Happy 1st Birthday!

What a first year this has been!  Hard to believe that one year ago this morning, I was headed to Mayo Clinic for my scheduled c-section :)

39 weeks!

Within a couple hours of arriving I had this sweet baby girl in my arms!

Weighing in at 7lbs 6 oz, Mila Grace was here!

This first year has definitely been a bit of a challenge but all the smiles, giggles, and cuddles made it worth it!  Miss Mila Gracie you are a sweet yet sassy, independent baby girl.

1 month

2 months

3 months 

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

Happy Birthday Mila Grace!  Excited to see what you will discover this second year!

On the move

It is so hard for me to believe that Mila will already be 1 next week :( 

This year has absolutely flown by!  I feel like her first year went by so much faster than Hudson's but that is probably because we are so much more busier with the two of them.

Mila has learned some exciting things just this week.  She is now standing for longer periods of time all by herself.  Monday she kept standing up and she looked so proud of herself.  She is cruising all over the furniture and even moving from one piece to the next.  She loves to walk around the house now holding on to your fingers.  I have a feeling she will be walking any day now, yikes!

Last night she also mastered our bedroom stairs!  Crawled up all four stairs with no problem.  Reached the top and gave me a huge smile, so proud of her accomplishment :)

Sweet baby girl!

Summer Fun!

Since most of June was a washout here in MN, literally with all of the rain, we have been trying to take advantage of the nice days in July with visits to the pool!  So far we have been to the Northfield pool twice and we were able to check out the Como Pool last Thursday!

Both of the kids are fish when it comes to water!  Mila loves crawling around in the pool and playing with the water geysers.  Hudson has become much more adventurous this year, going out to where the water is up to his chin!  At the Como Pool he absolutely loved going down the slide, both with me and by himself!

Here are some photos from our fun pool adventures!

These were taken at Como Pool.  You can see some of the slides in the background, Hudson loved going down the big slide that can fit 4 people across.  Such a fun place!

The rest of these were taken at Northfield pool.  We love to come later afternoon to swim and then enjoy a picnic dinner!

 Getting ready to jump in!

 Made it!

Showing mom his swimming skills!

 Hanging out in the water

Taking a snack break!

Hoping the weather continues to cooperate and allow for many more pool dates!

Red, White, & Blue!

It was an absolute perfect weekend to celebrate America this year!  Temperatures in the 80's with little to no humidity!  So much better than last year when I was 9 months pregnant.....

We started our 4th of July festivities once again with the Cannon Falls Parade!  Our group definitely grew in size this year.  Not only did the Porter family join us once again, but we were also joined by the Shermans, Wenzels, Great-Grandma Ward, and the Arvig Family.

Once again this parade was a huge hit with Hudson.  So many fire trucks and tractors to see, plus lots of candy!  I was a little worried about how Mila would react to the sirens but she loved it as well.

We were all decked out in our 4th of July attire!

Mila's happy girl face!

Trying to get him to look at me so I could take a pic in front of the tractor....

Love these kid!  Getting ready to head home after the parade!

Our attempt at a Family Picture.  Of course Hudson was being difficult.....

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th as well! 

My little man

It is amazing to see how much my baby boy has grown up this past year.  He no longer looks like a baby boy, which makes me a little sad.  He is such a smart little guy and picks up on almost everything.  He also has an amazing memory, which isn't always good for us ;)

Hudson also has some pretty good sayings.....

"My feet are sprinkling" - in reference to his feet or legs falling asleep

"That's dangerous, only big boys can play with it" - in reference to any toy he doesn't want to share with Mila

"Mom I need that because........" - trying to justify every toy he wants, he has some pretty good reasons too

"It's okay sweetheart" - while rubbing her head when Mila is crying or upset about something

"Look at my muscles"

Here are some more recent pictures of the busy boy

Driving the firetruck at Como Town

 Inspecting the "back-hoe digger"

 Helping mom with the groceries

Doing some work.  Always working :)

11 Months

Hard to believe my baby girl is already 11 months!  

It has been a busy month for the little princess.  Here are some updates on Miss Mila....

1.  Started out the month with surgery, she had ear tubes placed on June 6th.  In general she did really well with the surgery and recovery.  Though it was not the magic pill to help with her sleep :(  

2.  Hudson & her both started at a new "school" on June 11th.  So far it has been a really good change and easy transition for her.  I think she enjoys the walks they take outside

3.  Sleep, still working on that....  Night time is still pretty sporadic for her.  She wakes up anywhere from two to four times.  Naps have gotten a little better.  She usually takes a mid-morning and mid-afternoon nap.  Maybe next month the sleep will get better.......

4.  We were able to try a couple new foods this month.  She enjoys the Beech-nut pear with blueberries but isn't too sure of real blueberries yet.  She usually just squishes them and plays with them.  She also passed the Beech-nut banana, orange, pineapple.  Which is great as they also have a sweet potato, orange, pineapple that I can add into our rotation.  I had just started her lamb trial Friday and was hoping to get that done this weekend but then she was hit with the stomach flu.  I will re-trial the lamb starting Thursday.  Hopefully it's a pass so we can get some protein in her :)  After that I think we will try egg.

5.  She is a bookworm!  She loves to look at books and have you read to her :)  Here she is enjoying one of our favorite color books.

6.  Milestones this month.....  crawling all over the place!  She can get from point A to point B pretty fast.  She also loves to pull herself up to stand, especially in the bathtub, Yikes!  Recently she has started cruising around the furniture and taking steps with assistance.  We will definitely be in trouble once she starts walking as she loves to get into everything!

 Checking out brother's tractor

This is her favorite place to hang out!  Loves to throw all of Hudson's toys onto the floor :)

Love my little princess!