Yesterday Mia turned 5. Half a decade we've experienced with that little girl and I can't imagine what the next 5 years will feel like. Birthdays are awesome and this week has been a big week for our kids as they've moved into the same room and are now bunking up (!) and the cherry on top was Mia's super fun pool party with her little girlfriends and family :D
bunk beds!! *exact arrangement TBD*
In honor of Mia's 5th birthday, I wanted to share 5 funny Mia videos:
If you didn't care so much for the last post vids, then you'll probably like these.
There's a lot of activity in this video. Dogs, Gabe talking with Mommo, Mia, Greg & Papa Jack on the iPad...
And a quick shout-out to my SIL - it's her 30th today and she's on her way to NYC with my brother for the weekend. How fun! Mia wanted to sing about her day {totally unprompted}
Mia goes to a 2 year old bible class twice a week at our church and has been a part of a class since she was 9,10 months old. We've loved taking her and watching her learn and develop. She often sings songs that we figure must've come from bible class because we don't know every single one of them.
Last night I heard her saying something on the way home from dinner and I listened more closely to realize she was saying a little ditty I have said in the 5 year old class before. It goes like this:
"The Bible has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Put them together, and it's God's word ... for me, and for you!"
There are hand movements involved as well to help create add a physical and visual dynamic to it and the kids always remember it.
We asked her to repeat it a few times and I caught it on video. Before enjoying this 21 second video, I'd suggest pausing the audio player on the right!
Since we'd been out of town a couple of weekends ago and Greg has steadily been putting in work in our backyard with "Mister Ryan" for several Saturdays, it was so nice to have a 3 day weekend this past weekend.
For Labor Day, we went with our local cousins to Busch Gardens. Mia had so much fun at the park, actually riding some rides this time, and of course, finishing up at the Splash Zone. Greg even got to ride Sheikra with some other friends who were there. (It was a popular day to be at Busch Gardens, as you can imagine.)
This video makes me laugh every time I view it:
If you can't tell, Mia is saying, "Look, I'm driving! ... I'm driving with Braden!"
Last year on a Sunday I went to a birth center with Greg. I left with Greg and a lil' Mia. This is the Sunday that that happened, but Mia's actual birthday is tomorrow, the 26th.
So, on the eve of her first birthday, I'll post a little treat showcasing this past year in photos, and a song I've been waiting to use for such an occasion for YEARS: "I love NYE" by Badly Drawn Boy, from the About A Boy soundtrack. Love it! Pictures from the actual birthday party will follow in a future post. For now, I leave you with...Mia's First Year.
(Tip: Pause the audio player below before you watch the video.)
I have realized I'm lucky now in the sleep department. Whereas a few months ago, Mia still woke up once or twice a night to eat, she can now, five out of seven nights a week, sleep for 10-12 hrs straight. She may go down to sleep between 8 and 9pm and not wake up until 7 or 8am. I know every baby is different, but it does make a huge difference when you are able to sleep more than 4-5 hrs in a row. A BIG difference. Now, when she is teething, has been sick or just off from traveling, things change, obviously, and it can take a while to get her back on track. Yet our schedule (now that we actually have a schedule) looks something like this:
7:45am Wakeup, suck down a bottle play 8:30am Eat ≈2-3oz baby food (oatmeal & fruit puree) play 9-10am Go down for nap, by sucking down another bottle sleep :) 11:30am/12pm Wakeup, snack on a bottle Eat ≈2-3oz more baby food (veggie / fruit, sometimes mixed with oatmeal OR rice) play, maybe run an errand with ME 2-3pm Go down for afternoon nap, another bottle down sleep :D 3:30-4:30pm Wakeup, more milk or food snacks (you get the picture) Hang out in high-chair while dinner food gets made, read books, throw toy after toy on the ground 6pm Watch mom & dad eat dinner, make noises, clap, wave, beg for attention play 7:30pm Bathtime!! (Mia gets all goofy-excited when she hears the bathwater) 8pm Bedtime lots of sleep 8-)
Being on a schedule is great. Before I had a baby, or even when Mia was 6 months and under, I wasn't too sure about a schedule. I'm not a time-oriented person myself (family members are scratching their heads right now, asking, "Really??") and I just didn't want to be "tied down" to a schedule. You've probably seen those parents that freak out if it's past 2pm and their child isn't home for a nap, and conversely, those parents who let their child stay up and out much later than you'd think is normal, and the child is fussy or has trouble falling or staying asleep later (and there are some who do not fit on this spectrum at all!). I have found that for us, it is good to be somewhere in the middle. "Flexible scheduling" is what it is called. It may have taken us 7+ months to get there, but hey, I'm just glad we're here.
Lord Willing, if we have another baby, getting on a good schedule earlier on is something I will aim for. That, and seeing if they'll take a pacifier on occasion. Right now, Mia thinks it's a chew toy. And of course, there are other things I'd like to do differently, but those are all for another post. Instead, I'll leave you with the ever-so-grainy video of Mia crawling. You can thank my cell phone (it was the most readily available video-recording device.)
PS: Why I sound like a 9-year old while recording Mia is beyond me. I do hope I really don't sound like that on a regular basis in real life, and if I do, please break it to me gently.
It's been quite a busy little while. There's lots I could say about life the last several weeks, but it's after midnight and the bambina is asleep, and I should be too. However, I was able to capture some fun times with her tonight on my camera phone. Check out this never-seen-before footage!
PS: I promise she doesn't stay in the bouncy seat all day, although from our pictures you may think so. She just loves it there and is very calmed by the by its movement so it's a good transitional spot for her at home.
Way before Mia was born, I had 2 different dreams about Mia being able to talk.
The earlier dream took place the day Mia was born. She was being held by someone else, but she turned around and looked at me and said, "I'm a talker!" really enthusiastically. I thought...that's cool. Of course, dreams are often a mix of reality and illusion/fantasy, so the fact that a newborn was so vocal didn't really faze me. I just liked the heads-up about her loquacity.
In the other dream, Mia came early--at 30 weeks--and was okay healthwise, and she was already at home from the birth. But the panic was of course I didn't have any furniture or barely any supplies for her. So I didn't know where to put her at night that my cat wouldn't try to sleep next to her so I was trying to find drawers or stable places to prepare a little soft padded spot for her. And before I found her a sleeping spot, she was reading aloud the information off the side of a bottle. Like, "100% all natural, fresh ingredients." Greg & I were very impressed with this very smart young one. Of course she tuckered herself out from reading so she fell asleep mid sentence.
Well, she may not be talking in full sentences or reading nutrition information off of food labels, but, she's starting to find her voice! Hang in there, it starts to perk up around the 30-sec spot!
