Mia ate whole wheat english muffin and blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken and crackers, potatoes, and canned cherries.

The kids were putting on dress-up clothes and I put a headband around Mia's head and then had her look at herself in the mirror.  So she starts waving.  "Hey, I know you!!"  :)

We have the 'big box' in the play room and the primary reason is for the 'older' kids to have a place to play where the 'young' ones can't interfere.  (When you only have infants and toddlers the difference is pretty negligible between young and old.)  Anyhow, Mia made it into the box and Lauralea asked if I'd put her in there.  Nope.  She'd managed to get in by herself, but then she was sure she was stuck in there forever!  :)  "I need some help over here!!"

All the kids were enthralled with the new sparkling lava lamp and all the changing colors.  We thought they'd enjoy something different than the fish tank for awhile.  For those who have not been at our place the fish are not real, but quite realistic.  And it's much easier to clean!  :)

She was being silly on the floor and then was walking in circles about three quick times in succession.  And then clapping for herself.  "A job well done Mia!"

Mia ate biscuit and two servings of peaches.  For lunch she ate baked beans, most of dinner roll, ate peas, and applesauce.

Mia dropped her binky and Nora picked it up and gave it back to her.  Hey, that was fun!  So they played that game for a minute or two.

Mia saw that I was plugging in the fish tank and she got all excited and started clapping.  :)

Then Thomas had put all the stuffed animals in the igloo and he and Mia were having fun in there.  Joslyn joined them and she was sitting in the entrance way and Mia did not like that.  I want out!!  She was fine as long as she could go in and out when she wanted.

I know I've mentioned more than once about how she gets totally focused on whatever it is that she may not be able to have.  One everyday example is when we open the doors of the changing table where all the diapers are stored.  If she is close by she zooms over and gazes longingly at all things in there that she does not have access to.  :)  Lauralea was putting away someone's diapers today and she practically ran to check it out.

Mia played with the legos; primarily emptying the legos drawer about as fast as I could fill it.  :)  She also played with the keyboards and the trucks.

Mia ate waffle and hash browns for breakfast.  For lunch she ate about half of her shrimp, half of her brown rice, ate red and orange peppers, and ate oranges.

Mia was really into the 'waving at the window' thing this morning.  I had Nora at the window waving at her dad and Mia came "sprinting" across the room to get in on the fun.  And she was waving on the way over.  :)  I saw her go over to the window and randomly wave four or five times at nobody and yell out a goodbye too.

When Mia loses her shoe in the big room there is a good chance it's behind or beside the igloo.  She likes to climb back there and inevitably get her foot stuck.  Just stuck, not stuck-stuck!  :)  Just enough to pull her foot out of a shoe.  One of the kids will come packing it over to us; "Here's Mia's shoe!"

All the kids were at the window watching me shovel snow in the drive-way.  Mia was slapping at the window and of course I had to play at the window with them.

She saw Lauralea get the ponytail holders and she starts cheering and clapping.  And she didn't even moan about getting a pony in her hair this morning!  So I guess she was happy about it!

She was putting the ring-shakers on her arm and shaking it to the music along with Emily.  When she saw Emily doing it too she got real enthusiastic about it.

Mia ate most of her cheerios and ate banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate toasted cheese sandwich, sips of tomato soup, and ate apple pieces.  She was more interested in sticking her tongue in the tomato soup while I was trying to give her sips out of the cup.  :)

Mia was at the gate when baby Reid arrived and was flirting with Bode, Reid's four year old brother.  She even offered him her binkie!  :)  That's true love!

Mia was playing with the combs again and I thought this was a cute picture of her combing her hair.  Well I guess that's technically called a pick.  :)  All of the combs are big like that so they can run them through their hair easier.

Then Mia sat for a minute during story time.  Almost one story!  :)  She'll sit longer when she's sitting on the reader's lap, but Riley had already gotten that spot.

Mia was playing on the mattress with Riley and then she was bending over looking at Riley through her legs.  The ole' "look at the world upside-down" trick!  :)  It was very cute.

Mia ate oatmeal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, half of her whole wheat elbow noodles, with peas and cheese, and ate applesauce.

Here's a picture of Mia playing at the climber.  She'd been watching others stick stuffed animals in those holes so she was giving it a go.  :)

Coral's mom was getting out a tissue this morning and Mia headed across the room blowing her nose.  Any random person pulls out a tissue and here comes Mia blowing!  :)

Mia was playing in the igloo and Nora was peeking in at her.  Then Nora would stand back up and slap on the outside of the igloo while Mia sat in there squealing.

She was also playing with the combs and curlers again and brought me a curler to put in her hair.  She knew what she wanted me to do with it; however, it only lasted in her hair as long as the one yesterday!

She was playing with the shaker rings in the back room.  There are two sizes and she was sliding her arm in the big ones and then shaking her arm.  She moved on to play with something else, spotted another shaker ring and tried to put it on her arm.  Except this was the smaller one!  She was not happy!  "Hey, it fit just a minute ago!!  Man, life is confusing and irritating!!"  :)

Mia ate two servings of blueberry waffle and ate blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate about half of her turkey burger, bites of green beans, and ate kiwi.

Here's a picture of Mia squeezing into a favorite spot.  Then she thinks she's stuck and will yell for help.  I let her struggle a bit and she always manages to get out on her own.  And she always goes back for more!

And here's a picture of Thomas and Mia playing side by side in the back room with the keyboards.  It was so cute I had to get the camera.  You can't see it in the picture, but he has his arm around her.  About a minute before I took the picture she was laying her head on his shoulder.  Dang, it was cute!

Oh yes, I wanted to mention (just an FYI thing) that Mia gets pretty anxious when everyone is leaving in the late afternoon.  I think I've already told both of you, but she holds her arms up for anyone and everyone to "please rescue me!"  Yesterday it was Coral's mom, Thomas's mom, my daughter, etc.  She doesn't like it when someone else is going and she has to stay!  So if she seems a little distressed when you come that is probably the reason.  So we're just giving her lots of loves and distracting her.  And that works until the next child leaves!  :)  And we start the process over again.

She was playing with the combs and curlers again.  (They are very large combs with the teeth far apart.)  This time she was trying to comb baby Noah's hair.  Hey, he can't get away!  Then I put one of the curlers in her hair and that lasted for a second or two.

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

Mia has been starting to use the steps and little climber by the mattress.  Here's a picture of her crawling up and then she crawls off onto the mattress.  It won't be long until she is jumping off.  :)  She always watches everyone else doing it.  They never get tired of the jumping mattress and it's great for burning energy in the winter months.  And great for their large motor skills too.

Mia was talking to baby Noah so sweet and cute.  He was making funny sounds and she started mimicking him.  :)  Of course she took off faster than I could get the camera ready so I asked her if she'd talk to the baby again and here's the result.  Good job Mia!  (Darcy - Notice the bowl she's carrying and I guarantee you she has a spoon in the other hand!)

Mia was playing with the combs again and this time she was trying to comb my hair.  It's so cute when she's trying to comb her own hair.

She played with a toy in the back room that has lots of animals and makes animal sounds.  She was also interested in the sea creatures; especially the ones that Thomas was playing with!

Mia ate cinnamon roll and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate scrambled eggs, half of her waffle serving, ate most of hash browns, and half of her cantaloupe serving.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so Mia had lots of stuff to explore.  She packed around lots of books, dolls, legos, phones, and even played with them some too!  :)  And here's a picture to prove it!  I love it when these little ones do this 'dramatic' play.  She's talking on the phone to someone; probably mommy.  :)

Mia was standing on a doll blanket that Nora was playing with and of course she was not aware of it.  She looked at Nora as if to say, "Why are you screaming at me?  You are so dramatic!"  :)

Lauralea was standing across the room blowing her nose and Mia saw her and started walking toward Lauralea blowing her nose.  Except Lauralea was using a tissue!  I think it's funny how she'll immediately start blowing her nose when she sees someone else doing it.

We have some large combs and curlers in this toy set and Mia knows what to do with the combs.  :)  She was trying to comb her hair and then decided to try combing baby Cooper's hair.  Yikes!!

Mia ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate meatloaf, french bread, carrots, and dried apricots.

This is a picture from yesterday afternoon.  Mia had cleaned out the bottom of the dress-up clothes rack and then sat down in it to read a book.  Isn't that cute?  I know I've posted several pictures of Mia reading books, but hey, it's one of the few times when she's not moving.  :)

Mia was at the window again to wave bye to Thomas' mom.  She was intently watching and as soon as Lexie came around the corner Mia started waving.

Mia and Thomas were on the mattress and it looked like Thomas was giving her CPR.  Specifically, he was practicing chest compressions.  Geez!  I couldn't believe that she wasn't complaining.  It didn't look very comfortable.  :)

In the back room Thomas had about eight cars very neatly lined up on the toy shelf.  Mia saw what he was doing and I think she viewed it as a chance to pillage and destroy!  She headed right over there with a gleam in her eye, but I detoured her in another direction.

Then she was beside the legos table and started cleaning off the table.  She was slinging the legos into the drawer.  Her accuracy needs some work, but her velocity was admirable.  :)

Mia ate cinnamon toast and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken strips, dinner roll, hash browns, and canned cherries.

It's part of her morning routine now to head right for the window when others are up there waving bye to a parent.  Today it was the Cline family.  Mia goes smoking right to the window step.

In the back room Mia was watching Emily and Thomas sit on the floor facing each other and pushing one of the school buses back and forth.  She was totally focused on what they were doing.  Then she started pushing one of the buses around the room.

Baby Reid was laying on the floor and Mia was giving him some loves.  It was very cute, but by the time I got the camera she was in the next county.  :)

She was standing in front of the mirror and put both hands in the air and cheered.  And she found that to be amusing.  Then a minute later she goes over and is giving herself kisses in the mirror.  Wouldn't it be fun to know the thought processes?

She did lots of packing books again and reading them.  Especially in the back room.  Also, I had laid down my computer when I finished putting a picture on it.  She smoked right over there and looked at me with wide eyes and I think I heard her say, "Did you really leave it here for ME?"  Nope, sorry Mia!  :)

Mia ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham, mac-n-cheese, corn, and banana.

Darcy, we asked Kenzie and Riley's mom about those blankets (like Mia's) and she got them at the mall at Dillards.

Mia went over to the window with Thomas to wave at his mom.  She stood right up there beside him and was waving.  It was very cute.

Her morning was pretty good considering her nose ran and I don't think she was feeling too great.  But she didn't complain very much.  At times she just kind of wandered around and wasn't too interested in engaging with any toys.  But she also read books, played with the legos, watched Thomas push the school buses, etc.

I've mentioned before how well she does with our transitions from room to room, meal times, etc.  Also, when we're playing in one of the back rooms I don't have to keep the door closed as she doesn't even try to 'escape.'  :)  However, as soon as we tell them to "switch" she smokes for the other room.

After breakfast and after lunch when it's time for her naps I tell her to head for her crib and she charges down the hallway and goes right to her room.  She totally gets all of that and she cooperates very well.  Good job Mia.  We're proud of you.

Mia ate waffle and pears for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tuna and crackers, two servings of sweet potatoes, and ate oranges.

Mia is starting to say my name and it is so stinking cute!!  It's usually when I leave the room and she's yelling for me.  :)  I took some poopy diapers to the outside container and she was hanging on to the gate yelling, "Gar-we, Gar -we!"  Then she did it right before her afternoon nap when I'd left the room for something; "Gar-we, Gar-we!!"  Lauralea and I think it is so cute!  :)

I laughed at her when she was giving herself kisses in the mirror.  A minute later she came and did it again and was grinning; knowing she was being funny.

Baby Noah was laying on the floor and Mia was checking him out, especially his feet.  :)  "These are interesting looking things here!"  She was holding one and looking at it.

She played with lots of things and looked at books again of course.  When we went to the back room the first thing she did was grab a book.  It was upside down and I was thinking that it's like having two books in one!  :)

I was feeding baby Cooper and had my foot resting on the little table in the back room.  She laid her head on my foot and gave me a love.  Very sweet.  Then she was walking by and I blew her hair out of her eyes and she grinned and walked away making blowing sounds.  :)

Mia ate chex cereal and fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate roast beef sandwich, apple slices, and banana.

Mia was so cute sitting on the couch first thing this morning reading a book.  And she was really reading; Holding the book up and going, "dah, dah, dah, ......"  Now that's cute!

When Coral arrived Mia held her hands up to her and wanted to snuggle, but as usual I had to be very QUICK to get this picture and she was just starting to make her 'getaway.'  :)

Mia was at the mirror in the back room and Nora crawled over to join her.  After I took this picture Mia was standing on the blocks (the red, yellow, and blue ones hooked together in the picture) and looking at herself in the mirror.

Mia was the only one here for about 30 minutes this morning and she was just fine with that; playing and enjoying the attention.  Lauralea was doing something on her iPad and little Miss Curiosity had her face right in there.  :)

Mia ate oatmeal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate hash brown casserole, a biscuit, and mandarin oranges.

I was sitting on the couch with my leg crossed over the other one.  Mia comes up and intentionally bonks her head on my foot.  Then looked at me like "What do think of that?"  Silly girl.  That made me laugh.  Then she just strolls off to find something else to experiment with.  :)

She and Nora were at the window looking out watching Christina scrape the snow and ice off her windshield this morning.

Nora was playing with the legos in the legos drawer.  Mia comes along and crawls into the drawer.  Nora decides to try to close it.  The drawer is on wheels and sits on the floor under the legos table.  It was quite entertaining for me, but I'm not sure Mia even realized the drawer was moving a little.

Whenever we transition to another room Mia scans the room and heads for anything different that might be there.  Maybe one of us left something behind like an infant seat or whatever.  She'll go for it and then watch our reaction to see if it's acceptable or not.  I've already crowned her the queen; Little Miss Curiosity!

She read lots of books, played with the legos, climbed in the chairs, watched the 'older' kids pretend to sleep while covering themselves with the doll blankets, and followed me around wondering why I didn't hurry up with setting up breakfast.  :)

Mia ate french bread and cantaloupe for breakfast.  For lunch she ate turkey slices, half of her crescent roll, most of her summer squash, and ate dried mangoes.

Here's a picture of Mia playing with the pop-up toy in the back room.  I basically took this picture because she wasn't about to turn loose of the book in her other hand.  She played with several different toys, but hung on to that book.  :)  Thomas had taken a school bus to Mia (you can see one in the background in the picture), but she wasn't the least bit interested in it.  "Not when I have this book!"

In the big room she is attached to a book that has a clock face on the cover.  (with hands that turn)  That's what she has been packing around this week.

I have a pillow that I use in the chairs in the back room.  (for my back)  Whenever I'm out of the chair Mia will smoke over there and the first thing she does is get the pillow off the chair and climb up!  :)

I told you that Mia has been holding her hands up to the other parents when they are picking up their kids.  In the morning this week she has been holding her hands up to Lexie (Thomas' mom) too.  And she did it again this morning.

Mia ate whole wheat toast and mixed berries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ham, crackers, bean & bacon soup, and kiwi.

Riley has a blanket that she carries (drags) around when she 'needs' it.  Mia saw it laying on the floor and instantly headed for it.  Riley noticed what was happening and basically ran to 'rescue' it before Mia could get there.  It was pretty funny.

I've seen Mia doing a couple of 'firsts' these last two days; things I've not seen her do before.  She smokes for the lunch room whenever I tell her it's time to "go get your bib!"  This time she actually went right to the bib rack instead of to her high chair.  The other first; she was bending over with her hands on the floor looking back at me from between her legs.  So she's looking at the world upside-down.  :)  We've had kids that just love doing that and will do it over and over.

It's fun to watch the kids and see how different they are and it's so obvious in how they play.  The spectrum for "normal" is very wide!  For example one child was doing one activity for 20 minutes.  I told Lauralea that Mia might do 20 different things in one minute.  :)  And these two children are the same age.  I love it!

Mia played with the food toys and was enjoying taking them apart and trying to put them back together too.  Most of them in this toy set come in two halves that use velcro to hold them together.  The set comes with 'knives' to cut them, but we've removed the 'knives' after some inappropriate play.  :)  Mia also was working at putting the legos pieces together.  She has the right idea and it won't be long before she successful with it.

Mia ate whole wheat bagel and dried apricots for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia, whole wheat elbow noodles with peas and cheese, and ate applesauce.

I know I've included several pictures already of Mia reading books, but it is something she does every day.  We have lots of little board books like the one she is looking at.  They are sturdy little things. At least I think they are because they survive here for a long time before needing to be replaced.

And here's a picture of Mia with some of the shakers I was mentioning in yesterday's blog.  (Except in the picture she is chewing on it instead of shaking it.)  You can see more shakers on the floor in front of her too.

During Mia's morning nap Thomas was looking all over for her.  I didn't know what he wanted until he said, "Where'd Mia go?"  :)  Mia was at the gate when Thomas arrived this morning and they were hugging through the gate.  It was pretty cute.

Mia had a good morning and a typical one.  She was climbing on the chairs (I get nervous when I catch her standing up in the rocking chair), head-first in the legos drawer, and reaching into the crib to touch baby Cooper.  She was touching Cooper's legs and looking at me with a look that asked, "Is this allowed?"  :)  Yup, you can touch his legs and arms as long as you are gentle.

Mia ate bran cereal and dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of cheese pizza, ate steamed cauliflower, and tropical fruit.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange and everyone was busy all morning.  Mia looked at lots of books and discovered some more food toys she liked; well at least she carried them around.  So I'm assuming she liked them.

Mia was sitting on the couch and I was sitting on the floor, but I leaning on the couch writing on a piece of paper.  She leaned over sideways and laid her head right in front of my head and looked up at me and I think I heard her say; "Hey you! Notice me, I'm right here!"  :)  Super cute.

There are several different shakers (or you can call them noise makers) in this toy group; especially in the back room.  Mia was making full use of those!  And the pop-up toys sing songs.  It kind of surprised her when they started singing!

I think I mentioned last week about her laying down when I'm changing someone on the floor.  She did that again today.  I think that's so cute.  I was changing Nora and as soon as I finished Mia lays down on the changing mat.  "Ok, I'm next!"

She also did lots of wandering around watching everyone and climbing on whatever she could find.  She climbed onto the chairs and couch several times.  And more than once I saw her lay flat on her back on the floor and look at the world from that perspective too.  :)

Mia ate malt-o-meal cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground burger with spaghetti sauce, whole wheat elbow noodles, ate lettuce salad, and mixed fruit.

Frequently Mia will look at one of us to see how we are going to respond to a situation.  For example Lauralea was fixing Mia's hair yesterday and put two cute little ponytails in it.  As soon as Lauralea was done Mia walks up to me with the most cheesy little grin on her face.  "What do you think of this?"  :)

Emily and Mia were the first ones here today and so they played together until some other ones arrived.  Emily was studying the front of Mia's shirt.  Mia looked at her like what are you doing and then all of a sudden she holds out her arms and starts giving Emily big hugs.  It was very cute.

I yawned pretty loud and she had to immediately copy the sound.  Then she looked at me with a silly grin.  "Hey, I can make noises too!"

She was playing with the food toys and was packing around a bowl and a wooden spoon.  For awhile she was making stirring motions with it in the bowl.

She likes to crawl around and over the climber.  She crawled in this little 'hole' and thought she was stuck...so I let her struggle for a minute and kept encouraging her.  She actually made it out quite easily and you could tell she was pretty pleased with herself.  Good job Mia!

Mia ate most of her breakfast: english muffin and mixed berries.  For lunch she ate chicken and crackers, hash browns, and cherries.

We had baby Cooper in an infant seat so I put him in Mia's crib in the back room while we were playing in there.  The kids could still look at him and talk to him, but not touch him.  :)  Here's a picture of Mia checking him out.

The Cline family and Mia were the first ones here this morning and so Kenzie played with Mia for a few minutes.  She said, "She likes me!"  (She acted like it was the first time she'd ever met Mia.)  Then Riley was hugging Mia from behind and Mia started hugging them too.  Kenzie said, "She's giving me loves!"

Lauralea was sitting on the couch fixing Emily's hair and Mia came up to watch.  Actually I think she was more interested in grabbing the ponytail holders.  :)  What she didn't see was baby Noah laying on the floor at Lauralea's feet.  So Mia is standing there with one foot on Noah's lower abdomen and he doesn't seem to mind; in fact he is laughing.  :)  The entertainment never ends.

Kenzie's sweater has these little loops all around the collar.  A perfect place for Mia to get her finger stuck, which she did.  I'm not sure who was more concerned about that; Mia or Kenzie.  :)

This morning Mia graduated to a book in each hand.  Now there's a dilemma; what do I do with this book when I want to look at this one!!??  :)  So she decides to go drop them in the crib where baby Cooper is at.  (In above picture)   "I guess I'll just ditch the books in here!"  :)

Mia ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of toasted cheese sandwich, had sips of tomato soup, and ate apple pieces.

I wanted to mention that Kenzie and Riley's little brother Cooper started at daycare today.  So we never know about the journal schedules.  They may be just a bit later than what they have been.  Mia was super interested in the new baby and was wanting to touch him of course.  Then she was packing a doll around.

Here's a picture of Thomas and Mia in the back room.  They'd been very loving with each other, but by the time I got the camera Mia was long gone.  :)  So we did a 'reenactment' and they totally cooperated and this is just what they'd been doing.

She found a little book in the back room that she liked and she wasn't about to turn loose of it.  She did hand it to me just long enough to hold her arms out for me to pick her up and she wanted me to read it with her.  She was very engaged in the process; pointing at different things and turning pages.

Then she got down and played with the pop-up toys and thumping on the xylophone, but never turning loose of that book.  :)

I've been changing the kid's diapers on the floor (on a changing mat) in the back room.  It saves my back from lifting them onto the changing table.  In the big room they can climb up the steps of the changer.  Anyhow, Mia saw the changing mat on the floor, comes right over, and positions herself perfectly on it.  It was pretty cute.