Mommy & Mia...

When we checked into our hotel here in Colorado, Mommy & Mia spent a few minutes checking out the kitchen to ensure we had everything we needed to keep our little Mia plump & happy! It's been such a great getaway! Unfortunately Mia picked up a cold, so she's been a little cranky. However, just having a chance to spend a few uninterrupted days together has been really refreshing...

Sascha - Mia's Special Friend...

On Sunday we attended Mia's good friend Sascha's birthday party at the train park. Sascha is Russell & Christine's daughter, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anything as cute as her reaction to Mia! She is in love with our little girl, and it's so sweet to see a child display such affection. When we arrived at the party, Sascha screamed, "My sister is here" and ran to Mia to hug and kiss her... Throughout the party Sascha was constantly touching and kssing Mia. When Christine tried to get Sascha to go eat, she said she wanted to stay with Mia!! I've seen sweet children before, but I've never seen a child display such love and tenderness toward another child... Mia is very lucky to have Sascha as her friend. Who knows, maybe they feel some kindred Chinese connection?!

Good Morning!

We feel very lucky that our little Midget is now sleeping through the night. At least most of the time... I would say she gets a straight 10-11 hours about 2 out of every 3 nights! We'll take that... We've also figured out that it is completely our fault when she doesn't sleep through the night. We can pretty much always trace it to a missed nap, late bedtime, etc. Unfortunately, we had a pretty busy weekend, with Sascha's birthday party and all... Not to mention that it was close to 100 degrees outside!

After all the heat & excitement, Mia was awfully tired last night. So we did the only reasonable thing and threw her in her bike trailer and went on a 5 mile bike ride to Aunt Cari's! Not too smart, I know... She was whining by the time we got home. Long story short is that after much crying and waking up last night, we gave up and brought Mia into bed with us. This was the first time we've done that since our first week home. Mia went right to sleep and snuggled in with Mommy for several more hours. Thank god!! The picture above shows the love we showered upon our little girl when she woke up... We figured this might drive her back to her bed! :) In all seriousness, it was such an amazing feeling to wake up to her sweet little face and sunny disposition!

Our little Sunflower!

As always, Mia's endless patience shined through this Halloween! Several people commented that they couldn't believe she was tolerating her parents obsession with this silly little costume... Especially since it was so darn hot out! But as always, Mia was a shining little star. She was captivating her in sunflower costume as we took her to a few of the neighbors houses so we could trick or treat some candy for Dad! Our first Halloween together was absolutely perfect...

Halloween Party '07

For Halloween we had all the neighbors over for taco stew & pumpkin martinis! It was so much fun to see all the kids going nuts with sugar surging through their little veins... Can you figure out which one is our little sunflower?!

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.