A Day in the Life of an 8 Month Old

Mya turned 8 months old today! She is becoming such a character full of so much happiness and personality. I am enjoying every moment with her as she changes and becomes a little person. I decided for this month's update I would share a day in the life of Mya Isabelle Wiegman....

EATING: Mya enjoys various cuisines. You may see her enjoying some of her favorites: oatmeal cereal, Gerber fruits (any banana combo is her absolute fav!), Gerber veggies, or cheese (she LOVES cheese!). She pretty much tries any food, if appropriate, that her mommy or daddy are eating at mealtime. She, of course, is still snacking on Momma's milk.

DRINKING: Well, still no bottle!!! Mya has been practicing with her sippy cup daily. She loves ice water whether from her sippy cup or Mommy and Daddy's cups!

TEETHING: Mya currently has her 2 bottom teeth. I think she is teething though, for she sticks everything in her month to chew on AND has been a bit cranky!!! I am sure her teeth are to blame!

Her teeth are coming in a little "buck tooth!" Just kidding.... Matt and I laugh everytime she eats her puffs. She always sticks it out so she looks like she has buck teeth!

POTTY TIME: Mya isn't potty trained yet, but is very predictable when it comes to potty time. Without getting into too many dirty details, she ALWAYS goes potty during mealtime! She scrunches up her face, turns bright red, and pushes! It's hysterical! Mya has become very "active" during changing time. I always have to have some sort of entertainment ready to keep her occupied during changing time, even a diaper will do!

PLAYTIME: Mya can now sit up like a big girl, but at times she loses her balance. When playing for an extended period of time she loves sitting in her BUMBO seat. It props her up so that she can play with all of her toys without falling over. She still loves to jump in her jump-a-roo. She gets very excited and likes to show off her "skills"... especially for Jasmine. Mya doesnt' really favor any of her toys. In fact, her favorite toys seem to be anything that is NOT a toy. For example, she loves Mommy's cell phone, deodorant bottle, remote controls, necklaces, etc. Mya loves to play with her cousins. Today, she even cheered on Ben and Drew during their football games. Do you think she'll be a cheerleader?

CHORES: Of course she has chores! Today, Mya helped Mommy with the laundry. She is very helpful!

RELAXING: With all this play and work, Mya needs time to relax! She loves just chillin' and watching some TV. I think General Hospital is her fav.... SHHHH.... don't tell Daddy!

Little Shopper

Mya had a whole new experience today at the grocery store. We decided to put her into the shopping cart like a big girl. She had a blast! She thought she was really something else! She smiled from ear to ear throughout the entire store BUT held on for dear life! She greeted all the other shoppers as they passed by with a smile, or the new "Mya stare" that she does so well.

She's getting to be such a big girl.... next thing I know she is going to be begging for her favorite candy, toy, or snack!

Cousins

Mya is so lucky to live so close to her cousins, Carly, Brady, and Tyler. She thinks they are so funny! They always entertain her, play with her, teach her new things, and love on her. While Mimi Rey was in town we were able to spend lots of time with them. Mya even got to spend time with Mimi's Dog, Gracie! I can't wait to watch the kids grow together. Their relationships are already evolving into great friendships.

Tyler, Carly, Mya, and Gracie hanging out

Gentle pets for Gracie

Ty and Brady enjoy their ice cream while showing Mya that her buggy and sippy are just as cool.

Carly plays with Mya outside while Momma, Auntie Andra, and Mimi do some yard work.

Operation: Teal Be Gone!

When we moved into our new house, there was A LOT of work to be done. Mostly cosmetic, with a few other camouflaged problems (pipes, electrical) We knew that the teal paint in the kitchen would have to go immediately, along with the tacky wallpaper in almost every room. Seems easy enough, but where do we begin? Thank goodness for my wonderfully talented mother! She arrived, paintbrush in hand, and began to work! She doesn't mess around. She began stripping wallpaper in the tacky guest bathroom, while Matt and I taped the kitchen in preparation for Operation: Teal Be Gone! A quick trip to Home Depot and we were ready to begin the transformation- from "tacky" to "take my breath away!" Here are some before and after pictures of the kitchen. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!! I can't begin to tell you what a difference paint can make! It's beginning to feel like home! A HUGE "THANK YOU" to my wonderful mom!!!! She is not only very, very talented but she is so wonderful to come up here to help me get my home in tiptop shape! Hopefully her next trip to LZ, she can sit back and enjoy my beautiful home!

BEFORE.....

WORK IN PROGRESS....

AFTER!!!!

New Favorite Day

I used to be a BIG fan of my birthday. In fact, it wasn't just my birthday, it was my birthweek turned to my birthmonth! I milked it for all it was worth. I felt extra special and wanted to be treated extra special come December 1! As of this year things changed. It was a special month all right, it was the month I turned the big 3-0. I decided that I didn't care for my day, week, or even month of my birth anymore. There just isn't the excitement anymore of getting yet another year older! I had hit all the milestones- sweet 16, adulthood 18, and of course drunken 21. Even turning 30 was a milestone of a sort. But from this point on, my birthday can go unnoticed for all I care.

So, I have decided that I have a new favorite day.... MOTHER'S DAY! There is nothing like celebrating motherhood. It is a day that everyone recognizes the importance of the hardest job on earth. It is a day that even strangers stop to say, "Happy Mother's Day." It is a day you are handed a bouquet of flowers while being seated at your table. It is a day that your husband does WHATEVER you want.... because you birthed HIS child! It is a day that you get to sleep in while Daddy takes care of the baby and goes to get you bagels for breakfast. It is a day that lawn work gets done because you requested it. It is a day that you get to go on a long walk as a family and enjoy the beautiful weather. It is a day that you get ice cream BEFORE dinner because that's what you want to do. It is a day your husband cooks you a fabulous dinner. It is a day you can reflect on how lucky you are to be a mother!

Mommy and Mya enjoy the beautiful Mother's Day!

Daddy and Mya

Crocodile Tears Duo

Last night we hosted a Mother' Day dinner for our Wiegman side of the family. It was such a blessing for us to be able to host a party and have plenty of room for everyone to enjoy themselves! It was an extra special Mother's Day as all of us ladies are now mommas. Matt made a DELICIOUS dinner for everyone.... I did nothing.... ok, I put the bag lettuce into a bowl and cut up some tomatoes/cucumbers to dress it up a bit! My husband is a very talented cook/grillmaster/smoker! YUMMY!

We were so fortunate that everyone was able to make it to LZ to celebrate with us. Poor Quentin had a long journey from Chicago to Lake Zurich. A 2 hour drive isn't much fun for a 9 month old or his parents. He was a bit on the crabby side when he arrived. Mya, being the sensitive little lady that she is, thought she should cry anytime Q cried. It was hysterical, yet pathetic. She would look at him, scrunch up her face into a sour puss, and then go into a fullblown hysterical cry, crocodile tears and all!!! Between the two of them, I think we all needed a drink! But, eventually the duo stopped their dramatics, and we were able to capture a few photos. I just can't get enough of the two of them together! They are so cute!!! Q does very well at sitting on his own. Mya.... not so much! We tried propping her up with pillows, but she would eventually lose her balance and fall to one side, the other, or backwards. At one point, she thought she would hold on for dear life.... to Q's hair and poor little ear! Photo shoot over!

"Hurry, Momma, I'm not very good at this balancing thing!"

"Hey, what are you pulling my hair for?"

Isn't he a doll? I can't get enough of him!

After a fun-filled evening, Mya was suppose to be off to bed. But, she stopped for a quick moment with Quentin. I think she wanted to dance, but she got a quick hug night-night from her cousin, Q. Sweet dreams, MyMy!

"Look, I can stand like you, Q!

"Night Night Quentin, I love you!"

Ohhhh, sweet Quentin! "Night Night Mya!"

It's a Wonderful Life!

I'm BACK!!! It's been awhile since I've posted..... I never realized that so many people are such loyal followers of my blog until I got multiple emails and phone calls asking when I was going to write a blog post! So, to all of my loyal followers, here you go.... it may be a long one! Sorry, no pictures- my camera broke!!! :-( I will work on getting a new one... my extra dough has been going to cleaning supplies, paints, faucets, showerheads, etc.! This new home thing is expensive.... but fun!

Moving day was a looooooong day, a stressful day, and yet an extremely exciting day! I won't get into any of the messy details, but let's just say our closing was over 4 hours long! Up until the very last minute we were unsure of our loan. Yes, as in will we even get a loan?!?! We made it perfectly clear to the morons (sorry, mean...but so true!) at the bank that we had NO where to go and we had a newborn that needed a home! After much, much, much pushing and pestering we were able to light a fire under their behinds and get them to get busy! Words to the wise.... DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER use GMAC as a lending company!

Matt spent his afternoon at the closing, I spent the morning/afternoon with the movers, and Mya spent the entire day with Grandma Diane (hugs to Grandma for being a life-saver! Moving with a baby...not so much fun!) After hours of blood, sweat, and almost tears, we were finally in our new home! Thank you, thank you, thank you to our wonderful friends Chris and Katie for letting us live at their house for a few days during our transition. I'm not sure if we would've been able to do it without them!

Our house has had a revolving door. We have had plumbers, contractors, mold removers, cableman, and handymen in and out daily! Most of the repairs have been pretty easy. All but the cable guy! He was a few bricks short of a full load! He somehow failed to realize that walking on drywall could create a problem! He walked across the attic floor and cracked our ENTIRE hallway ceiling AND popped 3 nails down creating holes!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS? I confronted him and he was shocked! He said (in his thick Russian (???) accent, "Uhhhh, so do you want me to paint it?" NO DUMMY... you just cracked my ceiling! You will be having it fixed! After talking to his superviser, they have promised to have it fixed...we'll see how this pans out!

There is so much work to be done, but the house is so wonderful! We have so much room! It amazes me every time I open a cabinent and don't have pots, pans, jars, and cans falling out! And to not have to whisper and tiptoe in fear of waking the baby... I am sure Matt is so glad to have all of the shhhhhh's over! Our view is amazing! There is nothing like waking up and looking out the window at a gorgeous lakeview to the east and the woods to the south! I feel like I am on vacation! Matt and I love entertaining and now we can! We have already entertained guests on Friday and again today! Matt spent today smokin' some pork butt (I just like saying that!) He is in HOG heaven (get it?) with his wonderful back patio. Mya loves her new digs too. We have gone on several walks and have met lots of our neighbors. We've even gotten cookies and wine from some of them! So nice.... what a change of pace from our former neighborhood! Speaking of neighbors, these people take such pride in their homes, yards, and belongings! I am a bit intimidated! Today I looked out my window to see my neighbor washing AND drying his lawnmower! I am not kidding!!!!

I must say that I feel pretty lucky these days! As I was walking around the neighborhood this afternoon with Mya, I was reflecting on my life. I even called my parents to tell them just how lucky I was! I have my dream home, a beautiful daughter, a wonderful husband, generous friends, and an absolutely amazing family! Could life get any better? It's a wonderful life!