15 months

It is so hard to believe that at this age with Mia, Nataleigh was this age when I was pregnant with Mia!  We're good for now, though!  ;-)  We'll rest in our family of four at the moment!!   

There are times that Mia still seems more like a baby to me-probably because she is our second child, or maybe because she has no hair?!?  :-)  

Eating

Mia enjoys eating!  She's picky sometimes and we've learned it's basically when Nataleigh is picky about something.  But our rule is what momma makes, that's what's for dinner and you can take it or leave it but I'm not making something different if you're not a fan!  ;-) 

Sleeping
She's still napping twice a day.  Typically 9:30-11 and 1:45-3:30.  She's in bed by 7:30 and wakes at 7:30.

Language
HUGE language milestones over the past month!  She's basically repeating everything we say, 1-2 words at a time.  Our favorite 2 word is-"excuse me" after she burps :-) 

Playing
She loves sissy!  They will be giggling in another room while I'm in the kitchen and I'll peak in to see them tickling each other, chasing each other, etc.  Of course they have their moments when they dislike sharing :-)  I'm enjoying watching their interaction as they realize they have each other through everything!! :)
Mia's a big fan of strolling her baby around outside in the play stroller.  She also loves the park and is very much into climbing right now!!  ahhh-she makes me nervous sometimes! :-)  She loves water, so it's been a fun summer for the lake and pool!  She's been walking since a little over 12 months.

Their "playhouse"  

Summertime pool fun! 

The swings at the park!

The beach!

June summer fun!

Since I'm wAYY behind on my blog posts here is the whole month of June in a nutshell!  :)  Enjoy!!

First time in the pool for the summer!  

...Then R.I.P. pool because a coon got to you in the middle of the night! :)  booo

Cleveland's own Mitchell's Ice Cream for Nat's Birthday ;)

Mommy and her girls enjoying a hot summer day!

Just Mia, Mommy and Daddy out to eat because big sissy went to Grandpa and Nonna's for the weekend!  ;)

 Date night!!  Sunset on Lake Erie!

 Enjoying the pier as people fish & enjoy God's creation!

 The best of both worlds!  City and Lake!  I love you, Cleveland!

Nataleigh's 3!!

Nataleigh's 3rd Birthday was on a Friday (Daddy's day off!) so we got to celebrate all day together as a family!  It began with her fav-pancakes, opening her present from us and Birthday cards she got in the mail....she woke up to her favorite tunes of Dora's Birthday.  Nataleigh and mommy then went to the library (another favorite of hers where she can check out all of the signing time library :) and books) and then to the store.  Her lunch was grilled cheese made into the shape of a butterfly.  While they napped we went across the street and met our new neighbors (yay for new friends!!).  We got out the kiddie pool and the girls played til their hearts content, had sketti (leftover from the night before when we had our friends, the Jones's over for dinner) and then treated Nataleigh to some of Cleveland's best ice cream, Mitchells!!!

pancakes-not our original recipe-mommy forgot to get some ingredients but we improvised!

Happy Birthday sweet Nataleigh

such a girly girl-pink and a dress (she would wear one everyday if she could!)

 The next day was her party which we had at a local park (since they are tearing up our street and it's a mess to park on it-and what 3 year old wouldn't their party in the park?!)  :)  Cousin Bryan surprised us as he came with PaPaw, GG and Grandpa Great! :)  We had a blast and of course, it was a Dora party!

It's a Party!!!

The sweets table (complete with choc. chip pudding cookies per Nat's request)

Love to watch the sweet girls playing together

Sweet Emma and Nat playing

putting a craft together (each kiddo got a "Fiesta" frame to decorate and take home) and they got a group pic sent in their thank you card

The kiddos-Jonathan (2nd cousin), Nat, Emma, Noah and Elijah (Harris Fam), Bryan (cousin), Mia(sissy)

Grandpa Great holding Mia and watching with joy as Nat opens a gift...

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

So blogging has not been a priority lately. I plan to get back in the groove soon! I have wAYYY too many pictures to share! A lot has happened in the last few months (Birthdays, etc). This pretty much says it all right now...
If You Give a Mom a Muffin
By Beth Brubaker adapted by Jessica R.
If you give a mom a muffin,
she'll want a cup of tea to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three year-old will come and spill the tea.
Mom will wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry into the washer, she'll trip over shoes and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook.
 The cookbook is in the cupboard with all of the million unorganized recipes.
She will see unorganized recipes, which she feels need organized right away.
She will look for her pen to aid in the organizing.
The pen is in her purse, which is being dumped out by her one year-old.
Then she'll smell something funny.
She'll change the one year-old.
While she is changing the one year-old, the phone will ring.
Her three year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she was supposed to phone a friend to come over for tea.
Thinking of tea will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some more.
And chances are, if she has a cup a tea,
her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

**SO, so true! We have been reading the popular "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, If you Give a Moose a Muffin, If you Give a Pig A Pancake, If you Take a Mouse to School lately and had to laugh when I saw what this mother had written! LOVE IT! Found this online and adapted it to fit my world! ;) Always multi tasking with my brain going a million miles a minute!

Happy 1st Birthday to our Mia Elizabeth Rose!! We did it! We made it through this first year! This was a challenging time for all of us as we transitioned from 1-2 kiddos but it's been wonderful too and we wouldn't trade it for anything! PaPa, GG and Grandpa Great came here for a couple of days! On her actual Birthday we did our tradition of daddy's homemade sphagetti (pasta noodles and sauce both homemade)! We had cake and ice cream! Mia didn't seem to enjoy the cake too much, although she had a belly full of sketti so she was probably VERY full! ;)

Birthday Party post to follow...

Hope

4 years ago this past week we miscarried our first pregnancy. My mother-in-law sent a beautiful azalea to us that we would plant to remember this moment in life that changed us for the better. When we moved from IL to OH our azalea bush stayed where we had planted it. While looking for a house to buy in OH we were blessed with 3 azalea bushes that were already planted in our front yard. Each year they blossom pretty much to the day we lost our little life growing in me.
This year we got a picture of Mia next to our beautiful bushes.

And 4 years later God has blessed us with two healthy beautiful girls!

11 months!

My heart is joyful! I can't believe I have two healthy daughters and the responsibility I've been given to be their Mama! I knew having two close together was going to be a challenge for me (and Chris) but the joy, oh the joy! There are so many days I just want to sit down and write out everything about mothering these 2 precious children but I just haven't made the time.
These 11 months, well, have had many ups and downs. I'm thankful for God's grace that sustains us. Without it I'm a mess!
Mia is:
-Walking along furniture
-Walking behind things while she pushes them
-Says "Hi" while waving
-When you ask her what a dog says or she sees a dog she says "woof, woof" ;)
-Tries to put legos together
-Associates where certain toys go and tries to put the ball in the popper, legos in the storage container, etc.
-Lays down when you ask her to.
-Still nursing 4x day
-Eating a lot more table food now (pretty much all done with purees)
-2 naps of 1.5-2 hrs each and STTN 11.5-12 hrs.
-Loves the outdoors, especially rides in the wagon.

Mia has always been the type of child to let you know what she wants. She's a tough one sometimes because she can be extremely stubborn. When she's doing something she knows she's not supposed to be doing and we tell her "that's a no" she will look at us and smile and sometimes proceed to do it anyway with the cutest smile. She is extremely cuddly, sweet and will go to almost anyone. She loves to be around people.
I'm enjoying watching the girls interact with each other. The other night they were chasing each other around the house by crawling (Mia's got this supercharged fast crawling thing going on) and they were laughing so hard! It's in these moments I pause and just listen to the gift of life God has blessed our family with.
So in these precious moments or the not so precious moments I hope I can remember the big picture-This Is Not Our Home but the responsibilities we have while we wait for our HOME are SO VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Mia Elizabeth Rose you are 11 months old! It's hard to believe in one month we will be celebrating your first Birthday!
Just before she turned 11 months at lunch after church with Chris's parents:


The girls looking out the window...

We tried our best to get the girls on camera as they were chasing each other and giggling...