Mia's 1st Halloween

Well even though Mia was so little this year and couldn't really Trick or Treat, we still had a very eventful Halloween. Our weekend started Thursday night, October 30th. We went over to a friend's brother's house to go Trick or Treating. It was so cute to see all the little kids dressed up.
Mia was a MAGIC PONY for Halloween. It kind of reminded me of a My Little Pony. She was so adorable and she even wore her hat the whole time! What a good little girl.
Here she is all dressed up in her pony costume

Look at those baby blues...she is so precious.

In her Trick or Treat candy tub...she is pretty "sweet"

And here are the little ones all ready to go.
Brock Lansing (almost 7 months), Mia (6 months) and Owen Schertz (7.5 months)
Aren't they adorable?

Here is a picture of Mia and Owen Schertz (almost 8 months)
They look like they are dating here...I'm sure this picture will come back to
haunt them later in life!

And here she is ready to go Trick or Treating.

And here is how she finished out the night!

On Halloween night we went over to Brian and Danielle Schertz' to hand out candy. The weather was perfect and Mia got to go in a big girl swing for the first time ever. Needless to say she loved it.

After that Mia and I headed to Downtown Davenport for the Halloween Parade. We walked with Stroller Strides. Below is a picture of the girls I spend A LOT of my time with!! They are an amazing group of women...and babies!

Happy Halloween!

27 weeks

So this week's post is a little late, but it's here. We've had a rough week it seems. We think Mia is starting the process of teething, and if it's true to "Mia style" it will probably take FOREVER!!! haha! This week she has just been really fussy, doesn't want her paci (she LOVES her paci), is drooling buckets and wants to CHEW on everything. These are the times I am glad I am done nursing. So here are a few pictures of our little drool monster.

This is what it looks like everyday, fingers in her mouth and drool all over.

Here she is 27 weeks and not too thrilled

This is the face we've been seeing this week!

26 weeks/6 months/Half a year

26 weeks, 6 months, half of a year...no matter how you put it, Mia is celebrating her half birthday. Our baby girl is 6 months old!! As I sit here writing this post, I had to stop and just think for a minute. I am almost brought to tears as I think back to what the last 6 months have looked like. It started with a trip to Labor and Delivery because I thought my water was leaking and finished with an emergency C-section with Josh almost not making it in time, because her heartrate was dropping. Just 6 short months ago, the life Josh and I once knew, changed forever in an instance. At 10:51pm, April 22nd, our baby girl was born, and moments later we held her for the first time. It would be the first time we would cry tears of joy at the sight of our miracle baby. Over the next few months, there were trials and tribulations as we dealt with a colic baby who we later found was allergic to formula. There were nights Josh spent sleeping on the floor of Mia's room, while I rocked her for hours...and then we would switch. I remember the nights sobbing in her room, staring at my crying baby, wondering if I was really meant to be a mom...and yet as I sit here today, I wouldn't trade those moments for anything. During those moments God taught me patience at a new level, He showed me a love that only a wife can have for her husband as he lays on the floor "just to be supportive", I learned to appreciate my parents a little bit more for the sacrifices I know now they made, I learned what it means to truly love unconditionally and because of that I wouldn't change a thing.

The other thing that has happened through theses experiences is that we have learned to really appreciate and understand Mia's personality. I can't tell you what a blessing she is to be around. Her smiles melt my heart and her giggles make me tear up. We have watched her develop into this amazing baby and we have come to realize that she is just a "tad" sensitive. She knows what she wants, when she wants it!! I can't explain the feeling I get when my daughter smiles as I walk in the room after getting home from work, or the grin she gives her daddy first thing in the morning. These are feelings I never knew I could feel, but am so glad God blessed us with the chance to experience them.

So on Mia's Half Birthday I say: "Happy Birthday, Cricket!! Thank you for being the most amazing blessing to come into our lives! We love you with all our heart and can't wait to watch you grow, learn, and conquer the world! We love you! Love, Mommy!!"

*Okay so I wrote a book today...sorry...here are the pictures...and if you made it this far in the reading...THANKS!

My cousin got married last weekend and this is the dress Mia wore.

Family picture at the wedding

Mia fell asleep, so Grandma rocked her so mommy could eat

Daddy and Mia's first dance to "Butterfly Kisses". Mia is so blessed to have such an amazing daddy.

Playing with her new toy

This is Mia all bundled up for her morning walk with Daddy and Comiskey

26 weeks old

Look at that smile

And here are some pictures from her 6 month photo shoot. We got them done at Portrait Innovations. They turned out pretty cute!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, BABY GIRL!!

25 weeks old!!!

So as Mia approaches the 6 month mark, I can't believe how much she is changing. The funniest part is, it's only been 6 months, not years since her birth and yet in those few short (okay, sometimes, very long) months, she has grown and changed so much. Just for a reference her is our little bean at almost 4 weeks old. She is just so tiny laying there in that big huge tub.

Well this was Mia just a couple of days ago, she barely fits in her tub anymore!! Can you believe how much has changed in her 25 weeks of life. I know I say this every week, but I am astounded and amazed at what an amazing baby she is in so many ways.

Her other amazing thing she is doing is starting to sit up. Here she is leaning against the ottoman, but she is trying very hard to sit up "like a big girl". She still likes to throw herself backwards every once in awhile. She is also in LOVE with Comiskey, she will just sit and giggle while Comiskey just lies on the floor. It is so funny. We have to start putting Miskey outside while Mia eats, otherwise she just sits there and laughs the whole time!!
Well, we took our first "family Holiday outing" this weekend. We went to the Pride of the Wapsi Pumpkin Patch. It was so much fun to a "family" activity. I almost cried on the way home, just thinking about how far we have come in the past couple of years, and how amazingly blessed I have been. So here are the pictures from the pumpkin patch.

Here is Daddy holding Mia in the Pumpkin Heads.

Daddy and Mia at the Pumpkin Patch
The 2 pumpkins we picked out...the big one weighed 30 pounds!! haha!!
Mommy and Mia on the hayrack ride
Here is Mia in her jean skirt. I had to take a picture because her belly is too big and she probably won't get to wear it again!!
And here she is...25 weeks. Can you believe it! She is almost 6 months old already. She is towering over her little bear now.
And here are 2 pictures of her sitting up SO BIG!!!! I just stare at her and can't believe this little being who just 6 short months ago couldn't even hold her head up, is now sitting on her own. Wow, what an amazing journey this is and will continue to be.
SO BIG!

24 weeks, can you believe it!!

Well here we are another week closer to our little girl being 6 months old. I can't believe that time is moving so quickly. This week was a busy one. On Saturday morning, Mia and I ran the 3.1 mile Killer Bee race for St. Ambrose Homecoming (Yes, I went to Augustana, but I work at Ambrose and they had a team). It went okay...I didn't do near as well as I would have liked to but: I pushed a baby for 3.1 miles and at the 2.5 mile mark I carried her because she was crying, put her back in there to finish and run it in under 36 minutes...so not great...but hey we finished. Then after that we went to a going away party for some friends. They are really going to be missed!!!! After that we went to the Light The Night walk for Leukemia and Lymphoma. We walked for my 6 year old Cousin, Hunter, who was diagnosed this summer with cancer. He designed the shirts we are wearing below. It was great to see friends and family all together.

Mia is growing so much. She has starting eating solids for breakfast and dinner. She LOVES applesauce and isn't to sure about bananas yet, but she loves to open her mouth really wide and wait for the next bite..it's too fun!!

Well here are this week in pictures!
Here is Josh and I at the walk wearing our Hunter Rocks the Most shirts!

Here is me, my sister and Mia (She's in the sling) at the walk
They didn't make shirts small enough, so I had one made for Mia
Here she is at 24 weeks.
Chewing on her fingers like always!!!

23 weeks old!

Sorry I didn't really take a lot of "fun" pictures this week. Mia continues to grow and change everyday. We started feeding her applesauce and she LOVES it...I still need to upload the video, we also gave her sweet potatoes tonight...everytime I lift the spoon up, she opens her mouth REAL wide waiting for the next bite...it's so cute. She has also figured out how to JUMP in her jumparoo, before she would maybe bounce once or twice, but today was full out jumping and laughing and smiling. I love to watch her grow and learn and just take in all of her surroundings. I sometimes still can't fathom the blessing she has been in my life, I just can't imagine life without her, and everyday I realize how much she was worth the wait, how God blessed me like He promised he would, how he taught me patience through my battle with infertility, and God knows I needed some patience with Mia!! haha!! She makes me want to be a better mother, a better daughter, sister, friend, wife. She reminds me how to love unconditionally and that tomorrow is always a new day, no matter how bad today was. Thank you, Mia, for making me a better person and for choosing us to be your parents!

23 weeks old!

Sucking on her fingers! That's her favorite thing to do.
Toes...she found them and is really starting to like them!