Cuddlebug's January 2007 Photos

January 2007 Update

So we've been a little busy these days and I didn't get photos up from November or December. So I'll just roll it all into January.

The big news from November is we went to Florida the week before Thanksgiving to see Mike's family. Everyone was there - Mike's brother Matt, his wife Kim, and their kids Naomi, and Una (we missed Kirian being there) and his sister Melissa and Rebecca. We got there LATE Wednesday night (I don't think we got to bed before 2am) and stayed through Sunday. The weather could have been warmer, but it sure beat Minneapolis. The kids (Naomi and Una) got to go to Disney World with their grandparents and Aunt Melissa and Rebecca, while Mira hung out with us and Matt and Kim. There was a brief attempt at swimming outdoors, but Mira is definitely her mama's daughter and made it up to her knees before crying uncle! She much preferred the hot tub. Yes, call CPS on me, I let my two year old daughter play in the hot tub. On Sunday we had a wonderful pre-thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner. And as always, I ate way too much during our visit. Oh, I almost forgot, Dick and Gail stayed at a neighbor's house two doors down from their house so that we could all sleep in beds (so nice of them!!!). Anyway, every morning the girls would beg to go wake them up and we'd have to hold them back until at least 8am, then we'd unleash the hounds! Naomi would carry Mira over there and all three of them would wake up Grandma and Grandpa. While we were there, we also found out we'd be moving to Colorado in January. Let the insanity begin!

The very next week, back in Minneapolis, some of my family joined us for Thanksgiving! My aunt Roberta and her son Eric made it up from Kansas. And my brother Chris, his wife Megan, and their two kids Baden and Bronagh came in from Michigan for some turkey. Of course, Oma was there as well. It was a great time. I kicked some major butt in Scrabble, but then so did my mom and Chris.

The real fun began once everyone left. On Monday after Thanksgiving, we found out that I was pregnant (I timed that one REALLY well) and met with a realtor about selling the house. Two weeks of craziness ensued, trying to get the house ready for the market. We had a guy come in and finish the bathroom floor ( I started to tear it up right before I got pregnant with Mira). Mike spackled and painted the bathroom. We had someone (and this is bad bad house karma, i apologize to the gods of remodeling) come in and, yes, paint over the wall paper in the hallway upstairs. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. And finally, we got it on the market right before left for Colorado to look for a house. We had two open houses that weekend while we were gone, and to my amazement, we had an offer Monday night. I cried. The timing worked out perfectly since we found a great house in Colorado and wanted to get in an offer right away.

Though this took a lot of pressure off of us, I still didn't have the energy or wherewithal to do much for Christmas. Mike and I didn't even exchange Christmas gifts. To make up for it, we're going to get this for each other very very very soon. Our friend Kate lent us a small Christmas tree that Mike set up for Mira on Christmas eve. The next morning, we ushered her into the kitchen so that we could eat before the madness began. After pancakes, we said to her "Mira, we have a surprise for you!" and she said "PRESENTS!" and ran into the living room. I think she had more fun with the Christmas tree than she did with opening presents.

The next two weeks are just a blur in my memory. I remember feeling really sick and trying to get ready to move. We were really lucky that we could have the movers pack up, load the truck, and unload everything. I think we'd still be in Minneapolis if we had to do it ourselves. I do remember that Mira was a champ through it all. I was afraid she'd freak out when the movers started to box everything up, but she took it all in stride. Even the drive out here was uneventful. She's a trooper.

We're mostly moved in now. Mike's sister Melissa came out that first week for about five days and played with Mira so that I could unpack. I was so efficient that she was able to leave a day early and Mira had sooo much fun with her auntie. The basement is still packed and the garage needs some work, but the house is in working order. Once some more snow melts we'll get sod and some plantings for the front yard. The builders will repaint the house. Maybe I'll hang some shades. Who knows.

During all of this insanity, I thought we'd see some big regressions with Mira, but nothing except for a few public tantrums. The first night in the house, we moved her into her own bed for the first time. And she just went with it. No crying or protests or anything. She woke up a few times at night, but either Mike or I would go in to comfort her and she'd be back to sleep within a few minutes. She also thought 5:30 was a reasonable wake up time, but has since been convinced that 6:30 is a much more civilized hour at which to begin the day. At night, I bathe her and read to her, then Mike takes over and helps her to sleep, but in the last week, he's been tucking her in and leaving her to put herself to sleep and she does. It's really the most amazing thing. I can't express how proud I am of her. This is definitely not the way we used to do things, and she's just taken to it like it's nothing. Many times after I read to her, she's so talkative and alert I think to myself 'This kid is never going to sleep again.' But most nights she's asleep before 8:00. I know some of you are thinking 'it's about time!!!' And it is, it was the right time for her and for us to make the change. I'm glad we waited and did it when she was ready.

Some cute words that I don't want to forget:

  1. magalets - magnets
  2. eleventeen - our favorite number
  3. ice skaters - she wants to go ice skating on ice skaters. Pink ones of course.
  4. 'chool - school
  5. stepadee - Sesame Street

I've been amazed at how her language skills have developed over the last few months. In August, it was mostly single words, or a couple strung together. By her birthday she was speaking in sentences. And now, well, she's still speaking in sentences, but they're much more complicated. You really can hear the excitement in her voice when she speaks. It's like she's got all these things to say and finally the words are there for her to use and she just can't get it out fast enough. And she talks about what she has done in the past and what she's going to do, what she wants to do, not just what she is doing. It's so much fun right now (mostly). I just wish I felt better, had more energy to play with her, but I still feel like crap.

Other developmental things to note:

  1. She can count to 12 and recite most of the alphabet
  2. She can write the letter H - which I think in Mira-land is M
  3. She's singing songs - she's probably late on this, but she sings the Sesame Street song and Shoo Fly
  4. Today she told me that when you mix blue and yellow you get green!
  5. We've had some imaginary friends that have come and gone - Emma, Squeaky

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