Busy, but always time for play!

Things have been busy around here lately. Packing, waiting on contracts, packing, scheduling inspections, packing, having inspections, packing, installing a radon mitigation unit, packing...well, you get the picture. Mila is having a BLAST with all the boxes and opening drawers that she wasn't allowed to earlier because the drawer locks have all been removed. She is really a great help throwing things into boxes but she also enjoys unpacking! I actually caught her the other day pulling some scarves through the handle hole in a box! She thought it was pretty funny and had a great time playing with the scarf once it was out!

In a few more days Mila will be 14 months! I'm having a hard time wrapping myself around the fact that she is growing so fast and changing so much! Her personality is shining thru more and more every day! She is a very loveable child and enjoys the quiet time and cuddling. Every morning and after each nap she gives us great big hugs, which I believe is the best thing in the whole world! The feeling of your child wrapping their arms around you and giving a little squeeze makes up for all the crying and temper tantrums! Speaking of temper...it is also coming out and showing itself! She is starting to become more frustrated about things that she wants to do but isn't quit big enough to accomplish, like getting onto the couch. The dog is taking the brunt of this frustration, as she likes to use him as a stepping stool. Good thing he's tolerant!

Mila helping unpack...

Ohhh...pretty scarves!

Mila's new "CHEESE" face...I love it! 

Easter Celebrations!

This year for Easter we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Lohnes' house.  Every year all the grandkiddos hunt for eggs in the horse pastures and around the property.  Lydia and Mila had special eggs around the house and they actually did pretty well!  We were able to get a few eggs before the rain and wind made us go back inside.  I don't think she understood the concept but I would hand her the eggs and she would drop them into her basket...next year will be even more fun!

Let's see what the Easter Bunny brought!

Books and a dress!

I found one!

Easter family photo

(not the most flattering of me but hey, its us!)

Party Party Party and another Party!

Mila has been celebrating her birthday for over a week now and the celebrations are finally complete!  Because we are so far away and I don't really feel like our house can accomodate a lot of people (and  LOTS of kids) we decided to have seperate parties.  We celebrate with the Vogel family the Sunday before her birthday.  It was a nice party and Mila loves her new walker/rider and rocking chair!  This was her first attempt with the cupcake and she LOVED all the frosting!  On her actual birthday, March 30th, Jeremy and I celebrated with her as a family.  I took her to her one year check up that morning and Jeremy was able to take the afternoon off work so we could go play at the park.  She loved the swing but is a little too young for the rest of the playground.  Easter weekend was packed with celebrating!  On Saturday we celebrated with the Ericsson family at my sister's house.  Mila loved her Mexican lasagna and Uncle Deken was able to sneak in some frosting before it was cake time.  On Easter Sunday we celebrated both Easter and Mila's birthday with the Lohnes family.  The kiddos had a great time hunting for eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Mila is very blessed with such wonderful family members that love her very much!

my very first cake!

YUMMY!

Opening presents!

My new ride!

Uncle Deken giving me a taste of my cake...early!

SHAME ON HIM!

Mmmmm...more cake!

WOW!  Even more cake!

I love hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Lohnes! (and Bullet)

One Year Stats

Mila had her one year check up on her actual birthday.  I decided it wouldn't be so bad because she wasn't getting her shots until the following week.  The doctor expressed some concerns because her weight growth curve has changed dramatically but she think she might be starting a new growth trend now that she is more mobile.  Mila has an excellent appetite (as much of the family has seen!) and sometimes she actually will eat more than I do for a meal!  I guess she won't be turning forward in her car seat for a little while longer.

Here stats are as follows:

Height:   29 inches               50-75% 
Weight:  18 3/4 pounds         10-25%
Head:    18 3/4 inches           90-95%

One Year Pictures

Mila had her one year pictures taken the last week of March at the Japanese Gardens in Decatur.  She was full of smiles and her silly expressions!  I was so concerned because the day before the weather was terrible with a lot of rain.  Obviously she is in a white dress and I thought it would be covered in mud by the end of the shoot but she stayed clean, even crawling on it!  You'll also notice the day was FULL of sunshine!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Little Miss Mischief

Mila is obviously at the age where she is getting into EVERYTHING! I really don’t have much of anything left out anymore around the house. It does make cleaning easier but I feel like the closets are packed full of things! The one thing I can’t put away are the dog’s toys.  Sure enough, no matter where I move them to she finds them. Yesterday I caught her with a rubber ball. Luckily she was getting ready to take her bath after an “incident” with cottage cheese! You can see in the pictures she knows she isn’t supposed to play with the toy but she continues because Mommy was taking pictures and laughing!

Whatcha doing?

He he he...caught me!

NO!  Please don't take it away!

Nope...I'm not on my way back to get it...I swear!

If I just stay in here she'll never notice!

Dang it!  She took it AGAIN!

What a great week!

This weather has me ready for Spring!  Well, mabye not the rainy day we've had today but the sunshine and 65 was FANTASTIC!  We were able to enjoy a family walk one night this week.  Hopefully Jeremy's work schedule will ease up soon so we can get out more often.  Mila enjoyed her fist visit to BabyTalk this Thursday!  Our weekly playgroup decided to do something a little different and it was a lot of fun!  Think massive playgroup meets preschool teacher + parent.  She got to sing songs, dance, listen to a story, and play with other kids...although she did stay pretty close to Mommy.  Grandma Linda also came down for a visit on Thursday.  Mila was is great spirits considering she missed her morning nap.  Our biggest accomplishment this week...we found a sippy cup that she will drink from!  Thank goodness! 

Here are a few random shots from this week:

She loves hanging out at the front door with Ozo

I think they are going to be great friends!

I see London, I see France, I see Mila's diaper!

Cheese!

All tuckered out!  Such a rough life....