Lashes

This photo doesn't really do them justice. Mia definitely inherited her father's eye lashes and they're starting to really fill in now.

Bi-ped anyone?

Look Mom, I'm a bi-ped after all! With a little help, Mia enjoys a walk up Dad's tummy. Other favorite activities include "blasting off," jumping, and "flying like Superman."

Drool Fest 2008

Didn't get the memo? Drool Fest 2008 is the place to be. Only the most experienced droolers are performing this year. And, due to the rising infant population, the popular event has been moved to the Berkshire School campus. While Mia's buddy Fitz (who is currently teething) is the main act, Mia will be opening the show. Hope you remembered your bib.

Mirror, mirror

Whoa! It's four times as big as the one in my old gym. As you can see, Mia has taken to her new workout facility quite nicely. A "jittering" elphant, giraffe rattle, singing flowers...what could be better? Maybe we should have just invested in a new mirror for the munchkin.

Working Out

Mia's been working out in her gym every morning. In fact, she loves it so much that Mom just ordered a new one twice its size- an all-out infant activity center. Mia especially loves the "rings." What's next Mia, the uneven bars?

Yankee Nation

Here she is: The newest member of Yankee Nation. Mia surprised her proud papa in the dining hall last night when she arrived in her newest hat (courtesy of Grandpa Dom). Mia wore it with poise, despite several looks of scorn from the Red Sox babies.

Road Block

Mia's been moving more and more during Tummy Time lately. It's not a crawl...more of a belly scoot. That whole flip-over trick is old news. Mia's taking it to the streets...until she comes across the occasional road block.

Chew Toy

In a house with two dogs we talk about chew toys quite a bit. More so now that there are two dogs and a Mia. If that's not a look of determination, we're not sure what is.

Sunday

Ahh Sunday...the only day of rest for the boarding school weary. With more beautiful weather and a day off from work, the family geared up for a trip into Great Barrington. We did some shopping at the two toy stores in town-- had to find the perfect inflatable pool for the summer! And grabbed a bite at the very bohemian Cafe Helsinki-- Mia, you are so hip.

But first-we geared up in the appropriate attire.

Mia wasn't sure what she thought about her first pair of Osh Kosh overalls.

But, she knew the sun hat was too much.

Tasty Blankie

Yes folks, she's defintely located the mouth...and everything is fair game to go in it. Look out Mom and Dad- you better be baby-proofing the apartment. Hmm...I wonder if this cute blankie tastes as good as it feels?

Back Blogging

For those of you who are regular visitors to the Mia Elizabeth D'Arco blog, you've probably already realized that this post didn't really go up on Friday. We'll call what we've been experiencing lately the Great Three-Month Growth Spurt. (Notice that the "Great Depression" also began with the word "great.") Mia gave us two days of extraordinary sleep...followed by 4 (so far) days of hardly any. She's been getting up at all hours of the night (literally) to feast. Here are some shots form the extended awake/alert time.

The weather has been beautiful lately, and Mia is enjoying all the extra naked time. Here she is hanging out with mom after a walk with the dogs outside. And later, she enjoyed some Stanley Cup playoffs from the Bumbo...

Who said I don't know...

Yes, apparently Mia took our last blog post to heart. She's been working on that whole "where is my mouth thing" quite a bit today. Or is that the international sign for "feed me now!"? She had, after all, just finished a rigorous ten minutes of tummy time. Perhaps Mom should give her more credit.
Open mouth...
...insert fist.

How does this thing work?

Mia was enjoying a bottle yesterday evening with Dad when she started trying to feed herself. Her little hands can't quite wrap around a bottle yet, nor does she have the coordination to manage such a feat, but hey, she's working on it. Apparently she also needs to figure out where her mouth is."Can you snort this stuff?"

BUMBO!

The Bumbo (rhymes with Dumbo, like the elephant) chair has arrived! The funny purple foam seat helps Mia sit up like big girl. Now that she's gained some control over that big noggin, she can spend some more time upright. This was the only item Brad wanted on Mia's baby registry. He says, "the more time she spends sitting up, the better!" Mom's just worried that he might start entering the little one in neck strength contests.

Question:

When is a hairy frog cute?

Answer: When it's on Mia's tummy.

Get a grip

Don't worry Mia's got a handle on the situtation. (We blame these cheesy lines on sleep deprivation.) Anyhow, Mia was enjoying her Wiggle Worm gym yesterday afternoon when she figured out that she could reach and hold on to one of the toys. (Check out that vulcan grip--live long and prosper little babe!) Her greatest accomplishment, however, was giving the thing a tug so that it played the alphabet song. Mom heard the music and came running with the camera to capture the scene.

Playing Footsie

Ahh some time with Dad and the hallway mirror last night provided Mia with a good ten minutes of entertainment. We thought she'd enjoy making eye contact with herself, but instead the cool mirror on the bottoms of her feet peeked her interest. Later that night the three of us enjoyed some dancing to Michael Buble (pronounced Boo-blay-- How do you type accents over letters again?) in the nursery. Dad attempted to rest his own feet several times, but the little tyrant wouldn't have it.

Grievances

Yes, it's a Festivus for the rest of us! Today we celebrated the popular Seinfeld holiday. Mia (appropriately so) was put in charge of the ever-important "airing of the grievances." She did it oh so well, too. Thanks, Dad, for the Festivus 2008 jersey.

Business up front, party in the back...

Yep-- as promised, here is a nice shot of Mia's current hair-do. It's short (really short in some places--is that a bald spot?) and tight all around, except for at the nape of her neck by her little "stork bite" birth mark. It's definitely a mullet. While I'm sure all the grandparents will try to come up with a nicer name for the hairstyle, it's hard to hide the cold hard truth. Only time will tell if the rest of her head will ever be able to catch up.

Little Spectator

Saturday afternoon was sunny and quite a bit warmer than it has been in a while. Mia joined Mom at the track meet and managed to nap through her constant cheering. Afterwards we zipped inside for an afternoon snack and then headed back out for Dad' lacrosse game. Mia rode in her stoller without the car seat insert for the first time. (Instead of facing Mom or Dad, she now has a great view of the world outside.) Mom was more thrown off by the whole switch--she kept stopping to peer around the canopy.

Bath time photos for the grandparents.

We're still trying to make up for our absence from the blog. We figure we can win back your loyalty with some shots like these. Mia's tub is designed to allow for the continual flow of clean water. (Thank you Auntie Lin!) It's not very environmentally friendly, but when you pee and sometimes poop in your bath, maybe a little circulating fresh water is good thing. Anyhow, Mia's vision must have just expanded so that the pouring water from the tub's spout is now in view. She went crazy at her bath tonight, kicking like mad at the splashing water. She stopped playing the very second the water turned off, gave us a confused look, and then screamed the entire time she was being dried. Here are some images from the happier moments. PS- we're hoping to share news with you in an upcoming post that she really does have a neck.

When can she come out and play?

Lina dog is in a big hurry to see Mia grow up. As if she were trying to summon a friend, Lina took her soccer ball to the crib. I guess she's spent some time watching Mia Hamm on TV, too. "Lina, that might be the best doggie trap we've ever seen. Just remember, if you want Mia to play with you, you're going to have to share the ball."

Fever Soother

We've been busy this week with all sorts of things. Dad's been getting ready for revisit days for the accepted students and their families, Mom's students had a big art show, and little Mia...had her first cold. So...those are our excuses for being delinquent with the blog posts. Take them or leave them.

Anyhow- Mia's first little cold brought with it a first little fever. A little Tylenol, some "nakie-nake" (naked) time, and the "bink." were all needed to calm her down. Eventually we all reached exhaustion and fell asleep. As you can see, Mia was not very happy about the whole escapade. (You should have seen her the following night when we had to run the vacuum cleaner for a whole hour to get her to settle down for bed. It was quite a scene. Dad pushed the stroller up and down the hall in the apartment, while Mom followed close behind with the vacuum. Mia woke up whenever the two of them strayed more than 6 feet apart.)

Still looking blue

Here are a couple of shots of Mia's cool baby blues. We're pretty sure they will change, but here's the dark blue shade she's been sporting thus far.

Phew!

I spent all day Sunday helping Mom prep for the AP art show. All that art appreciation tuckered me out.