Labor Day: Fun outside

Tiptoes to splash in the fountain.

Where's my cup?



There it is!



I love my cup!

Love it!

Pet my toes, Grandma!

Now hand me off to Uncle Russ!

Uncle Russ and I do not approve.

Visiting PawPaw Bob.

We have the same haircut.

Laugh it up, Uncle Russ, but this is serious.

Aunt Debbie just passed me a cookie.

Aunt Debbie is the best.

Labor Day: Uncertainty about squash

What is this mess you are feeding me?

Tastes healthy. I am suspicious.

I will swirl it around and around and around and ...

Squash is delicious!

Hooray!

Labor Day: Grandma love

I'm going to post a couple different things about our Labor Day weekend in Mountain Home, so just get ready ...

I think my mom might be the president of the Mia Jacobs Fan Club. Well, at least co-president along with the other grandparents. This weekend she spent most of her time doting on Mia, who played coy for a while before giving in to the grandma love. They chatted, played, cuddled and spent lots of time admiring one another.

My mom explains to Mia why the Chicago Cubs aren't that great this year. And every year.

Mia gets hugs because of her Packers shirt.

My mom claps Mia's feet together, which Mia always finds funny.

And now she's over the whole feet clapping thing.

Mia falls asleep eating in my mom's arms.

Mia takes up her post in my mom's lap.

It takes a sewing village

OK, OK. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm going to brag. Look what I made!

Sometimes I can be domestic. Yes, I can. For example, last Christmas I felt morally obligating (and happy!) to make Mia a Christmas stocking, which I promptly lost amid all our travel luggage. This year I plan to actually hang it up for Christmas morning.

This year I felt compelled to make Mia a dress for her upcoming first birthday party. Of course, I had help from my mom and Aunt Debbie, but nevertheless, I picked out the material and pattern and sewed this baby up! I made it for Mia's birthday party. Hooray!

The Class of 2000

Saturday night I had the BEST TIME EVER at my high school reunion! I literally talked for seven hours straight. Really. Seven hours. I wrote a column before I went and a blog after I got back. Here's my blog:

This Saturday was my 10-year high school reunion. I have to be honest: I was kind of dreading it. (I wrote about it last month.) Mostly I was terrified that everyone would leave saying, “Oh my word! That Carrie Coppernoll. Did you see how much weight she gained?”

What a stupid thing to worry about.

I saw friends I hadn’t seen since graduation. It was fantastic. People I’ve known since kindergarten grew up into lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, moms and dads. Funny people were still funny. Kind people were still kind. I thought for sure at least the beginning of the night would be awkward; not so. The two organizers eventually had to kick us out of the convention center. It was like last call at a bar.

I was reluctant to leave. I talked nonstop – nonstop! – for seven hours. My husband had started the car and pulled up to the front, and a friend had already buckled in in the back seat. I was still yapping. My husband eventually got out of the car and escorted me away. I’m pretty sure my mouth was still running like a motor boat. I’m so glad I went rather than give in to my instinct to shy away from such a good time because of my weight.

Bath time

Mia finds everything very suspicious as she waits for her duck tub to fill up a few days ago.

Peek-a-boo to you

Mia cracks us (and herself) up:

That bird stole our $3

Here are the pictures and such from our trip to the zoo Sunday.

Mia rides a rhino.

Mia and Leigh hang out at Oklahoma Trails.

Mia and I prepare to give a lorikeet some nectar in the Explorikeet Adventure.

The bird stares back at us after stealing the nectar. Jerk.

Three bucks wasted.

I encourage Mia to play in the stream.

So she sits down in it.

Mia pets a goat.

Mia shows off her new hairstyle after Leigh accidentally carried her through a sprinkler.

And here are some cute videos of her playing in the stream:

She's big in the Midwest

Mia is famous. Famous.

She won a funny baby video contest put on by Infant Crisis Services! ICS is a fantastic nonprofit in town that gives food, formula and diapers to families in crisis. It's really outstanding. I've interviewed the director several times, and she is a truly kind soul who wants to help children. The contest was for two babies to be featured in ICS's annual Ten Dollars in Ten Days campaign. We entered the video of when she learned to blow raspberries while we were in South Africa.

So here's the video!