Thirty-three & retired!

Monday was my thirty-third birthday! It was a busyl day, had to get a TB test done, went to Kindermusik with Mia and Pua Pua, then ran some errands and had physical therapy. In the evening Papa took us to the 35th Street Bistro. The food was good, but nothing special. My favorite part of the meal was having Mia and Pua Pua with us. Mia was relatively well behaved. She did fling some food on the floor and let out a couple of loud squeals, but overall she was cooperative and made friend with a couple sitting behind her.

Today is my last day at work! I'm retired from working outside of the home for now. I will still do my contract work, but the days of going into an office are over! Yippee for me and Mia. We are looking forward to time spent enjoying Seattle and friends before we leave. We have gotten a spot at an infant co-op (why I needed the TB test done) and will keep up with Kindermusik. We also plan on joining our friends for more walks around Green Lake, but now we are headed back to the Bay Area, we'll have to spend a lot of time packing and purging.

I'm a bit sad at the thought of moving, but the idea of it has sunk in a bit. I had done all this legwork to get Mia enrolled in a Toddler Co-op and we received a great lottery number at Open Registration last week, so we got into the Wedgwood Co-op close to home. Mia's best friend Emerson is in the class too. It is daunting to look into activities and co-ops in the Bay Area. But mostly, we will miss the good friends we made in the time we've been in Seattle. We'll also miss Auntie Sarah and Esther. Have to spend more time with them before we leave.

Lastly, Mia has learned to say, "No!". I did not teach her the word, but she uses it. Mostly she uses it to tell me she doesn't want to eat something I am trying to shove into her mouth. Her little voice is darling, but I don't like to hear the word No coming out of it.

Eleven Months~Photos Challenging

Well, we tried to take pictures to mark Mia's 11th month yesterday, but she would not cooperate. In the past she would be fascinated with the index card noting the month. Last night all she wanted to do was crawl around. We tried to tape the sign to her body, but it didn't work so well. Funny girl.

We're not sure that Mia's early speech is a good thing at times because it has given her the power to DEMAND what she wants. She grows louder and louder at barking orders if she does not get what she wants. I am trying to curb this behavior by breathing deeply in front of her and asking her to ask nicely, but when she wants her "Ch-Ch-Ch" she wants the Cheerios now! With much expression she twists her body in her chair to face the refrigerator points at the top and shouts, "Ch-Ch-Ch" at the top of her lungs.

Mia's other recent vocabulary included dottle for bottle and shu for book in Mandarin.

The stretch of night waking continues. Last night she only woke up once around 2 AM. She was standing in her crib crying when I found her. I didn't nurse her back to sleep, but it took at least 20 minutes to get her back down. Teething is no fun for little Mia. We are trying to have her cry it out, but it is hard with my mom here. We don't want to wake grandma.

Mia's Peculiar Ways or Diva in the Making?

Bread or (bao bao) as she calls it must be toasted with butter. Sometimes we get lazy and just throw her a piece out of the bag. It promptly winds up on the floor.

Crunchy foods are preferred.

New foods are eaten with gusto. Forget about it the second time around.

Mama's on the Mend

I am recovering nicely. Cortisone did wonders for me. The physical therapy and acupuncture are making a huge difference as well. Still trying to not bear weight on my left arm and avoid lifting items overhead, but overall I am feeling much better and not downing Advil every 4-6 hours. My injury was a wake-up call to get in shape. Not that I want to or need to bulk up, but I do need to strengthen my muscles so that I can lug around my 20+ pound baby girl.

Speaking of my baby girl, she will soon be a toddler. It's quite sad for me to let go of her as a baby. She definitely has a strong will and is very active. Pua pua says the only time she stays still is when she is sleeping, but I beg to differ with that. Remember the trouble she gets herself into when asleep? Stuck under the bumper, limbs out of the crib and such?

Anyh0w, a lot of people say kids are more and more fun as they grow up. I can see that as the kids give you more fodder for entertainment as they talk and notice the world around them. Today I came home early to feed Mia before going to physical therapy. I walked into her room where she was sleeping on grandma's lap (where else?). That's become the norm with Pua Pua around. Not sure what to do once she leave. Back to the story. Mia startled because Kona barked and I left her door open. She popped up to a sitting position and said, "Ko Ko." It made us laugh so hard.

Lately Mia has been asking for certain food items such as "bao" for bread and "Ch-ch-ch" for Cheerios. It's quite funny to have her do this in the middle of a spoonful of mush. She has learned the more sign, but we fear that she thinks it means Cheerios. Oh well...