Daddy's little racer

For about a week now, Mila has been walking/running as her main mode of transportation. Crawling is a thing of the past! And, not only can Mila race round the house, but she can also fit into her racing suit pj's! I think it was a proud moment for Jens. We bought these about a year ago and it's been patiently waiting for her in the closet. (And yes, she still think shoes are toys!)

Apparently, she also thinks gates are toys! I like her perspective on things.

I was trying to get video of Mila, but she swiped the camera. She turned around and sat down to check it out. She's a techie, there's no denying that!

Ten Months Old

Mila has hit the double digits, she's 10 months old today! It amazes me how each month gets better than the last. This is such a fun stage. She's curious as ever, loves to giggle, jabber and dance. She gets more steady with each step and she walks a little further each day. I can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings!

Here are a few more pictures from today, enjoy.

Gimmie three steps, gimmie three steps Mila

We've got a walker!

Well, we've got a few unaided steps anyway. Over the weekend, Mila started taking a series of steps. She'll do about 4-6 steps before she either falls, or slowly goes back down to the ground to crawl. Unfortunately, we're struggling to get good footage! She's so aware of the camera that she hams it up and gets distracted whenever it is around (photo or video, she knows them both).

I realize this is just a silly little lion on wheels, but I think she looks like a shopper in training. That could easily be a cart! She just loves cruising around the livingroom with Mr. Lion, and she loves it even more when dad chases her.

And here's a little extra footage of her jabbering. She really gets going sometimes and it's hard not to laugh. She's really passionate about something!

A tooth, or two... and so much more.

Mila has been working on a few teeth on the bottom for weeks now. One popped through early last week and then the other followed days later. They've gone up and down a few times, but it looks like there's one that's decided to hang around. Here's a closer look:

Below are pictures of Mila playing with her books and toys. She loves taking everything out of her "toy box" and destroying the living room.

We bought a few cloth covered ottomans to store more toys. She discovered that she fits nicely.

And a little update on her mobility... she's going to be running before we know it! Between crawling, cruising against the furniture and pushing around her lion, she rules this place. Her latest trick is climbing stairs. She's a quick one too! We'll try and post some video of that later this week.

Nine Months Old!

Our little girl is nine months old! While she's growing little by little, her personality is growing rapidly. She's pretty vocal and is always jabbering, giggling... or squealing! The squeal usually comes out when she sees cats or dogs. (I think she is communicating on dog frequency sometimes.) Tweetie has fewer "safe" spots these days because she's always reaching for him. She definitely loves him more than he likes her, but they get along alright.

So, Mila is notoriously barefoot, but we've been trying out some shoes lately. This pair lasted about 2 minutes. It's pretty funny because she gets so distracted by them. I think she's under the impression that she's wearing toys or something.

She loves to stand and scoot along furniture, bodies, or anything that can keep her upright and mobile. Jens and Ally witnessed her stand on her own for about 30 seconds one day, but I have yet to see it. She'll do a few seconds here and there, but that's about it.

Mila had a pool play date with her friend Lea yesterday. Lea is about 3.5 months younger, and I'm not sure she was ready for Mila's passion for splashing!

Dad took her over to the splash park area and she loved the fountains. They would wait by the holes in the ground and she was get excited when the water would spout out. All in all, it was a great day at the pool.

Trip to Okoboji

We had our first summer family trip to Grandma Lori's place in Okoboji. It was a pretty low-key trip, but it was really nice just to get away.

Mila loved the large windows in the front of the house and was quick to discover the old popcorn tin. Who needs musical toys when you can make your own drum?!

  

Friday, we enjoyed beautiful weather while we ate our breakfast at Drydock. Then, we went over to Uncle Klaus and Aunt Peggy's for a boat ride. It was a nice sunny morning and the lake was still pretty quiet. Mila seemed to like the wind blowing in her face (and few strands of hair!) and did really well on the boat.

We had a great time and can't wait to get back!

Videos :: Shaking her head

Mila discovered that she could shake her head and has found a few uses for it: dancing and telling us no!

Video 1: Are we looking at a future DJ? Music provided by Mila, playing Mr. Lion's nose and the spinner on the exersaucer. Video 2: She may not understand when we tell her "no", but she's really good at telling us "no"!