Strange Photo but had to post

Last night, I was trying to take pictures of Millie but she, and my camera, were not cooperating. I know she was tired; not sure of what the camera's deal was. Anyhow, I took this very strange picture of us - well, all of Millie and part of me. But I thought it was too funny not to share.

Taking care of business

Last night, before Millie took her shower, she needed to sit on the potty. And no potty experience would be complete without a few books to read while you wait. I thought the event was worthy enough to photograph. By the way, nothing happened, but she did get some experience. {As a side note, she has used the potty before, just not last night.}

What's for dinner?

Here is certainly a random photo of Millie's kitchen and the food on the stove. Just snapped it and loved it so much that I thought I'd post it. Of course, I don't know if Millie was planning to eat the duck too - but I've tasted duck and it's quite tender and yummy!

Oodles of flowers

Here's a picture of Millie that I took probably about two weeks ago (I'm guessing) and just wanted to share. Plus I wanted to show Mops b/c Millie is wearing one of the outfits that she and Pops gave her for Christmas.

Millie is using sentences now

Last Friday night, while Millie was taking a shower, she accidentally pooped in the shower. So I had to get her out quickly and she was a little upset over the whole matter. But I calmed her down and told her it was an accident. But the rest of the night, she had to tell everyone that she "pooped in the bath". And that, she did. She did the sign for "poop" and the sign for "bath" and as far as I'm concerned, is saying a sentence!

On Sunday, we went to church and she was ready to go to the nursery. We were getting out of the truck (Jacade dropped us off) and she quickly told her daddy, "Bye-bye." No crying from this baby. I went to pick her up and she wasn't really interested in going anywhere. She was perfectly content with staying and playing. Of course, she finally came to me. But Abbey, the director, was just stunned and confused. Thanks Millie for making it easy and fun to go to church. What a relief not to have to feel bad when you drop your baby off.

And this morning, Millie was drinking her milk and the teddy bear was sitting on the bed with us. And Millie decided to share her milk with the bear and pretended to let her bear have a sip. Then she stopped and did the sign for "share." Wow, she totally understands. I truly believe that the sign language has improved her language skills and made her a smarter baby. And it really wasn't difficult to teach her the signs. I just learned them for looking at books and then showed them to her (repeatedly). And now she uses them in conversation. It's a win-win for everyone!

First attempt at Digital Scrapbooking

I did this in Photoshop today (while I wasn't busy at work). It was fun putting all of the elements together. What do you think????

All smiles...

This picture was taken on the Saturday after Christmas at Nana and Papa's house. Since we didn't take family photos this year, I'm thankful that Nana captured this shot! Thanks.

Millie uses the potty...in the middle of the night

Last night, around 12:45 a.m., Millie woke up crying. I tried to leave her alone for a few minutes, but she insisted. So I went in and she kept pointing to her diaper, saying, "Diaper" and crying. So I asked her if she wanted me to change her diaper, and of course, she said yes. So when I unzipped her sleeper, I checked the diaper, and it was dry. That's strange, huh?

So I asked her if she wanted to go to the potty and she didn't object. So we went into the bathroom and I put her on the potty and a few seconds later, she started using the bathroom. I was really proud of her.

She finished and said "all done" so I put her diaper back on. Then we rocked for a few minutes to the music and I put her back to bed. Of course, she objected but I left the room anyways. She cried for a few seconds and decided to go back to sleep. She was wet this morning, but not soaked like she normally is. Of course, I don't want this to become a habit (I need the sleep and she does too).

Millie wants this for breakfast?

Last Saturday morning, Millie and I had gotten up and I was trying to decide what we were going to eat for breakfast. And Millie was trying to decide for herself what she wanted. And she decided, allright. She brought the things she wanted for breakfast into the kitchen and put it all on the counter.

Since it was such a funny assortment, I had to take a picture and post it!

In the picture you will find:

3 cans of sardines (she has tried a bite but spit out after a few chewings)

2 cans of black beans (her favorite)

1 can of canned pumpkin

1 can of ravioli (which I can't get her to eat)

1 can of black olives (she really doesn't like those either)

1 can of tomato sauce

1 package of Uncle Ben's cooked rice

and some peanut butter (I was going to wait until she was 2; Jacade's already slipped her some and she liked it!)

Millie likes to recycle

Like I said in an earlier post, we have two trash cans - one for trash and one for recycling. Millie has seen me crush the milk carton so it will fit in the can better and leave room for more stuff. So she likes to copy mommy. And I got a picture of her the other day trying to crush it.

One of my favorite pictures

Just wanted to share one of my favorite recent pictures of me and Millie. And check out those eyebrows - crazy, crazy, crazy!

Millie undresses herself....again

Yesterday morning, I was taking a shower, getting ready for church. And as soon as I climbed into the shower, Millie was at the door, crying and wanting to come in. Well, I was already in a hurry and she obviously had her sleeping clothes on, so I wasn't going to interrupt my shower to get her undressed.

She cried for about a minute and then stopped. I looked out the door and she was taking manners into her own hands. She started unzipping her sleeper and struggled and struggled to get her feet out of the sleeper. She rolled around the floor and fought and fought but was finally successful. She fought and fought with getting her arms out and was finally successful. She then laid on the floor and struggled to get out of the diaper, and was again, successful! She then knocked on the door and I had no choice. She had worked so hard, so I let her in.

Needless to say, we were a few minutes late to church.....

Millie is now 20 mos old

We are actually getting nearer to the 2-yr mark and I can't believe it. Didn't we just celebrate Millie's 1st birthday? She is talking so much more now and understands just about everything that you say. She is still using her sign language and I believe that has enhanced her language skills. I can ask Millie to go put some dirty clothes in her hamper and she'll walk right into her room and put them in the hamper. She likes to help clean her room and other parts of the house, too.

She still enjoys taking a shower and loves to get in with mommy, sometimes in the mornings. She loves to read books and one of her favorites right now is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" and "Bear's House." She actually says, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear.....see?" She said "teacher" last week and we were astonished.

She loves milk so much that, if we let her, she would drink a gallon a day. She also still loves her beans and actually ate two bowls of burrito mix last night for dinner. She hates having her teeth brushed and sometimes doesn't like getting her diaper changed or getting her clothes changed. It doesn't make any sense, or is it really supposed to?

She loves to dance and loves music - all kinds too! She loves to dress like her daddy, complete with overalls and her boots. She likes going to church to play and pray (and actually tells the crying babies to "shush....") She can say pretty clearly now: "squirrel", "bird", and "mermaid." She also says "trash" and "side" - meaning "outside". We have two trash cans in our entry way - one is a trash can and the other is for recycling. Most of the time, she will put things in their respective cans; sometimes she does it by herself w/o us asking and other times, we'll ask her.

She's a people-person although it takes her a few moments to warm up to someone new. She has a great, easy-going personality - happy most of the time. She has really been a special addition to our family (immediate and extended).

She's sometimes a picky eater; one day eating one thing, and the next turning her nose up. I guess that's how a toddler is though. We just have to roll with the punches.

And now, everytime we get some change, we always save it for her and she knows exactly where to put it. She has two piggy banks in her room and our big bank in our room.

She is very loving and just learned yesterday how to give Eskimo kisses. She sleeps well, most of the time. But never say to yourself that you've figured it out b/c as soon as you do, it will all change.

Can you believe it?

Two weekends ago, on a Saturday, Millie was supposed to be taking a nap. We did the whole routine, with a little milk, a book and some rocking. I put her in her bed and she seemed tired. I seriously thought she was going to nap for a little while, so I could get a few things done. I was upstairs working and could hear her through the monitor - playing - not sleeping. When I went downstairs to check on her - she was having way too much fun. You can see by the picture that she wasn't going to take a nap anytime soon. And later, I figured out that she actually peed in the bed! Oh, it's so much fun to have a toddler! Some people that we told were actually impressed that she was able to take off her clothes. I guess that's one way of looking at it.

Millie and I go walking

One day a couple of weeks ago, Millie and I decided to go for a little walk. I thought that we would just walk up to the corner and turn around but when we did, she stopped for a second and wanted to keep going around the block. I was proud of her though. We walked for 15 minutes around the block and she walked 3/4 of the way. And it was a little chilly outside! We were both bundled up but it felt great to get out and exercise!

Millie also received....

Millie also received some pink/brown John Deere boots, lots of clothes, a special baby doll, toys, books, a table and chairs just her size, and lots of love from all the special people in her life. Mommy was a little jealous b/c of all the clothes Millie got - isn't it hard to resist buying little girls' clothes??? All in all, it was a great Christmas for everyone around.

Millie attempting to open her table and chairs

Millie showing her baby the "more" sign

One of Millie's new books

Look at this adorable new shirt

Millie modeling her new John Deere boots

Our Christmas was great!

Millie celebrated her second Christmas and seemed to enjoy it, although she did tire of opening presents. I don't think that she really grasped the idea that Santa Claus brought presents, although she figured out who he was. She liked the Christmas tree and would point and say, "tree." And she received an advent calendar from Nana and Papa and enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree of the calendar but didn't understand why we had to do it one at a time. (Thanks Nana and Papa for a b'ful calendar - it will be treasured for years to come!)

Christmas morning, she came out of her room to discover a new kitchen, complete with sink, microwave, oven, refrigerator and lots of storage space. She immediately started playing with it and decided that her cup of milk wasn't important anymore. She loved playing with the food and "frying" an egg on the stove.

New Dance Moves?

During the Christmas holidays, Millie was working on some new dance moves. Well, not really. She was just trying to sit on Bella and thought it was funny!

More Christmas pictures at Nana and Papa's

Christmas Pictures at Nana and Papa's house

A couple of weeks ago, Millie stayed with Nana and Papa because my babysitter couldn't keep Millie. So when I went to pick her up on Saturday, we took some holiday pictures.