Reading in the Tub

Mia has quite a lot of books, thanks to our very literate family and friends. We're looking forward to many happy hours of reading. But, until recently, her interest in books was largely limited to pulling them off the shelf, one by one. Very entertaining.

Just in the last few weeks, she started letting us read to her for a few pages at a time. The soft bathtub book my cousin Eileen sent her this week was an immediate hit. We think she looks so grown-up, reading in the tub.

Year-End Interview with Mia

Mia has strong views about things. As Nanny Sarah said after about one day on the job, "She knows what she likes, doesn't she!" Mia doesn't talk much yet. Mama, Dada, ball (pronounced "bahhhh"), and she occasionally surprises us by saying hi or bye to a store clerk or some other total stranger. For now, Jeff and I have fun theorizing what she'd say if she could talk. Below is our imaginary interview.

What is your favorite memory of your trip to Minnesota?
The people. Everyone was so nice to me. Everywhere I went, I was treated like a celebrity!

What didn’t you like?
That awful high chair someone borrowed from their church. I appreciate the effort, but the seat was slippery and it had no seat belt. Grandpa N. had to strap me in using an old leather belt (very clever, I thought!), but I still kept sliding down in my seat.
I also hated sitting in the car seat in my winter jacket. It was really hot and too confining. It was a lot better when you warmed up the car before I got in, so I didn’t need to wear a coat. That is how real Minnesotans do it.
One last thing. All those airport delays. I don't know how my Mom and Dad put up with it, with all the traveling they do.

What was your favorite Christmas gift?
They were all great. My relatives put a lot of thought into my gifts. I got so much stuff that my Mom says we’ll wait a few weeks before taking some things out of the box. “Save them for an emergency,” she says. (I'm not quite sure what she means by that, but I'm going along with it.) I can tell you that I love the slide from my Grandma and Grandpa S., and the Rockin’ Puppy from Uncle Scott and Aunt Mary. It took me a while to warm up to Tickle Me Elmo, but now we’re friends. The basketball hoop Daddy got for me is cool. I cherish the time we spend together shooting baskets. The toy I’ve played with the most is the Little Mermaid cell phone that my cousin Ellen picked out for me. I already had 3 cell phones, but they were really lame compared to this one. It fits in my hand just perfectly. Besides that, it is shiny, it lights up when it rings, and it has great ring-tones. I use it constantly.

Did it bother you when your Grandpa N. talked about you "putting the feedbag on"?
No, I could tell he was just happy I have such a good appetite. And you have to admit that new rubber bib does look like a big pink feedbag.

While we're talking about food, can I ask why you like green beans so much?
I wish I could tell you. I guess because they taste good and they’re the perfect size to pick up.

What is your favorite fruit?
If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have said pineapple, but then Grandma N. gave me mandarin oranges. I love them, and not just because of the name! I love mandarin oranges so much that when I’m not eating them I pretend with the plastic orange in my toy food collection.

Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions?
I intend to walk and talk more. I’m also determined to learn how to hold a crayon properly. And I am going to make some friends my own age.

The Playroom

Mia is a very active girl. Her favorite activity (besides eating) is climbing stairs. Whenever we aren't looking, she heads for the front foyer, where she loves to scale the main staircase. She would climb those stairs all day long if we let her. (Not to mention the "dog stairs" which our toy poodle uses to climb up on our bed, the granite step into the whirlpool tub, and anything else she can climb on.) Since there are precious few parks near us and we can't get her into preschool until next fall, we've resorted to adding some gear to her play areas. So far, she has her own slide, a basketball hoop, a rocking puppy, and a "Bounce and Spin Zebra". In the basement, she also has a sand and water activity table. Yes, I know I insisted I wouldn't spoil her. In my defense, this stuff is for our benefit, too. It gives her a great outlet for all that energy, and she sleeps quite soundly at night!

Mia's First Christmas

We had a great visit to Minnesota to see our extended families. Mia spent lots of time with both sets of grandparents and had several play dates with her cousins. Donna's Mom brought some snow indoors for Mia to play with. Mia charmed everyone. She also ate a lot. So much that Donna's Dad kept making comments about Mia "putting on the feedbag." To keep up with her cousins, Mia walked a lot more than she had been. She is definitely getting steadier on her feet.

One of the big highlights for Mia and her parents was meeting Li Li, who was adopted by our good friends in July. Li Li is 23 months old, so she showed Mia a few things. Mia was also quite enamored with Li Li's older brother.

The Living Nativity

On Monday night, our church hosted a Living Nativity scene. "With Live Animals!" the billboard read. I thought it might be fun to take Mia. To tell the truth, I wasn't at all certain Mia would like it, but I've been on the prowl for some other 1-year-olds looking for a play date and this seemed like a good place to troll for toddlers.

As it turned out, there were no eligible toddlers there, but Mia was quite captivated by the manger scene. When she saw the donkeys lying there on the ground chewing hay she said "Baaaa, baaa" like a lamb. Very cute, so I carried her over by the sheep and encouraged her to do it some more. One of the sheep was a ram with curly, sharp looking horns. (That's sharp not as in stylish, but as in puncture wound potential.) Of course, she was fascinated by those horns and kept reaching toward them. I encouraged her to pet the llama instead. She also liked the glittery robe one of the Wise People was wearing. The Wise Person noticed this and kindly stuck her arm out so Mia could touch it.

Unfortunately, it was too dark to be a photo op. Also, I didn't want to let Mia out of my arms fearing she might go for those horns.

The Latest Retail Escapade

Mia wouldn't take a nap today, which is quite unusual. Maybe it was the excitement of going to Toys 'R Us this morning. After a number of attempts to get her to sleep, I decided that if she wasn't going to nap, we might as well get that grocery store run out of the way. You guessed it, in the time it took to drive one mile to Kroger, she fell asleep. I was undeterred. I knew she'd be annoyed with me for interrupting her slumber, but she'd perk up as soon as I carried her (all 23.5 lbs of her) into the store and strapped her in the shopping cart. Well, once again our girl surprised me. She didn't wake up, instead preferring to continue her nap. Yep, she wanted to rest her head on the metal cart. We couldn't have that, and I had nothing to use as a pillow since I'd left her diaper bag in the van. So what did I do? I proceeded to shop while cradling her head with my left hand/forearm and pushing the cart with my right. It was a little bit of a spectacle, and I got quite a few looks from other shoppers. Mostly smiles (lots of middle-aged women whom I imagined were remembering the good old days when they had youngsters). Occasionally, I'd get a perplexed look that had me explaining, "Well, she wouldn't take her nap, so I thought we might as well go to the store."
Grocery shopping while propping your darling's little head up turned out to be a rather interesting logistical challenge. Occasionally I had to do a 180-degree turn with the cart so that the merchandise I sought was on my right side. The pita chips were on a shelf too low to reach with my free hand, but I spied a couple of store employees and asked them to put the chips in my cart. "Two bags please, not the cinnamon, the plain." At the pharmacy, they require you to sign for the prescription. I explained to the clerk that I'm left-handed, nodded over at Mia, and asked her to sign for me. "My name or yours?" she asked. Overall, I thought I demonstrated superior problem-solving skills. The only downer came at the express checkout line, where the cashier seemed annoyed when I asked her if she'd mind removing the merchandise from my cart for me. They are usually very nice there, but this one was a bit of a Crabby Appleton. She did accomodate my request, and even called another employee over and instructed him to put my bags in the cart for me. They don't usually do that in the express line.
And what about Mia? You guessed it, she woke up as soon as I put her back in her car seat, then squalled all the way home. I didn't mind too much, knowing that at least I'd have a little story to tell.

In My Own Little Corner, in My Own Little Chair

... I can be whatever I want to be.

Remember that line from the 1960's television version of Cinderella, starring Leslie Ann Warren? This is our 2007 version, starring Mia.

Since Mia has recently demonstrated a desire to sit down from time to time in a soft place, we decided to get her a chair of her own. Sam was not too happy to share her dog bed. (We've refrained from pointing out to Sam that she never used to use that bed. It only became attractive when Mia started sitting in it.)

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

I came home from a business trip after Mia had gone to bed. I sneaked a peek. I wonder what she dreams about. Judging from the contented look on her face, she is probably dreaming about food!

Mia, Sitting Still

It doesn't happen too often, so I had to capture it. Mia was sitting on nanny Sarah's lap, intently watching a Baby Einstein video. It warmed my heart to see the two of them together. Sarah has been just wonderful for Mia.

A Day at the Playground

Last Sunday, we took Mia to the local playground for the first time. It is a large park with different play areas for different age groups. We took Mia to the youngest section, which is designed for 2 to 5 year-olds. It is pretty advanced for her, so one of us is never more than an arm's length away. So far, Mia doesn't like the swing too well, but she loves the climbing structure -- no surprise there.
Before we had Mia, we used to take Sam to this same park. What we didn't realize is that dogs aren't allowed in the playground area. Rather than leave her in the van, I sat her in Mia's stroller and told her to "stay." Surprisingly (since I have been lackadaisical in training her for the past 13 years), she stayed.

Other news

Mia's blood lead level went from 27 pre-treatment to 12 afterward. At this point, we do not have to start another round of chelation treatment. However, that could change if her levels go up significantly. That is entirely possible, as the lead resides in the bones. When it leaves the bones, the blood lead levels go up. She has to have her blood levels checked again before Christmas and again later. Darn! I thought we'd be done with this before Christmas.

In only a month, our girl has gone from rejecting most affectionate gestures to being somewhat cuddly to getting rather clingy! I'll take clingy any day. Today, she gave me a kiss on the mouth for the first time! I was thrilled and tried to remain so when, less than a minute later, she hauled off and slapped me in the face. I'm going to continue thinking that the kiss was intentional and the slap was accidental! We're trying to teach her to stroke things (me, stuffed animals, and poor Sammy) rather than strike them, but it is slow going.

One of Mia's pediatricians saw her last week for the first time since Mia arrived home in early October. Mia was animated, energetic, and babbling quite a bit. The Dr. said it is like she is a different child.

Mia still prefers to holding our hand while walking, though she has taken up to 7 independent steps in a row.

We tried out the church nursery on Sunday. I brought Mia in for about a half hour, staying with her the whole time. I figured she'd would be fine with the nursery, but it was good for me to get the lay of the land. When we arrived, she stunned me by greeting the nursery ladies with an intelligible "Hi". I think that is a first! Mia played with some of the toys, but then kept grabbing for the other kids' sippy cups full of juice as well as their (church-issued) Goldfish crackers. Of course, I hadn't even brought her a sippy cup, bad mother that I am. After 30 minutes of the attendants' comments about how Mia was trying to eat all the other kids' Goldfish, I slunk out of there saying, "Gotta run, it is almost Mia's nap time. " (Which was true, actually.) I can see that nursery time will be good for Mia's socialization, so I'll be back with sippy cup and healthier snacks.