Check out this adorable outfit that Mia got from her Great Aunt Jane and Great Cousin Sara. I love everything about this outfit! Also, Mia is 6 months old today and has another ear infection. Please keep her in your prayers because this is Mia's 3rd ear infection in 2 months. I'll have an official 6 month post soon. In the meantime, here is a sneak peak at how big our little girl is getting. She loves to stand and play with her activity table and she is sitting on her own now!

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Cody and Uncle Colton,

Thank you for the Easter basket! I really like chewing on all my new toys. My daddy especially liked the outfit with fish all of it! Oh yeah...mommy already ate the whole Reeses Bunny.

Love, Mia

In our Easter package, my mom included a CD with some more Vegas pictures.

Being a parent hasn't been too difficult up until now. We made sure that Mia had a dry diaper, a full tummy and plenty of rest and we were good to go. Now that Mia is approaching 6 months old, she is getting smarter and smarter and we now realize that we need to break some bad habits that we've started. (Bad habits including: nursing/rocking Mia to sleep and nursing Mia every time she wakes in the night no matter how long it has been since her last feeding.) I am proud of the fact that we have been fairly strict with being sure that she goes to sleep around the same time every night and once it's bedtime, she doesn't leave her nursery until morning. In the past few months, Mia's sleep habits have been getting worse and worse. She slept better at 3 months then she does now. Since, I am about to lose my mind due to lack of sleep, Joe and I decided that we need to fix the problem before it gets any worse.

We started sleep training this weekend. Friday night was rough and Joe and I had a hard time listening to our baby cry. We decided to follow the Ferber method which means we did our bedtime routine and put Mia to bed sleepy but not asleep. After 5 minutes of crying, we could go into her room and tell her we love her and comfort her for about 30 seconds without picking her up, then we went in her room 10 min later, 15 min later and thank goodness she fell asleep after the third time checking on her. 30 minutes of total crying. : ( Saturday night was a little better, she fell asleep after about 15 minutes and tonight she fell asleep within minutes!! I am excited that the training is working and the crying was for a good reason. Now, I hope she continues to get up less and less in the middle of the night. We were not a fan of letting Mia, "cry it out" before now since we felt she was too young but I feel really good about the decision we made so everyone can get better sleep and Joe and I can feel like we are running the house instead of our 6 month old. ; )

Happy Sleeping,

Kellie

Mia enjoying some rice cereal.

Joe won COE (Circle of Excellence) for Qwest again this year. This years destination was Vegas so we had a mini family vacation. My mom met us in Vegas so we would have a sitter while we went to different Qwest activities. It was great to get away and spend time with my mom.

All ready for dinner with Joe's coworkers. Mia came along to meet everyone (my mom didn't get in until late that night).

Daddy and Mia cuddling and giggling.

3 generations

Grandma and Mia

Joe and I got to see Cirque Du Soleil (our first baby-free date night in 5 1/2 months). We've been going on dates but we bring Mia along. The show was a lot of fun and a must see for Elvis fans.

We had the best view from our hotel (see above).

My mom, Mia and I spent a lot of time walking the strip, touring the different hotels.

Waiting to watch the water show in front of the Bellagio.

Our hotel is in the middle of the other two hotels.

All dressed up for the awards dinner.

Joe getting his award. I'm so proud of my hubby for being such a hard worker and so successful!

COE winners and their guests from Joe's team.

One last picture at the airport.