The sweetest sound

Here is some video of Mia laughing. It is the sweetest sound in the whole world!

And here are some pics of the annual Boren family ice cream social. Mia had so much fun!
Mia with her cousin Jaycin and her Granny

Swinging with Daddy

Mia and Mommy

Mia and Papa

Mia and Gran Gran

Sweet baby

Mia has gotten to be so much fun! There was a time, not so long ago, that I thought we would never get on a good schedule. I could have never pictured taking Mia to run errands and actually enjoying it. Or taking her out to eat with us. She has grown up so much! Now she eats every 4 hours and takes 2 naps a day. She usually gets up around 8:30 and goes to bed around 8:30. Life has gotten SO much easier and she is such a joy to be around! She loves loves her daddy. She will stare at him and all he has to do is look at her and she grins from ear to ear. It is adorable. She is starting to reach to you when she wants you to hold her which I love. I know I'm gushing. sorry. I just can't believe my little baby is getting to be such a big girl. She is already 5 months old! That is almost half a year!!

On a sadder note, Mia has a UTI. We caught it very quickly so after 2 days of antibiotics, she was back to her old self. Her doctor wants to do some more tests to make sure she doesn't have ureteral reflux that would cause more UTIs. On one hand, I don't want to put her through alot of tests just to find out that she got a uti because little girls get uti's and nothing is wrong with her. On the other hand, I don't want to wait until she has 4 or 5 uti's to find out that something is wrong and they could have been prevented. It is funny, when something is wrong, all of my years of nursing experience and rational thought go out the window! I am praying for guidance. Now...pictures!

She loves her shades!

Playing piano with daddy

Our albino baby

First time to eat rice cereal!

DIVA

I'm terrible

I'm terrible, I know. I haven't posted in forever! I have been so busy/tired. Mia grows up so much every day. She is so fun to be around now! I never get on the computer cause I'm always playing with her. Lets see... where to start. We went on our first road trip to my cousins wedding in Dallas. For as much as Mia hates the car, she did great! She was the cutest baby at the wedding. :) It was her first hotel stay. We took her swimming for the first time in the pool. She liked it. I think she kinda just thought it was a big bath. But it was very cute. She has a big open mouth smile that just make you want to squeeze her! She gives sweetest kisses. She loves to talk and she sings everytime we are in the car. She is taking her bottle like a champ (big weight off of my shoulders). She isn't sleeping through the night yet but we are working on it. We used to swaddle her for every nap and at night. She can now roll over so we quit swaddling her. That took some getting used to! But she really likes being able to sleep on her tummy now. We also used to bounce her to sleep for every nap then take her to bed. We are trying to stop that and let her put herself to sleep. We lay her down and let her cry for min (which seems like an eternity) then we go back in and put the binky back in her mouth. Then she usually falls right to sleep.

We are going to Dallas in September for the UFC fights. We have decided to leave Mia here with her Gran Gran and Pa Pa. I am very excited to have some "us" time, but also VERY anxious. We are flying down sat afternoon and flying back sun afternoon so we won't be gone very long. I really want her to be sleeping through the night by then. I just can't stand the thought of her waking up and not seeing mine or daddy's faces! She will be 6 months old so SURELY she will be sleeping all night!
I will try to be better about posting!

Going to the Wedding!

Mia loves her jumper! I love that smile!

Going swimming. How cute is her little bathing suit!

Our little lady

Callie loves Mia's toys too! (this one is for you, Missa)

12 weeks!

Mia is 12 weeks old! We got her 3 month pics and they are soo cute! We are doing a re-shoot because she got kinda upset so we didn't get just a ton of pics. I can stare at her for hours. Sometimes I still can't believe that I am her Mommy and she is my daughter. She is definitely going to be a talker (I wonder where she gets that from?) She talks all the time! It is so adorable.

UPDATE: My last post I was really stressing about the bottle. Well, I worked one full day and Mia stayed with Daddy and....she took the bottle all day! We now try to give her one a day to keep her used to it. She still isn't crazy about it but she does it. Thank goodness! (Thanks Sarah for the tips.)

Pics by Carol Mckinney. www.photosbycarolmckinney.com

All Smiles

Mia is smiling and talking all the time. It is the cutest thing in the world. I have a few pictures of her smiling but they are hard to get. It seems like when I take out the camera, she gets shy. Maybe she is like her Daddy in that way. We went to the doctor and Mia weighted 11 lbs and 10oz. She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight (healthy girl!). We have almost completely quit the nightly screaming and are starting to get into a nighttime routine (thank the Lord). But now we have a new family drama.....the bottle.

Mia just flat refuses to take the bottle. We are blessed enough that I get to stay home with Mia but in the nursing field, things change very quickly. So I am still working prn (not full or part time). We thought this would be a good way for Mia to bond with Dad and for Mom to get a little break. I am only working a few days here and there but when I do work, Mia will not eat! We try everyday to give her a bottle. It ticks her off! We have spent a small fortune on bottles (not to mention a ridiculously expensive breast pump). We have looked up tips online. Everything. Our doctor said that if I am not here to feed her, she will not starve. She will eat eventually. It is just a battle of wills. Well, in Mia's 10 weeks of life, she has proven that her will is much stronger than Mommy's or Daddy's. If anybody has been in this situation or has any suggestions- I would love to hear about it!

Laughing

Daddy's girl!

Smiling for Mommy

After the flash (LOL) "What was that MOM?!"

Beyond the ceiling

It is 10:00pm. So begins our all too often ritual of crying, screaming, pacing, bouncing, swaying, singing, rocking.... Nothing is pleasing this child, so I go to my fail-safe. The bathroom. I turn on the bath water and begin my patented bounce/sway motion. Mia begins to calm. I am holding her upright by my shoulder, the way she likes. She stops crying and leans back into my hand, her arms limp by her side. She stares at the ceiling. She is staring so intently. Her eyes don't move and for the first time in 45 mins, she is completely calm. What is she looking at? What is so interesting about the ceiling? Maybe it is the bright white color. Maybe it is the ugly popcorn. Or maybe, she is seeing something beyond the ceiling. Something that my eyes are to cynical, too worldly to see. Maybe she is seeing the angels that surround her. Maybe she is seeing her Jesus smiling down on her. Her blinks are getting longer and longer until she doesn't open her eyes again. Then she gives a sweet, half smile. As if to tell me and everyone else that I can't see, good night. With that smile all of my frustration, exhaustion, and self pity melts away. Lord, I pray that Mia will always have the innocence to see you. I pray that she will always be sensitive to your presence. I pray that she will be able to discern good spirits and that she will use all of your good gifts. Oh yeah, and I pray that she STAYS ASLEEP!

Thank heaven for best friends

What a difference a year makes!

I was thinking this weekend about what I was doing this time last year. I was in Dallas. I flew to Dallas for Jennie's baby shower. She was very pregnant. I was not even pregnant yet but was trying very hard to be! We had so much fun that weekend. We went shopping. We hung out and napped. We went to a Ranger's game and then after the game we watched Robert Earl Keen in the VIP section (nice to have friends with connections). I sat next to Kevin Millwood (Ranger pitcher)and even got my pic with him! I could have never imagined how different both of our lives would be in one year. I could have never imagined how consumed and in love we would be with our little girls! From now on, when we have weekends together, our girls will be playing too! I hope they will be best friends like we are. I don't know what I would have done without Jennie to talk to, vent to, brag to, cry with, and get advise from during this time. I am so thankful that God put her in my life. Love you, Jenn.

Me and Kevin Millwood

Jenn and me and the Ranger game

Isn't she cute!