Mia: 3 years old

Um, yeah, so I'm a bit late on this but better late than never and to be honest, blogging is pretty much the last thing on my priority list these days....that, and dusting.  Our family has been having so much fun lately that I just don't have the time to document; but I know I should.  I almost feel like it's pointless to do a blog about Mia turning 3 since it is has a half a month since she did....but I will :)

I can hardly believe that three years have gone by since our baby girl was born....she turned in to a 3 year old before I knew it.  Here is the 3 year birthday video Nate created for Mia's party...it's a good recap of the past three years and what she's been up to lately.

I think I tend to do better blogging when I can simply let the pics (whatever quality they may be) do the majority of the storytelling.  Here are some pictures of Mia over the last year...she certainly has come a long way in development, personality, looks and intelligence.

Oh this hair cut still kills me...remember when Nate cut her hair by himself RIGHT before her 2 year birthday party?...she continued to "suffer" for a few weeks...good thing she didn't mind :)

Although it may not look like it form the above two pictures, we DO try to feed Mia a healthy balanced diet.  What is interesting about Mia's preference in food is that she is VERY much excited about candy and sweets but she takes FOREVER to eat them, and almost never finishes things like cupcakes.  She is very similar to me in this way where I will suck on a lollipop or hard candy forever and rarely bite or chew it...savoring each moment :)

This was a typical hairstyle for Mia in her 2's....before we bit the bullet and got her a cute little Bob.

Mia continues to LOVE animals, trips to the zoo and has not once passed up an opportunity to ride a pony.  To date, I think she has had close to 10 pony rides on various occasions. 

Pimped out in her gear last winter when helping dad shovel the snow.  

It is no longer a battle to get her to wear a coat, jacket, hat, mittens or boots.  Mia used to freak out with any shoe on her feet other than her Stride Rites; but nowadays she has become much more tolerant of her footwear and understands we need boots on when it snows.

Before our son Jack was born, we really tried to "load up" on quality Mia time as we knew that soon would be substantially limited.  These little outings included trips to the children's museum, the zoo, a couple of hair cuts, movies at the theater and a VERY special day to watch Elmo LIVE (aka crack for kids!)  She loved it, sang along, and was in a daze...it brought tears to my eyes....AND there is no reason we should ever do this again: one time is enough I think :)

On dad's shoulders for Elmo Live...in a true state of wonder

Then....Mia's world instantly became different with the birth of her little brother, Jack.  Parental attention had to be divided and amazingly enough, Mia did and has done WONDERFULLY well as a big sister.  From the get go, she was curious, cautious and protective of her brother...this generally remains the case 8 months later.

Mia got to take her "doll" bathtub home from the hospital and always wanted to help out with Jack's baths.  On this day, she was insistent that Jack should sit in this tub and take his turn to get washed.  I think this pic looks particularly freaky.

Awww, the pic and video that captured the hearts of our family and friends.  When Jack was "teeny tiny", Mia was so gentle, protected his head and sang him songs. 

The older Jack gets, the more she is encouraged to read to him and show him picture books he might like...she takes this seriously.

Similar to her "Papa", Mia sticks her tongue out when she is concentrating...in this case, the pages were stuck and she was in the middle of reading to Jack

Mia: big sister to twins
This pic also freaks me out but makes me laugh out loud because she was SOOOOO proud that she was sharing her toys and dolls with Jack...she kept bringing toy after toy over to him

As expected, Mia got SUPER in to playing house when Jack was born.  She chooses to be the baby most days, but also enjoys taking on the role of the mommy once in a while.  She is very much in her "baby" stage and loves to sneak on Jacks hats, mittens, sit in his bumbo or car seat or steal his Nuks and suck on them.  Oh Mia...if only I could rewind time a bit and hold you as my baby again.

Pics like this remind me how much she's still my little baby girl.  I wish I could sleep like this.

Mia enjoying the Highland Pool with me on a "mommy daughter date" after Jack was born....this moments are so much fun

This year in particular, Mia has had a very busy social life.  Different from when she was a baby and last year, Mia actually LIKES hanging out with friends.  Mia asks about friends, wants to know where they are, when we'll see them again, if they can eat with us, etc. She is quite the social butterfly and I am happy she is generally a nice and caring friend to others.

At the cabin after claiming she had a boo-boo and needing a boo-boo pillow.
I just love this pic...the posture...everything.

Same with this one....so much could be said about this pic.  "Ummm, I've been waiting guys....where is my wine?"

Mia still enjoys her buddy, Soprano...and actually has started to call him by his name as opposed to "yeowie" (a nickname within a nickname)

One of Mia's favorite things is face paint...we allow it in small doses so it remains "cool and special".  She wanted to be a puppy dog this day.

Coffee and playtime with friends...I LOVE places that accommodate and entertain toddlers while us parents can have a beverage

Okay....this last portion of the blog is basically the coolest thing in Mia's life this past year: a trip to Disney World!  We specifically chose this time of year as it is the "slow season" for basically anything in the USA.  Kids are back to school and almost no one with school aged kids are traveling in September....so hellz yeah...sign us up! PLUS.....as Mia was not yet 3 years old, she was free to all of the theme parks, etc.  AND....we had extra seats in the airplane on the way there and back....life was glorious.  Needless to say, Mia has a blast and it brought us to tears on a few occasions :)

Mia is SUPER in to "travel" safety lately and wants everyone to make sure they have their seat belts on and basically memorized her airplane book before months before we took this trip.  She was very excited to see the safety book and watch the flight attendants do their thang.

These three were hard to separate during the trip...

Nana and Papa LOVED their time with Mia....as did Mia.

Also, Mia was stylin' with her tiger headphones and ipad complete with Dora and Disney clips for the flight :)

1 of 3 kiddie pools at our resort...notice the LACK of people ANYWHERE....
this was basically Mia's own personal pool complete with a blue sea lion

rubbing in the sun screen on her face....a daily chore for Mia during our trip

Ready for our safari ride at the Animal Kingdom

One of Mia's favorites...Rafiki

Donald and Daisy were just sculptures...but she had a blast with them anyway.
Also...Donald looks like he's droppin mad gang signs while Daisy's all like "back up B...we's takin' a photo with Mia so walk away"

Campfire S'mores one night...Mia was loving the gooey-ness

Hug with Goofy

She was SOOOO excited to see Pooh and Tiger...
I would reinvent this moment 1000 times over if I could

Bouncing with Tiger

Returning home from Disney, we were greeted with continued warm/hot weather and fun events for the remainder of her last days as a 2 year old including "music in the park", birthday parties, walks to the park and her own birthday party with a bunch of her friends :)

Snuggles with my girl while listening to music at Lake Harriet

She insists on "walking the wall" on the way to the park

Bobbing for apples at a friend's birthday party...this was so funny to watch

Success for all!

Waving her birthday cash around

Snuggling with her new Dora sleep mat and pillow...she's even slept on the floor in her own bedroom with this :)

Well, there you have it.  Sorry this took me so long.  Mia has been such a blessing in our lives and the lives of others.  Her personality is hilarious, her comments are to die for and she absolutely keeps us on our toes on a daily basis.  She continues to make us laugh and love her more and more each day.  We are so lucky.