A Short Relocation

Since Chris was forced to go out of town on business for an extended period of time, I was able to go to North Carolina for 3 whole weeks! It was awesome for so many reasons - kept me from being a single mother, was able to hang with the family, enjoyed real fall weather, attended my high school reunion, hung out with some old friends, just to name a few...Millie was a trooper. She did a great job on the airplane both ways and even got back on her sleeping schedule away from home. As always, I had a lot of great food, great times, and had a lot of fun. Makes me want to move closer to all the peeps...

Millie loves Aunt Stephie(She was so sick that night. Look at those red eyes!)

Millie loved climbing on Papa and having him give her kisses. He even taught her to wave.

We celebrated Papa's birthday while we were there.

Kylee and Papa at his birthday dinner

Kylee is SUCH a great cousin to Millie! They really love each other. Kylee was such a great help. She did whatever I asked (or before I asked) - diaper changing, feeding, clothing, holding. What a great niece!

Nana gave Millie a bath in the kitchen sink; it's tradition.

Millie loves to scrunch her nose and squint her eyes when she smiles.

Sometimes I was forced to let her crawl on the bathroom floor while I showered. Ick.

She found her toe during a bath. So cute.

She loved the dogs again this trip. She would yell to go see them. She tried so hard to get out of our arms, so she could go be with them. She touched their noses and petted them. She was not afraid at all!

She would even watch them when she was inside.

Random Cuteness

She and Gavin had a love/hate relationship. Gavin loved to give her kisses and pat her head, but sometimes he gave a little too much love. It was precious.

Collin is such a great cousin, too. He helped out so much and was so sweet to Millie.

We had to stop by Harrahs for some refreshing CocaColas - in honor of Chris. He claims the best Coke he's ever had came from this soda fountain.

She loves taking a bath. She especially loves trying to drink the water and eat the bubbles.

These three were all laying on their tummies on the floor, and we had to snap a pic.

Back in the Days of Shania Twain...

While I was in NC, I was able to attend my 10-year high school reunion. Has it really been that long? Apparently, it has. Anyway, I had a great time reconnecting with some old friends. It turns out we are just as silly now as we were then - just (a little) more mature, older, and have more kids. As always, I should have taken more pictures, but I did get a few; and, I'm including some from high school as a comparison. Props to the Class of 1999 Smoky Mountain Mustangs! Woot!

I'm 8 Months Old!

Millie is growing so fast. She has become quite adept at movement in the last month. We were in NC for three weeks and she mastered stair-climbing - up to 15 in one stretch. It took her about 15 minutes, but she did it without falling back at all. All of my siblings and my parents have staircases at their houses, so it is nice to be back in the land of ranch-style homes, where I don't have to worry as much about her falling down stairs. She has also started waving, which is very cute. Her Papa taught her how, and she basically holds up her arm and moves her wrist in circles - counter-clockwise. She even waved bye-bye to her Daddy when he tried to hold her after being away for 3 weeks. It was a sad experience; she cried for about 5 minutes and wouldn't let him hold her.

Her top front teeth broke through last week, which was a relief, because the poor girl had some major mouth pain. She has also recently learned to shake her head and thinks it's pretty cool, so she does it a lot. Luckily, she learned how to sit back down after pulling herself up a few weeks ago, so bed time is a much happier time! She is back to going to bed willingly and doesn't cry anymore. She rarely makes a peep after she goes to bed. I'm sure she will have future sleeping issues, but for now, all is well!

She loves all the food she has tried, with the exception of green beans. She will eat them, but she is not a huge fan. She LOVES peas. She is really starting to develop a personality and is becoming so interactive. What a cutie! She seems to be thinning out and getting taller. What do you think?