It's not just a box...

Tonight Mila was having a BLAST playing with the empty wipes box.  She was showing us all the fun things one can do:

You can carry it...

You can kiss it...

You can store stuff inside...

You can shake it...

You can take a rest on it...

You can use it as a hat...

You can sit on top...

And best of all, you can ride inside like a boat!

WOW...who knew a box was so much entertainment!

Here and There

In a few more days Mila will be celebrating her 18 month birthday!  We have been having some tough times with all FOUR of her eye teeth coming in so this is how she has been a lot:

But she is also so much fun these days, running, playing, giggling, and just being Mila!  Exploration is her middle name, finding new things every day to get into, play with and discover!  Here are a few random snapshots of her in action.

Loves helping Mommy clean!

And "sorting" all the magazines

Just snacking

Yummy frozen yogurt pop to help the teeth

Hangin' with some of the guys at the cookout

And her favorite...emptying the diaper bag and Mommy's wallet

Singin' in the rain

Last night we had a nice rain fall (along with much cooler weather!)  We went out on our porch for a while to let Mila run outside but not get wet.  Well...she got to the back where it isn't covered and got wet.  I thought it would freak her out but she LOVED it and thought it was hilarious!  When I brought her back around to the front of the house, she climbed down the front stairs and started running down the sidewalk...in the RAIN!  She was patting the top of her head as the rain fell!  We let her have her fun, because that's what being a kid is all about right?  Then we did the responsible adult thing and brought her inside for a warm bath!

Rain drops falling on my head...

And she's off...

There she goes!

Daddy to the rescue!

Hot fun in the summer time...

With the weather being SO hot, we've been spending a lot of time inside.  We've been doing a lot of exploring in the house and I've been busy cleaning up the trail of "things" Mila likes to drag out of cabinets, drawers, closets, well...you get the idea.

This week I got the chance to keep my sister's boys during the day.  Mila LOVED having the boys over to play and I think they enjoyed her too!

Evan playing dress up with Mila's bows! 

GREAT blackmail picture later!!

She LOVES to brush her teeth!

Cheese!

And she's off!

I really feel like I can classify Mila as an official WALKER!  She has decided this is a more efficient way of traveling and has given up crawling for the most part!  It is so strange to see her toddling around the house.  What a big girl!

15 Months

At the beginning of the month Mila had her 15 month checkup.  She FINALLY hit the 20 pound mark so we could turn her carseat around.  Mila LOVES facing forward like a big girl and I love not having to look into a mirror to see her! 

Stats:
Height - 29 3/4 inches  25-50%tile
Weight - 20 pounds  10-25%tile (the Dr was satisfied this time with her weight b/c it increased)  Yeah!
Head - 18 1/2 inches  75-90%tile

Mila is still taking her time with this walking business.  She can do it, however she chooses not to....good thing she is still very easy to carry!  She is starting to use her spoon and fork more and more at dinner time and she is able to identify her nose and eyes.  She is changing so much and really turning from baby to toddler!  We got her a pool and a swing last week (finally) and she loves both!  The other night when Jeremy was hanging her swing she actually decided to climb into her pool, clothes and all!  She thought that was pretty funny!! 

What a big girl!!  Hopefully meal time will be a little cleaner!

She LOVES to color!

And eat the markers...good thing they are non-toxic!

Grandma and Grandpa Lohnes came over to help drywall the garage last weekend and Mila had a lot of fun "driving" the mower with Grandma Camille!

What a week!

This week has been quite the week for milestones in the Vogel house!  On Thursday Grandma Betty, my mom, Aunt Debbie, and Tina all came over for a visit to see the new house.  We were all just hanging out in the living room chatting and all of a sudden mom notices Mila just standing tall for what seemed like forever!  She had been standing for a while but she had always used the couch or something to stand up, this time she stood up all on her own.  Of course we were all cheering for her and she started to "dance" with her arms and clap for herself.  She was SO proud!!  That night when Jeremy got home from work I told him we had a new trick to show him.  I took her out of her high chair and she stood up AND took about 5 steps to him!  WOW!  Where did that come from!  That was an even better trick than I had thought!  We again cheered for her and she was so excited.  We've been practicing and she is doing very well.  She will be an official walker before we know it!

Over the past several months every night before her bath I set Mila on her potty that she got for her birthday back in March.  She usually just plays with her toys but I really just wanted to get her used to it so when potty training time comes it doesn't freak her out.  Last night she stood up when it was time to get into the bath and she made tinkles!!!!!  We cheered and cheered and Daddy came running upstairs to see what all the noise was about.  YEAH!  I know we are a loooong way from giving up on diapers, but hey, it's the first step!!

She loves to "dance"

Does she see me clean too much??

Four generations!