Finally catching up a bit on the good 'ol blog...and doing it from my snazzy new laptop-- generous bday gift from my loving hubby! So, now I can be anywhere I want with my computer which is very nice since the kids are all over the place and being stuck on the desktop computer didn't work out with that too well.
Since the last post was 2 months ago (I know, shame on me) there is so much to share. The plan is to get back on track as the fall kicks in...we'll see! Where to begin?
Sadly, we lost Michael's Mom in June, to a very aggressive cancer. She was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer about 6 weeks before she passed. This was a HUGE reminder to us that life is too short and way to fragile. I am so sad to have lost my mother-in-law and even more sad that my children have lost a grandma and Michael his mama. I can not imagine losing my mom, it makes me hug her tighter and talk to her more often now then I ever did. I also find myself holding onto my children a little longer, giving them one more kiss and telling them I love them one more time each day.
Mia just turned 9 months old (on the 12th)...she had her well visit a few weeks late and she is, well...well! She is still our little peanut hovering near the 20%tile for weight at just 16 lbs 11 oz, she is in the 50%tile for her height/length at 27.75 in long. I think she may be in her infant carseat well past her first birthday :) She was all smiles for the nurses and the doc, but was a wiggly little miss, wanting to get down and move...she is a busy crawler & most recently an avid cruiser as well...and she is taking steps, but not yet walking. I wish she would just enjoy the crawling stage, after all what's her rush?! (hmmm....getting to all those forbidden bid kids toys that much faster? nah!) She is blabbering up a storm with some distinguishable words like: Dada, num-num, nana (for banana, which she said for the first time today), iss (for kiss), uh-oh, and da-done (for all done)...but what, no Mama? She has yet to say Mama, but that's ok! She also does some baby sign and can sign "more" and "all done". And drum roll....she is excitedly taking sips of water from a sippy cup and a straw!!
A few weeks back I took Zach & Sydnie to the dentist, this was Zach's second visit, so being the pro he paved the way for his little sis-- no cavities for Zach! And Sydnie, being just 2.5 years old, was just schedule for a 'terrific toddler' visit...just to check things out. But she wasn't having any of that, she wanted the full court treatment, and insisted on having her teeth polished just like Zach! They both did great, we really love our pediatric dentist.
In other news, we now have 2 new members of the Jones family, namely: Princess and Spiderman. Both Glofish (crazy genetically altered zebra fish that glo under a black light, which we have yet to try). Princess is pink and she is Sydnie's fish...and Zach picked a green fish and named him Spiderman. He was actually the 2nd attempt for a fish for Zach-- May Copper the orange fish rest in peace, he had a good long life of...umm...4 days. So it seems that Princess and Spiderman are getting along sharing the dinky, yet functional 1.5 gallon tank. It was touch and go there for a while, the cloudy water had me stumped, but it seems to have worked itself out with a few water changes and time for the tank "flora" to adjust. The excitement of the new pet has worn of leaving the Mama with the tasks of feeding and cleaning (ick)....and wondering why oh why fish??
I will update more soon with pics from summer and more exciting news, so stay tuned!
Sibling love...at least for 2 minutes! 
Kids playing in the leaves...so fun!
Do you think she might think it's actually a popsicle?
Last week she tried pizza crust for the first time. By the way, she L-O-V-E-D it! Can you tell? 
