March Madness: The One Where Mila Will Grow Up Confused

All three state universities progressed to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The first and second round games held in Des Moines.

Most upsets of all time.

Jaw dropping half court buzzer beater. 

Heartbreaking double overtime loss. 

And the cutest baby representing them all.

A true house divided: 

In my completely unbiased opinion, she looks best in purple:

Our next Christmas card?  Somehow, I doubt Casey will approve. 

Mila was exhausted trying to keep up.  

Mila's First Food: Avocado and Cilantro

You have been a rock star with rice cereal.  Mom can't shovel it fast enough.  With each bite, you immediately have your mouth open waiting for more.  Yesterday, you even grabbed the spoon from me.

So, after much debate, I gave in and made you your first food.  Typical first parent stuff: I did all kinds of research and weighed the guilt of giving you food too early.  According to the book, Little Foodie, you meet all of the milestones to begin food: sitting up, showing interest in food, acting hungry after bottles.  With the encouragement and approval from my coworkers, I decided tonight would be your first real food: avocado and cilantro.

Preparing your food added a new challenging layer: how to entertain you while I do.  Not only do I have a bottle to make now, but also rice cereal, and avocado.  A little more complicated and you don't quite have the patience yet.  Thankfully, you already have a few favorite toys.  After all your meal prep, Mom settled on peanut butter and jelly for her dinner.

Lots of the research and readings (I hate that I am a parent saying this) talk about the importance of introducing a variety of different foods and flavors as it could make for less picky eaters.  I don't know if that is why we are doing this, but I think it is pretty cool that your first food is natural avocado and cilantro.  I never would have thought to mix in spices to increase your palate.  Dad even thought your dinner sounded good.

You, without a doubt, LOVED it.

After you were done, the avocado was everywhere.  Sadly, it wasn't bath night.

And you still wanted to play with your spoon.  Mom is so proud of you.

Mila's Nursery

She may be nearly six months old, but I can finally say her nursery is done...for now.  Good thing she doesn't seem to mind. ;-)

Knowing me and my need to plan, many would have thought this would have been done during my first trimester or at the latest over summer.  However, something happens to you when you've had a miscarriage, or three.  There is always a hesitation.  Always.  And a fear.  One of my biggest fears was losing a baby and coming home to a nursery and having to deal with all of that stuff.  All the visions and plans in the room I had created.  I was in no hurry.  So, the fact that our crib didn't arrive until four days before Mila did didn't bother me.

Now that I've seriously bummed you out - sorry - here is the cute stuff.

I found the inspiration for her room through a bedding set that I added to my registry and somehow, not one piece of it ended up in her room, and I like it much better than I could have ever imagined.  My mom shared the bedding set with my aunt, who surprised us with a far more beautiful quilt that arrived two weeks before Mila:

The only thing I had completed in advance was painting.  It's hard to tell the exact color from the photos, but it is a purple-ish gray.  I joke that I have painted two areas in our house and both are purple.  Casey is not as amused.

Where we have spent much time reading, signing, snuggling, and rocking, and will continue to:

I can't wait until she reads, sings, and snuggles her dolls and stuffed animals in her chair from Santa.

Mila's ever growing library.  My amazing co-workers threw Mila a book shower on what happened to be my last day before maternity leave.  And these are just her "upstairs" books.  Her collection is starting to rival mine.  I'm so proud.

A favorite gift from friends:

My very first "Mom Craft Project":  After searching so many stores and Etsy, I couldn't find the right letters, so I just decided I would create them.  Surprised myself with how they turned out.

A place for the maternity pictures captured seven hours before my water broke:

A reminder above her crib to be who she is and nothing else:

Monday Milestones: Piggy Toes

You've slowly be starting to find your toes.  It's like you are just starting to realize they are there.

Now, you are so fascinated by them!  Any time we change your diaper, they are the first things you grab.

When your toes are bare, you are so intrigued.

If you have shoes on, it is a new challenge for you to figure out.

And, you have a new appreciation for "This Little Piggy."

Mila is 5 Months!

Milestones:
~ chatting non stop, so many stories to tell!
~ playing with my piggy toes
~ rolling over every which way 
~ scooting across the floor to get my toys (I'll figure out this crawling thing before Mom and Dad are ready for me to)
~ eating rice cereal for the first time
~ growing too tall for my three to six month sleepers
~ fighting my first official virus
~ petting Coco nice and gentle
~ standing to get my legs stronger and stronger 

Monday Milestones: Rice Cereal

These milestones are flying by.  I can't keep up with how fast you are growing.  So, maybe on Mondays, I will post a picture, a quote, or an anecdote.  Because, you know your mom and alliteration.

Yesterday, you ate rice cereal for the first time.  I couldn't get over how big you looked in your high chair.  Honestly, the first time I put the highchair together and set it up at the table, I had a moment of whoa, do I really have a child old enough for that?  I wonder how many more times I will be caught off guard by the simplest of daily tasks to remind me of how grown up you are.  This parenthood isn't for the faint of heart.

You were definitely curious.  You played with it in your mouth for a while.  Spit it out.  Made silly faces.  You finally decided enough was enough and wanted your milk.

Dad was cracking me up just as much as you were.  He didn't know what was going on either.  I'm pretty sure he thought I was torturing you.

Whether you got anything out of this or not is still up for debate.  Nonetheless, it was entertaining for Mom and Dad.