Christmas 2009

Oh, where to start - Our vacation was, obviously, a bit long and unexpected. The three of us (minus poor Puckett) left on Dec. 19 to fly to California. We were a bit apprehensive at the idea of flying with an infant, but Mia proved to be amazing. It was bittersweet to be able to spend four days in California with family. Some of Mia's aunts and uncles were able to see her for the first time, and her great grandmother got to love on her as well. I'm not sure if it was the time change, flights, or craziness that caused Mia to veer completely off her schedule. This made for long nights!

One day later than planned, we headed to Montana for Christmas. Unfortunately, the weather was not as good as planned; therefore, we ended up taking two more flights to get us closer to northeastern Montana and Brett's parents. Wednesday evening we arrived in Culbertson, Montana to visit the Ruffatto (Brett's mom) side of the family. Again, Mia was welcomed by aunts, great aunts, cousins, etc. that were dying to get their hands on her. It was so much fun to visit with the extended family for about three days. Thankfully, Mia decided it was time to get back on her schedule.

Sunday night, eight days after leaving home, we flew back into Boise. After picking up a smelly dog, we headed home. We feel so blessed to have visited so many people, receive many gifts, and make more memories as a family of four (yes, Puckett counts). I have a ton of great pictures to post, so sit tight for those.

Mia - 5 months

What's she's up to: Rolling over (and over), eating fingers, laying on her tummy for a long time, starting rice cereal, sleeping all night (except for our vacation), laughing, cuddling with Dad, and touching her toes

Favorites: Laying on the floor, cuddling on Dad's shoulder, playing with plastic "chains," and splashing in the tub so Mom has to clean the mirror again

Something new: Rice cereal and making click-like noises with her mouth

Thanks, Aunt Branden, for taking pictures of Mia!

Grandpa Seaver

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. After suffering from Alzheimers and some other ailments for awhile, Grandpa Seaver has gone to a much better place. I know that Grandpa and Uncle Don are enjoying the finer things in life (i.e., golf, horse races, etc.) together. Rest in peace, Grandpa.

Gifts

How do you know when your students are listening? No, it's not reflected in their grades, nor their assessments. Rather, I feel that their listening skills are reflected in gifts (sense the sarcasm here). Please read the following examples:

1. A box of brownie mix with a card saying, "I would have made them, but I know how much you like the batter."

2. A piece of binder paper that says, "I got you a Taco John's gift card online, but it hasn't arrived yet."

Baby M Update

Well, I had a large post about Mia's progress, and somehow, it was lost. So, I'll just say this: She has been sleeping eight hours per night! Alleluia! Here are pictures of her at just about five months old!

Brett is Amazing

I realize I could be considered biased, though I try not to be, but Brett is such an awesome physical therapist! Take, for example, this scenario:

One of the hockey players had knee surgery. Brett saw him as a patient, and worked on his rehabilitation. Last night, the guy played in his first hockey game since his surgery. He scored in the first period! I guess you could say that the player is just good, but I like to chalk it up to excellent rehabilitation and patient care. My husband rocks!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wednesday evening, we traveled to see my mom, Greg, and the rest of the Adams Family for Thanksgiving. It was a short trip, but we enjoyed it. Plus, Mia was able to spend time with her grandparents. I am also happy to report that Brett and I were relieved of feeding Mia for awhile. We had great food and company, but were sorry to make it such a short trip. I don't have pictures of it yet, but my mom made Mia lots of hats, booties, and pants. They are so, so cute!!

Weight Loss

Below, I will recall an incident in class from yesterday morning:

Student 1: I went to a pitching clinic over the weekend and Mrs. Walker was there.
Students: Why were you there, Mrs. Walker?
Me: I am coaching softball at the high school now.
Students: The head coach?
Me: Yes.
Student 2: You don't look like the active type.
Me: (Irritated) Student 2, that's not very nice.
Student 2: I guess you better get on the treadmill.
Students: (In astonishment that Student 2 said that.)
Me: Student 2, that is entirely inappropriate, but we will talk about it after class.
Thinking to myself: You probably weigh the same as I do, you piece of crap. Shut up! Plus, I just had a baby four months ago. Give me a break!

Consequences from the principal: Student 2, please apologize to Mrs. Walker.

REALLY?!?!?!

MP

MP? Yes, Brett affectionately gave Mia that nickname (along with the many others we use). It is short for Mia Pia (it rhymes) or Mia Pants (two names I call her). Yes, we're weird, but try not to dwell on that.

Anyway, I really logged on to post a picture of our little one and give you a quick update. While Mia found her voice about three weeks ago, she learned how to squeal today. It was simply amazing to hear such a high-pitched, loud sound come out of such a little body. This morning, Mia parked herself on a Twins quilt in front of the fireplace while Brett watched the Vikings. Throughout the game, she squealed, and appropriately did it after a Vikings TD. What a gal!

Today, I used up some of a gift card from my God parents and bought a little mat so she can play on her tummy. As I was walking down the aisle, I distinctly remember thinking, "I don't want to get the pink one because if/when we have another little tike, I want it to be gender neutral." I promptly pulled the other one off the shelf and felt satisfied with my choice. It was only when I got home that I realized it was a car...for boys. Oops! At this point, it is obvious that Mia doesn't care one bit. In fact, she spends about two minutes on her tummy, and them flips to her stomach and rolls off the mat altogether. What fun!

8th Grade Religion

One of my students found the word "libido" in his novel. He wrote it down to discuss in class. By the time I joined his group, they had already discussed the meaning of the word, in brief. He originally thought the word meant something about talking too much. Anyway, another student says, "Oh! It's like the song "Livin' La Beeda Loca." I had to kindly tell him that it was actually "Livin' La Vida Loca." I'm not sure what was funner, the fact that libido was a new word or that the other student misprounounced the song title. Regardless, it always makes things interesting.

Speaking of libido, we were learning about the Ten Commandments in class. The sixth commandment discusses the idea that "you shall not commit adultery." As we continued reading about this commandment, there was a nifty mint green box. Avoid the green boxes! The text in the box specifies what all falls under this commandment. I'm trying to keep this relatively PG, but if you need to know more, I can fill you in. My kiddos were mortified to say the least! Because of the emabarassment it caused, I repeatedly told them, "No sex before marriage!" all that week. :o)

Mia - FOUR Months

Well folks, Mia is officially four months old. That's right! While were in Twin Falls over the weekend, we thought we'd expose Mia to a larger bath tub. The water was still a little too cool, so she hung out on the step. Look at that cute little thing though!

It was also rather cold while were there. In prepartion, I had to put this cutie hat on her. It's dog if you couldn't tell. Clearly, she's as excited as I was about it.

What else is new with Mia? She can actually laugh along with her fun new squeals. She also rolled all the way over today. Usually, her shoulder gets stuck, but today she did it! And, Mia found her hair. Unfortunately though, she wraps her fingers around her hair and pulls. This leads to crying and her looking at us like, "Why would you do that?"

Since Mia is the most exciting person in our family, let's start with her. Mia is now 15 weeks old, just short of four months. She continues to grow everday, literally. While she can still wear some newborn clothes, they're getting much tighter and shorter everyday. But now, Mia is in the stage wear the newborn pants are too short and the three month pants are huge. Bummer. During the last two weeks, Mia has also found her voice in a huge way. She likes to make loud noises, and occasionally startles herself at how vocal she is. Last weekend, Mia was having so much fun talking to us, she didn't want to go to sleep. Brett was quick to point out that it's a whole lot better than hearing her cry. Other than that, she continues to enjoy nibbling on her hands, and is just starting to sit in the Bumbo seat. Unfortunately, she still has what I like to call Heavy Head Syndrome. Possibly the most exciting thing has been Mia's sleep habits as of late. She has been sleeping for about seven hours at a time at night. Last night, for example, she slept from 10pm-5:30am. Alleluia!

Brett is also doing well. Ultimate frisbee season is over until spring, but he has started running with Puckett again and continues to go to the gym with his buddy. He also spends time "working" at the hockey games, and seems to enjoy that quite a bit. While his company is not the highlight of his job right now, I think he still finds happiness working with athletes, especially the hockey players. At home, Brett never hesitates to get up and help with Mia, always stays up to feed her at 10pm, and just loves his little girl. I'd have to say, I think she's pretty fond of him as well.

The first quarter has come to a close at school, and we finished the week with parent teacher conferences. I definitely have to say that I had one or two interesting conferences to say the least. In short, apparently it's my fault that students (one in particular) don't turn in work; therefore, failing all three of my classes. Besides the usual "stuff" at school, I have decided to take on a coaching position in the spring. I'll be coaching the varsity softball team at our local Catholic high school. Cross your fingers! On a funny note though, I had a seventh grade boy hold up part of a pretzel and say to his friends, "Look! Boobs!"

Cutie Pie

Call us biased, but we think she's pretty cute! The first twelve weeks (that's right!) as parents have been wonderful. I guess I didn't exactly hear those words out of Brett's mouth, but I'm sure he agrees. We have many a sleepless nights, more dirty diapers than I'd like to count, and we've been peed and pooped on. Awesome. But we also get big hugs (kind of), big smiles, and she sleeps in our arms. What more could you ask for? Her little outfit yesterday was just too stinking cute. Plus, the shoes actually fit now!

Baby Food

Over the weekend, I decided to attempt making some baby food for Mia. Don't worry, she's not eating it yet. We've just started on cookies and brownie mix. Here was the attempt at acorn squash.

We found Noah's friend.

We found cousin Noah's best friend, George. Please come over, Noah, and get him!

Mia, 11.5 Weeks

Lately, Mia has been doing a lot of noise making. This evening, she hasn't stopped moving nor talking for the last two hours. Hopefully, that's an indication that she'll sleep well tonight. Tonight was the first time she grabbed onto these rings and pulled them to her mouth. She's also into blowing bubbles right now. How fun!

Amazing Grace

Bear with me this evening, while I get my feelings out on our blog even though I have a journal upstairs. :o) It was a little bit of a hectic day - watched Brett play frisbee, went to the mall, found out someone used our gift card fraudulently, and went to a wedding reception. To say Mia was overstimulated would be an understatment. We tried feeding her at 10pm, her normal time, but she was clearly not interested. In fact, she didn't even appear tired. I took her downstairs for a change of scenery because her room was darker and quieter. I'm not much of a singer, but began singing her personalized songs to see if it would help. For some reason though, "Amazing Grace" started coming out. At some point, I realized that not only can I not sing the song very well, but I don't know all the words. Nonetheless, I continued to sing my baby girl to sleep. Much to my surprise, as we rocked in the chair, she easily drifted off to sleep.

At some point in the middle of my singing/humming of "Amazing Grace," I began to tear up. It was such a precious moment to share with Mia, even if she never remembers it. Even more so, I realized that today is the day my uncle Don passed away eleven years ago. At his funeral, a friend of his played and sung "Amazing Grace." I'll never forget that moment. Not only that, I'll never forget all the amazing memories I have of him, like: Going to my first and only horse race at Hollywood Park on Palm Sunday, countless trips to the beach in Carpinteria, the necklace and socks he gave me for Christmas one year, and of course, the way he always called and sung Happy Birthday each year.

What was a truly hectic day complete with Puckett acting like a monster, ended in a sweet, sweet way. (No, I didn't mean for that to rhyme.) There are days like today when I know that God is truly watching out for me.

Go Twins!

For those of you who are out of the baseball loop, the Twins are in a big race with the Tigers right now. On top of that, this is the last weekend of regular season baseball in the Metrodome. As I am typing, the game is in the top of the 7th and the Twins are up by three. Our friend Jeremy, a North Dakota native, came over to watch the game, and brought his daughter. She is about two months older than Mia. Here are some cute pictures I snapped of them.

Yes, our little cutie is wearing a Twins shirt courtesy of Jeremy and Katie. It came straight from the Metrodome! We did put a white ribbon/clip in her hair just so no one is mistaken. Thanks, Uncle Bryce and Jodi! Did you notice the quilt? Yes, that's from them as well. We have to support the Twins!

Ten Weeks

I'm posting a day early, but tomorrow, Mia will be ten weeks old. I can't believe how fast it has gone. Actually, the lack of sleep makes time go faster in general!

Sleeping - Mia generally sleeps 6-6.5 hours per night. Two nights ago, she slept eight hours. That was a sweet, sweet night.

Activity - Mia has found her hands and L-O-V-E-S them! She can't get enough. Mia also loves to lay on the floor, kick her legs, and move her arms. She also makes lots of noise and looks around at everything. Her dad is working on having her sit up, but her darn head keeps making her topple over. I wish it weren't so heavy! Brett also gave her her first ride on his shoulders. How sweet! Mia continues to enjoy watching Twins games, and is just getting used to seeing the Vikes and Notre Dame on TV. In fact, she specifically requested to wear purple and navy blue on those days. We have a keeper!

Eating - Mia still drinks anywhere from two to four ounces depending on the time of day.

Diapers - Yes, lots of them!

Women's Celebration

Each year, Boise has a Women's Celebration downtown. There is a Women's Show with vendors and giveaways and a 5k walk/run/stroll. This morning, Mia and I got ready to walk our first 5k together. It was a little early, so don't mind the pretty faces.

Mia's shirt says, "This chick was made for walking." So cute!

Mia is all set and ready to walk.

Here we go!

Here's our "race" numbers. I wouldn't exactly say we went fast, but it was hard to navigate when thousands of other slooooooow people are in front of you.

A little too soon for...

Wednesday evening, Mia and I accompanied Brett to his ultimate frisbee game. After the game, one of Brett's former teammates came to check out Mia who was sitting in the stroller. His little boy, I think he's two, wanted to see Mia. He was determined to see her, and even tried standing on the wheel to get a peek. Brett was sweet enough to push a chair over so the little boy could stand on it. He kept saying, "Baby," and get this, held her hand. It really was the cutest thing I've ever seen. He lifted up her blanket gently, grabbed her hand, and said, "Baby." Cute? Yes. But, we don't need little Mia getting any ideas too soon. :o)

Little Toosh

This morning, Brett fed Mia at 9am (before he went to work), changed her diaper, and got her dressed...while I slept. His onsie of choice was this one, of course. On the front, it says "Little Rookie," or something to that effect. But really, the back is the cutest. This afternoon, she was on her stomach scooting across the couch. Look at her little toosh!

Baptism

Finally, the baptism pictures made it! We were very excited to have Mia baptized over Labor Day weekend. And, with a little string-pulling, we were able to have our favorite priest perform the ceremony. Mia also wore the same gown that I wore many moons ago for my baptism. It fit just right!

Speaking of the priest, we were all there at about ten minutes to 11. The baptism was supposed to start at 11am. It came and went with no priest. Finally, someone called him at about five after. He forgot! Of course, he showed up about five minutes later with some jokes and some apologies!

Mia's Aunt Karmen was nice enough to help us out during the baptism. She stood in for Suzanne (Brett's sister) and Ian (his brother-in-law) who are the Godparents. Thanks, Karmen!

Mia was actually baptized on the same day as Notre Dame's first game of the season. I kept wondering, "What kind of priest would schedule a baptism on that day?" Nonetheless, the Irish won and we were able to enjoy the game after the baptism. Maybe Mia brought them good luck!

Gifts

This is a gift that Mia's Uncle Randy, Aunt Kim, and cousins Kaden and Darienne sent her. It's quite fitting that they would send a whole get-up full of bows and ribbons. They are so stinkin' cute! I can't wait to add to the collection! I'm sure Brett feels the same way.

Here is a quick shot of Mia resting. She is preparing herself for her morning nap. The blanket is courtesy of Great Aunt Mary and Great Uncle Jim on Brett's mom's side.

So cute!

These pictures were taken over the weekend which makes Mia eight weeks old. How cute are these two together? I'm pretty sure they were having some time together on the floor and watching the Twins game as well. Brett is so amazing with Mia, and it's the sweetest thing to watch. He never hesitates to change diapers, feed her, play with her, hold her, etc. And he still finds plenty of time for Puckett, me, and work. What a guy!

We'll start with the "Mia update" since I think it is most interesting. Mia turned 7 weeks old last Friday. She usually eats between three and four ounces each feeding now. We can tell she's gaining weight and getting longer, but she hasn't been back to the doctor to get an official number yet. Mia continues stay awake longer and longer during the day, and sleeps longer and longer at night. What a relief! She seems to enjoy laying on the floor for short periods during the afternoon. Who wouldn't enjoy laying on a Minnesota Twins quilt?! Thanks, Katie and Jeremy!

Last weekend, my dad, Sylvia, and Aunt Karmen came to town. Mia was baptized at our church by our favorite priest, Father Riffle. I'll post some pictures once I'm done being lazy. We have to give a shout out the Mia's Godparents, her Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Ian. Even though they weren't able to make it, we know they were praying for her/us. We had a great time visiting with family and letting them take turns changing diapers!

We had a very enjoyable weekend this weekend! Friday, Mia and I joined a friend for Art in the Park. Saturday morning, Brett, Mia, and I went to the farmer's market downtown with some friends of ours. They had a great idea to hit up the Taste of Idaho at the arena. Talk about good stuff! We got all kinds of free fruit, corn, tortillas, bread, samples of delicious food, etc. It was well worth it! And today, we hung out at home together. Brett planted three currant plants, two gooseberries, I vaccuumed, Mia slept, etc. It was nice to have the weekend for us to just be together.

Cute Little Noises

This morning, I swear I got a little smile from Mia. Of course, she won't do it again though. Listen closely (not to my voice). She's making noises now!

Best Friends...Almost

As I'm sure you know, we are quite fond of our little Puckett. He has, in fact, been with us for most of the time we have been married, and he is now 3 years and 7 months old. His birthday is February 7 in case you want to send him a present. Anyway, we weren't quite sure how Puckett was going to take to little Mia since he has been "it" since he's been with us. Thankfully, he's adjusted rather well. The first days were a little nerve wracking because Puckett wasn't quite sure about this crying business. I'm sure he was also wondering why he wasn't getting our undivided attention anymore. But, as you can tell, things are going just fine. They're not perfect. Puckett enjoys going into Mia's room and taking out stuffed teddy bears, sniffing the diaper trash can, and licking her toes and hair all day long. Overall though, we're quite proud of our little buddy.

Another big step for Puckett, and us, is that I took his crate away today. That's right, for nearly four years he has slept in a crate. He has spent many nights in our room on the floor, but he's so loud when he sleeps. And talk about a dog who snores! So today, is the first day that he will be without the crate. Right now, he is resting peacefully on his pillow...and snoring. What a life! Hopefully tonight will be much of the same. Congratulations on your graduation, Puckett!

By the way, please take note of the quilt they are laying on. The middle square is Minnesota Twins fabric! Our good friends and fellow Twins fans, Jeremy and Katie, had this beautiful quilt made for our family. To say we LOVE it would be an understatement!!!

Mia - 5 weeks

We have officially kept Mia alive and out of harm's way for five weeks! Actually, I like to think I can add 39 weeks to that since I had her in my belly for awhile. This morning, Mia, her Grandma Walker (Brett's mom), and I went to church at school with my students. I was extremely nervous to take her because she has only been to one other mass prior to today. She was amazing! In fact, Mia was awake during the entire mass. While I was pregnant with her, she would always be most active during mass, too. It wasn't until the last song this morning that she dozed off. How nice...

This is the perfect spot for Mia to sit and/or sleep. Brett found that she really likes to lay in it on her side. I think it helps her get comfortable since she's had a bad case of gas. Thanks, Sara L., for the awesome Boppy pillow!

Mia is officially 4 weeks and 4 days old today. We have been struggling to get her gas issue under control for the last couple days, but I think she's feeling better. I weighed her last week and she was at about 7.5 lbs. What a tank! We can definitely tell she's gaining weight, getting taller, and her hair is longer as well.

Mia enjoys sucking on her thumb or other fingers. She's not really particular on which one is in her mouth. Mia is also starting to grab on to our arms or shirts when she is eating. She still enjoys hanging out with her dad as soon as he gets home. Oh yeah, Mia tried to take a ride on Puckett's back a couple of days ago. They both enjoyed it! She also went to mass for the first time last Wednesday, and stayed at school with me for a couple of days. What a trooper!

This week, Grandma Walker comes to visit! Mia's Great Aunt Clarisse and Uncle Don will also be arriving on Saturday. Over Labor Day weekend, Aunt Karmen is coming to visit, along with Mia's Grandma Syl and Papa Ron. We're excited to see everyone!

Produce

Brett's getting some produce from our little garden out back. Here is a small bowl of tomatoes he picked last week. The cucumbers were from a patient, but it looks good, right?


We also have a plum tree out back. Unfortunately, Puckett enjoys eating the plums that have fallen to the ground. Think about it - dog + plums. Not a good combination if you know what I mean. Brett picked a bunch last week and made a fruit rollup. It was delicious! There's another one being dehydrated right now, but it's not quite ready yet.

Green Eggs and Ham

While we were in Wenatchee, we met a dear friend, Sam. She is awesome! Unfortunately, we moved to Boise and Sam currently lives in Salt Lake City. When Sam got news that we were expecting a baby, she sent the most amazing and practical gifts (i.e., burp clothes, dishwasher basket, formula holder, nail clippers, etc.). She even bought Mia a book - Green Eggs and Ham. For those of you who do not remember the book all that well, a common line in it is, "Sam I am." How fitting! We definitely want Mia to remember her name. Today, I read the book to Mia. It was our first go 'round with a book. Clearly, she is excited about it.

Fly Fishing

Last weekend, we took a trip over to Idaho Falls to visit the Adams Family (Greg's side). Greg and Brett got to go fishing on the Snake River while we were there. While they didn't catch anything, it sounded like they had a good time. They even came back soaking wet with a broken rod. You'll have to ask Brett for that story.

Two More Feet

Mia is officially 17 days old. How are things going around the Walker household? I'd say we're slowly making progress. While we've got a hand on the diaper changing and feeding aspect of things, we continue to work on sleeping...all of us. Last night though, Mia was awesome (and Brett, too)! She ate at 11:30pm, 3am, and 6am. Never in a million years did I think I would long for the nights of getting three hours of sleep at a time. I feel so refreshed today!

We have seen a few smiles out of Mia, though I'm sure it wasn't on purpose. She also loves to lay in her dad's arms and listen to him, and she recently discovered my hair. She is fussy and cries like a normal baby would, but she partiulary hates it when you take her diaper off. You can just see the wrinkles in her forehead forming as the cry begins. What does she like? Food is at the top of the list of things she likes, and surprisingly, she seems to like having her hair washed, too. What a girl!

Mia & Puckett

Don't worry - we have not forgotten about Puckett since the arrival of Mia. I knew you were concerned. In fact, he is such a good baby sitter that he was rewarded with his favorite treat...peanut butter out of the jar!

Chirp, chirp

Monday night, I heard a chirping noise around 11:30pm. I got up to look out our bedroom window. It sounded more like it was coming from the east side of our house. As I went downstairs, I realized it was in the kitchen. Is there a bird in our kitchen? Instead of taking the plunge, I asked Brett to check it out. Sure enough, it was our freezer and it was dying. Are you kidding me? This is just what we did not need.

Thankfully, our realtor had included a home warranty with the purchase of our house. Unfortunately though, it took until today for the freezer to get fixed. At least we were lucky enough to have it continue running until today. On the same note, it chirped the ENTIRE time.

Brett's Baby Blanket

It's a little difficult to see, but this is a picture of Mia sleeping under Brett's baby quilt. So precious!

Summer BBQing

These looked so delicious! Good job, Brett!

Cutie Pie