Michael's Birthday, Thanksgiving, and More

Bot, I mean Mia, is doing awesome.  She is 7 weeks old today and it is just flying by!  We go to a breastfeeding support group on Mondays and yesterday she weighed 10lbs, 8oz there.  She seems to be gaining a little more control of her arms, but will still accidentally smack herself in the face occasionally.  She has been grabbing things (usually my hair) for about a week now.  You can tell her eyesight is improving even though we still sometimes see her eyes crossing.  She is always looking around, straining her neck to see more, and fusses when she gets bored.  I affectionately call her "nosy."  One of her favorite things to look at is a brightly colored bug blanket that one of my clients' parents made for me when I was pregnant with Michael.  When we hold her, she likes to push up on her legs and bare weight for short moments. She has started to "talk" and will sigh and coo at us.  She also will turn to look for us when she hears our voices.  She still sleeps well, but is awake more often during the day now.  Usually she just takes little cat naps, but goes through spurts in which she'll take several long naps a day.  Her eyes are looking very brown, but still might have potential to be more of a hazel like John's.  Her eyelashes are getting longer and curling up.  Her hair is still very dark and long, but as her head grows, so does that sparse patch on the top of her head.  No worries, that's what baby bows are for!

one month old - 11/18/11

5 weeks old - 11/22/11

She LOVES her Daddy! 11/24/11

11/24/11

6 weeks old - 1/29/11

sporting a bow - 11/30/11

so angelic! 12/1/11

7 weeks old - 12/6/11

Michael Jude continues to crack us up.  Just today, he asked me, "Are these crayons for a weasel?"  I spun around to see what he was talking about.  He was holding dry erase crayons that he had received for his birthday with an easel.  He he he.  The other day, we were Christmas shopping and trying to get Michael to pick out a present for his godfather, Uncle Mark.  When he said he wanted to get a toy car, we reminded him, "No, we need to find something for Uncle Mark."  His response was, "Uncle Mark wants me to have this car.  It would make him so happy!" (speaking of weasel...)

Michael is obsessed with cars and trains.  He remembers them all and has names for several of them.  If one is missing, he is determined to find it.  He will sit and play with his toys and act out pretend scenarios that he has seen in books or TV or made up on his own.  His current favorite reads are 3 books that we gave him for his birthday: Max's Checkup (Max & Ruby), SuperWhy - The Little Red Hen, and SuperWhy - The Three Little Pigs.  All of them are based on 2 of his favorite shows.  He still likes Team Umizoomi and calls me "Millie" and calls Mia "Bot" to the point that I have to stop to remember which name to call her!

He is a wonderful big brother.  He loves to give Mia hugs and laughs at her a lot.  He shows genuine concern for her and will say "We need to help her!" when she cries.  He wants to spend time with her and will ask if she can lay with him in his bed.

The easel & the weasel

He picked out his own clothes

Michael Jude turned 3 on November 20th!  We had a party for him that day at our house.  He had requested a Buzz party. John set up a hot dog and baked potato bar and I made a Buzz Lightyear cake and Toy Story alien cupcakes (with a lot of help from Susan Janet).  The baking was more fun than I had expected, but it took most of a Saturday!  Michael was so entertaining to watch at his party.  He gets so genuinely excited about the littlest things.  He was spoiled with gifts and loved them all!

He was thrilled to get to lick the bowl

He spent a good 45 minutes getting every drop out.

The next day, we completed our annual tradition of going to Bo Ling's and Crown Center as we did on the day Michael was born.  The food was delicious and Michael used his new training chop sticks like a pro.  I was worried that this year would be the first year that we might have difficulties in the toy store, where we let him pick out one toy for a birthday present.  I was pleasantly surprised when he easily picked out a police car. 

John has finished his online class at MU and is going to turn in his final project for his UCM course tonight.  I think we are both glad for him to have a break for a few weeks.  I know he's looking forward to Christmas break from work too.  He's planning to spend some of his time off painting Mia's room.

I had an appointment with my midwife on 11/28 for my 6-week postpartum checkup.  She said I'm cleared to resume vacuuming and exercising (2 of my favorites!).  Actually, I'm very anxious to get back into my old clothes, so I've started running again and went to yoga on Sunday for the first time since Mia was born.

On Friday, Nov. 18, we went to the Missouri Comets' game and surprised Aunt Ruthie with a suite for the whole family.  She recently retired and we wanted to celebrate in a special way.  It was a lot of fun.  Michael was super-excited to see the game.  Soccer is one of his favorite sports and he loves wearing soccer jerseys.

We had so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.  My parents, brother, his girlfriend Angie and her daughter Alaura came over for brunch.  John made 2 scrumptious egg casseroles.  Later, we celebrated with John's family and the Janets at John's parents' house. 

Grandma & Michael

Michael & Alaura

Grandpa & Michael

Mia & the turkey

Mia & her godmother, Aunt Laura

Noah, Michael, & Evan

Michael with his turkey cake pop (Thanks Annie & Matt!)

Our house is looking festive with our tree and Christmas decorations.  Grandma Mary worked hard to finish a new stocking for Mia.  It is beautiful!  John hung lights outside yesterday.  We started the Elf on the Shelf tradition over the weekend.  Michael had difficulty coming up with a name for his elf, so when he said he put the elf's name on his easel in the magnetic letters, we went with it.  The easel had "MC" on it, so he is now "McElfie."  Michael was excited to see what St. Nicholas brought him today: a Toy Story ornament, a Percy train, and some of his favorite treats.

Christmas is such an exciting time.  We just found out that Mark & Sarah are going to have a boy - another nephew for John and me! He is healthy and developing well.  What a blessing.  Yay!  

May these next few weeks be filled with joy and fun memories for all.  Enjoy the holiday season!

Geo, Millie, Bot, and Daddy

Michael's current favorite TV show is Team Umizoomi.  For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it teaches shapes and numbers using three main characters: a boy named Geo, a girl named Millie, and their robot, Bot.  Lately, Michael will only respond to Geo and insists on calling me Millie and Mia is Bot.  (John is still Daddy.)  

 On Oct. 29, we took Michael & Mia to the pumpkin patch for the first time.  We met our friends, Pat & Diana, and their son, Dylan, there.  Michael had a blast exploring with Dylan and Mia was warm and cozy in the Moby wrap.

 
After considering both monster and ghost costumes, Michael decided to be a cowboy for Halloween.  His cousins, Noah & Evan, were Captain Hook while Joshua was a crocodile.  Michael's buddy, Gus, was a cowboy too. Mia didn't have a costume, but looked festive in her pumpkin outfit.

Joshua

Noah, Joshua, & Evan

Michael & Gus

John carved Michael's pumpkin with a Diego face, as requested.
 Michael LOVED trick-or-treating.  I had to laugh though because as we were getting ready to leave, Michael said, "I don't want candy.  I just want oranges."  This was extra-funny because he's never even had an orange!  He went to a few houses on our street and was a champ.  He got a big kick out of answering the door at our house afterwards and would yell, "Trick-or-treaters!!" and come running every time the doorbell rang.

Our friends, Jill & Eric, stopped by with their son, Rylan.  Rylan was a super-cute dragon (pictured here without the dragon hat).

John went back to work on Oct. 31.  It was hard for him and we are still missing him at home during the day.  Mia is sleeping for long stretches at night and Grandma Mary watches Michael at least 3 days a week.  Some days, we're adventurous and will get out of the house.  I've taken Mia shopping and both kids to lunch and errands.  Mia even went with me to an all-day training and she was a champ!


Mia went to the pediatrician for her 2-week check-up on Nov. 1.  She weighed 7lbs, 8oz and the doctor said she was "perfect."  It's been so wonderful to watch her grow without stressing about nursing and weight gain.  On Nov. 7, she weighed 8lbs, 1oz and on Nov 14 she weighed 8lbs, 8oz.  So, she's averaging gaining an ounce a day.  She is now wearing 0-3 month clothes.  She will smile during her sleep and is starting to smile more often when she's awake. 



 Michael is growing too.  He weighed 28lbs at my last appointment with my midwife before Mia was born.  He wears 2T pants and 3T shirts.  He still hasn't totally mastered potty-training, but will sometimes go for several days without an accident.  He still needs to be prompted (sometimes begged) to go to the bathroom.  He hates to take a break from playing!  His favorite toys are his cars.  He does pretty well playing a Cars memory game that his Aunt Laura & Uncle Brian gave him and can find some matches on his own.  He still loves books and his current favorites are about Thomas the Tank Engine and Mater from Cars.  He knows his uppercase letters and has even started to identify what letter some words begin with (e.g., We asked him what "Grandpa" starts with and he said, "G.")  He continues to be a hoot and is always coming up with something entertaining.

helping Daddy rake the leaves

Michael in his luchador mask

Michael fell asleep with his pirate patch on.

Annie & Alayna meeting Mia

two weeks old - 11/1

awesome blanket - Thanks, Janets!

meeting my friend Michelle's son, Aiden

lounging with Daddy

The Burnsies!

Smiling

3 weeks old - 11/8 

4 weeks old - 11/15

On Nov. 12, my good friends Jill, Angie, & Annie threw a "sprinkle" for Mia and me at one of our favorite restaurants.  It was very special to me and I loved every minute of it!  I really appreciated all the thought and hard work that went into it.

Lots of good news going around!  Our friends Liz & George are expecting their 3rd child in April.  Aunt Ruthie retired on Oct. 31.  Both the Quirks and the Burnses moved into their new houses (both very awesome houses).  We are so happy for all!  Congrats!