Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, what a week it has been already! We have been so busy the past week and we are only getting started with the holiday festivities. I guess this is what happens to holidays once you have children!!

Our Thanksgiving celebration started last Saturday. After working all night long and only getting a few hours of sleep Saturday morning, we hosted the first holiday get together. Grandma Sandy and Bill drove up with Auntie Steph, Uncle Dan, and Doggie Cousin Louie and Kevin, Michelle, and Cousin Kaiya headed over for a BBQ. Mia was so excited to see her baby cousin that she couldn't stop shaking. She enjoyed showing off her toys and showing Kaiya how they work...especially the flippin' frog on her jumpy house!!



The flood of family continued on Monday night. After working all day, we met up with Gram and cousins Ellie and Nisa for a very special treat! A few years ago when the girls came to stay with us, we took them to Chuck E Cheese and we all had a great time. Remembering the fun we had that time, we promised the girls a few months ago that we would take them to a place even better than Chuck E Cheese...John's Incredible Pizza. Dan and I were really just looking for an excuse to check it out for ourselves :) Wow, this place was amazing! There is a buffet consisting of a salad bar, pasta bar, pizza bar, and even a dessert bar!! Mia was very excited to partake in the buffet and ate her fair share of peaches with cottage cheese, pasta, and even ice cream!! The games and rides (yes rides!!) were a blast. Ellie and Nisa really wanted to ride the kiddie roller coaster, but since Nisa was too short an adult had to ride with her. Since Dan was way too tall, that task fell to me :( We all survived the roller coaster and went on to win lots of tickets playing games. The girls seemed to enjoy SkeeBall the most, but both were entertaining to watch as they shot basketballs with great accuracy. After pizza, we all went back to our house and Mia was lucky enough to have guests in her bathtub! Ellie, Nisa, and Gram stayed with us on Monday night and we were joined by Doc for Tuesday night. Unfortunately Doc and Dan's golf game was rained out on Wednesday...and more unfortunately it is 3am and I am at work right now!!



Being that it is 3 hours into the Thanksgiving holiday, I have been reflecting on how truly thankful I am to be spending my first Thanksgiving with my beautiful baby girl and her amazing dad! I am so blessed to have them in my life! Mia is such a smart, cute, and happy little girl, but more than that I thank God everyday for her health. Working where I do, not a day goes by that I don't see children and their parents suffering with devastating diseases. I hope everyone takes time this holiday to give thanks for the things we so many times take for granted!!

Happy Birthday Auntie Steph!

Last weekend was Auntie Steph's 24th birthday! On Saturday we went out to an amazing dinner at Kingfish in San Mateo to celebrate. We all had a fabulous meal...including Mia.


As many of you know, Mia has not been the best eater in the past. After Mia's 9mo checkup last week, her pediatrician told us to skip the baby foods we've been trying and just start with real food. So far Mia has been a huge fan of turkey meatballs, fresh blueberries, and canned peaches. When we went out for Mexican food last week, she ate Dan's carnitas, my chicken, and a ton of refried beans. So back to Steph's birthday dinner, from the time we arrived at the restaurant until we left, Mia was stuffing her mouth with food! She started off eating her cheerios, continued with a dinner roll, then moved on to her main course, halibut! In addition to the halibut she ate some pasta with cheese and gnocchi! To complete the night, we even let Mia have a few bites of Auntie Steph's vanilla ice cream!! Wow, was she full!! Of course, Mia is still as active as ever so I am sure she burned off ever calorie she ate!!

Happy 9 Month Birthday Mia!!

Life around the Alexander Household has been getting much more hectic as Mia becomes more mobile. Mia is crawling with extreme speed and constantly cruising around the furniture. She is so steady on her feet and able to get up and down with such ease that Dan and I decided we should start to give her a challenge. For Mia's 9 month birthday, we bought her a push toy to help her start working on her walking and she is doing great so far. The first time she gave it a try, she pushed the toy ahead and then hopped on both feet behind it. She is now walking behind it and is so proud. I will try to post some video of her walking! I am thinking she'll probably be walking on her own by Christmas time!!

Along with Mia's increased mobility, a constant power struggle between Mia and Xena has developed. Mia has been chasing Xena around the house, always trying to catch Xena's tail. When Mia's not interested in Xena, Xena will do everything she can to get Mia's attention! Dan and I are constantly breaking the two of them up...very tiring! Hey Roger, after 5 years, are you ready to take your cat back??? Just kidding, Dan would be devastated to get rid of Xena, they are great friends!

Mia Votes!!

We decided to start to prepare Mia for her future 12th Grade American Government Class by teaching her about this historic election! As Dan and I filled out our absentee ballots last weekend we talked to her about the historical presidential race and the important propositions. Mia even practiced her first and favorite word "OO--BAAA--MAAAA"! Mia even got to carry our ballots to the mailbox, accompanied by no other than Barack himself!!

Happy Halloween!

Despite feeling a little under the weather, Mia's first Halloween was amazing!!! We drove to Redding on Thursday for a long weekend at Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly's. Dan and I decided that there was no other place for Mia to spend her first Halloween as Grandma Shelly has a love for the holiday like no other! We were lucky enough to have Uncle Kevin, Auntie Michelle, Baby Cousin Kaiya, Auntie Steph, and Doggie Cousin Louie join us as well. We went to visit Papa Peter at work on Friday and Mia was lucky enough to be able to drive the bus! The rain didn't stop the trick or treaters as there was a constant flow to Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly's front door. Dan had a great time handing out not only candy, but his political opinion as well :) Mia was dressed as a cute little calico cat. Her black and white costume was made by Grandma Shelly and Mia's orange hair completed the "calico" look! Cousin Kaiya wore a cute little white mouse costume which was also made by the talented Grandma Shelly. We all had a great time!!