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!

A Visit to the ER

I'm a few weeks behind in my posts, but instead of trying to catch up, I've decided to blog on the most current happenings with the Simon Family...mainly Mia being sick.

Last Wednesday morning, I noticed that Mia had a fever so I stayed home from work with her that day. She had no other symptoms, so I just assumed she was fighting off a virus. Mia still had a fever on Thursday morning, so Grandma Randa came over to stay with Mia so I could go into work. Jake is in the middle of a super duper busy time right now (working 7 days a week and averaging 12 hour days) so he didn't have the ability to stay home. Thursday night Mia was still sick so I called the Nurse Exchange. She suggested that I take Mia to the doctor in the morning. So on Friday, Mia's pediatrician diagnosed her with a Urinary Tract Infection, which apparently aren't that uncommon in little girls. Mia started antibiotics right away, but she was still feverish. Saturday morning, Mia's temperature was hovering between 104 and 105. I called Mia's doctor and she suggested that we go to the ER since it seemed like Mia's medicine wasn't working. Luckily Jake hadn't left for work yet, so he called in and told them he wouldn't be in until later.

Off we went to the ER at Children's Hospital. After explaining Mia's situation to several people (I felt like a broken record; no she doesn't have a runny nose, a cough nor diarrhea, etc...) and then doing a urine culture, they confirmed that Mia did have a UTI. Then they decided to give her an IV filled with antibiotics to basically kick-start the medicine.

I think one of the hardest things of being a parent is seeing your child sick and suffering. It was a heart-wrenching experience. Mia screamed while they were inserting the IV, but after the nurse's left the room, she calmed down and all she wanted to do was snuggle. She definitely was a trooper through all of this. Here's our darling daughter in the ER hooked up to the IV.



Thankfully, we were able to go back home after the IV had run its course. Now Mia is now feeling much better and seems to be back to her normal stuff. The only problem - while she was sick and basically only wanted to be held for 5 days, we watched A LOT of Elmo on TV. Now Mia is addicted! She points to the TV and says "Mel-mo, Mel-mo" and pitches a fit when I won't let her watch it.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I think Mia just looks adorable when she is all bundled up in her puffy coat and fun hat. Here's Mia before we left for Chuck E Cheese's on New Year's Eve. Isn't she just the cutest?

Merry Christmas!

We started a new Christmas tradition this year for our little family. After the festivities in Mascoutah with the Twenhafels, we headed back to good ole 527 Atalanta. We wanted to be able to celebrate Christmas morning at our own house. Mia must have been a good girl this year, because she got lots of fun stuff from Santa. Her 2 big gifts were a Dora the Explorer kitchen and the Little People Nativity Set. These were both set up in front of the tree so as soon as Mia made her way downstairs in the morning, she saw them and immediately started playing. So fun!!



After Mia's morning nap, we headed back to Mascoutah to celebrate Christmas with the Simon Family at Papa Art and Grandma Randa's. Grandma & Papa gave Mia a baby bed for her Bitty Baby. However, Mia thinks its for her.



Mia had a great time playing with her cousins Christian and Aubree.



Christmas Cheers! (And a delicious Christmas Dinner prepared by Grandma Randa!)


After dinner, we headed over to Lockwood's to continue our Christmas fun with the extended family. It was a busy day, but one that was full of the best things in life - family...and lots of good food. :)