Hawaiian Luau!

Since Mila's birthday falls in July and she loves to go swimming, we decided a Hawaiian Luau themed party was perfect for her first birthday!

 The pictures on the poster board are the weekly instagram pictures I took!

We lucked out with nice weather, warm but not overly humid :)  Perfect for swimming in the front yard and running through the sprinkler.

We even had a photo booth!

Dinner consisted of delicious BBQ pulled pork on pretzel buns with macaroni salad, veggies with dip, fruit kabobs, and chips with pineapple salsa!

Hudson was all about helping his sister open her gifts :)  She got all sorts of fun stuff including a shopping cart with food, a stroller for her dolly, bath toys, books, clothes, and a princess cozy coupe which she loved!

Of course we had to end the night with some delicious cake and ice cream!  Mila had fun playing with the cake and Hudson enjoyed eating the frosting for her :)

Thanks to everyone who helped make her first birthday so special!  Can't believe our baby girl is already 1, time just flies!

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 :)