Visiting Idaho- Leading up to Christmas

We made it to Idaho for Christmas this year. We decided to fly since it is such a long drive.  Mia had her first plane ride. She seemed nervous during take-off and landing, but she handled it amazingly well. She was tapping the other people on the plane to get their attention, and was pretty wiggly.  On the way home she fell asleep for a little while. It made the flight go by much quicker.

 Here we are bring greeted by Dee's parents. They brought us a coat for Mia to wear since we don't have Idaho appropriate clothing in Arizona.

 Mia was glad to be off of the Plane and excited to have her coat on:) She didn't really like how big and puffy it was, I think she felt restricted in it but she was happy to have it once we got out in the cold. 

 Sunday morning we went to church, but Mia had to explore the Christmas decorations first.

 She also started practicing her somersaults this week, 

 After church we put her down for a nap in her sleeper to keep her cozy warm, but when she woke up she was ready to play with grandma. 

 Grandpa loves Karaoke, and had special Christmas microphones to use. They had a special way to make you have an elf voice.

 By the way... grandpa is ticklish. 

 The next day there was a dusting of snow and Mia had her first brief experience with the white stuff. she was confused, and was pretty timid. This snow didn't last very long and was melted in a couple of hours.

 Mia was also excited to explore a new house. Who knew pasta could be at arms reach? She was very helpful picking it up and putting it in the trash. She liked using the broom. I cant say that she didn't eat a couple of pieces.

Christmas Eve we went to Blackfoot to visit Dee's grandma and grandpa. Grandpa is in inpatient rehab after a fall, and we didn't manage to snap pictures while visiting him. Sorry grandpa. 

Mia took a liking to Great-grandma. 

...And her rocking chair.

While we were there Dee and his dad went through old photos and took pictures of some of them. way to slip in a little family history.

On Christmas Eve, Dee's family has a tradition of doing a Jerusalem Supper, where they dress up a characters from the bible, and eat pitas and olives and the like.





Here is Craig's family all dressed up.












And some of the food we enjoyed.

Then we were off to bed to get ready for the next day... well not really. We went out and saw Christmas lights and then stayed up all night talking 'till we almost couldn't see straight. Only then did we go to bed. Actually we stayed up late every night while we were there. Good thing we didn't have to work in the morning. 

So much to do. So little time.

The last three months of the year are so crazy, so much to do and we haven't even gotten to Christmas yet! I don't pull the camera to take pictures that often right now our lives are full of a lot of busy-ness. I did manage a few times to remember to take pictures.

Here is my update on Mia from the last 2 months:

She is getting cuter and cuter.

She is determined with where she wants to go and what she wants to do. Sometimes we feel like our activities are fully dependent on what Mia is willing to do. But in general she lets us take her places with out too much stress.



Mia NEEDS to hold ALL the technology, ALL the time. If it is in reach or in view, she must have it. Phones, tablets, computers, remotes... she owns them all.

Mia chooses to drink her milk while sitting on her pillow watching old-school Sesame Street. She pulls all the videos out until she finds what she wants to watch. But she wont watch for long. TV really isn't her thing, she just wants the power she gets by holding the controls.
















Mia explores every inch of our house that she can reach. given her amazing tiptoe ability, she can reach a lot. This girl can stand on "pointe" already without the shoes.










She is eating all sorts of things. Her current favorite food is blueberries and bananas. Avacados are also on the list too. She loves string cheese but not if it is in the string form. She is funny, one day she can't get enough of something and the next she wants nothing to do with it. Except if you put ketchup on it.  Almost anything is acceptable with ketchup.  She has been fully weaned off the bottle for almost 2 months now. Just sippy cups for us. This doesn't mean that she wont go after other baby's bottles if she sees them.

We hang out at Grandma and Grandpa's house a lot. Mia loves it there. She learns something new each time. I think they have fun with her there too. 

Mia lolves to go to the park. We stop by when I go on our walk. Fortunately there is a park not too far from our house. The slide and the swing are her favorite. 

Mia likes to challenge herself. She doesn't want to go up the easy way... no she wants the big step.

Coloring is getting easier. She isn't putting the crayons in her mouth as much. It still happens, but she is starting to get the idea. 

Fashion is obviously a big thing for her ;) I really think the Diaper Hat will become more popular, don't you? Note the technology always present when possible.  

A really cute thing she has started doing is feeding her "babies."  My old Cabbage Patch doll from the '80's is really enjoying her drink of milk. I think she will be a great older sister one day. Also she takes her own diapers to the trash, both at home and at grandma's house. Score us!

The only downside to the last couple of months is the cold and flu season. Mia caught a cold and was down and out for a few days. What did she want to do? Sit on the couch holding the remote control or phone. She was so sad. 

With a little Tylenol for her fever she was good as new and back to her usual (although slightly whinier and grumpier) self. 

Don't worry, She is all better...  at least until the next wave comes through town. 

Happy Halloween/Fall

Tonight we went to the trunk-or-treat at church for all the kids. It was Mia's first time there. She did OK for a while. Then once she had about 8 candies in her bag, all she wanted to do was eat the wrappers. She sat down in the middle of the parking lot and didn't want to budge. Dee took over and got her to visit a few more cars.




Getting ready to go out. Practicing with her magic wand. I hope our wishes come true.

Her cutie wings from behind.

Walking up to grandma and grandpa's house for her trick-or-treating fun to begin.

Sitting on the trunk with daddy, handing out (and chewing on) candy.

Dee is pretty cute too with his gaucho outfit.

Our awesome neighbors gave her animal crackers so that she could enjoy her "candy." Thanks. She loved it.









Also today we went to the Zoo, and it was pretty fun. The weather was warm (about 93 deg.) but it was not busy at all there. All the animals were easily viewed, which was great for Mia.

At the Zoo  "pumpkin patch"  together.

I would like both of these please. This one is nice and bumpy, and this one is nice and round.












Walking around the Zoo. She needs some guidance to not wander off to where she shouldn't go... like into the duck pond.

Playing the xylophone with Dee. She really loves it. Music is great fun for her.

Riding the golden elephant.

Finding cool leaves in the aviary.

Watching the elephants, especially the energetic new little girl elephant.

Pointing out the otters. She really wanted to jump in and go swimming with them.











Another little update on Mia... she can now do a tripod headstand. I think that we will have to get her started in gymnastics as soon as she is old enough.