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.

does this mean that the blog needs a new name?!

does this excuse the fact that it's been four months since my last post?

needless to say, we've been a little preoccupied around here lately! summer has gone by so fast - our little girl is a full fledged toddler. we've officially entered the world of mischief and limit-testing (i've been taking lots of deep breaths these last few weeks!).

millie is now sleeping in a "big girl bed" in her new bedroom...

 all things hot pink in her old nursery have been replaced with little man colors. we're trying to prepare her to be a big sister, but she has no idea what a little brother actually is. i know that there will be loads of new challenges and changes, but we're thrilled about this little boy joining our family. 

 i'm determined to not stop recording our adventures, although i'm realizing that they might be a little fewer and farther between (i'm shooting for better than a four month average!) i'm going to do my best to bring ya'll up to speed... bear with me!