She's Scootin'!

Wooooeee!

Tonight Milla decided that besides her usual mode of transporting herself (via the roll), she would try out a new move: scooting across the room on her back. She's super excited about her new way to get around as it allows her more freedom, and the ability to get her sister's toys a little easier. (Duplo Legos sure do taste good!) Unfortunately, when she finds her way to the other side, she finds a wall or other barrier, so I guess she'll have to figure that one out soon. Meanwhile, we'll help her out when she beckons.

She's also bridging a lot more and once in awhile scoots ahead on her stomach, though not too far. She's good at pivoting on that belly too. I think she'll be army man crawling pretty soon!

Happy Five Months, Milla!

Good morning, Milla--you're five months old today! She's so happy when she wakes up . . . and has almost outgrown her Stokke bassinet!

Milla is five months today and at this point in her young life, she mainly wants to move. Put her down on one side of the room, and she'll roll her way to the other if you're not careful, especially if there's an interesting toy on the other side. Anja's alligator pull-toy looked awfully intriguing the other day so I moved it behind the coffee table. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, she had found it again. Something tells me we're going to be doing some quick baby-proofing in the new house in two (!) weeks!

Much to her sister's displeasure Milla is also using her voice a lot more. Only a mama and papa (and the grandparents of course) can appreciate the shrieks and shrills of their babies!

Time for something new . . . Milla got to ride in the swings for the first time today.

Her exploration of solids is going well . . . she's not getting too much down but I guess that's not the point. Soon enough she'll be eating like a champ. Today her Stokke high chair arrived, so we were able to put it right to use.

Erik and our girls with the newly assembled Stokke Tripp Trapp (the best!).



Anja is excited to have someone to sit by during meals. Although she was a little less excited every time Milla grabbed her! This is the start of something--we just know it.

Much like her sister was, Milla is a wonderful baby. She's happy, healthy and a little joy to have in our lives.

Milla's First Solids

Ready for tasteless rice cereal? You betcha!

Over the weekend, we ordered Milla her very own Stokke high chair and purchased her first rice cereal. Though her high chair hasn't come in yet, tonight we took out the crazy Bumbo chair to give Milla her first taste of what the grown-ups eat. As our first family meal together, it went pretty well. Milla was interested and took in about 20% of what we gave her and Anja delighted in showing her what she would someday eat (pasta with garden grown tomatoes and fresh mozzarella).

Anja Takes a Trip

Marilyn, Anja and Great Grandma Anna.

Last Friday, Anja set off with her Nana and Grandpa Paul to Belgrade to visit her Great Grandma Anna. As usual, after spending time with Grandparents, she came home all-smiles and even with a bell-bottomed giraffe, named none other than "Dotty" (what she names every doll and animal that comes her way).

A New Trikester for Anja

Tonight we unveiled quite possibly the coolest trike to Anja, Trek's Trikester. She loves it! Erik installed a New Belgium bike bell and she was off ringing and pedaling in no time at all.

Trek's "Dialed Fit Specific Design" is fantastic!

Off she goes . . . it only took her a few minutes to get the hang of it.

The best part: we can ride around on it too! It's ultra-sturdy so even us big kids can have fun riding it.

She was just as excited as I was to give me a ride!

Much to Celebrate

When asked whether he wanted a simple or fancy cake, he replied, "Simple!" So, thank you Betty Crocker for the Angel Food box (!) cake. Anja beat Erik to the punch both times we lit the candle. She'll be ready for her 3rd birthday in November!

Erik turned 30 today! We decided to throw him an impromptu party around 9:30am, and by 4pm we were at the park celebrating with family and a few friends. He starts his PhD program tomorrow and I'm pretty sure he feels like it's the perfect way to start his 30s.

I'd like to thank Paul and Marilyn for bringing him into the world . . . he's quite the catch!

Anja Rides Solo

Anja waited patiently for the ride to start up.

We ventured to Como Zoo again today and it was wonderful to see Anja so excited to be out and about. The last month has been tough; between the cooler summer temps and trying to get the house on the market, many times we opted for just going to one of the many parks in our area. It was time to get out and see something different (even though we'd been to Como Zoo about a dozen times in the last year).

She spotted the rides just before the zebras and I promised that if she was good and ate a good lunch, that she could pick one. About an hour later, she had finished her entire lunch (sans carrots that were accidentally dumped on the ground--I told her it was okay that we wouldn't get to eat them today--yuck!) and she was set on choosing her one ride. She quickly spotted the swings (which are her favorite---she could swing for hours) and we were off to purchase the four required tickets.

This would be her first solo ride, so she was a little worried. But, before I would need to try and convince her it would be okay, she confidently chose her swing and was ready for take-off. She was serious the entire time; I think not to let on that she was thrilled to be riding, all by herself. We may just see a few smiles next time, after all, she'll be a pro by then.

So serious!

Four Generations

G'ma Bev getting her hair done. Her stylist does a great job!

Last Friday, we ventured north to Alexandria to pick up a king size bed from my Grandma's almost-sold house (Thank you!) and to stop by her place for a visit. We managed to arrive precisely as she was getting her hair done, so we hung out with several seniors at the salon for awhile until she was beautified. It was nice to see her again and to introduce her to our little Milla. Here are some shots from that afternoon.

Four Generations . . . and Erik. :)