Amilia June Farris

Mia attended a San Jose Barracuda hockey game last weekend (they won!!).  Mia had many expressions throughout the game.  Sometimes looking very interested about what was happening.  I thought we should share some of her many expressions.

Today we took a day trip to San Francisco to watch the Christmas tree lighting at pier 39. We took the BART to San Francisco with Mia and our service dog in training, Gita. We had fun watching Sea Lions and going to the aquarium before the tree lighting. Mia and Gita did great all day and we had no melt downs, YAY!  The highlight was that Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Goofy turned the Christmas tree on!  On the BART Watching Sea Lions  At the aquarium  Playing with a friendly otter  Watching fish at the aquarium  Disney characters with the pier 39 Christmas tree

We just returned from a family trip on a Disney Cruise and Disneyland. This was Mia's first international trip since the cruise went to Mexico. She loved swimming in the warm ocean in Cabo San Lucas. She loved exploring the cruise ship and the all you can eat soft serve ice cream was a big hit!  At Disneyland we met up with her grandma, aunt Csilla and aunt Suzy and uncle Brandon.  Mia liked some of the rides but some where a little scary. It was an exhausting week but so much fun and we will cherish the memories.

Mia saw 6 states in 6 days!  We flew to Texas then Tennessee for a work conference. In Tennessee Mia visited her great aunt from daddy's side. Then we drove all the way through Kentucky to Ohio to visit our godson, Bennett and Mia's godparents Kristi and Cristian. Finally we flew to Utah then back home to California. Mia is a great traveler and is looking forward to her next trip to Mexico and Disneyland in 2 weeks.

Today we drove to Santa Rosa to attend a service dog graduation for Tish, the puppy we raised.  Tish was with us for 1.5 years and we trainer her basic obedience and socialization skills.  She came with us to Disneyland, Warriors games, stores, restaurants and even on a trip to Texas on a airplane.  After we turned her back to Canine Companions for Independence last February they decided that she would make a good hearing dog and started to train her on that track.  She learned how to identity noises such as a doorbell, a phone, an alarm or keys dropping and alert her handler to the noise and lead them to it.  The dogs chosen to become hearing dogs are very special because they have to think for themselves and decided to alert their handler rather then being given a command, these dogs really want to work.  People from all around the United States apply to get hearing dogs and many wait 2 plus years to be able to get one.  Once the dogs are trained abo...

It's been awhile since I last posted. Here is what is going on in the life of Mia. She is now running around. She is pretty confident on her feet. She is eating a lot of different foods. Lots of fruits and veggies. She currently loves blueberries. She sometimes gets picky about what she eats, and if you offer her something she isn't interested in, she will shake her head "no". It's cute, but sometimes makes it hard to find something to eat for her. Otherwise she is a good eater. She loves to be silly and laugh. She likes to dance, but mostly loves to climb on anything she can. She is pretty good at it too. She climbed up and into her high chair that is at her grandmas house in Woodside. She currently says a few words, some we are not quite sure what they mean, but others like "mommy", "bubbles", and "doggie", and any variations of those words. She's had her bout of colds and flus over the past 8 months. Her last one...