Steelheads Hockey

Last year, Brett was "assigned" to help with the Idaho Steelheads hockey team. They are Boise's AA hockey team. Anyway, he would spend many evenings "working" at the games. Eventually, I went with him to check out this whole work deal. Work? Are you kidding me?! Here's how it really works: Brett goes to the game early to do something. Right before the game starts, he goes to sit down. About two minutes before the end of the period, he goes downstairs with the other medical personnel. Repeat during each intermission and the end of the game. Sounds like hard work, right?

Anyway, this season, I decided to go to a couple of games at the beginning of the season. We would take Mia, feed her a bottle before the game started, and she would be fast asleep regardless of how loud it was. The months passed and we continued to go to games, usually when they were home on Friday and Saturday nights. And, lucky us, Mia is a dream during the games.

Here's how it works now: We leave the house around 6 PM. We walk to the arena (see below). Once we're downstairs and get to the zamboni, I take Mia in the backpack and Brett goes to the lockerroom. At this point, Mia and I hang out, walk around the empty arena, and she drinks her bottle. Right before the national anthem, Brett and Ryan, another therapist, appear from the lockerroom. Time to eat! At the beginning of the first period, Brett holds Mia and I feed her. Typically, at the beginning of the second period, Mia goes to sleep. Then, at the middle of the third, she wakes up and is ready to go! End of the game - Brett goes to the lockerroom, and we wait in the hallway. It is much past Mia's bedtime at this point, so as soon as Brett's done we go home. Repeat the next day.

I know this seems like a lot to write, but since Mia has attended roughly 30+ games in her short lifetime, I think it's worth it. By the way, the Steelheads are down two games in the finals right now. We're hoping they win on the road so we can go to at least one more game this season.

Yikes! It's been a whole month?

Wow, I knew it had been awhile since I had blogged, but I hadn't realized it had been an entire month. This was partially due to the fact that our camera had not been charged; therefore, we did not take any pictures. Here's what we've been up to:

Brett - Brett spent a lot of time with Mia because I was coaching all of April. He has also been playing ultimate frisbee on Wednesday's and Sunday's. Other than that, he's been working on keeping all of his plants alive and growing in the house. He has the following in the house: Lemon, lime, banana, pomegranate, tomato, avocado, kiwi, various spices, and blueberry. I don't think it quite looks like a green house, but it's fun to see them grow!

Nichole - I have been coaching at the high school all month. The season wraps up in a week-and-a-half. We have not won a game yet, but they're good kids and have fun. The biggest drawback is that I get home later in the evening on game days so I miss my time with Mia. My eighth graders graduate this month, so I've been busy at school as well. Not to mention, I've had a handful of parents to deal with lately.

Mia - Mia turned nine months at the end of April! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Mia now weights 16 lbs. 9 oz. She enjoys rolling, army crawling, talking, playing with the remote, laughing at Puckett, and smiling. Mia also eats solid foods, holds her bottle, and likes to drink out of her sippie cup. Mia has four teeth now; you can see the top two in one of the pictures. She was also blessed with a new baby cousin, Townes, who is Brett's sister's new baby girl. Mia told me she can't wait to play with Townes soon...and Noah, too.

Puckett - Puckett hasn't been doing anything new lately. It's business as usual for him.

What's New?

The third tooth is officially in! Well, it's not completely in, rather it has just broken through the surface of Mia's gums. We're not sure if it is because of her teeth or not, but the last two days she has also been sticking her tongue out A LOT! We did not teach her that, by the way. We'll try to snap a picture of her with her tongue hanging out. She thinks it's pretty funny!

8 Months

I am eight months old! I can sit up, am learning to scoot, and love to roll around. I like to play with Puckett, chase him with Dad's help, and pull on his lips. Sometimes, I even try to play with his toys and lay in his bed. I love to play peek-a-boo with Dad. You may have seen the video of us playing. How fun! Recently, Mom likes to sit me in the Bumbo seat while she's doing my hair. I always see another little girl in the mirror. She sure is cute! We like to laugh at each other a lot. Besides my regular meals, I've started to try Cheerios and rice cakes, too. They don't taste as good as some other things, but I sure do like playing with them.

24-hour Bug

Tuesday evening, I got home from a softball game and Mia and Brett were sitting on the couch. I was so happy to see both of them. As I picked up Mia, she puked all over herself, me, and the floor. Both Brett and I were in shock for at least a couple of seconds. As I took her over to the sink, the closest place, projectile vomit continued to come out. Nice.

This was our very first encounter with serious vomit, so we weren't quite sure what to do...besides clean it up. With no fever and no crying, we were at a loss. I'm not sure what we would've done even if she was crying and hot. Anyway, she went to sleep only to wake up around 11 P.M. with the same symptom. Brett went to the store to get Pedialite, which Mia wouldn't drink until early morning. Needless to say, by 7 A.M. she was reading to play again.

Fast forward to 10:45 A.M. on Wednesday morning. I called Brett to see if he had taken a lunch to work. (I had stayed home with Mia that day.) He texted back to say that he had just thrown up and would home shortly. After throwing up twice that day, he was able to get back on his feet as well. Whew!

Fast forward again to Thursday. I was anticipating getting sick all day. Consequently, I think I was the one making my stomach ache. We had a game about 35 minutes away. I drove my own vehicle because I wasn't quite sure if I'd get sick or not. Ten minutes before game time I got sick. I drove home, and just barely made it. I, too, had the same short-lived bug Brett and Mia had.

Thankfully, we're all on the up-and-up now. While our stomachs aren't 100% yet, we're getting there. What a long, dreadful week. Hopefully, it will only get better.

Lots of Laughs

Since softball started, Brett picks up M at daycare, and they hang out until I get home. Here's a little taste of what they do. I don't think it gets any cuter! I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband and cute little girl.

Fun for M

Here are a couple of pictures we've taken of Mia in the past couple of days. She's starting to get over her ear infection and is back to her little self.

Puckett is so nice to Mia, even when she pulls his lip, pets him, and puts her foot on his head.

What?! Sitting up is no big deal. Plus, I have my book from Grandma and Grandpa Walker to read while I'm sitting here.

Hello! I'm just eating a banana in this thing. It makes my teeth feel g-o-o-d! My face says it all.

Under the Weather

Mia has encountered her first illness. Two weeks ago, she started with a nasty runny nose and cough. The runny nose has weakened, but the cough is still lingering. Monday night, I woke her up to feed her (yes, we do that) and she was scorching. Brett came downstairs to figure out why she was crying. We took her temperature and got 103 degrees. Honestly, we had no idea what to do. After a horrific cool bath, Tylenol, and a call to the doctor's office, Mia went back to sleep on her dad's shoulder. I stayed home from school yesterday, and today I took her in to the doctor. She has a minor ear infection in one ear and a slight temperature, but I think she'll survive. The good news is that her medication is that yummy pink amoxicillin that I used to just love when I was younger. Don't worry, although I took a good sniff, I did not steal my baby's medicine. (That sounds like it could be a Jerry Springer show.)

Two Teeth

We are happy to report that M has two teeth! We can just barely see the little white top of both teeth popping through. What a big girl!

Date Night

Over the weekend, Brett and M went on a date. That's right, they ditched me altogether and went to the hockey game by themselves. (Actually, I was chaperoning a junior high dance. Enough said.) I wish I had taken a picture of them before they left! Anyway, they went to the game, saw the second shootout in as many nights, and this time we actually won! M had an enjoyable time (she told me so), and I'm sure she cherished every minute with her dad, as always. What an amazing dad she has!

Baby M - Almost 7 months

Here's the most important post for all of you, I'm sure. Here's what little MP is up to these days:

Eating - She L.O.V.E.S. to eat! Besides formula, M loves sweet potatoes, acorn squash, sweet peas, apple sauce, bananas, peaches, pears, oatmeal, and rice cereal (not at the same time). She really does not like green beans.

Sleeping - With the exception of traveling, M sleeps all night long. She sleeps from 8pm until 6am. We're working on dropping her 10pm feeding.

Playing - M loves her exersaucer. In fact, she will turn in her seat so that she is facing the corner and doesn't even care about us. I guess we're just chopped liver these days! She also enjoys playing on the floor, rolls both ways, and sucks on her big toe. Yum! M also pets Puckett sometimes and is very gentle. We'll see how long that lasts.

M and Dad - Well, there's no denying that she is Daddy's Little Girl. From the minute he walks in after work, she smiles. I even tried an exeriment where I tried the same noises and tricks Brett does. Sure enough, she laughs hysterically when he does it, but looks at me like I'm from another planet when I do. It sure it amazing to see the connection they have, and I just love it! I promise! You can even see that in one picture he has his foot on her and she loves it!

Hair - Yes, I am going to report about her hair. Two weeks ago, we were able to put two pigtails in her hair. So cute! It was so cute, in fact, that Brett even liked them. As long as she doesn't have bows in her hair, he likes it!

Teeth - There is one coming in from the top.

Health - Today, the doctor said, "She has the most beautiful ears I've ever seen!" I don't even care if she says that about all babies! M has a bit of a cold right now, so I took her in to the doctor just to be sure. Yep, just a cold. Hey, I'm a first-timer.

Ski Trip

Also in January, we got to take a ski trip up to Montana. To say I was out-of-shape is an understatement! Anyway, we got to hang out with my mom, Greg, Bryce, Jodi, Lane, Josh, and Jan. We had a lot of fun, but surprisingly, have very few pictures to show. After four days of skiing, we were pooped. Thankfully, Jan was able to spend some quality time with baby M. Jan and Josh even took her snowshoeing one morning!

We typically try to stay vertical while on the slopes, but this trip didn't quite work out that way. There was a hill out the back door that Josh, Brett, and I tried to conquer over the course of two days. Brett and Josh were also nice enough to take me through some powder one afternoon. That resulted in my ski popping off and walking down to the lift. And, as you can see, here's how it worked out for Brett.

Playing Catch Up

I knew it had been quite some time since I had blogged, and I'm not even entirely sure what the hold up was, to be honest. Anyway, we're back from our blogging vacation and ready to share more. Bear with me, as I play catch up.

On New Year's Day, we went snowshoeing with some friends and their little girl. This little hike really proved how out-of-shape we are. M loved her backpack (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) and took a snooze while we were out. Happy Belated Anniversary to us!

Pictures - Part II

The Walker family

Mia and Great Grandma Ruffatto

Mia and Santa Claus

Mia in the backpack we got from Brett's parents

Mia in her Christmas dress

Pictures - Part I

Mia with her Great Grandma Seaver

Mia and Uncle Bryce

Nichole and Dad

Uncle Brett sitting on Walker and Wylee