Cristmas Tree

we selected a 7 foot Christimas tree this past Sunday. Lights are not all up yet. We will decorate with Mia this week.

First Thanksgiving

Mia had her first Thanksgiving this weekend. I had five days off so it was nice to spend so much time with her. We went to my in laws for dinner. We were supposed to be there at 2 PM  but her nap took longer. By the time we went to get gas, she had an "accident". We had to double back home to give her a bath and change her clothes. Nowadays getting out of the house is such a challenge. We found ourselves late for most of our appointments/events. It was also like packing up the house each time we went out. So by the time we got to our dinner, it was already three and they already finished eating (Turkey can't wait!) Mia missed her first pictures with the turkey.

Santa's in Town

I heard that each year, the "Santa" link is extremely long over the weekend. To beat the crowd, we went to the Mall today after work to see Santa instead and of course take Mia's first picture with Santa. When we got there around 6:30, the line was short and in five minutes it was jour turn. However as soon as Mike put Mia in Santa's arms, she started crying. We were not able to calm her down even after waiting for two groups of babies finishing taking their turn. I was hoping to have Mia's picture with Santa as this year's Christmas card picture but look at this!

She clinged to me for dear life in all the pictures with me but she had her good reason. Overall she was a good sport and tolerated us eating diner out even though it was her dinner, bath and sleep time normally. She even waited till I got all my new makeup at Macy's. We rushed by the Thanksgiving shopping crowd. I did not have time to take a glance of all the Sales stuff. It's amazing how your life changes and how you adapt to be efficient and self-sacrificing.

Shopping Together

x'mas is almost here and it's one of the most stressful time of the year for me because I have to search for gifts for everyone in the family.

Sunday evening after a three hour nap with Mia, we went out shopping. The Town Center is well lit with Christmas trees, raendeer, and shops' neon lights. It was the first time I took Mia out in a carrier at night and shopping. We picked out a blue sweater for aunt Lia and a x'mas tree bird ornament for the bird-loving grandpa.

Fence

Yesterday Mia creeped up the stair and came into the kitchen. With incredible speed, she headed straight into the dining room. She was so happy of her newly found freedom and did not want to stop exploring.

Today we went to Babies R Us and bought a fence to block the stairs for the basement. Mike also lowered her crib mattress to a lower level. Since she's so tall. she can now reach up and almost climb over.

We did other house spoofing such as packing up my Turkish ceremic whirling dervishes, putting locks on the cabinet doors, etc. When I was clearing stuff up, I found the stack of sonograms from last year. I went over each one and one was taken on 11/19 last year (a year ago today). It was so amazing to see Mia is so big now!

Meadowlark Botanic Gardens

It's football Sunday so Mike stayed home to watch the game while I drove Mia to the Botanic gardens nearby to have a walk. It was in the mid 60s. However due to the recent cold weather, the leaves have mostly fallen from the trees and we are about two weeks late to appreciate the changing colors of Fall. Regardless we had fun. There was a lake in the gardens and I took Mia out of the stroller so she could see the gigantic fish and the Canadian geese swimming in the lake. She was quietly observing her surroundings and seemed to be enjoying herself.

We also had our last Music Together today and we have decided to continue going to the Winter class starting in January.

9 month stats

Mia had her 9 month well check today (11-11-11). She weighs 19 lbs 1 oz and is 29.25 inches tall. She's off the chart on her height and about 50-75% in terms of weight.

She had her first flu shot today and a prick on her finger to test her iron level. Everything is normal.

When we got home, she tried American cheese for the first time at the suggestion of the pediatrician. She also picked up the bits of the cheese I put on her tray and fed herself successfully for the first time. She seemed to like the cheese a lot. I think it's because of the salty flavor that's attacting her as most of the time she's been eating plain food.

Since it was Veteran's Day, Mike had the day off. We went out and had a lunch date and watched the Immortals coming out to theatre today.  The movie was so so. We tried a new restaurant at the Mall and it was nice to spend some time with just each other.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Mia had chicken noodle soup today. I cooked organic chicken broth and put in some meat balls. Then I mixed it with wide noodles. She ate quite a bit after rejecting her store bought rice cereal. Maybe I will try noodles more later. I've been feeding her table food with my fingers as we eat dinner. She likes rice and of course she's my daughter. She also eats a little salmon from time to time but the portion is generally very tiny. Today she had a hearty meal.

9 months!

I cannot believe Mia is 9 months old today! She's a happy child. Even though she does not eat as much as I would like her to and she still does not sleep through the night all the time, I love her the way she is.

In Grandpa's Eyes

Below is a picture taken by Mia's grandpa. He titled it "The REAL Mia". In his email he said:  To me this image reflects Mia as inquisitive, playful, focused and relaxed. Mia was investigating grandpa's camera in this photo. She was so close to the lense, her face is slightly distorted. She looks like some animated character. I love it so much I made it my desktop picture at work.

The End to the Sun Room

Today Mia climbed her first stair from the sun room to the kichen floor. Mike placed her color book in front of her and it was incentive enough for her to figure out how to wiggle her chubby little legs up the stair and get to what she wanted. This officially marked the end of the sun room as her sole territory. From now on, there is no stopping her!

I mopped the entire floor last night in anticipation of this. She already hit her forehead twice in the process of attempting to climb up again later in the day. I can just see all the little accidents in the days to come and more cleaning work for us. :)

Pumpkin Festival

It's hard to believe it's already November and this post is three weeks late. In mid October we went to Cox Farm Pumpkin Festival. I carried Mia and my visiting girlfriend pushed the stroller around. We did the baby slide half a dozen times and check out diffent "theme parks". Mia had a great time. She obviously enjoyed the outdoors. The weather was incredible unlike now. Last Saturday we had an inch of snow... in October!!! At least we got to enjoy the Fall a little bit this year.