Where's Mira?

Mira loves to play "Where's Mira?" and she'll use anything from a blanket to a book to tissue paper. This day she decided the morning Star Tribune was ripe for the game! I love her smile and her laugh . . . makes me so happy to be her mom!

Potty training update

I thought I'd give you all an update on Mira's potty training. We've been at it for just a couple of weeks now, and I think she's really getting the hang of it! She's almost exclusively going in her potty chair now, and has elevated to the level of telling us when she needs to go. I still have her sit on the potty chair every 90 minutes or so, but she is telling us when she feels the urge. It's so liberating! She's made 3 BMs in the potty chair and doesn't seem afraid to do so. Of course, an M&M and a sticker on her sticker chart every time sure does help motivate her (2 M&Ms for a BM). She seems to be so proud of herself! I love seeing that in her. She's waking up dry most nights, so I think we can completely elminate diapers in the next month. We'll see!

Today we were running errands and she went potty at the doctor's office (ear infection), downtown Minneapolis at a restaurant (met Chris for lunch after she went with me to the office) and at the library (our weekly Thursday library trip). I am so proud! She peed all over the metro area!

Elmo's Hungry!

Mira was snacking with her Elmo doll today and decided he was hungry, so she gave him some of her goldfish crackers! From the looks of it, I think he rather enjoyed it!

Reading in bed

Mira loves to read in bed lately. She always wants me to leave a book in her bed at nighttime. Since it's still light out, she'll look at her book until she falls asleep. She's just like her mommy!

Park Love

There is this nice park just a block from our house that is tucked between our neighborhood and our next-door neighborhood. In the summer and spring, we walk over there on most days so Mira can play. It's a great park where most of our neighbors take their kids. Mira's favorite is the slide. She's been going down it by herself since last August, and really gets a kick out of it. Lately, she's been a little possessive of it when she sees another child on "her" slide. She'll run over and say, "MY TURN!" I think she is understanding the concepts of taking turns and sharing, and the park is a good place to help her learn those.

Stickerface

Mira gets stickers every time she goes in her potty chair. Tonight she decided to put her stickers on her daddy's face instead of on her sticker chart. Chris played along, like every great dad should!

Easter Egg Hunt!

We went to Grandpa Randy and Grandma Terrie's house later this afternoon to celebrate Easter. They put on an Easter Egg Hunt and all the kids had a great time combing the hillside looking for eggs. Mira's basket was full by the time all the eggs were found!

I also included a family photo of us on Easter at Aunt Deb's house. Happy Easter, everyone!

Tender moments with Grandpa

Mira loves all her grandparents, but there is something special about a grandpa to a little girl. I think Mira has Dad wrapped around her finger a little. This is a nice moment between them on Easter.

Happy Easter!

Today is Mira's 2nd Easter! It's been such a great year, and it's hard to believe she wasn't walking or talking at the last Easter. So much changes in a year! This year, we decided to forgo the candy Easter basket and got Mira a Mr. Potatohead Easter basket. It's the basket that keeps on giving. We'll post more later after we make the rounds to the various places we are visiting today. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Our little Picasso!

We have a budding artist on our hands. Mira's favorite thing to do (after reading books . . . yay!) is to color on her paper. She prefers markers to crayons (I don't . . . they are messy, even though they are washable). Anytime we go to a restaurant, she'll color pretty quietly through most of the meal, which is so nice for us. We've taken to keeping crayons and a coloring book in her diaper bag for those restaurants that don't hand out crayons. A good tip for you moms out there!

Stylin'!

I couldn't resist posting this one of Mira in Florida. There was a bowler hat giveaway on a boat Chris and I were on, so we brought it to her. "Any hat, any time" is Mira's motto! That girl is destined for the theater!

Mira's got a new bike

With the sunny weather coming, Chris and I cleaned out the garage last weekend. There is nothing like driving into a freshly cleaned garage where there is room for the car and everything is put away nicely! To keep Mira occupied, we pulled out a 2-wheeler bike with training wheels that Mom and Dad bought for Mira when she was a mere 6 months away from being born (and still inside me!). Mom and Dad bought a bike for Abby, Chesney, and Mira that Christmas. We didn't even know if we were having a boy or a girl yet, but there was only a boy's bike left so that's the one we got. Mira really liked it, but didn't quite get the concept of pedalling. Something to work on for this summer. And, don't worry, we'll buy her a helmet. Safety first, I always say!

Potty Training Time!

Hello, everyone! There is no room for shyness on the family blog! Mira began the fun task of potty training this weekend. It's much harder than I thought! I thought I'd show her the potty, buy some Dora underwear, make a sticker chart and it would be all over. But that's not quite how it worked out. We did have some successes and some not-so-much successes. But I think it will come soon. Hope you are all well! I'll post another of our trip to Florida from last week as well. Love, Michelle

I can pass for a two-year-old!

I'm a new mom, learning how to do Mira's hair. It's not easy, but I keep practicing! I love putting pigtails in her hair. I think we'll graduate to ribbons next. The only thing that makes me sad when I put her hair up is how old she looks suddenly. She could pass for a two-year-old already, and she's only 22 months! The time sure does fly, but I have to say that as much as I loved the baby stage, then the infant stage, then the walking stage . . . I truly love this "almost 2 years old and can talk with my mommy" stage. Mira and I have great "conversations" about what she did that day and she will say random things like "Mickey Mouse is dirty!" (her Mickey Mouse shirt is dirty, so she couldn't wear it that day) or "Rudy is a naughty dog" (her Uncle Matt's dog Rudy had to be put in the kennel at Grandma's for misbehaving about a month ago). I find it amazing the things she remembers. Every day gets even better.

Mr. Potatohead???

Mira is taking the sophistocated route and donning her new Mr. Potatohead glasses. She's the fanciest kid on the block. Looks pretty smart too! Any hat, glasses, sticker, or blanket can become an adornment when Mira puts her imagination to it.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Mira and I took a trip to Mom and Dad's a few weekends ago. We had such a nice time! Mira got a big kick out of putting stickers on Mom and Dad's refrigerator. I'm just glad they all came off!

Mira "helps" me bake

Mira recently discovered the joy of "helping" me bake. I like to make cookies and muffins on the weekend, so Mira and have some bonding moments while mixing ingredients. She can't keep her fingers out of the bowl, though!