Yay!!! One Year!!

What?! What just happened? How did we get a one year old? Mia was just born a week ago, wasn't she?




















So yes it is true, Time flies. Before you know it babies are crawling, then standing then walking. Our life is now filled with toddler things. How life has changed in the last year. I love it. I cant believe I have been home with her that long now. I love being mom to this happy (and sometimes grumpy,) playful, mischievous, sweet, smart, active, beautiful girl. It amazes how quickly she learns. Every day there is something new.

There are many things about a one year old that are so much better than a newborn.
 SLEEP is one of them. Mia sleeps from 8 or 9 PM to 6- 8 AM most nights. She might wake up once, but usually a binki does the trick.  Don't get me wrong we still have to get up at night, but it is so much less that when she was a newborn, and there are some nights we don't get up at all.  Unless she is sick, or hungry, then it is whole different game. Now we just need to get on her same schedule and stop staying up so late to get things done.
 PLAYTIME is so much more interactive. Yes it is more tiring, but also more entertaining to watch her learn and grow. A box can be super fun, anything out of reach must be funner that what she is currently playing with.
 MEALTIME. She now can eat most of the foods we do in one form or another. She is not as hungry in between feedings and this results in better sleep (see above.) Her favorites today, which may change tomorrow -and are different from yesterday, are; bananas (3 days ago she kept spitting them out), chicken from fried rice, peas, peaches, and kiwis.  She had whipped cream for the first time, and she loved it!
 COMMUNICATION. While still in its infancy, Mia signs, milk, puffs, more and all done. She brings me things she wants to play with or read, and takes me to where she wants to go.  And this goes both ways. I am better at reading her cues, knowing when she is tired, or hungry, and what things she wants.

There are also things that are more challenging about a one year old than a newborn.
SLEEP. When we are not at home she refuses to nap and becomes either grumpy exhausted or slap happy crazy. And then she gets hungry and confuses her fatigue with hunger. This is when ALL the Cherrios must be eaten, at the same time. I have seen her try to cram a whole handful in her mouth at once, maybe 8-10 of them.
PLAYTIME. Things that were never intended to be toys are now her favorite thing to reach for. Phones drooled on, TV's become a drum to bang, paper is shredded or eaten.  Technology is a crazy fascination, and she is already addicted. I limit it to a couple of minutes at a time. She is bored more easily or wants to do the same thing over and over till I am bored. Playing peek-a-boo with my belly-button gets tiring after 20-30 times.
MEALTIME. I now have the floor to mop up after nearly every meal. When Mia decides that she is done with one type of food she either hides it under her bottom, drops it behind her back or on the floor. Tonight I fed her cheese. She ate a little and then decided to tuck it under her legs and bottom while I wasn't looking. The surprises on her seat can be such fun.
COMMUNICATION. Mia is now very adept at using her cry to reinforce her displeasure and she knows just the right tone to get our attention.

It is funny that the same things get better in some ways and worse in other ways. I guess that is the way everything is in life.


Here are Mia's one year milestones:

Mia is now walking... everywhere. Last month she was walking, but would crawl on tile since she didn't want to fall on the hard ground.  She is not perfect, and shoes still throw her off, but she is getting better each day.





Mia taking a stroll across the room to try to get the camera, of course.

Mia wanted to be like all the other kids in town going to school. So she got her backpack and wore it for the whole day to feel included. Note: It is a giraffe backpack filled with toys, because that is what she would bring if she was going to school.










She now can stand up in the middle of the room without having to crawl to furniture to pull herself up.

Mia recognizes the names of most objects and learns new ones quickly. She will get things for you from across the room... most of the time. She can also pick out the right card from a pile of flash cards when asked, if she has seen them before.

Playing with grandma. She loves their house with all the retro toys from my childhood.











Mia shows delight in getting into trouble. Trash cans, toilet paper, dirt, rocks and the like are better than any toy, especially since they are forbidden to eat or chew on and always get a reaction from someone.




Here she is using her pack and play creatively. She likes to go under the bottom board and play. I think originally she was trying to escape under it but now thinks it is fun to sit on the fabric.







She loves spending time with grandma and grandpa. We go over as often as we can to play. She loves "hippity hop" with grandpa, and loved to walk to him and to grandma when she was just learning. Mia and grandpa have exciting conversations that only they understand. She gets so excited to go to their house!

Mia can be a bit of a thrill seeker. She loves being upside-down, tossed in the air, riding on daddy's shoulders and swinging in the swing even though she is still a little small for it. 

She is such a delight. We love you our pretty little girl. 

11 Month Old Cutie

Mia is turning 11 months old. Just one more month for her year mark!

She has grown a lot in the past months. She has started taking her first steps, walking between furniture and between Dee and I. She is still nervous going far, but she is getting better. She loves to walk with us holding her hands. She could do it for an hour.  Dee gave her ropes to hang onto one day so he wouldn't bend over so far and she loves it!

It is really difficult to get a picture of her trying to walk since she sees the camera and thinks only to grab it. This often results in fun, but fuzzy "selfies."

She recognizes faces in pictures and tries to point out people. We name them and sometimes she tries to say them back. Her favorites to point to are Grandpa and Daddy of course!

Her speech varies from day to day. She says "fff" and "shhh"  in addition to "mama" and "dada." She rolls her "R's" really well and can click her tongue. She loves to listen to grandpa speak Finnish to her. She is always up to spending time with grandma and grandpa! She uses her index finger to point out everything so we can tell her what it is. Sometimes she gets close to repeating back the words.

Mia likes to listen to us sing and tries to sing too mimicking our voices in vocal warm-up style. It is cute to see her try to match us. She will play notes on the piano and have us sing to her playing.

She is now more interested in playing than food, or should I say... playing with her food! It is almost necessary to hose her down after every meal. Her favorite foods are to date: Ground buffalo hamburger, kiwi, grapes, peaches, broccoli, and mango. But DON'T try to feed her raspberries they will end up everywhere but her mouth! She could also do without cheese, and bananas are only liked occasionally. Everyday is an eating adventure and her likes and dislikes are always in flux.

This week is the first time she has crawled under things that require ducking down. Before she would crawl to it, hit her head, get upset and go around. This adds more adventure trying to get under beds, chairs and tables. She is also getting taller meaning she continues to reach more and more things. She manages to find all the dangerous things I never knew were there!

She keeps us very busy but we are having lots of fun.

Family Reunion 2014

Last week we spent in St. George, Utah with Dee's family for a reunion. We did a lot of activities and fortunately the weather was pretty good. We saw Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks, and went to a lake called Sand Hollow. (Well Dee went to the lake. Mia came down with a fever for 2 days so I stayed with her.) Other than Mia's illness we had a great time.

We got to spend time with Dee's grandparents too. It was wonderful to see them!

We went on a short hike to Emerald Pools at Zion's. this one was paved enough for us to take Mia in her stroller, just a few rough areas.  It had rained earlier in the week so there was a good amount of water.  Mia enjoyed the scenery and touching everything along the hiking path.

At Emerald Pools. Dee took Mia under the waterfall. It had rained earlier that week and was pretty wet when we went.

We also drove through the tunnel through Zion's on our way home and got to see the other side, which neither of us had ever done before. It was pretty and different from the main tourist (West) side.




Waiting our turn to go through the one way tunnel.

We went to a children's museum and Mia had fun exploring. Across the street we rode a carousel for the first time with her. I think she liked it.

Teaching her how to milk cows.

No Daddy! Don't feed me to the dragon. I'll be good!

Tree house fun.

First time on a carousel. 

We went swimming at the pool where at the house we stayed at, and Mia really loves the water.  it had a great shallow area that she could walk in and still be head above water.

Dee at Sand Hollow. They rented a wave runner, canoe, and paddle board. Looks like a lot of fun!

At Cedar Breaks. Much cooler at over 10,000 ft than in St. George. Really beautiful.

Dee's  family is really big into board games and every night they would be up until 1 or 2 in the morning playing. We tried to not stay up as late, since Mia doesn't take into consideration how late we go to bed in her wake time.

But in the end all vacations must come to an end. Back to normal life. Mia was more than happy to get back to her own crib and her own room.

Nine Months Old

Wow! That is pretty much all I can say! Mia is doing really great. She is a smart cookie and very active. She is now 9 months old and I see the signs of a toddler in her. She has been "real" crawling for about 4 weeks and every day her balance in standing improves. She is getting more brave while cruising furniture but is also gaining awareness that letting go could make her fall. She has been practicing her stand to sit through a squat, and it is getting smoother. She now pulls up on everything. She even made it up onto the couch in her bedroom. She climbs my body all the way to my shoulders. Her toes are super strong. She loves to be held upside-down and thinks being spun while in flying position is the best.




Dee is more than happy to fulfill her flying fun.

Happily standing, ready to play and be walked around.

I'm a good crawler.

I can go anywhere in the house I want.











Mia is exploring new foods and textures. She still needs things mashed or cut up into small pieces but she is getting more coordinated. Her current favorites include chicken, applesauce, and cherries. Mmm... Cherries! They seem to have a calming and relaxing effect on her. She will try most anything and even seems to enjoy her vegetables as long as we alternate with other food for variety. She is also a little beggar for anything mom and dad are eating. She wants to try everything and gets jealous if we are eating something she cant have yet.

A recent new skill she has is showing love for other babies and animals. When she sees babies in her books she leans over and kisses them. Sometimes she even says an "aahhh" when she does it.  Her hand eye coordination is getting better. She has been working on her pincer grip and she now points at objects in her books and in pictures.  She still loves her books and is getting more choosy with which ones she wants read. Her favorite is a lift flap book "Eyes, ears, and nose." It was "The icky sticky frog" until she managed to pull the tongue of the frog off.  She also loves ones with animal sounds and anything with babies in it.






Playing with her doll, or more specifically her hair.

Mia also loves music and singing time. She is clapping a lot with different songs and is trying to mimic motions such as "the rain came down."  She loves to pat our cheeks when they are full of air and hear the noise it makes.






Mia's hair is getting long enough that we can explore different styling options :) she doesn't seem to notice when we change her hair.

Mia is bath time crazy. It is all - stand up, sit down, reach, splash, grab, and trying to drink all the water the whole time. I end up drenched each time. She loves it and doesn't know that the purpose is to get her clean. People say bath time is relaxing for their little ones... well, not for Mia. She is energized by the water and is ready for another hour of fun afterward.

Mia loves to use her swing unconventionally. Sitting backward, surfing, it is all so fun, and dangerous.









She is trying new sounds. She is trying to roll her "R's" and says a "V" and "SH." When she is upset, or hurt or tired she calls out "Ma-a" and when she wants to play it is all "Dada."

We are down to 2 naps a day, however their length is variable so we may be transitioning to one a day in the near future. I don't know how I will ever get anything done. I already have to put her in the pack and play while I eat lunch to avoid getting mauled for my food.

I wouldn't have her any other way. She is really sweet and becoming more aware of emotions and affection. She is very curious and finds new things to explore every day.  She has times where she is so very patient and plays well by herself.

 -In love with this girl!-