3 Months Old!

Mia Jane at 13 weeks

Today Mia is 13 weeks old, or three months old tomorrow, if you go by the calendar date. Since I just started blogging yesterday, I feel like I need to do a post that will capture the road that got us to this point in our family life. No blog post would ever be able to capture the essence of new parenthood...the sleepless nights, the blowout poopy diapers, the obsession with the camera & video camera, the endless laundry, the cuddles, the glances between spouses that seem to say, "Can you believe this is our life now?" in both a good way and sometimes in a truly disbelieving way... We have been so blessed and have been brought so much joy through this little 7 pound, 8 ounce miracle.

So here the journey begins with the joys of pregnancy...

6 months pregnant...

This is when pregnancy is kind of fun. You are not too huge and uncomfortable, but people can see you are pregnant, so they are really nice to you.

When you get a pillow monogrammed, you know there is no going back on the name...

And nearing the end...

My dear friend, Michelle & I

And then the end was quickly upon us! Dr. Bannon was kind enough to induce me the day of my last check-up because of the water retention in my feet and legs. I looked like I had elephantitis! I was in so much pain at that point & the lacrosse season was essentially over (I did miss the banquet that night while I was in labor), but I felt like it was ok to have Mia sooner rather than later. Sooner ended up being the case... she came really fast!

So we brought Mia home to her little nursery & started figuring out what it really means to be parents. She grew quickly & finally started filling out some of her clothes. It was amazing to actually see her grow out of something for the first time. A little bittersweet. You are so anxious for them to reach the next milestone, and yet you start realizing that you kind of want to keep them as tiny newborns forever too. It suddenly hits you that it is all going way too quickly. It was a sad day at about 2 months when I realized that I probably should no longer refer to her as "my newborn".

Here is Mia in this outfit at 3 weeks old.

Here she is wearing the same outfit at 7 weeks old. High waters & belly exposure with any movement at all.

Thanks for making my vision of the letters for the wall a reality, Grandpa Inzerello!

Now to quickly recap the highlights from the last 3 months:

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MAY

Bringing Mia home from the hospital

The next few pictures were taken at about a week old. My friend, Michelle, came over with her nice camera, we turned the heat up to 80 degrees, stripped Mia down, & started shooting. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Meeting Grandma Sue for the first time.

Thanks for all the help and all the cooking you did for us, Mom!

Auntie Erin staking her claim... Back off... She's a professional.

No, really. She's a pediatric nurse. It's very comforting to know we have our very own nursing hotline 24-7!

Grandma and Grandpa Inzerello's introduction to Mia.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUNE

We spent much of the month of June in Ohio, where Nick had work for 3 1/2 weeks. Rather than be a single mom after only 4 weeks of parenthood, Mia and I went with him and stayed up in Hudson with my parents. Nick was helping to coach the Junior National Team at the Junior World Championships & had to stay in the dorms with the team. He was only 45 minutes away, so we still got to see a decent amount of him. Grandpa Wally & Grandma Sue loved spending so much time with Mia, even though it was in the middle of their move to a new house. Thanks for hosting us for so long!

Mia learned how to smile at people...not just when she had gas.

Nick's first Father's Day

Hanging out with Grandpa Wally

Mia enjoying her little lamb chair. When we first got this set up for Mia, Nick took one look at the ears on it & asked, "What's this supposed to be, a buffalo?"
Mia's first football game. She watched her dad help coach the Junior National team in their opening game against France at Fawcett Stadium at the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM JULY

The first week of July was also spent in Ohio, while Team USA cleaned house & earned the gold medal. In three games, only Canada was able to score on them, and they were held to just a single field goal. Eight teams from around the world competed in American football (yes, there are a surprising number of countries who play American football). New Zealand, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, and Japan all earned spots in the World Championship games.

Congratulating the Coach after winning in the gold medal game against Team Canada.

Go Team USA! Mia in her red, white, and blue.

The closing ceremonies...It was like a mini-Olympics.

Soon after we returned home, Uncle Brian got to meet his niece for the first time. We are excited because Brian has now moved the the DC area to work for PWC, so we'll get to see a lot more of him!

I couldn't resist. Her little bottom is too cute.

And one more naked photo...

After we returned home from Ohio, Mia started rolling over from front to back at just 9 weeks. All indications are that she is going to be a great athlete... Mom and Dad are very pleased. : )