~ EDDIE IN THE MIDDLE ~

"E" had his Thanksgiving show/feast at school yesterday. I cannot say he was excited for it, he has not been a happy boy lately; not happy with school, not happy being away from mommy for...10 minutes, not happy with Mia! He's going through so much lately ~ since he was de-throned as the baby of the family.
Mommy has been trying SO very hard to do special things with him and for him. His teacher says he is just "angry and mad" ~ it breaks my heart and I wish, oh how I wish I could stop the hurt... maybe it will take time, maybe it's a phase ~ I just want my Eddie back!

Here are some pictures - "E" was an Indian and the other half of the class were pilgrims. They painted their own outfits and sang some adorable songs!















"Gobble, gobble...."















Mommy & her Indian boy!















Eddie & Hailey with their snacks















Poppy & gma even came (they chased after Mia
so I could take pictures and give full attention to the show!)
Thank you Mom & Dad!!!!















Mia sits (for a second) with "E"















Mia loved the toys at preschool!

"E" does his "gobbling" pose by the feather board ~ all the kids brought home a feather to decorate with their families ~ the results were just so pretty and made this big turkey complete!

Mia is ready for preschool, backpack and all!

~ Christmas Card Picture....torture ~

Oh, the dreaded posing and begging for the perfect Christmas card picture happened yesterday! Did you hear the yelling and pleading where ever you live?

We were exhausted and plan to use one that came out .... decent. I really wanted the perfect picture for this year. Our family is complete and Mia is here with us for Christmas. I came to realized, it doesn't matter how the picture came out, what matters is that all my kiddos are here to laugh and smile (and drive me nuts) ~ we are together, we are a complete family! Nice speech uh?

Anyway, I am proud of this beautiful picture I took of my girl, it shows her sweet and feminine side ~ I love the lighting too! This is not one of the pictures I am using ~ I may frame it though, because there is just something about it I love!

My advice to all those who still have to take their photo ~ have a glass of wine...or three!!

~ A CHILL IS IN THE AIR ~

Mia is modeling her cozy, comfy onepiece "snowsuit" ~ she received this as a gift from her shower and the weather is just right for it today! The feet and hands fold over for gloves/feeties or she can just wear a pair of boots! It really is as soft as it looks (from LL Bean) ~ she will get a ton of use out of this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Dee Dee (Deanna):

Thank you for the sofest snowsuit EVER!

I love you,

Mia

~ DOIN' IT HERSELF ~

Miss Mia has decided it's time to start feeding herself (sometimes) and holding her own sippy cup...at 21 months! Don't get me wrong, I missed her infancy and I don't really mind feeding and holding her cup ~ I just mind sometimes, like when we're in the car or when I'm trying to give everyone else their food ~ those are the moments I don't mind her "doin' it herself" :)




















~ Proudly using a fork ~



















~ Big Brother congratulates her ~




















~ Laying on the floor happy ~





















~ Notice how Penny's paws are around Mia's leg, and
doesn't she seem to be smiling?? ~





















~ Holding the sippy cup (with her pinky up!), ta da!!!!!!! ~





















~ My heart ~

M & M (Mia and Meaghan) :

The girls saw a lot of each other on Sunday ~ it is so darling watching them eat, run around and play with each other...almost surreal. Meaghan and her mommy came over for a bit and the girls had their first tea party in Mia's room ~ of course we tried in vain to get a good picture of our girls ~ they have it in for us and our cameras!

After naptime we all went over to Meaghan's house to watch the football game, um that is, the guys watched the game (Meaghan's mommy is a fan, but I have no clue what is going on!). Meggie's mommy had tons of app's and made a huge pot of sauce ~ it was a fun night and so nice to have the girls together ~ what makes it even better is that our boys all enjoy each others company too!!

AT MIA'S HOUSE:

~ Michelle feeds Meggie & Mia ~

~ Setting up for a tea party ~

~ Sorting out the tea set ~

~ Annoyed ~

~ Stunned ~

~ Cheers ~

~ We tried to confine them in the crib, still no picture! ~

LATER THAT DAY AT MEGGIE'S HOUSE:

~ Going for a ride ~

~ Fun with cups! ~

~ Mia, Meggie & Ella at the piano ~

**Thanks for an unexpected, but FUN night!

Mia has been gaining weight ~ she actually has little rolls by her thighs ~ too cute! I think you can tell in the pictures below, her cheeks are really filling out and you can notice her ONE dimple on her cheek!

Mia is really into her shoes and actually tells me which ones she wants to wear!! Well, she calls them "boo, boo" for boots ~ yes, all shoes are boo 's!! I've been trying to find a dress up shoes for her that do not have the heals, just slipper-like shinny shoes; but I haven't seen them yet. She also seems to understand when I tell her to "go get...the cup" or "give daddy the...." I'm so glad she understands us! Her "screaming mimi" fits have been less and less ~ I guess I am understanding her more too! Don't get me wrong, she's girl who knows what she wants and most of the time will not stop till she gets it! She has a strong will and is a toughy ~ I guess she had to be!

I've been reading the book "China Ghosts", which Meaghan Grace's mommy lent me (thanks Michelle!) and I have seen so many similarities between "Jin Yu" in the book and my Mia! Jin Yu is very "into" her food, almost gorging herself ~ most likely an orphanage-thing where they want to eat before someone else comes along. I was laughing because when Jin Yu walks from a rug to a bare floor, she has to stop and contemplate 'what to do' ....bend down and pick your leg up and over to the other side! This is what Mia did all the time in China! The babies are thrown-off by different textures...

The book has also "forced" me to think about Mia's birthmother and what she went through ~ I'm embarrassed to say I haven't allowed myself to think too much about her. I'm not sure why. I completely feel like Mia was born to be my daughter and I guess I'm not ready to "share" her right now. I'm sure once her birthday comes around it will hit me. I KNOW her birthmother truly loved her, she kept Mia for 3 months (I'm sure she wanted to keep her, but probably got pressure from her husband and inlaws to give her up) and then left her right by a hospital in hopes that she would be taken care of... she also left a note with with her ~ I know this information will mean the world to Mia in a few years.
**On further thought, I lied; I do think of Mia's birth mom when I hear her sweet little voice, when she giggles and when I hear her belly laugh; when I see that one little dimple on her cheek and when I see her wonderful smile. I guess I didn't realize it or want to "go there" just yet...

Anyway.............. I posted some pictures of the kids from this weekend ~ it's getting chilly in NY ~ Fall is here:




















~ Concentrating ~




















~ Chubby Cheeks ~

























~ "These 'boo's' were made for walking...." ~




















~ Silly girl ~




















~ Just... Happy ~





















~ "I'd love to go outside with my brothers" ~




















~ Playing army ~




















~ Wrong Way! ~




















~ "Weeeeeeeeeeeee" ~




















~ Saving Private Eddie ~

~ "ahhhh, it's good to be outside" ~

~ BUSY, BUSY, BUSY ~

And I thought boys were active . . . Mia is ALWAYS on the go! It is so hard to keep up with her and watch her at all times, because she needs to be watched!! I am so lucky I have my boys, when I'm cooking dinner or doing some other fun household chore, I can say "hurry, where's Mia!?" and I have the two best spies ever!!

I really do think she's making up for lost time ~ she loves to "discover" and look and touch everything around her. It is cute at times, except for the times daddy caught her standing on the kiddie table in playroom; and when someone forgot to close the bathroom door ~ she was caught playing in the toilet!!!!

That smile gets her out of trouble EVERY time though :)

~ 2 MONTHS WITH MIA ~

It was 2 months on the 3rd, Saturday that Mia was placed in my arms! The days and weeks have been flying by; but the months...seems like so much longer than it is!

Mia continues to amaze us with her adjustments. She now says her brothers name, Eddie! Her little voice is so sweet to hear ~ my favorite is "apple", I could eat her up when she says it!

I was all ready to pull Mia out of dance class. Sometimes it seems like she is overwhelmed and will just want to sit and suck her thumb on my lap; and other times she will cry. I wanted to see what this week would bring, and of course she had a ball! She crawled through the little tunnel for the first time (with alot of encouragement from Meaghan's mommy! Thanks Michelle!); and I was so thrilled I had tears stinging my eyes ~ yes, I know I'm emotional :) Needless, to say we're showing up at dance class next week!

Just a few pictures of my girl ~ we were alone in her room and I was just clicking away!

~ HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS ~

We hope everyone had a wonderful, fun and exciting Halloween! Mia's first Halloween was busy and she seemed to enjoy "most" of it...

We started the day by watching Eddie's preschool Halloween parade! It was a sunny, warm day and the kids looked adorable! The kids marched out to the parents and sat in a circle to sing us some songs. Then they got to pick a pumpkin (or as "E" calls them pumpquins) in the school's pumpkin patch.

Afterwards, we headed to Meaghan Grace's house ~ us mommies wanted to get a photo of the kids for their first Halloween - along with the big brothers. Our photo shoot was not as successful as we would have liked. SEE THE SECOND SLIDE SHOW FOR THOSE PICTURES!

This slide show is of "E" 's preschool parade, the boys trick-or-treating on our court. Big bro wanted to take his little bro out by themselves ~ it was so cute to see them running from house to house :)

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The following slide show is of our latest attempts to take a decent photo of Mia & Meaghan. These two are tough and always on the go - if one is looking the others head is down! I and Meaghan's mommy, Michelle will never give up!! After our photo shoot the kids did a little trick-or-treating. Mia had fun running around and knocking on doors, but thought she should be aloud inside the house!! After the second house, she started her "screaming mimi" bit and I had to carry her to the car - where I tried to feed her; but to no avail - the screaming continued!! Meaghan's daddy had to mention what a smiley, happy girl she was; and 5 minutes later he saw the wrath of Screaming Mimi!! Thanks Mike :)

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