Mia - 7 Months Old

Mia turned 7 months old on 5-18. She is sitting up easily by herself and her transition from sitting to laying is getting smoother. She gets up on her hands and knees, but isn't crawling yet. That doesn't mean she can't move though; she often combines tummy wiggles and rolling to get to where she wants to go. If she can't get there, she will fuss until we come help her. She bears weight on her legs really well. She loves her toys, especially her baby dolls. She enjoys her excersaucer for about 10 minutes. Her favorite thing is her brother. She loves watching him and will laugh at him when he's acting silly. We've tried to give her a few foods including slices of mango, dikon radish, carrot, peach, and sweet potato fries. She liked exploring them, but didn't really eat any of it. I gave her a bite of mashed up sweet potato fry the other day and she spit it up. She is an awesome sleeper and is ready for bed at 8:30 every day like clockwork. She doesn't seem to mind if we keep her out later though and can sleep on the go. We have started putting her in her crib at night after she falls asleep in our arms. Then we bring her in our bed when she wakes up to nurse (probably around 1:00 or so). She doesn't usually wake up before 7:00 and will sometimes sleep in until 9 or 10! She always wakes up in a food mood.

5 Months Old & Happy Feet

4 months old - 2/18/12

5 months old - 3/18/12

Mia is the happiest baby.  She turned 5 months old on March 18.  We just love watching her grow, but don't blink or you'll miss something - this girl is growing fast!  I stood on the scale with her and I think she weighs about 16 pounds.  She is rapidly growing out of her 3-6 month clothes.  She sleeps really well at night in our bed.  She usually takes a morning and an afternoon nap in her crib or pack-n-play.  She sleeps for about 2 hours in the morning (sometimes more - once it was 5 hours!!) and a little shorter nap in the afternoon.  She has slept in her crib at night, but woke up before I fell asleep so I just took her to bed with me.  I just sleep better knowing she's okay.  One night when I was out with a friend, John rocked her to sleep in her carseat and she slept in there from 10PM-7AM.  Of course, the car seat was right next to our bed. 

Lil' Blues Fan - 3/2/12

They LOVE to play together! 3/8/12

She takes three 4-oz bottles when I'm at work all day.  We haven't given her anything other than breastmilk yet, but she will try to bring our water glasses to her mouth and watches us eat with interest.  She has been able to roll over for a while, but has started to do it with more frequency over the last month.  We've been putting her in her crib on her stomach, which is why I think she's sleeping better on her own.  She sits up really well with support and loves being propped up where she can watch Michael play.  I've started putting her in the high chair when I'm cleaning the kitchen so she has a better view of what's going on.  She loves to "talk" and "sing," (as you can hear in the video above) and doesn't really cry much at all.  She'll cry if she's hungry, tired, or needs a new diaper, but that's about it.  If all of those needs have been met, she usually just wants to be near the action or watch Michael.

3/10/12

Buddies! 3/20/12

Michael's first day at Marian Hope Center 2/28/12

 Michael is doing so well too.  He continues to crack us up.  Today when we came home from church, totally out of the blue he says, "And you can buy me some overalls."  What?!?  John and I just looked at each other and laughed.  He recognizes buildings we've been to like the doctor's office and even our old apartment that he showed him.  He has memorized his birthday, street, phone number, and even Grandma and Grandpa Sonderman's street.  I am a little ashamed to admit that he legitimately beat me in a game of Memory.  He started a class at the Marian Hope Center (where I work) on February 28.  He just goes on Tuesdays from 1-4.  The class is a language enrichment class and Michael is a peer model, but he's learning a lot.  There are four other kids in his class.  He LOVES it and asks to go back throughout the week. 

This past week, 38 the Spot came out to MHC to film a PSA for our upcoming fundraiser, Spring Into Hope. John and I got a kick out of seeing Michael in it.  (Quick plug - this is an awesome event for an awesome cause.  Please come!!)

We signed him up for his first season of soccer in the Happy Feet League.  He is on the Green Gators with his cousins, Noah & Evan.  They play every Saturday at 3PM.  Yesterday was supposed to be their first game, but it was cancelled because the fields are so wet.  He's excited to play.  John & I are excited too, but I can't help but feel a little sad about him growing up.

Snow Day! 2/13/12

Mia's first time out in the snow - 2/13/12

St. Valentine's Day morning - Michael wakes up as well as I do ;)

First trip to the park in 2012 - 3/1

Mia loves watching her brother during bath time.  Check out those rolls! 3/1/12

"Mom, I wanna make a funny face!" 3/1/12

Daddy's big girl - 3/2/12

Mia & Aunt Ruthie - 3/3/12

With our Godsons, Evan (L) and Noah (R) at their 3rd birthday party - 3/3/12

Mia sleeping on Aunt Pat at Aunt Sarah's baby shower - 3/17/12

Nini & Mia at Aunt Sarah's baby shower - 3/17/12

Uncle Mark & Mia - 3/18/12

Proud builder 3/20/12

Crown Center exhibit 3/22/12

John was on spring break this last week, so we had a family day together on Thursday.  We went to see the Animal Tails & Trails exhibit at Crown Center.  Michael's favorite part was the slide and he had a ball going down and back up again over and over.  After that, we shopped for a little bit then headed to Eggtc. (a personal fave) for lunch.  Michael always cleans his plate there - he must love it too!  I had the Sicilian, one of the best breakfast sandwiches ever.  John had corned beef hash and Michael downed breakfast potatoes and chicken sausage.  We then headed down the road to Loose Park where Michael found a little boy to play with.  I assume (hope) the boy's name was Zach because he kept calling, "Zacky!  Where are you?" and would chase him all over.  It's just wild to see how much more independent he is on the playground equipment than he was last summer.  We ended our outing with a stop at Trader Joe's, stocking up on organic produce, gluten-free pancakes & waffles, and our first bottle of "two-buck Chuck," TJ's cheap wine.

My other Joey 3/22/12

Go Royals! 3/22/12

Oklahoma City Trip - Jan 2012

John & I took a Friday off in February to drive down to Oklahoma City.  We wanted to visit my grandma and her sister, Elaine, and introduce them to Mia.  This was Mia's first trip to Oklahoma and she did great in the car.  Michael did really well too.    On the way, we stopped at McDonald's and Michael had his first Happy Meal ever.  He ate chicken nuggets and apple slices.  (I'm still wondering what they put on those to keep them from turning brown.)  He wasn't as excited about the toy as we thought he'd be, but he definitely had fun playing with it.  It was a Bakugan character called Zenthon.  He complained in the car after lunch that his tummy hurt, so McDonald's probably won't be something he requests very often.  The roughest part was the last hour of the drive back when we were all just ready to be home.  It was good practice for our drive to Colorado this summer.

My grandma and Aunt Elaine have moved into a new apartment complex. There new place has more space and more windows.  They seem to be adjusting well.  John helped hang a few things for them while we were there. 


We were so grateful that Aunt Elaine's son, Mike, and his wife, Maria, offered to let us stay at their house.  They have a nice, cozy home about 15 minutes from my grandma's apartment.  Michael enjoyed the playroom and toys that they have set up for their own grandson.  They made us a delicious breakfast on Saturday morning and we really enjoyed chatting with them.

Mike & Michael

Michael, Mike, Maria, and Mia

 Before we left, we got to visit with another of Aunt Elaine's sons, John, and his wife Mary Lou.  It was nice to see them before heading back home.  We hope to make another trip back to OKC this summer!

Mia's Room - Phase One

We didn't paint Mia's room before she was born because we hadn't decided what we were going to do yet.  If she had been a boy, we were going to keep our third bedroom as an office/guest room and let the baby share a room with Michael.  

By the time Mia was two months old, it was starting to feel pretty crowded in our bedroom.  So John spent a lot of time over his Christmas break getting Mia's new room ready.  The weekend after Christmas, we tore the house apart.  We had mattresses in hallways, clothes strewn about, and furniture in random places.  We moved our computer into our formal living room.  I was a little hesitant at first, but I really like the end result.  It's a cozy place to hang out and we use that space a lot more than we used to.  I didn't take a before picture, but the piano moved to where the couch was and the computer desk (given to us by Mark & Sarah) took the place of the piano.  Until recently, if we told Michael that something was in the office he would respond, "Which office?" and we'd have to say the new or the old one.  He's finally started calling the old one Mia's room.

We moved the guest bed to Michael's room.  He had no trouble transitioning into a bigger bed.  I think he even started to sleep better once he had a "real" mattress.  That crib mattress was just so hard.  He has fallen out of bed a couple of times, but was more scared than hurt.  I didn't have any luck finding a bedspread that complimented his pastel/Yellow Submarine walls, so we just kept what we had on the bed.  Not necessarily ideal, but I figure it's not that big of a deal.  He has a little less room to play, but it's not like he was ever confined to playing in his room anyway.  I really like that all four of us can lay together for Michael's bedtime stories and prayers.  It's a nice place for some family time at the end of the day.

We also moved the armoire that was in the formal living room into Michael's room.  John had refinished it and fixed it up a few years ago.  He just made it a little more functional by installing shelves in it.  Now, it easily houses all of the clothes that had been in Michael's dresser.  It was John's great-grandpa's, so it's nice to have it and to be able to put it to good use as well.  

The next step was to paint the office to make it a little girly for Miss Mia.  John painted the entire room a tan color to replace the brown.  They are similar colors, I know, but it needed some cleaning up anyway, so we decided to lighten the paint color a little.

  I knew that I had wanted her room to have a theme wasn't terribly girly.  I wanted it to be something hippie like love and peace.  I eventually decided on birds and owls (honestly not realizing at the time how popular that had become).  I found a picture on Etsy that I really loved, so I drew a very similar version to paint above her crib.  I looked and looked for a picture of a tree to paint.  I found several that I liked different aspects of, but not the perfect one.  So I drew my own, using ideas that I had seen on others.  I traced my drawings onto transparencies, and we projected them onto the walls.  We traced the drawings in pencil.

When choosing colors for her room, we knew that we wanted to use bold colors.  We used this bow and ribbon holder that my friend Jill had made for Mia for Christmas as inspiration.  

We spent several hours at Hobby Lobby finding paints and accent items for the room.  The brown that we used for the tree and branches was leftover from the paint John used on our kitchen cabinets. 

We moved the crib and dresser that Michael had used along with a blue chair from my grandma's house into Mia's room.  We used gift cards from John's family in St. Louis and my coworkers to buy several items from Target.  I was a little nervous because we bought all of it online and it wasn't sold as a set, so it was hard to be sure if it was all going to go together well.  We got a rug, lamp, curtains, a hamper, and a couple of canvases.  I was so pleased to see how good it looked!  (You'll see them in the pictures of the finished room.)


John was on spring break this last week, so he spent a day building her a bookshelf.  He and Michael just left to buy paint for it.  We're planning on painting it white with pink interior.  We'll put it by the door and move the chair by the window. 

Here's the rest of our to-do list to finish this project:


- Relocate the stuff that's in her closet.  It's still mostly stuff from when it was our office.
- Get her a toy box or other kind of toy storage.
- paint and hang the shelf and birdhouse that we got from Hobby Lobby - I started on this stuff yesterday
- install the pink plate for the light switch
- I have aspirations to make something to hang over her dresser.  

Finding time is always an issue, but I think we'll get it totally finished before summer is over.  Summer of 2012, that is ;)  I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished project.

Winter 2012 Updates

MICHAEL

Michael continues to entertain us. The other day, John said, "Michael, you make me so happy." Michael replied, "I make me so happy too" (1/22/12). He often fights naps, but doesn't seem ready to give them up yet. On days that he doesn't nap, he'll often falls asleep at dinner in his high chair and sleeps through the night. He still needs frequent reminders to use the restroom and sometimes waits too long to tell us he needs to go, but has been keeping his bed dry at night lately. He loves watching Max & Ruby on TV and his favorite episode is Super Bunny. He also likes to dance and sing along when the Fresh Beat Band sings "Rock Star."He loves playing with cars, especially "5 car," a Terry LaBonte car that his Uncle Mark gave him. He likes playing Dominoes, Memory, and looking for lost toys with his flashlight. He knows that his birthday is in November. He'll say, "I'm hungry. I'm always hungry." because his grandma tells him that a lot. He loves to eat Lara bars, green peppers, fruit, and (of course) chocolate. He enjoys baths, especially when he gets out and sits in front of the space heater we turn on for Mia. He had his 3-yr check up with his pediatrician on Dec. 21, 2011.  At that time, he weighed 29.2 lbs (35th percentile) and was 37 inches tall (45th percentile).

Michael with his cousins, Evan (L) and Noah (R)

Listening to Dad read a bedtime story to him and Gus

Clowning around at the annual holiday dinner with Dylan

Playdate with his buddies, Ali & Matt

Gus's 3rd birthday party 1/22/12

He beat me at Memory!

MIA

Mia is such a good baby! She is growing quickly and has outgrown most of her 0-3 mo clothes. She props herself up on her elbows and looks around when we put her on her tummy. She has flipped over a few times but isn't consistently rolling. She sits really well with support and can bear weight on her legs. She doesn't like the car seat and usually cries when we put her in it and for the first 5-10 mins of a trip. She will lean towards things and people she likes and will kick her feet as if trying to move towards them. When she sees my nursing cover, she knows what's coming and gets excited. She laughs when we make faces or funny noises. She sleeps with us at night and does really well, waking up 1-2 times to nurse. She has been doing better with a bottle. At first, she'd only take about an ounce while I was at work all day. John and I went out with friends one evening, and she drank 6 oz while we were gone (1/28). Now, she's taking 5-6 ounces a day. Mia loves to talk! She makes lots of cooing sounds and will even get quite loud. She looks right at you while she's doing it like she's having a complete conversation with you, smiling along the way. She still spits up a lot. On 1/19/12, she got a little cold Michael and I had had.  She was a little congested and coughed, but it only lasted for a few days and wasn't serious.  We first noticed that she might be teething on 1/21.  Her lower front gums are swollen.  She drools, sticks her tongue out, and chews a lot. She had her 2-mo checkup with her pediatrician the same day as Michael (12/21) and weighed 11 lbs, 10 oz (75th percentile) and was 15 3/4 inches long (85th percentile).

12/13/11

12/14/11

12/16/11

2 months old! 12/18/11

Mia (right) and Cohen (born one day apart!) at their last breastfeeding support group meeting - 12/19/11

 first ponytail 1/16/12

first time in the Bumbo seat 1/10/12

3 months old! 1/18/11

1/18/12

    

Mavericks' game 1/21/12

she really does well on her tummy 1/31/12

She grabs the rings on her bouncy seat now! 2/8/12

JOHN & THERESA

Back in December, John and I went out together for the first time since Mia was born and saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I loved it. It was nice to get out a little.We have since gone out several times together and are so fortunate to have so many people willing to babysit!

John is gearing up for his big bike ride. He and 3 other guys are driving to St Louis on Presidents' Day weekend to ride their bikes on the Katy Trail back to KC. He is taking one class this semester, and it's online so it's nice to have him home more.

I've been running a little, but have yet to get in a good routine. With the unseasonably warm weather so far this winter, I really don't have an excuse. I've been going to yoga classes here and there and am excited that my favorite teacher just started a class in Lee's Summit. I went back to work on 1/3 and am getting back in the swing of things. We have been busy trying to promote our therapy services more and gearing up for our big fundraiser in April, Spring Into Hope.  I'm trying desperately to become a better blogger.  Check back soon (cross your fingers!) for blogs about Mia's room and our recent trip to OK.