The Alexander Family

Mia's Birthday Party

2010-02-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

How is it possible that our baby girl is already 2 years old? These past two years have flown by and we are so lucky to have Mia in our lives! In celebration of these 2 years, we had a party!

We celebrated Mia's birthday party with lots of little kids at Wacky Tacky http://www.wackytacky.net/ Wacky Tacky is an indoor play area which is located in an industrial area not far from our home. Inside, the kids can climb, run, jump, slide, and play with foam balls! We had around 15 kids and although we knew all the kids would have fun, the parents (especially the dads) seemed to have at least as much fun as the kids.

After playing for 1 1/2 hours, we moved to the party room where we ate pizza and watched a slide show that the staff had put together from the pictures they took during the party. After this, we all sang "Happy Birthday" and Mia blew out the candle on her cupcake! Mia had SO much fun at her party that she passed out in the car as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot! After the party, we headed back to our house where we had a small gathering of family and friends for dinner. Mia spent a large portion of the evening in her new wagon with her friend Dylan!

New Year's Eve

2010-01-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to spend New Year's Eve in San Francisco with our friends Meeko and Emily...we were even more excited that we were able to leave Mia at the beach with Doc and Gram so we could have a night out by ourselves :) Below are some pics from our NYE party!!

A haircut for Mia

2010-01-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

Mia got her first major haircut in December! After months of going back and forth on what to do with Mia's growing mullet, we decided to chop off Mia's baby curls! We went to a children's salon called Tangles which is not too far from our house. Although Mia cried throughout the beginning of the haircut, she held very still and calmed down when we gave her a lollipop and let her watch an episode of Dora on our i phone!

Lots of tears

Life's a little better now!

Christmas X 3!!!

2010-01-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

Soooooo late on the blog updates...as usual we have been really busy and in addition, this month we have been sick too!

Christmas #1

Per our tradition, we celebrated our first Christmas of the year with Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly in Redding. We always LOVE going to Redding, where we can relax and eat lots of Shelly's yummy creations! As soon as Dan got home from work on Friday Dec. 11th, we jumped in the Tahoe and headed north on I-5. We spent Friday through Sunday in Redding and were lucky to be joined by Uncle Kevin/Auntie Michelle/Cousin Kaiya, Auntie Steph/Uncle Dan, and Auntie Shawna/Jeff! Mia truly LOVES spending time with her Aunties and Uncles and enjoys playing with her Cousin Kaiya (as long as Kaiya doesn't try to kidnap Baby Hectorina!).

Mia pushing Baby Hectorina in her new stroller.

Saturday night we spent eating our prime rib Christmas dinner and opening presents! It didn't take Mia long to remember how to open the presents. She was THRILLED to get a new stroller and baby! Per our tradition as well, we headed to the casino after presents...with the exception of Mia's mommy who was WAY too tired to go. Thankfully, Daddy won a little bit of money.

Opening presents with Daddy

Oh, Wow...a new baby!!

We were SO sad to leave the next day, but as you can tell from the pic...Mia was EXHAUSTED!!
Christmas #2....Christmas Eve

Keeping with tradition, we spent Christmas Eve with Gammy and Bill in Discovery Bay. We timed our drive with Mia's nap which was nice because we had a very well rested little girl when we arrived! Joining us for Christmas Eve at Gammy's were Uncle Kevin/Auntie Michelle/Cousin Kaiya and Auntie Steph/Uncle Dan/Cousin Louie Dog. We spent our first Christmas Eve in the new Discovery Bay home. Mia and Kaiya discovered that they LOVED running in circles around the new house. After lots of yummy appetizers, we had nice dinner and delicious desserts! Mia LOVED all the play food she got as well as a cute new outfit and a special new pair of pink Uggs that her Gammy brought her from Australia. Although she loved all the gifts, the highlight of Mia's evening was the bubble gun that Gammy brought from Australia. Mia, Kaiya, and Louie LOVED all the bubbles!

Gammy brought back this super cool bubble gun from Australia

Mia's new tea set

Daddy, Mommy, Mia & Baby Hectorina

Auntie Steph, Uncle Dan, Cousin Louie Dog

Mia feeding baby in her new hat and matching backpack

Christmas #3

We were all so excited to have Uncle Roger/Auntie Mika/Cousins Ellie, Nisa, and Maile with us for Christmas! They arrive on the Wednesday before Christmas and their first stop on their way into town was at John's Incredible Pizza! Although it was a late night for everyone, we were so excited to be able to take all the girls since it is without a doubt their favorite destination! After playing all the games, choosing prizes and eating dessert Ellie and Nisa came back to our house for a sleepover!

Slumber party in Mia's room!

On Christmas Eve, our house was packed! In addition to Ellie and Nisa spending the night, we also had Doc/Gram and Uncle Roger/Auntie Mika/Cousin Maile. After this sleepover, we became more convinced than ever that we NEED a bigger home!

When we awoke Christmas morning, the kids were THRILLED to see that Santa had come!!! Santa brought Mia a new kitchen! She was so excited to be able to cook in her kitchen with all her new food and the pots and pans that Mommy and Daddy bought her. She also loved her new American Girl Doll Bitty Baby that Uncle Mark and Cousin Monte Dog brought her, the baby gear from Doc and Gram, and the horse stable and horses from her Uncle Roger and family!

Mia cooking in her new kitchen

Playing with Doc

After opening presents, we headed to the Great Grandparents house! GG Fay and Boppa Wayne hosted Christmas Dinner for the Thomas family. It was a nice end to a long day to spend time with our extended family. It was funny to see, but the highlight of the entire day were the balloons on rubber bands that came from Auntie Annie/Uncle Doug/Cousins Jeff and Holly! They were so simple, but definitely the hit of the day!!!

Happy Family!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween!!!!!!!

2009-11-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Alexander Family has continued to be super busy this October! We were so excited to take Mia to the pumpkin patch for the first time. We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland, which is about 20 minutes from our house. It is a large pumpkin patch with farm animals, a hayride, fields and fields of pumpkins and lots of yummy treats!! Mia loved looking at all the animals and mommy was really happy to avoid the petting zoo!! After jumping in the hay, we took the hayride to a field of pumpkins and walked around for a little while before we found our perfect pumpkins! After taking the pumpkins to our car, we had the most amazing apple slushies and bought an apple pie to take home! Mia with the chickens
Jumping in the hay
Running to the pumpkins

Mommy and Mia on the hayride

Mia loved the little green pumpkins!

For Halloween, we drove to Redding to visit Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly. Nobody loves Halloween like Grandma Shelly nor does anyone make such amazing costumes! This year's theme was Wizard of Oz and all of us dressed as different characters. Of course, Mia was a beautiful Dorothy!! Daddy was the tin man and Mommy was the tornado! Mia had so much fun and did such a great job trick or treating! She was so brave as she walked to each door and knocked her tiny little knock. Although she did not say "trick or treat", we were very proud that she instead said "please" and "thank you"!

Helping Grandma pick tomatoes

Reading with Auntie Steph

Playing in the playhouse with Cousin Kaiya

It's Dorothy!!

Mommy the Tornado, Daddy the Tin Man and Mia as Dorothy

Grandma the Good Witch with Dorothy

Dorothy going into her house!

Dorothy with her Auntie Steph (AKA the Wicked Witch as the beginning of the movie)

Papa Peter the Scarecrow with Dorothy and Cousin Kaiya the Wicked Witch

The TORNAO!!

Please and Thank You (AKA Trick or Treat!)

Mia with Auntie Shawna---her Dorothy counterpart!

Reading with Papa

The morning after Halloween bikeride!

End of Summer

2009-08-14T13:12:00.001-07:00

We have been so busy the past few months! Too much too blog about and not enough time to sit down to write. In an attempt to catch up...here we go! We'll start with our trip to Santa Cruz in August!!

After returning from our camping adventures in July, we headed to Santa Cruz for some more vacation time! While in Santa Cruz, we were able to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the day. Mia LOVED all the fish and even learned how to say "fish" while we were there.

Mia LOVED the touch pools!

We also spent lots of time with Doc and Gram at the beach and the park!

It wouldn't be a trip to Santa Cruz without riding the Merry Go Round at the Boardwalk!

Camping at Burney Falls

2009-08-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time on our annual camping trip to Burney Falls...so much fun that we actually went twice. Since I couldn't get any time off from work, we drove up to Burney Falls on Friday and stayed through Monday with Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly. I then worked Tuesday and Wednesday and went back up camping on Thursday and stayed until Monday. In addition to Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Michelle and Cousin Kaiya also joined us! It was really nice because we were able to leave all our things at the campsite and even left our tent pitched! It made it really easy to come back up! Mia LOVED everything about camping....the tent, the campfires, the beach, the hikes in the backpack, and especially helping Grandma Shelly with the dishes!

Reading with Papa Peter

Asleep in the backpack after a hike

Mia and Cousin Kaiya

Reading the paper

Feeding Papa Peter on the beach

Opening bottles with Grandma Shelly

A hike to the falls in the backpack with Daddy!

MMMMM...Grandma Shelly's famous Banana French Toast

Happy camping girl!!

Helping Grandma Shelly with the dishes!

Santa Cruzin'

2009-07-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our first Santa Cruz trip of the summer and we are already looking forward to returning later this month! We were so excited to be able to join Doc, Gram, Roger, Mika and the girls for some great beach days! Mia had so much fun playing with her cousins on the beach and the boardwalk! I was relieved that Mia seems to like the beach now. Last year, she didn't like the sand and screamed when we put her feet in the ocean. We explained to her that this is simply not allowed in the Thomas family! She loved digging in the sand and splashing in the ocean. She even got to taste some sand and ocean water :) Mia experienced her first ride at the boardwalk (which I got to experience as well!)
The girls loaded in the car on the way to the beach.

Mia laughing in the water with Daddy

Digging, digging, digging...Ready to swim
Mia and Mommy with Nisa and our beach family, Lisa and Lily

Mia and Mommy on Mia's first ride at the Boardwalk

Maile and Nisa loving their boat ride!

Last ride of the night

Fairy Tale Town

2009-07-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

Mia took her first trip to Fairy Tale Town last month and had a blast. It brought back so many memories for me. I went there a few times with my grandparents when I would visit Sacramento in the summer. It was almost exactly as I remember, although it did seem quite a bit smaller! We enjoyed running around the park and going down each slide over and over again. We hope to go again sometime, but we really can't wait until we can make a trip to Fresno to visit Doc's Storyland!Mia loved driving The Little Engine That Could!

Mia as the Scarecrow

Mommy as Dorothy

Mia inside the Jack and the Beanstalk foot

King Arthur's throne might be big enough for my Papa Peter!

Mia's First Haircut

2009-05-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to prevent Mia from having a mullet, she got her first haircut! The girl who cut my hair had offered to cut Mia's hair, so we took her up on her offer. Mia was very excited, but unfortunately she wanted to watch the scissors which made things a little more difficult. She looks so cute with her cute little cut!

Ellie Grover Photo Session

2009-05-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a very generous birthday gift from Meeko and Emily, we had our family photos taken recently. Ellie Grover is a good friend of Emily's who does amazing photography. I had been admiring her work through her blog and was thrilled to hear that she recently moved to Roseville! We are so thrilled with the results and now the only problem will be deciding which ones to print!!

Giants Opening Day

2009-04-14T09:37:00.001-07:00

We have started quite a tradition for our little Miss Mia. Once again we took Mia to the Giants Opening Day game...this was her 2nd! We were so lucky that Papa Peter was able to find tickets for all of us. Although the weather called for heavy rain all day, we took a chance and drove to San Francisco. Although it rained before the game, the skies cleared just in time for the pregame ceremonies. Mia was decked out in her Tim Lincecum Giants Tee and brought her Giants Bunny that Holly made her along in the car. Mia LOVED every part of the experience and enjoyed giving high 5's to the people sitting around us. Although Lincecum only lasted 3 innings, the Giants pulled out a win...we pray there will be many more wins to come!Mia and Giants Bunny on the way to the game.

Holly made this bunny for Mia when she was born.

Mia in her fancy stroller with it's custom raingear.

Although she looked ridiculous, she stayed warm and dry as we walked around before the game.

Mia and Papa Peter at the Java House before the game.

Our independent woman walked the ramp to the game by herself!
Mia even got to see one of her favorite friends...Emily!
Mia catching the game from our seats

Dinner Time!

2009-04-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Since turning 1, Mia's eating has improved tremendously! She recently found an interest in dipping her foods in sauce...she the video below!

March Madness

2009-03-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

Long time, no blog! Once again, we have had another busy month and I have lagged on updating our blog.

We started the month by making a trip to Redding to visit Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly. As usual, we were spoiled with Shelly' s cooking from the time we arrived until we left. Even picky Mia ate and ate! The highlight of the weekend was the day we spent at the softball fields watching Papa Peter play. They had four-one hour games and Mia lasted through 3 1/2 of them. She had a fabulous time playing in the bleaches and eating the orange wedges that were really meant for our pitchers on Blue Moon! Mia was lucky enough to go onto the field to throw the ball around with her Papa. We were all sad to go home!!

The next week, Grandma Sandy came to the rescue! Since CA kids is still closed, we have been relying on Mia's wonderful babysitter to watch Mia when Dan is working and I am sleeping, but unfortunately she is not available on Thursdays. Our problem came when I had a dentist appointment, Dan was working and we didn't have anyone to watch Mia. Thank goodness, Grandma Sandy's project in India ended early so she was able to come home for a break. She so graciously agreed to drive up to Roseville to watch Mia for the afternoon. Mia was so lucky to have her Grandma take her to the park and play with her while Mom escaped to the dentist.

We had busy weekend throughout the month, one of which stated with Uncle Kevin's b-day party on Friday night at Chicago Fire Pizza in Midtown Sac. The pizza was really yummy and we had a great time celebrating with Uncle Kevin.

The weekend Saturday with Dan bottling the beer her brewed with his friends in February at Brew It Up in Sacramento. For his friend, Chris Hunter's, birthday, they brewed beer in mid February and the time had come for them to bottle it. Dan is very excited and proud of his creations! Following the bottling session, we join Uncle Kevin, Auntie Michelle, Cousin Kaiya, Grandma Sandy, Auntie Steph and Auntie Michelle's parents Suzanne and Brent for another dinner celebration for Kevin's b-day. As if this wasn't enough for one day, we then met up with my work friends for a night of bowling. We had a great turnout and it was great to hangout and relax with my coworkers, especially considering the stressful type of work we do! Mia had a great time running around with all the other kids and playing with the bowling balls!

As if that weren't enough for one weekend, we went to the Baxter's Annual St. Patrick's Day Party. The Baxter's are Grandma Shelly's brother and sister-in-law. We NEVER turn down an invitation to the Baxter's because they all come from Shelly's same gene pool, meaning they are all amazing cooks! Mia had fun playing with all her step cousins and her cousin Kaiya. We all enjoyed eating the corned beef and cabbage and I had my favorite green jello salad that Grandma Connie made. I look forward to Grandma Connie's jello at every holiday!

March has been filled with basketball for our family. We spent 2 evenings at basketball watching parties with neighbors. We love the NCAA basketball tournament and have had lots of fun following it and cheering for our brackets.

They say March is supposed to go "in like a lion and out like a lamb", but for our family it has been a lion all month and is exiting in that manner!

Today, I had my oral surgery that I have been putting off for 4 years. The bridge I had placed when I was 16 has a average lifetime of 10 years and I'm pushing 14 years with it. It says a lot for my old dentist, Dr. Simmons who placed it years ago. Anyways, the time has come to convert to a dental implant as the bridge is starting to show signs of wear. After elaborate scans and consultations to prepare for the procedure, I went today. Gram came up last night to help with Mia while I recover so Dan was able to take me to my appointment. In order to place my implant, the doctor first put me to sleep then surgically placed a titanium rod into the bone above where the tooth will be placed. I was super groggy and loopy for a few hours and took a big nap when I got home. I have some facial swelling and will probably have some pain when the local anesthetics wear off. Main problem right now is that I am missing a tooth! I go to the dentist tomorrow to have my temporary tooth placed...can't wait for that!!

Visiting the Boschetti's

2009-03-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ryan Boschetti is one of days oldest friends. Dan and Ryan grew up together from the time they were infants through their teen years. I have always loved hearing "Boschetti" stories and have felt empathy for their parents that put up with their shenanigans throughout the years. I'm sure their parents are relived that Dan and Ryan have both grown into fabulous men and amazing fathers! Ryan and his wife Somer had their first baby, Kali, in November of 2008, three months before we had our baby Mia. They recently had their baby boy, Jaiden, the beginning of February. Since Ryan has been playing football on the East Coast, we were able to have our first playdate for the kids in February. Mia and Kali had an instant attraction and played so well together. Kali was very generous sharing her toys with Mia.

Our Big Scare

2009-02-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Before you read this, I will let you know that Mia is better now and is back to her normal happy self! I wanted to tell you that before you read because what we went through with her was very scary......

Last week, Mia was doing great! She was playing with all her new birthday presents and using lots of her new "words". Mia had her 12 months well baby check up on Feb 10th and all was great. She got her scheduled immunizations and was doing fine. On Thursday morning, she was a little bit fussy when going down for her morning nap, but was fine in the afternoon. She went out to lunch with her Daddy, Uncle Kevin and Kaiya, and Uncle Huntskies (Chris Hunter) and her boyfriend, Dylan. According to Dan, she was happy and playing with Dylan throughout lunch. When they got home, Dan put her down for her afternoon nap. She woke up 20 minutes into her nap screaming. I picked her up and rocked her in her glider and she fell right back to sleep. I rocked her for 45 minutes and I noticed she was breathing really fast. The nurse in me kicked in and I started monitoring her respiratory status- she was breathing 48-52 breaths per minute (normal would be somewhere in the 20s to low 30s). I listened with my stethoscope and everything sounded fine, but when I touched her chest, she was buring up. This was Mia's first fever and it was a good one...103 degrees. I gave her Tylenol and called and told work that Mia was sick so I would not be coming in that night. Her fever slowly came down, but was still 100.5 2 hours after the Tylenol. At that point, I gave her Motrin to help bring down the fever. Two hours later, she was finally down to 100 degrees and was acting normal and playing with her toys. She went to sleep at 8:30, but woke up crying at 9:30 and her temp was back up to 101, so we gave her more Tylenol and put her in our bed so we could keep a close eye on her. At 10:30, her temp was up to 102, but it was too early to give more Motrin or Tylenol so we stripped off her jammies and had her sleep in a diaper without any blankets. She was fussy over the next few hours and I got up to give her more Motrin at 12:45 since that was the earliest she could have it. I got everything ready for her and Dan sat her up in bed so we could give it to her. At this point, our nightmare began...

As Dan held Mia up, her head flopped back, her eyes rolled up, and she began to seize. For about 30 seconds, Dan and my world came to a standstill as we watched our unresponsive baby shake uncontrollably! I immediately called 911 and Dan just held Mia close. After the 30 second seizure, Mia was limp for about 5 minutes. I was able to get tylenol in her once she awoke. The ambulance came and we arrived at the Sutter Roseville ER at around 1:30 am. Her temp was 103.4 when we arrived and her heart rate was 180-190! The staff in the ER were awesome (I think I might have mentioned in the past that I am convinced Sutter provides the absolute best healthcare in the region...I know I am biased...but it is TRUE!) After urine tests, blood tests, and a chest x-ray, they really couldn't find a real source for her fever. The only strange thing was that she had a large red welt on her right thigh which had not been there earlier in the night. Mia got a dose of IV rocephin (an antibiotic) and Zofran (an antiemetic to prevent her from puking up her motrin). When we left the ER at 5 am, Mia's temp was down to 100.3 and her heart rate down to 110-120s.

We went to see Mia's pediatrician, Dr. Sorgea, at 11:30 in the morning so she could follow up on Mia's condition. Mia's fever was still down at that point and she was starting to perk up a little bit. Dr Sorgea's diagnosis shocked me, but totally makes sense. Apparently, with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, reactions can occur 10 days after the immunization is given. The combination of the fever and the large welt on her thigh where the vaccine had been administered led her to this diagnosis...she is so smart! I had just assumed that it didn't have anything to do with the vaccines because I was unaware of this delayed reaction. Another interesting thing that we learned when talking to Grandma Sandy was that Dan had a similar experience when he was around Mia's age. He also had a high fever and had a febrile seizure after his immunizations! Like father, like daughter...apparently they have even more in common that we thought!!

When we got back home, Mia's fever returned and we battled the fever from 12:30pm until 2:30 am. The Tylenol and Motrin helped to keep the temperature from going too high, but we also had to put her in the bathtub to cool her down at one point when the medications weren't working and we had to use wet wash clothes at another point.

So where are we now...
Mia has not had a fever for 36 hours, so we think we are through the woods. Now we all, mostly Dan and I, and totally exhausted and need to catch up on our sleep. It has been a VERY LONG few days! We are just so, so thankful that our baby Mia is OK and back to her happy, cheerful, playful self!

Happy Belated Birthday!

2009-02-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

Mia is 1 and her Mom is 30! We've had so much excitment we've been too busy to blog, so here is our way belated birthday blog!

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate our big birthdays! The highlight of our celebrations was our joint birthday dinner at Cabos, which is a Mexican restaurant down the street from our house. We filled their banquet room to the max with our 55 guests which included our family and friends. We were lucky enough to be joined by Mia's great-grandparents, (GG Fay and Boppa Wayne) her grandparents, (Doc, Gram, Grandma Sandy, Papa Peter, & Grandma Shelly), her aunties (Mika, Michelle, Steph, and Shawna), her uncles (Roger, Mark, Kevin, and Dan), and her cousins (Ellie, Nisa, Maile, and Kaiya). We also had extended family, friends, and neighbors join in the festivities! The food was great and we all had a wonderful time. A special thank you to Gram who made special birthday cupcakes for our party to our exact specifications! They were beautiful!!

After the birthday dinner, we arranged for a babysitter to come over to our house to watch Mia and Kaiya so the adults could continue to celebrate Michelle's 30th birthday! Thank you to Roger for being our limo service and to Mika for providing our preparty beverage...GoldSchlager! The Boxing Donkey is the bar in old Roseville where we chose to continue our party. It was so much fun to hang out with so many of our friends...I can't remember the last time Dan and I went to a bar!

On Sunday, which was Mia's actual birthday, we went to the bowling alley with Gram, Roger, Mika, Ellie, Nisa, and Maile. We had a wonderful time bowling and Michelle bowled the best game of her life (4 strikes in a row, 6 strikes total!!!!) After bowling, we dropped Roger, Mika, and the girls off at the airport and we went to sleep!!!

Thank you Gram!

2009-01-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

This post is a belated thank you to Gram! As Mia's daycare is still closed while they move locations, Dan and I were without anyone to watch Mia for 2 days last week. Thank goodness, Gram came to our rescue! Gram drove up on Wednesday and even arrived in time to make us some yummy enchiladas for dinner. Since I worked Wednesday night and Dan worked and had a meeting after school on Thursday, Gram woke up with Mia in the morning and put her to bed that night. They even made a trip to see GG Fay and Boppa Wayne that day. When I woke up, I played with Mia for a while and Gram made us another awesome dinner. It was hard for me to go back to work Thursday night because I just wanted to stay home and hangout with Gram! I did go to work Thursday night and Dan went to work Friday morning, so once again, Gram watched Mia while I slept. On Friday night, Dan, Mia and I took Gram out to dinner to say "THANK YOU". Mia enjoyed showing off her walking skills and reading with Gram. Mia and Gram read so many books and Mia discovered her new favorite book...Animal Sounds! I think we read that book about 20 times a day! Mia now even tries to "Moo" when she sees the cow! We are all so lucky to have our Gram!!

Mia's on the move!!

2009-01-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, Mia took her first few steps on Christmas Day. Since then, she has been becoming a little more stable each and everyday and now she is officially walking on her own. For the last week, Mia has been walking across the room and now around the house. As you can imagine, she is so proud of herself! It is pretty funny to watch her walk around because she is still so tiny! She doesn't look big enough to be able to walk, but as we have discovered throughout the last year...amazing things come in small packages!!

Mia's 1st Christmas!

2009-01-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

The Christmas celebrations continued on Christmas Eve as we traveled to Discovery Bay to have dinner with Grandma Sandy and Bill. Mia was able to meet Uncle Ray (Bill's brother) and Donita (Ray's wife) for the first time. We were also joined by Uncle Kevin/Michelle/Kaiya and Auntie Steph/Dan/Louie. Mia enjoyed teaching Kaiya how play with the toys on her new Baby Einstein Saucer, but her favorite activity of the evening was going up and down the stair to the kitchen. Mia climbed the stair with ease and discovered many ways to go down the stair...feet first, head first, army roll, etc. For her present, Mia got Elmo Live, which is an Elmo doll that talks and makes gestures. After presents, Mia changed into her Christmas jammies and we drove home.

We were so excited to have Mia wake up on her first Christmas morning in her own crib. Doc and Gram arrived at our house before Mia woke up so they were able to see Mia when she came downstairs to Santa's surprises. Mia finally started understanding the idea of opening her presents as she unwrapped her stocking. In her stocking, Mia got a book, some ribbons for her hair, and many other little presents. Santa's big present for Mia was her ride on bumble bee. It is a really cute little bee that is on casters so she can push it or ride on it around the house. It has already provided hours of fun...she loves it!! Mommy and Daddy got Mia a Pottery Barn chair that she loves as well! She has enjoyed climbing into the chair to play and then climbing back out of it on her own. Something very exciting happened on Christmas morning...Mia took her first steps!! Dan and I sat on the floor a few feet apart from each other and Mia was able to take a few steps going back and forth between the two of us. It was very exciting and we even captured the moment on video!!

For lunch, we headed to GG Fay and Boppa Wayne's house to celebrate the holiday. Mia was the only baby there that afternoon and she enjoyed all the attention of her relatives! After lunch and presents, we headed home for naps and relaxation. Our Christmas celebrations lasted a week and we traveled over 10 hours, but it was great to share Mia's first Christmas with everyone!!

Christmas in Redding

2008-12-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

We had the first of our 3 Christmas celebrations this weekend at Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly's house in Redding! We left Roseville as soon as Dan got home from work on Friday and made our first stop at the Target in Woodland when we realized that we forgot Mia's travel high chair. With all the good eating she's been doing lately, we didn't want to mess with things so we figured we'd just buy another :) Mia was so good on the trip and basically slept the whole way. Mia defintely has one bad habit...everytime we put socks on her, she pulls them off and proceeds to crawl around with the sock hanging out of her mouth. She also does this at daycare and we know she must have a hiding spot at CA kids where a pile of her socks reside because she never comes home with the socks we send her in...maybe they'll find them when they move next month. So why so I mention this habit now? When we put Mia in the Tahoe, she had 2 socks on, the photo below was taken 15 minutes later...

We all had a great time in Redding, especially Mia! As soon as we arrived, Mia was crawling and pushing her walker around the house smiling! She loves to show off her skills! On Saturday we were joined by Aunties Steph and Shawna and Uncle Dan in the morning, followed by Shawna's friend Ryan, and finally Uncle Kevin, Auntie Michelle, and Cousin Kaiya! Mia LOVES to hang out with her family! Saturday night after an amazing dinner, we opened presents in our "As Seen on TV" themed gift exchange. We decided on the theme last Christmas and it was a blast! The gifts included the ShamWow, Turbie Twist, Hits of the 80s CD set, PetZoom pet hair remover, AquaGlobes, Debbie Meyer's Green Bags, Barack Obama's "Historic Victory" commerative plate, Pancake Puffs, and best of all Urine Gone. I have never laughed so much during a gift exchange!! After the gift exchange, the babies went to bed and we went to the casino. We were lucky enough to have Papa Peter watch the girls and to have Grandma Shelly drop us off at WinRiver Casino! It has become a tradition to dress up in Shelly's Christmas sweaters and head to the casino. Despite all the funny looks we got, we once again had a great time!

Mia enjoyed all of her Christmas presents, especially the LittlePeople's School Bus!!

Gavin takes Mia for a ride!

2008-12-22T04:16:00.000-08:00

Mia has been a walking machine lately! Although she is not able to walk on her own yet, she has become quite skilled at pushing her walker around the house and neighborhood. Mia and our neighbor, Gavin (16 months) have become big buddies and are now able to play together outside! Mia and Gavin push their own toys around, but really enjoy trading their toys. Gavin has a ride on fire truck that Mia loves! She has learned to climb up onto the seat and Gavin has taught her how to push the buttons to make lots of noises. The cutest part of all is when Gavin pushes Mia around on the firetruck...they both love it! We joke with Gavin's parents (Josh and Tracy) that we are going to save the photos and bring them out when Gavin takes Mia to their prom...with housing prices the way they are, we are assuming we'll still be neighbors 17 years from now!!

In regards to our last post, we are so excited because one of the girls that takes care of Mia at CA kids has offered to watch her while they are closed!!

"Oh No!"

2008-12-19T04:27:00.001-08:00

Those are the only words that I could vocalize last week when I found out that we are going to be without childcare for the month of January..."OH NO!!!"

Mia attends California Kids in Rocklin which is a wonderful daycare down the street from our house. Due to Dan and my untraditional work schedules, it is very difficult to use a standard daycare because our needs change every week. CA kids is a drop-in daycare that charges by the hour and is designed for parents who don't need full time daycare. It is also nice because they are open until midnight on the weekends!! The facility first opened right before Mia was born and Mia first went when she was only 10 weeks old! We love it there and Mia seems to enjoy her time there. The staff tell us all the time how much they love "Baby Mia" and how much they have enjoyed watching her grow up...so now the problem...

California Kids is moving to a new location and will still be very close to our house, but they will be closing the existing location on Christmas Eve and not opening the new location until sometime in February...YIKES!!!

So what does this mean for our family??? Thank goodness that I convinced Gram to retire, because she will be coming to stay with us for the first week in January (THANK YOU GRAM!!)
Aside from that, I am just planning on being exhausted for the remainder of the month. I am lucky that I have such flexible jobs (yes that is plural!), so I think I will be OK. I will just have to watch her a few mornings after working all night, but not on days where I would have to go back to work that night.

So if Dan and I are slow to blog, sleepy, or grumpy next month, please give us some slack, we will be doing the best we can!!!

Thanksgiving Continued...

2008-12-17T10:49:00.001-08:00

So sorry for the long delay in posts...we have been so busy!

When I got home from work Thanksgiving morning, I went to sleep for a few hours and awoke to more visitors. Mark and Monte made the trip from San Francisco Thanksgiving morning and hung out with Dan and Mia. We then headed to the GG's house for Thanksgiving dinner (My Grandma Fay and Boppa Wayne). We were joined by my dad's entire side of the family. Mia had so much fun playing with her cousins, including her second cousin Brooke! Mia ate a great Thanksgiving dinner and was able to enjoy all the same foods that we did!

On Friday morning, we went bowling with Roger, Mika and the girls. Strikes is a new bowling alley down the street from our house that has some great new features. For the little ones, the bumpers rise and then go down automatically when it is their turn. This feature made the game enjoyable for all!

After bowling we headed to El Dorado Hills for our annual Friday night Thanksgiving Dinner with Shelly's family. We look forward to this meal every year not only for the good company, but for the amazing food they serve. We were not disappointed this year!!! Mia had fun playing with the other kids at the party, although they were much older than her! Mia also enjoyed the second of her turkey dinners sitting beside her Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly! Mia even wore her My First Thanksgiving bib that Shelly provided.

As if we hadn't had enough action, we headed to Apple Hill on Saturday for another of our annual events...wine tasting! Along with Papa Peter, Grandma Shelly, Kevin, Michelle, and Kaiya, we drove to Apple Hill and enjoyed an afternoon of wine tasting and a picnic at Jack Russell Brewery!

Although we were so exhausted from our many days full of activities, Kevin, Michelle, Kaiya followed us to Roseville when we were done wine tasting. We all felt the need to have a little break from the kids, so we came up with a great idea. We put the girls in their PJs, wrapped them in blankets, put them in their strollers and walked them to Mia's daycare, California Kids, which is right down the street from us. They do drop-in daycare by the hour and are open until midnight on the weekends!! After settling them in, we continued down the street to the bowling alley, where we ate some food, drank a little beer, and bowled a few games! When we picked the girls up at 11:30, they were both wide awake and happy! Apparently each of them had slept for 30 minutes and then were wide awake! Oh well, we all had fun!!! It was a great way to end all the craziness that Thanksgiving brought!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T02:50:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-11-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-11-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

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!!

Mia's chores!

2008-10-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

Dan and I decided that now that Mia is 8 months old, she is old enough to pull her own weight around the house so we put her to work on the chores. For some reason, Mia was very interested in the dish washer and the laundry on Sunday morning...a trait she most definitely gets from her Daddy!

Alexander Family trip to Apple Hill!

2008-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

Along with Papa Peter, Grandma Shelly, Uncle Kevin, Auntie Michelle, and Baby Cousin Kaiya we went to Apple Hill on Saturday. Our plan was to have a relaxing day of apple tasting, but things changed as we approached Placerville. Apparently others wanted to partake in the apple festivities as well! Traffic was bumper to bumper and only got worse when we entered the Apple Hill area. A unanimous decision was made to skip the apples and head for the grapes! Instead we visited our favorite Apple Hill wineries and a brewery. A great time was had by all!!

Night out in the City!

2008-10-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Dan and I had our first real night out since Mia was born. Dan had a test to take during the afternoon and as soon as it was done, Mia and I picked him up and headed to the bay for Meeko and Emily's engagement party. We were able to make it in time to Meeko's parents house for the party. After the party, we dropped Mia off at her Auntie Steph's house so we could go to Meeko and Emily's after party in San Francisco. Mia was so excited to visit with Auntie Steph, Uncle Dan, and her new Dog Cousin Louie. Stephanie's photos below are super cute! Dan and I were so excited to have some time out with friends although it was a little wierd to not have Mia with us. We definitely missed her while we were out, but must admit we enjoyed the break!!

Santa Cruz with the Hunters

2008-09-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Mia and I picked Dan up from work on Friday and headed to the beach for a weekend getaway. We were lucky enough to have the Hunters join us on Saturday. Although it was overcast and a little chilly, we went down to the beach so the kids could play in the sand. As always, Mia and Dylan had a great time playing together. After dinner, Mia laughed hysterically as she chased Dylan around the family room...they are so cute together! We were very excited to get our first look at the new beach house! The old house has been torn down and the lot is being leveled...very exciting!!

Mia's New Milestones

2008-09-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

For the past 6 weeks, Mia has been scooting around the house and she is getting quicker by the day! She has also started to scoot up onto us if we are lying on the ground playing with her. Yesterday, Mia surprised us by standing up on her knees and then pulling herself up to stand next to the ottoman! Luckily, I happened to be holding my camera at the time. Look at the photos below to see the series of events! Today, we took a trip to Babies R Us to invest in a baby gate for the bottom of the stairs. We have totally put off getting a baby gate because they are a hassle and an eyesore, but after seeing Mia start climbing the stairs today, it is now a must!

Oregon

2008-09-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

Early Friday morning, we flew to Oregon to visit "The Thomas Five" of Portland. Along with Doc and Gram, the three of us had a wonderfully short and easy flight to Portland, especially when compared to the last flights we took to visit them when we flew halfway around the world to their home in Singapore! We were so excited to spend time with Roger, Mika, Ellie, Nisa, and Maile! In keeping with her tradition of giving Mia nicknames, Nisa's name for Mia this weekend was "Fuzzy Head"...so far that one has stuck pretty well! After we arrived on Friday, we headed to Mt. Angel for the big Oktoberfest celebration. Mia was lucky enough to be able to borrow an Oktoberfest dress so she was definitely in proper attire! We had a great time eating sausage with sauerkraut and drinking German beers while listening to the Polka bands. Mia was politely asked to leave the festivities at 9pm as no one under 21 years of age are allowed after that time. Unfortunatly, Mommy and Mia had to leave, but Dan was able to stay with Doc and Roger until closing! On Sunday, we were honored to serve as Maile's Godparents as she was baptised. The ceremony was really nice and Mai Mai did a great job! Mia was lucky enough to have Doc hold her and take her for walks during the service...thanks Doc!!
We were very sad to leave on Monday, especially when seeing Nisa's face at the airport when she dropped us off. Although we will see them again at Thanksgiving, we agree with Nisa when she sadly stated, "Thanksgiving is too many weeks away!" We can't wait for Thanksgiving!
Thanks Roger, Mika, and Girls for the great hospitality!

Santa Cruz Adventures

2008-08-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a much needed week of relaxation! Mia was introduced to one of the most treasured of Thomas traditions, the August trip to Santa Cruz. Although Mia has been to Santa Cruz a few times in the past, this time was extra special. She was able to spend time with her cousins, Ellie, Nisa, and Maile. Nisa came up with a new nickname for Mia during our trip- "Princess Pacifier". While there, we took a trip with Doc and Gram to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and we also went to the Boardwalk where Mia took her first Merry Go Round ride! Dan was able to play 4 rounds of golf during the week, 2 with Troy and 2 with Doc. Dan was thrilled to play Poppy Hills with Doc for the first time! He was even more thrilled that he shot an 88...watch out Tiger! The highlight of the trip for all of us was the 8/8/88 20 year reunion. It was so special to see so many of the original crew return to the 4th Avenue beach to recreate that beautiful beach day that we all spent together 20 years ago! After the beach, we all headed to the Fox's for dinner and drinks. It was great to catch up with everyone!! 8/8/08 also happened to be Mia's 6 month birthday! It is so hard to believe that 6 months has passed by so quickly. Mia is army crawling like a champ and will now start eating solids...stay tuned for updates on her adventures with food!

Mia goes camping!

2008-07-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we packed up the Tahoe and headed to Burney Falls. Along with Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly we had the opportunity to introduce Mia to the great outdoors. Good thing we bought the big tent last year because we had lots to fill it with. Mia slept great is her Pack & Play. I think she liked the fresh air because she was asleep by 8 and slept through the night every night! We actually got up to check on her during throughout the night because we were shocked that she wasn't waking up! Mia liked going to the beach everyday, but was not happy about putting her feet in the cold lake. One funny moment was when it came time for Mia to need a bath. We bought a blow up travel bath that looks like a giant rubber ducky. It even quacks when you squeeze the beak...it was quite a sight to see! Mia can't wait until next year when she can have a taste of Grandma Shelly's amazing dutch oven cooking.

Mia meets her new cousin Kaiya

2008-07-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Mia is so excited that her new baby cousin Kaiya has arrived. Weighing in at a hefty 9lbs 3oz, Kaiya was born on Monday evening. Mia's first attempt to meet Kaiya failed when she got kicked out of the hospital. Mercy General has a policy that children under 5yrs can't be in the postpartum area...super lame! Totally reinforces my belief that Sutter is the best, but I guess I am a bit partial. We took Mia to visit her cousin once she was discharged from the hospital. Mia was very interested in Kaiya! She made her sad face when Kaiya started crying and liked to touch her soft baby skin. She also was so excited to see her Papa Peter and Grandma Shelly when they came to visit baby Kaiya. Congrats to Kaiya's parents, Kevin and Michelle!!

The First 5 Months

2008-07-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

When we found out we were expecting while on vacation in Singapore in June of 2007, we started to discuss the idea of setting up a blog to keep all our friends and family updated on the pregnancy and the new baby. Obviously, we didn't get around to it, but we figure better late than never. After spending the last few weeks of the pregnancy on modified bedrest and balancing 3 dr appointments per week, Mia was born on Friday, February 8th at 1:33 pm. She was a dainty 6lbs 7 ozs and 19.5 inches long. Although she has remained on the petite side, we can't believe how fast she is developing into a unique little girl. Right now, Mia likes to laugh, roll around on the floor, jump in her Baby Einstein jumper, and sit up. She is working on sitting with less assistance and scooting around after toys. To see photos from Mia's first 3 months, check out her Father's Day photo montage on youtube. www.youtube.com/michellemeta