Seven Months!

She loves to stand up during meal time . . . looks like bananas are for dessert!

Milla is now seven months and cruising all over the place. She loves eating her solids (opening with big "Ahhhhhs") and is developing more of her own personality. She's very observant of others around her and only "speaks" when necessary. She easily goes from person to person, often grabbing for any willing hands. She loves to slap the hard wood floors, tables and her legs, eliciting noise wherever she can. She is on the cusp of many milestones and is still such a sweetheart. What a joy!

Anja is Three!

Anja counts her balloons.

The day started with a snuggle and Anja asking, "Today? Really? Today is my birthday?!" Reassured, we headed downstairs for her traditional breakfast of heart-shaped Norwegian waffles.

All day long she asked about when her friends would be coming over and when we'd have cake. A 3pm start time is a long time for a three-year-old to wait! 3pm finally came and three of her friends (Maya, Elle and Harper) their parents and her Grandparents helped to celebrate her day.

Waiting and waiting and waiting!

The photos do a good job of showing how the afternoon unfolded . . .

The kiddos made birthday hats to start.

Next up, stamps and markers and stickers and crayons to decorate a mural for the wall.

Harper and Maya hard at work.

Nana Marilyn and Milla come to take a peek at the action.

Next up . . . a treasure hunt.

Anja and Maya find one of the clues.

Time for the 3rd edition of the chocolate ganache cake from the Franklin Street Bakery. Just as good as the last two years!

Presents!

Playing with the new toys.

Anja and me winding down the evening. She definitely didn't want to go to bed---she was too jazzed from a great birthday.

Anja is a remarkable 3 year old. She can count to 100 with a little help, is starting to read and sound out words, is very independent, a great snuggler, quick-witted, very confident, and on and on. She amazes us with some of her one-liners and quick problem-solving skills. We look forward to another exciting year of watching her grow!

Six Month Stats . . .

Exploring new territory a couple of weeks ago.

Milla had her six month well-baby check last week and she's literally off the charts for height. At 28 1/2 inches long, she's over an inch longer than Anja was at 6 months. No wonder she easily wears 12 month pants!

We can say that she officially started crawling as of sometime in the last couple of weeks. She gets around to wherever she'd like to go, and if she wants something, she's going to go and get it, so watch out! For example, Anja has been into playing "Go Fish" lately, but "Go Fish" has become "You'd better move those pairs out of the way before Milla gets them," or something like, "Grab 'Em, Move 'Em and Go Fish." It provides Anja with great entertainment, and for us, great enjoyment to hear her belly-laughs. It's fun to see them interact more and more each day.

One Month Later . . .

Our house, all lit up on Halloween night.

It's been a month since we moved in and we're definitely moving in the right direction. We're getting more sleep, but unfortunately that just means putting things off. We do however have pictures on the wall, so we think we're doing pretty well at this point. Our goal is to get things in order by Anja's birthday, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas. :)

The first weekend we were in our house, our neighbors (one whom is a Concordia alum) hosted a bonfire in the alley behind our houses. We learned that this was a regular occurrence, something that they do lots in the summer, and when it's nice during the fall, winter and spring. It's a great time--the kids run around all of the open yards, drink juice boxes and fix s'mores, and the parents get time to socialize with each other drinking their beverages of choice. A win-win for everyone.

All told, there are 32 kids in our "circle" which has about 30-40 houses in it. The vast majority are toddlers, so Anja is in heaven meeting new kids whenever she has the opportunity.

Anja organizes her Halloween candy in our entry.

Beyond a great place for the kids to run around, having a lawn and yard has also afforded us a little extra added responsibility, something that we don't mind (yet at least!). We purchased a push mower over the weekend and the compost bin will be set up in the next couple of days.

We hope to take more pictures as things come together and will post them as soon as we can find the time.