amals

Mia went to see the 'amals' at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco today, and we went with her. No stroller, just her little body slathered in sunblock, sippy cup, and hat...that's all she needed. Well, occasionally, her Dada's shoulders when the walking got tough.

It was a beautiful day for a trip to the zoo. Partially overcast, a light breeze, no humidity. Perfect. And the animals were so alert and playful. Some of the best things about this zoo are that all the animals are very close, it's a smallish zoo...so Mia easily walked it, 75% is shaded by big trees, there's a mister that Mia called rain. She knows the names of many animals, but one thing she just can't get yet is that giraffes are not zebras. She knows zebras are zebras, but thinks giraffes are zebras, too.

We think Mia's highlights are the following :

being able to run and run and run

getting to wear her cool camo hat

feeding the ginormous catfish

the swimming turtles

the fighting tortoise..ok, that was Daryl's fav (check out the video)

owls

giraffes

elephants

she snake and tiger that she got from the gift shop

We were there for about 3 hours, and we were able to go through the whole zoo and see every exhibit with a lot of time for Mia wanting to sit and just look at the animals...well 'sit' after we told her she couldn't climb under/over/through whatever barrier they had...to protect the animals from toddlers :)

Once we hit the road for home, Mia hummed to herself for a couple of minutes and passed out. It was only 1 1/2 hour drive, so we'll be back!

Dada telling her all about elephants

Rhinoceroses snort and snuff

don't remember what could be more interesting than a giraffe...

lone giraffe

and if you see an alligator..don't for get to SCREAM!

Mia just wants to play with the kitty getting a closer lookhugemongous tortoise strollin' hand in handDada's sweethearts

Mia excited to be at the zoo, hanging with the amals, scored herself a snake, and a lot of cool tortoise video:

Beautiful Saturday

I met Lori & Sarah at the new Starbucks on Parmer & Mopac. I hadn't seen them since my birthday in mid-August, so this visit was long over due. We enjoyed our coffee/chai and an undisturbed three hour chat. That's something that can only be done without the girls, so I'd like to thank our loving husbands for giving us some much need time. After Mia's nap, we filled up the pool and Mia and I had a nice little swim. Mia swam, I soaked...it was nice. She practiced floating on her back and kicking. The funniest thing happened when Mia leaned against the side with the whole weight of her body...the side of the pool dipped, water rushed out and took Mia along for a ride. Within a couple of seconds, she was sitting on her butt in the grass with a bewildered look on her sweet face. I couldn't control my laughter, and I think Mia thought I was funny, so she did it again and again. Daryl grilled up some great chicken, spinach and feta brats. Then we settled in to watch the UT game.

Happy Birthday Livie!!! (Amy & Tim's Livie)

Mia's friend, Livie, turned two today, and we were lucky enough to be able to share it with her. It was a perfect morning for a birthday picnic at the park. We hung out with Livie and her parents Amy & Tim, Mia's sweet Auntie M & Gwen, Juliet & Blake, and Esther & Noa. A new member of the group stopped by for a minute... Jana & her Logan.

The party started off right...at the bucket swing and pebble area. Esther broke out some buckets and shovels, and Mia went to town! I think the hardest thing for her right now is learning not to throw pebbles or sand no matter how exciting it may seem. Tim actually made Livie's Elmo birthday cake with his own hands...mixed the colors and frosted it, too. It really did look (and taste) perfect. Phoebe delicately ate her piece with a fork, while Mia dug right in...literally! Mia and Blake have been hanging out lately, and they've figured out their own play style. Blake goes and finds a nice spot in the sand to dig in, Mia follow, but stays about 20 feet away, and they play together. Looking at each other, giving an occasional smile... It works for them.

Well, after a wonderful time, we had to run home for a much needed nap. Mia, after coming down from a nice sugar high,crashed.

Livie the Lone Pelican Rider

Esther & Noa

Gwen swinging so high in the sky Mia playing with one of Noa's buckets Blake & Mia playing together
Tim's masterpiece: The Elmo Cake
Birthday girl Livie, Amy & Tim
Cheng & Phoebe
not shy about eating cake!

After Mia's nap, I had to run by the office for some things I needed for a project I've been working on. We didn't get to see Daddy or Unca Joe!!! We hung out with Nik and Aaron for a while till Daddy did come in, and we had a late lunch in the conference room. Oh, Mia is now fake sneezing and fake blowing her nose. We don't do the 'god bless you ' thing after sneezes. We just say 'sneeze', and now Mia is faking huge aaaaaachhhhoooos. What a ham :)

after a fake sneeze, Mia fake blows her nose

We had to leave Dada to his work, and we needed to drop off some library books, so we hung out at the WB library. Mia loves messing with their puzzles, leggos and especially their computers :)

Wells Branch Library's new computer tech

Monday & Today

Monday, We had lunch with some Mamas at Waterloo Icehouse on 360. Mia loved the sand pit, and all the toys that are provided by Waterloo. We also ran into some mama/kid friends that we hadn't seen in months. Among them were Tanya and her Abby...OMG has she grown and her short hair is now long and curly! It was nice to visit with them and also hang with the group I was with. I really apprecitate the groups I'm in. All their activites keep us busy.

Niles went to the groomers on Monday, and he came out looking so handsome, and digging his bandanna. That night, Daryl cooked some steaks on the grill and Mia made a tunnel out of some patio chairs. Later, Dada put Mia in one of his t-shirts. She was the cutest little thing.

tunnel 1

tunnel 2

handsome Niles in Dada's shirt
trying to convince us she's still a baby

a video of Mia being Mia

We had a busy day today. Started off by going to our music class. Again, we both had a wonderful time. It's almost a full class, so there are quite a few kids in there, but I love that they range between 2 months to 3 1/2 yrs old. Mia does well with a variety of ages. She's able to model for the younger ones, and learn from the older. It's such a great environment with all the lovely music, moms singing, and kids loving it all.

Then we went over to Daryl's office to drop off some peanut butter cupcakes for Nik's 21st birthday! I found this fabulous recipe for peanut butter cupcakes, frosted them with chocolate and topped them off with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups (Niks' favorite). Yes, they were as decadent as they sounded, and oh so yummy. Well, Daryl was out of the office, so Mia hung out on her Unca Joe's lap for a while, then we headed to the duck park in our neighborhood. We hadn't been before, and we had a great time. Mia was so fascinated, she let me take oodles of pictures. After a while there it was naptime. After her nap, we headed back to the office to see Daddy. He's working late tonight, and I wanted to make sure Mia and Daryl got some snapper dada time today.

Then off to Chuck E Cheese where we met our pals Suzy and Livie. Mia loved playing some of the easier (push the button) games, and ended up winning 200 tickets...by herself! She later redeemed them for a kinda koosh pig ball. Livie's forte is skee-ball. Know why? Well, she just marches up the lane and drops the balls in! Mia discovered a new passion...whack-a-mole! She was very deliberate and concentrated deeply for this challenge :) After much pizza and fun, we had to say bye to our friends and head home.

thrilled to slide whack-a-mole champion you hungry, babe? taking a call from the Big Cheese helicopter ride beautiful Livie skee-ball this is how she rolls we interrupt this blog with some mole whacking footage (not for the squeamish)

Good Times

Yesterday, we started the day off with Little Gym. Mia's friend, Sydney, was back in class and they bogarted the swinging bars the whole class. Good times.

Then off to Andrea and Sophia's place for an art playdate with other friends, too. The theme was fruit & veggie stamping. We all brought different stuff...starfruit, apples, sweet potatoes, zucchini... for the kids to paint and stamp. Andrea was super prepared and set up for this. She already had sheets of paper with the kid's names and date on them. I demonstrated to Mia how to dip the paint brush into the paint, paint the object of desire, and stamp her paper. Then I stepped back and let her have fun! The kids had a great time and made some beautiful art. Then off to the water table and washing tin. Andrea filled them up with soapy water, gave the kids wash cloths and let them get themselves clean/play... Once, clean the kids hit the backyard. Mia picked Allison as the Mama who was worthy enough for all the balls. Mia started this at Little Gym. When it's time for balls, she'll pick a mom (usually a different one every week) to hand deliver all the balls to. Well, yesterday, it was Allison's turn. So all the other girls got into it, too. Mia latched on to their dog, Gator...she's been into animals a lot lately. After a fun filled morning, we headed home for a long nap, while I got to get some work in. Good times.

After her nap, we went over to Suzy & Livies house for some for fun. On the drive over, Mia got very excited when I told her we were going to go play with Suzy & Livie. Mia now calls Suzy something very close to that, but she calls Livie Wibie...too cute. After some cupcakes and playtime, Mia really wanted to play with Charlie. Yes, she likes the dogs. Good times.

Our wonderful time came to an end when Dada called and said he was on his way home. We hopped in the car and met Dada at home. Yay Dada!!!

Mia painting a sweet potato Mia loving Gator clean up fun Mia, Sophia & Austin Ball offering Blake & Mia playing houseAustin blowing bubble kisses starfruit whole table yummy apple

out of Livie's tent that Mia calls a tunnel Hanging with Charlie

we got the snapper back!!! (pics from the weekend, too)

We were barely able to pry Mia out of her Nana and Paw Paw's loving arms, but we brought her home last night. Only after a fun afternoon playing, and sharing a tasty supper. Mia was able to pet some lambs on Saturday, and eat one on Sunday :)

When we got there, Mia was sitting on her Paw Paw's pool table, helping him put the balls in the pockets. She certainly is at home there. Mia was very happy to see us, and ran to us, and then back to her Nana and Paw Paw, and back and forth. She showed off all her new stuff. They all went to Academy that morning, so she now has a pink Barbie telescoping fishing pool, a Barbie tackle box and a pair of sunglasses that all come in a cute back pack that's just her size. She showed us her little dadio (radio). She can make it play and everything. The gecko from the zoo was still in the car, but we saw it on the way out. It sure is a lot bigger than I expected it to be.

It was very obvious that Mia was very comfy there. Walking around and moving furniture like she owned the place. Oh, when we got there, she had just finished playing in the mud, and even thought she received a very thorough hosing off, she still had some dirt in the creases of her elbows and neck. Just the way a kid should look after a weekend with the Gma and Gpa. Mia wanted to play pool with her Paw Paw so badly that she took one of his cues down from the rack and started stomping around with it. Paw Paw, being the quick thinker that he is, took down another cue that could be broken down and gaver her the top half. VOILA a cue just her size!!! Paw Paw is magic ;)

She was so played out from the weekend, that she just stared far out of the window on the way home. After a warm bath, a story and a sippy of warm milk, the little snapper was tucked into her own bed and she didn't wake up till 9am this morning! Thanks Nana, Paw Paw and Memaw for taking such wonderful care of our snapper.
We just received some pics from their wild weekend:

Mia's new do

BUSTED!

ready to challenge her Paw Paw

snuggle bunnies

big-eyed girl
serioulsy wanting to get up there
playing hide 'n go seek with Nana
charming in her Paw Paw's hat
excuse me, but just why isn't my Paw Paw sitting beside me yet?!?!?!
not happy on the zoo train without her Paw Paw
Paw Paw showing her how it's done
strutting with her new UT hat
Nana put Mia's hair up into a cute little bun
eye to eye with a doat!
all aboard!
agressive doat trying to steal some food
hanging with some deer
Mia feeding a sheep