Christmas Brunch

Christmas morning Mia opened all of her presents first thing after she got Daddy out of bed. Ok, so she had to wait a few hours... It was amazing to see all of the generous gifts she received. After that, we went to Jim & Judy's for a fantastic brunch & a few of Sarah's special bloody mary's! Ok, maybe more than a few... They live on the Phoenician golf course, where Mia spent loads of time rolling around in the grass with Blaise, Madi, Nolan & Quincy. She was our little Christmas Princess! We've been dreaming of our first holiday season with our new baby for so many years. In reality, there was no way of knowing just how great it would be... We are the luckiest couple in the world!

Bartolotta Visit...

David & Heather brought their beautiful daughters to visit with Mia on Saturday night. Mia had so much fun playing with Gabrielle & Angelina. Isn't this the sweetest picture of them all in Mia's crib? This was taken right after they all rolled around together in her crib... Too cute!

Hiking South Mountain

On Sunday morning we met Jackie at South Mountain to do some hiking. Kurt & Sue lent us this awesome baby babpack & Mia had an absolute blast! Every time we passed a hiker with a dog she would bounce up and down and pant with excitement. She even learned that by pulling on Dad's right ear, Dad would turn right so she could see whatever interested her in that direction...

Playdate with Maya!

Last week we had Megan and Maya over for a playdate! Mia has so much fun playing with her friends. Mia pushed Maya all over the house in this walker! It was so cute...

First Santa Visit...

After all the other kids were done crying, Mia hopped up on Santa's lap and had an absolute blast! You can tell by Santa's face that even he was amused by her shear joy. I wish I could show you all the photos. About 15 seconds after this was taken, Mia gazed into Santa's eyes and promptly grabbed a handful of beard and tugged!! She's the absolute best and we are having so much fun... We want 10 more!

Teddy Bear Tea!

Today Mommy, Daddy & Aunt Cari took our little princess for 'Teddy Bear Tea' at the Ritz! It was so sweet to see all the little kids dressed up sharp and having so much fun. Mia is such a trooper. When the life size Teddy Bear came around she wasn't at all intimidated. I expected at least a whimper, but she was smiles... Fortunately she was still too young for the food, so Dad helped out and ate all Mia's tea snacks!

Disneyland...

Eben's Mom, Joanie, was sweet enough to get Mia a rolling walker when she saw how motivated our little angel is to walk! However, Mia has decided that getting into her walker and using her feet to prople herself isn't nearly as fun as standing on the end and having Mommy & Daddy push her around the house. Mia lights up every time we play this game... I get the feeling she thinks she's in Disneyland. Anything for that beautiful little smile and sweet little giggle!

Playmate!

Mia loves playing with Nancy & Eben's son Blaze! He is so patient and sweet with Mia and she lights up whenever he comes around... We're very lucky to have such great friends living so close!

Hanukkah Bush!

Tonight Mia helped Mommy & Daddy put up the Hanukkah bush! She was mesmerized by the lights and felt it only appropriate to put the cord in her mouth... Daddy raised his voice to little Mia for the first time to try and deter the consumption of electricity. Big surprise that Mia had no noticable response other than to look inquisitively at Daddy while biting down harder on the cord... It's hard to be stern with such a cutie~

Mia's Party!

We flew to Cleveland for a week to get a chance for everyone to meet the sunshine girl. We had a whirlwind trip of dinners, play dates & parties! Mia met dozens and dozens of people. She was such a sport as every one of them held her and cooed about her beauty... It was so nice to get a chance to share our long awaited little bundle of joy with all of our friends and family. Grandma Margaret, Aunty Cathy, Aunt Donna, Eileen & Michelle were all unbelievably gracious in hosting a Mia bash on Saturday. We had close to 100 people at Grandpa's house for a Chinese themed party. The house was decorated beautifully with chinese lanterns and streamers, the Chinese food was fantastic and the party was absolutely a success! We had Andy & Jen fly in from DC, as well as Steve, Sharon & Greg from St. Louis, and Aunt Chrisy from LA. Grammy & Papa also made the long trip from Tucson just to be with our little angel. We capped off the trip with a beautiful family dinner party on Sunday night, hosted by Aunt Donna & Uncle Chris. The whole trip was filled with so much love and excitement that Mia misses her new friends and family in Cleveland already...

Mia meets Sharon & Greg

Stacy's God Parents, Sharon & Greg, flew in from St. Louis to meet little Mia. They spent the whole weekend with us, and Mia had a blast with them. We are very lucky to have them in our lives...

The Lovell Clan!

While in Cleveland we all got to spend a lot of time with Mia's Aunt Donna and cousins Madison, Michael, Michelle & Maria. They were all incredibly sweet and loving with their new cousin. Mia is very lucky to have such incredible family. Donna & Chris went far beyond anything we could have wished for and hosted an extravagent dinner party for our extended family on Sunday evening. They were beyond generous... Most importantly, you can see in this picture the natural bond they've all formed already!

Uncle Chris...

Mia got a chance to spend loads of quality time with her Uncle Chris. They both fell in love, and really enjoyed playing. I'm pretty sure she's decided that he's her favorite of all... (Sorry Donna!)

Grandma Margaret!

Mia had a great time with Grandma Margaret in Cleveland. She worked so hard on Mia's party, and they had a great time playing together... It was really sweet that every time Grandma picked up little Mia, she would snuggle in for a Grandma hug. Mia misses Grandma already!

Grandpa!

While in Cleveland for our visit, Mia got to meet Grandpa. She loved all the fun stuffed animals in his house. Especially the gorilla that sings, "Wild thing, you make my heart sing...".

Mia meets Aunt Chrisy!

Mia has been lucky enough to get tons of love and affection from her new Aunt Chrisy. They finally got to meet during our recent visit to Ohio for Mia's 'Coming Out' party! Aunt Chrisy was sweet enough to fly all the way from L.A. for just a 24 hours trip, so she could meet little Mia! Mia is very appreciative and loves her new aunt...

New Friends...

While in Cleveland we got the chance to hang out with Doug & Heather, and introduce Mia to their beautiful little girls, Zoe & Lilly. As you can tell by the mess, Lilly loved playing Mommy to Mia, and was feeding her lots of crackers. They were so sweet with little Mia...

Grocery Shopping!

Little Mia sure does have it rough! Momma has thought of everything... Including making sure she is safe and comfortable in the grocery cart. Too cute!

The Budding Model...

One of the many expressions that Mia tries out for the camera on a daily basis! We call this one the 'feigning surprise'...

Big Girl Baths!

Wow, it seems like yesterday that we had our bald little baby who was deathly afraid of the water. Now, just a few months later, our newly independent little girl is frolicking in the tub like she's a mermaid. She loves the bath so much now that when we set her down to undress her, if we turn our back, she tries to climb into the tub! The progress... Note that even bath toys are apparently meant to be put in the mouth.

Ready to Walk...

It sure didn't take Mia long to recover from feeling sick... On Saturday morning Mia ran up and down the hallway several hundred times to show off her pseudo walking skills! Mom was having her hair done, so we got some quality Mia & Daddy time. All I can say is WOW, I have no idea how you Mom's do this full time... I've never been so exhausted! But she is so much fun to play with. Every time she cracks that smile, it melts your heart! I'm fairly certain she'll be walking any day now. We're so excited for that moment, but everyone keeps warning us that we'll long for the less mobile days shortly...

Poor Little Sick Baby...

Our poor little baby hasn't been feeling well the past few days... We thought she might be fighting a virus, but got confirmation Mia projectile vomited all over Momma! Mom had just finished feeding Mia her bedtime bottle when Mia began spitting up. Moments later she turned into a human fire hose!! We all know how painful that is. It was so pitiful to see her crying and upset. Nothing that a little quality Momma coddling couldn't resolve, as noted in the above picture. Surprisingly, she slept fairly well through the night and seems to be doing better today.

We've definitely noticed that she doesn't whine like most kids we're used to. I don't know if she's just a tough kid, or maybe this is the result of time spent unattended in an orphanage. If it weren't for her little nose constantly draining, we would barely know she's sick! Maybe a blessing and a curse... We love her so much it's crazy!