Mia Nicole Allen

Quote

2009-01-03T11:26:00.001-08:00

Mia is outside and Paco is in the garage building her a pretend laptop. As he was drilling I heard her say, "Dadda don't do that; I'm trying to think and it hurts my ears."

Lists

2009-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of my little organizer... One of Mia's favorite things to do is "write" lists. She will ask "Momma/Dadda, what you did today?", with her notebook in hand. It's so cute!

Mia is growing like crazy. She is such a nurturing little girl and she often seems older than 2 months shy of 3. She has quite a vocabulary and a way with words that is priceless.

Christmas was a lot of fun. Santa brought her a new bike and of course she wanted to ride her old bike later that day!

She's been a great big sister. She really adores Madeline. Paco and I are so lucky to have these two beautiful girls.

Mia's First Visit to Santa

2008-11-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

Mia hasn't really stopped talking about Christmas since last Christmas. We didn't get to the mall to see Santa last year, so we made an effort to get in early this year. Like a lot of kids, I'm not sure she really knew what to think of Santa. I wasn't really planning on having my picture taken (I would have dressed better or at least shaved), but Mia wouldn't sit with Santa by herself. Regardless, I think the pictures are pretty cute. By the way, the second one wasn't posed. I think he was telling Mia how they were going to make a bike just for her.

Full res pics here.

School Photos 2008

2008-11-29T20:12:00.000-08:00

This year's school pictures are great. Especially the class photo where no one seems to be paying much attention.

Full res pics here.

Almost Two and a Half

2008-07-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

It’s been four months since we last posted and quite a bit has changed. The biggest news is that Mia will have a baby sister arriving early December. Many of her friends at school have had siblings recently, so I think she has a good grasp on the idea.

Her imagination is growing like crazy – she spends hours playing with her dolls and her Spiderman toy, pretending to take care of them. She also loves to build with blocks and Legos (I type this from Mia’s room while she builds a house out of blocks for a Cookie Monster toy). I got a voice controlled R2D2 toy from my parents for Christmas, which Mia has claimed as her own. She loves to dance with him while he “sings” the cantina song. She often tells long stories about imaginary trips she’s taken or things she’s doing with her friends, toys, or animals.

Mia loves to sing and often comes home from school humming a new tune. This spring, they learned Take Me Out to the Ball Game, which you can watch a rendition of below. One of my favorite things she does with song is to take whatever mundane chore or task we happen to be doing and make up a song about it. It usually consists of a word or phrase describing what we’re doing repeated to the tune of a classic song like Row, row, row your boat. But more than any other song, Mia loves Yellow Submarine by The Beatles. She often asks for it when we listen to music with dinner or when we’re driving in the car. Just the other day we were walking down the street and she spontaneously began singing it.

She’s also developing other favorites. She loves eggs (which she calls “eggies”), ketchup, cream cheese, sour cream, chicken nuggets, cold pizza, and anything chocolate. I don’t think she has a favorite color yet, but likes purple and pink. She’s still not a big fan of TV, and will only watch Elmo and Thomas the Train.

Mia's 2nd Birthday/ February - March 2008

2008-03-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well, this is about a month and a half late, but here goes: Mia's second birthday was last month. She was 34 inches tall and weighed 26 lbs. She is certainly a big girl! She's acting like a true two year old as well. She has her own strong opinions and lets us know when "I don't like that". She is not only talking a lot, she is telling stories and her vocabulary is pretty extensive. She comes home from school and tells us what happened during the day. If you ask her how old she is, she will say "two" and if you ask her what her name is she will say "Mia Nicole Allen". A great quote that she came out with a few weeks ago was "I gotta check my email and then go to work". She can also count to 10 in four languages (Japanese is still a little challenging but she's getting it). Everyday she just amazes us more and more!

Over the last couple of weeks she has mastered bike riding. She now does laps around the house on her tricycle. She's also started to talk more on the phone. She'll tell a long elaborate story that is sometimes difficult to decipher but very cute nonetheless!

We continue to do web cam sessions with Nanie & Grampie and Grandma & Grandpa which she enjoys a lot. We'll get to see them in person soon which will be much better! Auntie Amy and Uncle Chad will also be here soon so we will be sure to add more blog posts and lots of pictures.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's 2008! Mia will be two years old in less than a month (and she knows that her birthday is in February). She's still not able to show us how old she'll be though (can't quite get two fingers up without the others).

We spent the holidays doing the usual tour... flew to Boston where we stayed one night at Auntie Amy's new apartment. Auntie Jeanne and Unkie Jimbo had their baby a few days earlier so we got to meet her as well. Mia enjoyed that a lot and still talks about "Baby Macy". We hit the Mass Pike (and the traffic) and arrived at Nanie and Grampie's a couple of hours later... Nanie had been waiting all day at the window for our (Mia's) arrival!

We got a nice dusting of snow while we were in Connecticut so Mia (and all of us) had a chance to play in the snow. Grampie and Daddy made a big snowman in the back yard, just like the fake one that Daddy created on our Christmas card this year. Mia and Auntie Amy did some sledding and Amy did some snow angels (Mia wasn't into that though).

We got to spend time with the family (and Mia was spoiled) on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which was really nice. We also got to meet Amy's boyfriend, Rich. He did "Ring around the Rosie" with Mia so he won her over pretty quickly! Mia enjoyed talking about Santa Claus and thanked him many times for her presents.

The day after Christmas it was back in the "Bu", Amy's car, to Logan Airport and we flew to Michigan for Round 2. We arrived on time and Uncle Chad picked us up in Kalamazoo. We had the Allen Family Christmas that night. Grandma got a Wii (and we all got accessories) so it was a night of bowling for the family.

We had a snowfall while we were there too so Mia got more time to play in the snow (and we have tons of pictures to prove it). The big excitement was the power outage/tree fire...and it wasn't even Grandpa's fault! He did save the day (or the night actually) by firing up the generator. All in all, our time in Michigan was great. We got to see snow, see the deer on the front porch daily, and enjoy lots of family time, not to mention seeing Grandma's cleaning robots in action.

We got back to California late on Dec 30th and enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve at home, recovering from our travels. So far 2008 has been a little hectic for Paco and I, but Mia is having a ball as always. She's growing more and more everyday and she's talking so well now. I really think she grew up a lot over the time we were traveling. She's such a little kid now! She's definitely seeming like a two year old as well... she wants to do everything all by herself. We're looking forward to her birthday in a few weeks. Stay tuned for many more pictures (and an occasional blog post).

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

It was a fun day for all of us... Mia was a perfect ladybug. There are many pictures of the Halloween parade at Papillon Preschool.

We've definitely been slacking on our blogging duties but since our last post we bought a house. Between that and Paco's new job which is keeping him busier than ever, we've been a little crazy. Mia is doing great, however. She is 21 months and just a few weeks ago she was starting to put sentences together. Now it seems like she talks and talks and talks... She has no problem telling us what she wants (like "More shopping Mommy"), or telling the cat that he's done something wrong ("OOH LA LA Timmy!!"). She's counting pretty well and can almost do her ABC's all the way through. She knows some Spanish and French and she knows her geography: Grandma and Grandpa live in Michigan and Nanie and Grampie live in Connecticut (yes, she can say Connecticut!). One of her favorite books is "Goodnight Boston" and she now says "Goodnight Amy" at the end of the story. She has lots of little friends and she remembers (and repeats) everything now! Mommy has to watch her mouth these days:)

Here are all the pics from September through Halloween.

Uncle Chad's Trip to SF

2007-07-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Chad was here this past week. We went to the SF Zoo, which was incredibly lame compared to the San Diego Zoo. Oh, well. We spent a good deal of time eating good food, drinking good drink, going to the park, and all other manner of normal Bay Area suburban activities. Also, while I was rearranging the entertainment center, Mia grabbed my headphones and we managed to snap a few cool photos that closely resemble ones my parents took of Chad when he was just a bit older than Mia.

Pics here.

2007-06-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post with some new pics. We had a fun Father's Day. We all went over to our friends house and grilled. Mia had fun in the kiddie pool. A few random notes: she loves to brush her teeth in the morning with Mom and Dad. Also, when you ask her where something is and she doesn't know she shrugs her shoulders and says, "I don't know" in the cutest voice. Alli was away from Mia for the first time this past week -- she was at a conference in Anaheim. Alli went to Disney Land with some friends and picked up some mouse ears for Mia. I remember the ones I had as a kid as being all black. These must be some new-fangled Minnie Mouse ones.
Photos from the summer are here.

San Diego Vacation

2007-06-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

We just got back from San Diego, our first family vacation that with just the three of us. We left last Wednesday and returned week later. Most mornings started with Mia waking up saying “bubble, bubble, bubble” over and over again and pointing out to the bay. She often called the ocean “bubble” instead of “water” – we think because the waves look like or make bubbles. So Dad would take her out to the beach and we’d play in the sand a bit, which mostly consisted of Mia shoveling dirt around while Dad ran back and forth to the ocean to fetch buckets of water. On Friday we went to the San Diego Zoo – probably the highlight of the trip. It was a beautiful day and Mia was very patient as we ran her around nearly the entire park in the hot sun. She loved the bears, monkeys, gibbons, and giraffes. Her favorite animals were probably the hippo and mountain lion. The hippo was in a big, mostly water exhibit that had a glass viewing area so you could see her swim underwater. She came right past the glass where Mia was sitting – a big thrill.

You can see all the pics here.

16 Month Update

2007-06-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Mia has now stopped calling herself “baby” and has started using her name. She often runs around saying “Hi, Mia” which is very cute. It’s probably one of the most frequent phrases she’s heard in her lifetime. She loves to color, eat crayons, give hugs and give kisses. She also recently learned how to give Eskimo kisses. Again, very cute. She tries to help with getting dressed and undressed and also helps get her travel diaper kit out when she needs a change on the road. She loves bath-time and will quickly run to the bathroom, stand by the tub, and start to take her clothes off when you ask if she wants to take a bath.

Mia also has a pretty big vocabulary at this point. I’m sure we’re missing some, but here’s a list of the words/phrases we can think of that’s she’s currently saying: water, baby, Mia, Momma, Dada, car, truck, bird, boat, bubble, up, down, milk, bottle, yes, no, airplane, shoes, hi, bye-bye, outside, Elmo, Oscar, Big Bird, duck, dog, Timmy, meow, night-night, sit, color, buckle, button, hello, dirty, hat, tickle, please, thank you, nose, eye, I love you, boo-boo, mine, apple, banana, book, monkey, uh-oh, brush, ear, excuse me, fish, hot, cold, help, yellow, out, off, on, elephant, jacket, belly …

Here are some recent pictures from May 2007.

New Pictures, New Words

2007-03-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Mia's been busy lately. We went up to San Francisco a couple weekends ago to see the aquarium. Mia was mildly interested in the fish but found the lighting and exit signs around the floor more interesting. She's feeding herself and eating off the kid's menu at most restaurants. She's walking like crazy and usually insists that we take her out of the stroller when we go somewhere so she can walk herself. When she comes home from school now she's often covered in sand, food, finger paint, or some combination of the three. She's also talking a lot more now. Her vocabulary includes: Mama, Dada, Baby, Hi, Bye, Bye-bye, Uh Oh, Up, Thank You, Wawa (water), various animal noises and something that I think might be an attempt at "mine". She mimics a lot so there are a few more things that sound like words but are only repeated when we prompt her. The most recent picture are here.

New Video Section

2007-03-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

We've been working on getting more of Mia's video online -- in doing so we got sick of the original video service we were using and decided to switch to YouTube. As a result, the videos should be larger and a bit better quality. We also added a link on the right-hand side of the site, underneath the photo link, to all of Mia's videos. Just in case you wanted to go back and watch more Mia.

Video of Mia's First Birthday

2007-02-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am actually making a post on the blog! Paco was in Vegas this weekend so I had a little time to myself. I managed to make my first movie; I think you'll be very impressed with my movie making skills!

As you read earlier, we had all of the grandparents here for Mia's first birthday. It was a lot of fun. The video is of her actual birthday on Feb. 1st, as well as some footage from her party on Feb. 3rd.

My goal is to continue working on videos of Mia's first year (before she's two!) Stay tuned over the next few weeks...

Mia's Walking

2007-02-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

So we thought she'd be walking at Christmas, but Mia was still holding on to coffee tables and couches. At the most she was maybe taking one tentative step, but nothing we thought warranted a "Mia's Walking" post. Well, now shes taking 5 or 6 steps on her own. I think she'll be using it as her primary mode of transportation soon.

Pics of Mia's 2nd 1st birthday party are up

2007-02-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

We had a party with Mia's grandparents on Mia's actual birthday. Then, on Saturday all her friends came over. I think there were 7 kids here: Mia, Alejandro, Paola, Isabella, Gabriella, Jordan, and Wesley. Fun.

Pics from the entire birthday weekend are here.

One Year Old

2007-02-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

Today was a bit crazy -- Alli and I both worked in the morning and then took the last few hours of the day off to come home and celebrate Mia's birthday with both sets of grandparents. We opened presents, had a delicious dinner and then ate cake. Couldn't ask for more. Mia loved her walker thingy and, of course, her stuffed Elmo. Elmo is the only commercial baby product she's into -- she loves the show, calls Elmo by name and even tries to sing the "la, la, la, la" Elmo theme song. Trust me, its about as cute as it gets. Here's all the pics.

Mia's First Christmas

2007-01-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

We'll have a more in depth account of our travels and Mia's experience with Christmas later, but I just wanted to get a post up with pictures from our trip. Video to come a bit later.

Thanks to everyone we had a chance to spend time with. We all had a great time.

All the Christmas pics here.

Mia's First School Picture

2006-11-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Here she is at just about 9 months. Her first of many school pictures.

Evening Playtime with Mia

2006-11-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Mia's been going to bed about an hour later than usual so we had some time to play when I got home from work tonight. This video shows off just about all of her latest tricks: pulling herself up, trying to stand, click her tongue, making funny noises with her lips, clapping, waving, giggling, and generally being extremely cute while playing.

Video: Last Half of July

2006-11-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

It's pretty late, but here's video from the 2nd half of July. She was just starting to roll over well and she could sit up -- crazy that this was only a few months ago because she's crawling all over the place and pulling herself up to stand. Time does fly.

Mia Standing

2006-11-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

We added a few more pictures of Mia -- you can see how much she's pulling herself up and standing. Take a look -- scroll down to the most recent pics.

Mia's First Halloween!

2006-10-31T21:43:00.000-08:00

After a few brutal weeks of work I got to cut out early today to attend Mia's first Halloween party. The daycare she attends threw a party complete with an around the block parade/trick-or-treat, a pumpkin patch (in the sandbox) and some surprisingly edible food. Mia went as a giraffe. Anyway, what you really want are the pics. Below are just a few of my favorites. Here are the rest.

8 Months Old

2006-10-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

We've been negligent with the blog. It's been a month since we made our last post. Busy raising a kid ya' know. Anyway, she's not quite crawling yet, but she's doing the army crawl like crazy. She can also pull herself up and can hold herself standing up. She continues to be the most pleasant, happy, easy-going kid you've ever met. Here are the latest pics.