Swing Thing

Mia is on the verge of sitting up on her own, which will open up a whole new world for us all, I am sure... Yesterday we met some friends at the park & Mia tried out a swing for the first time. She loved it!

This picture was taken with the flash on, so what was really around 5 o'clock when the sun was beginning to set looks more like midnight. As nice as it was to "fall back" for that one hour on Halloween night, I really miss the longer days!

Civics Lesson

Mia got to experience the democratic system of government for the first time when she accompanied me to the polls on Election Day.

I love the "Future Voter" sticker.

She felt good about doing her civic duty.

The Lost Symbol

While Nick's mom was visiting, we thought it might be interesting to take a tour of the George Washington Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia. Nick and I were getting ready to start Dan Brown's new book & we thought it would be a good idea to go learn something about the Masons before diving into it. It was an interesting place, but we didn't really learn much about the Masons themselves. Guess we will have to rely on Dan Brown's take on them. I'm sure it will be mainstream Masons and not the extremists he focuses on, right?

17 foot tall statue of George

While we were in this main hall, the only person who liked to hear themselves talk more than our tour guide was Mia. I think she enjoyed the echo. She was LOUD.

Yes, you Raiders of the Lost Ark fans, that IS what you think it is in the background.

The stained glass was really pretty throughout the building, but this one was my favorite. Notice the Knights Templar flag at the base of it. We did actually learn a little something about them to give us a teeny more insight into Dan Brown's first best seller.

The view of Old Town Alexandria from the top floor of the Masonic Temple.

Mia got a little bored & tired of competing with the tour guide for attention.

Even the view at the end didn't do it for her.

Now we can finally say we have done it since we only live a couple of miles away.

Grandma Love

We were lucky enough to have Nick's mom visit this last weekend. Mia was especially excited & had nothing but smiles for Grandma. We knew that Linda wasn't really coming to visit Nick and I, so we tried to give her as much Mia time as possible. She even babysat while we went out & celebrated our anniversary a little early. We wish the weather could have been a little better for her visit, but we still had a great time.

Grandma wanted to do all the mundane Mia chores whenever possible, so she fed Mia her oatmeal, her prunes (she's a little constipated these days), her sweet potatoes, changed diapers, read books, and just played with her all day long. It was great!

Mia absolutely loves books. She will stare at her library and lean toward it until you read to her. I think my favorite trick of hers is that she knows how to turn the pages of her baby board books. Hopefully she will keep up that love of reading! With a grandma who was an elementary school librarian and a mother who was a fourth grade teacher, she may not have a choice.

In the evenings we, of course, had to Skype with Grandpa. We are convinced that Skype is the reason she already knew and loved Grandma when she came. Mia gets really excited to see her buddies in the computer.

Grandparent love is the best.

Thanks for coming to visit!

Mia's First Halloween

This little polar bear almost missed her first Halloween completely because she was in hibernation. We finally decided to just wake her up so she didn't miss ALL of the festivities. The jury is still out on whether or not she was glad we woke her up from her nap to enjoy the holiday...

...but she made a really cute, sleepy polar bear.

Earlier in the day, Mia had on her Halloween outfit. Mia is starting a new band. Boo Thugs 'n Harmony is an Alrington, VA original. No wonder everyone thinks she's a boy...

The fam on Halloween, including Grandma Inzerello.

Some of our neighbors dropped by with their little boy who was the cutest frog I've ever seen. Mia wasn't sure what to do with him...

...so she ended up just holding his little frog hand.

In the end, the costume didn't last too long. She was getting a little toastie with the combined heat from her blubber & the fleecy costume. At least WE enjoyed it.

Nor Cal

Last week we were able to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and their four girls in California. Mia was, once again, a traveling champion (the direct flights helped) & even slept through the night in her carseat when we were delayed four hours on our red-eye flight back to DC.

We had a great time catching a glimpse of a week in the the life of the Jackson family and were left in awe of Amy's organizational skills. Mia loved spending some quality time with her cousins and made a special bond with Lizzy, in particular. We enjoyed a fun and relaxing trip and ate a LOT of really good food. Taylor even made both savory & dessert crepes for us in addition to all of Amy's culinary masterpieces... We were really spoiled. Thanks for being such great hosts!

Taylor, Charlotte, Mia, & Lizzy reading books together the morning we arrived.

Mia getting ready to hike at Rock City.

McKenna, Sydney, & Lizzy showing off their mountain goat skills.

The Crew... minus Amy who is taking the picture & Charlotte, who is behind Taylor's large head.

The Inzerellos in Rock City.

Sydney, Lizzy, & McKenna - Queens of the Hill

On Saturday, we watched McKenna and Sydney's soccer games & got to see Taylor take on the roles of both official & coach at the respective games. (He didn't do both at the same time, although he is probably very capable... the man can multitask.)

We also got to go to the local Farmers' Market where they had a little bit of everything...hot donuts, tortillas of every flavor, homemade pasta... even karaoke! I was in heaven.

Amy & Lizzy picking out some green beans & eating some juicy pears.

Sydney & McKenna

All the cousins together - this was attempt #23, I think.

Charlotte & Mia are over it.

Amy and Charlotte

Saying our goodbyes...

The fate that awaited us at the airport. Washington - Delayed... Indefinitely... Forever.

We were sad to go...We miss NorCal and the Jacksons already!

Rice Cereal

Mia is now just shy of 5 months old and has taken an interest in our food lately, so we decided it was time to start her on solids. This past weekend we mixed up some very appetizing rice cereal (mmm...), strapped a bib on Mia for the first time, and went for it. We are only 2 days in, but so far so good. She ate in small quantities, but did in fact swallow on occasion.

Getting ready for the big moment

There was a little excitement...

...and a little anxiety...

"Mmmm...doesn't this look good, Mia?"

I don't think she's buying it.

So perhaps it was not her favorite meal... Certainly not as tasty as when Dad gave her a tiny taste of ice cream when I wasn't looking...

...but she didn't cry...

...although she may have left feeling a little disatisfied in the end...

DAY TWO

Lookin' good, baby... lookin' good. Just keep it down, please.