Little Miss Chatter Box

Mia is chatting up a storm these days. Mom's new iPhone helps to capture the action.

Bathtime is my past time:



This is the "I'm funny." video from last week.

I am Mia D'ARCO.

Grandpa took me to the zoo! And a few other places, too.

Two big days in a row! NYC...then the Bronx Zoo. It doesn't get better than this. Daddy even took me on the merry-go-round. It was fun for about 2 seconds. Then I just held on for dear life. Who invented those wheels of terror?

Then we went to lunch on Arthur Avenue. No trip is complete without the obligatory visit to the "Pork Store." Mommy waited outside.

Big day in the Big Apple

We took a day trip to New York for some more of Mia's "firsts" --most notably, a trip to FAO Schwartz. The little one went absolutely bonkers--running from one display to another. We have a whole bunch of photos of Mia just pointing at things. But first--we checked out Broadway and went to a diner in the middle of Times Square.

And the aftermath of FAO Schwartz...A cat nap on the way to the sushi bar

Spring Break has sprung!

It's time for a break! We were off to Greenwich last week to visit Grandpa Dom. Mia enjoyed playing in the Daddy-coffee table tunnel. Mommy and Mia went to Todd's Point beach for a nice afternoon walk. It was still a little chilly, but nice to be outside. Here are Mia's first reactions to walking on sand.

Little Blondie

Mia is still looking blonde, even towards the end of her first winter. Brad says she looks more and more like Ma-ma in these photos, which also happen to show her chatting up a storm. She says "Ma-ma," "Da-da," and "BAH" (ball). Mia is also learning to communicate with sign language--she knows, all of the important things like: "hungry," "more," and "all done." We're working on the please and thank you....

Out and About

We went out and enjoyed a nice quiet snow on campus. Thank you Nana Jan and Nana Sherrill for the sled! Mia would wave hello--but she's a bit restricted in all of those layers. Notice the new kicks, too :) Is track season on it's way?
Back inside for a warm-up. Mia shows off for Nana Sherrill.

Incident Report

His parents claim he was only trying to kiss her. I guess we could call it a "love bite." Yes- one un-named young man (well infant) moved in a little too close on Mia at school the other day. Ouch!

Happy Birthday, Mia!

Here they are...the much anticipated birthday pictures! It was a busy day here at school, so in order to accommodate Mia and her guests, we just had to have cake twice. Mia didn't seem to mind (Little Dog Lina was pretty happy, too). Mia is getting around more than ever now. The day after her birthday she took a couple of steps (unassisted) between the coffee table and the sofa. She didn't seem to realize what was going on and was instead focused on holding on to her sippy cup. Today she really started to try walking on her own. This afternoon she just decided she was going to try to walk from one toy or piece of furniture to another in the living room, instead of scooting.

Happy Holidays!

A week or so after we got back from Thanksgiving break we went out in search of the great D'Arco family Christmas tree. Mia suited up and Mom donned the kiddie-carrying daypack and we were off to Seekonk Tree Farm. It took a while to find the perfect tree...but we could tell from Mia's awestruck face when we came upon the right one.

Mia attended Berkshire's annual faculty children's holiday party dressed as the jolly old man himself. Here she is with two of her buddies (Fitz and Lucy).

She started using the walker a few days before we left for the holiday break. Santa was planning to put one under the tree for her, but when we saw her motoring around at daycare, we convinced him to visit a little early.

Turkey Day

The first Thanksgiving:

Mia had a great holiday and tried just about everything we put in front of her--even the brussel's sprouts, Nana Jan! You can see from the smile below that there wasn't much she turned away.

Here are some photos from Mia's first Thanksgiving:

And the obligatory exterior illumination set-up. That's one huge wreath, Grandpa Dom!