Thanksgiving

Keeping up with this blog has been a lot harder than I thought...but I'm home today, enjoying a nice rainy day, while Ray is at a polo tournament (poor guy). And while Mia naps, I thought it would be a great time to get caught up.

The month of November seemed to fly by. Mia got to attend her first Monon Bell game (the annual game between DePauw and Wasbash - the oldest college rivalry in the US). It was great to see Jen and Brian Hurey who will be moving off to Germany in the next week. Brian had just gotten back from service in Iraq and it was great to see both of them - even if DePauw lost.

We were happy to have Ray's dad home for Thanksgiving and Mia enjoyed her first Thanksgiving with a Hall family brunch and a huge Au family dinner. She loved all the attention and was happily passed from aunt to cousin and back.

We were also very lucky to have one of Ray's old water polo players offer to take some family pictures. I was wanting to get a nice one we could use for our Christmas card this year - especially since I didn't get one sent out last year. We bought Mia a cute little Christmas dress from Kohl's and Andreas took some great pictures and we're looking forward to getting our cards sent out.

It's been a challenge getting the house decorated this year with Ray moving right from boys' polo season into girls' and spending every minute playing with Mia. But I've definitely gotten the spirit going in our house and we can't wait to celebrate Mia's first Christmas! We're even planning on taking her on her first trip to Disneyland to see Santa.

Ray and I are definitely counting down the days until Christmas break (1 week to go!) and look forward to getting to spend more time with our Little Bug, friends, and family. She is such a joy and truly is a happy baby. It seems like every day she does something new; we can't wait to see what she'll do next. She definitely loved to sleep - just like her dad.


Happy Holidays!!

Pumpkin Pie for Mia!

Finally, Boys water polo season is now over. Now I have more time to write and take more pics of Mia and family. Halloween was a lot of fun. Catherine and I couldn't decide what Mia should be for Halloween, but the pumpkin beat out the peapod. For Halloween this year, the Wong and Hall family agreed to come over to my neighborhood due to the multiple kids living in the area and celebrate Halloween with dinner and trick or treating. Colony has been a little dull the last few years, so I though we should change it up. Fortunately, foothill ranch delivered awesomely. We had so many kids walking about and many houses were decorated like haunted houses. This was Catherine's and my first time out trick or treating in our neighborhood too. Last year we just gave out candy. Anyways, it was great and everyone had a good time. All the nieces and nephews look cute in thier costumes and had a blast. Maybe we'll have to do it again next year.

It's Fall!

With school having started last month, things have been pretty busy and we haven't had much of a chance to update the blog. Ray, Mia, and I have settled somewhat into a routine. I get up every morning at 4:45 to feed Mia (poor thing would still like to sleep more!) and then hand her off to Ray while I get in the shower. Ray takes her to his mom's house on his way to polo practice, so I get the rest of the morning to get ready for school. Ray's mom is watching Mia Wednesdays through Fridays. My sister and dad are watching her on Mondays and the mom of one of Ray's old water polo players is watching her on Tuesdays. She usally comes with me to Ray's water polo games during the week too. Ray and I really look forward to coming home and getting to spend time with her. She has been sleeping wonderfully - usually until 7 or 8 on the weekends (sometimes she'll even make it to 9!). She is just the happiest baby and has so much personality. We love seeing what she'll do next. She's already reaching and grabbing for things and is getting so close to turning herself over. She loves sitting up and babbles a lot. Earlier this month, we took her on her first trip to Oak Glen. My family has been going there for apples and cider for years and I was so excited to take Mia. We got her her first pumpkin and will hopefully carve it before Halloween. She is also now sleeping in her crib in her nursery downstairs. She's such a big girl (she turned 3 months old on October 7th)! She is an expert at tummytime now and loves to listen to music. We actually tried on a Halloween costume today (a pumpkin), but it was too small. We need to find a bigger size - either in the pumpkin or a peapod. Now that things have settled down a little, we'll hopefully get to update this a little more frequently. Here are some recent pictures...

Mia's First Swim Lesson

Ray and I took Mia swimming for the first time on Friday at my parents' pool. She was a little fussy at first, but then seemed to enjoy it (or as my mom said, "She didn't hate it"). She actually cried a LOT when we took her out of the pool. It was really special to be able to have my parents (Mia's Oma and Opa) there to witness her first swim lesson. We didn't have a newborn swimsuit for her, so she wore a 12 month one! I forgot that I did have a 6 month suit in the closet. Oh well! We can't wait to get her back in the water soon. Here are some pictures from the historic event.

Mia Moments

Here are some fun pics of Mia.

Back to Practice!!!

(Ray) Cat and I have been getting ready to go back to school. Cat's not at all excited, but I've been coaching already and it's back to normal for me. Mia though has been really active. She smiles and talks to be us all the time. She even tells my polo players not to be pansies during morning practices. Yes, she has been to several morning practices with dad and she loves the sound of the water as they swim. She also doesn't mind my yelling and whistle blowing. I've started her polo training with squats, neck lifts, thumb grips, bubble blowing, kicking, and side breathing. Well the side breathing is usually on my chest as she tries to find a sweet spot to sleep (so cute). She will also be getting her first water lesson today in a pool with mommy and daddy. Can't wait. Here is her first water polo uniform.

6 Weeks

Mia turned 6 weeks this past Tuesday and had her well-check at the doctor's on Wednesday. She is doing very well and is now up to 9 pounds, 14 ounces (in the 50th percentile). The doctor also gave her a round of vaccines (3 shots and one liquid). Mia did pretty well - better than I did....but it really hit her later in the day. She was not a happy camper at all! Poor thing. We gave her some infants' Tylenol and she slept from 10:30pm until 6:30 the next morning. So nice! We thought it might be the medicine, but last night she slept from 10:30 until 5:30. We're hoping she keeps this trend up! Mom and Dad sure are enjoying the sleep. Wednesday morning was also the day that we discovered a water pipe had burst in the wall next to the nursery and was soaking into the carpet padding. I walked into the nursery with Mia and felt wet spots. Thinking maybe Ray had been in there earlier and spilled some water or something, I went to ask him. He hadn't been in there since the day before. When we both went back down, the water spots were getting worse and we could hear what sounded like spinklers coming from in the wall. We called the insurance and they had a plumber come out who had to cut a hole in the wall abd take off part of the chair-rail. Luckily he got things fixed and didn't have to do much damage to the wall or the wainscotting. People also came out with dehumidifiers to dry out the carpet. It was soaked! An inspector is coming out on Monday to survey the damage and let us know what needs to be fixed. We know we'll have to have the carpet cleaned out, the wall repaired (along with part of the baseboard in the adjacent bathroom), and Ray will have to repaint some of the walls along with fixing the chair rail. So much fun! I guess Mia won't be moving into her crib for a while longer now. Here are some newer pictures along with a video of Mia putting on her dancing shoes to some fun music.

Mia in Action!

(Ray) We have been getting great smiles from Mia lately. Her personality is starting to come out and we are loving it. It was fun having Mia meet the Au family yesterday at Uncle Jimmy's house. I was glad that we could join the cousins with babies group. It seems that we were the last ones. Oh well, got to save the best for last. Anyways , here are some modeling pictures of Mia and a blast of happiness.

Mia with Personality!

Mia is now 5 weeks old and has been showing so much personality lately. She smiles a lot and has been enjoying toys and things around her. Ray's mom and my parents have really enjoyed watching her while Ray and I try to get out a little bit. We're so happy she's eating well and sleeping pretty well. It'll be so hard to go back to school and not see her for a big chunk of the day. We're so grateful we have this summer to spend quality time together and watch her grow.



Mis got to meet her great-grandparents (Ray's paternal grandparents) this past weekend. She couldn't stop staring at her Tie(sp?) MaMa!

One Month Birthday!!!

It's hard to believe it, but Mia is already 4 weeks old! The time has gone by pretty fast and she's grown so much already. We got spoiled over the weekend having grandparents babysitting her. On Saturday, Ray's mom and aunt watched her as Ray and I got to go out to Disneyland for a date night. The on Sunday, my parents watched Mia while Ray and I went to a memorial service for Ray's old Saddleback swim coach. Both nights we took her home around 9 or 10, she fell asleep in the car and we just let her sleep in her carseat. She actually slept in her seat until around 4 or 5 in the morning! We certainly enjoyed the sleep. Here are some newer pictures...we sure love catching her cute little smiles and funny faces!

Exploding Diaper!

Mia had her first squirting back-poop today. I was in the kitchen with her and the next thing I knew, I felt it squirt up her back and onto my arm. So much fun! Too bad Ray missed it...she'll have to save one for him for later. :-)

Check-Up

We had Mia's 2-week check up at the doctor's today. She did well and we were happy to learn that she's growing well. At her last check-up she had lost just 2 ounces from her birth (6 pounds 8 ounces). Today she was 7 pounds 14 ounces. We're going to try getting her used to a bottle in the next couple of weeks so that I can eventually start working in my classroom in mid-August. We have been loving every minute with Mia! Some things we especially love:

- she makes the funniest faces and Ray and I love trying to copy them
- her hiccups could rival Aunt Sue's
- she can be sooooo stinky!
- sometimes when we change her, she just lays and stares at Ray's Listerine bottle
- she loves watching the Angels with us
- she does a great piranha imitation when she's really hungry and about to start eating

We can't wait to see what else she'll start doing!

Two Weeks Old

Mia is two weeks old. Her reptile skin is almost off and her face is changing. When her eyes are closed, she looks asian. Then she opens them and she looking white. Pretty cool. Here are some interesting events: She had her first projectile poop during one of her diaper changes. It shot everywhere! Mia hates using a pacifier. She's puking some. She's been to the Nadadore pool and will be attending her first water polo game tonight. Mia loves to make faces and we love every minute with her.