Makin' a List...

The big day is soon coming. Soon Mia and I leave for sunny Hawaii to have a holiday with my parents. I am getting very excited!! I have been making lists, checking lists, crossing items off lists, adding items on lists and so on and so forth. It is a bit crazy trying to pack for a trip when you have kids. I remember the days when it would just be David and I going away and we could pack basically the night before and it would be so easy!! Now there are so many factors to consider..."what can I bring to keep Mia occupied on the 10 1/2 hour flight"..."what medications do I need to bring for Mia since she decided to start cutting her 2 year molars this week"..."what food items do I need to bring for Mia because some of her regular food you can't buy in the US"... etc etc. I am making good progress on the packing though. Bit by bit it is getting done. The problem is of course that some stuff you just can't pack until the day of or the day before. I can't wait though - it should be a blast!!

In preparation for the trip I had a spa pedicure the other day and boy was it great!!


Like I said above, Mia's first 2 year molar (her top left) has cut through already. I knew that she would probably get these molars early as she has all her other teeth and all her other teeth came early but I didn't expect them to start coming 6 months early!! Crazy!!!! She wasn't too bad with the first one - she had 1 day where she was horrible and that was the day before I noticed the tooth so this molar went more smoothly than her other ones I suppose!! She has been putting her finger in her mouth all day yesterday and gnawing down but I can't feel the next one coming through yet.

We had some fun with bubbles the other day. It is amazing how such a small thing can bring so much enjoyment...






I have also decided on my next knitting project. I am still working on Mia's 2nd sweater but she won't be needing it until next winter so I have a while yet to finish it so I thought I would start another project and have 2 on the go! Stay tuned for pics of what it is!!

Mia's Finger

Mia and I took a trip to the hospital today for a check-up on her finger. It has been so nice over the past month not to have to go there every week. We had to wait for an entire hour past our appointment time in the waiting room before we were seen. Thank goodness Mia is well behaved and just played the entire time. The doc saw us and checked out her finger and said it is all healing nicely. The nail is growing back and it is looking good. He said the swelling/inflammation will probably take about 6 months before it disappears but that is fine. As long as it is healing nicely that is all I care about. What a relief!!

Since Mia was 1 week old she has been part of a study at the University of Queensland on infant imitation/development. Her Godmother Janine is doing her PhD and asked if Mia would be one of her "subjects". Of course I said yes! Now at 18 months Mia had her last testing session at the university the other day. It is amazing to see how her development has progressed through all the stages of testing. Before she was tested we had a walk around outside the university to kill some time and of course I had to get some photos!!







Other than that, a few weeks ago we took Mia for a free photography sitting. The free sitting included us getting a free portrait. Here is the free one we got...


There are 2 more photos that they took that I LOVE so I am hoping to save up enough $ over the next 2-3 months to get both on CD s I can blow them up and put them on the wall of our new house!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today was my birthday. The big 29. Oh my goodness...less than a year before I turn 30!! How the time flies!! I didn't do too much today. David's parents came around with some stuff for the gardens so we finished the gardens and did a bit of a tidy up outside. We had a bbq for lunch and some chocolate cake. We are getting take-away for dinner tonight...my choice of course! I still haven't decided between Indian and Noodles. I am leaning towards Indian....mmmmmm butter chicken!!!!

I kicked some butt at the gym this morning. Burned 602 calories in my 30min workout!! Go me!!!! Well off to chill out in front of the tv and organise which dinner I want!!

A LOOOOONNNGGGG Catch-Up!!

Hello to all my loyal followers. It is I...the MIA blogger. I have been SO slack during September. I am so disappointed with myself for not keeping you all up to date with the happenings in our household! There have been a few things going on so brace yourselves...this may be a bumpy ride!!

Firstly I will start with the house. Things are slowly coming together regarding settling in and unpacking. Almost all the rooms are now unpacked. The problem I am having is the lack of storage shelves and bookshelves etc. I have 5 or 6 boxes of books to unpack but I can't yet as I don't have a bookshelf to put them on. David's parents have a bookshelf they are giving us but I am not sure when they are bringing it down so my boxes of books will have to wait until then. My retreat is unpacked, the master bedroom is almost all unpacked (we need some more shelving in there too), the spare bedroom is basically done, Mia's room is done, the toy room is done, the kitchen is done, the media room is done, the dining room is done, the family room is done and then there is David's study. Lets just say that it has barely even been started. He has SO many boxes of stuff to go through and decide what to keep and what to throw out. It is quite ridiculous!!! I am not touching any of that though. That is his job. The gardens out the front of the house are almost done...



David's parents just have to bring 1 more load of mulch up so we can finish off the last of it and then it is done. Flowers are blooming...


and nothing has died so far so I guess that is a good sign!!! The main problem we are having right now with the house is drainage in the backyard. When we get major rain we get some localised flooding. We have worked out where the drains need to go so that is another task for David and his parents to do. We had a MAJOR storm the other night and it looks like there is a problem with our stormwater pipe because water was gushing out where it shouldn't be...


and flooding the backyard...


I have placed a call to the builder and they are sending their plumber out as soon as possible.

Right, now onto Mia. Her finger seems to be healing nicely. She did lose the nail but it appears that another one has started to grow in it's place. A few people have asked if I took any photos of her finger. Of course I did!! If you don't want to see scroll down and close your eyes...

This is after about 5 weeks. All the skin was dying off and the doctor said to keep the bandage off to air out the finger and allow the dead skin to fall off...




This is when all the dead skin had fallen off and her nail was about to fall off...



It is looking WAY better than the photos above now. You can barely see a mark on the back of her finger where the sever was. We have our next appointment at the hospital on the 14th so I am anxious to see what the doctor thinks. She had her 18month injection today and was an absolute trooper!! She only cried for about 5 seconds and then proceeded to walk out of the treatment room and charm all the people in the waiting room. She is so cheeky! People can't help but smile when she is around! She is growing as well. I had her weighed and measured yesterday and at 18 months she is now 11.48kg (25lbs 4oz) and is 82.5cm in length. She only gained 40grams over the last 2 months and gained 1.5cm in length so she appears to be growing up and not out. The nurse isn't worried though because she eats like a HORSE!!!! She must have her daddy's metabolism!! She is also talking up a storm. She says so many words but her favs at the moment are "no way" and "hello". She can also identify most of her body parts. Check out my videos on Facebook to see her in action! She is no longer my baby girl though. She is really started to grow up and look like a little lady...




I am doing well. I am at the gym 5 mornings a week and in the last 2 weeks I have lost 1.5kg (3.3lbs) so I am pleased with that. Lots more to lose but I am getting there. I have also managed to find time to do some scrapbooking in the evenings and when David is home. Here are a few of my latest creations...









Other than that I am getting very excited for Mia and I to head off to Hawaii in less than 3 weeks. For those that don't know, we are meeting my parents there for a 10 day holiday. David, sadly, has to stay behind and work so it will be just us girls. Our flight from Brisbane to Sydney is 1 hour and then we have a 9.5hour flight from Sydney to Honolulu. I hope Mia behaves herself or it will be a lllloooonnnng flight!!!

Well I had better get going. Lots to do. Hope you are all well out there in blogger land!!