Week of Achievements

Mike and I spent our Memorial Day working in the yard and cleaning the garage. Mia sat in her swing under a tree in the yard while we worked. Afterward we met Chris, Jenny and Matt for lunch and the new Indiana Jones movie. It was good. Not great, not bad, but good. 

I had several meetings on Tuesday, the last of which was my annual performance review. Bill likes to conduct it like a behavioral interview, asking questions that require examples. Fortunately I was prepared and easily spouted off my accomplishments of the year, the areas where I need to improve, what I have learned about myself over the past year on a personal and professional level, and what he could do better for me and for our division. When he showed me the written portion of my review, it was even better than I'd thought. I got a very nice raise to compensate me for my hard work this past year. It amazes me how much I've accomplished in the 8 years since I've gotten out of the military. After this raise, I have nearly tripled my salary since 2000! That is wonderful, but the even better part is how much I love what I do. I really feel like I am in the perfect job for me, working with incredible people and learning from exceptional leaders. I feel like I'm at an amazing point in my life, and I am so blessed.

That night we went to check out the progress on the store. The framing is all up and you can really start to see it coming together. Mike walked me through, pointing out where everything will be. He has such a great vision and has really thought through many unique details. I am dying to see the finished product! I am so incredibly proud of Mike, I just can't get over it. What courage and ambition he has. It inspires me to be so much better myself. 

Today was Mia's day of achievement. Our girl rolled over from her stomach to her back TWICE! Mike and I both got to see it, and we were such nerds, laughing and clapping when she did it. After our celebration, I put her right back on her stomach to see if she'd do it again and she did. I went for a third time, but she was tired of it by then and started crying. I decided to cut her some slack. To celebrate, Mia got to play extra long in her tub and I read her a book while she was in there. Then we put on her jammies, put her in the Bjorn and went for a walk. She fell asleep while we were walking, and it was so incredibly sweet looking down at her. Of course we all know I really don't need to be looking anywhere but the sidewalk since I'm such a klutz, so I didn't look at her for too long at a time!

Missy had to take Cara to the doctor. She got sick from her very first week in daycare. She's doing a little better now, but Dad and Sue had to go up to watch her. Mike and I visit Mia's daycare tomorrow in preparation for her first day on Monday. Hopefully it goes well...

What Happens at Grandma's...

Yesterday Mia had to visit the doctor to get a shot that the office had run out of when we were in for her two month check-up. She (and I) did really well. Afterward she slept for awhile, then we went over to Jimi and Jaime's where Daddy was attending a cook-out. We were only there about an hour when Mia started getting a little fussy. I went ahead and brought her home and Mike ended up crashing at their house. Lucky for him, because Mia was up every hour to hour and a half all night. She went right back to sleep, but I guess the shot somehow affected her.

This afternoon, Mia and I met Granny, Aunt Miss and Cousin Cara to get the girls' three month portraits. The place was a zoo, babies everywhere, and they were running behind. The girls ended up falling asleep while we were waiting, so when it was our turn we had to wake them up and immediately start flashing bulbs in their eyes. It was extremely hot in there also, so they were sweating under the lights. Needless to say, it was not an ideal situation. We got a few good shots, but not nearly as many as last time. Plus our photographer was not the greatest. I'll still do a little slide show when I get the disk together though.

Afterward we went to P. F. Ch@ng's for lunch, then back to Granny and Grampy's. Missy and I laid down while the girls hung with the grandparents. Aunt Roni and Aunt Alice also stopped by. At one point, Grampy had the girls laughing so hard, and it was the cutest sight. I attached a picture of their faces. Later Mom gave them baths and put them in their matching onesies. Don't they look cute?

Mike joined us for dinner. We had brats and beer, and made a bonfire in the backyard. Later we made s'mores and Mia enjoyed her first fireside bottle. It was a great night.

3 Months Old

On Monday Mia turned 3 months old. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown by. Mia is such a joy to be around. She lights up the room with her smile and her laugh makes me want to laugh with her. I love watching her as she takes in her surroundings, intensely staring at the ceiling fan, or grabbing a toy and trying to get it to her mouth. She loves to hold my fingers while she’s drinking her bottle, and after her “dinner” bottle, I let her sleep on my chest for awhile. It’s becoming part of our evening ritual, before her bath and real bedtime. Mike has really enjoyed his time with her too, and they have their own rituals. He puts her in bed with him when I leave for work in the mornings. They play for awhile, then she takes her morning nap with him. She also attends almost all Moda meetings with him. She’s quite informed of construction processes, marketing efforts and how to purchase brands! On the home front, Mike’s also teaching her how to hold the bottle herself when he’s feeding her. This makes surfing the net during feedings much easier!

Tummy time has extended and Mia will now last up to 10 minutes without screaming. I lay on the floor with her but she mostly just holds herself up, intensely staring at the mat or toy in front of her. Once her neck gets tired the wailing begins. But we’ll persist!

We started the third month with Mia sleeping pretty consistently, then had a two week period where she was up every four hours to eat. That sucked. Things have calmed down this week, and she has had two nights where she slept 8 ½ hours.

One morning last week, we woke up to Mia laughing and “talking” in her crib. I peeked in at her and she just laid there smiling at me. So I went in and kissed her, talked to her for a few minutes, then closed the door and let her play for awhile. Last night I put her to bed the same way. She was just laying there smiling at her mobile, no paci or anything. I put on her night light, said goodnight and closed the door. She was asleep 15 minutes later.

Mia is sleeping in her crib all the time now. Two mornings this week we have gone in to find her laying sideways, having wiggled her way around (just like Aunt Miss used to!). Even though she’s swaddled, she’s always kicking and moving so much that we no longer know where she’ll end up. So there go our bumpers, quilts, toys, etc. from the crib!
I’m now working on getting rid of the paci. She has found her hands, but has trouble sucking on just a finger or thumb. She still goes for the whole fist. Once she gets down her own soothing technique, the swaddling and paci will go bye-bye.

Our week so far...

We’ve had a busy week. Last weekend Uncle Charlie came to town and he and Mike hung out. That meant some Mommy and Mia time, and it was great, especially after my first week back to work. Saturday, Carol came to visit Mia, then took me on a special trip. We went to the Brick House, just the two of us, and shopped. She bought me a very cool spring purse and I really enjoyed hanging out together. On Sunday Mia and I went to a baby shower for Michelle, Cathy’s daughter. Michelle is adopting a baby boy due to be born in July. It was a beautiful day and we had a really nice time.

This week has been crazy busy for me again. On Tuesday I had 5 meetings, a record for the week. I’ve been pretty worn out when I get home, but try to spend as much time with Mia and Mike as I can. While I’m getting back into the swing of things at work, and getting very excited about my work again, Mike is doing the same. Things are moving along quickly for Moda, and they have ordered a lot of the merchandise at this point. They’re planning the grand opening events for June 14. We’ll do a day event for families and an evening event for adults only. I’ll let you know more details as it gets closer.

Mia slept 7 hour stretches Friday and Saturday nights, so Mike and I had hoped she was back on schedule. Then came Sunday. She slept about 4 ½ hours, then woke up and didn’t sleep regularly the rest of the night. Of course, just because she slept 4 ½ hours didn’t mean Mike and I got that much sleep. We had only been in bed about 2 hours when she woke up. We spent the rest of the night catching minutes here and there. Made for an exhausting Monday at work! Fortunately she slept a 6 ½ hour stretch and an 8 ½ hour stretch Monday and Tuesday.

Last night Mamaw Carol took Mia for the night so Mike and I could have a date. We went back and forth about what to do on our “big night”. We had great intentions for a fabulous evening of fun, but when it got down to it, we were kind of tired. We went to Chili’s and had dinner, went home and spent a little quality time together, then watched Idol and went to bed (well, I went to bed. Mike played video games online with Kenny half the night!). Regardless of how it sounds, it was what we needed right now. Our life is a little different these days!

Tomorrow Mia gets another shot. They were out of this vaccine when we went for her two-month shots, so they scheduled it for when she was three months. On Saturday, Missy and Cara are coming to town and we're getting the girls' three month pictures made. For Mother's Day, we are taking Mom with us and getting a "generations" picture, with all five of us. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Mia's Third Month

Grandparents galore

Mia got to see all her grandparents this week, except for Grampy Bruce. She was in heaven! We snapped a few pictures of her visit with Granny (Effie was there too!). 

Focus on the positives

Having a baby and leaving her just weeks after her birth was not the scenario I'd always dreamt. I thought I would somehow find a way to be a stay-at-home mom, and I would be the one to show Mia the world, watch her "firsts" and teach her important life lessons. But that's not how things worked out for us, and Mia will be going to daycare in June.  She will spend most of her days with someone else and that person will get to watch her explore, teach her important lessons and witness her "firsts". On one level, I am devastated by this. When I think about it too deeply, my stomach knots up and I feel anxiety washing over me. But in reality there is nothing I can do about the situation right now, so I must focus on the positives in our life. I have a beautiful, happy, smart baby girl who lights up my life. I have a courageous, thoughtful, fun, intelligent husband who I love with all my heart. We have an incredible support system of family and friends who love to spend time with Mia (and with us!). I have an interesting, rewarding job, and co-workers that make it fun to return to each day. So basically I can't really complain about much at all, so I won't. My life is wonderful, and leaving Mia each day will only make our time together that much more special.

I have borrowed a camera so here are the latest shots of Mia. I took them myself, while I was holding her. This chair has been our hang-out, pretty much since she was born.