Boring Update!

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!

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!!

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!!

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

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

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

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.