Dear Santa, Define Good

The Saturday before Christmas we braved the mall crowds and took Mya to meet Santa. She did great! No crying, but no smiling either. She is a very serious little girl when in new situations.

Mya's 4 Month Update

At her 4 month well baby check-up, Mya tipped the scales at 13lbs, 7oz and was 25.25 inches long (this puts her in the 82% for her height...where does she get it from?) Her growth spurt can really be seen in her 12 month onesie! We are having trouble with pants because they are either too short or too big around the waist.Month 4 milestones...
-She did get her first cold this last month, but is finally getting over the sniffles.
-She rolled over for the first time last week.
-She is trying to sit up on her own, which she can do for a few seconds before sliding forward. When we lay her in her swing, chair, or on a pillow she will strain to lift her head and back up. She has figured out how to hold herself up in the tub though.

Daddy's Bronco Buddy

Yay...our Boise State Broncos are going to the Fiesta Bowl! Unfortunately Mya doesn't get to join daddy at the big game in Phoenix. But thanks to her new sitter, Holli, she will get to watch the game in style wearing her new BSU headband. Thanks Holli! It brought us luck against New Mexico State and we are sure it will against TCU too. GO BRONCOS!

I'm a big girl now!

Mya always wants to be upright now. Playing on the floor on her "party mat" only lasts for so long these day and her bouncy chair only allows so much mobility, so we busted out the Johnny-Jumper a few weeks ago. Mya loves it! She hasn't figured out how to jump/bounce in it yet; boy can she spin circles in it though! It is the funniest thing to watch. I am having some technical difficulties with posting video so you will have to use your imagination as you look at the pictures.

Fall was in the air!

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures on our blog. It was a beautiful fall day and our neighbors had the perfect leaves covering their yard, so I couldn't help but take a few shots. I definitely had more fun than she did. Mya was 3 months old in these pictures.

Happy Halloween!

Last weekend my sister, Amanda, was down visiting and she wanted to see Mya in her ladybug costume. Mya HATED it, even though she looked so cute, but we had so much fun that we decided to have a little Halloween Fashion Show. Here are the pictures...

...a Boise State Cheerleader......a jack-o-lantern...
...a polar bear...
...a cowgirl...
...and the mad little ladybug.
Needless to say, we will not be dressing up and going trick or treating this year.

Our baby girl is 3 months old!

Ahhhhhh!!! Everyone says they grow up fast but you don't realize what that means until you have one of your own and now I get it. Three months? Really? Anyway. She weighs 12lbs. 6 oz. and is growing like a weed. Her favorite things to do 1) walk around the house, or the neighborhood, in the front pack, 2) play airplane with daddy, and 3) play with her best friend "Penguin" (one of the toys on her overhead gym/play mat. She "talks" all the time too. Poor Jared now has 2 women in the house and one of us is always talking!
Here is a picture from her 3 month session last Sunday. Check out more pictures of her on my sister-in-laws blog, http://maggiemalsonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/10/miss-m.html, if I get 15 comments I get a free print, so please take a look.

Mya's 2 month Update

My apologizes...our computer died and we have been using my old prehistoric laptop which makes getting online no fun. Besides Mya has really grown up in the last few weeks and playing with her is a lot more fun than blogging, no offense! I will get some pictures downloaded soon. But in the meantime, at her 2 month appointment (which was 2 weeks ago) she weighed 10lbs. 11oz. and grew another 2 inches. She is now in the 72% for her height; we have no idea were that comes from! Got run...she just woke up from her nap and daddy says she is hungry.

Go to bed mom!!!

Why am I awake and blogging at 5am? I should be in bed, I am not a morning person! Just when I was going to post how Lil Miss Mya was sleeping for 7-8 hours, she threw me for a loop and went back to her 5 hour shifts. All last week she was going to bed at 11pm and not waking up until 6 or 7am. Jared & I were so proud of ourselves! But then Saturday night and Sunday night we went back to waking up at 4am. As much as I love my sleep I do love her more! I have to admit my heart melts when I pick her up and she snuggles her little head into my neck and then when I lay her down to change her diaper she smiles at me with those big blue eyes. Instantly 4am isn't so bad. I do love having an excuse to just sit and rock her and watch her. Plus, I can get caught up on my blogging while she plays and wears herself out again, it takes her about an hour to settle back down again after eating. She is asleep so I am headed there too, good night.

Fall is in the air!

Watch out Gerber! I went to a local fruit and veggie stand last week just to pick up some sweet corn and walked out with the corn plus green beans, squash, carrots, and of course the above fresh flowers. Baby food for Mya and sunflowers for mommy! I know what you are thinking, "but Stephanie she isn't even 2 months old." My response to you...yes, but she won't stay this way and when she is old enough to eat real food all that great produce won't be in season anymore. Or you are like my mom you wonder why I don't just grind up whatever we are eating for dinner that night when the time comes. Well I have to admit that Jared & I don't have the best eating habits (though we are working on that) and I don't think that pepperoni pizza is an acceptable dinner for a 7 month old.

My plan...buy it fresh, cook it, blend it up, freeze it in ice cube trays (the perfect infant serving size), and then store it in freezer bags until she eats it. This way I don't have to worry about perservatives and will lower the chances of food allergies. Plus, it will save money. Not having done this before I was not aware how green beans multiple in the blender. I ended up with 156 servings of green beans, 104 servings of squash, and 84 servings of carrots! Hope she likes vegtables!!! I ran out of freezer room and had to start storing them at my mother-in-laws. If that isn't bad enough, I am going to try peaches and pears this week. Wish me luck!

Cheers...Here's to many more!

Happy Anniversary to us! On September 9th, Jared & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. On one hand it doesn't seem like it has been that long and in the grand scheme of life it hasn't. We always joke, "three down, 47 to go!" Other than Mya, not much has changed. We still have the same jobs, the same house, the same vehicles, and the same dog. But at the same time, we have know each other for 12 years and that is more than a third of our lives. But when we look back at wedding pictures, it seems like that day was a lifetime ago. However you look at it, we still love each other more than the day before and look forward to many more. On a side note, we did make it a date night...we went to dinner and left Mya with Nana....we were out for 2 whole hours with out baby girl. (But we did talk about her the whole time!)

2006...

...2009

A house divided...sort of.

As some of you know, I graduated from Colorado State University. Yes, I am a RAM! Usually Jared makes fun of me and will cheer for the other team just to get me worked up. But there is one game a year when he will cheer for CSU, the Rocky Mountain Showdown...CSU vs. University of Colorado. CU's coach Hawkins left BSU a few years ago, so even though we love coach Peterson more, Jared still has some ill feelings toward Hawkins and he cheers on CSU. This year CSU WON!!! Yahoo! Since Mya obviously has tons of BSU apperal, I had to order some green and gold for her. Well, her lil outfit didn't arrive in the mail in time for last Saturday's game so she had to sport one of my t-shirts. But it turned out alright, so only sported it for one quarter before falling asleep.

The Princess and the Pea

Little miss had some sleeping issues the first month. She hated her bassinett and would scream bloody murder within minutes of laying down in it. She didn't care for her crib either and would only sleep in there for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. So we did what I swore I would NEVER do...let her sleep in bed with us. It was so hard to say no to her because she is so darn cute all curled up next to me. In my defense, the book Happiest Baby on the Block says that babies are often scared sleeping by themsleves at first and feel "evicted," so it is alright for them to sleep with you for awhile.
Luckily we were able to slowly break this habit on our road trip. All the hotel rooms we stayed in had 2 beds, so she got hers and we got ours. The first hotel we stayed at apparently had to hard of beds and she would only sleep if laying on pillows, talk about a princess! I know we shouldn't indulge her every wimper, but the experts say "you can't spoil a newborn." I am happy to report she is now sleeping in her crib at nights! She sleeps for about 5 hours at a time and that is great news for Jared who can't take 2-3 naps a day like we do. Now I am reading Baby Wise, so hopefully she will start putting herself to sleep soon. I will keep you posted.

Go Orange, Go Blue...

...Fight, Fight, BSU! Last night kicked off college football season. But more importantly Boise State Broncos football season!!! Our Broncos took on the Oregon Ducks and it turns out "the myth is true...Ducks do crash on the blue!" We won!!! For those of you not familiar with BSU urban legends, our turf is blue (aka Smurf Turf), so imgrating ducks flying over the field think it is a body of water and crash land on the turf. Again, this is just a MYTH, but it makes a fun t-shirt! This game is the main reason we kept our season tickets this year.


In true football tradition we tailgated before the game too with some of Jared's co-workers, his brothers, dad, & sister, and several very nice Duck fans. (See...we are good sports!) It was a regular party with food, drink, great people watching, and a little trash talking!

The Malson Clan

Mark used to take the boys to BSU games when they were little, so it was fun for them to "celebrate" and cheer on the Broncos now that they are older.

This was lil Mya's first Bronco game. I am not sure if she was as excited about it as we were, but she sure looked the part in her BSU onesie and matching bow! She did really well considering how hot and loud it was.

She made tons of friends at the tailgate.

Here she is with Cal and Carly...

...and aunt Michelle and her rommates loved sharing their Bronco pride with her too!

Weddings and Reunions!

Two of my college roommates got married last weekend and lucky for me they didn't have them on the same day, so I was able to be there to watch them both walk down the aisle. Great planning Demi & Liz. But it did mean a roadtrip with a one month old. Much to my surprise it went GREAT! Mya was a precious lil angel. Sse only got upset a few times and that was because she was hungry and mommy was off doing wedding stuff. Jared was SUPER DAD! I always knew he had it in him, but he really was wonderful. He got her dressed, changed her diapers, stood in the back with all the other new babies and their mommies, and calmed her every little fuss. Thanks for your help honey!

Mommy's lil helper! In the mornings while I was helping get ready for the weddings, Mya road along in her sleepy wrap. She loves hamging out in it. When she is awake she likes to ride facing foward so she can look around and then when it is nap time she sleeps in it like a hammock. Thank-you Maggie for introducing us to this amazing product. (Check it out at http://www.sleepywrap.com/).

Demi & Zach got marrried in Red Feather, Colorado. Demi was a bridesmaid in our wedding and that is when we met Zach, so it was wonderful being able to be there on their big day and share it with them too. I hadn't seen them in 3 years so it was a so much fun seeing them again. Love you guys!

Next we were on to Liz & Dave's wedding in Florisant, Colorado (in the mountains west of Colorado Springs). Liz was also a bridesmaid in our wedding and Dave was our videographer. Liz also caught my bouquet, so we couldn't miss this amazing union! Congratulations, we love you!

3506 Winslow Drive reunites! Shayna, Karla, Chad, Liz, & I were all roommates in Fort Collins, so it was AWESOME getting to see them all again. I miss you guys!

Our Baby Girl is One Month Old!

Our lil Mya is one month old! My friend Stacey gave me the idea to take a picture of her each month in a 12 month onesie. I wasn't prepared for it when she was a newborn, but her she is at one month, so it will be fun to watch her grow into it!
The Stats (at her 4 week check-up):

- she weighed 8lbs. 12 oz.

- grew 2 1/2 inches

The Milestones:

- started smiling at people because she wants to

- started wearing size one diapers

- took her first roadtrip

Mya's Three Week Update

Wow...time has ran away from me! And my brain has left the station too. Here is an update I saved but forgot to post, ooops.

Has it really been 21 days since we brought our baby girl home? Yikes! We have been a busy family these last 2 weeks. Jared was out of town last week opening a new Robertson Supply in Rexburg. While he was gone, my mom came down and stayed with Mya & I. And Mya had another week of firsts.

At her 14 day check-up she weighed 7lbs. 7oz. She lost had lost 7oz. her first couple of days so we were excited she had put it back on and then some. She is a good little eater and does not like to be interepted during meals!

Well Mya's first bath was a sponge bath and it didn't go as smooth as mom and dad would have liked. But we can't have a smelly baby so we took a real bath last Wednesday to see if that would go over any better. Surprisingly...she really liked it! Once in the water, she just watched me and made all those cute little baby sounds. Yay!

Lots of outings!!! We went to Target on Tuesday evening, but it was a fairly quick trip and she did great, so on Wednesday we decided to go to JCPenney dress shopping for some weddings we have coming up next week. Precious lil Mya just slept in Grandma Sue's arms the whole time. Then grocery shopping. She slept in her car seat as long as we kept the cart moving and made it up until check out before letting me know that all this shopping was making her very hungry. I was very impressed! Pushing our luck, we went to dinner at Olive Garden...she slept the whole time. All the people stopping at our table to look at her and tell us how cute she is didn't even wake her.
Big girl clothes! Up to this point she has just wore sleepers and onesies. All good things must come to an end...bring on the lil outfits. The wardrobe change didn't seem to bother her any, well until her socks fell off and her toes got cold.
First binky, sort of. Jared had given her the binky when she was a week old, but I had read that you should wait 3-4 weeks to introduce the binky, so I took it away. However, while he was gone I learned why he gave her the binky...sometimes she just needs something to do, besides eat. She took it just fine and what do you know, she went back to nursing just fine too.Mya is getting very strong and it still surprises me how she is able to pick her head up and look around. Not to mention how hard she can push away/pull back when she is eating. Those little legs are getting stronger too as they fill out, but she hasn't quite figured out that kicking them in her bouncy seat is what makes it move. The other day she kicked them, bounced the chair a little, and startled herself. Her little face was so cute, those big eyes got even bigger.

Tiny fingers, tiny toes...

My sister-in-law, Maggie, came over to visit and captured these precious images. She is an incredible photographer with an amazing eye. Thanks Maggie.

Our baby girl is one week old!

My how time flies! So much has changed in the last 7 days. We went from Jared & Stephanie to Jared, Stephanie, & Mya! I can't believe how much she has changed since we brought her home last Wednesday morning. It was been a week of firsts. Her first outing was to the pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon. She got her case of the hiccups on Thursday, which was pretty entertaining for mom & dad. Saturday her umbilical cord fell off. On Sunday she made it thru her first diaper changing without crying. On Monday she finished off her first pack of diapers. And yesterday she spent her first alone time with daddy while mommy went to the store. Tonight is her first bath, so I am sure that will be an adventure in itself.

Thank-you for your support

Thank-you to our families, friends, and co-workers for your love and support over the past nine/ten months. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives. It has been such an honor sharing this experience with all of you and we are excited for Mya to get to know each of you. And a BIG thank-you to our families for making the trip to the birthing center so late on Tuesday night to meet Mya and welcome her into the world.