taming of the tresses.

i had horrible heart burn while i was pregnant with millie. unfortunately the old wives tale connection between heartburn and hair didn't prove true in my case... she was basically born bald. thankfully that's no longer the case, but this hair growth transition hasn't exactly been smooth.

as you can see, on most mornings we've got a little bit of a mess on our hands.

  (she definitely gets this fuzzy bedhead from her mom.)

there are two tricky parts about millie's current hair situation:

1. it's a mullet

2.  i am at a total loss when it comes to styling. i don't think that my hair has ever been longer than my shoulders - braids, twists and up-do's have never been a part of my life.

the cool fall weather offered a temporary solution to the dilemma and i was able to handle her mullet exactly like i deal with my own head of hair... i just put a hat on her head whenever we left the house.

we had our first pigtails attempt a couple of weeks ago. it was far from perfect (how, exactly, do you get a straight part?), but i'm deeming it a success. she loved to look at herself in the mirror and kept them in all day... she was pretty proud of her piggie tails.  

it's amazing how much different her face looks with her hair pulled back (i sound just like my mom talking about me!) our baby girl is definitely growing up into a little lady.  no promises that we'll ever progress to braids.  

cheers!

 we drink a lot of coffee around here. millie likes to point out our cups... she recognizes the starbucks sign and says "coffee, mommy" when we walk by in the stroller. i recently ordered a milk frother (best investment ever!) and thought i'd give her a cup of foamy milk... coffee for millie. 

auntie coco helped teach her "cheers"... pretty cute. she wants to do it ALL the time now - with her sippy cup, with her fork and spoon, with her snacktrap, with her toothbrush - anything she can get her hands on is fair game!

the great outdoors

green space comes at a premium here in the city - we're so incredibly lucky to have our own little fenced-in backyard. the last few days have been beautiful in chicago and we've spent lots of time running around outside. millie goes up and down the stairs by herself all day long... such a big girl!

share!

my little girl is not a sharing superstar. in the last couple of weeks she's started to tell kids at the park and in her little classes that they need to share - while she grabs the toys out of their hands or cuts in front of them in line. in millie's mind, everyone needs to share with her but she doesn't need to return the favor. i am probably the main target of her bossy directives, but the dogs are definitely in a close second. she loves to snatch their toys away from them and shriek that they need to share... they aren't quite sure what to make of her sometimes. this was most definitely a rare moment - millie let bako snuggle with her precious elmo while he took a nap. maybe there's hope for us after all?

daddy's girl...

you can always tell when jason has dressed millie... jeans and a t-shirt.

we found these little sneakers at a thrift store - daddy thought they were a perfect fit.

she most definitely looks like a little boy when he picks out her clothes, but it's worth it to see the two of them dressed alike. pretty adorable...

la petite artiste

big fat pieces of colorful sidewalk chalk proved to be loads of fun this summer. millie created plenty of masterpieces on the backyard patio with her colors. i'm pretty certain that there's some big artistic talent in that little body...

some things never change...

millie loves to eat. she opens the door to the pantry about twenty times a day and asks for snacks. i can't leave grocery bags on the floor after a trip to the store - she helps herself to whatever she can get her little hands on and goes to town.

 she loves to "help" me cook and bake (not that there's a whole lot of that going on these days!) the eggs are definitely her favorite part. according to millie, anything that you put into the oven is a "cookie"...

a friend gave us a couple of cucumbers from his garden last july and jason put them in the backseat of the car, within millie's reach. this is what he found once they made it home:

 

 she would much rather eat in her tower than be strapped in her highchair. we gave it a try ONCE... and never again. i am certain that there are still lentils lodged in cracks around my kitchen.

i'm sure that one day soon she'll be a picky non-eater like every other kid on the block...i'm enjoying it while it lasts!

go cubbies!

as soon as baseball season started this spring, millie started recognizing the cubs logo on jason's clothes and hats - she walked around saying 'cubbies' about a hundred times a day.  she memorized the route to wrigley - when we  head towards the ballpark, she would start chanting 'go go cubbies' over and over again all the way down clark street.

jason was invited to a friday afternoon bleacher party with some of his sales reps (tough day at the office, right?) and we thought it would be fun to bring millie along to the game with us. of course it was one of the hottest days of the summer  - we lasted for about half an inning in the bleachers. thankfully, we've got a nice hookup in the air-conditioned suites.☺ 

our first stop was daddy's store... clark street sports is definitely not toddler-proofed. i'm certain that the employees were happy to see us go!

millie thought the place needed a little sprucing up...

( the shells are full of protein, right? )

pretty great that we get to work here... and play a little bit too.

hangin' at home

most of millie's little classes and park district programs went on hiatus for the summer, so we've spent lots of time playing at home. thank goodness for jake and bako... and elmo. she's madly in love with all three of them, which has most definitely helped us get through some long afternoons! 

trying to keep up...

having a toddler in the house is completely exhausting!

we entered a whole new world of independence in our household this spring. millie is quite happy to do everything by herself. when i ask her to come to me, she squeals and runs away in delight...

if i turn my back for even a minute, she's discovered something new to investigate. we're back to changing her clothes at least a couple of times every day like we did when she was a spitting-up newborn. she is definitely not afraid of getting her hands dirty...thankfully there's no harm in making a mess!

 the plus side of this curiosity is that she is thoroughly entertained with her discoveries. trying to make bubbles come out of the plastic wand will occupy her attention for a solid ten minutes. we were at a neighborhood street fair as it was closing down and one of the volunteers heard her obsessing about all of the balloons - he sent us home with a big bunch (wouldn't one have sufficed?) Millie LOVED them.

thankfully, she still sleeps like a champ... completely exhausted from her explorations.