Suddenly Sipping

If you ignore the punks in the background...this is a pretty cute clip of Mia displaying her sudden ability to drink from an actual cup. :o)

C-L-I-P

A couple of days ago, I spelled a word in front of Mia for the first time to speak in "code" to Jeff. That was a big moment. Mia is slightly compulsive about yanking out any barrettes or clips I try to put in her hair. The other day, I noticed that Jeff was about to comment on a clip I'd managed to sneak into her hair, and I quickly said, "Don't tell her about the c-l-i-p or she'll pull it out." And she does, too! Whenever someone comments on how pretty her barrette or clip is, three seconds later she's got it in her hand along with a fist full of hair. Now that Jeff and I officially speak in "code", I guess I'll finally have to learn how to spell... ;o)

Santa Was Here!

Sketeris Family Christmas Photos

Here is a link to some of the portraits we had taken this year. This was a fun evening because we met with the same photographer who took our wedding photos (Kassel Studio, Santa Ana, CA). The files here should be big enough to download, but if you'd like me to email any of the full-size images to you, please let me know. Enjoy!

Sketeris Family Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas!

We can't believe this is already Mia's 2nd Christmas. Time sure flies. I think I can safely say that Mia added a considerable dose of joy and laughter to our family's festivities this year. Grandma and Grandpa (I mean Santa...) brought her the most adorable rocking horse, and she had us all laughing last night as she hugged, rode, and cooed at the horse. Here are some pictures that Auntie Heather took on Christmas Eve. Video of her horse (and it's adorable sound & movements) coming shortly!

Washington, D.C.

Jeff, Mia, & I took our first vacation together last week. Jeff and I bravely boarded a plane to Washington, D.C. with our 14 month old to visit our friend Robin and to take in some of the sights of the city. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Mia "Ham"

Here's a fun clip of Mia hamming it up for the camera. After a couple thousand pictures since birth, she's definitely figured out what the camera is and that it's a time to put on a little show. ;o)

Pre-dawn Nap

We had a week or so in which Mia was consistently waking up for the day in the pre-dawn hours. Jeff and I took turns entertaining her each morning while the other slept in until a more-or-less normal hour. One morning I got up and found that they both had fallen back asleep on the sofa. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Coffe Playdate

Here's a shot of Mia enjoying one of our recent coffee playdates. She's found a chair at the corner of the shop that she really enjoys relaxing in.

(Still) No More Tears

I'd like to think that the reason that Mia never sheds any tears is because I'm such a great mom....but we figured that we should look into a physiological reason. (Just in case!) Most babies start shedding tears in the first few weeks of life, but our little Mia has shed four tears in her 13.5 months, and none of them made it all the way to her cheeks. So our pediatrician recommended that we visit an ophthalmologist. We did that today and learned some interesting things. First, the human body produces two kinds of tears. One kind is what your eyes produce all day long just to keep your eyes moist. The other are produced by some glands on either side of your forehead that flood your eyes when you cry. Apparently some people just don't produce the second kind. There are no real problems associated w/ not producing these tears, and furthermore there isn't anything to be done about it anyhow. So...since she's made it this far in life with no tears, the doctor says that she probably won't produce many more moving forward. Who knew??

Mia Cam

I thought I'd try to capture some video to show you all how well Mia is walking now, but she has become rather infatuated w/ all electronic devices and especially with the camera. So instead this video of her walking turned into a Mia cam. Enjoy!

1st Molar!

Holy moly, we have a molar! I was going to be kind of disappointed if there was no new tooth, and I kind of hoped it might be a molar b/c the three of us all had a really, really, really long night on Friday night to welcome it to the world... Jeff and I put Mia to bed around 8pm on Friday night, and she woke back up around 10pm. And then we were pretty much up while Mia wailed off and on the rest of the night. Jeff and I are still pretty messed up sleepwise & Mia seems to think she's nocturnal now, but she's got her first top-right molar poking through.

Bananas

Jeff and I think it's pretty funny to watch such a little person hold & eat an entire banana, so we thought we'd share. Mia *loves* bananas and points to the them in the fruit bowl every morning. :o)

Sand Toys at the Park

These were taken yesterday during a playdate at the park after our Stroller Strides class. I can't believe Mia's already big enough to play w/ other kids at the park!

Halloween

I can't believe Mia's second Halloween has already come and gone! This year we dressed her as a little chicken. It was pretty funny to watch her walk around in her costume b/c her walk tends to be a little jerky still, so it worked pretty well as a chicken walk! ;o)

Mia's 1st Waffle

Mia finally tasted the waffle for which she was nicknamed last week. Unfortunately, the occasion was the closing of the restaurant where Jeff and I enjoyed our weekly waffles while I was pregnant. :o( Not sure how I could ever survive another pregnancy without a weekly waffle from Spires to looks forward to...

Bottoms up!

Mia fell asleep on the sofa a couple of weeks ago, and Jeff & I got this adorable shot. :o)

Mia's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Mia's birthday party, and I think she had a great time. I'm glad we decided to keep it a small-ish affair b/c she was already exhausted & a tad overwhelmed after a couple of hours. She actually went to bed for the night a couple of hours early!! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Mia!

I seriously cannot believe it's been a year since Mia's birth!! All day long I've been thinking about where we were a year ago today. And...of course, around 10am I thought about the fact that I'd been in labor since 4am the day before and that it would still be 3.5 hours until her arrival!! Then around 2pm, I was thinking about her first 1/2 hour of life, her first bath, and all the disbelieving smiles at this miraculous little life. By around 7pm we were settled in for the evening in our maternity room, and Mia was tucked into her bili bed... And here we are a year later!!

Today Jeff, Heather, Justin, and I took Mia out for a birthday dinner (and margaritas for those of us over 21!). After dinner, Jeff and I introduced Mia to chocolate cake. Enjoy!



P.S. Mia's birthday party is this Saturday at 2pm. Please email me for the location if you are able to join us! :o)

Clip of Mia walking

Here is a very short (but also very cute!) video of Mia "walking". :o) It looks a bit like she's walking on the deck of a boat during a thunderstorm, but she's getting better each day. Most importantly, I think, she seems to have figured out that walking is much faster than crawling, so she seems pretty eager to figure it out. Enjoy!

Looking back...

I cannot believe we're already coming up on Mia's first birthday!! I put together a little collage of Mia's development from 0 - 11 months. I seriously cannot believe how much she has grown and changed in the last year!! Enjoy!

P.S. Birthday party info is coming soon!! (I promise!)

Teeth 5 & 6!!

Mia's top, center teeth popped out today. I knew there was at least one
on its way b/c she's been pulling on her ears again. I think it's funny
that they keep coming in pairs: first the bottom center ones, then the
top eye teeth, and now the top center ones. I'm just grateful she's not
having a hard time with them!!

Breakfast with Mia and Kitties

Here is some better footage of the kitties, some of Mia's current babble (which is pretty fun), and a two-handed wave! :o)

Walking toys!

Mia finally figured out what her walker toy is all about, and she's pretty happy about the discovery!

Cats!

Mia is learning to play with our cats, and they are learning to play with her. Baby-feline relations are definitely improving! The lighting here isn't the best, but this video is definitely good for a couple of laughs. :o)



P.S. If you don't recognize these cats, it's not the lighting or your bad eyes... We tragically lost Friday & Holli this summer. These cats are Theo (the tabby) and Miles (gray & white). We adopted them to be Holli's "back-up dancers" after we lost Friday, but we sadly lost her shortly after that. Drop Jeff or me a line if you're interested in the rest of the sad story....

Mia walked!

Mia took four steps this morning!! And it happened exactly how I thought it might: she picked up two things she wanted to hold onto and started looking at a place she wanted to get to...and she just started walking! For a second, I thought she might make it clear across the kitchen, but I think for steps is pretty good four a first attempt! :o)

Mia waved!

Mia waved yesterday! She and I were hanging out at the office of our church while I was helping to work on the website. She spent the best part of a couple hours playing with Henry the office manager while I worked. When Mia and I were finally heading out, Henry and I were both trying to get her to wave goodbye, and she actually did! I don't think she gets the meaning of a wave yet, but she definitely seemed pleased that she could mimic whatever the heck Henry and I were doing. ;o)

The Great Park Balloon Ride

Mia and I went The Great Park Balloon Ride in Irvine today. The land used to be an airbase, and they are in the process of turning it into a giant park. The one feature that is ready now is the giant balloon, which carries its passengers pretty far from the ground. The balloon is tethered to the ground by a giant steel cable, and the passenger car hangs from the balloon. It was a pretty short ride, but it was definitely novel. :o)

Play Time

Here are a couple of clips of Mia playing in her nursery. Highlights include finally figuring out how to play the drum and more hugs for the stuffed lion chair. She *loves* that lion!!

Road Trip

This is video of Mia shortly before she actually lost her mind during a longish drive up to Fresno to see her cousins for their birthday. This video is pretty funny, but shortly after this it was all screams... ;o) Luckily she had a blast during the birthday party and wore herself out, so she slept for most of the drive back home later the same day!

Summer fun!

It's taken all summer, but Mia is finally willing to wear her shades. :o) This was taken as we were on our way out of an indoor playground at the mall yesterday.We hung out for a couple of hours w/ a friend of mine and her two kids. After Mia had explored every square inch of the playground, we went home for a loooong nap. ;o)

P.S. If you look at the large version of this picture, you can see all four of Mia's teeth!

Almost a toddler!

Mia is turning into a toddler right before my eyes!! She crawled into this plush toddler chair several times this evening. She gets the biggest kick out of the lion's face and usually just sort of lays on him face down. I flipped her around once and, to my surprise, she just sat there like a littler person. I remember how silly that chair seemed when I first brought Mia home and she couldn't even hold her head up, much less sit in a toddler chair!

Mia is also making a lot of progress on the food front. In the last couple of weeks, we've added pasta, string cheese, black beans, and some raw fruits to her diet. Jeff and I have both noticed that she eyes our plates pretty eagerly these days. It won't be long before she's working w/ her own fork & spoon!

9-month check up

Mia and I went to her 9-month check up a couple of days ago, and she's doing really well. She weighed in at 19lbs 12.5oz and measured 27 3/4". (And for extra credit, her head circumference is 18".) That puts Mia in about the 70th percentile for height and weight and about 90th percentile for head circumference.

Our doctor was happy with Mia's development so far: babbling, two teeth, pincher grip, crawling, pulling to standing, cruising, etc. It was a first appointment in 7 months where she didn't have to get any shots. However, we got a lab slip for a blood draw we have to complete before we go in for her 12-month check up. :o( If she likes that as much as she did when we were in the hospital after her birth...that'll be a great day.

On a funny note, when were in the exam room waiting for our doctor to come in, I was sitting w/ one ankle crossed over the other knee. Mia, who was just wearing a diaper at this point, was sitting in my lap like she was chilling in a chaise lounge, sitting on my lower leg and laying back over the other. When the doctor walked in, she just started laughing out loud at how mellow Mia appeared. And through the first half of the exam when she and I were talking about Mia's development, she kept looking at Mia and started laughing out loud again. I guess she hadn't seen a baby quite so chilled out at a doctor's appointment before. I gave Jeff credit for that part of Mia's personality, because I don't think I've ever been so relaxed in my life, and especially not anywhere near a doctor's office!

Petting zoo!!

Jeff, Regina, and I took Mia to the zoo today, and we got to take Mia into the petting zoo for the first time. Sooo much fun!! :o) If you listen carefully to this video, you can hear Mia laughing when the goat gets close to her, especially at the very end. This was a priceless day! :o) :o) There are a few still photos from our trip in her photo albumn.

T-r-o-u-b-l-e !

This kid is mobile, and she's curious about everything!! Let me just say that it is nearly impossible for me to study during the day now that Mia is mobile. The days of me studying next to her while she quietly plays on the floor are so over... ;o) As I write this, Mia is four-wheeling over a pile of books, toys, and diaper supplies that she has pulled down to play with. And I think she's just about pulled down everything that can be pulled down. And to think that she'll soon be able to walk without needing to hold on to stuff!!

Playland

Mia and I went to a little "playland" nearby that has all kinds of toys and soft spaces for infants and toddlers. Mia had a blast in the little ball pit and crawling (and falling) on their foam-covered floor. :o) They even had a giant jumper that we jumped on together. Mia got some good laughs out of that one. Enjoy!

Laughing on the swing

My friend Dolly drove out from Vegas to visit Mia & me last week, and I shot this video of Mia on the swings while the three of us were out at the beach. Her laugh at the end is priceless. :o)

Another big week!

Mia has been keeping us rather busy lately! Since my last post, she's become a very speedy crawler, she's taken a couple of cruising steps, she's started saying "da-da-da", and I felt her first tooth!! What a week! She spent most of this week chasing the cats or trying to get to their food. She actually caught Friday once and laughed victoriously. Jeff and I are also pretty excited that she holds her arms up to us when she wants to be picked up now. :o)

Mia's mom is not excited, however, that Mia is still not sleeping through the night anymore. Ugh. (I have to take a final and turn in a paper next week, and I can't even think straight anymore!!) Since Mia started crawling, rolling over, and standing all at once, she's been waking up around 1am and 4am every night to nurse. I'm starting to feel like I did back in the early weeks home from the hospital. But as you can see from this picture, Mia is still happy & healthy, so it's all worth it.

For the record, the emerging tooth is Mia lower, front, left-of-center tooth. There's probably a better name for it, but you know what I mean and I'm too tired to go look it up. :o)

Mia & her Cousins

Mia and I drove up to Fresno yesterday to celebrate her Godmother's graduation, and she got a chance to hang out w/ her cousins Sean & Evie. Congratulations again, Melody!! :o)

Baby Gate

Mia really disapproves of the baby gate I've installed in her doorway. Here's a picture of her protesting...and it was actually taken between screams of protest, so she looks much calmer than she really was. And on a funny note, this gate must be a whopping 26" tall, and Friday absolutely cannot figure out how to get over it. He was in the room w/ Mia & me when I installed it, and he freaked out b/c he couldn't figure out how to get out. He tried crawling under and squeezing through on both sides. When this approach (obviously) failed, he sought refuge from Mia by seeking higher ground instead. Like Heather said the other day, he's never been accused of being the brightest kitty... ;o)

Yet another use for the Boppy

I can't believe this took so long, but Friday finally discovered that the Boppy can be used to make a cat nest. He was like this when I went off to bed last night, and this was how I found him when I got up again this morning. ;o)

You asked for it!

Alrighty, ask & you shall receive! :o) Here is video footage of Mia jumping earlier this week. (Xan, this is for you!)

Brought to you by the letter "M"

We've got M's!! For the last few days, Mia has starting babbling "mum-mum-mum", and last night Jeff and I both swear we heard her say "mom". It's amazing how fascinating it is to hear new sounds suddenly coming out of this little creature. :o)

Our Jumping Bean

Mia has been taking her jumping very seriously lately. ;o) Here's an action shot I captured yesterday while Mia was in the middle of a marathon jumping session.

Sippy cup

Another quick milestone to share: Mia took her first successful drink from a sippy cup yesterday! I gave her an ounce or two of water in her green froggy sippy cup (which matches the green froggy bib I posted a picture of earlier), and instead of looking at it like it was a teether, she opened her mouth and tipped her head back. I suspected she might be interested in drinking some water when the temperatures pushed over 90 degrees yesterday. She's growing so fast!!

Uh-oh....

So Mia decided that this whole crawling thing is for babies... The same day she crawled for the first time, she also pulled herself to standing a couple of times. Crazy! Aren't they supposed to crawl for a while before they go vertical?? Geeze! Anywho, here are a couple of pictures I shot of her today after we got back from a walk. I sat her down on the floor next to her stroller, and she popped up right next to it so that she could play w/ the straps. Enjoy! ;o)

All You Can Eat

This cracked me up! Mia was exploring today w/ her new-found freedom, and I think she thought she'd struck gold: the All-You-Can-Eat snack bar!! I'm still laughing at this one... (Jeff & I may have to reserve this one to embarrass her on prom night or something.)

Mia's starting to crawl!!

Here is a video of Mia's first successful attempts at crawling! She traveled about 4 feet to get to her toys, some of it on her hands & knees and some of it on her tummy army-style.

We have B's!!

Mia started babbling in earnest this morning. :o) I heard her saying "buh-buh-buh" over and over for the first time this morning. So cool!

Sitting up on her own!

Today was another big milestone for Mia: she was able to sit up on her own! Twice!! :o) She's been working on this really funny side sit for the last week or so, and she finally figured out how to push all the way up today. I think she's pretty bored w/ being immobile these days, especially since she's really discovered the cats. She laughs whenever she sees Friday walk past her and tries to reach for him. She's started a bit of an army crawl, so I don't think the real thing will be too far behind.

Play date

Mia and I spent our morning at the park and a local coffee shop. Mia really likes (eating) the swing and rolling around on the floor at the coffee shop. They have a kid-friendly corner full of toys and a large carpet to play on, which means we moms actually got a chance to talk! :o)

Playing before nap time

I shot this today just before Mia went down for a nap. I caught one good smile and her most recent trick: she likes to try balancing on her side instead of rolling all the way to her tummy or back. :o)

Menu so far

We've been adding new foods to Mia's menu every few days, and so far she's not really excited about eating in general, but this is what we've covered so far:

• rice cereal - Mia reacted like we fed her something labeled "food". Then I tasted it & agreed w/ her. Pretty boring stuff.
• oatmeal - Better, but still not exciting. It seems to be growing on her though.
• mashed banana - These are going pretty well.
• pureed yams - Started off well, but she got bored of them pretty quickly.
• mashed avocado - She ate 'em, but I think she was mostly puzzled.
• pureed zucchini - Seemed to like them pretty well.
• pureed butternut squash - Couldn't care less about these, though I though they turned out really well. :o)

For breakfast most days, we now do mashed banana in oatmeal, which was her first combo food & she eats it down pretty fast. Next on the list is stewed pears. Yummy! :o)

Another day at the races?

We went to the race track for the second week in a row! You'd think we had a habit or something, eh? This time we were invited by a couple of friends from church to join them at the Turf Club, and we had a great time. :o)

Last week, we were all dressed in running garb and covered in salt from the race...but the Turf Club required a slightly different dress code. Hehehe. So the nice thing is that we got to use Mia's Easter dress again! She was a hit and seemed to have a really good day. The picture is of her catching some ZZZs in Daddy's arms. So cute!!

Rub-a-dub-dub

 

Here's a quick one of Mia and her rubby ducky. :o)

End of the swaddle

Last update for today. ;o) This is a picture I took of Mia the other day doing something totally new: sleeping w/o a swaddle. Many of you have seen Jeff or me swaddle her up and it's been like an off switch. I'd read that most babies who like to be swaddled give it up around 3-4 months and that some occasionally hang out w/ the swaddle until about 6-7 months. Mia was definitely in the latter camp. The problem is that she still likes being swaddled, but at just over 18lbs it's no easy task to keep her in one. And whenever she broke free, she flipped over to her hands and knees and cried like the world was ending. So Jeff and I decided that we probably just needed to move on. So on Sunday night after our long drive home from Easter dinner, she was already sleepy so we just put her down in the crib and prepared to endure the crying. And then...nothing. She just went to sleep. And then she did it again for all of her naps yesterday and at bedtime last night. So...seems Mia was ready to move on before her parents were, eh? ;o) I'm just glad that she can sleep more easily now!

Plastic bibs are the way to go...

Here is a picture from lunch today of Mia in her new frog bib. It's made out of soft plastic & has a little pocket to catch spills so they don't end up in her lap (and from there to her hands/hair/me/etc....).

Mia's first Easter!

We celebrated Mia's first Easter over the weekend, and there are several new pictures up in her photo album. She was a little ham all day in her dress. We attended an Easter breakfast at church before the service, and Mia kept herself entertained w/ a spoon while I managed to eat. I missed most of the service itself hanging out w/ Mia who was upset b/c she'd missed her mid-morning nap... But we got hang out w/ a couple of other moms who were doing the same thing. (Yet another one of these secret mom worlds I've discovered!)

After church we drove out to my mom's place for Easter dinner w/ the whole family. (Check out how much Mia how grown since we took a similar photo at Thanksgiving!!) In the picture here are (from left to rightish): Pam & Chuck, Melissa, my mom, Justin & Heather, Pat, Jeff, Mia, me, and my grandma.

A Day at the Races

Today we took Mia out to the Santa Anita Race Track for the Santa Anita Derby and 5k. Heather, Jeff, and I ran the 5k race, which ran through the beautiful LA County Arboretum and then finished around the race track at Santa Anita. After the 5k, we met up w/ Melissa, my mom, and my grandma and explored the infield before heading to the stands to watch the first six horse races. The highlight of the day for me was that we held the program open in front of Mia, and when we asked her to pick the Derby winner, she pointed to a horse named Tiago (a long-shot at 20-1 odds) and he won in an upset. Unfortunately, her parents didn't put any money on her horse...

Cute as a button! :o)

Here's Mia playing w/ her little gym and showing off her tamed hair. ;o) I finally found clips that will stay in her hair, so hopefull the Flock of Seagulls era is now over...

New Photos!

Hey, all. I finally got Mia's photo album updated again. :o) Enjoy!

Six-month update

Mia had her six-month doctor visit yesterday, and it went really well. Our waffle weighed in at 18lbs 0.5oz and measured 26.5". She had been in about the 95th percentile in both measurements at her last appointment, but now she's in about the 85th percentile for both measurements at her age, which is good. They say that breastfed babies tend to be bigger than formula-fed babies for the first six months, and then they tend to be a little slimmer than formula-fed babies for the next six months as they start rolling around and crawling. So it's good that she's developing well.

Mia received her third round of shots yesterday, which actually went fairly well. She didn't even cry at the first shot...she just looked really irritated. Then she cried pretty hard for about 30s after the second, and that was it. I think the nurse that we've had the last two times is just really good at giving them. And now we get a three-month break before our next round! :o)

Our pediatrician is pretty eager to get Mia eating a lot more solid food ASAP, which sort of surprised me. I guess she's been studying for her board re-certification, and there is a lot of new research that kids often don't get enough iron in the second six months of life. So, she wants us getting Mia up to 2-3tbs of iron-fortified cereal three times per day...and then moving right along into veggies, fruits, and even meat. She also wants us to feed her solid food first three times a day and then to finish those feedings off with breast milk "if she's interested". Alas, my first disagreement with the doctor. I agree with most of what she's said, and we will definitely offer Mia more cereal and start making progress towards veggies and fruits, but I still plan on breastfeeding first at all meals and I don't plan on offering Mia any meat for a few more months. Everything I've read says that a feeding schedule like that can lead to a baby weening herself way early, and everyone agrees that "breast milk is best" for the first 12 months. And in fact, I was reading yesterday that if she does stop nursing before 12 months, then I'd have to supplement with formula anyhow!

The other interesting note is that Mia still doesn't shed tears... And my doctor has never heard of a baby her age not shedding tears, at least unless the baby's sweat glands were also not working. But Mia doesn't have that problem. (Hence the wonderful hairdo she's always got when we take her out of the car seat...) But Jeff found a message board where some parents said that their kids didn't start w/ the tears until 7-9 months. So I'm prepared to be heart broken when that starts... ;o)

Road Trip!

We just got back from Mia's first road trip, and we all had a great time. It was a whirlwind, but we were thrilled to see all of you we were able to get to. For those of you who have never road tripped w/ an infant, it is amazing how much longer a pit stop takes when you have to factor in a diaper change, possibly a change of clothes, a feeding, and just time out of the car seat.

See how happy she looks? It's like she knows that she's on the Cal campus. Go Bears!

Connor was super nice to share all of his toys with Mia for the afternoon! :o)

Mom & Dad were even able to take a break from the driving for a while! (Just kidding!)

It's only been a couple of weeks since I started sitting, and I'm already digging the high chair when we eat out. The view is so much better up here!

Developmental Milestones II

It is amazing how much Mia has already changed in the last three months!! When I posted this chart previously, she'd only hit about half of the milestones and I couldn't picture her being able to do the rest of them yet. Now we're there! She's hit every single one of them

Sadly, Friday has made no progress whatsoever. However, as our friend Ari mentioned, Friday should at least get an honorable mention for being potty trained. In fact, he came that way and has never (to my knowledge) needed a diaper. So, hats off to you, Friday!

	Mia	"Friday"
	(3 m/o human)	(5 y/o house cat)
Follows objects briefly with eyes	x	x
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs	x
Can see black-and-white patterns	x	x
Smiles, laughs	x
Holds head at 45-degree angle	x	x
Makes smoother movements	x	x
Squeals, gurgles, coos	x
Blows bubbles	x
Recognizes your voice	x	x
Does mini push-up	x	x
Can grasp a toy	x
Rolls over, from tummy to back	x	x
Recognizes own name	x	x
Turns toward new sounds	x	x
Rolls over in both directions	x	x
Is ready for solid foods	x	x
Sits without support	x	x
Mouths objects	x	x
Passes objects from hand to hand	x

Mia's first playgroup :o)

Mia and I attended our first parent-tot group, and it seems to have gone over really well. The tot classes are divided into two "age" groups: non-walking infants and walking infants. We are obviously in the non-walking group. The class ran about 45 minutes, which seems to have been the perfect length b/c at minute 46 a few of the babies (including Mia) starting crying. It was pretty funny. Anyhow, before we got to that point we let the babies roll and/or crawl around on the floor and look at each other and play together. Some of the kids can crawl already and came charging over to Mia who was like, "Oh, hello..." Then we sang some songs for them, blew bubbles, played with a parachute, and rolled some balls around in a circle. I think the parachute was the best part. If you've ever seen those giant parachutes that kids play with in P.E., this was the same sort of thing. We all set our little ones on the parachute near us and fluttered the 'chute a bit. Then we put them on the floor and fluttered it above them. Mia was amazed by the moving rainbow of colors...and of course she tried to eat it. ;o)

Site Feed

Quick note... If you're into site feeds (like RSS, Atom, etc.), I've added one for Stork Notes. You can use the following URL or click the button at the very bottom of the site. http://babysketeris.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Toes in the mouth!

Mia finally figured out to get her toes in her mouth, and she seemed pretty pleased with herself! :o)

Jumping bean!

Until today, Mia has only really liked her jumperoo as a place to stand and play w/ the toys on its tray. Today she suddenly figured out what the springs were for. It was a pretty fun afternoon! :o)

First solid food

Mia tried her first solid food on Sunday, and it went over pretty well. :o) Jeff fed her a small bowl of rice cereal, and Mia ate all of it. We made a couple of rookie mistakes (like forgetting a bib...), but otherwise, it was a success!

Growing fast :o)

Had to share this adorable picture of Mia:

It's been an interesting week with the baby. I think she must be going through another growth spurt b/c she's been waking up for a late dinner (btw/ 10pm and midnght) and then up for an early breakfast (btw/ 3am and 5am) when she used to sleep all the way through from around 7pm to 6-7am. Plus, she's been really fussy lately, too, which is totally not normal for her. But if I'd grown over 5 or 6 inches in the last 5 months, I probably be grumpy, too. :o)

She's already up to 18lbs, and it looks like she really, really wants to crawl soon. She can hold herself up really well on her arms, and she's got the motion down in her legs, but she can't quite pull her legs under herself yet. She made a couple of serious attemps at it yesterday, though, so it probably won't be long now!

Look what I can do!

So today was a big day! Yesterday, Mia started putting her arm down when she started losing her balance when put into a seated position. Today, I put her in the middle of my bed (lots of safe room to tip over…) and tried to see if she might try to hold herself up on her own…and she did! After sitting while leaning on her hand for about a minute before tipping over, I decided to grab the camera to get a picture. But when I propped her back up, she sat for another minute, but without leaning! So I guess Mia can officially sit up! At least for a minute. :o)

Mia figures out beverage containers...

I decided to let Mia start playing w/ an empty sippy cup this week when she demonstrated that she's figured out how grown-ups use beverage containers... Here are a couple of highlights (lowlights?) of her trying to get at my coffee and Pat's beer: