Bedtime Snack

We've told you that Mia loves her vegetables. I was reminded of Mia's great affection for broccoli the other night. I'd opened the fridge to see what we had for a bedtime snack. Mia spied the broccoli I'd cooked for her lunch the following day and insisted (I think pointing and screaming amounts to insistence, don't you?) on eating the broccoli NOW. I was thinking that next time I should put it on a higher shelf or in a container that isn't see-through, but then I realized that broccoli consumption should be permitted at any time of the day or night.

And that wraps up our coverage of Mia for the month of April. Thanks for watching, and join us in May for all-new episodes.

Swimsuit Edition

Last week Sarah went shopping for Mia at the preschool's consignment sale. I was out of town and this sale is not to be missed, so Sarah gladly took over the role of Mia's personal shopper. (What's not to like about spending OPM?) Mia got several new summer outfits, a Little Tikes kitchen, a swimsuit, and some hair bows. The pool will not be opening for another month at least, but Sarah got Mia to try on the swimsuit for Daddy's benefit. He reports that Mia didn't want to take it off. She wore it all evening.

New Words

I've started keeping an Excel spreadsheet listing the words and signs Mia uses. I'm not trying to pressure her, it was just getting hard to keep track of what she said, which I need to report to the speech therapist every week. Besides that, I was on an airplane and I got bored.
We are thrilled to see that Mia is signing a lot more, including: eat, drink, more, all done, thank you, ball, and the newest sign, drum roll please... mommy :). She also has some sign approximations, including yes, no, help, and cookie. Mia now says 8 words (pronounced correctly) and about 20 more word approximations. This week we heard several new words, including apple and hippo (yes, we were reading one of those Sandra Boynton books). New word approximations include hair bow and headband.

Big Shoes to Fill

Mia has become very interested in shoes. There is usually an extra pair of her shoes on her changing table, and she’ll insist on examining them while having her diaper changed. (We welcome any and all distractions that keep Mia lying still long enough for us to fasten those darned tape tabs.) Sarah reports that Mia sometimes goes into the kitchen, picks up her (Sarah’s) flip-flops, and delivers them to Sarah as if to suggest bare feet aren’t acceptable in our home. Mia really loves carrying her Dad’s big clod-hoppers around, one at a time of course. Her latest trick is trying to walk in Daddy’s shoes.
Fortunately for our wallets, Mia’s fascination with shoes does not extend to shopping for shoes. Every time we take her to Stride-Rite, she tries to run out of the store, leaving us to chase after her and the harried sales associate wondering if she should call, "Next!"

Retail Spectacle – Chapter III

Mia has a few extra bumps and bruises these days. All of a sudden, she wants to run whenever she can. She particularly loves being chased. It is quite a sight. She is not all that sure-footed yet, so her arms flail around and we worry she could take a tumble at any moment. Last week, we went to the mall together. She is usually content to sit in her stroller, but that night she cried to be let out. After all attempts to calm her failed, I relented. At first, she wanted to push the stroller herself. Then she decided it was time to run away. I’m faster than her, but the mall wasn’t crowded at all, so I let her run while staying 2 feet or so behind. She ran through the center of the food court then continued past various shops and kiosks. As she neared the Lindt Chocolates store, I though she was going to veer in for a free sample, but she changed course at the last minute. She was giggling hysterically the whole way, entertaining store clerks stationed at the entrance to their shops with the uneven slap-slap of her shoes and her rubbery waving of her arms. A few times, she headed toward a signpost or other hazard, but I herded her away from the danger with all the finesse of a well-trained border collie.
Finally we reached the entrance to one of the department stores, and I decided it was time to go back in the stroller. Well, she didn’t like that. I put her in the stroller and as I attempted to fasten her seat belt, she slumped down so far that she was about to fall out of her seat. (Did I mention we’d purchased this stroller in China? Somehow I think it would not pass U.S. safety standards, despite its well-known but likely counterfeit brand label.) I grabbed her under the armpits and tried to pull her back up, without success. By now, she was getting uncomfortable and scared, so she started crying. My efforts to pull her up were hindered by the fact that the stroller’s brakes weren’t engaged, and I couldn’t reach them without letting go of Mia. Besides that, the shoulder strap on my purse had become wrapped around my neck and was swaying back and forth in close proximity to her head. Panicked, I looked around for a friendly-looking stranger whom I could enlist to put the brakes on the stroller. Darn – nothing but a fountain and some potted plants! My pride in my border collie moves turned to fear for Mia’s safety.
I’m not quite sure how I managed it, but I ditched the strangling purse, stabilized the wayward stroller with my knees, and lifted Mia back into a proper seated position. After getting her seat belt securely fastened, I swiveled my neck in search of video cameras. As far as I can tell, no one captured my Lucy Ricardo moment for the benefit of the authorities. I then made a quick getaway to the parking lot. By the time we drove the 5 miles home, Mia had apparently forgotten the incident and was sound asleep. The Sominex-mobile had worked again. (Note to self: Buy a better stroller.)

The Reading Corner

It is hard to imagine that I ever worried that Mia wouldn't like books. (Until 12 or 13 months she showed ZERO interest, even in the pictures.) Now she can't get enough of them, pulling book after book off the shelf and bringing them to us to read. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Sarah is an exceptional story reader. I myself love listening to her!

On Sunday morning, I went into Mia's playroom and discovered she'd pulled the throw pillows off the sofas to make a quiet little reading nook for herself.

Patient Sam

Today, Mia was delighted to learn that she can pet Sam not only with her hand, but also with her foot. Surprisingly, Sam stood still for it.

Student Teaching

Mia has been using her baby signs more consistently, perhaps because the speech therapist instructed us not to anticipate her needs so much. She said Mia should have to sign “eat” if she is hungry and “more” before getting seconds. Her newest signs are “yes” and “drink”. Last night during her bath time, Mia grabbed my hands and made me sign “more.” She loved it when I made the sign. Jeff informed me that this morning, she picked up her Chinese baby doll, patted her on the head, and then made the doll make the “more” sign. Is there a bigger meaning here? We don’t know. Maybe this is just Mia’s way of playing school.

New Words

Mia is attempting to say lots more words, and many of them qualify as true words rather than word approximations. My favorite new words are "way" and "row". Here is how one particular conversation went.
The scene: Mom is just home from work. Mia misbehaves.
Sarah (sternly): No way!
Mia: Way!

For now, we think that is cute, but just wait until she is a teenager.

The word "row" is typically accompanied by a rowing motion, as Sarah has been teaching the song, Row, Row, Row Your Boat. It is really precious.
The speech therapist coached us to make Mia ask for what she wants. When she wants to be picked up, she has to say "Up". She can't quite say up yet, instead it sounds like "pa", as if she is pronouncing "up" backwards. That is good enough for now.
Mia is also saying "woof" and "moo". And though "ball" is still a word approximation, she is getting closer. Instead of "bah" it now sounds more like "bow."

Pat-a-Cake and Other Amusements

Up until now, Mia has not shown much interest in dancing and movement. Imagine my surprise the other day when the background music in an educational video changed to a march. Without warning, Mia stood up and marched in place. I suspect her new preschool music class had something to do with it.
We can see signs that Mia is understanding more and more words. She had her first therapy session with the speech pathologist yesterday. After the session, the therapist reported that after she engaged Mia in a game of pat-a- cake, Mia stopped the action and went to her bookshelf. She searched a while among the stacks and then produced a book called Pat-a-Cake!

Happiness is...

Mia loves her blocks, the color blue, and stacking things high. I love it when I can capture her expression of sheer delight and share it with her fan club.

“Do You Solemnly Swear…”

So began Mia’s re-adoption hearing this morning. While Mia’s adoption was finalized in China, we were advised to re-adopt her to give the U.S. courts full jurisdiction over the adoption. Also, this enabled the state to issue a birth certificate, meaning she will be able to get copies of her birth certificate in the future without having to contact the Chinese authorities. The hearing took place in the judge’s chambers (for privacy) and there was only one attorney present - ours. The judge had already read everything there is to know about how we became a family. After Jeff and I were sworn in, the questioning was pretty simple, confirming the representations we’d made in the court filing by answering “yes” to each question. We had to testify that:
· We are who we said we are
· We are married
· We live in the city stated in the paperwork, and we have lived in this state more than 6 months
· We adopted Mia in China
· Mia entered the U.S. on a valid visa, and she is a U.S. citizen
· We were asking the court to “domesticate this foreign adoption” and have the state issue a birth certificate with us as the parents

Sarah captured it all with the camcorder. (That's Sarah in the photo.) Mia looked beautiful in her red velveteen dress and sweater. Her outfit was all-American, and red is the traditional color of celebration in China. After the questioning was over, the judge ruled that we had adopted Mia.
After the hearing, Jeff and Sarah left with Mia while the attorney and I went to another part of the courthouse. The clerk of court entered the order of judgment and gave us certified copies of the decree. The order was immediately sealed so that no one can ever look at all the supporting evidence, which includes Mia’s Chinese birth certificate, the Chinese adoption decree, our home study, etc. Adoption decrees may be the only thing you can’t get on the Internet.
I took the adoption decree straight to the county’s vital records office, and a mere half hour later I had Mia’s new birth certificate listing Jeff and I as the parents.

Dear Mia,
If you are reading this someday, I want you to know that this was one of the happiest days of my life. The other happiest days were the day we found out we had been selected to be your parents, the day your Chinese nanny first put you in my arms, and the day we brought you home to America . I love you very much. Every day I thank the Lord that am your mother.

Trick Rider in Training

In four short months, Mia has gone from being afraid to straddle the Bounce & Spin Zebra to riding it full tilt. It is quite a show. Last week I was trying to get a picture of her riding the zebra when all of a sudden she climbed on its back. I quick snapped the photo before grabbing her to prevent the inevitable fall.