Rasmussens

Mia's Princess Party

2011-08-28T16:21:00.002-04:00

In (ahem) April, Mia, had her 3rd birthday and since I just had a baby in early March I planned a big surprise for her in advance. I bought an amazing, steal of a deal, Groupon for a Princess Party. The princess of your choosing comes to your home and hosts your party. That's right. All I did was make lunch and buy cupcakes. Easy peasy. Cinderella was Mia's princess of choice at the time so that's who came and Mia was so excited. Cinderella brought princess tiaras to decorate, she gave all the girls a princess make over, and read a story. I loved watching Mia light up when fairy tale became reality. She asked Cinderella where were her glass slippers and her prince. It was priceless. We have got to take this girl to DisneyWorld.

Making tiaras

Mia and Cinderella

After her princess make over.

What this little princess did the whole party.

Bailey Jeanne

2011-05-04T15:25:00.002-04:00

We have a sweet new baby in our house! She was born March 7, 2011. This pregnancy was an experience to say the least. Not an entirely good one either. But the end result is beautiful. I have so much to catch up on but I'm including a few pictures until I can get more time to catch up. If there is ever enough time. Going from one to two has been more challenging than I anticipated. Bailey is sweet and we love watching her little personality unfold. My prediction is she will be like her father. More quiet with a dry sense of humor. The opposite of her wild child sister, the "Entertainer".

Baby Girl

2010-10-26T14:16:00.004-04:00

We found out last Friday we are having a girl! I just knew we were having a girl so it wasn't a surprise at all. This was our first time getting 3D pictures so it was so exciting seeing her sweet face. We are so excited for Mia to have a sister. Mia really has no clue what is going on and how her life will be changing in March. The joke is on us though. Mia definitely likes all the attention and it will be interesting to see how she adjusts to a sibling. It will be another adventure for the Rasmussen household. As for names, we have NO IDEA! Mia's name was easy because we loved it for a very long time before we were even pregnant with her. Sometimes I stare at her picture trying to figure out what her name should be and I am at a loss. We have time though so we will keep you all posted! It is truly a miracle you can love someone so much that makes you sooo sick.

New Family Pictures

2010-10-26T13:27:00.002-04:00

Stay Tuned...

2010-10-04T11:28:00.002-04:00

I'm dusting the old blog off and ready to post some pics! Stay tuned for lots of pics and exciting news. Ok you probably know the exciting news but it's exciting all the same!!

Hot, Hot, HOT

2010-07-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

It's been blazing hot in NC the past few weeks. We have had multiple days of 100 degrees. So hot the pool water is warm and not refreshing. We stay indoors and try to keep cool. My plants are burning up and the grass is basically straw. I love summer anyway.

Mia with her cousin, Annika. They are hilarious. I don't know what is going on here but Annika is a ham.

At our ward Fourth of July party Mia had her face painted and loved it. She was so still while her sweet nursery leader painted it. She had a complete hissy when I had to wipe it off later in the day. She wouldn't talk to me for a while she was so mad at me.

Practicing her serious face.

Father's Day

2010-06-22T16:22:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all those dads out there. Even though I am sure men don't read my blog. I have to coax Dave to check it out every now and then to see what is going on in his life. Anyway, I am so blessed to have a husband that is 100% crazy about his daughter. The feeling is mutual. She adores him and if he is home she wants NOTHING to do with me and she wants her daddy to do everything for her. Which, lets be honest, is kind of nice!

Funk

2010-06-11T07:31:00.006-04:00

I am in a funk. Seriously. I feel like the summer is passing me by and that's not good because I dream of summer all of the other seasons. Part of the reason is because Dave's work schedule and part is because we just moved but mostly it's just me needing to get my act together as usual. UGH! Leave me funk, be gone with you! It's been a crazy year thanks mostly to Oral Surgery! I guess it's up to me to get over it and move on.

Wish I were here (Bahamas) doing this (smoochin my man)!!

Farmer Mia

2010-06-08T07:18:00.002-04:00

Mia was so excited to plant parsley, cilantro, and lemon basil. She helped fill the pots with dirt and poured the seeds in and now she watches them very closely to see if they will grow. She wants to dump all the dirt out and do it over and over again so I have to keep them out of her reach. I hope once she sees the plants growing she will be more excited about the plant and a little less excited about the dirt. Hopefully they survive. It's hard to survive with a 2 year old around. Trust me, I know.

Strawberry Days

2010-06-07T08:03:00.003-04:00

We picked the most delicious strawberries this year at Jean's Strawberry Patch. Mia ate a ton of them and had a blast picking the super ripe, huge berries. Lately she has been putting her sunglasses on and telling everyone she is a rockstar. It cracks people up because it is so unexpected. She does her own thing and it is hilarious to watch.

Mia and her beau, Eli. He humors her by letting her hold his hand. She loves this boy and I don't blame her!

Big Girl Now

2010-06-02T15:40:00.003-04:00

Mia can put her shoes on all by herself. She even gets them on the right feet sometimes.

Mia is 2!!

2010-05-24T22:04:00.005-04:00

She has been 2 for awhile actually. It came and went with much fanfare just not on the blog. So here is the post dedicated to my 2 year old wild woman.

Mia
-is a daddy's girl, much to my dismay. Daddy can do no wrong.
-throws tantrums.
-loves candy, chocolate and basically anything with too much sugar.
-gives the best "juicy kisses".
-is my bff. We do everything together!
-favorite sentence "I do it by myself Mama!".
-favorite color is pink.
-calls every meal dinner.
-LOVES nursery.
-loves her friends. Everyday she asks if she can see them and asks for them individually by name.
-has a doctor's kit that she loves and gives everyone shots all the time.
-likes to wear dresses.
-loves to play with any ball.
-is almost in the 50% for weight and 75% for height.
-loves to kiss boo-boos all better for everyone. Even strangers. Ick.
-counts to 10 in spanish (Thanks Dora!) and 15 in english and is working on her ABC's.
-loves to say prayers.
-is really starting to pretend a lot.
-my favorite thing she is doing right now is eating her pb sammies crust first. It is too cute!

Mia's bday party was so fun and I was so lucky to have my mom, brother, sis in law, and cousin in town to help out. Mia had a joint party with her dad and her Aunt Cheryl at our neighborhood clubhouse. We were so excited to have the Gardners come down from VA and celebrate with us. Mia had a Dora Adventure party. First the kids decorated backpacks, then Swiper stole the goody bags so we had to go on an adventure to find them. I played songs from the Dora soundtrack that went with each stop in our adventure. First the kids went to the star room and had to gather as many Explorer stars as they could and put them in their backpack. Next they went to the Fairy Kingdom and had to pop all the bubbles that were taking over! My amazing sis in law, Lindsay dressed up as the Fairy Queen for me. Finally the kids had to go down to the playground and the Grumpy Old Troll (played by my amazing lil brother!) was there and did a lovely song and dance and told the kids if they wanted their goody bags they had to give him all their Explorer stars. So the kids had to cross the bridge and get their goody bags. The looks on their faces was hilarious because my brother had these furry eyebrows and mustache on his face. Then we ate BBQ and had cake and ice cream! It was a great party and Mia and her friends had a blast.

Decorating backpacks

Getting ready for catching Explorer stars.

Mia and her cousins!

Fairy Queen and bubbles!

The Grumpy Old Troll who lives under the bridge.

Priceless!

So much fun to have a big party with family and friends!

Cake!

Crazyville

2010-05-22T15:30:00.004-04:00

Our new city of residence. We've been living in the outer suburbs for a while until this month we just up and moved right downtown. Toddler tantrums, birthday parties, colds, Dave studying for boards, among other insanity. We have Step I of medical boards next week and moving into a new home (hopefully). Is it June yet?!?!

Mia's birthday party with two of her cousins, Cole and Annika.

Thank You Pioneer Woman

2010-04-14T17:12:00.005-04:00

I have many reasons to love you Pioneer Woman. I would LOVE to see you at your cookbook signing in Charlotte. I recently got the actions from Pioneer Woman for Photoshop Elements (Thank you too Karen). I have to say this brought tears to my eyes. The picture looks way better in the HUGE format from my camera but this still gets me right in the heart. Go ahead and click on it. LOVE IT!

St Patty's Day Revisited

2010-03-31T15:24:00.003-04:00

We started the day with green shamrock pancakes. They looked pitiful but Mia thought they were awesome. We spent St Patty's Day at the park with some buddies. Mia is a daredevil which is proving very scary for me. She climbs up high and goes down huge slides. She hasn't learned to put her feet down at the end of the slide so she just flips over onto the ground, usually face first. It's horrible and she has 2 fat lips right now. She doesn't care though (even if she screams and cries) and just says "try again".

Rasmussen/Maxfield Reunion

2010-03-11T22:09:00.005-05:00

Heidi (bff from dental school days) and I finally got our schedules together! It only took us 9 months. Sad. Mia and I drove the shortish (under 3 hours) trip to Richmond, VA. Mia was great and just watched Caillou and Dora and was amazingly content in the car. We stayed from Monday to Wednesday and it was short but really fun.

Owen and Mia really hit it off. I was shocked at how well they got along. I think mainly it's because Owen has the best temperament of any toddler I've ever met. Mia always wants to play with kids her age but they are more into playing alone so the fact that Owen is older and more social really appealed to Mia. They played and played and played. It was so nice not to have to police them the whole time. The weather was great so we stayed outside a lot and went to the Children's Museum which was awesome. We went for walks and the highlight of the trip for me was going to Penn Station. I have really missed that place! It was so fun to just hang out with Heidi again. I miss all my Louisville ladies.

I of course forgot my camera so all the pictures you see below are from my cell phone. The ride home was a sad one and Mia kept crying and saying "Miss Owen". She still says Owen all the time. Thanks Maxfields for an awesome trip! I can't wait for the next one! Now I am ready for some more reunions. You know who you are! Bueller? Bueller?

The first night and already best buddies.

See Owen's patience with Mia? Yes, she likes to be close to the TV.

They would play this game where they would dig up dirt under the deck and then dump it by the house. They played this game for an amazingly long time.

At the Children's Museum playing in the water.

They slid down the slide 100 times together.

I could eat these kids UP!!

The hit of the museum. We found those blue foamie pellets in their diapers afterwards.

Too funny.

Sadie and Mia ready for a walk.

Oooooh heaven is a place on earth. A place called Penn Station.

Mini Getaway

2010-03-05T15:17:00.005-05:00

One good thing happened in February and that was Dave had a whole week off for vacation. We dropped Mia off at my mom's house and had our first night away from her. Dave was exhausted from working a billion hours that week but we still had a great trip. Where did we go? Charleston, SC baby!! I LOVE Charleston. If you live anywhere near that city GO THERE. I thought it was a fitting trip for Valentine's Day weekend. It is incredibly fun and not like any other city. Charleston has so much history (Civil War started there at Fort Sumter) and the houses are like nothing you've ever seen before. It was surprisingly cold when we went but I was so excited to show Dave my favorite city and we had a great time. It snowed the night before we got there (it was all melted when we arrived) but the town was packed. That's how much people love this friendly city. We stayed in the historic downtown at the Vendue Inn and saw as much in 24 hours as we could. I actually had never been to Fort Sumter so we went on a tour and even though it was windy and cold it was fun. Mia had a great time with her Gramma and we had some relaxing southern fun. Seriously, if you haven't been to Charleston you haven't experienced the south.

Amazing fountain in Waterfront Park. In the summer you can wade in it because it's just that hot.

Pictures you take of yourself are just not that great.

I asked that seagull to fly right between the bridge just to get this picture.

We ate dinner at Hank's Seafood Restaurant and it was AMAZING. It's one of those places where you get up from your table and come back and your napkin has been refolded and placed on the back of your chair. Before you could ask for something it magically appeared on your table. Delicious fresh seafood that I crave right this minute.

Freezing at Fort Sumter.

Flags at Fort Sumter.

Our cute hotel.

March!!!!

2010-03-02T15:47:00.003-05:00

Thank you March for finally getting here. February is not my favorite month at ALL. Other than my beautiful sister's birthday there is nothing I like about that month (even Valentine's Day doesn't make me like February better). March is kind of rainy and cold but spring officially starts and I feel like coming out of hibernation. I am ready to get rid of winter all together. Mia seems impervious to the cold. She wants to go outside no matter how cold it is and I HATE it so much I just stay home like a hermit if at all possible. I need some warm sunshine and flip flops. I saw workers at the blueberry patch, pruning and preparing for blueberry season. I know it's still months away but it brought a smile to my face. Hurry spring, HURRY!!

Speaking of blueberries.

Tantrums 101

2010-02-23T15:40:00.004-05:00

Mia is coming up on her second birthday. The terrible two's. Let's just say she has arrived early. She can throw a tantrum to end all tantrums. And she whines. Oh the whining. After a particularly bad day of tantrums (at least 5 BIG ones) I got on the internet and researched tantrums. I learned so much and am so thankful for Google. My best technique I've learned is "biggies" and "smallies". Now if you heard No! No!, stop that, and we don't do that, constantly over and over you might want to throw a fit also. So when she asks for something, I think about it before I answer. If you answer no right away and then change your mind (aka GIVE IN) then they don't hear "no", they just hear "I need to fight harder to get what I want". So I think about my answer before I give it. I think, is this a biggie (something dangerous or inappropriate) or a smallie (something I can live with and may not love but really wouldn't hurt anything in the grand scheme of things). For example, Mia loves to have the door open to the deck. I used to always so no and then she would immediately throw a tantrum. Now I say yes and set a time limit letting her know a few minutes before we need to shut the door again. Does it bug me that I'm letting cold air in the warm house? Yes. Does it hurt anyone or anything to have the door open for 10 minutes? No. So it's a smallie and we move on. Her requests to have the door open are fewer and fewer now too. Since she gets to do it, it doesn't seem like a challenge to get what she wants.

At first I used a behavioral chart to see what things were setting the tantrums off. I noted the place, time, and severity of the tantrum. It helped me to see if she was throwing a tantrum because she was tired, hungry, or over stimulated. It helped me so much to figure out how to not only handle future tantrums but also how to keep the number of tantrums down.

One of the best things I have tried is hugging her during a tantrum or outburst. I read that at such a young age a tantrum can be scary for the kid not just the parent. They don't really understand why they are reacting this way and don't really know how to get control of themselves again. If you offer a hug it might amaze you how quickly they calm down. The article said not to coddle them though. Don't say "poor baby", say things like "I understand you are upset/sad/disappointed." Or just don't say anything at all, just a hug helps so much. Now more often than not when Mia looks like she is on the verge of a tantrum she runs to me before and hugs me and we talk about it. It isn't perfect but I can promise you it is so much better than before. Mia is a difficult child in a lot of ways and you may think I just need to spank her but I can promise you I have tried A LOT and these are the things that work for us!

Mia wanted to play with the snow outside. Biggie or smallie? Well I HATE the cold so....

I let her bring the snow inside in a bowl.

And I let her play with the door open for 10 minutes with a spatula to dig in the snow. She thought this was the coolest activity ever and guess what... NO TANTRUM. (At that point anyway!)

Wicked, Take Two!!

2010-02-22T14:34:00.005-05:00

I went to see Wicked again with some of my favorite ladies. My mom, Grandma Seay, my aunt Bibbi, sis in law Lindsay, her mom Shelly, and our friend Mylene (aka my mom's next door neighbor). We had a great time. I was so excited to see all their reactions since none of them had seen it before. I can honestly say It was just as good the 2nd time. I would see it again and again and let's be honest, I probably will.

Mia loves her Gramma DeeDee for many reasons but one of them is chocolate popsicles.

Me and my Momma, waiting for WICKED to start!!

Well the poor girl who took our picture struggled. It was just my point and shoot too. Shouldn't have been too tough. Sorry Mom!

Snow Days

2010-02-06T10:08:00.007-05:00

North Carolina has mild winters and that is MY kind of winter. I'm not a huge fan of snow but for a few days out of the winter I think a blanketing of snow is beautiful and fun. So we were pretty excited to get a nice covering of the white stuff. Growing up in South Carolina we never had snow gear because you would grow out of it before you ever had the chance to use it. So, on the rare occasion when it did snow it was time to bust out the "white trash" snow gear. That meant bread bags for your shoes and sometimes your hands! Mia was begging to go out and play but Dave and I realized we had no snow clothes for her. Well, you can see for yourselves what I came up with. She wasn't thrilled and neither was Dave. He told us to play in the backyard so the neighbors wouldn't see Mia. Necessity is the mother of invention right?!?!

Yes, she has her jammies on!

That's right! Leg warmers over 2 pairs of pants and Target bags over her shoes!

Sledding on a Rubbermaid lid.

Mia is not too sure about walking on snow.

Sliding down our hill of a backyard.

Nawlins Visitors

2010-02-02T09:21:00.003-05:00

My sister's family drove from Louisiana for a short visit. We had a great time even though we didn't really do anything. I slacked majorly on pictures and am now regretting it, of course. Mia and Charlotte are 3 months apart and had fun playing AND fighting. Mia is an only child and used to having everything her way and Charlotte is number 3 in her family so she is used to fighting for what she wants in this world! They made an interesting duo for sure. I love that Mia has a cousin her age! Even though they will grow up far apart, I still bet they will be best friends!

My niece Grace is very creative!

Charlotte has the sweetest smile!

Our little pink girls.

NC Zoo

2010-02-01T10:17:00.004-05:00

The closest zoo to us is over an hour away! I'm so used to having a zoo close by and this was a big shock to me. Dave had MLK Jr's birthday off and it was a beautiful day so we decided to go on an adventure to the zoo. Long car rides with Mia used to be a nightmare but then we bought a portable DVD player and life is good again. The zoo is huge and we only got through half of it. I can't wait to go back and see the other half. Mia's favorite animal was the sea lion. It would swim right by the glass and she would get so excited. She really is an animal lover through and through.

Dave waiting for Mia to slide down at the awesome playground.

Mia getting ready to fly away on a bumble bee.

Cutest otter ever! Someone dropped their cell phone in his exhibit and he was playing with it. Seriously cute.

This zoo really likes bees I guess.

Very tired after a very fun day.

Ahhh Puddin!

2010-01-28T08:27:00.004-05:00

Mia has a love/hate relationship with pudding. She loves it because, well, it's pudding.

She hates it because it's messy and she doesn't like to be messy. She says "Clean up!" the whole time she is eating the pudding.

This picture is just for your pure enjoyment. Artist -David Rasmussen

Life with Mia

2010-01-14T15:08:00.003-05:00

Some days are heaven and some are well... close to that other place. I love her and find myself laughing at her shenanigans all the time. Mia is a toddler in EVERY sense of the word. The only saving grace is that she can communicate fairly well. But most of the time that just means she yells at me while she is throwing a tantrum. She has definite personality and everybody tells me she is "strong willed". Like I don't already know. Believe me people, I KNOW!!

She has an opinion on everything, including what she wants to wear.

She likes to help out with the baking.

She loves her play dough. Yes she tries to eat it and she constantly yells at me to "SIT DOWN", which means she wants me to sit and watch her play.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-31T21:53:00.001-05:00

We had a great Christmas in Durham this year. Dave and I had a fun time getting everything ready for Mia. She slept in until 9am and we were both waiting anxiously for her to get up and see what Santa brought. We videotaped her first seeing all the presents under the tree and her new princess piano and zebra bouncer. See, if you didn't know, Mia is going to be a piano prodigy. I've already got it all planned out. She loves playing the piano and not just banging away at it. She pretends to really play a song. She gets that from her Gramma DeeDee and her cousin Ben. So we bought her this pepto pink piano that she loves. You can even record the songs she plunks out. She loved playing it until she found the extra buttons that add a beat to the music. Now she just runs up and presses the beat button and dances around like a hip hop baby. My plans for piano prodigy have been put on hold.

Mia really got into opening presents.

She's a natural!

Pigtails are flying!

She wouldn't wear these antlers even for a 5 second picture.

Ginger

2009-12-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

This Christmas I really wanted to start some traditions for our little family. I thought we would try out decorating a gingerbread house the week before Christmas. It was really fun and Mia LOVED it most of all. I should start out by saying Mia has a serious sweet tooth. When she wakes up in the morning she says "Breakfast! Chocolate!". When she wants a snack she says, "Crackers! Chocolate! Candy!". It was challenging to get her to put the candy on the house at first but she finally got the hang of it and did a great job decorating. She called it ginger and every few minutes from the time we finished it until I threw it away Christmas Eve (I had all I could take) she screamed to have her ginger placed on the ground where she could eat the candy off it. She still asks for it sometimes. I think we will make it a tradition and I just pray she gets over the "ginger" obsession next year.

If I've said it once I've said it a million times, this child is a mess.

She really worked hard!

She has frosting in her hair but she is soooo pleased with her ginger!

Let It Snow!

2009-12-29T21:18:00.005-05:00

It snowed for about an hour a few weeks ago. It didn't stick. You can barely even tell it's snowing in the pictures. I was doing the dishes and Mia ran in the kitchen and said "SNOWIN!". I laughed then looked out the patio doors and sure enough she was serious. We had to immediately go outside and play in it. She thought it was so cool. She loves being outside and takes every chance to run out the door if it's opened for any reason. Today she ran out in her onesie. It was 39 degrees. I had to coax her back in with some M&M's.

We've had many discussions about NOT eating the berries outside. Scary.

Believe it or not I meant to take this headless shot. I like to get all crazy with my camera. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't!

I love this girl!

Yep, she was really that excited.

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-18T15:35:00.002-05:00

I love the smell of a real Christmas tree. I DO NOT however love watering it and vacuuming up the million pine needles on my floor. But it is really beautiful and Mia LOVES it! So it's worth it.

Where Did My Socks Go?

2009-12-02T15:34:00.006-05:00

Oh, that's right my new camera rocked them off!! That's right I am in heaven and LOVING my new camera. Our point and shoot just wasn't getting the job done. I missed all the cute pictures because it was so slow and Mia is so fast. So, Merry Christmas to us, we bought a Canon Rebel T1i. Now I have to learn how to use it and people it takes some serious know how to get the most out of these cameras. And I know nothing right now. So, slowly but surely I'm gonna master this thing. Too bad blogger doesn't show you how amazing these pictures really are. Scroll down and look at some pictures from other posts. They don't even compare!! Don't tell anyone but I just kissed the camera.

First photo shoot with Mia. I love these pictures for so many reasons. 1- She has chocolate on her mouth. 2- Her jacket is too small but she loves it anyway. 3- The ears on her too small jacket are SO CUTE!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-08T21:27:00.004-05:00

We had a great Halloween even though Mia had an ear infection to top of a rough week. She was feeling much better by Halloween since she started her antibiotic. My mom came for a visit and we did a very little bit of trick or treating. Mia was a cute cat but didn't like her costume. It was a very warm day and her costume was super hot. She looked adorable in it though and I wish I could have gotten more pictures of her fully dressed up.

We live in an awesome neighborhood and were "Spooked" by our neighbors.

You can't get cuter than this!

I LOVE Halloween but had a hard time getting ready for it this year due to traveling and Mia's surgery and ear infection but I did get to do one Halloween craft I was dying to finish. It's our "devilish" family silhouettes. It's hard to tell but even Roxy has horns on her picture! Click on the picture for a better look.

I attempted a Full Moon Cheesecake. That's supposed to be a bat. At least it tasted yummy!

Mia was trying to eat all the candy including the wrapper. She loved opening the door and seeing the trick or treaters.

Mia and her pirate cousin Annika. We couldn't catch Ben because well, he was busy of course!

Mia and her Grandma DeeDee.

She really was that cute. I wish she would have worn it longer than 5 seconds but I'm learning that some fights with Mia just aren't worth it.

Our Little Patient

2009-11-03T15:20:00.003-05:00

Mia finally had her eye surgery! We've been waiting for it to happen for a long time. She was born with a clogged tear duct and it has been pretty annoying. Last Monday she was sick but they decided to go through with the surgery anyway. It was a very quick and easy procedure. They just stick a wire in her tear duct and clear it out. She was such a trooper considering she was starving and seeing all the people in scrubs made her want her daddy. I got to go back with her and hold her while they put her to sleep. She didn't squirm or cry at all when they put the mask on her little face. She was lucky to have an amazing team working on her. I was a little sad leaving her in the operating room but it literally was 10 minutes and I was holding her again. All the nurses and doctors said she was "phenomenal". If you know Mia I'm sure you are shocked because she can put up a major fight and usually does. She had those people eating out of her hand though! We aren't sure if the procedure worked because her eye still tears sometimes. We'll just have to wait and see.

So cute in her little gown and yellow socks!

The doctor put his initials above her eye to be sure to get the right one. She's holding her mask here and it smelled like watermelon and had stickers on it. These people know kids.

Happy to be eating finally with only a red eye to show for her surgery!

The Big (not so) Easy

2009-10-28T14:28:00.008-04:00

Mia and I had an adventure last week and flew to New Orleans to visit my sister and her family for a week. Flying was a nightmare and I thought we would never get there. I have to say New Orleans wasn't what I expected and I LOVED it. My sister actually lives in Metairie, LA which is very close to New Orleans. We had so much fun hanging out and actually ventured out to do a few things. We had 2 toddlers and a 4 and a 7 year old so it was wild to say the least. Working our schedule around the kids,napping, and school was difficult. It all worked out well though. Mia loved playing with her cousins and from the second she woke up until the second I put her to bed she would call for her cousins. The highlight of the trip was just spending time with my family. I love going to a new place and tried to soak up every second of New Orleans. It is so beautiful. I love a place with culture and history. I saw the graveyards that you just have to see to believe. I saw the neighborhood where Brad and Angelina live. I saw the French Quarter. I also saw my new favorite zoo. I saw the beautiful Tulane campus where my bro in law teaches. I ate authentic jambalaya pasta, a muffaletta sandwich, and have a new passion for beignets. Walking the neighborhoods in the French Quarter makes you feel like you have stepped back in time. People say it's not what it used to be before Katrina but I loved it anyway. I would love to go back and see it one more time before they move. Mia came down with a nasty cold the day we flew out. I was worn out when I got home but it was worth it. It wasn't an easy trip but it was WELL worth it. Family, fun, beignets... oh my!!

Embarrassing picture of me eating jambalaya pasta at a funny knock off of The Cheesecake Factory.

Mia loves alligators and of course the zoo had a ton of them and even a couple creepy white ones.

If you are wondering if I ever do my child's hair, I try people, I really try.

To be honest Mia was kind of wary of her Aunt Melissa. She would look at her then point at me and say "Mama". I think she was concerned that we look so much alike.

Mia almost died on this cheetah statue but Aunt Melissa saved her life.

I'm pretty sure this gorilla could have killed us if he wanted too.

The house in the middle is a good Katrina reminder.

Luke eating his beignet from Cafe du Monde. I wanted to steal that from him and pour the powdered sugar down my throat. I personally LOVE beignets.

Mia's first experience with play dough. Hope she liked it because it's not happening again for a LONG time.

New Orleans is not the most politically correct city I've been to in my life.

St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter. This church was amazing. So beautiful inside I almost cried.

Mississippi River at the French Quarter.

These girls and their caramel apples! Mia didn't get one. Grace shared though and yes they got EVERYWHERE! My niece Charlotte (the little one) loved hers best.

I loved the homes in the French Quarter.

Saw lots of voodoo signs.

This picture is my favorite.

One highlight of our trip was picking up my awesome nephew from school.

North Carolina State Fair

2009-10-27T13:22:00.002-04:00

I LOVE the fair. Always have and always will. We didn't go that much growing up because I'm not sure it was the safest fair but now I go every chance I get. I don't ride the rides at the fair. I love rides but not ones that are taken down and put back up a hundred times a year. What I love about the fair is people watching, eating, eating, eating and well you get the point. It seems like out west they like to have their fairs in the blazing heat of summer. Even the fair in Louisville was hot, hot, hot. When I was growing up the fair was in the fall. It was cool enough to enjoy it but not freezing. So when I heard the NC State Fair was coming in October I was ready and willing to get my grub on. We had the best time. We were having a cold spell so we had to dress warm and didn't stay as long as I would have liked because we had to go at night. Oh the food we ate! We ate a huge turkey leg, corn on the cob, blooming onion, foot long hot dog, elephant ear, and deep fried Reese's cups. Dave had a stomach ache when we left but I felt great!! I have to say this fair had the most food I have ever seen at any fair anywhere. We took Mia to see the cows and she cried at first because they stunk. She is such a funny kid. She loves to be in her stroller and watch everything going on around her. She really enjoyed the fair. She may look like her daddy but she takes after me with her love of the fair and all things fried.

Dave in line to get our deep fried Reese's cups.

Mia enjoying her first bite of deep fried heaven.

Wish I had some of that corn right now.

Imagination Movers Concert

2009-10-27T13:04:00.004-04:00

Just about every morning Mia watches Imagination Movers on Playhouse Disney. I have to admit it is one of the few shows for kids that doesn't make me crazy. The songs are great and the show is somewhat educational. Mia rocks out every morning. When I heard they were coming to town I bought us tickets right away. Dave got off early enough and was able to join us. The pictures aren't that great but Mia had a blast. She seriously danced harder than most of the older kids around her. It was loud, way too loud for a kids concert (that makes me old right?). I wish it wasn't so dark in there and we could have gotten video of Mia rockin out. When they came out she said "Movers!". I know she won't remember this night when she is older but I will remember it when I'm old a gray for sure.

Waiting for the Movers to come out!

This picture was taken after she puked on Dave. Maybe she got a little too excited.

Cheering for our 4 best friends Rich, Dave, Scott, and Smitty!!

Pumpkin Patch Paradise

2009-10-12T14:26:00.004-04:00

OK so paradise is an exaggeration. It was no Huber's. Oh, how this time of year makes me miss Huber's Farm in Starlight, IN. We went to Ganyard's Farm in Durham this year and had a great time despite our home sickness for Huber's. There was a hayride, cotton picking (not too sure about that one), slides, and pumpkin picking galore! Mia even fed some goats. She wasn't scared at all. Dave helped her the first few times then she wanted to try it out on her own. She let those goats nibble right out of her hands. She is already an animal lover. I do have to say that it was different to sweat while picking our pumpkins out. I LOVE Fall in the south. Mia loves saying pumpkin over and over again. This has to be my favorite month of the year.

Big slide Mia went down all by herself. She loves sliding.

What can we say, she loves pumpkins!

Diva!!

She loved watching the tractor on our hayride.

HE'S BACK. Dave is finally back in our lives thank goodness for his Anesthesia rotation. Three months of glorious relief before trauma starts again.

Watch Oprah Tomorrow 10/07

2009-10-06T16:34:00.003-04:00

I don't usually watch Oprah. But tomorrow I will tune in with my tissues handy. Stephanie Nielson and her hubs are gonna be sharing their story with the world tomorrow. If you don't know who she is do yourself a favor. Go to nieniedialogues.com and make sure you have an hour or two because you are gonna get hooked. Go way back to last year on her blog and read the amazing survival story of her and her husband that were in a horrific plane crash. She just barely posted a picture of herself about a month ago and I am amazed and humbled that she is willing to go on national television to share her story. Her blog gives me perspective and I can't wait to see her tomorrow. Oprah disturbs me on so many levels but she will see a glimpse of heaven when she interviews NieNie.

Happenings At The Rasmussen's

2009-10-02T15:45:00.004-04:00

I'll tell you what's been happening around here. Or rather I'll show you.

Mia continues to get in to EVERYTHING!

Sickness has taken over our household.

Ugh.

Despite the sickness I am so excited for FALL!!

Going Private

2009-09-17T14:50:00.002-04:00

Yep, it's gonna happen. I know it's annoying to those of us that like to stalk blogs (which I do on a regular basis!!) but I just think it's time to put safety first. So if you want to keep up with us through our blog just leave me a message with your email address or you can email me at gostigger2@hotmail.com and let me know. We want all our friends to have the chance to stalk us just not the perves and freaks! Sorry for the inconvenience but you know if you log on for one blog already it's not that big of a deal.

Brushing Our Teeth Is Fun To Do!

2009-09-17T14:40:00.003-04:00

Fun to do, fun to do!! Mia brushes her teeth every night and thinks it's pretty fun. She is actually good at brushing her bottom teeth but totally neglects her top ones. That's where I come in and help her out. She really gets a kick out of the whole bedtime routine of brushing her teeth and praying together. She can fold her arms and sometimes even closes her eyes for a few seconds. She always gives a rousing amen at the end of any prayer though.

Motormouth Mia

2009-09-16T13:55:00.006-04:00

Mia is learning new words everyday and if I don't get them down I'll kick myself one day. She will be 17 months next week and people look so shocked when this little girl starts talking to them. Yesterday she shocked me when she brought me a round screw cover and said "circle". I don't know how she learned that but I have held up other round things since and most of the time she calls it a circle. Here's a comprehensive list for inquiring minds but mostly for myself!

hello, thank you, bye, no, yes, go, please (which sounds like peas), blueberry, bread, noodle, milk, juice, water ("ater"), rock, ("ock"), eat, mine, me (which I think is her trying to say Mia), mom, mama, dadda, Roxy (which she pronounces Oxy), down, up, hot, cold, bankie, bear, pizza, peaches, cookie, cracker, cheese, diaper, puppies, cow, moo, pig, quack (which sounds hilarious), Dach (which is her Uncle Chad), Ben, Annika, car, picture, color, Caillou, Oso, Movers, dragon, mmmmm, boo, stroller, good girl, circle, pink, this, bath, bubble, hair, hair bow, teeth, eye, ear, nose, ear ring, toot, choo choo, shirt, shoes, alligator, ribbit, water, on, off, quack, Dee Dee, Charchee (Charlotte), Ella, Tigger, and her only sentence is, I see you!

Mia's hair always looks crazy because I have to wrestle her down to the ground to do it and then the second she gets a chance she rips out the bow AND elastic.

Best Bankie Ever!

2009-09-14T13:24:00.004-04:00

My amazing sis in law, Lindsay, made the most beautiful quilt for Mia. I love it so much sometimes I cuddle up with it. It seriously is the cutest thing you have ever seen and she made the pattern up herself! Mia runs around with it, rubbing her face on it saying, "bankie, bankie, bankie" over and over again. She loves it just like she loves her Aunt Lindsay!

I was blocking her view of Special Agent Oso. Also, she had shorts on at some point but of course took them off.

Wow Oso must be entertaining!

Summertime Blues

2009-09-12T12:51:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to post some random pics of Ms. Mimi. I took some of them with my phone so they may not look too great. I'm sad summer is coming to an end but I have to say this weather is AWESOME!!

Most nights we spend out on the deck coloring or blowing bubbles.

My new patio set that I LOVE!

This girl loves taking a bath but HATES getting out. This time she was running around saying cold over and over again so I put this towel on her head and she didn't want to take it off.

She loves looking outside.

Yes, there is something wrong with this picture. She found this pacifier that I thought was packed away and would not give it up all day. She has NEVER taken a pacifier in her life. Don't worry when she went to sleep that night I threw it away. And she loves this car.

The Dreaded Climbing Stage

2009-09-10T12:55:00.002-04:00

The fun never stops around here. She is climbing on everything. We have a tall table with tall chairs and one day I watched her try and try to get up on one of them. She was so frustrated when she couldn't sit in the chair and I just chuckled thinking how silly she was to think she could actually get up on one. The joke is on me though. The next day I heard her whining in the next room and went to check up on her and well you can see for yourselves what I found. Now she climbs on any and everything. At least she isn't on top of the fridge like my little brother when he was tiny.

Just Peachy

2009-09-04T13:24:00.002-04:00

North Carolina I want to let you know I am disappointed in you. You are a southern state. You are attached to SC which produces peaches up the ying yang. So why is it that I can not pick a peach in this area and can't even find a decent one for a decent price in your stores? Peaches are my favorite thing and bring me pure happiness. I am mad at you, North Carolina. All I have to say is next year I am making a trip home to pick my peach loving self a HUGE box of delicious South Carolina peaches. Tisk-Tisk. Shame-Shame.

NC Botanical Garden

2009-08-25T13:30:00.006-04:00

This morning Mia and I decided to visit the North Carolina Botanical Garden and it was amazing. I was so impressed. Mia had a blast saying flower a million times and looking at all the cool statues and sculptures. I can't wait until spring next year to see it in full bloom. It is so peaceful and it smells so good just as soon as you walk through the gates. I am embarrassed to admit I got misty eyed at one point looking at all the beauty around us that we ignore every day. I can't wait to go back soon especially since it's only about 10 minutes from our house.

Mia planning her next move.

I loved this little house. I was looking all around it at the details and finally realized its a collection box. It was so cute I almost put a dollar in it. Almost.

Mia was wondering if those blue herons were real or not.

Mia chatting it up with the stone face man. Just like a man, he was not paying attention.

I'm In Trouble Now!

2009-08-20T21:21:00.002-04:00

I guess it's a onesie 24/7 for this little maniac. When I put this child down for a nap she had on capris... and a diaper.

Feeling fancy free.

Notice the capris under her "bankie" and the diaper to the right. Amazingly she didn't go potty anywhere that I could tell. She held the diaper out for me when I came in her room.

All The Live Long Day!!

2009-08-18T13:11:00.003-04:00

I love the summer and love spending time with Mia doing all kinds of things BUT I am in need of some ideas of things to do with my 15 month old wild woman. She still has a very short attention span and I find I've run out of ideas by about 10:30am everyday. We go to the gym, museum, library, pool, color, and play outside but there are still a lot of hours to fill it seems. I would LOVE some ideas from you other moms that are in, or have been in, my same situation.

Mia likes moving her magnets around on the fridge.

This face melts my heart. She loves her little pool!

Her favorite pool activity is getting in and out of her pool 100 times.

Mia's Gardner cousins came for a short visit and she really liked them, she just didn't want them touching her for the picture! Let's just say it was bed time.

Mia's First Beach Trip

2009-08-17T12:19:00.005-04:00

Earlier this month we went to Virginia Beach with our friend Emily (a co-resident's wife) and her daughter Ella. Ella is 5 months older and Mia thinks she is the coolest girl around. Mia calls her Ewa and tries to hug and kiss her nonstop, to Ella's dismay! It was a challenging trip but we still had fun. A small room and different nap schedules made the moms a little loco. We stayed at Fort Story in the Cape Henry Inn. It's a recreation resort for military families. We've decided to make this an annual trip but next year we will spring for a bigger place where the girls have their own space to sleep. I knew the sand was going to be an issue for Mia because the girl hates grass. She cried and wouldn't move because of the sand but hardcore mom that I am, I just left her in her sandy spot and tried to help her get over her fear. She eventually warmed up to it and discovered how fun the ocean can be. I had to hold on to her so tight or she would run out in the ocean and never look back! She was not the least bit scared of the waves and loved jumping over them. Too bad Dave didn't get to come with us but that is the life of a first year resident!!

Mia's first time out to the beach and she is NOT loving the sand.

Seeing if the sand tastes better than it feels.

Still in the same spot.

I love, love, love the beach.

Giving herself a sand facial.

She wouldn't take her crocs off.

Hard to tell but these are dolphins and we saw so many of them.

Mia was finally ready to walk on the sand the second day but needed a hand to hold. I was happy to oblige.

Ella and Mia enjoying chocolate chip pancakes on the Boardwalk.

Neptune on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk.

The girls loved the Boardwalk and all the fun statues.

Last day at the beach and Mia is having a complete meltdown.

That's one sleepy girl and one happy mom!

Still upset with the sand and lack of nap.

Finally having some fun with Ella.

She knows I'm weird.

Mia Virginia Beach 2009

Beautiful lighthouse at Fort Story.

Nerd Alert!

2009-08-13T21:21:00.003-04:00

One of our favorite places to go in Durham is the Museum of Life and Science. It has a fun kid's play area and a ton of activities (mostly for older kids). There is still plenty of stuff for Mia to do though. Outside it has animals and an awesome dinosaur exhibit. Mia loves playing in the play kitchen and we both love the butterfly conservatory. It's nice to have a place she can run around and have fun that I don't have to clean up afterwards!!

Mia is channeling her Grandma DeeDee for the perfect quilt pattern at the quilting exhibit.

I think I've posted this before but I can't help showing it again. She loves tunnels!

Mia and her new friend Becka. I could squeeze those cheeks forever!

Mia showing her stair skills

Making her dad proud with this weird animal and the giant toothbrush.

Carolina Girl

2009-08-11T21:12:00.003-04:00

We are loving North Carolina. My family in Spartanburg, SC is only 3 hours away and Dave's sister and her family live down the street! We are so lucky to finally live near family. Mia LOVES having her cousins, Ben and Annika, nearby and her favorite person, Aunt Pam. Yes, Mia has quite a few aunts but I hate to say she just can't get enough of Pam. Don't get offended please, she chooses her over me even.

Mia can't get enough of this tunnel I bought her at IKEA.

First haircut and it is too cute! Of course she wants Aunt Pam.

She was pretty good for her first haircut. Annika is helping out!

We love our neighborhood! This is us at a neighborhood party. I hope Pam doesn't mind this picture. I think it is too cute. Except for me. I have to learn how to crop or something.

My brown eyed girl!

Booty Pickin Fun!!

2009-08-10T22:22:00.004-04:00

Don't be offended people, Mia calls blueberries booties. It's hilarious and I need to download some video of her saying it because she rolls the "b" and it is the funniest thing you've ever heard. We have a blueberry patch very close to our house and we had a fun morning of picking deliciously ripe berries. Mia ate some berries off the bushes but mostly ate dirt. She was very patient with me as I picked and picked and picked. I wanted to get enough to freeze and considering she HATES grass she found ways to entertain herself. We froze some but still ate them all quickly anyway. She would eat them all day if I let her. I learned the hard way that too many blueberries in a toddler is not a good thing!

Graduation

2009-08-10T21:52:00.007-04:00

Yes, Dave graduated in May but I am just now posting pictures. Pathetic. We had so much fun with family in town for Dave's big day. We started the day with an awards ceremony where Dave was recognized as class treasurer and tied with 2 others for highest board scores on Part II written. Then we headed home for a big bbq bash/birthday party for Dave. We played a game (I stole the idea from my friend Kimmy!!) with trivia questions about Dave and then headed off to graduation. We ended the day at Lynn's Paradise Cafe and ate until we popped. Thanks to all our family for coming out and celebrating with us. Also thanks to all our Louisville family (that's what friends become in dental school!) for going through the last 4 years with us. We miss you every single day.

Amazing quilt my mom made for Dave!

Yep he's gonna kill me!

Some of our Louisville Family!!

U of L dental nerds for life baby!!

Dave, Mia, his parents, and two of his sisters.

Dave and the Chapman clan!

And We're Back!

2009-08-10T11:24:00.004-04:00

I have a million things to post about and hang on to your boots there are a lot of pictures to come. Here are a few to tide you over until I get this blog back under control!!

Boring Update!

2009-06-12T12:19:00.004-04:00

So no pictures in this post. Boring I know. Just wanted to update that we are in our rental in NC and love it. We went swimming last night at the neighborhood pool and had a blast. Mia is walking and talking like you wouldn't believe. She says so many words. The only word she says that doesn't make any sense is she calls trees, plants, and flowers bows. Not sure what that is about. When she does something she knows she shouldn't she says NO! Some of her newer words are bite, Annka (her cousin Annika), cacker (cracker), and two. She still beats on Roxy but is getting better. She is still skinny and sassy. Getting settled has been rough but we are almost there! Pictures will follow soon.

Party Girl!

2009-05-03T13:19:00.005-04:00

Mia had her first birthday party Saturday and had a blast! Dave and Mia's birthdays are so close we had a party for them both. I have to admit I had a great time getting ready for the party. I made her a tutu (thanks for the idea Lacey), a banner (thanks for the help Michelle H.), and a cupcake birthday cake. I had more fun than she did, I'm sure. We had kids everywhere and ate until we popped! Who doesn't love chicken nuggets, smiley potatoes (if you don't know about these ask me, they are delish!), a ton of candy, and birthday cake?!?! We ended the night by watching the Kentucky Derby together. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends here. Thanks to everyone who came and made her day so special. Even though Mia had no clue what was going on she can look back at these pictures and know how much we LOVED her first year of life!

They grow up so fast!!

Our Birthday Girl!!

2009-04-29T21:20:00.003-04:00

Mia turned the big 1 this week. I had the best time singing happy birthday to her over and over again. She of course had NO clue what was going on but I had a blast anyway. My mom used to tell me birthdays were for the mothers too. I would get so annoyed with her singing and extra mushiness on my birthday. NOW I GET IT!! I told her I totally understand now. Mia started out the day with a new giraffe ride toy which she loves. She mostly tips it over and points at it for me to pick up so she can start over again. Then her BFF, Taylor, came over and brought her some cute presents. They pushed each other on the giraffe and it was too cute. They play so well together I can't stand it that they won't grow up together! We took Mia for ice cream that night at Brusters. They give free baby cones so she had her own mini strawberry cone. It was so cute and she of course LOVED it. Dave has those pics on his phone so they'll have to wait. She has her big party Saturday so more pictures to come! I feel so lucky to be her mother. She is an amazing girl with a strong personality! She is so fun and I live to make her laugh. Here are a few milestones from her first amazing year of life!!

Words - Dada, Mama, uh oh, ball, dog, nana (banana), bow, and Papa

Not walking on her own but crawls and cruises like a champ.

Weight - 17.7 lbs (hasn't gained in 3 months! 5%)

Height - 29 in (25 - 50%)

Fave foods - She hasn't gained any weight in 3 months what do you think! But she does like dried apples, grapes, and yogurt a lot.

Fave toys - Horton (her elephant) and her Ariel cell phone Summer and Taylor got her for her bday!

Birthday morning! She was not excited about the camera on her first thing!

Posing on her new giraffe! Gotta love that morning hair!

Taylor and Mia playing together. It is impossible to get them to look at the camera when they are together!

This is the favorite Ariel cellphone. Taylor has a Tinkerbell one that Mia steals constantly so Summer found one and made Mia's birthday complete!

I forgot to give Mia her Cabbage Patch doll on her birthday so she got it the next day. She loves that baby. I couldn't get her to look at the camera. She couldn't take her eyes off the doll!

Happy Earth Day!!

2009-04-22T12:58:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day and thought I would share my little experiment with everyone. I've been secretly trying an experiment where I use 50% less! I am a waster and not proud of it. I wondered if I could get by using half the amount I normally use. I started out by trying to use half the amount of shampoo I usually use and you know what, it was fine. And it took half as much water and time to rinse it out. I tried the same thing with my body wash. I've also tried it with my laundry detergent. I thought it would be weird but you know what, my clothes are just as clean. Other things I have tried this on: cleaning supplies, paper towels, toothpaste, toilet paper, and lotion. It's been kind of fun challenging myself to use half. Best part of all... it saves MONEY! That's right! Just call me the mean green money saving machine! No, really, don't call me that.

NKOTB

2009-04-18T16:28:00.003-04:00

I'm finally posting pics from the New Kids On The Block concert. Dave had our camera in Belize so all I had was my iPhone which has no zoom. So the pictures are pretty bad. I had a blast and loved every single second of it though. We were way in the back and could barely see BUT, all of a sudden they appeared on a mini stage right next to us! It was AMAZING. I danced and sang and screamed and made of fool of myself for 2 hours straight. But I truly had the best time. They performed all their great songs and put on a impressive show. Thanks SOOOO much to my amazing aunt and uncle for taking me! And thanks to my sis-in-law, Lindsay, for watching Mia! Best. Concert. Ever.

Black Eyed Pea

2009-04-16T12:13:00.004-04:00

Mia fell off the couch while she was throwing a tantrum and fell on my shoe. It's hard to tell from the picture but she has a little shiner! I was crying right along with her when it happened. Poor baby girl!

Could she look anymore like her dad?

Easter

2009-04-16T12:04:00.004-04:00

Mia has the hardest time on Sundays. Church is right when she should be getting her nap. So needless to say Easter was a challenging day. I didn't get very good pictures because she was in a horrible mood. I wanted to take pictures outside but she is horrified of the grass so she wasn't cooperating. I loved her dress and she looked so cute despite her bad attitude! Notice she is holding my mascara in some of the pictures. She couldn't handle life without it for some reason.

Our Little Southern Belle

2009-04-09T16:11:00.003-04:00

For lunch today Mia enjoyed hush puppies and sweet potato fries (among other things). Her great grandmothers will be so proud!!

My child is a ham.

This is her new trick. She comes by that long tongue honestly.

No manners.

This is our shout out to Mia's bff, the birthday girl, Taylor! We stopped by to wish Taylor Happy Birthday today. I can't believe they are growing up so fast. We LOVE this girl! And yes, she is that beautiful!

How Much Wood Can A Woodchuck Chuck?

2009-04-06T11:51:00.004-04:00

UGHHHH!! I am mad at all you experienced mothers out there. Mad, mad, mad. You have let me down in a major way. Why did no one tell me that my baby was going to turn into a beaver?Maybe my child is the only one with a wood fetish? Mia has chewed her beautiful crib to bits. I noticed a few chew marks and honestly didn't think too much about it because it was just a few here and there. Then Dave told me yesterday that she had chewed the heck out of the crib. I looked and didn't think much of it. Until I put little Miss Woodchuck to bed and noticed the far left of her crib seriously looks like a termite got a hold of it. I guess when I thought she was quietly resting she was really building a dam. So you new mothers out there here is your warning. Buy a cover from Amazon.com. I just bought mine and it's probably too late. It's worth the $18.00. So when teething starts remember that I warned you. I was going to post a picture but I'm too mad. I don't want to look at that horrible mess. I'm surprised she doesn't have splinters in her gums.

It's hard to stay mad at this cute face!

This is the perfect shot of her destructive tools aka, teeth.

Sleeping Beauty

2009-03-30T12:00:00.004-04:00

Mia has started sleeping like a little frog! She looks so cute. It looks uncomfortable to me but works for her. After 8 months of sleeping torture I don't care how she sleeps as long as she's ASLEEP! That's Mr. Snugly Bear next to her. It was a great idea I read in some book about keeping a stuffed animal in the crib and ONLY in the crib. She gets so excited when she sees him and waves bye bye to him when it's time to get out of her crib. Don't ask about the booties she's wearing. I can't keep socks on this little girl so I was trying something different. It didn't really work by the way.

The Luck Of The Irish Strikes Again!!

2009-03-17T16:07:00.003-04:00

Well I don't have much to post except... tonight I am fulfilling one of my childhood dreams of seeing New Kids On The Block in concert. Don't hate. I loved them with every fiber of my being. I still do. When I was A LOT younger I would stand in front of the TV watching their Disney Channel specials singing and dancing along even though my siblings were laughing and mocking me. I bought my Teen magazines and put their pictures up ALL over my wall. I put together my giant NKOTB puzzle over and over again. I would listen to my New Kids tapes in my red tape player with the microphone, singing along karaoke style. I wanted to go to a concert so bad but it never happened and I told myself if they EVER had a reunion tour I was going. Joey, tonight I will be hitting those falsetto notes with you, kicking my legs out side to side, and wishing I were 10 again!

Yep I'm Screaming Alright!

2009-02-27T13:00:00.007-05:00

Normally I don't do free advertising for major companies BUT I do love to help friends out and believe me people... you need Bruster's ice cream in your life. In my hometown we have a Bruster's and it is a MUST do when we are in town. Everyone in my family LOVES it. I can't explain how good it is! I recently discovered the Louisville area has one!! So on March 7th you can try it for FREE!! (I would call first to make sure they are participating.) That's right people. You just have to show up in your pj's and you can experience this heavenly treat without opening your wallet. Now the thing about Bruster's is, it's an outside deal, so if it's cold jump back in the car and warm up while you indulge. It's worth it. I promise. When you step out of the car in the parking lot and smell the fresh waffle cones baking you'll know what I mean. Also another cool thing they do is, children under 40 inches tall get a FREE baby cone. That's right. So you don't have to share your ice cream with the kiddies. And they have free doggies sundaes if you take your furbaby along! I will have to let Roxy know about this. Do yourself a favor... go and be happy.

Too Cute For Words!!

2009-02-23T12:07:00.007-05:00

Well, I can always find words actually. Mia looks so cute in her bow that my friend Michelle made. You can check her bows out at tinybows4tinytoes.blogspot.com (how's that for free advertising!). I'm so glad I put her in this dress Sunday because she's getting too tall for it and won't be able to wear it much longer. Her bloomers are always sagging out the bottom because she's too tall for her tights too, so she's got saggy crotch syndrome. All the ladies know what I'm talking about when your tights just don't pull up all the way. Oh she is just too cute!!

Oh my gosh, she has dancer hands!!

She's showing off.

She always uses her mouth to help pull up on things. Our couch is seriously struggling thanks to Mia.

Love the scrunchy smile!

Striking a pose!

I'm so glad I got a picture of those 2 bottom teeth. She has 4 teeth coming in up top and her smile will be completely different soon.

That's my girl!

Happy Birthday Melissa Joy!

2009-02-21T11:40:00.006-05:00

They say it's your birthday, duh nuh nuh nuh nuuuh. Just wanted to wish my sis a GREAT day today. Hope the fam spoils you rotten. You deserve it! Love ya lots.

What a beautiful girl with all those curls!

Loving your 4th birthday at McDonalds!

Ok, this picture is from Grandma Seay's birthday but still I wish we could all be together like this for your birthday today!!

Sisterly Love

2009-02-19T12:29:00.003-05:00

My sister's birthday is in 2 days but I couldn't help but wish her an early HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! She is an amazing woman. I think she just might be one of the best moms EVER and I KNOW she is the best sister EVER! So, I just wanted to post this picture I stole from her blog because it is one of my all time favorites. I love this lady!!

Fun Valentine's Weekend With Papa

2009-02-17T12:18:00.006-05:00

My dad came for a Valentine's Day visit this past weekend. Mia REALLY loves her Papa. She would reach out for him and she doesn't do that for anybody. She played nonstop and had the best time. My dad is totally into his grandchildren. He is such a huge help when he comes. He not only cleans and cooks but he keeps Mia occupied. So needless to say it was a GREAT weekend for me also! We took him to Lynn's Paradise Cafe and had an amazing lunch. That place is awesome and if you live in Louisville and you haven't been, shame on you. It is an experience you just need to have!

Mia and Papa playing!

Mia is giving me the look. I believe she was typing an email to her cousin Charlotte in this picture.

Pictures are so much harder to get now that she is constantly crawling AWAY from the camera!

Motherhood

2009-02-16T17:21:00.003-05:00

I was sitting in Chick Fil-A with Mia at lunch today. It was just the two of us and it was SO fun. I thought it might be a little weird when I was walking in and there was at least 100 people. But once we sat down to eat we had a blast. She is so fun to be around and growing so fast. I caught our reflection in the window and started crying my eyes out. (Can you say Drama Queen?) I'm sure I looked like a freak to the people around me but I couldn't stop. I was just so happy and thrilled to be with my daughter but sad she was growing up so fast at the same time. It was a great moment. I hope I remember it the next time I'm up to my elbows in snot or something worse!!

Sick Of Being Sick

2009-02-08T18:05:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to complain a little... as usual. We are a bunch of sick people in this house. This is the last year I don't get a flu shot. I always get one and this year I didn't and I have gotten sick more this winter than any I can remember. Poor Mia has the worst cough and she is going to the doctor tomorrow, after a week of being sick. I'm a horrible mother. The worst.

I can't wait to get my healthy little girl back.

Photography Techniques

2009-02-05T14:46:00.002-05:00

I just read the most interesting blog post about taking pictures of your kids. The best tip I learned was to get down on your child's level for the best pictures. I looked through my favorite pics of Mimi and noticed that the ones I loved the absolute best were pictures I took on her level. For example the lion pictures and the ones I recently posted with her sunflower headband. The tips are great because the author shows you examples of what she is talking about. I am posting the link so you can all read this article and hopefully get some great shots of your angels.

http://www.makeandtakes.com/5-easy-steps-to-taking-great-pictures-of-kids

A Girl Can Dream

2009-02-03T11:38:00.006-05:00

All I see is this...

All I want to see is this...

9 Months!!

2009-02-02T11:51:00.003-05:00

Mia is growing so fast! I can't believe she is already 9 months! Before we know it we'll be celebrating her birthday. We were anxiously awaiting her 9 month doctors appointment to get her measurements. Drum roll please... height 27 1/2 inches - 50% and weight 17 1/2 lbs - 25%! It's so surprising to me because she seems so tall but I guess it's because she is so skinny. When I look at other babies her age they are so rolly polly but not Mia. Maybe I need to work on fattening her up. Here are a few tidbits about our Mimi. She is a little comedian. She loves to make us laugh by making funny faces or laughing if we laugh. She is FINALLY sleeping well and I feel like I have somewhat of a life now. Her favorite food seems to be apples and chicken (yes that is a combination they make,gross) and I finally got her to drink out of a sippy cup. She loves stuffed animals and her two faves right now are a lamb, Lambert, from her Aunt Kim and Uncle Lee and an elephant, Horton, from her Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen. One kind of interesting thing she can do is twist her tongue. As far as I can tell it can only twist one way. It is so funny to watch her do it because I've never seen a baby do that before. I'll have to get a picture of it soon. She is crawling and loves picking stuff up and shaking it, no matter what it is. She is a hoot and makes life worth living!

Little Miss Sunshine

2009-01-27T16:10:00.004-05:00

Try, Try Again

2009-01-25T19:23:00.003-05:00

One Of Those Days

2009-01-22T21:57:00.003-05:00

Today was one of those days where I just couldn't seem to be happy. No one upset me and I didn't even realize I was in a bad mood until Dave asked me if I was in one. (I didn't notice the dog cowering in her kennel or anything.) Then I realized how much I have to be grateful for in my life. I am one blessed lady. I have an amazing husband and a beautiful daughter who brings me more joy in one day than I ever imagined to experience in my whole life. So cheer up Charlie. Life is good... no, life is EXCEPTIONAL.

Trying To Crawl

2009-01-21T12:13:00.003-05:00

Our sweet baby girl has been trying to crawl for so long but it just isn't happening for her. She mostly just goes backwards. She gets so frustrated yet she tries it over and over again every time you set her on the ground. I captured her process one day and it is pretty funny.

She starts out happy in the correct crawling stance. Look at her she's so full of hope.

Oh but then she feels the need to do a push up on her tippy toes. Try doing that yourself. It's not as easy as it looks.

But wait, now she is really showing off!

She is worn out and needs to take a quick rest.

Finally she has moved but alas, it's backwards! If you take a look at the pictures above she has moved between the ottoman and couch. She doesn't look impressed anymore does she. She may look like her daddy but that is a face she learned from her mother. No doubt about it.

Christmas in Oregon

2009-01-15T19:39:00.006-05:00

Mia had a blast with her grandparents. Mia's not looking at the camera in this shot but it's a great one of Dave.

Mia with her cousins Trevor and Brandon.

This girl loved taking a bath in her Grandma's kitchen sink.

She also loved opening her presents Christmas morning.

She was so cute in her Christmas outfit Dave bought her.

Dave and his mom shoveling snow. They shoveled the driveway so many times!

Mia in her cute Christmas dress in front of her favorite toy, the Christmas tree!

The little snow bunny!

Mia's first plane ride.

Early Christmas in SC

2009-01-14T15:14:00.005-05:00

Finally I am posting pics from Christmas. Mia and I went to SC (thanks to my dad for coming to get us!) for a week and had a great time visiting family. My mom treated us to a visit to the Biltmore Estate which I've always wanted to see. Christmas time is a great time to go because practically every room (and there are over 250 rooms) has at least one Christmas tree in it. The whole mansion/castle is decorated for the holidays. You can't take pictures inside but it was beautiful. It is an amazing place to visit if you are ever near Asheville, NC.

My grandparents, Mom (with her eyes closed, haha), Me, and Mia

Mia with her Uncle Lee

Biltmore Estate

Too Funny

2009-01-09T17:00:00.002-05:00

I stole this idea from my friend Sherstine. This is us at the White House press room.

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Catch Up #2

2009-01-09T16:17:00.004-05:00

Mia had two Halloween costumes because her ladybug costume was delivered to the wrong house and I wanted her to be able to dress up for the ward party. I found this one at Old Navy for 5 bucks. She is the cutest butterfly ever!

Mia was so funny holding this turkey leg. These are the only pictures we took on Thanksgiving. I don't know what I was thinking.

Playing Catch Up

2009-01-09T15:54:00.004-05:00

I really need to post my Christmas pictures but first I need to go back and post some Halloween and Thanksgiving pictures. Yes sometimes we have to go backwards before we can go forwards (or something like that).

Our little Love bug/Ladybug

Roxy was NOT thrilled at all. She had her costume on for literally 2 minutes

WOWZA!!

2009-01-07T14:54:00.002-05:00

Does anyone else feel like they have the Christmas ham hanging on their waist, hips, thighs, etc????

Girls Just Wanna Have FUN!!

2008-12-20T14:04:00.003-05:00

We had some friends over a few weeks ago and we tried to have a little photo shoot but between Mia pulling everyone's hair and Kira trying to fall off the couch it didn't quite turn out as planned! They sure are cute though!

Is She Ready For Vegas?

2008-12-03T12:46:00.004-05:00

Dave has 7 siblings yet his mother still found the time and energy to have foreign exchange students when Dave was growing up. He has kept in close contact with one of them from Germany and he brought Mia the coolest present ever. Yes, he flew all the way from Germany with this and Mia loves it (even though some of her friends do NOT, sorry Owen). If she is in a bad mood I just put her on her lion and she is instantly all smiles! She's quite the lion tamer.

Whoa, easy boy!!

Fall Cutie!!

2008-12-01T10:12:00.003-05:00

I guess I didn't blog the whole month of November. Oh well, here are some cute pics we took of Mia. Don't be fooled she hated sitting on the ground outside. She looks so much like Dave.

Mommy WOW... I'm a big girl now!

2008-10-16T15:18:00.006-04:00

I can't believe how fast Mia is growing. We are so excited for her 6 month appointment on the 27th to see how much she weighs and how long she has gotten. She is a big girl and looks so cute in her big girl clothes! She has her first tooth and is rolling all over the place. Plus she dazzles us with her "da da" and she is working on her "ma ma". She just started eating rice cereal last week because she can't get enough to eat lately. She's laying down right now screaming "da da, da da" holding on to her bunny that my aunt gave her. She is a mess and I love her to pieces.

Mia in her big girl jeans and shoes looking too cute!! My mom got her this shirt and it says "In my little world ceiling fans are mesmerizing" and it's so true.

Mia is LOVING her rice cereal. This was her first time trying it and she gobbled it up!

If you pretend real hard you can imagine a tooth in this picture! It is so small its hard to see but I still thought it was a funny picture anyway.

RAGEM TAGEM!!!!

2008-09-30T09:58:00.005-04:00

Ok ,unless you are my little brother you have no idea that ragem tagem is actually me cursing. Yes, I am cursing once again about none other than... Mia's sleeping or lack of sleeping. Last night I was up until 1am with her screaming her guts out at me. I tried everything and she just wanted to scream. Usually as long as I'm holding her she is just peachy keen. Last night was rare and I hope she isn't starting a new phase. She might be teething but who really knows. She was sleeping through the night until about 2 weeks ago when she started waking up 2 to 4 times a night. I am back to being exhausted like when she was a newborn. I feel like a zombie right now. But like my wise mother in law says "This too shall pass.". I'm just trying to enjoy Mia as much as possible because they grow WAY too fast. I love her and would do anything for her but I can't wait until she's sleeping through the night again. So if you see me and I look like death just tell me how fabulous I look. Sleep, we'll meet again soon and I want you to know I love you and miss you dearly!

Rub A Dub Dub, This Girl and Her Tub

2008-09-12T15:14:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in almost a month!! I have a million pictures to catch up on but I wanted to share the most recent ones. I took these this morning during Mia's bath. She gets all wound up when she gets a bath so she takes them in the morning. We learned the hard way about giving her a bath before bedtime. Probably it has something to do with the fact that I have to grease her up with Aquaphor after her bath. Aquaphor is the consistency of Vaseline. She has the driest skin ever and can't use any smell good baby lotion or it breaks her out. She LOVES her bath and tries to eat the wash cloth and drink the water. Most of the time she pees as soon as I put her in the warm water. She is getting so big and I have to say SUPER CUTE!!!!

And Round One Goes To... Mia!!!!

2008-08-15T14:33:00.004-04:00

Mia is a very good baby but her sleep habits (or lack there of) leave me exhausted. She doesn't want to take naps and if she does she will only sleep for like 30 mins. And we won't even talk about night time. She was getting so much better and sleeping through the night but now she is reverting back to her rougher days. The pictures below are after an especially bad night. She has a scratch under her nose and one on her cheek. She showed sleep who the boss was but honestly I'm ready for sleep to win a few rounds again!

She is proud of her victory!!

Mystery Monday #2

2008-07-21T15:26:00.003-04:00

Well it's Monday again and I want to thank everyone for their comments about last weeks Mystery Monday. I still don't see why such tight pants on boys is popular. Call me out of date but GROSS!!!! So here is the next mystery and we'll see how many of you can answer this one. It's a doozy.

What in the world is the appeal of White Castle?

Mystery Monday

2008-07-14T10:35:00.002-04:00

I always have these questions that no one can seem to answer. Granted they aren't brainbusters they just aren't your average questions that you can just Google. I've posed this question to a few people and they aren't quite sure but shook their head in wonder and now I'm sure, are up at night wondering the same thing. So here is the first question for Mystery Monday.

Why are the Jonas Brothers' pants so tight?

Voyage of the Mimi

2008-07-13T20:48:00.005-04:00

We had a great trip to SC and NC. Mia is pretty good in the car thankfully. We had a blast in NC with Dave's sister's family. We took some family pictures at the Duke Gardens but it was sooo hot Mia was very miserable. We did get a few good shots of her. She has grown so much and is large and in charge! Being her mom is the BEST!!

In Loving Memory...

2008-07-13T19:32:00.003-04:00

When we were in SC recently visiting my family, my grandparents dog passed away. She was more than just a pet to them and it was so sad to hear of her loss. I remember when they got Sissie and how much they have loved her over the years. My heart goes out to my grandparents but thankfully we all have great memories of Sissie.

My Grandma Seay, Sissie and me

Family First

2008-06-12T15:47:00.005-04:00

I love my family so much and love it when they come to visit. Thank goodness for Mia because we have a lot more visitors now and we love it. My sister and her family were in town and they were loving all over our girl. My niece and nephew Grace and Luke loved Mia and thought it was hilarious that she didn't have any teeth. They kept making me lift her lips to show them her gums. I was cracking up. So here's an open invite to any friends and family who want to come and visit us and meet our lil sassafras Mia! We would love to have you!

Mia and Roxy cuddling with Auntie Melissa

Mia is waving goodbye to all her visitors. She says "Y'all come back now, ya hear".

Blessed Day

2008-06-03T23:48:00.005-04:00

Mia was blessed Sunday, June 1st and we were so blessed to have most of my family in town. Most of the Chapman gang was present and I LOVED having my siblings all together. It was a rare treat. Mia wore the same dress I was blessed in and looked beautiful. Dave did a great job and I am so thankful for the priesthood he holds. She slept through her blessing and was an angel through sacrament. She really likes to show off! It was a perfect day that is one of my favorite memories. We missed you mom, "Get Well Soon!" . We missed Kim and the kids too!!

My Family

Mia with her cousins Luke and Grace

Mia's Uncle Lee and Uncle Kell (hence Mia's middle name, Kellee)

Mia with her Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kell

Flower Child

2008-06-03T23:42:00.002-04:00

Mia got the cutest headband from her Aunt Karen (one of Dave's sisters). She is so cute I just want to eat her up!!!!

Here is a little slideshow of Mia

2008-05-23T16:13:00.002-04:00