SNOW

We are sick of it! This is what we have been doing this past week....

With a little bit of this...

And a bit of this, of course. STIR CRAZY TODDLER.

Frozen yogurt always saves the day though (Mila approved)

 Yup I am officially ready for spring. Winter and toddlers do not mix. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I think I'm going to make Mila wear themed out holiday outfits until she's twenty. This outfit did come with a darling bow but Mila ripped it out immediately, of course. She does not like for anything to mess with her perfectly manicured, mullet.

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Mila - we LOVE you. Thank you for bringing us joy, love and laughter every day.

New Words!

All of a sudden, Mila has started saying all kinds of names! Here is a video of her saying the names of the other children in her home daycare. At the end she says "Ky-Ky" for Aunt Kylie and tries to tackle, "Grandma."

17 Months

We are well on our way to a YEAR and a HALF.

Mila will be 17-months-old on Saturday! Her mind is exploding. I cannot believe how much she knows and can express already!  Here are some of the many things that have amazed me this month (and these things are probably only amazing to Patrick and I because, well, we just think everything she does is fabulous). 

1. Mila is starting to really love being read to. She has always loved flipping through books but has never been able to sit still long enough for us to read the whole story. She now sits on my lap and lets me read a book. She also has developed favorites and asks for me to read certain books over and over again. One of her all-time favorites is "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake." Like mother, like daughter :) We read this AT LEAST three times every night.

2. Mila knows practically all of her body parts. I guess she has for awhile now but the other night we asked her where her KNEES are (expecting her to be confused) and she pointed to them. Holy moly! 

3. Of course Mila cannot actually say her alphabet or "count to 3" but she has her own words for these things and uses them appropriately. Before she slides down her play slide she counts to three (her own version) and whenever she sees her alphabet books or puzzles shes says the alphabet (again, her own version). 

4. Mila signs "more" and "eat." The only two signs we ever really taught her. She can also say both words but let me tell you, the signs really help Patrick and I!  She is also starting to use the word "please" correctly. 

5. Mila can take her shoes on and off all by herself! She has been doing this one for awhile as well but it still amazes to me! We spend a lot of our play time with one shoe on and one shoe off ..see below. 

Mila amazes us every day! Her vocabulary and understanding continues to grow. She gives hugs and kisses, high fives and blows us kisses. She loves "playing house" with her stuffed animals (Lola is included in this category). She feeds them, puts them to bed and cuddles. Now when we introduce a new word, she almost always tries to pronounce it herself and usually gets pretty close! Favorite words this month: Poop, Sleep, Shoe & Meow (Mow). 

Loving this nice weather! We enjoyed two park dates on Wednesday, one with friends and one with Daddy! 

January Adventures!

Let me tell you it is HARD to entertain a very active and adventurous 16-month-old in the dead of winter. We were spoiled with a mild fall and daily park visits now..what to do,what to do?!

Mila LOVES jayhawks. I mean, c'mon, it was one of her first words! She's obsessed. We don't feel like she is quite ready for a KU Men's Bball game though so we went to a Women's game this past weekend and she did great! She was literally screaminig out "Jayhawk" the entire time and dancing (see below). So cute!

Like I said..OBSESSED.

Anyone been to the Natural History Museum lately? It is EXACTLY the same as I remember it from growing up. So weird to be back with Mila. She was obviously a bit too young to understand/fully enjoy but had fun running the halls and it was a FREE change of scenery from our house.

We also recently visited the Sea Life Aquarium in KC and I would definitely recommend it and "try again" but after 20 minutes and 2 tantrums we were ready to go home (not pictured :))

We have been eating out A LOT lately. It's been bad but Patrick and I both had the stomach flu on New Years (sooooo sick) and I am just now feeling back to normal/haven't felt like cooking. Look at our 'big girl' COLORING and not eating the crayons (for the most part).

Thanks, Whitney and Alessa for being lunch dates on several occasions.

 In other news: Mila likes baths again (go figure). We introduced bubbles and now that's all she talks about. She took me by the hand the other night and led me to the tub. Ohhh Mila, make up your mind! :)

Our 16-Month Old!

                                                                      

Merry Christmas..Happy New Year..It's Cold.

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!!! Patrick and I celebrated in Kansas this year but  his entire family made the trip to the midwest and, although we did not celebrate actual Christmas together, his parents and brothers were able to spend a bit of time with us, see our house and most importantly see miss Mila!

We spent the actual holiday at my parent's house....eating, drinking and laughing at the cousins and their cuteness (Mila, Ruby, Tyson, Geneva & Winona) and getting in good sister time of course (Kylie almost didn't make it from Denver due to the snow storm)! Here are some pics from the craziness (in absolutely no particular order)!

 Snow Bunny!!

Patrick and I were SO excited to "be Santa" for the first time and Mila was less than impressed (see video below). Hehe she loves all of her new toys now ( and trust me, she really raked it in) I think it was just a little more anticlimactic than we expected. 

 Minnie Mouse was a hit!

 Spicy Mila kept stealing Tyson's toys (although they were the exact same as hers for the most part). Women.....

 Several trips to the grocery store to make lots of goodies!

 A keeper.

 Milkshakes at Grandma and Grandpa's!

 Cousins!

 Christmas Eve with the Hodges Fam

Attack of the Mila!

Mila with Grandma and Grandpa Koester during their very short but fun visit!

Jumping on the air mattress with cousins, Ava & Ethan! She ADORED them.