Mia ate malt-o-meal cereal and two servings of raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef with spaghetti sauce, ate whole wheat elbows, and mixed fruit.

Mia did her usual packing the food toys around and it's the same toys; a plate and cup or a plate and a spoon.  I think it's cute how they'll frequently find something they like, stick with that for awhile, and then on to something different.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but she's been pooping everyday and sometimes twice.  Everyone's poop (including Mia) was very dark today from all the blueberries from yesterday!  :)   (Where else can you journal about poop?)

Joslyn was following her around and Mia was getting excited.  Then she'd stop to look back and see if Joslyn was still there.

Mia was headed toward Joslyn and Joslyn immediately wrapped both arms around her toys and started yelling, "My stuff, my stuff, ...!"  Which made me laugh.  I guess she's had experience with Mia before.  Mia just looked at her with a puzzled expression as if to say, "And what's your problem?"  :)  Mia is so quick that she can grab it and go before they realize she's even there and she knows they will yell at her.  I was watching her this morning and she was looking to see if Emily was watching and then she grabbed Emily's bucket.

She also played in the legos drawer again.  There are always lots of legos in there.  Well at least there is before Mia arrives on the scene.  :)  She likes to empty the drawer.  She was slinging them out and one went straight up a few inches and came straight back down into the drawer.  She looked at it like "Where'd that come from!?!"

Mia ate raisin english muffin and blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken and crackers, steamed broccoli, and canned cherries.

Here's a picture of Mia truckin' down the hall.  It seems like just a few days ago I posted a picture of her crawling down the hall and now she's walking!  I love how she's swinging her arm in this picture.  And she looks totally focused on what she's doing.

She was packing those same food toys all over this morning before breakfast again.  She likes to sit on the table and play with them.  When you read the same thing here from previous days it's safe to assume that's a favorite activity.  :)

Peyton and Aaron were having fun following Mia and Riley around and doing the same things they were.  Like slapping the window, crawling in the igloo, crawling on the mattress, etc.  They think it's funny to mimic the babies.

Several of the 'big' kids were singing "Ring around the Rosie..." and they were spinning with some stuffed animals.  Mia crawled over and was right in the middle of the fun.  :)

Mia ate biscuit and 2nd's on peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate baked beans, most of dinner roll, ate corn, and pineapple.

I thought this was a cute picture of Mia sitting on the table.  The plate and spoon she's holding (and a cup that she'd just dropped) is what she played with from when she arrived until breakfast.  She packed them every where she went.  (I think she looks big in this picture.)

Yesterday I mentioned I had to call her like a little puppy to coax her up and down the hallway during transition times.  Well today she was chewing on my crocs.  :)  Silly puppy.

Hasn't she been more affectionate lately?  It's so fun and precious.  I was snuggling her for a minute and talking sweet things in her ear and she was just cooing and talking back and snuggling against my chest.

She was fussing about something, but I didn't quite catch what had happened.  Peyton went over and gave her the sweetest love....  I think Peyton may have been the cause of her problems, but I wasn't sure.  Sometimes they give loves out of compassion and sometimes out of guilt.  :)    (Those are not cynical words, but years of experience.)

Mia had bites of breakfast: waffle and hash browns.  For lunch she ate bites of shrimp, brown rice, bites of red & yellow peppers, and ate oranges.

I've included a picture here of Mia playing in a favorite spot in the back room; the legos drawer.  It's on casters so it rolls right under the legos table which helps her get into some pretty hilarious and sticky situations.  :)  "Hey, why is this thing moving?!?"  But she always goes back for more.

I included a picture a few days ago of Mia crawling to the back room.  Now she's starting to walk down the hall for lunch, etc..  I have to coax her along because she gets distracted every few feet looking at something different.  It always sounds like I'm calling my puppy; "come on Mia, come on.." We play in two back rooms and we'll switch rooms about half way through our time back there.  She has that transition down pat; she just goes trucking right into the other room with everyone else.

Speaking of crawling and walking; her walking skills are progressing rapidly.  Her balance is getting better daily and she's really taking off now.  I love this stage of development.

I had to step out of the back room for a minute and when I went back in she'd got up into the rocking chair I was sitting in.  She was all spread out with her arms and legs as if to say, "This is my chair now and you can't have it!"  :)  It was pretty cute.

Mia ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate toasted cheese sandwich, most of lettuce salad, and ate apple pieces.

Mia and Nora were pretty cute when they saw each other this morning.  They were squealing and reaching for each other.  Thomas was also happy to see them, but they weren't too thrilled after the first several hugs.  :)

Mia was playing on top of the little table again.  Last week she was pretty careful about her 'dismounts' and was going off feet-first.  Three times this morning I saw her go off head-first.  Yikes!!  Mia, this is not safe!!  :)

She had been watching Thomas push the little airplanes around on the floor and then she started doing the same thing.  It was very cute.

She just can't quite figure out why no one wants her to be grabbing their toys.  "You're making it look like so much fun; why can't I grab them!?!"  :)  We have duplicates (and more) of every one of our toys, but it doesn't look as fun when it's just sitting there!

Mia ate toast with jelly and dried mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch she had beef & bean burrito, sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit.

Yesterday I had a picture of Peyton holding the microphone up to Mia's mouth.  Today Mia got one of the microphones and was holding it up to her mouth by herself and jabbering into it.

Here are a couple pictures from this morning.  In the first picture Mia climbed right up the three steps and played where the kids like to jump from.  Everyone is good to just play around the babies.  They have to do that all the time so it's a common activity.  :)  The bigger child in the picture (you can't see his head) is Joslyn's brother Colt.  He is here all day today.

The bottom picture is another picture of Mia reading from a book.  I like how she is pointing at the picture.  This is one activity that she will sit and do for awhile.

Thomas was playing with Mia and was getting in her 'space' too much so she'd push him away.  Then he'd take her hand and touch his arm and say, "nice nice...."  He didn't get the concept that he was in her space and that was why she was pushing him away.  He was trying to teach her to be "nice."  :)

Mia ate cinnamon roll and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she had two tastes of scrambled eggs and they both came back out.  :)  She ate waffle, hash browns, and cantaloupe.

Mia was on top of the table several times this morning and here's a picture of Peyton holding the microphone for Mia.  Personally, I don't think she needs a microphone; she's plenty loud!  :)  Then Peyton got some food toys and was 'feeding' Mia.  They played at the table for several minutes.

Lauralea and I get a kick out of how she likes to lay on her back.  Have you noticed her doing that?  She frequently does it especially when we're outside.  She was doing it again yesterday afternoon laying in the yard looking up.  (and again this morning)

Thomas and Riley were wrestling around with the big bear on the mattress.  Mia saw that and immediately headed over there to get in the middle of it all.  Then she was just kind of lounging, laying back against the bear.  By the time I got the camera she was long gone.  :)

She was crawling in the igloo with Nora.  That's the first time I've seen those two play in there.  I wasn't quick enough with the camera again.  Boy with Mia you get one quick chance for a picture and it's on to something bigger and better.  She and Nora were also playing side-by-side in the back room.  Mia was dumping toys out of the bucket faster than Nora could fill it.  :)

Mia ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham sandwich, steamed broccoli, and mandarin oranges.

She has been taking LOTS of steps all morning and being super successful.  :)  I even saw her carrying a large toy across the room.  That's usually a sign they are feeling pretty comfortable with their sense of balance.  And it also takes lots of concentration to carry it and walk at the same time.  Good job Mia!  Another thing we observed today; some children, usually depending on temperament, are cautious when starting to walk with so much activity around them like we have here.  Mia couldn't care less even if they were bumping into her.  She'd just get up and keep trying.  :)

I thought this would be a funny picture.  She emptied the books from the book rack and then tried to walk in it.  She wasn't too impressed with the results.  :)

She's also climbing like a monkey.  She was on the table messing around, but she's actually quite cautious and careful about her dismount.  I was pleasantly surprised about that.  :)

There was lots of activity on the mattress as kids were jumping on it and also jumping from the climber onto the mattress.  She crawled right into the middle of it all.  A couple times they landed on her, but she didn't care one bit.

Mia ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate meat loaf, french bread, carrots, and dried apricots.  She is a great eater!

I thought this was a cute picture of Joslyn doing "Patty Cake" with Mia.  Actually everything in the chair that preceded this was hilarious.  Joslyn was reading books and Mia climbed up there.  Then Joslyn wanted to read to her, but Mia wasn't about to sit still of course and it soon resembled a wrestling match because Joslyn REALLY wanted to read to her.  :)  Joslyn is pretty amazing with the babies.  She didn't get frustrated with Mia and just tried to find something to do with her that Mia would enjoy.

We have doctor toys out with this toy exchange and the big bear needed to go to the doctor.  He needed stitches and everyone was just glued to Lauralea sewing up the bear.  (He really did have a tear in a seam.)  Mia was a little too much help as Lauralea's assistant here so she had to be removed from her position shortly after the picture was taken.  :)

Emily and Kenzie were helping give Mia instructions this morning.  "No spitting Mia!  No pulling hair!"  :)  Actually it does usually help for them to hear it from the other kids and not just us.

Mia and Riley were playing side-by-side emptying the shelves of the toys.  That's a favorite game of the  one year olds.

Mia ate cinnamon toast and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch she ate about half of her chicken, ate dinner roll, mashed potatoes, and canned cherries.

Here's a picture of Mia 'padding' to the back rooms to play.  I like how she's peeking into the bathroom to see what's happening in there.  Can you see Nora in the very back of the picture right over Mia's head?  I've been trying to get her to crawl back-n-forth to the back rooms too, but so far she just sits there and watches Mia smoke down the hall.  :)

Mia was reaching for Peyton first thing this morning and they were giving each other loves.  Then Peyton was at the table trying to coax Mia to come play with her.  It was very cute.  She was saying; "Come here Mia, come here...come to play!"  :)

Mia was watching Lauralea pat Noah's back (trying to burp him) and you could tell she wanted in on some of that 'patting action!'  "Hey, I wanna do that!  I'd love to thump on that guy's back!"  When Lauralea would stop patting him Mia was taking Lauralea's hand and doing a patting motion with it to get her going again.

Everyone was at the window watching this magpie on the fence and then in the yard.  Mia got up on the step too, but she never did see the bird.  However, she was more than happy to start banging on the window which scared the magpie away.  :)

Mia ate whole wheat bagel and two helpings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate bites of ham, ate mac-n-cheese, half of lettuce salad, and bites of corn.

Here's a picture of Mia yesterday afternoon climbing onto the changing table.  (the little monkey)  I've been trying to get her to do that, but she hadn't made it yet.  Yesterday I was changing Thomas and I'd left the steps out and was right in the middle of his poopy diaper and guess who shows up!  Mia had made it up to see what was going on I guess.  :)

Here's a picture of one of her favorite activities in the back room.  This chair rocks and swivels.  So she'll hang on to it and get going in circles pretty fast.  'Fast and Intense.'  That's Mia's MO.  :)

She also made it up on our couch yesterday.  :)  (two or three times)  Lauralea said, "now no one is safe."  :)  That's where some of the kids like to go away from the babies to read books without interruption.

Nora figured out how to dismount from the table bench so we were cheering for her.  Mia joined right in and was clapping and cheering too.

Mia ate waffle and pears for breakfast.  For lunch she ate about half of her tuna and crackers, ate sweet potatoes, and oranges.

Every time Mia heard us say "bye" to one of the parents this morning she was enthusiastically waving just as hard as she possibly could.  I don't think anyone will ever have to remind her to 'play with enthusiasm!'

Speaking of enthusiasm, she and Thomas (who happens to be her soul mate in that category) were standing side by side at the gate and he was jumping up and down and being loud and she LOVED it!  She was squealing with delight and bobbing up and down as hard as she could go trying to keep up with him.  And of course that just encouraged him more!  Oh, and he was also chanting, "Mia Mia.."

Well Darcy, her socks stayed on for 15 minutes and then Kenzie came over packing a sock wondering who's it was.  Which I thought was funny because you had mentioned having the longer socks.  :)  So we put her slippers on her too.

She was pulling on some hair today.  (two or three times)  Those ponytails are so handy to just grab!  She listened when we got on her case about it and I don't think it'll be a problem.  She really is a good listener and will stop what she's doing and look at us when we say her name.  Especially when I growl at her for something like that.  :)

I forgot to mention to you yesterday that she did not have a morning nap.  She was playing just fine so we did not put her down.  And the same for today.  This is about the age where they will start transitioning to just an afternoon nap.  We just watch closely and see how they are doing and what they seem to need.  Her afternoon nap started right at noon today.

Mia ate rice chex cereal and fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate roast beef sandwich, drank tomato soup, and ate most of her apple pieces.

It's so cute in the mornings when the kids haven't seen each other all night or for the weekend.  Mia and Nora were really reaching for each other with their arms outstretched.  Then Nora had her arms wrapped around Mia's neck.  :)

Here's a picture of Mia being temporarily studious.  I had to move pretty fast to get the camera and take the picture before she was off to something different.  :)  Our busy little girl.

Lauralea was doing ponytails for most of the girls and Mia came right over.  She was mainly interested in getting her hands on the ponytail holder box.  Morgan said, "No Mia!  Your hair is too short!"  (So we reminded Morgan that we've put a pony in Mia's hair too.)

I should have included a picture of Mia in the 'big box.'  For you Grandparents and other readers:  I've made a wooden box that's probably 6 feet long and 2 feet wide for the kids to play in.  And it's probably about 16 inches tall.  The "older" kids like to take toys in there and then the babies can't interrupt their play.  Lauralea and I turned around this morning and there was Mia in the box.  She obviously scaled the wall and went over by herself because we didn't put her in there.  :)

Mia ate oatmeal and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she had hash brown casserole, a biscuit, and mandarin oranges.  We have some good 'eaters' right now and she's one of them.  :)

I took a couple pictures of Mia playing in the back room that I thought were cute.  (I guess I didn't have the flash activated in the first one.)  She'd pulled herself up to the mirror and is just tall enough to see.  :)

In this second picture she's perched on the building blocks and watching Thomas play.  He's usually up to something that is entertaining for the other kids.  :)  Right before I took the picture she was trying to stand up on these blocks and hang on to that yellow one.

I love how affectionate she's been these last few weeks.  Riley was reaching out to love on her and Mia leaned right into Riley and was saying, "ahhh ahhh..."  It was quite adorable.

Mia was at the window waving bye to Thomas' mom with him.  Then Thomas was teaching her the fine art of smacking the window.  'Bam Bam Bam...'  I hope the window is tough enough to survive those two little 'toughies' beating on it.  :)

It's pretty easy to find things to write about Mia because she's such a busy little thing.  I always just take a few notes so it makes journal writing go faster.  We got a very nice 'thank you' note from one set of Mia's grandparents for the daily blog....  And you are so welcome.  :)

Mia ate french bread and cantaloupe for breakfast.  For lunch she ate turkey slices, half of her crescent roll, ate acorn squash, and 2nd's on dried mangoes.

This first picture was from yesterday afternoon.  I'll occasionally include something from the previous afternoon because of doing the journals during nap time.  She was wanting to love on Noah so bad she could hardly restrain herself.  I had to move her away from him pretty quickly because she started using his belly for a drum.  :)  He's such a mellow little guy.  He really didn't seem to care at all.

Several of the kids were using the blankets to cover up and pretend to take naps.  That is Thomas and Peyton in the background.  Mia didn't want to be covered up, but she would lay on a blanket.  It's pretty amazing what they'll do just because someone else is doing it.

Mia was playing in front of the mirror watching herself.  She was especially doing these BIG head nods up and down.  It was pretty cute.

We had a couple of visitors this morning; one from the University who was doing an observation for one of their classes, and the other one was baby Reid and his mommy.  Reid will be starting here right after Thanksgiving.  Mia was thrilled to see another baby laying on the floor.  :)

Happy Birthday Mia!!

When our childcare kids turn one we start a daily journal for the family to read.  I will include what she eats for breakfast and lunch and then three or fours things about her day.  And frequently there will be a picture included.  :)  We do our journals during nap time so you can look for them between 12:30 and 2:30.  I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but unexpected things happen at daycare.  :)  So occasionally the journal may be late or even missed.  If we miss a day we keep the notes we've made and we always do our make-up work.  (That was for teacher Matt.)

Mia ate whole wheat toast and mixed berries for breakfast.  (She also had a bottle about 8:10)  For lunch she ate ham, bean & bacon soup, crackers, and kiwi.

Here's a picture of Mia with one of the drums.  "Yes!!  Something I can beat on without Gary getting on my case!"  :)  She's constant movement so getting a good picture of her is an adventure.  Our camera does this 'delay' thing and in every picture her head was turned or she had the drum stick in her mouth.

She likes to get up on the step in front of the window so she can see out.  Then when she wants down she thinks she's 'stuck' and starts to yell.  Almost all of them go through that at this age.

Just about every morning the first thing she does is take off a sock and hold it up for me as if to say, "Ok, you can put this on my cubby now."

We love how responsive to language she is becoming.  This is one of my favorite stages; where they are learning language, but not able to speak it yet.  Lauralea studied that for her Master's degree and it is fascinating stuff.  :)