Saturday, July 07, 2001

Mia visited Jenn's hairdresser today. Jenn had an appointment, and wanted to bring Mia down to say hello. Mia's hair has been coming and going in spurts, but I trust it'll be fine when she gets older.
posted by Rick Umali 10:28 PM

Friday, July 06, 2001

Mia made a new noise today. It's sort of like a low growl, different sounding than her "I'm hungry" squeal.
posted by Rick Umali 11:12 PM

This morning, I went with Jenn and Mia to the daycare again. I think I'll be making this a habit. I also met Melinda, the regular teacher in the infant room.
posted by Rick Umali 11:11 PM

Thursday, July 05, 2001

Mia is starting to teethe.

Based on our book, she's been exhibiting all the symptoms: lack of interest in feeding, a lot of crying/crankiness, and a lot of chewing (she's been grabbing our diaper rags, and stuffing them in her mouth). We have teething rings (which we've been refrigerating) to try to soothe her, but this could be a long process. A baby's full set of baby teeth aren't done until usually age three!
posted by Rick Umali 11:19 PM

Today, Mia went to daycare.

I went with Jenn to drop Mia at A Place to Grow, which is near our house. There were at least five other children in the infant room this morning: all of them could stand and walk! But Leslie and Alicia (the teachers in the infant room today) held Mia, and reassured us that she was in good hands.

Jenn fretted about Mia today, and we chatted on-line about it. I'm used to being away since I've been working the past few weeks. For Jenn, this is a totally new experience.

She picked up Mia at 3PM, and of course, she was fine. The infant room children nap from 1-3PM, which is something Mia is going to have to learn. Tomorrow is the same routine. Mia is in daycare twice a week. We've sometimes been using 'school' instead of daycare because this new experience in her life is going to teach her a lot.
posted by Rick Umali 11:12 PM

Mia's middle name is Magdalena, which partially honors my aunt. We call her Tita Deling (which somehow must be short for Magdalena; Tita is a Filipino word that is a catch-all for 'Aunt'). She is the mother of my favorite cousin, Rassi, who will turn 25 in September.

She lives in Woodbridge, Virginia, and she is an obstetrician. She is my Mom's sister. Tita Deling's husband, Rassi Sr., died in 1998.

When I was a boy, my whole family would visit my aunt's every year at New Year's. We would visit the National Air and Space Museum, and stay up and shout Happy New Year when the ball dropped. We would also visit a few times in the Summer and Fall. My fondest memories of growing up include these visits to see her and her family. She is a funny and generous woman, and Mia's middle name will always remind me of Tita Deling.
posted by Rick Umali 11:01 PM

I finally posted pictures from the baptism. Check out pictures 16-22. As I get more, I'm sure I'll drop them in. I have terrific memories of that day!
posted by Rick Umali 10:44 PM

Wednesday, July 04, 2001

Tomorrow, Mia will start day-care. This will mark the first time Mia will be out of both our hands during the day.
posted by Rick Umali 10:13 PM

Today, due to the holiday, I was home with Mia on a weekday. Jenn got some well-deserved nap time. And once again, I renewed my own understanding of how demanding being a 'stay at home parent' really is. All total, Mia napped an hour and a half. The rest of the time, she was up, and 70% out of that time she wanted our attention.
posted by Rick Umali 10:11 PM

Yesterday, Jenn took Mia's rectal temperature using a thermometer. We thought she might have had a fever. Turns out her rectal temperature was 99.8, which is the equivalent of 98.8. (Apparently, rectal temperature readings are one degree higher than a temperature reading taken orally.)

The last time I saw someone take Mia's temperature rectally was in the nursery, a few minutes after she was born. Mia took it well both times. Our thermometer, by Safety 1st, needs only twenty seconds to get a reading.
posted by Rick Umali 10:07 PM

Sunday, July 01, 2001

After some funny sounds on my part, and tickling/brusing Mia near her neck, I was able to get Mia to laugh. And I'm delighted! Jenn watched me do this demonstration, and when she heard Mia, she pointed and said "Yes, that's it! Heh-heh."

Laughing is another way to express yourself, and I'm glad Mia is on her way to expressing herself like this.
posted by Rick Umali 10:28 PM