Vasquez Vault

Washing the Car with Daddy

2010-09-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

Our little helper girl loved washing the cars!

Heated Pool

2010-09-05T00:06:00.000-07:00

New Can of Worms

2010-09-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Joie and Lexi visited this weekend and opened a new can of worms for Mia. Now she wants to have pretty toes every day!

Entertainment in Every Room

2010-09-02T23:54:00.000-07:00

While I get ready for work in the morning, I get a little performance. Mia takes out all of the travel sized bottles from the bottom drawer and lines them up. Then she makes up names and voices and sometimes even other languages for each of them as they talk to each other. She lays them down to bed and tells me when they are crying.

Emailing Daddy

2010-09-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

Every day when Daddy goes to work, Mia tells me that she misses "her" daddy and wants to call him. On this day, he was in a meeting, so I let her send him and email. She was very serious about the typing and her fingers were moving all around the keyboard as she told me what she was writing . . . "I love you, Daddy. I miss you." Over and over again.

When I'm Out

2010-08-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

Whenever Daddy takes the girls, I get some interesting pictures sent to my phone. This one was titled, "Don't tell Mama, I'm eating ice cream."

2010-08-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

We've been big Groupon fans lately, especially since most of the Groupons are locally owned places. We took a chance on Tower Dogs and used our Groupon today for dinner. Their menu is simple, but creative. There are about 10 dogs to choose from, including a vegan chili dog . . . hmmm. Mia got a kid's dog (skinned with ketchup), I got the Californian (with avocado, grilled onions, bacon, and cheddar cheese), Troy got the Pastrami Dog (ewww . . . with pastrami, mozzerella, horseradish, sauerkraut, and pickles), and Ashlee got the Chili Dog (with chili and cheese). I loved mine and so did everyone else, so we'll probably go again. Fun place and always fun to try something new.

Day 2-The Bears

2010-08-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Mia and Ashlee dressed up their bears to go to Pismo. They even strapped them into the back seat!

Day 1-Storytime

2010-08-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Every (almost every) Thursday, Mia and I go to storytime at Petunia's Place. Teacher "Cilla" (Priscilla) is so good with the kids. Each time, she introduces herself and then goes around the room asking each kid's name. Mia used to just suck her thumb and not answer, but in the last few months, she has gotten much more confident and now says her name clearly and boldly! Today, Mia brought her two baby dolls. She told me their names were Chloe and Kelly. She didn't suck her thumb during the entire storytime! She's getting to be such a "big" girl.

Project 365

2010-08-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

We'll see how long I last, but I thought I'd give it a try. One picture a day. Yes, I'm starting in the middle of the year, in the middle of the week, but at least I'm starting. I'm hoping to document and share some of our special family moments.

This is What Happens When I'm Gone

2010-03-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

While at Marcy's house one day, Troy sent these pictures and messages from his phone.

"Rule #1-If you leave your kids home with Daddy for the evening . . . make sure you give lots of suggestions and activities that can be done while you are away. If not, this can happen."

"Daddy falls victim. This is fun . . . ouch."

Meeting God

2010-02-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

Last night, Mia met God. We went to church last night for the beginning of Missions Month and a group from Fresno put on a concert for us with some great singing, dancing, and acting. For one of the skits, a man was dressed in white robes and represented Jesus or God. Mia tuned in to him right away. She pointed at the stage and whispered to me in amazement, "Mama, that's God!" I hadn't told her anything about what they were acting out, so I was surprised that she caught on. Throughout the performance, Mia continued to point and say that man was God. When the performance was over, Mia asked, "Where's God?" She continued to ask as we walked from the sanctuary to The Cafe. We got some cookies and sat down, but she was still asking where God was, so I told her I would find him for her. I went over to one of the performers and told her about Mia and asked her where "God" was. She told me his name was Dominic and she would find him for me. Well, Dominic came over to the table where Mia was sitting and he is not a small man. He towered over us. He had heard the story about how Mia thought he really was God, so he played along and was really sweet. He shook her hand and asked her name and how old she was. My generally shy little girl didn't turn away at all. Normally, when someone asks her name, she hides her face, but she looked right at him and told him her name. She was so taken with him and it was just precious! When he walked away from our table, Mia looked at me with wide, serious eyes, and whispered, "Mama, that was God!" She was beyond excited! I wish I had thought to take a picture of them together! Oh, well. They'll be at church again tomorrow, I think, so maybe I'll try to get a picture then.

Noah

2010-01-09T00:04:00.000-08:00

This year at church Mia has a really neat teacher who creates her own curriculum. The focus is on Noah, with each lesson teaching an element of the story. From August until December, Mia learned many things about Noah. So naturally, when she saw the Christmas decorations start to appear in the stores, she thought that Santa must be . . .

We were driving home from church and passed a Christmas tree lot where they had just put up a very large blow-up Santa. Mia took one look at that long white beard and said, "That's Noah! Hi, Noah!" and started waving furiously.

Well, I wasn't about to correct her because I thought it was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. So for the entire month of December, Mia continued to call Santa, Noah. She waved at him and called his "name", but like every child, she was pretty scared of him. We saw him at Cobb's when we went to get our tree, but she almost cried when he came close. Toward the end of December, Marcy took the kids down Candy Cane Lane to see the lights and managed to convince Mia to let Noah hold her for one picture. At first, Marcy had to hold her to get close enough, but after thinking about it for a while, Mia decided to let "Noah" hold her.

Bedtime Routine

2009-10-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Mia decided to take the bedtime routine into her own hands. She turned on the "little" light all by herself and told me to turn off the "big" light. She asked to give Daddy a kiss and hug. What's funny is that when she kisses him, she takes his face in her two hands and turns it so that she can kiss him on the lips. She chose a book and settled into the chair with me, but wouldn't let me read. Instead, she said, "Mia read book, Mama". She read me the Olivia book, telling me all about how Olivia likes to put on her shirt and shoes and "swimmy suit". She told me Olivia "painting" and how she took a bath because "she dirty". When she was finished reading me the story, she put herself in her bed and told me how she wanted her pillows arranged and which blankets she wanted. I turned out the light and asked her if she wanted me to sing a song. She told me she would like the "Baby" song, so I started to sing, but I was interrupted by her request for "Itsy Pider song". I started to sing the "Itsy Pider song" and she said, "Louder, Mama." Of course. You want it louder. So I sang louder, but apparently not loud enough. "Louder, Mama." I finished the song and gave her a kiss on the cheek, to which she said, "Other cheek, Mama". Wow. A little control issue?

Mia's Caterpillar Party

2009-08-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Every night for months, Mia has asked to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This was a book given to Mia before she was born by Melissa. She has heard the book so many times that she can say some of the lines before we read them. She likes to say, "Pop!" on the second page when the caterpillar pops out of the egg. She can say apples, Sunday, Tuesday, pizza, cheese, and lollipop. She has also added "cocoon" to her vocabulary. When the caterpillar eats too much, she says, "Owie!"

So, it was the perfect fit to have a caterpillar party for Mia's second birthday. I searched the internet for ideas and found that there were a few other people who also threw caterpillar parties. Here's what Mia's party looked like:

I found a large copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to display with her birthday banner.

Each child received butterfly antennae when they arrived.

The kids decorated their own party bags with caterpillar and fruit stickers. Inside, they received insect flash cards (from the dollar bins at Target), gummy caterpillars (from Cost Plus), bendy straws, and noise makers.

Outside we decorated with a caterpillar made from balloons.

I painted some scrap wood with holes cut for faces and we took some silly pictures.

The food table had all of the food the caterpillar ate and the story was written around the food.

The "cake" was blueberry muffins with red and green frosting and watermelon skin and laffy taffy for the eyes.

Mia wore her green polka dotted dress and bows for the party.

1 a.m.

2009-05-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

I just feel sick to my stomach not knowing. I HATE change. When I was in elementary school, I went to 9 different schools. I've moved 29 times in my life. That must be a big part of why I can't stand change.

I am fiercely loyal to tradition and sameness. My day feels wrong when I get out of my "routine".

Monday I will find out what school I've been placed at to teach next year. In the last ten years, I have been through changes in principals, changes in curriculum, and changes in staff, but never have I changed anything on my own, on purpose.

I have stayed at Wilson because it was my first love. The staff there has always felt so welcoming and genuine. They genuinely care about each other and the future of the school and their students.

I have stayed in the 6th grade because I fell in love with my 6th grade teacher and never forgot her. She was such a powerful player in my life and gave me such a sense of stability in times of turmoil. I hope that I was able to do that for the students I taught. Each one of them had their own unique story and after learning who they were each year, it was so painful to let them go, knowing I may not ever know how their story ends.

Change started when I had Mia. When she was two weeks old, I could sense change happening, but I didn't know what it would look like in the end. I didn't know then that I would decide to take more time off work than I had planned. I didn't know I would choose her over work, but feel so conflicted and torn because of my loyalty to my students and coworkers, all the time knowing that she was my most important student.

I didn't know that my school would change while I was away. I didn't know that I would lie awake tonight worried about working at a school where I don't "know the rules". And I didn't know that I would ultimately feel cheated and unfairly discarded by the new administration.

I know that God works on us most when we are walking through the desert, but I feel like I've been in that desert for the majority of my life and I really just need some rest. I pray for some relief.

I will never regret spending more time with Mia than time at work. I will never regret having made loyalties to Wilson school and the students, parents, and teachers there. I just wish it wasn't all so painful. And I wish I could sleep at night. I dream constantly and can't sleep well anymore.

I know that change is a part of life, but I hate it.

Helpful Girl

2009-05-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mia is my little helpful girl. She loves to do whatever I'm doing. When I fold laundry, she takes the kitchen towels to the kitchen and puts them in the drawer. She puts the bibs in the basket in the kitchen, and she takes her own clothes to her room.

When I empty the trash around the house, she takes the baskets back to each of the bathrooms. When I put laundry in the dryer, she pushes it in for me. She runs to help whenever she hears me put a pot on the stove, or bang dishes in the kitchen. She gets one of our huge kitchen chairs and pushes it across the kitchen so she can stand by the counter and help me pour things or mix things.

She's the spoon and tupperware girl when I unload the dishwasher. After a trip to the grocery store or the farmer's market, Mia will put a bag of groceries on her arm like a purse and carry (drag) it to the front door. She loves to take the canned food and put it on the low pantry shelf. She works out her muscles lifting 2 or 3 water bottles at once to put in the fridge. (Really, you should hear her grunt as she lifts them because they are so heavy).

And Troy's favorite is when she walks around the kitchen behind me and closes the cupboard doors that I leave open! She will even tell me when there is a cupboard door that needs closing that is too high for her to reach.

I love my little helpful girl! She even helps me make the bed by sitting in it and holding the sheets up. Hopefully, I can post pictures soon.

A Toddler's Memory

2009-05-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

The other day, Troy and I decided to walk to Rite Aid and get Mia her first ice cream cone. She'd had ice cream once or twice before, but only with a spoon, never on a cone. When we entered the store, we walked to the left where the ice cream stand is and ordered our cones. The lady behind the counter scooped a monstrous one for Mia! We walked outside and decided that it would be best to sit on the curb and eat our ice cream in case that huge scoop of vanilla decided to jump out of the cone and into Mia's stroller (that's not something I wanted to clean up). We sat down on the curb and gave Mia her cone, which she had to hold with two hands because it was so heavy. Troy and I started eating our ice cream, but Mia just sat holding the cone and watching us. She didn't know what to do. We tried to show her how to lick the ice cream, but all she could figure out was to touch her tongue to it, so it was quite a slow process. Troy had to "clean up" her cone a few times. In the end, she really enjoyed it and even ate the entire cone!

About a week after our trip to Rite Aid, I had Mia with me in the car and I told her we were going to stop at the store and get a carton of ice cream to take home. She said, "Ice" like she knew what I was talking about. We got out of the car and walked into the store where she immediately tried to take a left (towards the ice cream stand). I told her we were not going that way and convinced her to come to the back of the store with me where the cartons of ice cream were. I got the ice cream and we paid and walked outside. As we were stepping off the curb into the street, Mia stopped and tried to sit down on the curb. She was saying, "Ice" over and over. Can you believe that she remembered from a week before? I was blown away. I've always wondered how much a child could remember, and this was a great example for sure!

Avila Barn

2009-04-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

We've been hearing about Avila Barn since last October. Apparently, they give hay rides and sell pumpkins and apples in the fall. We finally went a few weeks ago. The barn has goats, chickens, peacocks, and sheep. Mia and Trinity enjoyed feeding the animals lettuce. I was surprised at how quickly Mia got comfortable feeding the animals. She went right up to the fence and let them eat the lettuce out of her hand.

The barn is in the mountains just a few minutes away from the beach area. It was very pretty and the weather was perfect.

Troy with Trinity and Mia (cousins). Mia loves being with Grammy Lin. Whenever Linda walked away, Mia would follow her to see what she was doing and then point and make noises to tell her that she wanted her to come back and play. She was Linda's shadow the entire weekend!

I Love Hugs and Pats!

2009-03-09T20:11:00.001-07:00

Mia has been sick this weekend, so there has been lots of nose wiping and grumpiness. She hasn't been real hungry and has been sleeping a lot. As yucky as it is to be sick, I have enjoyed it because when Mia is sick, she is VERY cuddly! She comes over to me at random times while she is playing and crawls into my lap to cuddle and suck her thumby. Today while she was resting on me and sucking her thumb, I felt her little fingers tapping on my shoulder rhythmically. She was patting my back! I just melt when she does that. Then when she was sitting on my lap looking at me, she spontaneously decided to give me a kiss. (As much as we try to teach her to kiss on the cheek, she prefers to kiss on the lips, and it's really cute!) Just a month ago, Mia started to get less cuddly, so when she's sick, I enjoy every minute of her snotty nose kisses and warm body snuggles.

Words

2009-01-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

Mia is learning so much, so fast! I'm amazed every day when she says a new word or does something we haven't seen her do before. She has lots of energy and is very animated. Yesterday, she clearly said, "doggy" and "crackers". I wish I could get more of her talking on video, but she clams up the moment she sees the camera.

Musical

2009-01-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

Troy's family is very musical in the sense that many of them play instruments and nearly all of them can sing well. Troy's dad was a worship leader back in the day, his cousin Allen sings and plays the piano, and I've heard rumors that when they used to get the whole family together for Christmas, they would sing Christmas songs in 4 part harmony.

My family also has a love of music. That does NOT mean that most of them can carry a tune. Each week when we play cards at Grandma's house, my mother gets kicked under the table many times for singing off key, singing when the stereo is not playing anything, or singing the piano or guitar solos. On Christmas Eve we get together to "sing" Christmas songs, but everyone just kind of picks their own key.

Mia is extremely musical. At only 5 or 6 months old, she was already bopping her head along to the music in the car. One of our favorite memories is when we were listening to one of those eclectic music stations on the radio and "Low Rider" came on. We looked back at Mia and saw her rockin' out! She sings when she's going to sleep and when she wakes up. And she loves to get up on the fireplace and sing and dance with her hands waving in the air.

Yesterday, while I was at MOPS for the evening, Troy went out to the garage and brought in our old keyboard for Mia to play with. When I got home from my night out, Troy showed me video after video on his phone (why he didn't pick up the "real" video camera, I'll never know) of Mia playing the keyboard and dancing to the prerecorded background music. He said she played on the keyboard for an entire hour!

It's obvious that Mia thoroughly enjoys music, but we'll have to wait and see which side of the family she takes after in that area. Hopefully, the Vasquez genes will prevail on this issue.

Old Friend, New Playmate

2008-12-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

An old friend from college found me on Facebook a few months back. Although lots of people connect on Facebook, this connection was interesting because we had both gotten married and had a baby girl, within weeks of each other! The girls are now 15 months old and little Lizzy came over to play with Mia for the first time yesterday. They spent the day collecting all the dolls from around the house. At one point, Lizzy had two large dolls in her short little arms and started to fuss because she couldn't hold the third one she saw laying on the floor. So cute!

They took turns putting the dollies in the bed and the high chair and surprisingly, they shared everything! They were the perfect little playmates. Here they are putting Troy's Jamaican hat on each other.

We can't wait to have Lizzy over again!

I Love This Age!

2008-11-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

Mia is at my absolute favorite age. She is learning so fast that I am constantly surprised by what she knows. The other day she brought me a scrap of paper from the floor. I told her to put it in the trash (not thinking that she knew what I was saying) and she walked straight to the trash can and put it in. Who knew?

She talks in gibberish all day long and Troy and I hear her say lots of words. We've heard "dinosaur", "alligator", "garbage truck", and "pop pop" as well as small phrases. The other day, she held up a book and said, "This a book". What's funny about her gibberish is the facial expression and intonation that go along with it. She truly feels that she is communicating clearly and expects that everyone understands. Fortunately for us, she is happy with comments such as, "Oh, is that right?" or "Yes, I agree." She just wants to feel like she's part of the conversation. Her seriousness cracks me up. She will point and say something that sounds like "sha ba sha ba ta da pall?" Her eyebrows go up and the inflection in her voice tells us she is asking a question, so we usually answer her "question" guessing at what she said. It makes for a fun conversation!

I've taught Mia some sign language and she has caught on quickly. She can sign "please", "thank you", "more", "milk", and "juice". Of course juice is just her pointer finger waving up and down and not exactly in a "j" motion, but we understand her. I just love that she can communicate. She gets excited about it too. Now, when she sees Troy and I get any drink with a straw, she signs "please", so I've started ordering a cup of water with a straw for her so she doesn't feel left out. I just hope that her good habit of saying thank you carries over when she really does start talking!

A Lobster Tail

2008-10-31T15:58:00.001-07:00

Here's our little lobster all ready for some fun tonight. She loves her costume, especially the claws. She keeps looking at them and laughing!

What a fun time we had for Halloween! Petunia's Place put on a very cute storytime. I just love the lady who reads for the storytime. She does a great job keeping all of the kids engaged. Some people are just natural teachers. Mia loved eating a cookie out by the fountain afterward. I loved looking at all of the one year olds in their Halloween costumes dangling their feet over the side of the fountain.

After storytime, we had our picture taken at Walgreens for free. We hung out for quite some time in that store waiting to take the picture and then waiting for it to be printed. Although the quality of the picture was not "professional", I can say it was worth the wait because the Mommies finally got to all be in a picture together!

While Mia was napping, I spent time working on Troy's costume, carving pumpkins (since we totally forgot last night!), and then threw my costume together. I think everything turned out great.

At the Pumpkin Patch, lots of people laughed at our costumes, so I think that counts as a success. Since we've never been to the Pumpkin Patch at church, we didn't know what to expect. There were a lot of games that Mia couldn't play because she was too little, but she didn't need much to have fun. We found a game where she could pull the rubber ducks out of the water and another one where she could dig in the sand. She thought it was fun when the game was over and the workers would let her choose candy from the buckets. She didn't know that the candy was something to eat. I'm sure she just liked the shiny wrappers. My favorite moment was when one of the workers had already given her two pieces of candy, one for each hand, and then offered her a third. She thought for a moment, and then put one piece of candy on the floor so she could take the third piece. It's fun to see how she problem solves.

One of my favorite costumes was Brandy's daughter who was dressed as a laundry basket. Very clever! We also ran into a weiner dog dressed as a lobster, a monkey and a banana, an Autumn fairy, a mad scientist, and my favorite, Sarah Palin herself. I even managed to get a picture with the Vice Presidential candidate and her secret service agent!

We trick or treated Matt and Heather's house and then Stefanie and James' house. Mia was falling alseep on the way to Stefanie's house, but once we were there, she warmed up quickly. I really enjoyed spending time with them, as well as Tinker Bell and the dog. Mia loves going to Auntie Stefanie's house because there's lots of room to run around and Auntie Stefanie always makes her laugh.

I'll post more pictures later. I need to be more diligent about burning photos to DVD so that I have space on the drive for new pictures. Good thing I have a 4GB photo card! I still have space for 600 pictures on the camera!

Husband of the Year

2008-10-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

This morning, without thinking much of it, I asked Troy if he would take care of Mia for the entire day. I wasn't going anywhere. I just wanted a day off where I wouldn't have to think about what time her naps were or what she was going to eat. I wouldn't have to monitor her as she took 30 minutes to finish her lunch and I wouldn't have to lift her or change any diapers. I thought for sure he would laugh at me and offer to help a little, but then make excuses for why he couldn't do it all day. To my surprise, he said, "Sure". And that was it.

I did not change one single diaper, or feed Mia one meal, or even think about what she was going to eat. I didn't put her to bed for her nap (which I actually missed because cuddling with her for a few minutes before each nap is one of my favorite things). I was able to run errands, do some laundry, work in the garage, and take a nap that didn't have to coincide with Mia's nap. I feel well rested and accomplished. I even got the added benefit of playing with Mia just because I felt like it and not because I had to entertain her. She's even cuter when I don't feel like the responsible one!

To my surprise, my husband of the year even cooked dinner without pawning Mia off on me. When bedtime rolled around, he did his usual bath, teeth brushing, diaper change and story with Mia, but before he put her to bed he asked me to come into the bathroom to look at something. He wouldn't tell me what was going on, so, being a mother, of course my first reaction was, "What happened?" I was already picturing the vomit or blood, but instead I found a book, towel, warm water and candles. I was told that I could not leave the bathroom for at least 30 minutes!

I have never actually taken a bath with candles and let me tell you, I will do it again. Not only could I read the pages of my book more easily, but it smelled nice and was very peaceful. If you have not tried a candlelit bathtime experience, pencil yourself in for one. You won't regret it.

Thoughts for Today

2008-10-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else blog in their head and never actually get down to writing it? Am I the only one who writes blogs in my mind all day long, but never sits down to complete them? I'm sure I could have documented so many of Mia's milestones in the last month. There are so many cute things she's done that I think I'll always remember, but many I've already forgotten.

For the last month we've encouraged Mia to walk, but she had only taken about 4 or 5 steps at a time. Then she would grab onto something or just sit down and crawl because that's easier and faster.

The last few days, Mia has decided that walking really is the way to go. She has been doing laps around the kitchen, the kitchen table, and the coffee table. She loves to just keep going! I love the way she holds her hands up in the air for balance. She has kind of a crooked walk with a slight lean to the right. After all our trips to Valley Children's Hospital this month, I've been assured that her hips are completely normal, so we'll just attribute her crooked walk to inexperience and assume she'll "grow out of it".

I enjoy talking with Mia even though she can't talk. She really does communicate well. She loves to say "yes" by nodding her head and her entire body with it. She shakes both hands violently if I try to give her food she doesn't want or like. My favorite thing of all is when I ask her if she wants to cuddle and she scoots in near to me and lays her head down on my arm with her "thumby" in her mouth and her left hand gripping her shirt. She really does love to cuddle. She even cuddles her animals and rocks and pats them.

Mia loves trucks. She waves at the garbage truck every Wednesday and points every time she sees a truck when we're driving in the car. She even has a baby board book about trucks.

The time this last year has really flown by. I'm amazed with what Mia can understand already. I don't think I could even list all the words that she understands because there are so many! It's fun to watch her learn and to see how excited she gets about new things. Today, Mia was pointing at the symbol on Troy's shirt, so he taught her the word "logo". Now if you ask her where the logo is on a shirt, she'll point to it. Leave it to Troy to teach Mia about advertising!

My 30th Birthday continued . . .

2008-10-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

I will have to post pictures from my 30th later since I cannot download them to my computer. I only have 1 GB of space on my 120GB drive which says something about how many pictures I take.

My 30th birthday was perfect. Not only did Troy bring me flowers in front of 63 women at MOPS, but I got to spend time with everyone who is important to me. My mom, Jim and Paul, took me out to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and we had a blast. I love any event that involves Uncle Paul because Mia is so entertained by him that I don't ever have to worry about her. I got to eat my entire dinner without interruption! Of course I ordered the most chocolaty cheesecake dessert that they offer, which was too rich even for me.

The next weekend was Clovis Fest and we took Mia to go see the balloons. She loved them and even clapped and danced when they took off. Later, we walked around the craft booths and then had lunch at Applebee's. After a long but friendly political debate between Jaime and I, with Nancy as mediator, we got ready for Roger Rocka's to see The Producers. Totally raunchy, but fun. It was nice to get out and have some time to talk and relax with my girlfriends. Paula ratted me out to the announcer and they announced that it was my 30th birthday and put the spotlight on me. Totally embarrassing and fun!

The next morning, we got up early (after being up late) to run the Cross City race. It was a perfect morning. Jaime and Chris took off fast and everyone else wanted to walk, so I ran the 2 miles by myself, but I didn't mind because it felt good. My favorite part was running without a jogging stroller (since Troy had Mia). I haven't been able to do that in a long time, and it felt very freeing.

After the race, we went to the Fresno Breakfast House. I LOVE their omelets! I've never gotten one there that wasn't perfect. The restaurant itself is kind of an odd mix of tex-mex decor and old lady floral wallpaper, but their food is always good. Karen was so thoughtful to bring "3" and "0" candles for my omelet.

That's about it. And, yes, I do feel thirty. It's strange that a number can really change how you feel. When I was little, I thought that 25 was old. When I was 25, I still felt like a kid in some ways. But 30 is different. I feel like a grown up now for sure, no doubt about it. Not old, or worn out, but grown up. I don't mind it, but it is different.

Walking

2008-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Mia is walking! On Saturday night, Mia took her first steps at Dorina and Ericlee's house while everyone was over for cooking club. Troy was helping her walk and let go of her hands and she took four steps to me! Troy and I were thrilled. Mia didn't seem to know what she had done. I think she probably only did it since her motivation was high . . . she wanted Momma.

My Amazing 30th Birthday Present from my Very Sweet, Oh So Creative Husband

2008-09-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

When I got back from the climbing gym (Troy took a long lunch to stay with Mia while I went), these "postcards" were all over the house. Some were tucked into picture frames, some were in the kitchen cupboards, the bedroom, on the tv, the couch, and in Mia's room. I couldn't believe how many there were. When I found the first 7-8, I got on the phone and called Troy and asked, "How many of these are there?" He told me to guess, so of course I figured it out. There were 30 of them! I found 28 in the house. He told me I would get the other two later.

Of course I thought this was the sweetest thing ever, so I took the cards to MOPS at 6:30pm. It was the first meeting and just happened to fall on my birthday. When I got to MOPS, I got my dinner and sat down at my table. Before I started eating, I told the ladies at the table that I just had to tell them what a sweet thing Troy did. I showed them the postcards and they started to pass them around the table.

That's when Troy walked in with Mia. I have to say I was absolutely frozen. He came in carrying Mia and an arrangement of flowers! He gave me the flowers and said "Happy Birthday" and I started crying, of course! The whole roomful of ladies (63 of them!) started singing "Happy Birthday" to me!

Inside the card attached to the flowers were the other two postcards. The best tw0. . .

30 is the best birthday!!!

Open Cabinets by Troy

2008-08-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Allison, Mia and I just got back from a long day of events. We finally decided to go and get our family pictures taken with Jerry McElroy. We had a great time and usually we would place a picture up for you to see, but he uses film. You know those cameras that don’t have a color view finder on the back? Yes, you have to wait a week to get the results. Anyway, we just finished our nightly rituals of giving Mia a bath, brushing her “teethies”, praying, reading a story, singing and going “beddy”. After leaving Mia’s room, I changed my clothes and walked by the kitchen. See Exhibit 1 (picture at the top of this blog). I know what you are thinking… we have just been robbed. Why else would all of the cabinets be open, right? No, we had not been robbed. This too is part of my nightly ritual of closing all of the cabinets that Allison has opened throughout the day. For some reason, Allison opens cabinets, but doesn’t shut them. What’s weird is that she doesn’t even know they’re open. One time, I asked her to go to the kitchen and tell me what was wrong. Every single cabinet was open (similar to the photo). She didn’t even notice the open cabinets, but thought I had swept the floor! It’s always good for a laugh!

Mini Jamba

2008-08-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

After Mia got her shots at the doctor, I decided we should start a tradition of going to Jamba Juice for a treat. We shared a Pomegranite Paradise. I just love the mini cups they have for kids. Just the right size!

Polka Dot Party

2008-08-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

I think planning a birthday party is fun. I've been collecting polka dot fabric, ribbon, and party favors as I've seen them in the stores. It was a fun challenge to pull it all together this Saturday for Mia's 1st birthday and I love the way it all came together. It wasn't super fancy, but it was cute and fun and just about everything was polka dotty!

There were lavendar polka dot table cloths, round orange lanterns, and round "polka dot" pictures hanging for the tent outside.

I was looking at Pottery Barn kids magazine one day and they were selling a birthday banner for $45 similar to this one that I made out of felt and fabric for less than $10!

Our little birthday girl was a little shocked to see so many people at our house when she woke up from her morning nap, but she got right into party mode after some lunch and a swim.She really enjoyed opening presents with Momma and reading the birthday cards. She likes to turn the "pages". Mia's favorite gift was this Radio Flyer ride on rocket from Grandma Jeri and Grandpa Jim. Uncle Paul spent the rest of the party pushing Mia around on the rocket and teaching her how to push on her own. Mia is definitely our child. She's not big on getting dirty, so we weren't surprised when she didn't dive right in. After a close call with the flame, she took off all the marzipan polka dots and broke off a small corner of the cake to feed to Momma. Because of the flame incident, my family stopped singing after the first verse of Happy Birthday. In our family we sing three verses, but Mia only got one on this day. Here's a picture of the cake everyone else ate. Aunt Heather did a great job!

Mia let us know she was partied out by popping her "thumby" in her mouth. She lasted quite a while past her normal naptime, but did very well! Sunday, on her actual birthday, we did a little "redo" of the cake smashing with better results. Mia is still not the type to rub cake in her hair though. We also sang all three verses of the birthday song and she LOVED it! She smiled and swung her feet while we sang. She was enjoying it so much that we sang it twice more, all three verses! Here's a picture of the second cake smashing opportunity on Sunday afternoon.

Animals

2008-08-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Mia is quite expressive. She was really taken by this elk at the Clovis Elks Lodge where we went for my cousin Joey's Eagle Scout Ceremony. She would make an "Oooooh" sound with kind of a grunt to it and put her hand out. Our favorite part is how she sticks her chin out. She doesn't just do this with elk heads though. She makes the same sound whenever she sees any animal. What a kick!

Little Things

2008-07-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I never used to notice the ceiling lights in department stores, but Mia does. She notices everything because everything is new and interesting to her. This morning we went to Smart and Final to buy plates. Usually that would be a pretty mundane errand. When I went to take Mia out of her car seat, she smiled at me like we were going on some big adventure. I love when she smiles like that. When I put her in the shopping cart she started talking, probably telling me how much fun we were going to have. The first thing she noticed as we walked into the store was the lights. She looked up at them and held her hand out to show me. I said, "Lights," and she smiled. She gets so excited about simple things like that. After we had purchased the plates, I gave her the receipt. She waved it around and laughed, then crumpled it up and laughed at that too.

It's so much fun to see the world through her eyes because EVERYTHING is new and exciting. Sometimes I feel guilty if I have to take Mia on a shopping trip like that because I "should" be teaching her something or playing with her, but then I realize that everything we do is a learning experience and she needs to have lots of different types of experiences. A "stay at home mom" doesn't necessarily have to be at home all day. Kids need to see the world too, even if it's just the world from their car seat as I deposit a check at the bank.

Warm Water

2008-07-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

We hadn't planned on toilet training this early . . . just kidding, we're not. Don't email me. This is what happens every night when Mia takes her bath. The warm water must make her want to poop, so we whisk her out of the bath as fast as we can and get her on the toilet. She thinks it's fun. We sing songs and laugh at how she kicks her short, chubby legs over the edge. Who knows? Maybe we have a toilet training prodigy. :)

The Lamb was Dirty . . .

2008-07-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

I went into the garage to get the laundry and I heard, "Jesus Loves Me" playing over and over. I wasn't sure where it was coming from until I opened the dryer. That's when I realized what I had done. Mia's stuffed lamb was dirty, so I had washed it, forgetting that it had a music box inside of it. Earlier, when I took it out of the washing machine to put into the dryer, I reasoned that I wanted the stuffing nice and dry, still not remembering that it played music. When I opened up the dryer the lamb was playing the song repeatedly. I couldn't shut it off, so I took it inside and Troy and I had a good laugh. Then we stuffed it into the couch cushions until it could behave itself!

Our Spontaneous 4th

2008-07-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

Artsie Inspiration

2008-07-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

It seems that I always have more pictures than words and today is no exception.

We weren't planning on attending the ArtHop, but I always hate to miss it, because then it's another month before the next one happens, so we spontaneously decided we'd go. We figured Mia would love it and she did!

We hadn't been to Margaret Hudson's for a while and it's one of my favorite places to go. Mia is about two and a half blocks tall on the clay pillars outside the gallery. We'll have to remember to take a picture next year and do a comparison.

I'm dying to have a real MH giraffe for Mia, but it doesn't seem there are many real ones left. Most are made by her "artisans" now. As we were driving past the Meux Home downtown tonight, I was remembering when my grandma took me to the teddy bear picnic there and I met Margaret Hudson. She taught all of the kids how to make a teddy bear from clay and I remember feeling like I had been taught a big secret. I knew she was an important artist even then, at about age 8.

I love the sculptures in the "Art Park". Maybe someday I'll get brave enough or crazy enough to try working with metal and I'll make some characters for our backyard. ArtHop always makes me want to go home and create something. Unfortunately, I tend to start projects and never finish them. I am reminded of the wall in Mia's room that I need to finish painting. Perhaps I'll post a picture of that finished masterpiece soon.

Lots of Pictures

2008-07-01T13:14:00.001-07:00

Because Troy and I love taking pictures, we still haven't taken Mia to a professional photographer. Sometimes it's a challenge taking pictures at home with her. We don't always have the perfect background or props like a children's photographer would, but we do have the benefit of knowing our child and what expressions we want to capture and what looks like "her".

When we started to take pictures, I thought Mia wasn't going to last long because she wasn't real happy about how the grass felt on her hands and knees until Troy jumped up and down and acted like a fool which made Mia start clapping.

We were finally able to get a few pictures that we felt captured Mia's personality. I was even able to take a few shots that show how Mia looks like me!

Mia grew out of her hooded baby towel, so I searched on the internet for something that looked like her. Troy and I decided a dinosaur would be appropriate since he calls her his little velociraptor. (They like to make weird "dinosaur" sounds back and forth with each other.)

Mia had fun the other night when Jeremy and Marcy brought their ever-growing family over for dinner. She enjoyed splashing in the pool with them, but sternly (you would have to see the look on her face and hear the tone in her babbling to really understand) reprimanded them whenever they jumped off of the diving board. Apparently she thinks they shouldn't do that.

Swimmy Fish!

2008-06-22T08:54:00.001-07:00

Mia love love loves the water! We call her our little swimmy fish. She kicks her feet and splashes her hands like she just wants to take off and go!

Speedy

2008-06-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

These last 4 weeks of work went by fairly quickly. I hated every minute of being away from my Mia. Going back to work just reinforced my decision to stay home with Mia. I've applied for an online teaching position and if I don't get that, Troy said he'd do whatever he had to, including waiting tables. What a guy! He wants me to stay home as much as I want to stay home. I just can't see someone else raising my Mia.

Mia has become so quick on her knees that she rarely even attempts to stand anymore unless there is something on the coffee table that she wants (usually something she's not supposed to have). Every time I leave the room, she follows me, although sometimes she whimpers because she's tired of crawling after me.

On Father's Day, Mia had her first all-fruit Jamba Juice and drank it with a straw! It was totally cute and it made our day. She was so good at using the straw that I thought she might get a cold headache from drinking so much at once. Whenever I would take the cup away, she danced with her entire body to tell me that she wanted more. How could I resist?

Movin' On

2008-05-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is officially mobile! This weekend she started crawling forward. Of course, she is still much more proficient at backwards maneuvers, such as this one where she pushed herself back between the couch and the wall.

I expect that very soon she'll be pulling herself up on furniture (Grandma Jeri is helping Mia work on this one already). I never could have imagined how excited I would be to see her accomplish each of these things. Just when I think she's reached a plateau in her learning, she surprises me with something new. We didn't get this kind of excitement with the rabbits. They could only learn so much, being animals and all. They definitely weren't as willing either. Mia is so curious and wants to try everything.

Troy loves being home with Mia in the evenings and especially on weekends. He doesn't even mind getting up early on Saturday. In fact, he's usually the first one up because he wants to be the one to wake Mia.

Sometimes, though, Mia has to wake Daddy.

Only two more weeks and then I go back to work. That's only three more times at the playgroup. Ten weekdays. Two weekends. That's it.

2008-04-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Mia is observant, meticulous, and systematic. Hmm . . . must be my child.

I Got It!

2008-04-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we took out our "Everything Binder" (those of you who know us well, know what that is!) and looked through our restaurant gift cards. We had some for the World Sports Cafe and we decided that would be a great place to take Mia since there's no way anyone would complain if she was loud. Riverpark sure has changed. On our walk from the parking lot to the restaurant, we saw a train. Apparently, you can get on this little train and ride around the shops or something. I don't know where it goes or if it costs money, but Mia sure thought it was cool to watch. We also saw an ambulance drive onto the sidewalk right up to the theater entrance. Who knew we'd find so much entertainment, and we weren't even inside the restaurant yet!

Inside World Sports Cafe, Mia's eyes never stopped looking around. Talk about overstimulation! I just LOVE to watch her watch new things. She just kept looking around from one tv to the next. When people would cheer for the basketball game, Mia's eyes got big. I don't know if she knew if she should laugh or cry, but although she didn't laugh, I'm glad she didn't cry. Sometimes loud sudden noises (like the vacuum) scare her.

Mia was so distracted that when Troy tried to feed her, she almost ended up with an earful instead of a mouthful because she turned her head so suddenly. She would just kind of absentmindedly open her mouth without paying attention to where the food actually was.

The food was great, Mia behaved well, and some lady with lipstick like a clown commented on how beautiful Mia was (funny, because Mia's hair was extra spiky and funny looking).

The best part of the night was on the way home. By the time we got into the car it was nearing 7:45. Mia usually goes to bed at 7:30, so she was tired and you could see it in her eyes. She had the blank stare going on. When Mia is tired like that, all she wants is her "beddy" and her thumb, so of course we got a little protesting when we put her in her carseat because it wasn't her "beddy". After a few minutes of her "complaining", I said, "Mia, it's okay, you can go to sleep. Just put your thumby in your mouth." This is when both Troy and I heard Mia say, clear as a bell, "I got it!" We laughed so hard she stopped complaining just to listen to us laugh. We laughed all the way home, put Mia in her "beddy" and then laughed some more. That's something we won't forget!

What a Weekend!

2008-03-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday: Easter Egg Hunt with MOPS

Friday: Good Friday Service with Dad and Karen, colored Easter eggs with Paul, Mia's Easter pictures, scrapbooking at Lisa's

Saturday: Yard Saling, Rob's wedding

Sunday: Easter service at The Bridge, made apple slices, Mom's house for dinner

I was excited for each of these events, but it wasn't easy to make sure that Mia got all of her naps and meals in between.

I was nervous to go to the egg hunt because I wasn't sure if there would be any other babies, but Maari brought Claire, and Marcy had Corban, so we weren't alone. The babies didn't really hunt for eggs, but it was nice just to be out at the park. The weather was beautiful, perfect really. We sat the babies down on the grass and got some cute pictures. Mia got stranger anxiety and started to cry, but, like the good momma that I am, I continued to take a few pictures of her crying before rescuing her . . .

On Friday, Mia and I got dressed up and went to Fugazi's restaurant (not your typical Italian restaurant) where Mia was showered with gifts. (I have not bought her ANY toys up to this point, and she still has some she hasn't played with yet!) Afterwards, we went to a very unusual church that was really a tent, but permanent somehow. I, as usual, did not hear much of the service because I was paying attention to Mia. For some reason they decided not to offer childcare. I think they probably regretted that decision after 3 or 4 Mommies walked out with noisy babies.

Later that day, Mia and I went to pick up Troy at work (because he didn't have his car). Troy loves showing Mia off to his employees and clients. We raced home to take Mia's Easter pictures. This was actually the second time taking Easter/7 month pictures because the first time I tried to do it by myself. It's not easy to make Mia smile and then quickly get the camera into position. Troy was a big help. All he had to do was be his goofy self. He jumped around, sang nursery rhymes, and made weird noises. Mia loved it. She loves her daddy!

I took off to go scrapbooking and Troy and Mia had daddy/daughter time. At this point, the weekend was just beginning and I was already feeling like I needed a nap!

Saturday morning we got all bundled up and went out early to hit the big Tower yard sale. The problem is, every year when we go, I can't remember if it's off of Shields or McKinley, so we get lost every year. We drove for a while and decided maybe I had the wrong date, so we went home and went back to bed! It turns out I had the right date, but we didn't drive far enough. That's okay. The Tower yard sales go all through the month of April, so we'll have plenty of opportunities for fresh tamales and all those people!

Troy started getting ready for the wedding at about lunch time, so Mia and I were on our own to get ready. I told myself the wedding started at 4pm, just so I would be on time. What's amazing is that I believed myself and made it there by 4:10pm! The wedding was a really fun time. I enjoyed seeing everyone. It was like Rob and Eri had thrown a party for our family. Camlen was there, which neither Troy or I expected. I walked over to him to say hello and said, "Hey, Terry, I bet you thought you were rid of us!" He laughed. Later I joked with him about competing for photos and we talked about cameras and stuff. He really is a neat guy and he takes great pictures. You just have to wait a really long time to get them (Um, 4 years . . . ).

Mia was well taken care of. Aunt Joanne showed her off, Paul and Kelsey took turns showing her how to play video games, Melissa and Jaime entertained, Aunt Kathy DIDN'T make her cry this time, and even Camlen's assistant offered to hold her while I took some pictures. I was amazed at how well Mia did without a nap. She was soooooo tired when we left at 8pm. She cried when we got home because she was so tired she didn't know what to do with herself!

Heather's cake turned out amazing! I can't believe she even attempted to make an ice cream cake! It was so fabulous! Aunt Mary described the two day process (she said she took pictures because it was so crazy) and we now call Heather a cake engineer. She definitely outsmarted the cake on this one.

Troy and I got to dance. That's always my favorite part. Troy dancing with Mia was just precious. Then my mom danced with her. That was super cute. What a fun night!

The next morning, we were all dead tired, but we went to church, came home and made apple slices to take to Mom's and had Easter dinner. Mia was again showered with gifts. She has so much stuff!

Grandpa couldn't take his eyes off of Mia. He's so cute with her. He just loves to make her smile!

The conversation at dinner was lagging and I guess my mom wanted to jumpstart it or something. I really don't know what kind of reaction she thought she would get from Grandma, but she decided to tell her that we were going to get a foster child. I don't mind her telling, but it seemed kind of random. This comment got relatively the same response from Grandma that we got when we were talking about baby names. Sometimes, I just don't want Grandma's opinion. When she has a strong opinion about something, she definitely lets you know. Abrupt and brutal honesty: not my favorite family trait. She, of course, cautioned us that Mia would not get as much attention (we know) and let us know she thought it was generally a bad idea.

Honestly, I wasn't going to mention foster kids until we had finished the training and knew for sure this was something we want to pursue, but I did tell my mom. Did I think she wouldn't say anything? Well, naively, yes. Anyway, I don't remember how I responded, but we changed the subject (or tried to).

I'm sure it will come up again at cards the same way Grandma brought up the baby name she didn't like every week at cards. At least by Friday, Troy and I can come up with some responses that don't sound defensive and might make some sense to Grandma. Personally, when she said Mia would get less attention, I almost pointed out that she had FOUR children. I'm sure that because they were her natural children that somehow makes it different?

Winners!

2008-03-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

You would think, judging by the pictures, that we were the winners of The Ark of the Covenant. We, in fact, were not. Darrell is the keeper of the covenant tonight. We did, however, score an amazing meal cooked by our good friends Cori and Darrell. Who knew rice was dessert food? Not I!

Venturing Out

2008-03-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

So far, most of my outings with Mia have been shopping trips or lunch with The Chicks. We both enjoy getting out of the house. It's nice to have a reason to take a shower and do my hair. We've made great use of the Bjorn baby carrier. I think all new moms should own one! Mia loves to look at everything while we shop and she especially likes when we go to Hancock Fabrics because EVERYONE smiles and plays with her!

On Fridays Mommy Matters opens up their back room for a playgroup. I hate going to things like that for the first time because there's always a little bit of uncomfortableness, but we went, even without Alicia and Mia Faith since they couldn't make it. It really wasn't anything too special, but we had fun.

There were just two other little girls there and I was glad. Too many little ones sometimes is just not fun. Uma is the owner's daughter and has Down's Syndrome. She's 3, but is about Mia's size. She knows quite a bit of sign language and was signing along with the video on the tv. I asked her what the babies were doing on the tv, and instead of telling me they were sleeping, she did the sign for "daddy". I thought that was odd. When Gena came in to check on all of us, I told her about Uma signing "daddy" and she told me that Uma's daddy was coming to pick her up so she could go home and take her nap. How smart is she! She associated sleeping with daddy. It made perfect sense to her!

Mia also met Mila who is 9 months old and crawling. She was fun to watch, but I am so glad Mia is taking her time learning to get around, because that girl was FAST! What I enjoyed most was watching Mia watch Mila. Mia was sitting up and kept putting her hands down on the ground as if she were going to just take off and crawl right after her, but she couldn't quite figure it out. Then Mila took the toy right out of Mia's hands and Mia started to babble at the little girl. It was probably something like, "You can't have that. I was playing with it. See, my slobber is all over the top and my mommy is sitting right there, so you'd better not mess with me." Of course she said it very calmly and diplomatically, just like I taught her. I think we'll go back. It's good to get out.

In an Nutshell

2008-03-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

Crying baby for 6+ hours=tired Momma. 'Nough said.

Right Now

2008-03-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was just lying here on my stomach trying to remember the last time I was able to lie on my stomach without hurting. For nine months, I was pregnant. Then I was healing from being pregnant. Then I spent months healing from breastfeeding, and just recently gall bladder surgery. So, right now, I am enjoying the feeling of my stomach gently stretching as my back arches upward into a semi-updog pose. I can't wait for yoga tonight!

Perfect

2008-02-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

There are certain moments that I hope I never forget. Just now was one of them. Mia was fussing (I call it complaining because that's what it sounds like) and telling me she was ready for her nap. I picked her up and we walked over to the light switch to turn off the light. She looked in the mirror and smiled as if she was saying, "Thank you, Momma, for knowing what I wanted." I sat down in our chair and began to sing our song. Mia popped her thumb in her mouth and looked up at the mobile of paper cranes that Auntie Stacie made. Then she curled up a little and just began to relax. It was the heaviness of her body that I enjoyed the most. Usually she squirms and wiggles as we get ready for bed, but this time she was just calm. I sang through our song three times instead of just once so that I could enjoy the moment even more and then layed her down in her crib.

Of course, as I was typing this, I heard an enormously loud cry from her bedroom. Her little "thumby" kept popping out of her mouth because she couldn't breath. She needed Momma to suction her "nosey" one more time so that she could sleep. So the ending wasn't perfect. Is it ever?

What now?

2008-02-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

The issue of what to do about going back to work has come up many times in the last 6 months. I desperately miss teaching, my friends, and the money is definitely being missed. I don't miss the paperwork or "politics" of my job. I will get a taste of going back to work in May and June when Troy's mom comes to take care of Mia. Too bad she can't be here all the time. Then I'll teach half-day summer school and my mom will watch Mia. I'm looking forward to it and I'm not.

Troy says I'm not a stay at home type. I tend to agree with him, but on the other hand, why have kids if you're not going to be the one to raise them? Part of me really liked the stress of a full time job and I loved what I did. I just can't imagine someone else deciding when my child will go down for a nap and if they'll let her cry or pick her up. What if they don't parent the way that I do? Of course they won't. They're not me. That's the problem.

I wouldn't be opposed to working a few hours a day. That would be just enough to get by. Then the issue is childcare. Who wants to take a child for only a half day? I have lots of options, but none of which are perfect.

Slow Down!

2008-02-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

Mia is growing up way too fast. Just this week she began to sit up on her own, eat solid food (rice cereal) and said "dada". That's a lot and the week has just begun. I'm glad that I've been able to enjoy every moment with her and have not had to go back to work.

I'm still learning how to be a "stay at home mom" though. My mom wasn't exactly the type to clean the house and bake cookies. She worked through most of my childhood. Getting into a rhythm has taken longer than I thought, but I'm definitely getting closer.

I've been cooking more meals at home and taking the time to clean up each day instead of waiting until the weekend the way I would have when I was working. Laundry is getting done little by little instead of all at once and the bed is made more often than it is not. Our house isn't perfect, but everything is beginning to find its "home" in closets and drawers now that we've been in this house for a year and I'm starting to feel a little less overwhelmed by the daily clutter.

I'm still on the hunt for the perfect combination of "outside" work to supplement Troy's income so that I can stay home and we can stay in our house. The house is another situation entirely. We like it, but don't love it, but want to stay, but will move if we have to . . . it's just complicated. We've got some things to think about anyway.

Rice Cereal in a High Chair by Troy

2008-02-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

Today was Mia's eating milestone of trying rice cereal. Allison had her gall bladder out on Thursday and is still recovering from her surgery. A few days ago I was at the store and on my list was rice cereal. I walked down the baby aisle as I have done many times before and was trying to find the rice cereal. I looked everywhere and still couldn't find it. Of course there were no instructions to look for a box. Instead, I was looking through the jars of mixed baby food. Most had rice cereal mixed with fruit. I never saw the box of dry rice cereal on the top shelf which was at my eye level. Allison ended up finding it over the weekend and pointed out that it was there the whole time. I asked for a more detailed description and a map to help in my search next time.

Since Allison was still recovering from surgery, her mom came over on Thursday, Friday and today to help out around the house. Allison told me as I was leaving this morning that they were going to give Mia rice cereal in the morning. I was very dissapointed that I was going to miss it so I told them to take pictures and video so I could watch it when I got home. While I was at work in the morning they gave Mia her first taste of rice cereal and they said she loved it! I didn't know that she was also going to have it when I got home as well. I was so excited to get to feed her tonight. Allison helped by mixing up the concoction of powdered cereal and water. The rice looks a lot like instant potato mix. I got Mia installed in the high chair and I was so surprised to see how well she is sitting up now. She is getting big too fast! Allison pointed out that I should keep the bowl on the table away from Mia's swinging arms. This morning Allison found out the hard way that Mia would rather have her hands in the bowl, than on the tray. I scooped up a small spoonful and moved it towards her little mouth. As soon as I got close to her mouth she opened up and leaned in. She is still trying to figure out how the spoon works and trys to suck it like a straw. She ate a bunch of cereal and loved the whole experience. Allison took tons of pictures and video so we can remember the moment. Allison said that I was more excited about the eating than Mia was.

After Mia finished her food Allison had our dinner ready and we got to eat at the table as a family for the first time. Things are changing so quickly and it is hard to hold on to all of the great memories that have already taken place.

Always learning the hard way . . .

2008-02-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

This last month has been a crazy time. Mia has been sick, Troy and I have been to the ER more than once, and I've just had surgery. When things like this happen, I always think about what God is trying to tell us through it all. I have been ignoring God for quite some time when he has told me to get outside in the sunshine and go for a walk, or when I feel him pushing me to fill my body with more healthy food. Troy and I both had not been making time to read our Bibles or pray regularly. We were just getting caught up in the day to day stuff and feeling overwhelmed. Had we taken the time to sit down and pray, perhaps things would have fallen into place better, but God couldn't seem to get our attention. So, God did what He is best at . . . He made us slow down and listen by giving us events that were out of our control. We were forced to take a look at what we had been ignoring and it has already changed us. It seems that I always have to learn the hard way, but God never fails to teach me. I am so thankful for the time I have with Troy and Mia now and I treasure each day that we are healthy, because I realize how quickly things can change.

2007-12-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

I love singing to Mia. It seems like a miracle to me, but my daughter loves to hear me sing. I probably would not ever let anyone else hear me because I know my family has a reputation for being more than a little off key. Every time I start to sing, she looks at me and smiles. It calms her when she's upset. So I sing, but not for anyone but Mia. Not even Troy . . .

Mia's First Christmas

2007-12-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

Mia's first Christmas was a long one, but overall a very fun time. We started out with a trip to Pismo that I very carefully planned around Mia's feeding schedule. We left WAY later than we expected to, but it actually worked out better that way. Mia fell asleep for the first part of the trip while we listened to talk radio (Troy's new thing). They were playing some of Reagan's old speeches from when he was president and it was really interesting. I was fairly young when he was president so it was interesting to hear that some of the issues that were dealt with back then still have not been resolved.

We stopped along the freeway at a gas station to feed Mia. She was so funny! She started to eat and then would look up and smile at me. Then she would eat again. Then smile. She went on like this for the entire feeding. She just couldn't concentrate. She thought everything was funny! I had heard that at 4 months, babies start to look around while eating and are less interested, but this was just too funny! It didn't seem like she ate much, but we strapped her back into her carseat and took off again. She fell asleep shortly and slept until we reached Arroyo Grande. We arrived at the Vasquezes house at about 11pm, so I knew that I would feed Mia and put her right to bed. Troy started setting up the Pack N' Play and I sat down on the couch. Mia had woken up and was looking all around at the lights. She LOVED all the Christmas lights and I was thinking, "Great, now she'll never sleep." But she ate well and then I put her in her bed. She looked at me and smiled like she thought this was the best place in the world. I really didn't think she'd sleep, but she was out about 20 minutes later.

The next day, we woke up to a room full of presents. Linda had stockings for both of the girls. There was a Little People nativity set and a dancing snowman. It was very magical. Todd and Lisa showed up at about 9am, but we hadn't heard from Travis and Vanessa. Lisa called them and they said they had just woken up and were on their way. They were supposed to leave at 6am, but Troy and I had already bet on what time they would arrive (I said 10:30 and Troy said 10am). Todd got in on the bet and said 11am, which left Lisa with 11:30. Well, none of us were right. They arrived at 12:30! Needless to say, the schedule was a bit off, Trinity hadn't had a nap and we needed lunch, so we went to Splash Cafe and had clam chowder leaving Trinity behind with Grandma and Grandpa to take a nap. When we arrived back at the house, we opened presents, did our traditional present "hunt", and ate steak and potatoes for dinner. Troy and I cried when we got Mia's carseat because it means more time for me to stay home with my little girl because we won't have to spend the money. We, of course, watched videos on UTube and shared computer knowledge. Then we all settled in to watch the Ocean video on the new plasma tv.

We left for Fresno the next morning so that we could get back in time for Grandpa Jim to read the Christmas Story that evening.

The next day was Christmas Eve. We arrived at the Spaulding's for our traditional Christmas lunch (a little late so that Matt could work a few hours and get paid for a full day). We popped our poppers and told silly jokes and wore our paper hats. Mia received some really cute clothes and a musical ornament that she loved AND another carseat! With two, we have one for each car and no worries about buying one.

That night, we put Mia in her "princess" dress for Aunt Joanne's Christmas party. Mia hadn't napped well during the day and was a little bit grumpy. (I was probably more worried than she was grumpy). We ate, took family pictures, and sang (off key, but whatever). Mia loved the singing. She was tired but pushed through it. We tried to put her down for a nap, but there was too much excitement. By the time we got into the car, she was so tired, she cried half of the way home until she just conked out in the carseat.

The next morning was Christmas. We had a small celebration at home. Mia had her Christmas breakfast (Momma's milk) and opened her presents (a beanie and some socks). We took a few pictures and then it was off to Grandma's house.

Grandma's was the same as always, except that Grandpa didn't look as good as he usually does. We took the famous "kids" picture in front of the tree. We're all so tall and there are so many of us that you can't even see that we're standing in front of the tree anymore. Jaime played the part of Santa's elf and handed presents to Grandpa who said, "Now hear this!" to get out attention. We conspired and threw many paper wads at Uncle Greg and others. Grandma said her usual, "If you don't like it you can exchange it" bit and the kids left the room the minute all the gifts had been unwrapped. Mia had a good time. She loved the rattle from Grandma and slurped on it for a long time. We had the usual food; bread, turkey, ham, and other sandwich fixings, green and red jello, onion dip and chips, and Christmas cookies. This Christmas, I felt more than ever that every moment needed to be captured on camera or video because I wonder how long we will be able to continue having Christmases this way. I'm sure I annoyed people with my camera, but I don't want to miss any opportunities to capture our traditions.

That night, we went to my mom's for dinner, which is becoming a tradition of its own. Mia got her first doll (and it looks just like her). This was the first year that Matt, Mike, Heather, Troy, and I didn't exchange gifts. We chose to sponsor a family instead and I was really glad that we did. The gift exchange didn't feel any less full than before. I just kept thinking about the girls that we bought gifts for and wondering if they liked what we chose for them.

So, that's it in a nutshell (a really big nutshell), our neverending Christmas. We do it every year. This time Mia was just along for the ride. Next year, she'll be running the show!

These last 4 months

2007-12-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

Mia is four months old now and I am absolutely loving every minute with her. I am astounded daily by what she can do and how much she understands. I watch every movement she makes with amazement. How can something so small learn so much so fast?

She's a good baby, so everyone tells me that if I have another one, it will be terrible. We'll see. Right now, I'm thankful that Mia is so scheduled. That makes her easy to read most of the time. I used to have to wake her up each morning at 7:30am, but not she wakes up on her own. You would think that she would cry or something to tell me that she is awake, but she doesn't. She just looks around the room and does this adorable thing where she puts her two chubby little hands together and kind of wrings her hands. When Troy or I get up and she sees us looking at her, she just smiles! Then she coos and babbles while I change her diaper and get her dressed. I love it!

For naptime, she's just as good. She wimpers once or twice. I change her diaper, wrap her in a blanket and sing a song. She chews on her hands and sucks her thumb while I sing. Sometimes she evens sings along with me! Then I put her in her crib awake and kiss her on the forehead. I tell her goodnight and she goes back to chewing on her hands. I can't imagine a better baby. Most days are like that. Of course she does fuss in the evening sometimes, but it is the exception more than the rule. Now I know why Troy's grandma called him Troy Joy. He must have been as pleasant as my Mia.

The pediatrician seems concerned that Mia has not rolled over yet, but I'm not worried. As a teacher, I know that all kids develop at different rates. She'll do it sooner or later. Right now she's just really enjoying grabbing things with her hands. It's fun to watch her concentrate. She can grab just about anything, so we have to be careful. Of course, everything goes in her mouth.

She's also a good eater. She has learned that when she gets up from her nap, the next event is a diaper change and then she eats. Sometimes, while I am changing her diaper, she opens her mouth (and keeps it open for quite some time) to let me know she is ready to eat. When she and I sit down in the chair where I feed her, she will often open her mouth too, as if to say, "Okay momma, I'm ready!"

I'm just really enjoying being a mommy!

What happened to easy?

2007-11-22T23:52:00.000-08:00

Somehow, someone talked us into having Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Maybe we even volunteered (though that's not exactly what I remember). We were promised that everyone would help and that it would be "easy". It seemed like a good motivation for cleaning the garage since we decided to have the dinner in our "extra room". The garage did get clean and the room did look pretty much like an extra room. We even decided to use plastic plates. The set up wasn't too difficult and everything looked beautiful. I made some fabulous cranberries. Then everyone came over and chaos ensued. I'm sure someone was in charge, but I couldn't figure out who. Mia got most of my attention, so it's all a little blurry. There were about 25 cooks in the kitchen and food everywhere!

After we finished eating it didn't get much better. There was plenty of leftover food and everyone wanted to leave it with us. We don't mind taking extra food, but we're always short on storage containers, so there were plates and plastic bags loaded into the refrigerator. People took most of their serving dishes, but even after everyone left, I looked around the kitchen completely amazed at the amount of cleaning left to do. Thanksgiving dinner had clearly taken over. So much for easy!

Stuff

2007-11-13T12:57:00.001-08:00

I have missed going to yoga since Mia was born. It was good to go back last night. My body is so different from what it was before I was pregnant that I don't even know what I can and can't do. In my mind, I can do certain things, but when I try, I am off balance, weak, or sore. Today, I am sore from last night, but I love the feeling because I know that means I worked out hard. Tonight, I think I'll go walking!

I talked to my principal today and she was very understanding about me taking more time off. She did ask that I find a way to keep in contact with the kids while I'm gone, but I can't think of an easy way. What I'd like to do is set up blogs or at least email for each of them so that I could read what they write while I am at home, but I don't know the district rules on that and I get a different answer from each person I talk to. I'm getting the impression that the district rules are not clear for blogging yet. I'm glad I got to talk to the principal though. I feel better being able to tell her in person what my plans are than if I had just extended my leave and let her get notice from the district.

Only 9 days until Thanksgiving at our house! How I got talked into that, I'll never know! I love having the motivation to clean the house though. It certainly is motivating to know that 26 people will be coming and everything needs to be cleaned up. I have so much to do!

I'm really enjoying staying at home. I've been able to finish two scrapbooks and I've done a good portion of a scrapbook for Mia. I've found a faster way to get them done and I love it. Now I just need to buy more books and pages because I've used them all up!

I'm also enjoying the time I've spent taking pictures lately. I've had some good practice with friends setting up shots and figuring out how to position people. It's been a good experience for me and I have more photos to add to my portfolio. Maybe someday, Troy and I will have enough confidence in our abilities to do photography more than as a hobby.

I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy stress. I like to be busy. I think that society tells us that we need to relax any chance we get and take time for ourselves, but being busy energizes me. I like to have a list of things to do each day, even if the list consists of just things around the house. It makes me feel that I have been productive if I can cross off things on the list at the end of the day.

This morning I saw my class off to camp. They were so excited to be going and I wished I could go with them. I will go up Thursday afternoon to visit with them, but it won't be the same as if I were there for the entire week. I do miss my class and the opportunities to get to know them. I'm also extremely disappointed that my sub decided not to go and didn't tell me. She's really missing out on an opportunity to get to know the kids in a different way and build a better relationship with them.

Time to go get some things done! More later . . . .

Creeping In

2007-11-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

For a year before I got pregnant with Mia, I took medicine to help me deal with depression, but in order to get pregnant, I had to ditch the drugs. I was nervous, of course, to go without the drugs, but it was the only way. It took 3 or 4 days of feeling sick and dizzy to wean myself off the drugs. We had just moved out of our house into an apartment. Actually, one of the reasons we moved from that house was the fact that it faced north and south and was covered with large trees therefore not receiving much light. That was a contributor to my depression and we thought that a move to a place with more natural light might help.

After our move, I became pregnant relatively quickly. The hormones of preganancy took over and the nesting began. It was nice to have that nesting feeling that gave me little bursts of energy to get things done and urges to cook and clean. Though I felt tired from the added weight and soreness in my back, the depression did not come back. Even when I had vacation from work, I was able to stay home for six weeks and keep pretty busy, not allowing myself to sink into it again.

After Mia was born, I had a lot of healing to do and a lot of learning. I had to get to know my little girl well enough to understand her needs. It was difficult to hear her cry and not understand what she needed. I was fortunate to have Troy home with me for a week. There were times when I would just look at Mia while she was crying and not respond because I had NO IDEA what she wanted. I would call for Troy to take her because I had visions of hurting her. I knew I would never actually do anything to hurt my little one, but the fact that it even came to mind scared me enough that I knew I had to have a break.

I know that right after giving birth a woman's hormones plunge, and that was probably a great contributor to my feelings, so I toughed it out as any woman would have to do. I had my mom over many afternoons to just hold Mia while I sat down or slept. I thought that maybe once I healed completely, I might feel better. I figured that I was just feeling the same things as any other new mother.

Now, I would say I am completely healed (though not exactly the same as before I gave birth) and doing well most days. Some days though, I can feel the depression creeping in. I stay in bed longer, don't take a shower until after lunch, and sometimes forget to open the curtains to let the light in. These are danger signs for me. I feel overwhelmed easily and don't even attempt to take on regular chores around the house. In short, I accomplish nothing. When I planned to stay home with Mia, I knew there was a possibility of depression creeping in.

This week Troy and I started going back to the gym. We just walked on the treadmills, but it felt good to be doing something. I also got a call from school to help put on a cross country meet. Although I knew it would be a lot of work, I was excited about the opportunity to be out of the house with some sort of purpose. Pressure really gets me moving and it felt good. The only way I am going to be able to stay away from depression is to fight it off with exercise and prayer. I can do it, but it's going to be a battle, even with all of the sunlight in our new house.

Full Circle

2007-10-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, all I wanted was to be a "Mommy". I thought I would have 5 or 6 kids, many of them adopted. I imagined a house with a playroom for the kids and a craft room for myself. I would enroll them all in dance lessons and karate, and I even considered the idea of homeschooling.

Then I became a teacher. The first year I thought I wouldn't make it. The second year I told myself I'd be able to quit once I got married. But by the third year, I was beginning to enjoy what I was doing. Students I once had came back to visit and told me that I had made a difference and because of me they were getting much better grades. Some even brought their report card for me to see. Many of my former students would pop into my classroom in the afternoons or find me out in the field coaching cross country and stay for HOURS to talk. By the fourth year, though I still struggled, I felt I could teach just about anything. I was "in the groove" and finally beginning to feel organized and successful as my students' test scores showed growth. I realized that it wasn't possible for all of them to achieve A's or even for all of them to score "Proficient" on state testing, but it was possible for all of "my kids" to improve. I showed them their test scores and talked about what I expected from them. We became like a family and I even taught them how to encourage each other. They cheered when we read the test scores each trimester and continually asked when we would get the results from the "Big Test". I felt like I was making a difference.

The work was difficult, overwhelming much of the time, and many weekends I would spend the entire weekend grading papers and entering grades into the computer. Sometimes, even with Troy's help, I wouldn't get my report cards finished on time and would turn them in 2 or 3 days late. The adminsitration didn't care because they knew I was a perfectionist and they would not need to edit my report cards. Most of the time, they did not even look at them.

It is my 7th year, though I have not taught yet this year. I imagined that after having Mia, I would go back to work after the holidays. I figured that by then I would be totally bored with staying at home. Although I miss my friends at work, I am not bored and have decided that I would like to stay at home as long as possible. It's funny how my job took me so far away from my original plan. I almost didn't make it back. I still look forward to teaching in the future, but it does not consume me the way that it did and I'm excited to stay at home and teach my own child. When I go back to work, I won't have missed so many of her "firsts" and perhaps I'll feel more comfortable leaving her.

Never in My Wildest Dreams

2007-10-04T19:07:00.001-07:00

I scheduled way more things today than I could handle. Before I had a baby, today would have been no problem. We started with a trip to the eye doctor. I fed Mia before we left and it looked like she might fall asleep before we got there. No such luck. She was not fussy, but she was tired. She had a few fussy moments while I was getting my eyes checked. Then I heard an explosion. I didn't think much of it since she makes those noises all the time and many times it's nothing. When the doctor was finished with the initial tests I picked up her car seat to go to the other room. I felt something wet on my toe. I looked down and saw baby poop. Baby poop (especially when you're breastfeeding) is watery and orangy-yellow and unmistakable. I knew what it was and I knew where it had come from (the baby of course) but I couldn't figure out how it got onto my toe when the baby was in her car seat with a blanket covering her. I picked up the blanket and saw that it was completely clean. The baby herself even looked clean. I started to unbuckle her to take her out and then it all became clear. On both sides of her pants, I could see it leaking down into the openings where the belt buckles come out. She had exploded so hard that it leaked out of her diaper, out of her pants, and down into the crevices of the belt buckle which then dripped out the bottom of the car seat onto my foot. Mystery solved. Clean up ensued. The doctor laughed. I'll make sure to tell Mia this story when she is finally old enough to get her own glasses from Dr. Chinn. How embarrassing!

More than I Bargained For

2007-10-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that this little 10 pound creature consumes a lot of time, energy, and most of my thoughts. I am constantly wondering if she is normal, if what I'm doing is right, and what the next step is. I never thought I would worry about some of the things that are now taking up much of the room in my over crowded brain. The rest of my time is spent feeding, changing, burping (the most time consuming part), teaching her to smile, playing with her in the few moments she is actually awake, getting her to sleep, and thinking about how soon she will be awake. My use of time has changed completely and I am beginning to truly understand the importance of multitasking and planning. Trips to the store are much better orchestrated than BMG (before Mia Grace) and take less time, because there just isn't any.

My newest concern is whether or not to vaccinate her. We have come to the conclusion that we are not ready to come to a conclusion before her 2 month old doctor appointment, so the decision is to wait until we find out more. I really thought I would be the type of parent who picked the binky up off the floor, wiped it on my shirt, and stuck it back in the baby's mouth. Instead, I find myself worrying that a binky is a bad idea in the first place.

Don't get me wrong. I do more than just worry. I look at my little angel's beautiful face while she's sleeping, enjoy rubbing her back while she's eating, and try to make her smile every chance I get. I just think she's amazing and wonderful . . . fearfully and wonderfully made.

Cleaning House

2007-09-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

How important is it that I have a clean house? I struggle with this daily. I don't know if my desire for a clean house is to please other people (though I'm sure this plays a part) as much as it is a mental health issue for me. I feel frustrated in the midst of chaos and so I look around the house and have the desire to clean up, but not a strong enough motivation to actually get started. I know that when I start, I will not be able to make it look the way that I envision, with everything in its place.

There are things in this house that really just do not have a place. Take the photo albums for example. In our old house, they could be put on a shelf, since we had many. Here, there are no shelves, so the albums sit on coffee tables, the fireplace, and on the t.v. stand. This bothers me to no end because it is clutter. They do not truly have a place. We intend to build bookshelves, but that costs money. Another issue are the books. Again, the problem is the lack of shelves to put them on. Four boxes of books are still in the garage.

The biggest problem is that I like to start projects that are ongoing (such as scrapbooking) or that I don't always finish. These things sometimes sit out for weeks or, if they are put away, they are stashed in the closet that is already full. There doesn't seem to be an effective way to organize these projects. Then, of course, there are the dishes, the laundry, and all of the other daily chores. So, each day I make a choice. Either I will 1) Get some "chores" done or 2) Work on a project 3) Organize something 4) Run errands (real or imagined) 5) Do nothing. Many times (more than I would like to admit) I lean towards option five.

Today, I have imagined some errands for myself, so I am off to OSH to buy some flowers to replace the dead ones in the front yard. Productive, yes, but the house is still a mess. I'm still not sure how much I care.

Laughing!

2007-09-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today Mia laughed! Just before Troy got home, I was playing with her and tickling her chin to get her to smile. Instead of just smiling, she laughed. We thought it was so amazing and we just kept trying to make her do it over and over. We got out the video camera and got a little on tape. It was really awesome to see her laugh.

Mia is one month old already!

2007-09-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this has gone already. Mia is growing so big! She is 10 pounds 1 ounce and growing more every second. She can hold her head up, and she's so alert! She looks around more and really likes to look at faces. We love her smiles. She is playful, especially with Daddy. He makes goofy faces at her. She pushes herself up with her arms and legs when she's on her tummy. We think we'll have a mobile child on our hands pretty soon! She's a really good sleeper and gives us a few good hours of sleep at night. We think she's the most beautiful little girl we've ever seen. Sometimes we just look at her for hours. Daddy loves dressing her in pink and I've given in . . . a little. She is pretty adorable in just about anything, even pink.

Shopping!

2007-09-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

We successfully left the house today! It was just Mia and me. I felt pretty rested, and there was a sale at Kohl's, so I thought we'd give it a try. Just to make sure, I went on the internet and looked up postpartum driving because my mom thinks the doctor should have given me instructions not to drive. Everything I read said that it would be fine as long as I didn't have a C-section. I called Troy, almost expecting that he would reject the idea of us going out, but he was all for it. We were on our way. It felt good to put on real clothes and drive somewhere. It was actually pretty easy to pack up the baby and getting the stroller out wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Mia was perfect. She slept the whole time, and after going to Kohl's, I was feeling pretty confident that we slipped into Marshall's too. I bought Mia a Ralph Lauren dress for $20, that sells for $60 at Macy's. We didn't spend long on our outing, but it was a pleasant change of scenery from the nursing chair in Mia's room.

Later that afternoon, I read Mia a book for the first time. I was reading one of my books about babies last night and was surprised to learn that I should be reading to my newborn. She seems to small to really benefit or even be able to sit long enough for a story. I was shocked when I turned the pages and she focused on the pictures. She loved the bright colors and was quiet and focused as I read. She seemed to really enjoy the rhythm of my voice as I read to her. That must be because she heard me read to my 6th graders so often while I was pregnant.

We gave Mia another bath tonight. Again, I am amazed at how well she likes to be bathed. We haven't put her in a real bathtub yet, but she loves the sponge bathing. Troy soaps up her head first and then pours warm water over it to rinse. To look at her, you would think we had taken her for a baby spa treatment. She looks so content. I thought she would cry when we put the water on her, but she loves it!

Penguin by Troy

2007-09-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first trip out with Mia. Of course the first shopping experience with a girl has to be at (you guessed it) Old Navy. We picked out her first Halloween outfit. We got her a little Penguin outfit. SO CUTE! I hope she is big enough by then to wear it. We will take many pictures.After going to Old Navy we went and got mom (Allison) and dad (Troy) a Jamba Juice. We got a "Strawberry Surf Rider." Mmmm good... with no extra boost.

Hardest thing I've ever done

2007-09-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

We went downtown to the lactation specialist again today. She has been helping me with nursing Mia because we had a hard time. Lately, Mia has earned herself some nicknames while breastfeeding. When we first brought her home, I called her "little piggy" because she would snort each time I would get ready to feed her. Now, her nickname is "pirahna" because each time I try to feed her, she begins chomping her mouth before I can get her to latch on. It's actually pretty scary because her little mouth is chomping open and shut, and she'll clamp down and bite me three or four times before she latches on really well. It's somewhat humorous, but it can be very painful.

Alone

2007-08-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day that Mia and I are alone. At first, I didn't know if I would be able to handle it. It's just so overwhelming to feed her every two hours and be alone and bear the pain of the feedings. When I look at what at angel she is, it helps me to focus. I feel that I can't give up though, because I want my baby to have the best I can give her. I want her to be healthy and happy.

Grandma Jeri

2007-08-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today my mom came over to help with the baby. I don't think I really needed help; just someone to talk to and be there for support as I struggle to breastfeed. She says Mia reminds her of the infamous "Baby Allison". She says Mia seems familiar to her. Some of her mannerisms/facial expressions are similar to mine as a baby. We went on a short outing to Fresno Unified Payroll downtown and to the mall to exchange something. Because of the baby's tight feeding schedule and my discomfort walking, the outing was short, but it was nice to be out for a short time anyway.This afternoon, my mom got a big surprise while changing Mia's diaper. Once the diaper was off, she had a huge blowout. While my mom was trying to figure out how to get the baby out of the mess and get a diaper on her, she peed all over the changing table. It was quite a mess! I ended up cleaning up the baby on the floor while my mom washed the changing table cover.

It's off to work I go . . . by Troy

2007-08-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today was my first full day back to work. I got to work about 30 mintes late. Allison and I were up at 2:00am and 4:00am and 6:00am. I wanted to sleep a little more. I got up and went to work at 9:00am. The day was busy and very stressful. We had a few problems last week and today I get to continue fixing them. For some reason when I leave the office everything starts to unravel. I would have liked to have been able to take more time off to spend with Allison and Mia but financially it will not work if we don't make money at the office. I could bore you with work stuff but I will fast forward to the end of the day at work.All day I had been looking at the clock counting down until I got to go home to see Allison and Mia. I look forward to going home and helping around the house and of course changing diapers. Allison's mom ,Jeri, stayed with her today to help with my transitioning back to work and we are very thankful that she was able to take a couple of days off from teaching to help out. We are very grateful that she could help. She will be coming by tomorrow as well. - TroyVisitors:Rosie Cutler brought by a great meal. She made Tri-Tip, Russett Potatoes, and vegetables. Mmmmmm... Can't wait for left-overs.

Ears by Troy

2007-08-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Visitors:Todd called to say congratulations

Activities:Today was my first day back to work. I went with Allison to the Lactation place at Community Medical Centers in Fresno. I went into work at noon and worked a half day. I was watching the clock to see how much longer I had to wait before I could race home and see Mia. I usually look at the clock during the day wondering where the time went but today the time was going so slowly. It was great to get home and hold her again. I have the wonderful job of burping and changing diapers. I never thought I would say this but I love to burp and change Mia. - Troy

Fun Stuff:Allison was nursing Mia and she had her hands on ears. It was so cute to see her holding her ears each time she goes to eat. We ended up taking pictures of it. - Troy

Explosion! by Troy

2007-08-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Visitors:Julie Wheelock and Dave & Karen Spaulding

Activities:We took pictures with Dave & Karen and had Panda Express for lunch. Very good. Also, Julie brought food over for us from the "Chicks" and we are going to be having ham for dinner. My job as dad is to keep Allison rested when I am here and also to wake up Mia before she eats. I have to wake her up, usually by striping her down to her diaper and mittens. The other thing I do as I wake her up is to change her diaper. Today when I was changing her I had just finished cleaning her off and was getting ready to put on the new diaper. I grabbed her legs to lift her up to put the diaper on and she "Let One Go" all over the changing table. This is not the first time this has happend. Usually I move Mia from side to side and she is good about finishing off her business. This time I didn't wait long enough.Fun Stuff:Put Mia on her stomache on the jungle mat. Very cute.

Mia Tortilla by Troy

2007-08-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Visitors:Grandma Radar, Jeri, Matthew

Activities:They dropped off dinner for us. Green enchiladas. Mmmm. Also, bought us a hamper for the babies clothes, shopping cart cover, hangers, and French baby words.Got a card from Sam and Marilyn gift card.

Fun Stuff: Took pictures of Mia’s little feet crossed like she was in the womb. Also, I love to call her, “Mia Tortilla” because she looks like a little rolled up tortilla. The other funny thing that she does is when she cries she has a little snort like a little piggy. We like to call her our little piggy too.Fun Stuff:Allison took pictures of Mia and Troy with matching white shirts.

Thanks

2007-08-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Visitors:Darrell Schmidt

Activities:Darrell dropped off food for us. Chicken salad sandwich, grapes, and cookies.

Houdini by Troy

2007-08-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Activities:Hospital to see lactation people. (Troy was sad throwing away diapers. For a split second I didn’t want to throw them away.)

Fun Stuff:We call Mia our little Houdini because we wrap you up in blankets and you continue to get your hands free. It is the funniest thing. We leave you and come back to see your hands out of the blankets.

Sleep Deprivation by Troy

2007-08-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Visitors:Jim, Jeri, Paul, Matthew, Heather, Ericlee, Dorina & Meilani - made dinner), Rosie to help Allison.

Activities:First bath by Papa Troy

Fun Stuff:Allison told me this morning that she tried to wake me up to get the blanket off the floor and I handed her my shorts instead with the belt dangling from it. Then she woke up again to see me burping the pillow. She said to me, “Troy, you are burping the pillow,” and I replied, “Ohhhh,” and went right back to sleep.

Help with the baby

2007-08-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Rosie to help Allison, Dave & Linda Vasquez

Meeting Mia

2007-08-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Anne Brandt, Dave & Linda Vasquez

More Visitors

2007-08-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

Aunt Joanne, Aunt Kathy, Jeri, Paul

Mia's First Visitors

2007-08-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Aunt Joanne, Jim, Jeri, Paul, Dorina, Cori, Grandma & Grandpa Rader

Let the fun begin! by Troy

2007-08-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

3:00am: “Troy… Troy… TROY!” Allison said as she was in the bathroom. “Haaaaaa,” I replied. “I think my water broke,” Allison said. I jumped out of bed and said, "What should I do." Allison was VERY calm and it was starting to scare me because she is never calm in stressful situations. Allison said not to rush and wanted me to calm down. She decided to go and take a shower and I told her I would pack her car (White 2000 Toyota Corolla.) Allison, being the perfectionist, already had everything packed and ready to go. All I had to do was move everything into the car. I kept running back and forth and back and forth, double and triple checking that we didn’t leave anything. Allison finally got out of the shower refreshed. I thought that meant that we could leave BUT of course that means we can blow dry our hair and put on our make-up. So, I made the bed and straightened up a few things before we left.Allison was finally ready and off we went to Clovis Community Hospital.

We decided to go down Herndon and ended up behind a drunk driver at around Cedar Avenue. Allison and I were trying to decide whether to call the police but decided to follow a little while longer. The person was going between lanes and ended up putting on their hazard lights as well. Then we decided that this person could really hurt someone and called the cops. I had Clovis PD saved in my cell phone (Nextel i730) because my office (200 W. Bullard, Suite B4, Clovis, CA 93612) was in Clovis and we had been burglarized before. So we called and spoke to a really nice lady on the phone. We described the situation and they said they had a cop coming the other way on Herndon. We turned off onto the freeway to get to the hospital and lost sight of the drunk. The cops called back because they couldn’t find them but we told them we already turned. Finally we were at the hospital.

We drove up to Clovis Community at about 4:15am and had to go to the emergency room side of the hospital. We had to go to this side because the regular hospital side is only there from 7:00am to 7:00pm. We gathered the essential items and made our way to the door. Allison was feeling good and hadn’t had any contractions yet. Little did we know what was to come. We walked up to the counter and filled out the paperwork and headed off to the elevators. The delivery and recovery was on the second floor. Allison was in a wheelchair and I wheeled her up to the second floor.We accidentally went to the recovery area and pressed the intercom button. No one answered the call. So we went to the other side and remembered that this areas was for delivery. I should have known this but it was a little too early to remember everything. As soon as I pressed the intercom button the doors opened. We walked (and rolled) up to the counter and they said keep going this way to door number 506. It was a straight shot from the hallway.

We got Allison up and she needed to change into her hospital gown.We started to get situated in the room that we were going to be for the next 12 hours. As Allison was getting ready to change into the hospital gown and asked me if she should put on her dress she brought. I told her to just put on the hospital gown and we will try it out for the beginning. The nurse came in a visited for a little and told us she was going to call the doctor to give him an update. It was about 4:30am. I said, “You are going to wake him up?” The nurse said that she has been bothering Dr. Peters all morning. The nurse wanted to give him an update and ask him what the next step was going to be.

So the nurse left and Allison got into her beautiful hospital gown. Allison, came out of the bathroom and got into the bed.A little time had passed and a second nurse came in and said she was going to start Allison's IV. I think this is when Allison started to get nervous. Allison doesn't like the site of needles and decided to turn away as the nurse started the IV. Allison told her not to tell her when it was going in because she thought she would faint. The nurse got the IV in and taped everything down. The nurse left and I told Allison to lay down and try and get some sleep because she was going to need it later. Allison laid down and tried to get comfortable.The first nurse came back in with another devise and told Allison that Dr. Peters said to start her on "Pitocin" which would help start the contractions. Up until this point Allison has not been feeling anything. So, they started the drip. They started her at 1.. then 2... and then the contractions started to really get big.At this point Allison was having a hard time getting through the contractions. We had spoken about getting an Epideral and Allison had not made up her mind. At this point the hospital started to get more active. Others were having babies and we could hear screaming.

The head nurse came into check on us and her name was Wendy Goodfellow. She was very nice and had an English accent. She asked how we were doing and Allison told her that she was in a lot of pain already. We asked Wendy how much worse is it going to get and she said a lot more.It was now about 7:00am in the morning and the nurse that put in the IV came back in to check on us and Allison told her that she had decided that she wanted an Epideral. The nurse looked back and said, "We don't usually give Epiderals to smiling happy patients." The nurse left and Wendy came back in to check on us again. We told her that Allison was going to want to have an Epideral and that we had told the other nurse. We told Wendy what the other nurse had said and Wendy said, "Well, is she in the bed with the pain?" Up to this point we had heard horror stories about people waiting too long and not being able to get an Epideral so we wanted to put in our request early. Wendy said she would try an catch the Anesthesiologist in between the five C-sections that were scheduled for today. She said it might be a little while.Well, two and a half hours later the Anesthesiologist still had not arrived. Wendy came back to check again and decided to give Allison something that would help her relax a little until the Anesthesiologist arrived. This calmed Allison down and helped her get through the next 30 minutes until the Anesthesiologist was able to break away.

It was now 10:00am and the Anesthesiologist was ready to give Allison the Epideral. This was very intemidating because you have to read the disclaimer that you could be paralized and tons of things could go wrong. Once again Wendy was right there by our side guiding us through the stress. She got Allison talking and so did the doctor and this helped her relax through the process. Allison told the doctor that she didn't want to know when the needle prick was going to happen. So, we continued talking and the doctor said that you might feel a little shock and right then Allison jumped. "Wow, it felt like I stuck my and in the light socket." The doctor started an infusion of the medicine and Allison's pain immediatly went away. So, the doctor finished up taping and organizing the cords. He finished up and then Wendy said she was going to put in a calthader and another monitoring device for the actual labor/pushing part.

Nurse:Wendy Goodfellow

Doctor:Dr. Alfred Peters

Visitors:Jeri (coffee in the morning), Jeri & Jim 10 minutes after birth), Dave & Karen

Activities:Moved to new room in hospital

Fun Stuff: We heard Mia’s cry and it sounded like she was saying, “Ah-Huh, Ah-Huh, Ah-Huh, Ah-Huh.” This was soooo cute.

I know we are going to the hospital tonight! by Troy

2007-08-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

“Hey Troy, want to rake some rocks?” Well, Allison and I were getting ready to get into the pool at our house when she looked over and saw the rocks next to the pool with weeds all over the place. For some reason today she had more energy and had a “nesting moment.” So, I grabbed the trash can and wheel-barrow and started to help. I jokingly told her that I thought we would be heading to the hospital tonight. Little did I know at the time that I would be, right? We still had another 6 days before the actual due date.