Currently

Back to MDO and our normal routine this week...wooohoooooo!

Today's artwork:  puffy paint baby chick.  Shaving cream and Elmer's glue made this super cute puff paint...such a good idea.  JKK & I love seeing what she brings home!

You can't really tell in this pic, but Millie has some wicked rugburn on her nose and upper lip.  As we were leaving school today, her and her friend Noel were running ahead and Millie tripped...went down hard.  Her little lip was even bleeding. :(  She sobbed the entire way to the car but wouldn't let me pick her up because her classmates were walking.  This is her new big demand: to get down and walk on her own.

 Sydney helps make my feet look smaller...at least from my perspective.

Millie's tech face is very serious.  She really loves getting on the "puter" and either watching short clips on PBS kids or her Little People DVD.  She gets into a zone.  I like how she puts her hand on the mouse, even though the mouse doesn't work (she broke it months ago).

Special Spring Break breakfast at IHOP with daddy last Thursday...mmmm, pancakes

Yes, she is still into pulling up her pants into shorts....no matter where we are or how cold it is.

I swear those legs grow longer every week.

We are headed to Kansas City this weekend to hang out with some family.  Should be a fun trip!

Mommy Fail

Today I took Millie to get her mullet trimmed.  TRIMMED!  It wasn't supposed to be chopped off completely.  I still wanted a little party in the back.  However, now it is all business, all the time.  I hope it grows quickly.  Sigh...I should've been more specific about how much I wanted cut off.

Before

After

The new 'do highlights her chubby cheeks ;)

She doesn't seem too upset about it, but it is seriously wayyyy short in the back.

We had another errand to run after the hair place, so I bought this humongous bow to stick in her hair so people wouldn't think she was a boy.  Sorry Millie.

30 Weeks on St. Patty's Day

Yesterday was St. Patty's Day and also the 30 week mark of my pregnancy.  Only 8.5 weeks to go!!

We met some friends for dinner last night, so we had to break out our green gear.  It was lovely to get out of the house even though I haven't been feeling so good this weekend...I think it is just allergies due to the Spring weather but who knows.  I can't take any decongestant, so stuff hangs around longer than it should.  Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good physically.  Mentally...meh.  I'm getting anxious with the nesting thing kicking in.  And I really want Sydney to wait until the planned C-Section date so that we have people in place to help with Millie.  And JKK deserves a big thank you for putting up with some crazy mood swings. ;)

Millie is on Spring Break this week...no MDO, no Little Gym.  wah wahhhh.  Thankfully, Colleen & the boys are coming out Thursday to entertain us. :)

Spring in Our Step

This time of year is heavenly.  Everyone is in such a better mood.  It's amazing how a few days of warm temps and sunshine can make such a difference.  And daylight savings Spring Forward always helps.   Especially in the kid area...I had no idea.  Last fall we didn't have too terrible of a time "falling back", but man, "springing forward" has been such a blessing.  Millie has had no problems napping and going to bed at the same time, but she is sleeping an hour later in the mornings.  Whuuutttt?!  I know.  It's a gift from the Spring gods.  Video: she's still not sick of the Boo game

And for the record, when to capitalize the word "spring" and when not to confuses me...so I'm just gonna go for it.  Like how I do with commas and ellipses...the more the merrier.  Those last two are really just indications of the ongoing commentary in my head, like J.D. from Scrubs.  It's all one big run-on sentence, but with less daydreaming.  Um, anyhoo...we like this time of year.

break out the sunhats!

and short sleeves!

And I think we are going to love the sunroom this Spring...it's so lovely with all of the windows open.

Finally the outside patio and stairs are finished!  We still have to find some patio furniture...and at some point later this year, we'll probably cover a small section and put in an outdoor fireplace.  

Just in time for warmer weather, Millie got her first puddle jumper, aka life jacket, aka floaty thingy.  In two weeks, we are going to Great Wolf Lodge to meet up with JKK's sisters and their boys.  It has a humongous indoor water park, so I've been making Millie wear her floaty thingy around the house to get used to it.  She left it on for a whole 2 minutes this morning.  Baby steps.  I've even tried to convince her that those meerkats on the front are actually kitty cats.  She's not buying it.

Good Job

Millie made this painting at school (MDO) on Monday.  When JKK got home from work, he asked her if this is what she did at school today.  Millie replied "good job" while clapping.  Ha!  Cracked us up.  Apparently, she knows a job well done when she sees it.

I have the painting hanging on a hook in our kitchen, and when we pointed it out to her a couple of days later she said "school".  Such a smartypants. ;)

Weekend Full of Fun & Treats

My good friend Ashley came to visit this weekend.  Have I mentioned how lucky we are that people come to see us?!  It's so nice not having to travel with a toddler.  Anyhoo...every time Ashley comes to visit, we plan to tackle some big recipe in the kitchen together.  She's a fantastic cook and baker, and I always learn a few things from her.  She used to live in NYC and had visited the famous Momofuku Milk Bar many times.  It is a bakery and has some extremely creative and delicious desserts.  With JKK's half birthday coming up on Saturday, it was the perfect time to make the Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake!  IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.  Per JKK, this was the best cake he's ever had.  That's saying something.  Here's the link if anyone is interested: homemade-momofuku-milk-bar-birthday 

A & I made it Friday night so that it could sit overnight.  When we got it out to defrost in the morning, Millie could hardly contain herself...she kept saying "cake, cake, cake".  I can't remember a time that she's ever had cake, except her birthday, but I guess she could just tell by looking at it how yummy it was going to be.  Oh, and it was.  She absolutely loved it.

After cake, Millie helped Ashley build a house of (flash) cards.  Notice Millie's new bunny slippers that she had to have on over her pj footies.

Then A & I visited the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is currently showing a great Norman Rockwell exhibit.  We had a nice girls lunch, and afterwards we met JKK & Millie to walk some of the outdoor trails.

It wasn't the warmest day, but it still felt great to be outside.  Spring is definitely on its way!  Thank goodness because Millie can't wait to be outside again.  She had the best time running around and climbing on stuff.

Sunday morning, we made popovers for brunch!  This is one of those random things that I've always wanted to make, and it turns out they are super easy.  You just need a special popover pan so that they'll rise that tall.  It was a weekend full of eating fancy food and good conversation...and I was very happy to get in some girl time.  I hope Mills & Syd are as lucky as I have been in the friendship department.

Yogurt!

We recently had Millie's 6 month checkup with the allergist.  We've been successful in adding in baked goods, greek yogurt, yogurt butter on toast, and very small amounts of cheese.  The allergist said we are doing what we are supposed to in taking it slow and Millie seems to be handling it well.  We hope to be done with formula and moving on to whole milk soon after her 2nd birthday.

It's been kind of exciting to see her eat new treats...and kind of funny too.  The first few times we gave her cheese, she didn't like it and we were all "who doesn't like cheese?!".  She likes it now though. ;)  Yesterday, on our first warm Spring day, I picked her up from school and we stopped for a TCBY snack (thanks Amanda & Cayden for the idea).  TCBY has greek frozen yogurt!  Add in some rainbow sprinkles and mini M&Ms, and Mills was in heaven.

However, based on the three poops before 9am this morning, her system is NOT in heaven.  Meh, it's a work in progress...

28 Weeks

I'M IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER!  This is the home stretch people.  And I'm feeling it.  Things have started to get extremely uncomfortable.  I'm beginning to wonder if Sydney has grown an extra set of elbows.  And somehow, I'm out of breath fairly often.  It's embarrassing.

We had our 28 week dr appt yesterday, and all looks good!  Sydney's right on track for growth and weighs over 2 lbs now.  It was a pretty uneventful appointment but in a good way...

Sydney's tiny foot

Our C-Section has been scheduled for Friday, May 17th at noon.  Stay put, Syd, and we'll see you soon!

20 Months Old

Whoa...we're in the twenties.  In only 2 more months, she'll have the Big Sister title and officially be my big kid.  Hard to imagine...

This past month has possibly been my favorite thus far.   Silly is an understatement.  She has been in such a good mood and much less whiny.  I hope it is because her communication skills have grown...and also those molars are mostly in now.  A few of her favorite things:  cookies, coloring, flash cards, puzzles, playing chase, Little Gym, playing on dad's computer, eating snacks in the afternoon, watching birds out the window, pointing out cars and cows from her car seat, great big hugs, pulling a chair up to the kitchen counter to watch what mom is doing, putting on her coat and shoes, playing with her baby dolls and feeding them, watching Sesame Street in the mornings.

She also loves to put on our shoes and try to walk around in them.  Let's hope her feet don't ever grow to fit in mom's shoes...

Any object can turn into a game of Boo

Sorting blocks is another favorite activity and she is a pro!  No help needed here...

Every single morning when we pick her up from her crib, the first thing she asks for is to see the birds.

Today she fell asleep in the car and wouldn't wake up when I brought her inside so I was able to rock her for a half hour.  It has been months since she let me do that, and I enjoyed every minute. 

Oh my, how time flies.  We love this sweet girl so much.

Full House

Last weekend, my great and dear friend Bekah and her family came to visit.  Her and Brady have three kids, so it was a pretty full house.  Her kiddos are 6, 4, and 1...Millie was in heaven with all of the activity.  Unfortunately it was freezing outside, but we found plenty of stuff to do indoors, and the older kids were great about entertaining themselves.  Bekah and I became great friends in college, and our meetups are usually just with our group of girls from OSU.  It was fun to finally get the husbands and kids together to hang out!

Bryce, Lena, & Millie

sweet baby Reid

 Bryce, Bek, & Reid

Mills & Reid

 Poor Millie woke up not feeling so great on Sunday :(

Reid's pretty laid back...I guess being the 3rd child, he has to be ;)

wish we lived closer...

 but soooo glad they came to visit!!