the milk memos

A few weeks ago, a friend told me about this book, "the milk memos, how real moms learned to mix business with babies - and how you can, too". (Thanks, Kathy!) I finally checked on Amazon and found it is currently at the bargain price of $4.99.

I've had many conversations with my working mom friends and I've been lucky enough to have friends in all types of situations (part-time, full-time, went to work after baby and then left, started working after 6-9 mo at home, started working after 12 wks like me, even working with baby at home). The stories that these women tell are priceless as I don't know how I would have survived so long without them. (I mean who else can make you feel better by telling the story of how they pumped in a court house room storage closet with their feet holding the door shut because it didn't have a lock. That's serious dedication.)

Back to the book...
I picked up the book and in just flipping through it, started laughing out loud. It really hit home for me. I know I've had the advantage of pumping in my own house most of my pumping career, but I've also pumped in airplane bathrooms, taken refrigerated breast milk through Heathrow customs, and had to explain a breast pump to airport security numerous times. I highly recommend it for any mom that's working outside the home or contemplating it. Considering the great price, I think I might be adding it to a few baby shower baskets.

Out for a Walk

Mia had a great time hanging out outside today. These pictures show how much of a toddler she really is now.

Dance Party

We often have dance parties, especially while dinner is being made. Here's Mia getting her groove on to Vaco. The spinning is a recent addition to Mia's repertoire and she's been known to walk backwards, too. Moonwalk next, anyone?

Sorry the background music isn't that loud and the videography isn't that great. This is from our regular camera, not our video camera.

A Quick Visit with Grandpa

Mia got a special treat when we went out to the Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport to see Grandpa during his layover. As some of you may know, Grandpa has been working in Scotland for the past 8 months and this is the first time since Christmas he has been able to spend time with Mia. Mia had a wonderful time looking at all the planes and seemed to like the space shuttle engine the best.

Our New Favorite Food Accessory

The Snack Trap has finally made it into our home. This may be one of our favorite inventions as it actually keeps the food inside the cup so Mia only takes out a few Cheerios or puffs at a time. Mia thinks it is great since it is easier to take snacks in the stroller or carry them around the kitchen. Mom and Dad also get to avoid stepping on the Cheerios and creating a nice powder ground into the floor. I think we're all in love.

Water Baby

Mia had her first dip in the Atlantic Ocean this weekend. She adored it. She thought the waves were so much fun and had no problem with the cold ocean water.


Playing on the beach was just OK. Your Cheerios get full of sand and it was definitely hot.

Mom also makes me wear this big hat all the time, which can make it difficult to find your way around if it falls in your face.
All in all, a wonderful time and Mia can't wait to go back.

Spanish Class

Mia has been having a great time getting to spend her weekends and some evenings with Uncle Allan and Tia Raquel.
Raquel has been wonderful about speaking to Mia mostly in Spanish (unless Mom needs to follow along) and Mia is looking forward to making it to Spain, maybe this fall, to see where her new cousin will live. She's got to look out for Baby W G and test drive the nursery before he arrives this winter.

Dad, there are baseball teams besides the Orioles?

Yes, it is true. Mia has been allowed to have baseball paraphernalia from a team other than the Orioles. This A's cap (originally a chili bowl) is courtesy of Alex and Erin.

Hats

Mia has a very love/hate relationship with hats. Here are some cute pictures from the other day.

Then we were done wearing the hat and wanted to share with Dad.

Books

Mia loves to be read books, but she also loves to "read" them herself. She'll carry her books around from room to room, plop down on the floor in the middle of the kitchen when we're making dinner, and start talking and turning pages.

Daddy's also happy that this interest applies to baseball game programs, too.

Fun in the Sun

This weekend was filled with family and parties as we celebrated the upcoming births of Baby W B (child of cousins Elizabeth and Christian) and Baby W G (child of Uncle Allan and Tia Raquel).

Mia particularly enjoyed pool time!

She just can't wait to be big enough to be thrown into the pool by Uncle Allan just like her big cousins.


(Pictures courtesy of Uncle Charlie!)

Yogurt

Mia's currently learning how to use a spoon to feed herself.

She's getting pretty good at it.

Until she decides that she's too hungry and her hand is much faster.

Btw, the Bumpkin toddler bibs are great. Once Mia's hands and face were wiped up, you had no idea she's just been covered in yogurt.

Blocks

Mia received a set of blocks for her birthday. She took to them faster than we had expected and enjoys using the both for stacking and as musical instruments.


She particularly had a great time destroying Daddy's sculpture.

uh-oh

Mommy and Daddy are behind on blog postings.

Now that Mia has mastered walking, she has started working on talking.  Her favorite new words are "uh-oh" and "buh-bye" (complete with wriggling fingers).  She walks around the living room saying ba-bye, ba-bye, bye-bye.  She's also now a big fan of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" - ba-ba-ba.

Uh-oh accompanies food, sippy cups, toys, magazines and most everything else as they fall to the floor.  Particularly when the fall came after some deliberation.

We'll get more pictures posted soon.

Thompson's Lake

In our whirlwind zig-zag of the Northeast this 4th of July holiday, we were able to spend some time at the Blabey family house on Thompson's Lake in the Catskills. Tom, Kristen, and Cyanne were visiting from Santa Barbara and Jay came in from Boston for the mini Alexandria childhood reunion.

Laura and Ryan's Wedding

We discovered that attending a wedding with a 1 year old is a whole different ball game than the previous weddings we attended with Mia at 5 wks and 2 1/2 months.

It was great to be there for Laura and Ryan and to see all of our friends who also attended. Though, Mia definitely drove the show and Mom only got to partake in a little bit of the festivities. Mia did have a great time at the parts she attended. She was even woo'd by the 2 yr old ring bearer and got her groove on the dance floor. Sadly, we have very few pictures, but here are a few for you.

Birthday Party

We celebrated Mia's birthday with family and friends on Saturday. It was a hot day, but the thunderstorms seemed to hold off.

Initially, we played inside and got to spend some quality time with friends.Of course, time with Aunt Katie and cousin Maddie is always special.


By the time we ate dinner, the weather had cooled off enough that we got to enjoy time outside.

The cake turned out to be pretty tasty even though the heat got to the icing a little.

Mia didn't seem to mind at all.






Having the kiddie pools out for all to enjoy was definitely a highlight of the party.
But when Adleigh's parents show up with water guns, you know you're in for a wild time.

The Stats at 12 months

Height - 28 1/4" (40th percentile)
Weight - 18 lbs 13 oz (10th percentile)
Teeth - 2 (but at least 2 more on the way)
Verbal - Words include Uh Oh, Dada, Mama, No, Dog, Baba (not sure what this is for, but she's clearly trying to tell us something), duck, quack, blub blub (the sound for what a fish makes) - there are clearly a few more in the works, so we'll let you know when those come. Mia is spoken to in Spanish often at day care so it may be that she's trying out a few Spanish words and we just don't understand.
Locomotion - 99% walking. Mia rarely crawls unless it is to escape up the stairs. She'd even walk down the stairs if we ever let her.

We had a good doctor's appointment today. Mia doesn't know yet it isn't very nice to get shots on your birthday, but she was a trooper. Only 2 vaccines this trip (MMR and Pneumococcal). She even got a birthday crown, a certificate, and a sticker.