Daddy's little firecracker

This is what happens when you leave dad in charge of Fourth of July photos. Luckily, the package served as just a prop!

Eight Months Old!

Mila is officially 2/3 of a year old!

The most common question is how many teeth does she have? Well, the tally is still at zero! But we think there's one on the bottom just begging to get out.

She's still crawling and getting into everything. She loves to stand against furniture, bodies, toys... anything she can use to get upright. Jens loves to test her balance and will let go while of her while she's standing against him. She'll stand for about 2-3 seconds at a time before she topples over.

She's getting more and more vocal. Her favorite words are da-da-da-da and bob-bob-bob. She still calls out for maaa-ma when she's sounding desperate though! She's also catching on to waving hello and goodbye. In fact, it sounds like she is repeating "hi"after us sometimes. But our favorite sounds out of her are her laughs. She is a big fan of peek-a-boo and let's out a big cackle whenever she is startled. What an amazingly refreshing sound! I can't help but smile or laugh along with her.

We took a trip to Cresco last week. This picture is from the Mighty Howard County Fair... so we can check that off our list! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out to snap any photos while we were with the family. Aunt Jessie has some photos with our great-grandma, so we'll have to get those from her. It was a good trip home and it was nice to see everyone, but it'll be much better once Mila gets over her "stranger danger" phase (as Jens so likes to call it)!

  

On Saturday, we took our second trip to the zoo. I'm happy to report that she noticed the animals this time! We got in early, so there weren't as many kids to distract her (which was a big help!). She was much more attentive this go-round and we're excited to take her back to see how her reactions change.

Our final trip for the looong weekend was to Brayton for a family reunion. Grandma Lori bought Mila a new walker and her cousins (Madison & Peyton) had fun pushing her around the hall. She was a happy little camper in her mobile toy.

Happy Father's Day!

After lunch today, Mila took Jens to the driving range for Father's Day... or maybe we went with him, something like that! We had a nice weekend at home without too much action, so that was sort of refreshing.

Last weekend, we traveled to Minnesota for a family wedding. The weather wasn't all that cooperative, but it was a beautiful wedding nonetheless.

Since we had access to a hotel pool, we decided to take Mila swimming for the first time. She loved it. Looks like we'll have to find time to visit some pools this summer!

And in other news, Jens had his 10-year anniversary with Interstate Batteries last fall. Now that we've had the baby, made it past several winter weather cancellations and their convention has past... we finally had his celebratory dinner at 801 Steak & Chop. We had a great evening out while Mila had a great night with Aunt Jessie and Todd.

Seven Months Old

It's June, which means we've got a seven month old!

She is still cruising along and her curiousity is out of control. She's started pulling herself up on everything she can get ahold of, and she often let's go with one hand to see how long she can balance. She's sort of a showoff! I can't believe how quickly she catches on to things. Our days are numbered before this one is off and running.

Getting into everything!

Mila has officially taken over our living room. Not only can she get anywhere she wants to go, but she can get into anything she sets her sights on! The remotes are her new favorite and I'm pretty sure she could run the receiver and PlayStation if we'd let her.

She does enjoy her own toys/books as well. I put her down the other night when we got home, and she crawled right on over to her books and sat down. Then she realized I got the camera out and she decided to show off...
 

She started feeling a bit under the weather on Thursday. I took her in to be checked out on Friday evening and sure enough, she had the start of an ear infection. Even though her nose is running, eyes are red and she refuses to sleep, she's up for time in her jumeroo! She's been such a trooper through this nasty bug and she does her best to put on a smile and have some fun. You'll notice a spot above her eye... she took a dive while crawling around earlier in the day. Not the last time that'll happen, I'm sure.

Our little go-getter

Ok... ok... I fell behind!

Mila's 6 month check-up went really well. Her doctor is still impressed with her development and she's right on track with her height and weight. She weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs, 11 oz and is now 25 3/4". (20th / 60th percentiles).

This is a pretty common face these days! She's either got her mouth open, or there's a toy stuffed in it. I'm pretty sure she thought she could fit the camera lens in her mouth on this one... we're not going to find out if she was right.

She and her toys always seem to make their way under the swing. I have a feeling she's going to like forts.

She discovered a rocking motorcylce at daycare and loved it! So, we decided it was time to bring out her muscial lion that Aunt Jessie and Todd gave her for Christmas. I think he's her new favorite!

Over the weekend, we went to Uncle Mike's Unity Ceremony in Cedar Falls. Mila got to spend some time with her grandmas.

Mila with Grandma Sally.

Getting smooches from Great Grandma Edith.

Great-great Grandma Fran with her two Great-great Grandbabies, Isaac and Mila.

And, a few weeks ago, we ventured out for our first Tulip Festival in Pella. It was actually a pretty chilly day, but it was nice to see all of the flowers.

Six Months Old!

Mila turned six months old on May Day! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone.

She's been scooting and now starting to crawl. We like to put a toy out in front of her and see how long it takes her to get it. I have to say, she's surprisingly quick.

Aunt Jessie gave Mila a season pass to the Blank Park Zoo, so we went for a visit on her half-birthday. Being the little people watcher she is, Mila was much more interested in the other kids than the animals. I'm sure that will change over time... right?