Mila can do it.

We've hit a new phase: independence. Well, maybe I shouldn't say it's new, let's just say she's taken it to a whole new level!

Whether it's hers or not, Mila wants it... and she wants to do it all by herself! And while it may sound like an excuse, that's a big reason why I don't get time to update her blog as frequently. Our little monster craves technology. Laptop, cell phones, remote controls... she wants them ALL!

Now, some of the independence is great. She loves to play on her own and she does a great job keeping herself entertained (as long as she doesn't sniff out that you're on the laptop or cell phone that is).

I don't know why I'm not used to it by now, but I'm always amazed at what she can reach. Recently, she's learned that she can reach into the top row of drawers and pull things out. This discovery led to a day of going through all of the top row drawers in the house. First she grabbed my make-up caddy out, then she tried to feed Tweetie his canned food and then she discovered the straws. Nothing is safe anymore. Nothing.

Below are some great photos that capture some of her latest "achievements".


This is yogurt... head to toe in yogurt.
Of course, she had to do it ALL BY HERSELF.
What a glorious mess!



Straws, fresh out of the drawer.
Notice that the cat is trying to look away
to show that he's an innocent party in all of this.



Ok, Tweetie is now in the game. It must be getting serious.



Mila finally realizes that she's been caught
and "plays cute" to get out of trouble.

Time for a string cheese snack. For both Mila and Tweetie.
Looks like this friendship might work out afterall.

Say CHEESE! Wait, no don't... you've got a mouth full of it!

Uh-oh. Tweetie took the rest of my cheese.

Wait a sec, where'd the snow go?

Hey kitty. It's nice, come on out and play!

Ok... now there's the face we love to see!

Zoo Date!

Quite a bit has happened since I posted last... a cold, a vacation, a visit to the zoo, another cold that lead to pneumonia... and a few other odds and ends. I'll start with the fun stuff.

Jens and I had our first big "grown-up" trip since Mila entered our lives. We went to Las Vegas with our friends Cherri and Derek Wilson and all the kids stayed in Iowa. Mila had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa Blessington. In fact, she had such a great time that Grandma Lori said she didn't even miss us! While that stings a little bit, it also felt good know she was having fun without us. Click here if you'd like to see a recap of our trip (thank you for saving me some work Cherri!)

A week after being home, we decided it was time for another play date with the Wilsons, but this time it was for the kiddos. We both have memberships to the Blank Park Zoo here in Des Moines, so it's a great place for a little outing. While quite a few animals are still locked away for winter, the ones that were out kept us entertained. Check out the photos down below.

On a sad note, Mila had a pesky cold last week that lead to pneumonia. Luckily, we caught it early and it was treatable by a simple anti-biotic. Her fevers and cough are gone, the nose is dripping instead of running and her appetite is coming back. She's really bouncing back like a trooper!

We've got to keep an eye on Kade, he's puttin' the moves on our little lady!
Mila wasn't too thrilled to be sitting on the bench. There were so many things to look at



Mila loves watching the tropical fish. It's just like being at Aunt Jessie and Uncle Todd's place!

 

Kade loved sitting in the fish bowl. He was the only one of the three who would actually sit in there and pose for pictures. Maybe it's a boy thing?



Lazy, lazy lions! Well, at least they chose a napping spot right up front so we could see them. The big 'ol male lion was sleeping with his tongue out and keep creeping his eye open at us. Mila thought it was pretty funny.




This tiger was hungry... and entertaining! He kept standing on his back legs and stretching and pawing against the glass. He was just acting like a big 'ol kitty cat. I'm sure Mila thought he was just like Tweetie, so she stuck out her hand for the tiger to sniff. (Thank goodness for the thick window panes!)



Jens also thought it was just a big 'ol kitty cat. They took cheeky photos, had staring contests and played through the glass. He might be a cat whisperer... but he did get this fella riled up. At one point he let out a large roar that caught everybody's attention.

Happy Valentine's Day!

All in all, it was a great day! Mila shared a wonderful Valentine's day with all of her pals at daycare and she came home with a bag full of goodies. We had a nice dinner at home and just enjoyed spending some family time.

Mila also had her 15-month check up today. She's still at the 5th percentile, weighing in at 18lbs and 15oz. Dad is stunned that she hasn't tipped the 20 pound mark yet, but she'll get there... one Cheeto at time!


No, you're not seeing double. While shopping completely separate, Aunt Jessie and I both thought Mila would like this pink bear. I really think might share a brain!

Mila LOVES her new monster/bear cup from Aunt Jessie. She has no problem being spoiled by such a great auntie!

I just wanna dance!

Mila loves to dance. It doesn't matter if she's in the car or the house, she's just drawn into the music! She's been bobbing her head and twirling for quite a while now. Her new move is the booty shake and she's working on integrating a jump into her routine. Enjoy, she's quite the entertainer.

2011: Off to a wild year

Well, to say our year started off with a bang would be an understatement.

Earlier this month, Grandma Sally had a medical emergency that has just devastated all of us. She was admitted into the hospital on January 8th after suffering with flu-like symptoms and a sore foot for several days. Just two days later, she on her way to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where she went under the knife for a foot amputation.

To back up at bit, she was an undiagnosed diabetic. Her blood sugar levels were 370+ (should be around 100) and she was full of infection. She stubbed her toe at the end of December and just wasn't healing. Then, she thought she had come down with the stomach flu, but was actually dealing with a blood infection. While her foot didn't have any open wounds, she had an internal infection that started in her foot and had begun to spread through her body. She was lucky she went to get it checked out when she did, or this story may have ended much worse.

I'm happy to report that she is recovering really well...both physically and mentally. Her doctors have been thrilled with her progress and she seems to be getting around really well in her wheel chair. It will be a while before she'll be fitted for a prosthetic, but all signs are looking up right now.  

Mila doesn't really get what's going on right now, but she's been amazing through all of the traveling and stress. We spent several hours in a hospital where mom shared a room... and we didn't even get kicked out! She'd been working on her kisses, and we were happy to get all of the love she had to give.



Mila loves her new floor mat that she got from Aunt Jess and Todd for Christmas. She's great at tearing all of the letters and numbers out of their blocks. Next, we've got to teach her how to put it back together!



What?! You were spying on me with the camera again?



Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!We celebrated our Christmas in Lake View with Grandma and Grandpa Blessington. Mila had so much fun. Between getting spoiled by Grandma and having presents and dogs to entertain her, she was in heaven. We let her open a few gifts after dinner on Christmas Eve. She LOVED the wrapping paper... and later, she liked her gifts too!




This picture was from earlier in the day. She was pretty wiped out from a morning of playing with dogs and cleaning out and rearranging grandma's cupboards. Grandma probably didn't know she'd have such a little helper on her hands! Oh, and Mila and Santa Claus (below) were quite the little buddies. He stood as tall as she did, but she was able to haul him around the house. It was really funny when she hit the button that made him chuckle. She put him on the ground and tickled him and he continued laugh and laugh. It was a pretty entertaining site.

Mila got a new sled and was anxious to try it out after her nap. While we waited for dad to get back, she got inside, buckled up, and was hoping Rocky or Rudolph would pull her around the house.

Luckily, dad and grandpa returned and it was time to go for a ride in the snow. She was pretty straight-faced through it all, but we think she was having fun.

After the ride through the snow, we went in through the garage and parked the sled. However, Mila was concerned about leaving her sled, so she took matters into her own hands and pulled it closer to the door.

Now on to Christmas Day. It was time to unwrap Mickey! We've been visiting him in the plexi-glass case at Target for months -- and now here he is... singing, dancing Mickey Mouse! She wasn't sure what to think at first, because there were so many distractions. Like the wrapping paper and twisties that secured him to the package, how fun is that stuff?! And there were also several cousins who were excitedly screaming over their gifts... so her excitement for Mickey has grown since we've been home. I'll have to get some video out here soon.



When we got back to Ankeny, we went over to celebrate with Aunt Jess and Uncle Todd.  We had a great dinner and had fun playing with Mila's new foam building blocks.

Another Christmas brings another pair of Chuck Taylor style shoes for Mila. This year, she's got some sparkly, hot pink shoes to grow into!

Hope you had a very merry Christmas! We're looking forward to another amazing year and wish you a great 2011!

One is fun!



Mila has a new fascination... fitting into small containers! She was a big helper when it came to unpacking the holiday decorations, and I think it was because she had her eye on the bigger picture. She kept emptying containers and climbing on in! She really liked this blue container, it was just her size.



What's next? Her little box of books. She tossed all of them aside so she could have a seat! Who needs toys anyway? She's got enough entertainment without them.



The next batch of photos are all from our visit to the park on Mila's birthday. We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day for pictures on November 1st! After pictures, we met Jessie and Todd for dinner at Tokyo for sushi. Ok, so the sushi wasn't for Mila, but she enjoys going there because the staff loves her and gives her loads of attention! Imagine that.



Its hard to believe this month will be over in just a few days, what a whirlwind of a month! After we got past Mila's birthday festivities, it was time for me to take my first trip away from Mila. I was gone for two nights and with the help of Aunt Jessie and dad, Mila survived it all just fine. There were a few rough moments, but it was a good experience for all of us.

We also survived our first major illness this month: hand/foot/mouth disease. The poor girl was just miserable. She was spiking major fevers for three days and had a very sore throat. We really missed her smiles and lively character through that week and we were excited for it all to pass!

And the month finished up with Thanksgiving trips to Lake View and Cresco. We just took day trips to both places and had great traveling weather. She did amazing in the car and stayed awake for much longer than expected on the morning stretches of the drive. Her aunts, cousins and grandparents wore her out and she was fast asleep for the drive back home.

As for her stats, she's still a little bugger. At her 12 month appointment, she was 17.6 lbs, so she'll be turned around in her car seat for awhile yet. She's on the 5th percentile for weight and 45th for height, which her doctor says is just fine for her. She's working on more teeth, number 7 just popped through on Saturday. Her interaction with books, toys and pets is more involved each day. She loves to fill her hands and carry around as many things as possible. She also likes to lift "heavy" things and move them around, it's pretty funny to see what catches her eye. She's still drawn to music and loves to dance and she seems to get quicker and reach further every day. I'm always amazed at how her little arms can reach so far!

Well, less than a month until Christmas. Looks like another busy month ahead!