Thanksgiving

So, I know this post is late, but as always, better late than never. Bambi and Camila whipped up an amazing Thanksgiving feast. I honestly didn't help that much... and... it was actually kind of nice to take a little break from the culinary arts. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have Alex and Gavin there with us. (Speaking of Gavin... he gets home in TWO MONTHS! I'm very excited for Mia to meet him).

We did some great shopping, played/watched some great football, got pedicures with the girls, and the fellas went gun shopping. Over all it was a fabulous trip. I didn't get enough pictures, but it was a great trip. :)

Daddy's Little Girl

It seems I have some competition in the "Who loves Shelton the most" category.






I think he might like her the tensiest bit too, ya think?

Happy Birthday John!

John is our great family friend and Mia's "godfather." About a week ago, it was his birthday, and he let us force him to eat some chocolate silk pie at our house. Happy Birthday John!

Food Network

I hardly ever watch TV, but right now I am. The food network.

Why is the world conspiring against my diet?

Mirror Image

I've heard that most babies like mirrors.... but Mia LOVES them. She will nearly squirm herself right out of my arms if we walk past one and she doesn't get a long enough look at the cuteness staring back at her. I can't even tell you how many hours we have spent making faces at ourselves in my three way mirror.

Mia and her twin enjoy eachother's company.
Wowzers!

Mia's life doesn't get much better than this.
Hopefully her obsession with mirrors won't extend into her teenage years.

New Eats

I mentioned Mia's typical tendency of eating anything she can get her hands on to my pediatrician. He said that it's good for her to eat things, and be exposed to different types of bacterias, germs etc as long as it is somewhat controlled. He mentioned specifically that eating things outside (like grass) is actually good for her as long as I don't let her choke on it. Previous to this conversation, I did everything I could to keep grass out of Mia's mouth, but after the conversation, I decided to devote a trip out to the lawn just to let her explore unhindered.

Hooray! I love being outside.
Hey look, it's something new. And green. I wonder how it tastes?
So far so good.
I'm not so sure about this aftertaste
Yeah, definitely not so great.
In fact, it's pretty gross.


(LITERALLY SECONDS LATER)


Well... Maybe it's an acquired taste. I'll try it again to check.
Execution: hand to mouth
Let me think for a second...I love it!

In other news, Shelton gave Mia her first MM (his favorite generic candy) when I wasn't watching. When reprimanded, his defense was that he didn't actually give it to her, he just put it where she could get it if she wanted it. What was I supposed to say to that? He doesn't look nearly remorseful enough, does he?

Judging by her reaction, I'm afraid she's inherited the Knudsen Chocaddiction.
Don't say I didn't warn you that I was going to flood the blog with pictures. :)

OKC, Teeth, and Halloween

So... before I say anything else, SHELTON WAS ACCEPTED TO MEDICAL SCHOOL! Hooray! We should hear from the school that we actually want to go to (OU) in a few days, but at least he has one acceptance thus far. We weren't really that worried about him getting in, but still, it's a load of your mind, you know? Congrats to my wonderful and hardworking husband.

In the way of other news... Shelton got me a new camera battery charger for my birthday! This means that I am going to flood this blog with pictures over the next few days. For now though... here is an odd assortment of pictures and events.

We took a trip to OK so that Shelton could interview with two of the Med Schools there. Mia was a trooper on the plane. The pilot even gave her a little clip on set of "wings." Shelton made her laugh so hard once that she spit up her oatmeal all over his jeans. That'll teach him to tickle her, eh?
When we arrived, Shelton's little sister Adeline had a nice surprise waiting for Mia. She loved it.
Adeline and Mia made fast friends after that.
While we were there... Mia decided to introduce us to what she's been working so hard on for the last few weeks... two new teeth! Good job girlie! I love this picture. She was kind of irritated at me for trying to get her to open her mouth. In her defense, it was pretty early in the morning.
I wish that I had more pics from our OKC trip. Grandma spoiled Mia with some great new clothes, and Mia loved Camila and Jimmy's puppy Ginger.On the return home, there was some bad weather and we missed our connecting flight by about 2 minutes. Literally. We watched them shut the door to the gate, and they wouldn't let on even though we could SEE the plane, and it was the last plane of the night. It was very frustrating, but we got to stay in a pretty nice hotel room. If only we could have enjoyed it longer than the five hours we were there, it would almost have been worth it. The hotel had a "sleep number" bed and I guess we found Mia's number. She was OUT. (And for all you SIDS conscientious mommies out there... no, I never let her sleep that close to pillows. She just fell asleep before I moved them).


I've got billions'o'pics more that it would make more sense chronologically to post at this point, but since today is Halloween, I can't resist skipping ahead.

To start, Mia was MUCH more entertained by the bright orange pumpkin bucket than she was the actual candy. I wonder how long that will last?I think that Mia gets bored sometimes when it is just she and I around the house all alone. She loves being around other children.
Here is the fam on our way out to Trick'or'treat in Jordan.
Amber the rodeo queen met up with us later.
The amazing flying Butterfly Baby! If you click on the pictures, you'll see just how much she enjoys her time in the air. It scares me to no end, but she loves it.
Well, it's late and I'm sleepy. Hopefully now that I have a charger I'll be a better blogger.

My Little Pterodactyl

Lately, Mia has been trying her hand at impersonations. Watch to see her "pterodactyl."
(By the way, what sound DOES a pterodactyl make?)




Yes, those noises are coming from her, and yes, she does make the same ones during church.
All the time.

Better than New Shoes

Lately, I've been in what some friends and I have often referred to as a "funk." When you're in a funk, you feel a little bit on the down side even though most things are going right in your life. When you are in a funk, you aren't quite as perky as you normally are. When you are in a funk, you don't really want to get OUT of the funk because, well, you don't really want to do anything productive.

It usually doesn't take much for me to rid myself of THE FUNK. A successful baking session... a really great chick flick, a thoughtful note from my husband... all of these things are typically enough. The funk that I have been in lately though has been a large one. To give you some idea... I've purchased not one but three pairs of shoes in the past week.

If any of you reading this know me well, then you know I like shoes. Let me rephrase. I LOVE shoes. There are very few things that I would not do for a new pair of shoes. (I refuse to tell you how many pairs that I have because my husband might read this post and force me to get rid of some of them. Shhh....)

That said, not even three pairs of shoes helped me to rid myself of this funk. And let me tell you, they are GREAT shoes. (In my defense, the sum total of all three pairs of shoes was $25. Yes, I'm a bargain shopper these days). But unfortunately, three pairs and $25 later, I still found myself in a funk this afternoon.

Then I received a phone call from a very good friend of mine. We'd been meaning to get together, but this and that kept getting in the way. You know how it is. My first thought when she called was that , yeah, I'd like to get together, but I'm not feeling very sociable... and I have so much laundry to do, and my neighbors are cooking something stinky. My house smells bad. Not tonight. Maybe sometime when I'm not in THE FUNK. Things ended up working out though, and this good friend of mine came over while Shelton was out and about.

Slowly at first, and then progressively faster and faster, THE FUNK melted away. There are some people in life that are honestly like a breath of fresh air, and this good friend of mine is like that. If you've never had this kind of friend, I suggest you find one. The kind of friend that I'm talking about cares as much about you and your well-being as you do, and vice-versa. The kind of friend that I'm talking about can still finish your sentences, even though you haven't seen each other in months. The kind of friend I'm talking about helps you to think out your deepest concerns, and trusts you enough to confide their own most intimate thoughts.

This post is basically a shout out to that friend, who has offered more support to me over the years than she has probably realized. You know who you are, and you know exactly what it means when I say that you did for me what three pairs of new shoes couldn't.

Platinum Gymnast

I can't find the charger to my camera. I'm very sad about this. Many things have happened to our little family that I am sure that you are dying to hear about. As a peace offering, I offer you this humble video of the 2008 platinum gymnast. At least, he should be.

Fun with the Fam

About a week ago we were lucky enough to spend some time with the Shelton's parents in OKC. I think I need to sign Mia up for frequent flyer miles.

While we were there, we ate far too much good food, read far too much of Breaking Dawn (at least Camila, Bambi, Dayley and I did), and had far too much fun to want to come home.

We saw Camila and Jimmy's new home for the first time, and it's gorgeous. We also looked at some potential homes/area for next year when we (hopefully) move out to OKC for med school.

As usual, I took far fewer pictures than I had intended to, but here are a few.

Mia told Grandma Knudsen some pretty funny jokes.
We also get to spend some time with the Joerns (Gina is my brother-in-law Jimmy's mother who conveniently lives down the street from the Knudsen family). Incidentally, their house was struck by lightning the night after we arrived, and they had to spend the next few weeks in hotels while things were repaired. Crazy.

Cousin Danny and his beautiful fiance Natalia came to visit while we were there. Danny is on leave from duty in Iraq. We're sure proud of him.
Adeline and Mia are already kindred spirits.
Dayley turned 16 on the day that we left. Happy Birthday Dayley!
When we arrived home, Mia was a great help with the unpacking.
She kept the pillow at bay so it couldn't sneak away while I wasn't looking. Good girl, Mia.