Happy 9 month Birthday!

Tonight we celebrated Mia's 9 month birthday! Today also marks the end of her very first month as an American citizen... Our little angel has developed so many fun and quirky traits. For instance, she loves to mimic different noises that we make. We can play that game all day... She also is very clearly saying "Ma ma". At first I was certain that Stacy was simply wishing this were true! But over the past week it's become clear that she's right. Especially when Mia first wakes up, before we get her from her room, she says Ma ma over and over... It's the sweeting thing!

1st Bike Ride...

Our good friend Kurt found us a great deal on a bicycle trailer at one of the auctions he attends. Sunday night we decided to try it out & go for our first family bike ride. Mia loved the fresh air, and her cousin Nicholas tagged along on his skate board. It was so cute to see Mia taking in the sights. She absolutely loved her first tour of the neighborhood! Although I think we need to be careful, Mommy almost crashed her bike in her quest to see every expression on Mia's little face...

Best Friends...

Oh how far we've come... Just a few weeks ago Sofia thought that this freaky little alien who had invaded her home was quite disturbing! Fast forward a few weeks, and now they're best buddies. I think Sofia is astonished that a human being can be so little and so uncoordinted... Shortly after this picture was taken Mia reached for Sofia and, in one smooth move, slid face first down the back of her little chair. Totally undaunted, she brushed herself off and went for it again. Same results... She's even entertaining to the cat! We love them both.

Grandma & Grandpa!

Grandma & Grandpa are visiting this week from Colorado. As you can see, Grandma can't get enough of little Mia... She's been having so much fun playing with Grandma and batting her little eyes at Grandpa. Mia even got to visit Grandpa in the hospital yesterday after he had his knee replaced. As expected, she brought nothing but sunshine & smiles to the hospital!!

Aren't I cute?!

It's been a little while since Mia had the chance to be showered with praise, so she wanted to be sure I posted an exceptionally cute picture of her! This was Mia getting to know one of her Teddy Bears. She continues to develop at an astonishing rate. I won't bore you with more updates on her physical development, but it's sufficient to say that we're considering enrolling her in the AZ Rock n Roll Marathon in January! Ok, maybe that's a stretch, but not by much... Mia is now sleeping fairly consistently for 10-11 hours per night, and just loves sweet potatoes and any fruit we feed her! We feel as though she's been with us for several years. In fact, it's difficult to remember what life was like without her. Must have been pretty boring...

Hay Ride!

On Saturday we took Mia to the Desert Botanical Garden for a Hayride and a little time in the pumpkin patch. Nothing like a 95 degree Halloween in Phoenix... Uggh. Here is little Mia with our nieghbors Madi, Chloe & Carter. She just loves being around other kids!

Cousin Nicholas

Mia's cousins McKenzie & Nicholas spent the day with Mommy & Mia today. They were very helpful and Nicholas even stayed around to help Dad while Mommy went to tennis this evening. We were left with strict instructions not to let Mia go to sleep prior to 7:30 pm, as Mommy is getting a little tired of the early mornings... So what were we to do?! We figured we'd try out her newest toy, the buggy in the picture above. At first we thought she might be a little small, but even tired Mia perked up when she realized what we had in store for her. A flashlight and a surprise visit to Nancy's house and we were in business! It was actually quite startling to see how well she did as Nicholas raced her over curbs and through the yards!! Shhhhhh, don't tell Mommy... Mia is hoping her cousins comes back to play soon.

Learning to Walk...

For a couple of parents who were well prepared for developmental delays, Mia's progress is nothing short of breath taking! Having mastered crawling, she's now looking to take her first steps... We bought her this toy that has no seat, so she's forced to walk along behind it. You can see the earnest look of effort on little Mia's face as she tries to keep her balance! We're taking bets on whether her first steps will occur before Thanksgiving or Chanukah.

Play Date!

We've met so many great people through this whole adoption experience. One of the couples we've really enjoyed is Russell & Christine Friend. They have a beautiful little girl named Sascha, who is almost 3 years old. Christine & Sascha came over on Tuesday evening for a play date. Mia really loves playing with other kids, and especially loved having her new friend over. Sascha was so sweet. During dinner she asked her Mom if she could kiss Mia on the cheek!! Aren't they cute?

Grammy & Papa!

Any of you who know Grammy (aka Sherry) are aware of how difficult it was for her to be away on a cruise for the past few weeks instead of bonding with her newest grand baby... Suffice it to say that today's visit to Tucson was Mia's grand coming out party! Grammy & Papa were overwhelmed by Mia's little personality. Papa was amazed at how alert & curious Mia was, while Grammy couldn't get enough love & hugs! After a short nap, Mia made her rounds to all the neighbors homes who had been getting to know her via her proud grandparents and the blog. Before long we had a house full of people who were all fawning and cooing at cute little Mia! On the car ride home tonight I'm pretty sure I heard Mia mumble something about how lucky she is to have such loving & wonderful Grandparents... Mia can hardly wait for her next visit!

Papa Time!

After spending a nice long day with Grammy & Papa, what else was left to do other than roll around on Papa's big leather chair and look cute as pie?! Papa entertained Mia in this chair after dinner, and the full belly laughs put huge smiles on everyone's faces...

First Ball Game!

Friday night Mia got to attend her first baseball game! We took her to see Game two of the playoff series of the AZ Diamondback vs. the Colorado Rockies... I'm pretty sure she wasn't too impressed with the way the Diamondbacks played. However, she was definitely entranced by the cute girl sitting next to us! Suffice it to say the young lady didn't get to see much of the game, as she was drawn into Mia's plan of world dominance! In fact, quite a few of the women around us were more focused on little Mia than the game they paid good money to see... Our little peanut has become quite the flirt. We made it all the way to the 7th inning! Not bad... It really was fun to watch her little overloaded senses take in everything around us.

Finally Baby Food...

We've been struggling for the past week to get Mia to eat anything other than her bottles. She's growing so quickly that they don't fill her up for long. We finally figured out that the recommendation of sticking with green vegetables before moving on to orange or yellow doesn't always work if she won't eat them! Tonight we all went out for Sushi. Surprisingly, Mia chose the sweet potatoes over salmon sashimi. She seemed to love them, and gobbled the whole tub down... Let's hope for a long night of sleep tonight with a full little belly!

Strength & Honor!

Wow, it's amazing how strong Mia has gotten in such a short time... A few weeks ago Mia could hardly sit up, and certainly couldn't stand up. This is a picture of Mia's favorite chair, compliments of Tim & Kristin. (The hand-me-down toys have been a bigger hit than anything new...) Mia spends several hours per day pulling herself up on this chair, and is now using it to climb onto the couch! She is able to crawl from room to room, and now uses her arms and legs to hang onto Mommy... Impressive to first time parents. Now if we could just perfect her bench press! Note to Andy & Jen: keep your son Magnus the hell away from our little angel...

A Tooth Brush?!

Mia is headed towards a lifetime of healthy teeth with these brushing habits! Not sure why we're brushing teeth that will fall out shortly, but that's what the doctor ordered... Plus, if Dr. Mike & Michelle Wong come back for another visit, we need to have those pearly whites all shined up!

Our Little Salsa Dancer!

Tonight while Stacy was making dinner Mia & Daddy had a fashion show! At Stacy's shower Mia received a beautiful gift that is a little Salsa style skirt that is so adorable... We surprised Mommy in the kitchen, and then Mia surprised us by putting on a show. Her little moves were hysterical. She'd grab a handful with each hand and work from side to side trying to put it in her mouth. The overall appearance was as if she was doing a little Salsa dance... I'm not sure if it's apparent yet, but we're slightly obsessed with this little girl!!!

Mommy & Mia Baking...

Mia is endlessly curious and quite the handful... She is always so happy and so full of love, but it's definitely tiring to try and keep her constantly entertained. Mommy does a wonderful job and is so patient. Anyone who knows Stacy knows that October means Halloween cupcakes! So yesterday Mommy decided that the only way to accomplish all the baking would be to have little Mia hop in and help out! I came home to find them baking away and having a blast together... So sweet!

Sleep Update!

It is with enthusiasm & optimism that I announce the Lovell's might actually get some sleep tonight!! It seems we reached a turning point during Auntie Caren & cousin Hadley's weekend visit. Things have definitely been improving, but we were still having episodes of late night crying and consoling, coupled with middle of the night feedings... I know, very smart pattern to be developing! However, Sunday night Mia went to bed at about 8:15 pm and slept all the way through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I say this with no small amount of excitement. She's now been down for about 3 hours so far tonight, and we haven't heard as much as a peep. Ok, maybe a few small peeps, but not much more! Keep your fingers crossed and please keep us in your sleep prayers.

Post Immunization Shots...

We were surprised at how long the trauma of her first shots lasted. Shortly after the appointment, Mia took a nice long nap. However, she just wasn't her happy little self for the rest of the day. When Mom went to Target this evening to get some Halloween candy and stuff for Mia (ie- code for I need a few minutes to myself...) Dad was relegated to walking up and down the street with Mia in the Baby Bjorn so as to provide constant distraction... The good news is that we now know exactly what all of our neighbors yards and driveways look like! Note the rare lack of smile on Mia's adorable but frustrated little face...

Pre-Doctor Visit!

A shot of our little Mia on Monday morning, just a few hours before she learned what doctors can do with needles!! We had our first Pediatrician visit today, and Mia did her best, like usual, to win over the entire office. All the Mom's wer paying her attention and the staff just couldn't get enough. Everything was going according to her little plan until... The needle! Neither Mom nor Dad had any idea of the immense pain and suffering this could cause. When they took blood, Mom had to have the nurse give her sniffing salts to prevent a black out from the trauma of seeing little Mia scream so loudly! I'm not kidding... After Mom left the room, Dad got the privilige of pinning his little girl to the table while three immunization shots were administered in the thighs. Suffice it to say that the whole family was traumatized by the end of this appointment. All for a good cause if it helps to keep our little Mia safe and healthy!

Loving Cousins...

Along with Aunt Caren came Mia's cousin, Hadley, who is 3 years old. Hadley is an absolute sweet heart and watching the two of them play together has been loads of fun. Today we all went in the hot tub and Mia is now a full blown swimmer! I'm fairly certain she'll be competing in the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing...

Auntie Caren's Visit!

Auntie Caren came to visit for the weekend and help out Mommy & Daddy! As you can see, Mia loves her Auntie. The only problem is that this picture was taken at about 10:30 pm on Friday night... Sweet little Mia went down like at angel at about 7:00 pm. That lasted for all of about an hour and a half, before she decided it was play time. Auntie & Mommy are now sleeping, and I'm watching Mia roll around in her crib with a great big smile on her face. I'm convinced this is all a ploy to see who really runs things around here! Hint: The real ruler has a 3 letter name...

Auntie Caren's visit has been hugely helpful. Having an extra set of arms around is great, but the advice we've gained from a seasoned Mommy is even better...

Cutie Pie!

Mia was wondering why Daddy wouldn't leave her alone with that darn camera...

Mia's First Swim at Home!

Today Mia had some friends over for her first swim at home! Kurt & Susan & the kids, along with Eben & Nancy & the kids, came by for a later afternoon swim... Mia loved splashing around in the hot tub. She especially loved splashing Mommy!

The Mommy Saver...

Our friends Tim & Kristin lent us this contraption that has saved Mommy's life! As Mia has now become thoroughly attached to her Mom, it's the one thing that keeps her entertained long enough to allow Mom to shower and make bottles... Isn't she the cutest?

Mia's New Best Friend...

Stacy & I were worried about how Sofia would be with Mia. Thankfully, she's found it quite enjoyable to have all these new vibrant toys in the house! Mia screamed in fear the first time she saw Sofia out of the corner of her eye. I don't think she was prepared to see an actual moving stuffed animal! After that the screams quickly turned to excitement, and now Mia screams if Sofia is in the room and she doesn't get to grab a handful of fur... Sofia has been very sweet and gentle with her. All except the one open paw smack that Mia got, and deserved, when she took a little too much fur away with her!! All in all, I'm fairly certain they'll be best friends in the coming years...

True Ohio State Buckeye Fan!

While visiting Eben & Nancy, Mia got one look at Eben's Notre Dame shirt and her reaction can only be defined by the look on her face! I believe I heard her mumble something like, "Wow, is this guy for real? I didn't think anyone would own up to being a Notre Dame fan at this point..." I can't be sure though, cause she said it quickly before she spit up!!

Another Match Photo!

Just thought I'd share another photo of us getting our little Mia, to brighten your day!