Milan's 1st Birthday Celbrations

I should warn you that this is a long post.....our little girl just turns 1 once so we captured every second on film and I had a hard time limiting the pictures :)

On Milan's birthday we had a small family party and we were joined by Aunt Marie and soon-to-be Uncle Scott from Ontario, OR. We had a lot of fun and are so glad they could join our family celebration.

We opened some presents and Milan really enjoyed unwrapping everything.

She took off with Aunt Marie's present and still loves to "pop" all around the house.

After the gifts were opened, she was thrilled to sit in the middle of everything and sample all her new toys.

We knew Milan would love the birthday cake portion of the celbration, so we stripped her down. She was quite intrigued by the fire so I blew out the candle before we could get in too much trouble.

She devoured the cake and decided she'd had enough when it covered her face up to her eyebrows.

After such an exciting day, she was pooped and passed out in Scott's lap.


The birtday festivities continued on Saturday. We were so lucky to have Grandma Kat and Jack drive over from Salt Lake for the party. We were going to have a party at our house, but it turned out that we needed to add another zone to our sprinkler system so our backyard was in trenches.

Our good friends, the Sorensens are awesome and offered to host the party in their backyard. So instead of falling into the backyard trenches, Milan enjoyed playing on the swings.

Milan decided to join us for dinner and steal a Dorito from dad so she could lick the cheese off.

Then we had some birthday cake (from Costco, my favorite!). Milan was excited about the candle again, but there was too much going for her to spend time eating her cake. She ate a couple of bites with dad, climbed on the table for a bit, then the cake ended up on the ground so she was done.



We moved on to opening presents and we had her attention for the first couple of gifts. Then......the swings were calling her name so she left and I finished opening gifts. She did check back occasionally to check my status and enjoyed playing with her unwrapped toys.



Dave loves that Milan plays with her hair when she's sleepy and taking her bottle so he took this cute picture of Milan winding down.

After all that fun with her friends and a full tummy, she was a tired girl. Here is Milan cuddled up with Jack.

Thanks to all our friends and family who celebrated Milan's birthday with us!!! We had a great time playing with everyone and we will tell Milan about her fun 1st birthday later on :)

Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Little Girl!

Milan turned 1 today! Dave and I have a hard time with the fact that a year has already passed. Milan has brought an incredible amount of joy to our lives. We love her independent personality, her toughness, and the cuddles she gives us when she is tired. Sometimes her stubborness and independence can be challenging (hence the last post), but after a couple of days of manual labor on the yard, I missed my little girl like crazy and realized that being a stay-at-home mom to Milan is the best job in the world :)

Milan had a special birthday. Aunt Marie and Scott came to visit, we opened gifts, ate some cake, and played with our friends the Sorensens. We took a ton of pictures, plus video, which I will post soon!

Lunch Break?

Sorry their has not been posting much. It seems like recently my days have been going like this: wake up, prepare breakfast for Milan, fight her into her high chair, after Milan eats the insides of two grape halves and 3 bites of yogurt I clean up everything else that is on the floor, try to do dishes while Milan is whining on my leg, put away the bags, aluminum foil, tupperware, measuring spoons, bibs, dish towels, shoes from the master closet, books from her bookshelf, Milan's shoes, and Milan's onesies that she has dragged out in minutes, then sit with her on the floor to play while she plays independently (if I leave to accomplish something, she will come whine on my leg again.) I love,love,love my crazy little girl. Lately, I sure could use a "lunch break" every day to shower, eat something besides cereal, start tackling my to-do list and relax. Dave has been busting his bum on our muddy field (soon to be level sprinklered fenced sod) so we will have to plan a relaxing something soon :)

More Adventures in SLC

On our last trip to Salt Lake City, we went to Gardiner Village for a little shopping and strolling around. It was pretty and green everywhere (we are still a bit brown in Wyoming.) Milan LOVED the ducks and I had to hold her back from falling in the water in pursuit.




When we went to Gateway Mall (more shopping of course....I am deprived here in Wyoming :), Milan was drawn to the fountains in the courtyard. She kept trying to escape my grasp and run through the fountains on her own. She was so tough....she kept slipping and getting sprayed in the face with water and she just get up and kept running towards the fountains! She started off with clothes then I took them off in an attempt to keep them warm when she was finished. It didn't work, her clothes were soaked and Milan was freezing so we bought her a new outfit at Old Navy.


"BRRRRR"
We have a couple of water parks here so I am looking forward to our summer adventures :).

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Scott

Grandma and Grandpa Scott came to visit last week and we all had a great time! Milan was completely spoiled and loved every minute of it! Here's Milan trying out her new bubble mower inside.....she is still working on her speed so that she can actually generate bubbles.....




Every night, Milan would stay up until at least 11:00 pm in a state of exhausted delirium. Her favorite game was hiding behind the coffee table and playing peek-a-boo with all of us. Here is a picture of an exhausted Milan fighting to stay awake because she is having so much fun and basking in all the attention.



Last weekend, we all went to a wedding in Salt Lake City and couldn't resist taking pictures of Milan in her cute dress.







I know Milan enjoyed playing with her grandparents. Dave had a great time fishing with his dad. I loved having extra time and extra help....I worked out every day, didn't cook dinner all week, went shopping by myself, had a girl's day complete with lunch, a pedicure, and movie, and took a shower all by myself every day :). Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Scott for visiting!

Tagged

Milan and I have been tagged!! Here are 5 things about each of us that most people don't know.......

Milan
1. Milan HATES the shower when it is running. She hates to be in the shower and she especially hates to see Dave or I go into the shower. If we shower in her presence, she sits down on the bathroom tile and screams at us until the water has been turned off and the curtain opened. Even if Dave showers and I am home somewhere else in the house, she will stay in the bathroom and scream at Dave until I come get her, take her out of the bathroom, and shut the door behind me.
2. Milan loves to climb out of high chairs and shopping carts. We have started putting a fat phone book behind Milan in the high chair which keeps her in place and frustrates her to no end. I am still thinking about my "fix" for the shopping cart.
3. Milan likes to lick people's ears. Sometimes she will saunter over to whoever is laying or sitting on the floor within her reach and stick her little tongue in their ear.
4. When Milan sees an opportunity to do something normally forbidden (play in the fridge or the bathroom), she gets really excited and starts panting as she runs over to her destination. She thinks she is being really sneaky, but obviously we can hear her.
5. Milan already has her first freckle (a very faint one below her left eye.) I guess with Dave and I's genetics and red hair, it was bound to happen :)

Milan is such a little nut and Dave and I love everything about her.

Me
1. I am a bit of a neurotic freak about cleanliness. I hate water spots on my countertops, tile floors, or sink faucets. I really like things to be put away in their place (I'm pretty ok with toys being everywhere in our house though.) I have been known to throw important papers away in the past because they were sitting out on the counter....I now ask Dave before throwing anything away :)
2. Due to Milan's shower phobia, I don't normally shower until her naptime around noon. Monday, I didn't shower until 5:00 pm and even left the house looking like a scrounge.
3. My hair is graying at a rapid pace. Thank goodness for hair dye and highlights :)
4. When Dave and I started dating 7 years ago, I insisted that I did not want to get married or have children. Now, I love my life as a wife and mom and could not imagine being any happier!
5. Dave and I are planning (with 75% certainty) on going back to school at University of Wyoming in September 2009 so that he can finish his undergrad then go on to dental school. We feel like everything has pointed in this direction and we hope that everything will work out so that we're able to go.

Hmmm.....I tag Anna, Becca, J.P., and Sarah Jane and now JEN WILEY....have fun!

YEA for Spring!

We are having gorgeous weather and LOVING IT! Our little family has been going for lots of walks. Milan has a couple of transportation options....sometimes we take the stroller for our long walks or morning walks (so Milan can bundle up) and sometimes we push her in her little car and we know she loves it because she turns around just to give Dave and I a big smile. We have also be swimming at the rec center (here's some pictures of Milan showing off her cute little body beforehand.)


We are working on our yard (hopefully it'll be done in the next couple of weeks); we are so lucky to live in a great neighborhood with great friends nearby where we like to go play.......

We are done with teething for now; the teething tablets have been downgraded from lifesaver to fun rattle.

Yea for having a happy Milan again......