Dance Recital



Her invitation

 Miss Mia had her first recital this past Tuesday.  And I have to say that we weren't sure what to expect, as the child can be unpredictable at times.  But she did great at dress rehersal, and she did a fantastic job on rehersal night.  We did just a little makeup because she's not a grown woman and I refuse to be one of those moms.  But she felt very special and beautiful.  We took some pictures before sending her off to wait with her class and she was being quite the little poser.

                                    Then, as usual, it turned goofy...

They were the 10th act to go on, but she held up very well.  No wardrobe malfunctions or ripped tights to speak of.  When they walked out on stage and I saw that sweet smile on her face (and, as usual, no fear), I could have cried.  I was so proud of her and I was so proud to be her Mommy.  And she hadn't even started dancing yet!  The dancing was very good, too.  She had really buckled down in the past two weeks to better learn her routine and all the girls did a great job.  She did keep looking around at everything, though, but you can't blame her.  It must have been such an experience for her - the stage, the lights, all the people staring at them!

And then the funniest part of it all...Mia stopped dancing at one point towards the end because she spotted me in the audience since we were only three rows back.  She did a delayed double-take (I think because she saw my camera's focus light and knew it was mine), and she just stopped and waved and said, "Hi, Mommy!"  Then she turned to her friend Lily to her right and said matter-of-factly, "That's my mom!", then continued her dance.  Everybody was laughing!  It was the funniest moment and one we'll always remember.  I'm glad we got it on video.



She saw her Mamma :o)

                                                    <= The video

She got a bouquet of flowers from her Grandma and Papa and felt like a little star.  Then afterwards, she was treated to ice cream by her Mimi.  A good ending to a wonderful night.



Ladies and Gentlemen....Blue Steel!

Bookwormy



What?  Don't you read with
your eyes closed?

Mia got her very own library card yesterday.  Big milestone, eh?  The girl loves books.  We try to take her to the bookstore regularly to pick out her very own book, which is such a special treat for her, but most of her books are secondhand because they're so e’spensive. 

But  there’s nothing like going to the library.  Thousands of books for the taking?  It’s so exciting, you don’t even know where to begin.  And neither did Mia.  The lady at the front desk was thrilled for her and explained to her how everything worked, had her sign her card and sent her on her way.  She was in awe over the whole experience and it was hard for her to contain her excitement.  I had to remind her several times that we needed to be quiet in the library because others might be trying to read.  We started our search and I was only expecting to stay for a bit and maybe get a handful of books for her.  But our pile kept growing and after a couple of hours, we ended up leaving with quite a stack.  And she’s already plowed through all of them!  Crazy kid. 


She felt quite important


Like her Daddy, she’s a huge movie buff.  But like her Mommy, she’s also a huge book nerd  8o)  See how that evens out?  I’m glad though.  Nerd it up, baby girl.  Movies are great entertainment, but there’s nothing like a good book and your own imagination.

Her favorite find of the day?.....

Yeah......I know.......  :o)

A Love Lost

We lost our little Zoe to parvo yesterday.  It was the third day since she had come down with the signs.  We did everything we were supposed to do, everything the right way, but she still caught it somehow and her little body just couldn't fight it.  I still feel incredibly guilty and keep thinking maybe if I had done something different she could have made it, or never even contracted it in the first place. 

It's hard to even relay what this little dog meant to us - mostly me.  She had been with us for only a few months, but it felt like she had always been with us.  She was such a big part of our family - of our love.  For still being a pup, she knew each of us so well and whether we wanted play, comfort or alone time.  I never got to tell any of her stories or blog about her since I took those few months off, but I know that those months were spent with her.  And in light of what has happened, that time meant more to me and was more important than her crazy stories.

I never want to forget her or what she was like or what she meant to us and I don't think I ever could.  For me, she was one of those rare souls that you don't often come across in life.  I made a deep connection with her and her with me.  I'm so grateful that I was with her until she passed and I can only hope, while she was taking her last gasps of air, that she heard me when I spoke to her and told her how much I loved her and that we would alway love her.  There's just a hole now.  She's left a huge hole.  I try to take my mind off of her, but I can't.  Everywhere I look, there she is.  Her bed, her toys all around the house, her lavender baby soap, her stash of  stolen goodies hidden under the couch and beds.  All the places she would be - her bed in the morning; playing swords with Mia on the floor; at my feet under the desk; under the kitchen table while I cooked; outside the bathroom door when I showered; under the couch - I keep looking over and expecting her to be there.  And when she's not, it breaks my heart all over again.  I don't want to forget.  She deserves to be mourned and remembered.  She deserved a full life.  But that is life.  It's not always fair.  And when beautiful, innocent lives are lost, it stings even more. 

A Sparkletastic 4th

We kicked it off by making some yummy "sparkler pretzel sticks" and "firecracker cupcakes"....

My goodness, child, you look like your Daddy!  But with much larger, doe eyes :o)

She owned those boots.  Captain America would be proud.



We probably set off hundreds of sparklers.  That's all the kids wanted to do it seemed!

But when they were finally gone...the fussies set in.



No more pictures, Mom!

Tartar sauce!  No more sparklers  :o(   I'll just hold this lighting stick instead.

Was that a whole 2 months? Crikey!

What we've been up to for the last 50-some-odd days...

At first, I took a break from the online world just to finally finish my Harry Potter series (yeah, I'm a major HP dork. what.)  But even after I finished that, it felt really good to be more involved in the daily nuances and not have to get my Internet "fix" on multiple times a day, ya know?  I also basically put my camera away, with just a few exceptions.  Usually regret doing that because this is the way I journal our lives, but at the same time it felt so good to break from it.  Didn't mean to stay away that long, though.  I also got started or finished several crafty projects that I had abandoned months ago...procrastination is my enemy.

Dance/gymnastics classes.  Mia and the girls are learning their routine for their upcoming recital and it's too adorable.  Mia loves her dance class, but she really has taken more of a love to her gymnastics class (I knew she would), so we're thinking of putting her in a longer all-gymnastics class after the new year.  We'll let her decide.  Plus, she gets plenty of dancing from Just Dance 2, which is only the coolest game.  She continues to jump off of everything, sommersaults everywhere and goes around the house doing headstands up against any and every fixed object.  She's a mover, that one.

More injuries - yay!  Mia's injuries never cease to amaze and terrify us.  First, she slid from the ladder on a slide and the back of her leg was not only horribly bruised but looked like Wolverine took a swipe at it.  Then, not two weeks after that while swinging on her stomach, she fell off face-first apparently and bit the inside of her lip real good and scratched her chin and lip.  Are you kidding me?  Again?!  Didn't bite all the way through this time (she bit through her lip right after turning 2 and had to get 5 stitches...), but that wasn't the worst part about it.  The WHOLE underside of her chin/jaw was frightening to look at.  It took on every color a bruise can possibly have.  And she was quite ready to tell the tale to anyone who would listen.  (Please be discrete, child!  You're going to make people think we beat you, for cripes sake...).  Honestly, she looks spotted, banged and scratched up all the dang time now that it's hot, lack of clothing/nakey weather.  And she's only 3 - what's to come when she can really go out and get hurt?  What is it with this kid?! 

The everlasting tattoo.  Daddy thought he was funny by sticking a tattoo on my poor baby's pansa.  And it was funny...at first.  But after days of not coming off, it was less funny.  And then after weeks, it had basically lost all humor.  I told him never again.  He's been warned  >:-\

Warm weather = outside fun.  Walks, fishing and parks.  The last time we went fishing, Mia met a little friend Arizona ("Zoe") who came riding up on her bike and right away informed us that she had an ID bracelet, which she showed us.  She then told us, "This is in case anyone trys to take me, so please don't take me because I'm not really one to be taken." OMG!  I DIED!  She's 5.  She had us laughing at all the crazy stuff she was saying (in all seriousness), "This is my helmet.  My mommy says I have to wear it when I'm on my bike in case I get pulled over by the police."  (Yeah, that Barbie hog you're ridin' there just looks like it's beggin' for trouble from the law.  Those training wheels are especially shady looking.  Illegal aftermarkets, no doubt...) And I though Mia was a character!  She let Mia ride her bike and they played and fished and chatted away.

Zoe a.k.a Zo-Zo a.k.a Trouble.  Like we need another problem!  Kidding.  She is sweetest little girl and she's quickly become my new baby and Mia's new sister. 

Zo-Zo loves the feet

She's a Maltipoo.  And she's a nutball.  And not the Ziggy type of nutball where he runs around like a track dog and you can't get him to stop.  She's a little fighter and mighty dog and she doesn't ever stop causing trouble (unless she's sleeping).  Ziggy is more of a prissy boy - he's so dainty and light on his feet, kind of sensative - and I guess that's why Zoe (although a lot smaller) beats him up.  She's Mia's new bud and they get along like two peas in a pod.  She reminds me of my Milo, bless his little soul.  She has that big personality trapped in her little body.  We got her from Donna, our dog animal dealer.  The Z's can get a bit confusing.  When scolding I'm totally lost.  "Ziggy-er-Zoe-er-whoever you are!  Just go!"  :o)

Bunnies!  We honestly need a farm because the animals keep a'comin'.  These little sweethearts were given to us through our animal dealer's sister (lol) and they're so cute. 

Max & Ruby

We're still getting to know each other, but they're becoming more affectionate and trusting each day.  Their names were Ham and Baby, but Mia changed them to - ready for it - Max and Ruby.  Ha!  All by herself.  And I'm sure that's real original, but  it's still cute.  Max is the shy one and Ruby is the social one.  Mia's learning that all animals are different and that rabbits are not like dogs.  "I know they're the cutest things ever Elmyra Duff Mia, but they don't really like to be picked up or chased or poked in the face with hay!"  :o)  But they do love to be gently pet and nuzzled and loved if you're on the ground them.  We *think* they're both girls.  They're only 4-5 months, so we should be able to tell for sure pretty soon.  Here's to hoping!

Reveling in the yummy summer fruits and veggies!  Farmer's markets be busy.  Fresh green beans, squash, peppers, eggplant, avacados, tomatoes...peaches and nectarines as big as our hands, fresh watermelon and cataloupe, loads of strawberries and cherries...the list goes on. 

Can't get enough of them!  One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh fruit and veggie overload.

Swimming/water fun.  I miss the days of teflon-baby.  Mia now gets plenty burned in the sun, so I've resorted to the kids' Banana Boat SPF 70. 

"G'off me Quetzalcoatlus!"

She's been swimming in her little pool here, at Mommy's friends', Grandma & Papa's and everywhere else there's a pool.  The sprinklers/water parks are also a summer staple.  We signed Mia up this past May for discounted swim lessons at our big aquatic center here, but they're not until August...guess that's why they were discounted, eh?

What?  You don't have tea parties in the pool?....and then drink said "tea"?....