Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter today with Millie Bea, welcoming Spring and celebrating all the new life around us. She had a special breakfast including an egg and cheese omelet, a strawberry-jam homemade poptart shaped like a bunny, and raspberries. After breakfast we went on a family walk into the park with Sneaky Pete.  When we returned home Millie changed into her Easter dress with her Daddy, while I checked around the garden to see if the Easter Bunny had come while we were gone. He had come! We were so surprised! Millie decided to take a walk outside and see for herself.

In Millie's basket: four knit finger puppets, two packages of seeds, a big-girl toothbrush with a rinse cup and all-natural banana toothpaste, and a card with a letter from us. The E.B. found a couple of last minute additions at a consignment store yesterday: a cute Easter book by Mary Engelbreit, and a new-to-us pink Hanna Andersson dress for spring.

We planted wheat berries two weeks ago and Millie has enjoyed watering them and watching the grass grow, running her hands through it, and picking it to feed to the pets. Her favorite things from her basket were the toothpaste and the grass. 

After that we headed to Muscoot Farms to see a puppet show and visit the animals to wish them a happy spring.  We watched a (non-violent) Punch and Judy puppet show that was very good. Millie was giving her usual "serious" face, but was watching the whole time and enjoyed it. She was absolutely delighted to see the farm animals! She called to them with "kitty kisses", waved, reached, pointed, and came up with an adorable new giggle/chuckle. 

We hope you had a nice Easter too!

Happy Spring!

The weather has finally turned nice here and we are ready for spring! We have some fun plans for Easter tomorrow. Stay tuned.

(MB's Easter outfit!)

Birthday talk + 11 Months part 2

For a couple of weeks now we have been singing a birthday song to Millie, in anticipation of the big day. I sing it to her first thing in the morning and she bounces around the bed laughing. Here it is... (sung to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Clause")

Who has an April birthday soon?
Millie has an April birthday soon!
Who is a bunny that Mama loves?
Millie is a bunny that Mama loves!
Birthday soon?
Bunny love?
MUST be Millie!
Must be Millie!
Must be Millie... Millie Bea!

She just adores songs and silly games, mostly ones we make up. I'm writing some of them down in her journal so we don't forget them. There are a few silly routine songs and lines she loves that we have been doing since she was very little. I definitely want to remember them forever! That will be a separate post :)

So for her 11 month photo shoot, I thought I was so clever. I had a little bowl of raspberries, and I thought if I handed them to her one by one she would forget about her usual game of grabbing the heart off the chair. Well that worked fine, but don't you know that raspberries make a person pucker their lips, making it even more difficult to get a good photo? Well, now you know. So then I tried giving her cat treats to throw to Shark. How did that work out, you ask? Shark ended up on the chair, and the cat treats ended up in Millie's mouth. Incidentally, cat treats also make a person pucker their lips.
Here are some outtakes:

This week at Book Babies, Millie helped with the story by holding the deer. She wore her new walker shoes and walked all around, even taking some books off the shelf. The last picture is of her passed out in the car after the library.

And now she's waking up from her nap! Gotta go!

11 Month Millie!

*more photos coming soon :)

MB's Wish List

With the sweet baby's birthday quickly approaching, we've been getting some inquiries as to what she'd like for presents. Of course we are so grateful for just the thought, but we would like to be helpful in guiding MB's fan club in the right direction. With that in mind, and possibly too much early childhood education knowledge in the mind of the Mama, we've put together a little "Wish List" on Pinterest of some materials and things it would be nice to have for her over the next year.

Here is the link: Wish List for Millie Bea (12-24months)

We try to keep things simple and uncluttered (I said try), so she can concentrate and enjoy whichever task she chooses to engage in. Right now her daily favorite activities include crawling over to Sneaky's toy box and handing him his toys one-by-one (which he also seems to delight in), and opening/closing drawers and cupboard doors. I am VERY pleased that she is finally crawling. It is the cutest thing to watch. At Library Book Babies this week we stayed for 45 minutes afterwards and Millie crawled all around the room playing with toys and visiting the other kids.  She is becoming very independent, which surprises us because Brady and I were both shy as kids. When she's around her friends and I try to help her she pushes my hands away and shakes her head "no".

She's waking up now so I'll finish this post later!

Love those pig toes!

Walking practice with Daddy

(I apologize in advance for my lispy baby talk. I promise I don't always talk to her like that!)

As requested by Grandma (aka "Ma" to Millie)... 

10-month part 2!

Well I have certainly learned my lesson about publicly promising big posts. Oh boy!
Here are some outtakes from MB's 10 month photo shoot, in which she is grabbing the heart off the back of the chair, examining the tape, re-sticking it on the side of the chair, then clapping for herself. Genius I tell you.

On Millie's 10-month birthday I wrote her a little letter and put it in a new journal I've started for her. During my summer of graduate school we journaled the whole time, and learned different techniques for reflection. This is sort of a stream of consciousness style... just writing as the words flow into your mind without editing. I hope you don't mind me sharing it here. I'd like to post some parts of her journal on the blog from now on so everyone can share in Millie's days.

Dear Millie,
   My beautiful, sweet, soft, darling girl! Oh how you've grown these past ten months. When you were a tiny baby I promised myself that I would live in each moment with you and be present. I didn't want to miss a thing. You have given me the gift of "now", to be immersed in what is happening each minute, to have a clear mind, a more simple life. There is no greater joy than to just "be" with you. Being your Mama is a million times greater than I ever imagined it would be (and believe me, I thought it would be pretty great!). As your favorite book "Hello Baby" says- "Are you my treasure? The answer is... yes!".
   So why a sappy love note on your ten month birthday? Well my Millie Bea, you are growing into a real little girl, and I find myself with a little more time during the day and evening. I want to document all-things-Millie, so I'm starting a proper journal for you. I want to write down all of our ideas for raising you, stories about your days, how you're growing, Millie-quotes, and just everything!
  More and more often you do something, say something, or look a certain way that shows us a glimpse into the little girl you are becoming. Each day I am remembering to squeeze and savor the baby in you during this beginning time of change. Daddy and I are looking forward to your birthday in April, and we just cannot believe a year has almost passed since we became "us 3".
I love you to the moon and back, my sweet honey bear.
Your Mama,
   "Mum mum muh"
                                                 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Here are some catch-up photos from the past month. Adorable anecdotes to come soon!

big girl booster seat at the diner

 

reading at our new table (handmade by Gaga!)

 

snow baby after the blizzard

 

a new favorite: kiwis