Mia ate malt-o-meal cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef with spaghetti sauce, two servings of whole wheat elbow noodles, ate lettuce salad, and mixed fruit.  I looked over in time to see Mia's face in her plate licking out the last of the pasta sauce!  Geez, Thank you Mia.  I don't even need to wash that plate now.  :)

Here's a picture of Mia "feeding" Nora.  :)  I love how Mia's mouth is so wide open!  That's how Lauralea and I look whenever we're feeding the babies.  We always laugh at each other for doing that.  Also I just noticed the poster in the back of the picture.  I did not do that on purpose, but it's perfect.  Outsmart those germs! Yup! Mia was "eating" with the same spoon she's using to feed Nora!  :)

This morning Mia came packing over one of baby Noah's socks.  Thank you Mia!  Except I was sure she was the one who had taken it off!  A few minutes later Lauralea was looking at a picture she'd taken with her iPad and in the background was Mia taking off Noah's sock!  Oh man, I laughed.  A picture to prove it.  Later in the back room I caught her right in the middle of taking off baby Cooper's bib.  I growled and she fled (high speed) across the room.  :)

All the kids had fun doing "Doodle Buddy" art work on Lauralea's iPad.  Mia was eager to do it and stayed on task for a minute or two before getting too distracted; i.e., doing art with one hand and gazing out the window.  :)

She sat in the chair you see in the picture and read lots of books.  When we're in the big room she'll read in that chair several different times.  She had all the books in a big pile right in front of the chair.

Mia ate two servings of english muffin and ate blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken and crackers, sweet potatoes, and two servings of canned cherries.

Here's a picture of Mia and Nora in the legos drawer.  It's on wheels and slides under the legos table.  Before I could get the camera Nora was playing with the legos and Mia had a grip on the table and moving the drawer back-n-forth.  (It moves easily on the hardwood floor.)  It was cute when their legs were under the table.

This morning Emily said, "Someone's poopy! I don't know who it is!"  So she started going around sniffing butts.  Mia was butt #5 and Emily said, "Her!"  :)  Yup, she was right!! and I had to put on a new set of clothes.  Emily is at the age where their sense of smell (the last sense to develop) is in full bloom.  I've got another "smell story" from this morning that doesn't involve Mia, but it illustrates the development of smell.  :)  Nora, Thomas, and Emily all pooped at basically the same time this morning in one of the back rooms.  It wasn't smelling too wonderful when it was time to switch rooms with the other group.  Joslyn walked in there and asked Lauralea, "Will you spray?"  I guess Lauralea has been spoiling them and using air freshner.  :)

Mia played with food toys and then was trying to "feed" baby Cooper with the spoon and cup she had. I got there quick because her aim is not too good yet.  :)  "What do you mean he doesn't like it in his eye?" said Mia.  :)  She also played with a purse and found some cookies (play).  She was saying "cookie" every time I would say it.

Mia grabbed a doll out of Riley's hand and literally took off running.  Then she sat on the bench with this big-eyed look that said, "Oh oh, I'm busted!"  I think it was a payback for Riley squealing on her a few minutes earlier.  Mia was "spitting" and Riley came running over to show me what Mia was doing.  She was very concerned.  Of course she conveniently forgot that she's one of the worst spitting offenders here!  :)

Mia ate two biscuits and ate peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate baked beans (loves them), biscuit, peas, and pineapple.

Mia was playing with this tutu so I put it on her head and she left it there for a long time.  :)  Nora saw that and had to go get herself a tutu and put one on her head too.

After Lauralea fixes everyone's hair they have to start "fixing" each other's hair.  I couldn't believe that Mia would sit still for Thomas to work on her hair.  :)  But here's a picture to prove it!  I like the look of concentration on Thomas' face.  I had plenty of time to go get the camera and sit and watch them for a minute or two.

Darcy, I thought it was hilarious after you left that Mia gave Nora a kiss.  You'd been trying to get one and soon after you left Nora got a full on the lips kiss!  They were both all puckered up!  Mercy!  So much for trying to contain germs around here!  :)

Mia had a good morning and played with lots of toys and read books.  She played with the xylophones and was using the handle from it to pound on other toys.  Then she looked at me to see if I approved.  So I demonstrated how to use it properly.  (again.....)   :)

Mia ate two servings of waffles and ate hash browns for breakfast.  For lunch she ate shrimp, half of her brown rice, bites of peppers, and ate oranges.

This was one of Mia's favorite activities this morning; trying to get on one of the dress-up shoes.  And she worked HARD at it on several occasions.  Look at the concentration on her face.  :)

We were playing in the back room where Mia sleeps and Nora found a binkie on the floor.  She immediately knew it was Mia's and walked right over and stuck it in Mia's mouth.  Of course Mia just opened right up and looked quite appreciative.

Mia was watching Thomas put on his tutu (a nice bright red one) and she went right over and got one to try to get on.  One of the benefits of the dress-up clothes is all the experience they get trying to get their own clothes on.  And most of the dress-up stuff is larger so they can experience some success.

Then she was watching Lauralea wrap a doll for Nora.  Mia went and found a doll and blanket and took that to Lauralea to wrap.  And she held it up close to her chest when Lauralea was done.

Nora has been playing with these 'legos flowers' and putting them on the end of her fingers.  Their little fingers fit right in the holes.  Mia walked by and grabbed one off Nora's finger.  OH MY!  It was a teeth baring, instant fighting screaming situation!  That's why we're right there to intervene.  :)

Mia ate cheerios and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate cheese sandwich, drank her tomato soup, and ate apple pieces.

I had to take another picture of Mia and Nora sitting and reading together.  It's been awhile.  Lately they are rarely that close together that long without some conflict.  :)  Don't worry, this too will pass.  I showed this to Lauralea and she said, "WHOA!"  She thought I staged the picture.  :)  No, they did this on their own.  I did sprint for the camera before it ended though.

Mia was doing her waving at the window again.  To the other parents, some school kids, and to no one!  It's so much fun to just wave!  :)

She had one of the dolls wrapped up with a blanket (well, kind of) and was packing it around.  Then she had a purse hanging off her arm packing it around too.  She looked like a natural (shopper - sorry Matt) with that purse on her arm!  :)

Several times this morning Mia was bending over, putting her hands on the floor, making a 'bridge.'  Then Thomas was trying to crawl through and they were both giggling.

Mia gave very sweet loves to baby Cooper when he arrived.  She played well all morning and stayed engaged with various toys, books, and interacting with others.

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

Emily liked it when Mia went to the window to wave bye at Mark this morning.  Nora is even doing better letting her wave at her daddy too.  :)

Oh yes, Mia needs some extra clothes in her cubby.  She 'pooped through' this morning and I used the last pair of pants she had.  The only thing in her cubby are seven (yes, I said seven) pairs of socks, but so far we haven't needed those!!  Sorry Darcy, I couldn't resist.  I had to tease you.  :)

Coral was here a few minutes before going on to school this morning.  She was sitting on the igloo and started using it like a drum.  Mia immediately started clapping along which I thought was pretty cute.  :)

The kids spotted a squirrel in the tree across the street and they were all lined up watching it.  I think Mia saw it too.  At least she stood there as long as anyone.  While they were all watching the squirrel a crow flew by quite close to the window, so that was an added treat.

Mia was sitting on the couch and somehow RaeAhnna ended up sitting on her lap.  Mia was ok with it and just sat there while Rae leaned back and rested on her for maybe half a minute.  (Like an eternity for Mia.)   :)

Mia ate waffle and blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of her turkey burger on bun, ate green beans, and kiwi.

This picture was taken not too long after Mia had arrived.  I guess she was a little tired and found a nice pillow to take a rest.  Cooper didn't seem to mind.  :)  She was there for at least a minute because I had enough time to get the camera and she stayed a while longer.  You can't see much of it in the picture, but Mia is also wearing a tutu.  I guess you can actually see a little more in the mirror too.

A short time before I took the picture Cooper's bib was covering his face, Mia noticed it and fixed it for him.  Which I thought was pretty neat.

Mia was hanging out in the big box and Nora started putting toys in there.  Mia was pitching them out as fast as Nora could put them in.  And of course that quickly turned into a fun game.  :)

Mia was still in the box playing and this time she had some doll blankets, but no dolls.  (Not that she really noticed.)  She was busy laying them out for her own bed.  :)

She grabbed Joslyn (who's considerably bigger than Mia) and body slammed her onto the mattess with one arm.  And it looked like it didn't take too much effort.  So of course we had her give loves and said, "gentle touches" and all that good stuff.  :)  Not acceptable, but I was secretly impressed.  Shhhh, don't tell Lauralea I said that.  :)

Mia ate jelly toast and two servings of dried mangoes.  She ate all of her lunch: beef & bean burrito, sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit.

Mia was chillin in the chair and I tried to get the camera quick, but as you can see I got the tail-end of it.  She had both feet up and totally laying back - for at least 14 seconds.  :)

As you know Mia is frequently the first one here and she likes to sit on the couch between Lauralea and I.  It's kind of the morning ritual now.  Today she and I were sitting there and she starts patting the couch and saying, "uh ere, uh ere..." for Lauraela to come and sit.  :)

Frequently the 'older' kids will "fix" each other's hair; doing what they watch Lauralea do.  And they'll use the steps on the climber so they can sit and be at the right level to work on the hair.  So this morning I look over and here are Nora and Mia on the steps and Mia is "fixing" Nora's hair.  :)  That lasted for several seconds, then a few minutes later I saw Mia walking along behind Nora trying to work on it will Nora was moving.  I guess that's called multi-tasking.  Or pestering your friends.

She played under the table with some food toys. She also was with baby Noah on the floor several times, right up in his face checking him out and talking to him.  Then trying to put her feet on his head or toys on his back.  :)

Mia ate cinnamon roll and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate scrambled eggs, waffles, hash browns, and cantaloupe.

The name for the writing-drawing toy in the picture is a 'magna doodle.'  So if you hear that you'll know what we're talking about.  Mia enjoyed playing with it for a few minutes at art time.

She did her usual running to the window to wave at two or three of the parents driving by.  She was also waving and watching some school kids walking by.

She played with some food toys and also these heart shaped bracelets that she was putting on her wrist. She'd been watching Emily and Kenzie put them on their wrists.

Mia was entering into some of the activities of the larger group.  Such as playing on the mattress and in the igloo.  She kind of enjoys the bumping and jostling that goes along with that.  Not all kids like that experience.  Nora, for example, wants no part of being bumped or jostled.  :)  

Aaron likes to hold a toy and race it around and around the table bench.  Mia was sure he was chasing her and so they were both having a good time!  :)

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

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so everyone was very busy.  (Of course 'busy' is Mia's MO....so she was just extra busy!)  :)   She explored all the food toys and spent time at the sinks.  The cookies and brownies actually look kind of realistic and she seemed to like those too.

She was poopy shortly after she got here and while I was changing her she was yawning continually.  So we decided to give her a nap until breakfast.  Especially after hearing how early she was up!  I went in and got her for breakfast (after an hour nap) and she had not moved.

Emily spotted a crow just outside the window and all the kids got to see it before it flew off.  Emily was smacking the window, but for some reason it did not immediately fly off so all the kids were lined up at the window watching it.

Mia is so friendly and waves bye to all the parents and they all love it.  She has to be right at the gate to see who is coming.  And then of course I've told you how she is in the afternoon when everyone is leaving and she is 'stuck' here with us.  :)  She has tried to hitch a ride with every parent here!

She was in the big box reading some books and playing with some food toys.  Thomas got in there too and they played for several minutes.  Then Thomas was chasing her around and around the chair in the back room.  (The game that never gets old!)

Mia ate half of her brown rice and ate raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate everything; meat loaf, french bread, carrots, and dried apricots.

The furnace would not turn on this morning so we had jackets on the kids, long sleeves, or whatever.  It was probably a bit confusing for Mia when I put her jacket on her, but we didn't go anywhere!  :)  She handled it ok; Nora, not so much.  She started howling when we just went and sat down.  The furnace man had it going before 11:00 so all was fine.

We had NO biting incidents this morning Darcy!  Yes!  So we're hoping yesterday was just a fluke.  :)

Mia was playing close to Kenzie doing something and we heard Kenzie say to her, "Don't slobber on me sweetheart!!"  Oh man, we roared!  :)

We've talked with you guys several times about language and how Mia's receptive language skills are great and how she's now moving into expressive language.  She heard me get on Thomas' case about sitting on the drums; "Sit on the chairs or the table bench instead of the drums."  I turn around and Mia smokes for a drum to sit on.  :)  The power of suggestion!

She had a blast in the spinning chair in the back room again.  She sat in it while Thomas pushed the chair around and around.  Then Thomas joined her and Emily pushed them around and around.  And several other combinations too!

Mia ate cinnamon toast and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she had half of her chicken strips, ate whole wheat dinner roll, ate hash browns, and canned cherries.

Mia has brought me one of the back packs or fanny packs several times this week for me to put on her. I thought it looked pretty cute with the little jogging suit she was wearing.    :)  And she even left it on for a couple of minutes.

One of the first things Mia did this morning was to go to the big box and lay down with the doll blankets again.  Where'd Mia go?  Oh, I'll bet she's laying in the box again.  :)  Sure enough!  Emily goes over and peeks in and says, "Good night!!"

She was at the window waving goodbye to a couple of the parents and blowing kisses again.  I also saw her just go randomly to the window and wave 'bye' to no one and blow kisses.  Just practicing!!  :)

She looked at books several times, played with the legos (ripping apart what I was building), and was mimicking Thomas' play with the cars.  She was pushing them on the table, then tried the arm of the chair, then back to the table.  Which was much smoother and easier to push.  Good job Mia!

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

Mia has been spending more and more time playing around the mattress and on the climber.  And under the climber too as you can see in the picture.  She goes up the three steps onto the blue 'beam' you can see in the picture and then immediately slides off onto the mattress.  It's the exact same 'route' that Riley takes.  It won't be too much longer and they will be leaping off like the 'big' kids.  :)

She crawled up on the couch this morning and was sitting there like a 'big shot' between Lauralea and I and started to cheer!  :)  She was still the only one here at that time.  It was really cute.

Anytime she spots (or hears) the gates open (or a door) she has to smoke over there and close it.  The gates are open frequently after breakfast when I'm cleaning up and going back and forth with the meal trays.  And she's right there trying to shut them.  Ok Mia, you are not being real helpful!  :)  I told Lauralea that Mia's antennas are always on high alert!

Mia had been watching Emily and Aaron play in the big box with doll blankets and covering themselves up and pretending to sleep.  She got in there by herself and was doing the same thing.  And she stayed laying down for several minutes!    Then in the back room she seated herself between Emily and Thomas and was intently watching them play with the 'cars and ramp toys' and trying to mimic their play.  :)

Mia ate blueberry waffle and pears for breakfast.  For lunch she had tuna and crackers, ate sweet potatoes, and most of her oranges.

Mia was grabbing Joslyn's finger and hanging on tight.  So Joslyn started spinning with her and Mia loved it.  By the time I got the camera Joslyn was 'leading' the spin as you can see her hand holding Mia's in the picture.  But Mia was loving it and wanted to continue.

And in this picture I'm not sure exactly what medical procedure they were doing, or maybe just a belly massage.  Lauralea asked, but the answer was a bit evasive!  :)  However, I thought it was so cute how Mia was just laying there and having fun with it.  You know how much she likes to lay still!!  She got up and Joslyn said, "Hey! Come back!"  And Mia did!  I was watching closely so they would let her go when she was ready.  :)

Mia read lots of books in the chair and then was hanging out under the table.  (Two of her favorite spots now.)  She was also in the big box and had a doll blanket all spread out, but no doll.  :)  A few minutes later she brought me a doll and blanket and wanted me to wrap it up.

I was having Mia do the "thank you" sign, which is the fingers to the chin and then away.  She did it, but it looked basically like blowing a kiss.  Maybe that's what she thought I was doing.  :)  Why is he blowing me kisses at breakfast!?!

Mia ate chex cereal and fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she had a taste of roast beef sandwich, drank half of her tomato soup, and ate apple slices.

I was giving Mia squeezes with my arms and sometimes between my knees and saying, "squeeze squeeze.."  And she was saying, "eze, eze,.."  And coming back for more over and over.

She looked at lots of books like usual and was especially interested in the 'touch and feel' books.  The lion's 'fur,' the lizard's 'skin,' the lamb's 'wool,' etc..

Mia had Noah's sock and then she was trying to get it back on his foot.  Well, at least for a few seconds.  He was too wiggly anyhow and she quickly lost interest in that project.  :)

She played with the phones, pounded on the drums, played with the food toys, pulled some legos apart and tried putting some together, and also played with the cars.

Mia had pooped right before we switched rooms in the back, so it was pretty stinky when the others got in there.  I heard Kenzie ask Lauralea, "Can you spray in here?"  :)  I must say it was pretty bad.

Mia ate half of her oatmeal and ate dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate most of hash brown casserole and most of biscuit, and ate mandarin oranges.

We had baby Cooper propped up on the couch and here's a picture of Mia visiting with him.  Yesterday and today she was saying, "Cooper" pretty clear.  Lauralea was facing the other way the first time Mia said it, and she turned around and asked, "Was that Mia!?!"  :)  After Cooper got here today Mia probably said his name at least 10 times.

She has frequently watched the other kids play with dolls; cuddling, feeding, and wrapping them.  Today is the first day she brought me a doll and a blanket and wanted me to wrap it for her.  So I did and immediately she laid it on her shoulder and put her head on it to cuddle it.  Very cute.  (Maybe I should mention that she then proceeded to unwrap it and dump it on it's head on the floor.)  :)

She was playing with Emily, taking her finger and leading her around.  And hanging on pretty tight, even after Emily was trying to 'break free.'  :)  Then she did a pretty nice 'take down' from behind on Thomas.  I'm thinking 'Little Guy Wrestling' in a couple of years.  :)

Mia was super involved with doing the 'Activity Songs' this morning.  For example, "Spin around in a circle...," - "First you do your right foot stomp stomp...," - "Head and shoulders, knees, and toes..."  And several more.

Mia ate whole wheat bread and cantaloupe for breakfast.  For lunch she had bites of turkey slices, ate crescent roll, squash, and dried mangoes.

I kind of went on a 'picture binge,' but they are so cute.  Mia was in the middle of the two babies.  Cooper is on her left shoulder and Noah is on the right.  She's just checking them out and getting a close-up look.  :)  I keep a close eye on her with the babies, but she does pretty well being gentle.

Well look here; Mia's found a new spot to read books!  :)  She likes being under the table and before this there were three (including Mia) under there.

Then I like how she gets out.  She always crawls through instead of going under.  :)

Mia joined Aaron and Riley who were crawling from the corner across the room into the igloo.  Back-n-forth, back-n-forth.  The funny part is that they were doing this 'puffing' and 'panting' sound.  They sounded like little dogs.  :)

She went up to Joslyn over by the mattress and wrapped her arms around her and gave her the sweetest love.  And it lasted for several seconds.  She doesn't do that very often.  THEN she started spinning her and pulled her down.  Maybe that was her sneak attack.  :)

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

At meal times Mia has been going right over to get her bib first.  She knows every little routine.  She also knows which bib is hers, but she hasn't yet mastered how to "lift" it up off the hook.  I'll hold her hand and say, "lift" while we lift it so she gets the idea what that feels like.  In the mean time she pulls straight out and she's tough enough she'll probably snap the hook off!  :)

Sometimes I kind of struggle finding things to write about Mia.  She's always very busy so that helps.  But she is moving from one thing to another and she spends LOTS of time observing what others are doing.  Which is obviously how they learn; watching and then trying it.  She has the same little spots she likes to "squeeze" into every day and those are where I'll search for her frequently missing shoe.  :)

Reading books is something she does almost every day too.  Two times this morning she got a couple books and sat up in the chair by herself and looked at them.

Lauralea has been doing some testing for the developmental profiles and so Mia has been super interested in observing those.  Lauralea will lay out some toys and give instructions for one of the kids and Mia tries hard to be in the middle of it all.  :)

I frequently use a pillow for my back whenever I am sitting.  When we are in the back rooms and if I have to leave for some reason I can almost count on this when I go back in the room; The pillow is on the floor and Mia is in the chair!  :)  At least she's predictable.

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

This chair is a swivel-rocker in one of the back rooms and the kids love to play on it.  Nora was making the chair go around and around and Mia was getting a good ride.  When Mia couldn't see Nora she'd peek around the chair at her.

Mia was looking at one of the posters and Thomas joined her and they were "discussing" the meaning of the poster.  :)  She was jabbering and pointing at one picture and he'd say, "No Mia" and point at another picture and jabber about that one.  There are different children's faces; happy, sad, mad, silly, and two or three more.

Mia joined several of the kids who were "chanting" loud noises in the igloo.  I think they like the echoing sound it makes.  When there are several of them in there she'll go to the entrance and observe, but she usually will only go on in when it's empty.

Lauralea has been working on some "testing" and doing developmental profiles for the kids as we prepare for the parent meetings.  Thomas wanted her to test Mia too.  (It was a test for the older ones.)  He was saying, "Do Mia, Do Mia...!!"   :)

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

Thomas and Riley were sitting on the mattress cheering, then bouncing up and cheering some more.  It must have looked like fun because Nora and Mia soon joined them.  I tried to get a picture of all of them cheering, but I got three out of four.  :)   (We consider that a success with this age group!)  Right after I took this picture the two ones standing sat down and Mia stood up and started cheering.  :)  

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so they had lots of 'new' stuff to explore.  Mia played with some food toys and looked at lots of books.  She was also intrigued with the fanny packs and purses.  Especially sticking things inside of them.

We also do the toy exchange in the back rooms so everyone is real engaged all morning.  Mia played with the little drums back there.  (Those are always a favorite.)  She joined Emily and Thomas who were singing "baa baa black sheep" and  beating on the drums.  A toddler band with lots of the same instrument and everyone playing a different beat.  :)

Mia was watching Emily and Thomas stand on building blocks and slide them on the hardwood floor.  They were calling it "skiing."  I was getting a little nervous when she tried standing on them.  :)

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

Mia was a bit grumpy (like mommy said) this morning so she took a little nap before breakfast.  (She went right to sleep.)  She did much better and was basically happy the rest of the morning.

Here's a picture of Mia and Aaron standing on the bench part of our little table.  They were going around and around the table (with their hands on the table just like in the picture) and Mia was loving it because Aaron was 'chasing' her although he wasn't really trying to catch her.  He was enjoying it just as much as she was.

She was playing on the three climber steps that lead up to where they jump off onto the mattress.  It won't be long and she'll be jumping off with the others.  :)  She watches them and then she carefully puts her leg over the edge and eases herself onto the mattress.

She was playing with the swivel-rocker chair again in the back room.  She likes making it go around and around walking along with it.  That chair has many miles on it and has been worth every penny we paid for it.