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.