Bike Trip

Josh went mountain biking with some buddies last weekend. He had a pretty good time, but got a little beat up along the way. He needed some definite r 'n r afterwards.

Please Excuse My Lack of Tact

I'm just going to say it. Mia is scared of old people. We went to Winco (grocery store) today, and I decided to try Mia out in the kid seat part of the shopping cart b/c she's getting too heavy to lug around in the baby bjorn for longer amount of time. Anyway, we were in the produce section, and as I was picking out some apples, this sweet old lady started smiling and talking to Mia. I was behind Mia picking the apples, so I didn't see her face, but the lady said she was smiling, so I kept picking at the apples. A split second after she said that, Mia just started wailing. Great. The lady felt really bad, and walked away. Meanwhile, Mia wouldn't stop crying until I carried her, which I didn't want to do for obvious reasons. But, the baby rules, right? So, Mia helped me pick out the rest of the produce and some canned veggies. I had enough, so I put her back, and the only way she would stay in the seat w/o fussing was when she held on to the car keys. I normally try not to let her have them b/c keys are dirty and gross, but she really likes the Golden 1 rubber key chain part, and I was desperate. She was fine for the rest of the trip, but my keys got ridiculously slobbery. Priorities, right? It's interesting how having a child makes one realize the need for patience in one's self, her baby, and even, perhaps especially in total strangers.

If You Look Closely...

Mia got her first two teeth in this month. It's been really difficult to get a picture of them b/c every time we try, she always covers them with her tongue. But finally we were able to get a good pic of them.




These are the two best pics we could get of her teeth. Please, excuse my hideousness in the second picture!

Strange Deja Vu

I was one of those women who wasn't terribly ill when I was pregnant last year. There weren't too many smells or foods that made me nauseous. However, this one sound got me sick to my stomach every time I heard it, and that was the sound of the band called the Ting Tings. They're this British pop-rock band whose album a bought just before I got pregnant, and all throughout my pregnancy whenever I heard a song of theirs, I felt like yacking. Their was even a Fructis shampoo commercial on television that I couldn't watch b/c they were singing in the background. I don't know what it was about their sound that made me feel sick. It's not like I didn't like them otherwise, but I just couldn't stomach them. Well, Mia's 7 1/2 months old now. Today, as I was doing some house cleaning, I wanted to listen to some upbeat music to keep me focused, and I chose the Ting Tings b/c I missed them. Sadly, all those yucky feelings came flooding back. I couldn't get through three songs before switching to Keith Urban. Has this ever happened to anyone else, a sound making you feel sick, and then re-experiencing those same feelings a long time later? Maybe I'm just crazy!! Anyways, thanks to Keith, I'm feeling much better.

I am Truly Blessed

Mia doesn't like going to bed at any time, no matter how sleepy she is. I try not nursing her to sleep anymore, and just putting her down when she's drowsy. Most of the time she cries her lungs out for a while until I can't take it anymore and come in and put her binky back in her mouth and hold her hand, while she still cries. Caressing her head used to calm her down, so did patting her back or rubbing her belly. Now, they do nothing for her, and she still keeps crying. Needless to say, getting this child to sleep (and stay asleep) is a real challenge.
Today, though, I put her down for her morning nap after feeding her (so she was good and drowsy), and she put up her usual fight. I forgot to mention, she now pulls herself up to the rail in her crib and cries, but she hasn't quite figured out how to get back down without hurting herself, so she just keeps crying. Well, she was doing that today, so I came back in her room and laid her back down with her binky. Sometimes, I can get her to stop crying by singing her the Sunbeam song. So, I tried that today, and she just laid there looking up at me, totally calm. Usually, only the Sunbeam song works, but I branched out and tried other Primary tunes, and after about five minutes, little girl closed her eyes...and they stayed closed once I stopped singing, instead of her crying again! Woohoo!!! I've never sung her to sleep before. And it was the first time she fell asleep without my touch. Amazing!
While I was singing to her, I couldn't help but feel a sweet spirit in the room that reminded me of what a precious angel and blessing she is that Heavenly Father has given our family. Our world is a better one because she is in it. I love being a mother. I love being her mother.

Our Little Musician

Mia loves music, and she really loves the piano. She would sit at it all day if would stay with her. Here's a sample of her future genius!

A Golden Day

Josh and I have been to San Francisco quite a few times, but neither of us had been through the Golden Gate Park, so we decided to head down there yesterday. We took a little detour through Union Square before going to the park where we did some shopping and people watching. The city was more crowded than usual since it's Labor Day Weekend. It made me appreciate our quiet city of Lincoln and the quality of normalcy it has. Everywhere we walked there were people yelling at each other, weird outfits and hairdos, young and old playing their instruments for money; and then a man in the middle of it all holding a poster that said, "Jesus loves you all." I'd have to say that SF is like a Picasso painting- lots of colors splattered all over the city canvas.






All our walking took it out of Mia, so she decided to nap.

The Park was amazing! We were sad that we went there so late in the day because it is a huge place where really we could have spent the entire day. It has botanical gardens, science and art museums, a Japanese Tea Garden, places to hike and bbq, soccer fields, polo fields, and more...all in the middle of the city. We found this really cool amphitheater and decided to take most of our pictures there. Mia really enjoyed being outside and seeing new things.










Still with all the beauty around us, our favorite sight to photograph was our little Mia.



She inherited her daddy's eyebrow lift!




Good trip!