Our Silly Little Girl

This is one of my all time favorite videos of Miss Mia. This video was taken January 7. Mia and I had stayed home from school/work this day since she had woken up with a fever. Little did we know just how sick Mia would get over the next few days (this was just a few days before we ended up at the ER). This video definitely captures just how silly our little girl is....and how much we love it!

Fried Tofu - So Yummy!

While Jake was in the middle of his crazy work schedule back in January, Art called me up on a Saturday and asked if Mia and I wanted to meet them for dinner in the Loop. Of course I said yes! We decided to meet at Saleems for Lebanese food, but unfortunately the place was closed. So we walked a couple blocks to a Thai restaurant. The most fun of the evening was watching Mia eat. She tried everything we gave her and she seemed to have an appetite that could not be fulfilled. Her favorites that night were fried tofu, ginger pork, mushrooms, and noodles.

Mia and her noodles!


How many noodles can a girl eat at once?

Fun in Peoria

My two good friends from college are Meg and Julie. Meg and her family live in Chicago and Julie and her family live in Peoria. Peoria is the perfect meeting spot for all of us - and even more perfect is that Julie's house can accommodate all 6 of us adults and all 6 kids! Lately we've been able to meet up a couple times a year and I enjoy that time immensely. Our last trip was the 1st of weekend in January 2009. We weren't sure until the last minute if Jake was going to be able to join us since it was in the middle of his busy time. Luckily he was able to log in from home/Peoria and didn't have to actually go into the office. Yay!! We all had a great time hanging out, playing with the kiddos, remembering the "good ole days" and making new memories!

The Whole Crew


All of the little ones (yes - Mia was not very happy about this...just like last time!)


All the little ones back in August (notice Mia has a similar "smile")

Happy New Year

Yes, I realize we are already 1/2 way through February, but I'm still trying to catch up...

Since Jake had been working such crazy hours during December, we decided for New Year's Eve that we just wanted a fun family night. After talking with Alana, we decided that our 2 little families would meet up at Chuck E. Cheese's for some pizza and games. This was the 1st time for both Mia and Lilah at Chuck E. Cheese's. When we arrived, the place was packed and it was a little overwhelming for Mia. Lilah was ready for action, but we decided to eat first. After dinner, the place cleared out and Mia was much more comfortable exploring. The girls had a blast! I think Mia's favorite was riding on the horse. And the big kids (Jake and Sam) had fun playing video games.

Just a Spoonful of Yogurt...

Mia has been working on using a spoon and fork for quite some time. We tried the spoon with applesauce but quickly learned that it's a little too runny. (Yes, we had applesauce all over the dining room!) We've had much better luck with yogurt. Here's a cute video from December of Mia using her new found skill, and also perfecting her animal noises and other words.

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Grandma Randa's Birthday

Grandma Randa's birthday is December 27. Papa Art always plans a special night out for Randa's birthday. Since Mark, Kelly and the kids are in town, its fun to be able to celebrate as an entire family. This year was was no exception. We had a scrumptious dinner at Charlie Guitto's on the Hill. Excellent food and ambiance! I was a little nervous since its on the fancy side (we had to bring our own high chair because they don't have any) but Mia was a great little girl. And our waiter had kids, so he was totally understanding and even offered to make special noodles for Mia. In addition to Mark, Kelly, Christian and Aubree visiting, Annette, Daniel and Sierra were visiting Scott and were able to join us as well. It was so great to all be together!

Unfortunately I forgot to bring our camera, so I don't have an pictures to share from that evening. But I do have a sweet picture of Mia and her Grandma Randa. :)

It's been awhile...

You may have noticed that I haven't been keeping up with my blog lately Of course I have lots of excuses (mainly Jake working 80 hours per week for the months of December and January and Mia being sick) but now that things are back to "normal", I'm hoping to start blogging again more regularly.

So the next several blogs are going to be mainly ones to catch everyone up to date on all things Simon. I have lots of fun pictures and even cuter videos to share. So until the next blog is ready, here's a sweet picture of Mia to enjoy!

This photo is from September when we surprised Mia with her new house!