Fall is officially here in Portland – along with the rain and the leaves. This summer was a complete blur starting with our trip to Florida back in June. That was the fastest 2 weeks ever! Since then, Mia went from pulling herself up to walking and then right into a full sprint. That led us to baby proof the living room – an area previously used about once a year – and hunker down in there for our nightly post-daycare/pre-bedtime play.

Speaking of daycare, we enrolled Mia in a great daycare in August. She LOVES it there (witness the pics on Flickr taken by the daycare ladies) and is generally quite happy to get handed off to Miss Johnna every morning. When we pick her up in the afternoon, we get a daily report card. I know it’s going to be a long night when the bottom of the page has in big letters “Emotional day.” That’s the polite/abbreviated way of saying “threw herself on the floor and screamed for no apparent reason approximately 10 times today.” Apparently, learning to walk is accompanied by learning to pitch a whale of a fit.

Now that October is here, Mia’s starting to say more words that we can undertand and a whole lot of babbling that we can’t. Here are the highlights:

• Book (go figure)
• Night night
• Drink
• Dixie (although it sounds like she has a hairball more than a word but whatever. It sounds something like thxeee)
• Cat and Dog
• Bye Bye
• HI! HI! HI! – you can’t have just one HI!
• Row, row, row…and that’s about the end of that song
• Baby
• And according to daycare but I’ve never heard them – Poop and comb. I’m not sure how to feel about those.

Mia is still a frantic “reader” and is now turning the pages and babbling and pointing at each page. I’m guessing this is what we sound like to her when we read to her each night. But hey, at least she’s animated! She will go for her books after daycare long before she heads to the other toys. Whew! A reader. Thank goodness.

Seems like we went from having a baby to having a toddler in about 1 month. Mia doesn’t look like the other 1 yr. olds at daycare and people often think she’s older than she is. We seemed to have missed the 1 yr old stage. You know the one where they are cuddly and snuggle with you and just sort of sit around making noises and looking cute? Yea…we skipped that one and went sailing right into toddlerdom.

Full steam ahead folks. The Mia train is an Express and she’s not stopping to wait for anyone!

Taken earlier in August when Mia and Mama J. took a trip to Bend!

Well, days have passed and Mama B and I have had our hands full, as Mia trains us to be new moms.  We are getting into a groove, and so far, so good.  We are blessed to have a baby girl that sleeps and eats well and is patient with us as we learn the difference between the “I want to eat NOW” cry and the “you forgot my Mylicon drops (anti-gas)” cry. 

Mia Lynn has a bigger fan club than we ever imagined, and our house has been bursting with visitors!  The first weekend home my dad, Grandpa Julius, came to visit and was a surprising natural holding his first granddaughter given he hasn’t held a baby since my brother and I were little, many moons ago.  The following weekend Mia met her Aunt Marci and cousins Aaron and Leah, who battled almost 7 hours of traffic from Seattle to Portland.  That Saturday my brother, Uncle Mark, also came to visit from Bend, as did Aunties Michelle and Kerry from Seattle.  Sunday brought the birthfamily to our home: Mama Nika and her mom Grandma Lyndel, dad Grandpa Dave, and brother, Uncle Michael, as well as her friends Ryan and Alyssa.  This kid sure doesn’t lack for love or family!

As Mia entered her 3rd week Gran Barbara flew all the way from Orlando, FL, braving the torrential rains and flooding from tropical storm Fay to make the trip.  Aunt Marci came back to visit as did my mom, Gramma Judy.  Saturday filled our home with almost 20 relatives who all came to enjoy a sunny day, delicious food and baby viewing.

Meanwhile Mia Lynn has been plumping out and becoming more alert to her surroundings.  She especially loves lots of body contact and tummy time.  She is now big enough to wear newborn clothes instead of premie-wear.  Because she is so small she may be wearing her newborn sundresses this winter with a turtle-neck underneath.  Whatever.  As long as she stays healthy and warm.  And fashion-forward, or course.

Love to you all,

Mama J and Mama B

Mia Lynn

Born: Friday, 08/01/2008 @ 7:52 PM

Weight: 6 lbs 2 oz

Length: 18.5 inches

She has a full head of light brown hair, long fingers and monkey toes! She’s as close to perfect as you can get. Her first pediatrician appt was today and she checked out just fine. Mia pee’d on the Dr. which is a good sign as far as I’m concerned. She’s eating like a champ and sleeping far better than we thought she would so all is good in the household. Dixie the Doxie is protective of the new addition. Dixie checks her out after every diaper change to make sure we did it right and keeps an eye on Mia most of the time. Check out the Flickr pics for the entire story of the birth. We’ll be checking in with everyone as we find time between diapers, feeding and sleeping!

Hello.  Welcome to our blog.  Although baby girl was due July 26th, we are still waiting for her debut.