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.

Valentine's with a New Meaning

Last year, you changed our Valentine's Days forever.

That morning, on February 14th, 2015, I took a pregnancy test on a whim.  Just a feeling I had.  

When it was postive, we didn't know what to think.  We caustiously celebrated our secret with hope in our heart.  

Now, here you are a year later bringing smiles and joy wherever you go. 

All we need is you, our little love bug. 

Mila is 4 Months!

Milestones:
~ thirteen pounds and ten ounces; twenty five and half inches long 
~ working my core by trying to sit up all the time (rolling back to front is coming so so soon!)
~ grabbing and swatting toys from my play mat 
~ helping Mom turn pages when we get to read books
~ reaching for my legs and almost catching my toes
~ spinning myself around on the floor from one direction to another (especially to see the tv better)
~ chewing on my fingers, Mom's fingers, toys, and teethers 
~ giggling, smiling, cooing, and talking constantly!  

Mila's First Snow Day

An unplanned, surprise day to snuggle my little sweet baby?  I will never say no.  

Of course teachers love snow days, even more so than the students.  On Monday, even though the temps were in the mid forties, the impending possible blizzard had the school buzzing.  In true Iowa-weather fashion, the amounts kept changing.  The predictions were anywhere from twelve to eighteen inches at one point to six to twelve inches to five to eight inches.  True Iowans know this could mean we could be dumped on or we could be missed completely.  We ended up with two inches.

Because of the hype for the last week from the weather, we all - teachers and students - agreed, if we did have to go to school on Tuesday, we would pout, stomp, whine, and more or less throw a fit.  My temper tantrum would rival them all.  How dare you tease me with a possible day with my Mila bug and then take it away.

To ensure it would happen, Mila wore her "Let it Snow" outfit on Monday.

Like many teachers and students across the state, I woke up with my alarm, instead of hitting snooze. I immediately hopped on KCCI and anxiously waited for the site to load the hundreds of school closings.  I scrolled the list clear down to the "U's" searching for Urbandale Schools only to be let down.  Then comes the never ending task of hitting refresh every two minutes until I get the answer I want.

Impatiently waiting for any metro school to close, I checked the radar and my worst fear was confirmed.  There was snow to the north and south with a big empty clearing right over Des Moines.  Figures.  I didn't give up hope and went back to the school closing list to watch it grow.

Finally, the call came at 5:35am.

And I knew this smile would fill my day:

Mila is obsessed with the television.  Whether it's cheering for the Hawkeyes or Daddy's video game, she will stop eating, playing, and talking because she gets sucked into whatever is on.  We know it is the bright lights and noise, but we are already jokingly telling her, "No more screen time, Mila."  This is her literally straining to watch: 

Mila was a little clingy and wanted to be held while she slept.  This meant I didn't get the grading done I had hoped, but, this was by far more important:

Had the snow hit at any other point of the day, we would have had school.  The roads were clear by 10am.  But no complaints here.  There is something so special to cherish about an unplanned day off.