Trick or Treat 2012

The weather was awful for Halloween this year. Hurricane Sandy was hitting the east coast and we felt some of that here as well. I ended up taking Mia to an indoor trick or treat event at a local mall. Unfortunately, every other person in the state of Ohio had the same idea. Or at least it seemed that way. 

We didn't last long. It was elbow to elbow and the lines were ridiculously long. Here's a photo of Mia with her candy. Yes... that's it. That one piece before I called it off and headed for the door.

And how ironic that I stopped to grab a photo not even paying attention to the Xmas display in the background... already up at Halloween. 

We tried again the next night but it was chilly and drizzling rain. So we only went about a block and a half. Hopefully, next year the weather will be a bit more cooperative. 

Fall Farm Festival 2012

I scrolled back through the blog and see that I failed to mention the big move that happened late this summer. Which is why some people might have been confused when I said my sister, her husband and the T's drove up from Tennessee for Mia's birthday party. 

You see, they live there now. My sister graduated over the summer and became a Certified Nurse Midwife. Unfortunately, there isn't a big market in this area for that job. She had to look elsewhere for a place to start her career. And so now, Mia's beloved cousins - more commonly known as "the T's" - live 5 hours away.

Yes it sucks. But it is what it is. My sister is hoping to return home at some point once her career is more established. We're hoping, too. For now, we've been lucky enough to still visit once a month or so.

While the cousins were in town for the birthday party we decided to keep our annual tradition and make the trip to our favorite fall farm festival.

That's Tess above, in the owl hat, checking out the new baby calves. Below, Tatum is holding Mia up to see, too.

They rode the green tractor train again.

Just like last year...

Teagan wanted a turn riding with Mia, too, this time.

Auntie Carla helped her on the trike. She hasn't quite got the hang of pedaling.

Tess liked the horse swing made out of old rubber tires.

Tatum helped Mia go down the monster slide.

It's a really steep, long tunnel. My little daredevil loved it.

And yes there are 2 other T's in my sister's tribe. But Travis and Tanner are at that teen/tween age where it's no longer cool to hang out with the little kids. Plus they're too tall to fit in the wagon anyway.

The Best Day Ever

I have to interrupt my regularly scheduled blog catch up to mark a very big milestone. 

Huge.

Gigantic.

Tonight during dinner, Mia leaned over and laid her head on my arm.

And for the first time ever

 I got a completely out of the blue, totally unsolicited

 "I yuv ewe, momma."   

And I'm pretty sure it was the most amazing moment of my life so far.....

Mia's Birthday Party

Because of other obligations, Mia's birthday party was pushed back to October 20th. I knew it was risky to plan an outdoor party in Ohio in the middle of October. But I had faith the weather would cooperate. 

I was wrong. It was a beautiful sunny day. But it was chilly. Very chilly. And the wind was ferocious.

I learned a very valuable lesson. Either have an outdoor party. Or decorate with a bunch of crafty Pinterest creations. But you can't do both. The wind wreaked absolute havoc on my decorations.

Because of Mia's love affair with reading, I chose a bookworm theme. I made a mini book garland and matching birthday banner. The garland was supposed to drape the food tables but the wind kept blowing the tablecloths up so I ended up just sticking it to the wall.

I spray painted tin cans to make vases and made these adorable little bookworm picks.

Each vase had a different reading/book related quote framed in scrapbook paper that matched the book garland and birthday banner.

I saw an idea on Pinterest about making a number shaped pinata and thought "Hmmm... that looks pretty easy. I bet I could do that."

It was absolutely gorgeous when it was finished. But I cursed it for the hours and hours... and hours... it took me to make it.

My sister, brother-in-law and their T's drove up from Tennessee to help us celebrate.

That made my birthday girl very happy.

My frustration over the pinata was totally worth it in the end though. 

The kids loved it!

It was definitely the highlight for them and for us... just to watch them have so much fun.

This photo cracks me up.

Tess and her over the head full force swing.

Here's Teagan taking his whacks.

Braeden seemed to have a softer approach.

But Travis meant serious business when it was his turn. Just look at his face. LOL!

Every kid had a turn from smallest to biggest. Travis was the last and he was determined to bring it down.

And he did. Then it was a mad dash for all the goodies inside.

Mia was attached at the hip to Tatum quite a bit that day. She misses her cousins since they've moved away.

Her cake was absolutely amazing. I can't take credit for that one.

I may be crafty... but a cake decorator I am not.

Mia loved having everyone sing to her.

But she may have loved eating the cake even more.

So did Tess.

In spite of the windy cold weather and the decor not turning out how mommy had planned, it was a really fabulous day.

We had a lot of friends and family who braved the elements to celebrate my girl. I really appreciated that.

And Mia had fun. She was happy and really enjoyed her party. In the end, that was all that mattered.

Mia's Birthday

October 9th fell on a Tuesday this year. The day my baby turned into a 2 year old.

Even though we had a bigger birthday party scheduled later in the month, I decided to take half the day off work to celebrate just the two of us. 

After we had some professional photos taken (for our Christmas cards) we headed to the park so Mia could enjoy her birthday present.

She hasn't quite gotten the hang of pedaling which is where the mommy handlebar comes in.

But she loved it!

Then we grabbed dinner at Applebee's and Mia was serenaded by the wait staff.

Afterwards we headed home for a happy birthday cupcake. She was a bit impatient waiting for it.

Mommy sang to her again and she blew out her candle.

And opened a present mailed from her Grandpa and Grandma in Wyoming.

She got a carrying case for her Tag reader.

And some new books.

It was a good day.

Resolutions, Intentions, Plans

Whatever you wanna call it... it's a new year and it's time to stop neglecting my blog. Life gets busy when you're a single working mom of a busy toddler.

But I've always treasured having this space to keep track of memories. I love that I can come here and relive my trip to China, see Mia progress through milestones during our first months home and watch her continue to grow and blossom.

I regret that I've fallen behind here for the last several months. So my plan for the new year is to not only catch up through the end of 2012 but consistently document 2013.

With that being said, I thought it'd be interesting to see just how much my girl has changed. Wow! I can hardly believe the difference one year makes.

Mia was just starting to walk at the end of 2011. And now at the end of 2012, she's a running, jumping, climbing monkey.

Over the next couple of weeks I plan to back date some posts to catch up through Mia's birthday in October all the way through Christmas and the new year. I'm looking forward to all the exciting things waiting in 2013!