and in other ways I feel a whole new appreciation for the growth we've all experienced throughout this journey.

New parents @ 5 weeks

Sometimes Greg and I have conversations where we say, "Next time, we will do it like this. I don't care if x, y or z happens, it's gonna be this way."  It sort of reminds me of when we were kids (everybody does this, I am sure) and you see your parent do something that you don't like, because of course at that time you cannot see in any way how it might benefit you, even if it's for your discipline or training, and you tell yourself, "I will never do it like that.  When I have kids, I will parent completely differently than my own." I am quite certain stored somewhere in my belongings (or my parents' -- please don't look!) there is a journal entry with a running list dedicated to the things I would never do to my future children.  And I'm sure I had it all figured out perfectly.  *Sigh*  Kids!!

Well, in this case, I honestly would do something differently the next time around, but we are where we are, and now we are dealing with the present and just seeking solutions.  And here's where the one small leap comes in...

3.5 yr old Suri drinking bottle in Katie Holmes' lap
Photo Credit

Mia's 1st bday party,
guzzling the bottle

We have been trying to phase out Mia's bottles for milk.  Looking back, either of us could have tried harder when she was younger, but sometimes change is not convenient, and I didn't see a rush, and Suri Holmes was still drinking out of a bottle so I figured, what's the big deal?  Well, what I didn't realize was that as Mia got older and more independent and more attached to her bottle, it'd be harder to break!

However, our successes have come in this form:

When we are out in public, or riding in the car, Mia will take milk in a cup.  For some reason or another, this does not phase her, and this has been "normal" for quite some time.

When we are at home though, and it's naptime, bed time, or wake-up time, a bottle is always requested and often demanded.  If one tried to pour it in a cup, pointing up at the cabinets would happen, and Mia would desperately cry out "bottle!"

But as nature would have it, these bottles, after enduring much wear & tear, are starting to break down on us.  The silicone nipples have withstood just about enough biting from Mia and are cracking.  In fact, just within the past month I've had to throw several out and we're down to only a few to make it through a couple of days.

Today before naptime, I had given Mia her bottle, and she was laying on the changing table, I noticed a puddle of milk on her chin.
"Uh-oh... buh-il (bottle)," Mia says.
"Uh-oh, is your bottle "broken?" I ask.  Upon a quick examination, I notice there's a small tear in the nipple.
"Yeah."
"Okay, then I think we should go get a cup.  If your bottle's broken, we can drink it in a cup."

I go get a cup of milk for Mia and she keeps saying, "Buh-il bro-en" (bottle broken).  She holds the cup while we read stories, but barely drinks out of it.  I put her down for her nap and a few minutes later, she loudly cries,
"Mommy?  Mommmmmmeeeeee?"
I come into her room.

"What is it Mia?"
[mumbles something unintelligible]
"Pup."
"You want your cup?"
"Yeah" *nods head*

I get the cup and let her drink a bit more and then leave her alone.  Check the monitor a few minutes later, she's snuggled asleep, no whining for more milk or a bottle.

Yay!!

We have a 2 year old!

Mia turns 2 from Megan Ciampa on Vimeo.
Greg & I sing happy birthday (vocal training not required) while Mia eagerly anticipates blowing out the 2 candles!

Happy Easter!

I guess Easter bunnies still come even when you've been sick, thankfully!

On the hunt with Uncle Luke

Mia and I were finally able to venture out today after a week of total crud-like feelings, while poor Greg, who muscled through it for our sake earlier in the week, was struck by the same beast late Saturday.  He's currently conked out on the bed.

"Distant" cousins, Molly & Mia,
both modeling "Millie's Bows"

better shot of babes, not of mamas
(Kristin & moi)

Getting to church this morning felt like a major milestone.  Aside from forgetting the crayons, Mia and I had everything we needed and made it through almost the whole sermon up until the last 10 minutes, when a desperate plea for an apple turned into laying down in the middle of the aisle.  Needless to say, I scooped the little one up and took her out for a chat (and maybe a bite of that apple).  

Dear friends & family of ours had graciously invited us over, no food required, for an Easter potluck and while I was bummed Greg could not make it, I was so glad to be back in the land of the living where Mia and I could socialize like normal human beings.  They even had a mini Easter egg hunt, which we had sorely missed the last two days for two different events, and Mia really really racked up.  Uncle Luke scored several assists.

slam dunk!

Even Caroline, my SIL's sister, graciously helped Mia.  Caroline definitely earned that hug she got from Mia at the end of the afternoon!

Caroline & Mia searching for the remaining eggs

Sometimes, it really feels like it takes a village, and I'm glad for the one we're in.  

Mia will be 2 on Tuesday.

Here's to stomach's settling, appetites returning, and health improving.  And another wonderful year with:

The Mia-Meister

Happy Easter, everyone!  Christ is RISEN.  

Not Our Week

"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley"

(The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry) - Robert Burns, To a Mouse, 1785

While Mia & I may not be mice, or men, our plans this week have gang aft agley.  Not sure if that's the right verb usage, but I think you catch our drift.

After Mia got sick Monday, we thought we were in the clear.  She wasn't necessarily eating normally the days that followed, but the rest of her schedule was normal.  And then Wednesday afternoon we both woke up from our naps (yes, I definitely took one too), I felt a little funky.  Funkier than I had been feeling.  Greg got home from work and I started throwing up.  I thought maybe it would be just a one-time thing and began to lay down.  However, less than an hour later, it started up again.
Greg started taking control of all the evening's activities and got he and Mia ready for bible class while I stayed back.  It was a good thing I didn't try to go, because for the next several hours I would be making quick runs to the bathroom to hug the porcelain throne.  Greg stopped by the healthfood store and picked up some necessities for me that would hopefully lessen the severity of my symptoms.  After he and Mia got home I began taking my little pellets and after a few more hours of stomach buggyness, it subsided and a bit prior to midnight I was able to fall asleep.

[And let me interject here to say that Greg is an all-star daddy (& husband).  He knows his little one so well and knows just how to take care of her.  I think it all began the moment she was born when he tended to her right away and thus began their immediate bonding, plus the middle of the night feedings when he'd help out, and the times when I needed his daddy-daycare in place so I could take care of some things for me.  He has really learned what Mia needs and even though I take care of a lot of the household things, he knows just what to do with Mia--no questions asked!]

Thursday I woke up feeling weak & dehydrated.  My joints were achy and it confirmed that I must've caught some bug.   Greg took a sick day on my behalf and was basically a stay-at-home-dad for most of Thursday.  I did try to help out with a few things, but mostly relegated myself to the couch or my bed.  By Thursday night, after actually eating some dinner, I regained some energy, just in time for Mia to toss her cookies right before bed.  It seemed very familiar to what I had gone through Wednesday night, so both Greg & I were fearful that Mia was going to have a more severe reaction and barf the rest of the night.  However, she magically was spared my fate.  She hadn't had much of an appetite all day Thursday, but had her typical bottle of coconut milk before bed and that was what made a reappearance.
Should've known.

After that, and realizing we didn't know when this infestation would stop, and we still had at least a day's worth of prep to get ready for Mia's birthday party Saturday (and who feels like cooking, cleaning or baking after being stomach-sick?), we sorrowfully decided we needed to postpone Mia's 2nd birthday party.  Such a bummer because all the themed materials arrived Thursday (can anyone say Easter?) and seeing as Easter is this Sunday, all these supplies will seem a bit out of date now that the party's postponed.  However, this seems to be in the best interest of our family & our guests.  And maybe we'll just have to come up with another theme!

trying a smoothie pop /
 birthday boxes in the background

Well, even though it's been a less than ideal week, we're going to run a few quick errands to get out of the house.  Greg is back at work today, and to keep Mia and myself from going stir-crazy we're going to return the library books I've renewed twice, and stop by Pier 1 to see if they'll let me exchange a curtain panel that's just a bit too long... and see if they have any nice spring wreaths for the front door (late but not too late).

Here's hoping the sickness is gone.  As I've been jokingly telling everybody else, take a probiotic on our behalf.

And like Mandy says on their blog, Sign Language, Rachel Coleman from Signing Time is awesome.  Wish I would've grabbed the $10 DVD sale this past Wednesday.  We've been watching a lot of "Ti' Ti'" this past week ... 



Alright, that's all for now.  Stay well, dear friends!

didn't see that one coming...

Mia has been waking up about once per night for the last week or so.  If I go into her room she stops crying for a minute but then cries for daddy persistently.  Instead of wrestling with her for what feels like forever, usually Greg will come in and help get her settled back to sleep. Lately if she's woken up and I can't settle her, I try to go back to bed myself, but by that point my brain is so awake it's gotten really hard for me to settle.  There have been a few nights over the last week where it's taken me an hour to get back to sleep.  

When this ended up happening last night, I lay in bed planning Mia's birthday party.  It's this coming weekend, at our house (EEK!) and I have felt so unprepared.  I have a theme, and a few ideas, but I hadn't thought through all the logistics.  Where for that? What for this? And how?  But after thinking through a lot of the options and getting some suggestions from friends, I've come up with a plan and just this morning ordered a bunch of the supplies from Oriental Trading Company.  Their items were quite inexpensive but unfortunately I got hit with a shipping charge :-/.  Oh well, ain't nothing a coupon code ($10 off) can't help. 

Well, after figuring all that out during the wee hours of 2 and 3am, I was hoping Mia would "sleep in" till past 8 (as she has been doing just a bit lately--so nice).  Well, instead she was up at 6:45 crying for daddy.  I went into her room and was shocked at what I saw.  There was throw-up all over her bed and down her (white) PJ shirt.  Uh-oh.  As soon as I said, "Oh no Mia, what happened?" She stopped crying and said, "Yeah."  That's sometimes her response to our questions; it doesn't always make sense but it's funny.  

She had had 1.5 hot dogs last night at dinner, some canteloupe and watermelon, and a few bites of popcorn.  It was a "big" dinner, but she didn't eat a lot at lunch, so we figured she was legitimately hungry.  However, maybe she was overfull.

Greg put her in the bath right away while I started stripping her bed and rinsing stuff off in the sink (blech!)  She threw up a tiny amount one more time in the bath (so sad!) and since then, hasn't thrown up yet.  She's only had a little bit to eat: crackers, a couple ounces of milk, and a few pieces of banana.  She hasn't been super hungry yet, but she's already been rubbing her eyes this morning.

We're watching Sesame Street and taking it easy.  Here's hoping the yukkies are just a one time thing.  I have been *blessed* up to this point in that Mia has rarely thrown up in her lifetime.  Just a couple of times, usually a reaction to food or motion sickness in the car. Not sure what I'd do if she had a stomach bug.  

Here's a picture from a better time this past weekend.  We went out to eat and got yogurt after dinner.  It was a perfect night Friday night!

2 peas in a pod

Ain't this how it goes sometimes? The comeback story...

A friend (cDM) shared this on Facebook and I was pretty much choked up from the get-go.  I competed in Track & Field through middle & high school and it was a pretty significant portion of my growing up years and my identity.  I will forever be impressed by the comeback story.  You should watch:

Better. Much better.

Since Friday, unless my memory is serving me poorly, things have gone well with the Mia meister.  We've had our timeouts, our talks, our following-through, our good naps, and she's even done better drinking milk out of a cup, if even for 1/4 of the time.  (That's an altogether different subject, though!)

As I learn this parenting thing, I am reminded of the various teachers I encountered growing up.  Some were strict, some were way too lax, some were from another planet, and some were really good.  Even some of the strict ones were really good.  I think at first, you meet a teacher and think, "He/she seems cool, really easy-going, I think we're going to get along."  But then they either lose control of the classroom, or are "too cool," and not really acting like a teacher, and all the boundaries get messed up.  You're not sure who's running the classroom anymore.  From my very little experience in the classroom, I have found it is easy to go in that direction if you're not really sure where you're headed.  If you're unsure of what your goals are, or how you want your students to respond to you, you can easily be swayed by what seems cool or what will make you seem like a "friend."
That's when you're surprised when you're relieved to be in the strict/more controlled teacher's classroom. You know what to expect, there's order, and while you may receive discipline, *hopefully* it's fair across the board.  You do your work, you're recognized appropriately, you learn, and everyone moves on.

I have never really tried to define myself as a parent, and if you're unfamiliar, there are billions of labels that people attach to themselves as parents.  I haven't found the one for us that fits just yet.  Not even am I talking about crunchy or modern, or tiger mom or panda dad ... For right now though, for the stage Mia is in, I think we need to be more authoritative.  Not authoritarian, authoritative.  She learns from us who is the boss and who sets the rules.  In Marriage & Family class back at our dear FC, there were 3 types:
authoritarian (my way or the highway); authoritative; and passive (whatever goes).  Obviously as Dr. Dickey detailed these parenting types, authoritative stuck out as the winner.  From Wikipedia: "Authoritative parenting encourages children to be independent but still places limits and controls on their actions."  And who doesn't want to be a winner?  I sure do.

And now for your viewing pleasure...this week's past pics:

Mia discovered her winter hat & mittens and
tried them on while also trying out her potty.
Have I mentioned how I have no clue how to potty train??

Busy day working from home for both Mia & Greg.
Glad she can put in a few hours here & there.

This is Mia's newest pose, outside or inside.
Guess she remembers some of the yoga I did when she was still in the womb!

Showing the street how to do it

Mommy & Daughter Yoga.  I wanted to get in on the action too!

A good day

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are… Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
- Mary Jean Iron


Today has been a good day.  


Mia and I had a mommy/daughter date at Starbucks this morning, where we leisurely each enjoyed a treat, then we sat outside for a while in the warm sun, Mia walked around, charmed every innocent bystander, and then we ran a few errands in the car.  We had lunch out at Moe's and she sat next to me the majority of the time, nibbling on her quesadilla and splitting the oatmeal raisin cookie with me.  When we got home she wanted to play in the car -- she likes fiddling with the buckle in her carseat so we did that for a while, and then she got to play pretend driver.  Only in her dreams would she really be able to drive!  We listened to the radio and sang along and then it was time for her nap.  *Sigh*


Good day, I am thankful for you!

 

her own purse & paci pouch!

this picture is not actually from today, but it's from the last week...
just wanted to round out the photos!