Another zoo date

A few weeks ago, Jens had an all-day work meeting over a Saturday, so Mila and I took the opportunity to make another trip to the zoo. We meet up with our dear friend Sandy. Sandy has loved Mila since the moment she was born, and Mila has finally opened up and returned the love!

We went a little later than normal and the zoo was incredibly busy, but we enjoyed our time none-the-less. Mila walked on her own for most of it and she held both of our hands the entire time. We took the little train that goes on the backside of the large cats and camel rides and she seemed to really like the “choo-choo”!

After the zoo, we went for lunch. While it was Sandy’s birthday week, she came with a gift for Mila. It was an adorable, crazy-colored, stuffed elephant (we now call Elphie) and she fell in love with it. She had such a great time that she was socked out in her seat (with her gift bag and Elphie) just minutes after we left:

Thriller!

Mila experienced her first 80’s party, and she loved it!
Here’s a little snippet of her dancing to the Thriller:

My friend from work had a 40th birthday/Kicking Cancer party for his wife and it was an all out 80’s theme. The costumes were great. We saw everything from Miami Vice look-a-likes to side ponytails, leggings and pumps.

We (Jens) made cupcakes for the event. There were Pretty In Pink Champagne cupcakes, Madonna’s Mocha Not Quite Virgin (with Kahlua frosting) cupcakes, and some Walking On Sunshine Golden Vanilla mini cupcakes. Mila did her part by filling the cupcake tins with liners. She’d fill ‘em up, dump ‘em out, and do it all over again. It was enough to keep her occupied for a little while, and she looked cute doing it!

We had another celebration that weekend, Father’s Day! Todd’s family invited us to celebrate with them and it was a great day. The sun was out, the food was amazing, and it was an all-around great day. It’s really nice to have an extra family close to “home”. They’re always so welcoming and Mila loves the extra attention!

This weekend, Mila and Jens are getting a little extra daddy/daughter time (and I get some “me” time). I am off to Chicago for a design conference and will be gone Friday through late Monday night. Mila will do daycare like normal today and Monday (with help from Aunt Jessie for drop-off/pick-up). Over the weekend, Jens is taking Mila to Lake View to visit grandma and grandpa. So, in the end, I think this little trip will be good for all of us! (And I know I’ll be anxious to see them by Monday!)

June, off to a great start

June bring us to 19 months. It's been a great start to the month so far. Mila is over her croup/ear infection and she's been our happy, lovey little lady again.

She's still growing and learning so much every single day. I love watching her interact with other kids around her age. We've had a few gatherings with friends over the past few weeks and all of our kids are finally at ages where they can all play together. What a great feeling to send them "off to play" while the adult sit in the background and talk about things other than ABCs and 123s.

She also likes the change in weather because she loves being outside. And when she's not outside, she loves looking out the door and windows and keeps saying "ow--ide?". We took her down to The Sands this week to watch us play volleyball, but that didn't go as well as we planned. She loved running around and playing until we actually got to the sand courts. She lifted her legs like we were about enter hot lava, it was pretty dramatic. Jens ended up taking her home as soon as we started playing because she was really upset about the sand! 



This is Mila's new car companion, Cammy the camel. She was a gift from Uncle Todd and Mila just loves it. It might be the way the camel's neck bobs to her music, or just because its soft and cuddly... who knows. She's got a special place in her heart for Jessie and Todd. Right now, she loves saying "Todd", but "Jessie" isn't as easy to say. It comes out a little different every time!

 Today was a great day for a trip to the zoo. Mila was in such a great mood and the weather was just beautiful. Plus, Jens wanted to go and check out the dinosaur exhibit they've been advertising. Interestingly enough, he commented that this exhibit reminded him of the one he saw in grade school... only it seemed much more impressive then!

This was taken right outside of the dinosaur exhibit. I think she was dancing to the dinosaur roars!



Inside the dinosaur exhibit, Mila's not really sure what to think. But she and dad both say "cheeeese!"



Ok... T-Rex really isn't that cool. Let's move dad!

Hide-and-seek, where did Mila go?

The monkeys kept her attention for quite a while, but they weren't all that active today.

The giraffe was nice and close today!