Weekend Run

The weather was so great last night that Matt and Millie went out for a run. Thanks to our neighbors (Brooke and Matt Miller-- weird, huh?!) who let us borrow their jogging stroller. Oh and most of neighbors have little children right around Millie's age. One of the many perks of living on post-- most everybody is in your shoes. It's so nice that we can all share whatever the other needs and don't have to go out and buy it.

Dear Journal: Naps

All the books I've been reading say that babies should take only 2.5 naps a day starting around 6 months. I didn't think we would ever get there because Millie only sleeps for a hour or so during each nap. There's no way she would last through the day if she only slept for a couple of hours total.

Well, she did it. Millie took a two and a half hour nap this morning! and she's been doing it for three days now. Which means, with her extended naptime, she's moving into a two-nap a day schedule on her own. One in the AM and one in the PM (and possibly a later catnap). She's so textbook and I didn't have to do a thing!

In a Nutshell

Millie had a very productive weekend. She had a photo shoot to celebrate her half-birthday Friday morning, and enjoyed dinner out that night. She sat in the high chair the whole time and was mesmerized by all that was happening around her. On a side note, she is doing really well eating her big girl food for lunch and dinner. For lunch she has cereal and a veggie. For Dinner she eats cereal, a veggie and a fruit. This week we'll be working on eating solids for breakfast. It's extra effort for me to prep her food for her and actually sit down to feed her in the morning so we've been stalling as long as possible. But, I think she's ready so I'm looking forward to it!

On Saturday, Millie had some fun with Mia, Granddaddy, Aunt Meg, Uncle Leo, Aunt Katie and Kevin as we traveled down to Columbia to see the Gamecocks snag a win. Mia found the perfect Pumpkin costume for Millie's first Halloween and it fits her great! I just love those striped tights!

Then today, Millie and I tried to help Matt get caught up at work but that was nearly impossible in such close quarters. He shares office space with 4 other docs and its smaller than our bedroom. So we left him to focus on his many tasks and came home just in time for nap. After nap, Millie had some playtime in her swing. She was cracking up as I piled on her stuffed animals. She's really starting to recognize and snuggle with her new found friends.

Have I told you how much I love my job lately? Life is good.

Celebrating Half a Year!

I was pleasantly surprised with how well our little Millie did on the plane ride to/from FL. She either played or slept the whole time. As you can probably tell in the photo, I was a little more anxious about the whole ordeal than she was. I thought she might have a problem with sitting in my lap the whole time but she was good as long as she could sip from my water bottle every second. Isn't it interesting how she'll open wide for an Aquafina but have nothing to do with a bottle or a pacifier?! It was the only thing besides me that I could get her to suck on while we took off and landed. Now, take note of the bag that the book is propped up on in the other photo... it's full of toys...and she's sitting on the airport floor. Is that gross?? Nah, she's not crawling yet so she stayed right where I put her.

Millie turned 6 months last Thursday! Now that she's sitting up like a pro, she got to take her first ride (won't be her last :)) in the shopping cart at Target. She and my mom went off to look at "big girl" board books while I enjoyed some solo time.







When I took this pic of Millie in her pretty blue dress, I had just taken the dress out of her mouth. Hence the sour face. She's big on eating her clothes these days. But she looks so darn cute and tiny in this dress that I just had to post it.

Prayer Request

Please pray for Millie and I as we brave our first flight together today to attend a funeral in Tampa, FL. I woke up this morning to a torrential downpour. The forecast doesn't look good. I pray God shines the sun as the plane takes off and lands. Should be an adventure, that's for sure.

Momma's Little Helper

My new favorite hobby is making baby food for Millie. I've got a couple of really cool cook books that feature baby food recipes for ages 4 months and up. So far I've made carrots, acorn squash, pears, parsnips, bananas, and this morning I made peaches! And, this week we'll be trying a new vegetable, green beans... yummy!!

Anyways, Millie sat on the counter grabbing at everything around her while I pureed the peaches. I poured the peaches into plastic cubes to store in the freezer then I let Millie "lick" the blender glass clean. She made this funny look when she took the first bite. The look one would give if they tasted something really tart. After that, she was begging for more. I love that she loves my cooking!

Congratulations, Aunt Lauren and Luis!

NKOB

Millie and I were dancing to New Kids on the Block this morning. Thought you'd like to see the moves she's got.

Weekend Wow with the D'Amico's

Some of our family made a much needed visit from FL this Labor Day weekend. My Dad, Pat and Lauren hadn't seen Millie since she was a month old. They missed her and the other grandkids very much. Selfishly, Matt and I were especially grateful for the visit because we were able to enjoy a very, very nice Anniversary (6 years!!) Dinner at Luigi's while they "baby-sat" at the house last night.

Grandma D'Amico and Aunt Lauren had great success feeding Millie her lunches and dinners. She ate more and more cereal, squash/carrots and pears each and every time. That's a big improvement from her 2-3 bites she was eating before.

The masseuse (aka Grandpa D'Amico) gave Millie a nice massage. Check out the photo! Body limp, smile on her face and all eyes on Grandpa as he rubbed her feet. Luckily, he's here until Wednesday. I think she'll enjoy many more massage sessions as will I.

Millie is very vocal these days. She is "talking," squealing, and laughing so easily now. She really lets you know she's in the room if even a minute goes by without anyone paying attention to her.