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.

michigan in may

millie and i went home to michigan for mother's day... it ended up being a lovely weekend away! olivia and millie did a little bit of bonding at john ball park zoo (which i'm pretty sure is still home to the same animals that were there when i was her age!).  

getting to ride in the wagon was super cool...  millie spends a lot of time when we're at the park trying to climb in random wagons that don't belong to us. to actually be invited to sit in one and ride around was pretty exciting!  

 the petting zoo was a hit... lots of little goats to chase around!

 old man john ball sits in the same place that he has for decades. it's amazing to me that school playgrounds aren't allowed to have swings and merry-go-rounds because of safety concerns, and this guy (slippery as ever and surrounded by concrete!) still sits and invites kids to climb!

mother's day was absolutely beautiful - all sunsine and clear skies. 

we had a really special afternoon together.

aunt jaren taught millie to say please (what a great mother's day gift!)... she of course wouldn't say it to me, but it was a start!

the green grass and big rocks were beckoning the girls to come outside and play.

we are so blessed.