Peek A Boo I See You

Saturday we celebrated my grandfathers 82nd Birthday.

Abuelo bought Mia this lawnmower that shoots out bubbles for Christmas. Mia decided to help out Daddy this weekend with some yard work. My neighbor behind us was mowing his yard and glanced over and was laughing, she looks so cute.

Memorial Day weekend around our house involved bathing suits and sunscreen. This photo was taken today by our front doors, it is amazing to see how much taller she has gotten. My photos before in this spot didn't even show the door knob. Soon you'll be able to see our wreaths. Sunday we spent the day at the beach, Mia and I collected more seashells and we found some to make a "beach shell necklace" as she calls it.

Sprinkler Fun!!!Mia loves this sprinkler, it rotates and she jumps over it when it rotates. You can buy your child the neatest water toys and it all boils down to the sprinkler in the garage that I think we may have owned for about 10 years. Hey, whatever makes her happy.

Most evenings while I get dinner together Mia and Mike spend some fun time outside on her swingset. She has become a daredevil and screams for Mike to push her higher. She learned from her cousin Torey to ride the swing on her stomach and kick her feet up.

She just loves a good thrill and so do I, she especially loves rollercoasters. I just can't wait til she gets tall enough to do the Big ones with me.

Kylee came for a visit this weekend. Laura and I took the girls to Disney on Friday and then Chris joined us for a reunion of old friends. Kylee and Mia are only 3 months apart and they really enjoyed each other. These 2 girls share a very special bond and I hope they will remain great friends for life. Listening to them talk to each other is hysterical and there was also the occasional argument over a toy. They were always on the go and Mike and I had to take a nap today when Mia did just to get some rest.

We headed to spend the day with Mickey and friends...

Pooped Out on the car ride home

Saturday night get together at our house

Bedtime Stories

Earthquake In China

as many of you know, the earthquake in China has affected so many people and my heart goes out to everyone touched by this terrible disaster. Mia's birthplace, Chongqing was very close to Sichuan province and did have some affects of the earthquake, but fortunately was not the epicenter of the quake.

I know many families are suffering at this time, however; I always think of the children in the orphanages and how they fared. I can't even watch the news, It is horrible. Was Mia's birth family OK? Having been there and seeing the construction, and the way many people lived, I can only imagine the devastation. I know several roads are closed and relief cannot even reach certain areas. How many families are there right now being united with their daughters? Are they safe? So many questions.

A charity called Half The Sky helps children in institutions and assists many orphanages with childcare, supplies, medical care, etc. They are now accepting donations to help all the people affected by this unimaginable disaster. I have included the link for the earthquake disaster, as they are always accepting donations, this one is specific to the earthquake.

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/earthquake.cfm


help if you can
Please keep China in your prayers tonight. . . . ..

Happy Mother's Day 2008 Mother's Day this year was great. It started with sleeping in!!! Yes sleeping in, Mike got up and kept Mia busy until 8:45, when Mia came barging in saying "Look Mommy I have a present for you" She jumped in the bed and opened my envelopes of course. Her card to me was a card that said "You Rock" inside and when you opened it Tina Turner's "Your Simply the Best" played out loud and Mia wiggled and swayed her head back and forth. So cute! We headed out to my favorite breakfast spot and had a wonderful time. Our afternoon was spent in the pool cause it sooo hot in FL right now. My dad and Mike catered all day to my mom, my friend Tami and myself. At one point we called Mike over to the pool and told him we needed refills of our beverages and he obliged. My dad worked the barbq and Mike was his assistant getting things together and setting up. We were surely treated well today! In the end Mike said , I'm exhausted and I just shot him a look. I said a little prayer to thank Mia's birth mother for giving us such a beautiful, loving, and precious little girl. I can't imagine what she was feeling on the day she laid our little girl at the base of the bridge. I just thank God she was taken care of until she was placed in our arms. Everyday is a new adventure and its hard to imagine our life without Mia.

Mia and I hosted a pool playdate for the Treasure Coast FCC on Saturday in our neck of the woods. Most of the members live about 30 minutes South of us and get togethers are often near them, so I decided to see if anyone wanted to do a get together in Indian River County. Our county has an awesome Aquatic Center and a great kiddy pool area which happens to be about 1 mile from our house. We were a group of maybe 8 families and it was a beautiful day. Some families have never been to this pool and they loved it. We had a little snak break for cupcakes and then it was back to the pool. The kids stayed in the pool the entire time. The older kids got to hit the BIG slide, which Mia wanted to go on and I had to explain, it was for when she get older.

Weekend Getaway

Happy Birthday

GrandmaMia and I made Grandma a birthday cake. Mia has helped me cook before, but we have never baked a cake until last night. Mia had a good time tasting everything. Mike and I were laughing, she would stir, then taste, put on one strawberry and taste. She even snuck in some reese cups. I brought the cake to the restaurant early and they surprised her when they brought it out!

My little artist. Mia really loves to paint and color with her markers and crayons. This day, we took out the paints (outside of course). She started out really neat and before you know it, all the colors were smeared together on her palette. We trimmed up the picture and Daddy has it hanging in his locker at work.

This past Friday was the "Relay for Life" sponsored by the American Cancer Society. It was held at our local high school and we had a great time at the event. Since my mom and husband are both survivors, it was extra special. Next year my office is planning a having a team where we get sponsors who pledge us to do laps thruout the night. It starts in the evening and ends the next morning. The guests speaker, who is a survivor had Stephanie and I in tears at the end of her speech. It was very moving and it was neat to see all the purple shirts. The white shirts were given out to the caregivers. The bleachers were filled with luminaries that spelled out hope. The had a DJ and events all evening, the community was really supportive and it showed!

My little helper. . .

everytime I pass the vacuum, Mia runs and gets hers. She loves to crash into mine. I think that's why she likes it so much.

Too bad she wasn't as helpful this week at school. 2 days this week, when I arrived to get her, I was informed by the teacher that Mia has been in time out and is not listening. She evidently did not want to come in from the playground and told her teacher NO. She also has decided when and where she sits for storytime.

The terrible two's have most definitely started. The spicy girl is coming out full force. We had a talk with her and explained why we listen and half the time she is looking around, never looking at either one of us. I swear by age 4 I will have gritted my teeth down to the gumline. I am happy to report that the last 2 days she has had a good report.

She is however; starting to fib. She had a little mark on the side of her cheek and the teacher said the kids were throwing mulch and it hit her. So when we were driving home, I asked her what happened and she said it was Nicholas, he slapped me.

OH NO, I THINK WE HAVE OUR HANDS FULL!

Disney Junkie's

Kenedy spent her Spring Break with us so we squeezed in a couple of days to Disney. Deanna was inTampa for business and came over to spend 1 day with us and flew home with Kenedy. We sure enjoyed having her visit with us and Mia misses her already. Torey and Uncle Vince stayed home but they are planning a trip back over the summer. Kenedy got to go to the beach and see a movie too!

We are home now and I am pooped! My Mom and Dad are exhausted, but a great time was had by all. Mia really enjoys seeing the characters now and asks for a kiss and hug after the photo opportunity. The only one she refused take a photo was the dragon at China. This trip we did Epcot and Animal Kingdom. My sister and I wandered into the wine shop in Italy and had some sampling. The picture of Kenedy was a glass that we refilled with water so she could have a glass of wine like us. My dad enjoyed his beers from various countries as well. We had a late lunch in Mexico and finished the night with Illuminations and dessert in France. MMMMMM

Mike and I decided to take Mia camping and try it out to see how she would do with the camper thing. Well she loved it! We got a great campsite right on the water and we had an awesome view. The playground was pretty close by and she loved to watch the campfire. We were across the street from the beach so we spent the day there and relaxed in the evening. My friend Tami joined us on day 2 with the girls. They pitched a tent within walking distance and they enjoyed themselves as well. The Gambella's joined us on day 3 and we all enjoyed some relaxation and some great conversation. The weather cooperated and we could not have asked for a more perfect first camping trip. Mia was a big girl and slept great without her crib. We can't wait to taker her again.

fishing with Daddy

Beach Fun

Conched out for a nap!