INDEPENDENT MIA PART 2

July 7th, 2010

Mia is 9 months old today!

Right before the 4th of July holiday last year, I wrote a blog talking about Independence Day and the fact that I was 6 1/2 months pregnant. It dawned on me that I would soon be losing my own independence and would be giving myself over entirely to another person. Those thoughts scared me a little but now that the little person inside of me is on the outside, I can't even imagine why I thought I would be losing anything. I gained the most precious gift...Mia! This past 4th of July wasn't spent watching fireworks. It was spent with my family and most of all, it was spent with Mia. We took her out to dinner for the very first time. She had a ball! We went to the Beverly Hills Tennis Club and Mia spent the whole time looking up at the decorations hanging in the trees and marveling at all of the fun beads Grandma Pam brought with her to play with. Grandma Pam even got to feed her and Mia was so content! Mia always LOVES playing with Bon Bon's diamond necklace--of course she does, and her Grandpa Dusty got to spend some quality time holding her. She even took a little time out to "stop and smell the roses". With all of the craziness that goes on in my family, Grandma Pam put it so eloquently when she said that Mia really is the Tie that Binds...

MIA IS A GLEEK!

June 24th, 2010

Mia's age-8 months and 2 1/2 weeks

This month we have experienced a lot of new developments with Mia. She is crawling around like crazy AND this morning she actually clapped with both hands open for the first time! Check out the video below to view her in all of her glory. She is also trying to stand and seems to be getting pretty good at pulling herself up alone.

She is eating well. She LOVES butternut squash with brown rice, peaches, peas, bananas, carrots, applesauce and most of all, avocado! She can eat avocado like crazy, which is great since it contains lots of healthy fats for her brain development.

She still loves just looking and observes life around her and can concentrate really hard on someone or something, especially when there is music involved...Which leads me to "Glee". For those of reading this blog who don't already know this, our neighbor is Lea Michele, the star of "Glee". She's everywhere on every magazine cover and on award shows but lately, she's been starring in a Dove Shampoo/Glee Giveway infomercial that had been running in a loop on channel 125 up until last week. The commercial probably lasts around 4 minutes and features Lea singing "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music". It also features the Dove spokeswoman, Greta Monohan. The only reason I know this woman's name is because after Lea sings, the smile on Mia's face widens even more when Greta comes on and starts talking about how wonderful Dove shampoo is. I can't wait to tell our neighbor that her fans come in all ages and I keep thinking that I should send Greta a letter with a picture of Mia, ok probably not but please check out the pictures above as evidence. Thank God we DVR'd it so now we can play it again and again (sorry Judy). It's absolutely amazing! Mia's hair does seem to be growing so maybe some Dove Shampoo is in her future soon....We'll just have to wait and see....

MIA CRAWLS!

June 2nd, 2010

Mia is 7 months and 3 1/2 weeks

Today, Danny came home and told me that Mia was crawling forward! Attached is a video of the momentous occasion for your viewing pleasure. We have been eagerly awaiting this latest development ever since she stopped crying when we put her on "tummy time". She has been crawling backwards for the last month so I guess it was just a matter of time before she learned to go forward. Now, I fear we will have to start the process of "baby proofing" our condo. Mia is fascinated with all things gadget. Danny's IPhone, our house phone, my blackberry and just about anything else that lights up. Light socket blocks are going on tonight and any chords are going underneath the carpet for starters. The windows will need special locks since we're on the top the floor and the lower-level cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms will also need locks, as will the toilets. It's a whole new world for Ms. Mia and for Mia's mommy and daddy. We're so proud of our little girl....

MIA CRACKS THE TOP 10!

May 10th, 2010

Mia is 7 months and 3 days old!

I had my first official Mother's Day yesterday and was surprised to find that my daughter got me a card (thank you, Danny). What a surreal thing it is to receive calls from family members wishing ME Happy Mother's Day. It was great!

I was reading the news on Yahoo and there was an article about the most popular baby names of 2009. Names that came in at number one were Jacob for boys and Isabella for girls. They site the popularity of the "Twilight" books and movies since two of the main characters share these names. I was also delighted to read that only one new name made into the top 10 for girls and that name is none other than Mia! I'm so happy Mia is a popular name. I think it's beautiful and now knowing my daughter she really fits her name perfectly.

Things are really progressing in Mia's world. She rolls all over the place and can sit up and spend a fairly decent amount of time that way playing with her favorite toys like her mini-classical number piano game and her orange ball. She also rolls over on her stomach quite a bit, especially when we put her down to sleep in her crib. Whenever she is in bed, I run to the video monitor to just watch her. First, she rolls over on her stomach and stares into the camera. I have to say there is nothing more amazing than turning around and seeing her big hazel eyes. She also has a new routine. She likes to have all of her mini-blankets, or "crib friends" around her--or rather--on top of her face while she's sleeping. She spends a good 15 minutes gathering up her Snoopy, Piggy and Froggy mini-blankets, and even her actual blanket-blanket, and proceeds to move them and roll into a ball or anything that gets as many things on top of her face as possible. It is a mesmerizing sight to behold. When she finally falls asleep, I can creep in and move the blankets from her face so as not restrict her airway (paranoid mom).

She is eating more solids too. We bought the Beaba baby cook and while I'm not a gourmet by any stretch, I do enjoy making her fresh baby food as opposed to using jars. She really loves carrots, avocado and banana and has even warmed up to applesauce. Next, we're going to try to get her to like sweet potato. Last time we tried was last month and she pushed the spoon out of my hand and started crying. One more time can't hurt right? Keeping my fingers crossed....

Until next time....

MAD FOR PLAID

April 13th, 2010

Mia is 6 months and 6 days old.

Yesterday morning I went into visit Mia as usual. I slowly walked into her room and her nanny Lily was feeding her. I smiled and she smiled back and then I said "good morning little Mia".

Mia is the type of baby you have to approach with a certain amount of caution since she doesn't like it when people rush up to her too fast. Many a person has gone right up to her face in a well-meaning attempt to greet her and when that happens, she cries because she needs a little time to recognize who you are before she is ready. Just like a Queen. One must greet her with some level of respect (and even a bow or two).

As I walked closer I noticed her eyes were immediately drawn to the plaid pajama pants I was wearing. After giving birth to Mia, the post baby weight has been s-l-o-w-l-y coming off. My old clothes still don't fit me and I fight everyday to find something acceptable to wear to work that will cover both my post-baby stomach and my much larger rear-end. The one article of clothing I have always been able to count on fitting me both pre-and-post baby are my red-plaid Victoria's Secret pajama bottoms.

Mia seemed fixated on my pants so I sat down while Lily was still feeding her and let her touch them. She practically pushed the bottle out of her mouth in an effort to grab the fabric. I ended up hoisting my legs closer to her face so she could play with my pants while she was eating. Lily and I figured out that it was the red color mixed with the plaid pattern that was so intriguing.

So, this morning after my pants had been thoroughly washed I brought them into Mia and saw her face light up. Even though she was in her baby gym and had plenty of toys to play with, she completely ignored them and grabbed my pants.

Guess now I know who REALLY wears the pants in the family...

TURN OVER!

April 6th, 2010

Mia is 6 months old tomorrow!

When you have a baby, EVERYTHING becomes a first. There is her first bottle, her first bite of rice cereal, her first tooth. In fact, Mia's first 2 teeth have started to appear and now I can feel a new tooth coming in on the top of her gums. She is really teething now. She sucks down on her top lip in an effort to soothe her sore gums. Although I'm sure it doesn't feel very good to her, it's kind of funny to watch her suck away with her tongue sticking halfway out of her mouth. This seems to calm her and it's also quite entertaining.

Mia is laughing now more than ever. Belly laughs! Laughing so hard and loud she practically screams! It's especially adorable when we rub our noses on her little tummy. She almost sings with laughter!

Another wonderful thing has happened. Mia is rolling over! We knew it was only a matter of time because lately, whenever she has been on the changing table, she turns to face her favorite toy. The other day as I was changing her, she actually turned all the way over to her stomach! It's amazing that a little thing like Mia turning over has become such a highlight in my life! The small things we take for granted are momunental in terms of how a baby develops from infant to toddler to child.

Mia is my daughter and she never ceases to amaze me. What's next? Stay tuned...

I FOUND THE ACORN!

March 9th, 2010

Mia's age - 5 months and 2 days

As a working mom, I make a point to always spend as much time with Mia as possible. My routine starts by waking up at around 6:30am and spending a few minutes adjusting my eyes because it's usually still dark at that time and anyone who knew me before Mia, the notion that I would be waking up at 6:30am is hilarious. After getting up, I then brush my teeth and head into Mia's room. She's usually just finished eating and sitting on the perch of her current nanny, Lily. When she sees me, she smiles and I sing a song to the music of "Happy Birthday", called "Good Morning To You". We then play together on the floor of her baby gym while Lily gets ready for the day.

In Mia's room, there is a television and for all the naysayers, I have to say it's been a great tool. There is an entire channel called BabyFirst TV that is totally dedicated to programming for babies and children. They also teach parents how to teach their children things so it's very interactive and since I'm a new mom and have no idea what I'm doing, I have found it invaluable. We put it on in the morning when it's quiet and for the most part, Mia looks at it but basically doesn't really know what's going on. I think she's fascinated by the colors and sounds...Until this morning.

This morning, we went about our usual routine, I put Mia on her tummy in her gym but the minute the theme song to a show on BabyFirst TV called "The Acorn" came on, Mia immediately turned her head to face the tv, while still on her tummy. She then motioned for me to pick her up and sat on my lap fixated while the cartoon squirrels spent their time (as they always do) "hiding an acorn" and playing "hot & cold" while one of them searches for it. When the hidden acorn is found, the squirrels sing a little song and encourages the viewers to clap. Mia still can't quite clap yet so instead, she flaps her arms and giggles whenever the singing begins. When I saw the effect the show had on my daughter, I recorded it to replay in the future. The picture above is Mia, with her Bon Bon watching "The Acorn" and the enormous smile on her face reflects what I witnessed this morning.

I just can't believe that, at only 5 months old Mia is recognizing things and is able to express her excitement. She is growing a little personality and I can't wait to see what television show she likes next. Of course, being a mom who works in television, I reserve the right to program what she watches but so far, so good.