Mia Letter: Seven months

The month that Mia woke up.

Until this past month, I really enjoyed bragging about what a great sleeper you are/were. Suddenly, you stopped being such a champ sleeper. Naps became harder, going to bed became a much longer process. Sleep became an issue. Now, in fairness to you, my sweet baby girl, you do still have your shining sleep moments. One time in this past month, Daddy took you to breakfast w/him and a friend. Rumor has it, you sat quietly in your stroller - chattering to yourself and looking pretty - till you decided to fall asleep. Daddy was able to enjoy his visit for 45 minute while you slept nearby. His friend remarked that none of his kids would ever have done this. So, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have: the facts of life. [I'll explain that reference when you're a little older...]

Besides the sleeping struggles you are still a perfect angel baby. You love to laugh and flirt and watch your brother be silly. You get a lot of attention for being so gosh-darn cute and I've learned to be more humble about it. Instead of 'Right??!" I can now say quasi-meekly, "Oh, thank you. That really means a lot to me." Because it does! You are so precious. I complain about the sleep thing but it never fails that when I go up to get you from one of your mini-naps...I can't help but pick you up, chew on your face, swing you around and sing happy songs about how much I love you. One look and I'm goofy all over again. What a good baby you are!

Let's see. October was a lot of fun! This month we did some very Fall-like things - in spite of our unseasonably warm weather. We went to the pumpkin patch with the Wolds and capture the requisite First Visit to the Pumpkin Patch photos. So precious. You started sitting up this month but hadn't really mastered it at the time of the photo-session. We remember your brother's first visit to the pumpkin patch vividly b/c it was the first time he clapped his hands. This made me panic because you, my darling, are not clapping. I realized with much guilt that we don't clap for you very much! You know, "Yeaaa, Mia" + clapping. So we've been practicing. He clapped on the 29th of October. At press, we're into November and there is no signs of clapping but I'm optimistic ;)

The day after the punk'n patch we went APPLE PICKEN! First time. Wasn't a mind blowing experience but it was fun b/c we were there with some of our favorite friends. You and Caleb Wold rode in the Bjorns while your older sibs ran around eating/throwing/picking/kicking rotten apples from the ground. You just liked being part of the action. And we loved you being there!

Halloween was so fun! Your brother was supposed to be a Dallas Cowboy football player. For the sake of record keeping I'll explain why. It's certainly not because we're dedicated Cowboy fans. Daddy is a Bronco's guy and Mommy couldn't not care less about football than she does micro-physics. Here's the short story. I bought some football cleats for Brody at Ross b/c (1) they were cheap and (2) I thought they were soccer cleats. Daddy thinks this is really funny but I think it's an easy mistake. Anyway, instead of taking them back we decided to use them for Halloween and wear the full football uniform + helmet that G'mama got him for Christmas last year. Well, logically, you HAD to be a Cowboy cheerleader, right?

I have to give a shout out to your grandmother here. She made THE cutest cheer uniform in the history of baby costumes. I think she could make money doing this. It was precious. She found pompons at the craft store and chopped them down to size, found the sneakers and added the blue puffs, and hand-created the skirt w/no measurements or anything. It was perfect. We downloaded the star from the Internet, printed it on transfer paper and presto-bamo: 1 Cowboy cheerleader costume. She went all out and then flew in for the occasion. I mean, really? Thank you, Grandmama. You outdid yourself once again. Thanks for the memories!

So on Halloween day, Brody got a little cold + fever so we weren't sure we'd be doing any door-knocking but 'round about 6:30pm he rallied; insisted on being Iron Man instead of a football player and we hit the streets. We only walked a couple of streets but this was his first real experience w/trick-or-treating and he got the hang of it quickly. Sweet Mimi was handed off between the 4 of us (Rah Rah joined the festivities) and we had a blast. It was just the most perfect Halloween yet.

Oh, I need to remember that you got a cold this month. Mild. Mostly sniffles and runny noses. We busted out the sweet cow humidifier and you cleared up w/a week or so. I'm so thankful that it wasn't worse! On the 3rd of Nov. you had your Six Month check up (we're a month behind) and you are still in the 90% for weight, my dear. LET 'EM GIGGLE! You're beautiful and perfect. You also got your flu shot. Can I just say that once again you were remarkable? You talked and smiled and behaved so marvelously the entire visit. You cried for the (6) shots in your legs but stopped right when they were over. I am so proud of you.

You love to eat but of course. You've had peas, butternut squash, zucc, carrots, yellow squash, prunes (yuck), bananas, apples, grapes, avocado and yogurt. All homemade I might add, thankyouverymuch Magic Bullet! You've also gotten mobile this month. It's not a crawl per se but more of a pull-scoot type thing. By the end of the month you were really moving! More on this next month, I'm sure. I'm so impressed by your genius.

Basically, it was a full month and I anticipate the coming months to be even busier and more exciting. Thanks to all the people who might read every word of this entry...we love you. And Mimi-kins. I love you, you little girlfriend. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Love, Mommy

[Note: I realize my paragraphs are not aligned...can't figure out how to fix it. grrrr.]