Crawling, Clapping, & Cruising!

This week has been the biggest leap in developmental milestones for our little bear that I've seen thus far.  Millie has been pulling up and cruising around pretty good for a couple of weeks now.  She's very wobbly, but still...she's doing it!  Now, she likes to stand on her own without holding on to anything.  She can just stand right up from a seated position; it's crazy.  All that balancing is pretty exhausting for her; I'm sure she'll have abs of steel in no time... 

Yesterday was gym day, and Nana got to go with us.  She also got to witness Millie crawling for the very first time!  Mills did a little crawling at home yesterday morning, but once we hit the big red mat at the gym, it was on!  Here's some video of her crawling at gym: http://youtu.be/VFiafa23YIU 
And here's some video of her standing up at the gym (with jazz hands): http://youtu.be/WQr-Ins_sGU

This is Millie's first pair of real shoes - Stride Rite early walkers...aren't they darling?  She couldn't quit looking at them, and she didn't seem to mind cruising around in them.

It's so strange what kids latch on to...this purple ring is one of her favorite things at the moment.  Uh, dullsville.  However, it has helped entice her to start clapping (well, sort of).  This video is super cute; it is Millie's version of hand-clapping: http://youtu.be/cCJThHJqFgM

This morning at 3:30AM I heard Mills on the monitor, and when I clicked on the video, I literally gasped out loud.  She was standing up in her crib!  This is the first time she's pulled up to standing in her crib.  It scared me pretty good, but she was fine.  Thank goodness we lowered the crib mattress a few weeks ago!  When I went in to pick her up, she didn't even smile at me...I think she was kind of disoriented and not sure how she got there.  This week has taken a toll on our poor girl; she has been whiny and fussy and oh so clingy.  Her sleep has been crazy out of whack, and from what I've read in books and on the net, it is probably due to all of these new milestones.  She is extremely exhausted and not her usual self, but I'm sure it won't take her tiny body long to get used to all of the new moves, and she'll be back to her normal self soon.  I want my happy, unflappable Millie back!  Still though, I can't help but be proud of all the progress she's making.  It's amazing how much a week or even a few days makes at this age.  Hard to believe she will be 9 months old next week!

Someone's in the Kitchen with Dina...

Millie's walker plays the song "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dina", so I often have it stuck in my head.  Sunday, we drove to Tulsa for a Sanders family get-together at Aunt Dina's new house, and I couldn't quit thinking of that song while we were there.  It was so much fun to see everyone (and of course, the house is gorgeous)!  As an added bonus, Nana, Leann, Ethyn & Kendyl drove down from Colorado for the kiddos spring break = awesome.  I DO NOT get to see those kids enough, evidenced by the tears that caught me offguard when I first saw them.  Let's blame it on the new mommy hormones. :)  John drove back home later that night, but Millie and I stayed the night with Mimi & Papa and came back to AR the next afternoon with Nana.  Millie is still recovering from all of the excitement...

Nana and her grandkids

 check out those teeth!

 Kendyl got to feed Millie Bear

 Ethyn and Leann (aka, the Baby Whisperer)

Mills still isn't quite over the separation anxiety yet; she needs to be touching mommy most of the time.  In fact, I think it might be peaking right now because she has been reaaaallllyyyyy clingy lately.  However, Leann did get to snuggle her for quite a bit!

here's aunt dina with her girls, Layla and Zoe

love this pic of me and cousin Myah

Nana and Pa Sanders

We walked down to the neighborhood playground for a bit while Mills napped in the carrier.  Here with are with Abby:

Blake scared the bejeezus out of us by climbing on top of the playground :)

Sunday morning, Mimi got some lovin'

And look what was up in Mimi & Pa's attic: my cabbage patch dolls!  Is this pic creepy or what?!

 

BBQ, Sunshine, and Stevo

Saturday was the most gorgeous day ever...the perfect day for a cookout.  Our good friend, Stevo, invited us over for such an occasion, and we had the best time!  After a week of rain, it was nice to soak up some sunshine and enjoy the spring weather...and, of course, I enjoyed getting to see some other adults. ;)

Jabberjaws

Finally...Millie is starting to jabber.  Up until this point, she has only been squealing or screaming.  This week though, she's started making some different sounds more along the lines of talking, including mommmommmommmomm...which will hopefully turn into "momma" very soon. ;)  I took some cute video last night: http://youtu.be/HRTO8lSYvhY

Also, this week Milla has been doing a fair amount of cruising.  She really likes walking along the side of her crib, and she's doing great!  I'm impressed with how quickly this skill is progressing.  She will also let go of whatever she's been holding on to stand on her own for several seconds.  Such a big girl...

look at this concentration...she can actually push this across the room now!

awwwwww, love this pic of Mills with her Aunt Colleen!  It was so nice to have Colleen, Dan & Luc out for a couple of days on their spring break.  Mellow Mushroom pizza, laser tag, go karts, and a movie with popcorn at home last night rounded out the festivities.  Daniel and Lucas are such good sports about all of us ooohing and ahhing over the tiny human.

Millie loves Buddy...Buddy does not love Millie

we ended the week with one more Cayden playdate

 this one would've been so cute if I hadn't cut off their bottom halfs....arrrgghhhh

Spring Break

Spring Break doesn't mean much to us...however, it does mean that we have people to play with this week!  Yesterday, Cayden and Amanda came over to play.  Millie still wants to touch Cayden's face, and apparently, his forearm looks appetizing, as much as she kept gnawing on it.  I think they had a good time, as usual...

 big cheese

 Cayden can actually crawl!  Mills just sort of pushes herself backwards...

 isn't he sweet?!

 happy baby

he sat still for about one second before diving over the side of the chair ;)

 she loves cruisin' along the crib

Amanda and I were reminiscing about our playdates when they were so tiny and slept the whole time.  My how things have changed!  They are both vocal and full of energy...in only a few short months, we'll have walkers and talkers!  Now that's bananas...

Due to Spring Break, gym class is cancelled this week.  Blerg.  Good news though: Colleen, Dan & Luc are coming to visit on Thursday!  Looking forward to spending time with them.  I see some laser tag in our future...I wonder if they will allow a baby strapped to my chest?!  ;)

Weekend at Home

Last week, it was almost hot here, so we broke out the shorts.  This little outfit is so cute; it's one of those romper things where it is all one piece and has some elastic in the middle.  Millie is blowin' some raspberries in this pic; it's a new favorite pasttime.

here's some video of her getting excited about standing: http://youtu.be/f7ulTRq7RD0

Saturday was St. Patrick's Day, and even though we didn't do anything to celebrate, I still felt the need to dress Millie appropriately.  I found this Hello Kitty onesie with a rainbow on it and some green comfy pants...nothing fancy, but I'm pretty sure we'd think she was cute in just about anything.

this pic is misleading...she looks quite the chubb here.  although she has been filling out a bit more lately, especially those cheeks, she's still nowhere near chubby yet.

see...the clothes are loose now that she's standing.  love this face.

Check out the "Tyson eyebrow": it's a genetic thing with the Tyson's; we can raise one eyebrow in the womb.

Sunday, we started out with some breakfast out back on the deck.

Then we moved to the front of the house for some fun with the walker.

It was sort of windy (look at her hair!).  She had shoes on to begin with, but they kept coming off...infant shoes and socks are infuriating.  Here's some funny video: http://youtu.be/eT4rIEWkUp4

Surprising Cuteness

Sometimes the outfits that aren't the cutest on the hangar or that were the cheapest finds turn out to be our favorites.  We've decided we love her in yellow.  And yay! her hair is finally long enough for bows; I think I've had one in her hair every day this week. ;)

these pics are from gym class last week...here she is with Noah and Cooper

at the end of every class, the teacher blows bubbles; Millie loves them

 going for it

 trying to catch them?

almost crawling...she definitely can get into the stance

 worn out