18... months?

Mila turned 18 months on May Day. A year and a half already? It hardly seems possible!

She's quite the little girl. Every day seems to bring something new. Here are some of her favorites:

• Animal sounds: "Quack!" "Mew" and "Moo"
• Sing along: Old McDonald "Ee-igh, ee-igh, oh!"
• Numbers: 1-2-3 (She holds up her #1, and says "doo, dree!"
• Food: "Cheeese!"
• Drink: "Mi-mi" (milk) and "Ri-ri" (water)
• Name: "Mom. Mo-om. Moooo-ooom" (is it too early for this??)

We've been working a lot on "please" and "thank you" and she's been picking them up really well. In fact, she has her own sweet twist to "thank you". She says "dah do" and then holds her hand to her mouth and kisses. It's really cute.



Now that the weather is getting nice, we're spending more time outside. She's had her pink "cozy coupe" since her birthday (thank aunt Jess!) and we've got bubbles and some balls, but it was time to get some toys that would hold her interest a little longer. We got her a little water/sand table with farm animals a little tractors.





She was pretty anxious to see what dad was building, so she stood and waiting patiently while dad built the farm.

With just one side filled with some water, and she was hooked. All the animals became swimmers and the wagons became cups. Good thing it was a nice hot day, because things went from dry to soaked in no time.

Independence, then drama?

Crisis! Ma-ah-ahm... call dad!

As you can tell in this first picture below, Mila is ALL business. She's got her phone, her drink... and her drama. She knows what she wants and she isn't shy about telling you. Now, if we could just figure out what she's saying... we'd be in good shape.

She's discovered a love for clothes. Well, maybe its just a love of rearranging clothes, but we'll go with it. She's always digging in her dresser and pulling out her clothes and stuffing them back in there. Any organization I try is shot down. She's got her own method.

Mila also loves putting on pants. It doesn't matter if she's already got some on or not, she'll try anyway. Apparently, her "jeggings" under her dress weren't good enough on this day. She tried adding a pair of yellow leggings, brown pants, black pants and even a pink pair. Oh Mila, we're going to have to work on your fashion sense a little bit!

Once she was done rearranging her dresser and trying on pants, she looked outside and watched as dad rolled up in his big green truck. She gets pretty excited to see dad come home.

Another new obsession are the kitchen table and chairs. She can crawl up onto the chairs on her own and thinks she's pretty cool when she climbs from one chair to another. Dinner time has become a bit obnoxious with this table obsession too. We've got a great new seat for her with a fun removable "play tray"... but she prefers to stand on a chair at the table instead. I can't even tell you how many times we've wrestled her into her own chair, only to let her out after a meltdown. As soon as she's unbuckled, she smells freedom and is one happy child again. We're doomed, aren't we?

On a hair update, she's got enough for pigtails! I'm sure you noticed the addition of the side pony in the pictures above... but the pigtails had to be called out. We put them in a few weeks ago and they just crack me up. She really looks like such a big girl with the pig tails! They make me feel like pre-school is right around the corner. Awe, our little babe is really growing up.



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?