Dear Mia...

[The Birthday Girl]

Our littlest Mia,

You turned three! This year has been a wild ride, but you hung on and sure grew A LOT! You are now 40 inches tall and you weigh 31 pounds. Your hair is still sun kissed caramel, and your skin still glows! You are a very energetic little thing, and getting your wiggles out is a daily necessity for you. Your favorite thing to do is to go down slides. Any slides. Anywhere. You love slides. We even bought you your very own green slide to have in the house so that you can slide all you want!

You are very happy, and one thing that we can guarantee from you everyday is lots of giggles and fun. You are quickly learning the way further into our hearts, lots of smiles and hugs. If we try to scare you or come towards you saying we're "gonna get you," you just hop right up with arms open wide and give us a big hug. Of course we can't do anything else but hug and kiss you right back!

You are a little princess. Everything has to be "princess." From dresses to bedding and night lights, if it can help you feel more like a princess, then that is what you want. You are getting pretty good at your princess twirls too.

One way that you like to spend time with our family is taking evening walks. In the Caribbean, we would go caterpillar hunting after dinner every night. Now that we live in Illinois, you like to go out in the woods and look for deer and squirrels. You are getting pretty brave when it comes to looking for all those animals.

You are becoming quite the artist. You know that your name is spelled "M-I-A," and you love to write it on every piece of art that you create.

Another favorite of yours is playing outside. When we lived in the Caribbean this past year, you had lots of sunny days to go and play at the pool or the beach, and you were very happy to enjoy the heat and you didn't mind if it was a little sweaty!

Daddy and I think that your favorite thing that happened this year was your little brother, Kainoa came to join our family. You are an amazing big sister that is just as loving and caring for your Kainoa bear as you are for your Mommy and Daddy. It is not uncommon for us to come into a room where Kainoa is fussing only to find that you are either there trying to take care of him in some way, or you have already been there and there is one of Kainoa's toys near him that you've brought him to make him happy. You are loving and kind, happy and excited every time you are around Kainoa. I just know that this year is going to bring lots of adventures with your little brother that you adore so much.

Mia, we love you more and more everyday! Here are some of our favorites of the cute little things you do right now:

*Talking and singing yourself to sleep at night long after we've tucked you in.

*The sweet little noise you make every time you kiss one of us.

*How you say "I love you." (Lov lu!)

*How much you still love to take care of us and want us to be happy!

*Your excitement and enthusiasm for everything we do together

*The laughter and joy you bring into our home everyday.

Even though this last year was very busy with Daddy being in medical school and mommy having our little Kainoa Bear, you didn't miss a beat. You are so much more than the daughter of our dreams. There is no way we could have even dreamed of all the love and joy you have brought us and continue to bring us. We love you, little Mimi. Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Mimi turned 3!

Our baby is now three. WOW. More to come...

So Long Schaint Kittshh

Well...this update is long overdue...just by a few months. I suppose moving across the world, and then across the country contributed to that. We successfully made it off the island.

It was nothing short of a miracle. Seriously.

Med school is hard...for the student...for the family...for everyone. If I would have known everything we went through on the island(s) back in the beginning of 2009, I might have had second thoughts about signing up for this "adventure."

I'm super-duper glad I ignorantly got on those 3 planes and a ferry to start our journey all those months ago. Besides marrying each other and having our kiddos, all-in-all...it is one of the best decisions I think we've ever made.

I'm already missing things about our Caribbean adventure.

Like our car. It was a 13 year old Honda Van that had about 65,000 island miles on it. I know vans "aren't cool," but I reeeallly miss that car. A lot. The only thing that makes me happy is to know that our super cute friends are joy-riding around the island in it still. I hope they listen to some Spearhead in our honor every once in a while as they look out one window to the ocean and out the other at the volcano.

[Mimi swimming in December]

The other thing I am missing about the island is the weather. It is fa-reezing here. Within a week of being in snow, we both agreed that snow is great to visit, not to live in. Our tans went bye-byes too.

And I miss my Beth. We were pretty much St. Kitts Bff's. I think Dave really liked that we were good friends because Beth has good stories, and after every workout or "project time," I'd come home to Dave asking, "Any good stories??!!??"

[p.s. look at my pregnant belly...awww]

Our last memories of our Caribbean adventure are some of the best. Packing and getting ready to move was a little stressful (as usual), but we tried to squeeze in a few more moments of laughter and bonding.

[Us and the Allred's for one last "Progressive Dinner" around the island]

The night before we left, the Allred's took us on the BEST (and yummiest!) progressive dinner ever. We had delish appetizers at Marshalls, then delish indian food at Pride of India, then delish dessert at the Marriott. It was...delish!!!! And not-to-mention, the perfect way to spend our last night on the island...with very very dear friends on a gorgeous tropical night!

[Us and the Allred's at the Airport]

[Us with some members of our Branch at Church]

[Getting our paperwork together for emigration one last time]

Leaving the island was bitter-sweet. We were very excited to start "the next chapter," but very sad to know that we were leaving a beautiful island, and great friends. We left on December 23rd to head to Puerto Rico for the night. It took forever to get through emigration, and by the time we finally got to security...they were calling final boarding call. It was very stressful to realize that after all we'd gone through, we were going to miss our last flight off the island!!! I lost my cool, and Dave went into a daze.

Luckily, we made it through the gate as they were closing the doors. We ran out to the plane, Mia tripped up the stairs getting on to the teeny-tiny plane, and Kainoa had had it. He was screaming in my arms, and Mia was screaming in Dave's. We just sat down, looked at each other across the isle, and started to laugh/cry all at once.

This was it...the moment we'd been waiting for...to get off the island...for good. It was about 200 degrees on the plane, and we were already sweating profusely from the stress of getting through the non-airconditioned airport. We couldn't even enjoy the feeling, really. It took us right back to 20 months earlier on our first day when we took the ferry from St. Kitts to Nevis in 200 degree weather with Mia screaming and wanting to nurse, trying to get all of our junk on the boat. Coming and going, this adventure has been one wild ride!!!

[Chillin' in Puerto Rico at the Renaissance Resort]

[Christmas Eve in the sunny Caribbean]

Luckily we were able to regroup in Puerto Rico at the best resort ever for the night.

Only regret?

Not staying longer than one night.

Winter Weather Advisory

I don't think we're in St. Kitts anymore, Toto.

That's the sound of sunshine comin' down on me

10 December

Dave and Mimi during one of Dave's study breaks. Dave thinks he's Bruce Lee. From Mia's view, he is.

[Yummy Brunch]

11 December

Saturday made us super aware that we are seriously leaving this month and we're not coming back after break. We got out early to head to the semester sales to sell more of our junk. Then our gooooood friends from Nevis were heading through the airport in St. Kitts for their break, and wanted to meet for brunch. It was so good to see them, and it made us remember just how far we've already come as we reminisced about Nevis and about how much we missed living by each other.

Michelle and Amr moved into the pink palace right after us. Since we only moved up the hill, we were close, and spent a lot of time together, even though it was only for a few months. They were one of the few reasons we tried to initially stay in Nevis after transferring schools. They are fun, good people that are the definition of hospitality.

[Trying to coerce the kids to fall back asleep]

12 December

Sunday I wanted to sleep in. Bad. The kids had other plans. Dave didn't help me out with my plan. He sided with the kids and took pictures instead.

[Mia playing "fix it"]

13 December

Since we gave about 90% of Mia’s toys away, we’ve gotten a little creative with how we spend our time around here. She can literally sit for hours and unlace my running shoes if I leave them out. After about 5 minutes, she’ll come to me and ask me to “Fix It!” (meaning…relace the shoes so she can do it all over again).

It’s a fun game. Sort of. Actually, it’s kind of annoying on my part. Who likes to lace up shoes the first time you buy them…let alone over and over again in the same hour? But, for Mia, it’s great because:

1. She thinks it's fun.

2. Hey, it’s free, man

3. It’s nice and quiet

4. She invented it…now that’s creativity!

5. It doesn’t involve the TV in any way.

Oh well. It makes her happy, and since the cleaning lady threw all of her wooden lacing beads away that Milo and Pearl gave her (sorry Abby), I guess this will have to do as far as working on her hand-eye-coordination.

(No, I’m not complaining that we have a cleaning lady. I’m taking advantage of the last few times someone besides me gets to be the maid around here because our contract includes this service as “compulsory.” Like the cleaning…still want my beads back)

[Mia and Dave taking a morning dip]

14 December

Tuesday I woke up to a very quiet house. Kainoa was still sleeping, and Dave and Mimi were no where to be found. I headed outside to see if the van was still here and heard splashing in the pool. Man does it feel good to go swimming in December!

[Mimi and Kainoa at Bedtime]

15 December

Mia decided that she was going to read to Kainoa Bear before bed tonight. There are about a million and one things I love about this picture and the cuteness that is in it.

Shake Your Fire Maker

[Lobster Dinner at the Shiggity Shack]

Dave surprised me last night with a date night...babysitter and all!!! The lovely Tamsin came and watched the kids...and was even brave enough to take Kainoa Bear so we could totally relax and enjoy the night. The food was delish, and the best part about it was that we took time out to really enjoy where we're at!

[Dancing on the Beach]

After dinner, the live band started, and so did the "fire dancer." He and his red pants came out and gave us a typical Caribbean show. Take a looksie...

Final Fever

[Daddy and Kainoa relaxing on the couch]

Dave's finals for this semester are in full swing. He spends his time either studying, or trying to relax on a break to gear up to study some more. It's soooooo much information for each test. I sometimes think his head might explode. It's pretty overwhelming.

Only a few more tests to take, lots of beach time for me (hopefully), and last minute fun with friends. All of our crap is either being given away or sold, I'm starting to pack for the long trip home, and we're officially running out of food. Which is good, but I gotta start getting really creative. Me, creative. Now that's hilarious.

It's really 12:01 am. What am I doing up?

Why can't church be later in the day??!!??

[Getting Ready For Church]

Even though we let her sleep in until 8:30, she was just a wee bit tired this morning. Dave's finals start tomorrow...which means I am officially on my own so to speak for a couple of weeks with the kids, so as you can tell, he's not the only one getting to bed late around here!

I like my kids. A lot.

[Admiring Kainoa Bear]

This picture is from last week. I'm too exhausted/lazy to go in the other room to get the camera to download pics from today...as it's almost midnight and I have no idea what I'm doing up. Maybe I'm so tired because I spent 6 hours working on a paper for school today. Maybe it took me 6 hours because I kept looking out the window daydreaming about swimming at the beach (what I'd MUCH rather be doing than writing a strategic case analysis for a business management class). And now this post is taking me way longer than it should because I'm sitting here trying to think of clever things to say that may (or may not) make the 2 people that read our blog think "Wow, that Becky is so witty."

Not.

Good night. (Hopefully...Kainoa)

When tres leches goes bad...eat it anyway

[Beth, Brigette, Tamsin, Angela, Sister Case, Me, and Baby Bear]

Perfect day for partying. Today was Beth's birthday, and we made sure to make it count! We had a girl's lunch at the Marriott golf club while all the kids (besides Baby Bear) were being babysat elsewhere. We instituted that rule recently because at the last girl's outing, the toddlers were being completely coo-koo including Mia pulling Damon's chair (with him on it) over on top of her. I think one of the girls that doesn't have kids went home and told her hubbie that she's fine not having kids for a while after that one.

Anywho...the day was beautiful...the weather was perfect...and this angel...

took Kainoa during the whole time, so I really got a break!!! Lunch was yummy, and Beth was the perfect birthday girl. She was happy and fun, and didn't even flash me a dirty look when my tres leches cake looked more like soup with chocolate glaze on it. It was good...but man did it look terrible. We'll have to do a part II post when I get pics of the rest of the day...because you KNOW it didn't stop there!!! :)

Hunting with Mimi!

[Morning walk]

Today we went rock collecting and caterpillar hunting. That's about as crazy and exciting as it got today in the Caribbean.

Better than skype

[Daddy and Mimi after school]

Glad we came back...

Buy-na-nos!

[The Post-Church Snooze]

For the last couple of months, Mia has been walking around the house shouting "Buy-na-nos!" I haven't been able to figure out what the heck she's talking about. I've tried to give her bananas to eat, blue clothes to wear, and even thought she might be turning from her liquid-diet ways and was asking for pineapple.

It all clicked the other day when she finished the phrase..."Buy-na-nos, Mommie! Everybody, let's go!" Spanish..."Vamanos!" (Let's go!).

Thanks, Dora.

[take a look at that little paw above. toooo cute]

Mia and Purple Magic

Mia has a sweatshirt that she has affectionately named "Purple Magic." She loves to wear it, all the time, everywhere (Kind of like Becky and her black sweatshirt she wears at Christmas time). She loves to wear it so much, that when she was in the bath tonight, actually in the tub playing, she asked for Purple Magic. Of course we said no, and tried to explain that Purple Magic would get wet, but Mia persisted. So, we thought, why not?? She is thinking outside of the box!


We think she had fun! Good move Mommie!!

Thanksgiving 2010

[A new Filhart Thanksgiving tradition...brownies for breakfast]

[Mia liked it a little toooooo much]

Thanksgiving started off awesome. We had a regular breakfast, and then Dave asked for a glass of milk and some brownies. Mia saw them and said "CHO-CO-LATE!!!" I think this will be a new Thanksgiving tradition for us.

Unfortunately, Dave had school. I was really bummed. I really love holidays. So we sent him off to school and turned on the Macy's Day Parade and opened the windows and sliding doors and enjoyed the tropical views and ocean breezes while we baked. It was a beautiful, relaxing day.

For dinner, we headed off to the Allred's for a big gathering that was the perfect way to end the day. We had dinner out on the balcony while the breezes kept the bugs away and we listened to the sounds of the waves crashing. It was a very unique, special Thanksgiving that we will surely remember. In a place where good friends become your family, we are very thankful to be blessed with a great support system here. We love our St. Kitts family!!

[The only bad part about big Thanksgivings like this is you only get the left overs of what you brought. I can't just sneak in the fridge today to get little bites of all the left overs today. I'm missing a lot of yummy food that we had last night!!]

[Dave taking the "stance" to get the ham going]