The first steps!

We captured some of Millie's first steps today. She is still somewhat hesitant, but every so often when she is standing she tries out her walking shoes! She gets in a few good steps but then tries to go really fast. It is pretty funny. She is quite the big girl - it is hard to believe she will be walking by the time her birthday rolls around.

In other recent events:
Mommy went to a workshop on Saturday so it was Daddy and Millie day. Unfortunately it was very rainy so my plans to take Millie to a park were basically washed out. We did walk downtown to the library and along Post Rd for a bit. We got caught in the rain on the way home but luckily we were prepared. It had been a while since I had Millie by myself for a whole day. It went very well, especially since I can feed Millie some solid food now. She still doesn't like to take bottles at home. She got some good naps and we played and had a nice day. Of course, we were both very happy when Mommy got home!

Last night was the neighborhood block party. We had heard it was a pretty good time and we weren't disappointed. The weather was not great but there were no downpours. We got to meet most of our new neighbors including some couples who either had a new baby or were about to have a new baby. Millie met some potential babysitters in some of the neighborhood teenagers - they came right up to Shannon and asked if they could play with Millie. So Millie had lots of admirers and had lots of fun. Mommy and daddy felt a little weird talking to adults without a squirmy baby. One of our neighbors has his own band and they played out on his front lawn. There were some relatives and friends sitting in as well so they had quite a band (2 guitars, drums, bass, lap steel, fiddle, mandolin, keyboards). It was pretty impressive - until the cops came, which is apparently a tradition.

Today was mostly a quiet day trying to get our chores done. Millie was running a bit of a fever today and will stay home tomorrow. We think it's probably connected to teething, but will keep her home just to be sure.

Something Quite Precocious

Stephanie has taken some pictures of Millie at daycare this past month when Millie does something particularly noteworthy. The first set she took were from a day when Millie actually fell asleep IN the exersaucer WHILE bouncing! She of course stopped bouncing once she fell asleep.... When I arrived to pick her up that day, she was still asleep. I started to lift her out and her little legs started bouncing again :).


Stephy also got some shots of Millie playing in the dirt -- it's no surprise that she comes home utterly filthy everyday. She just loves dirt!

Then today, Stephy sent me the following series of shots. Millie playing like the big kids :).

Random Bits of Life

As noted in the previous post, we had a great time at baby Cole's birthday. The babies all played nicely outside, enjoying the weather and each other's toys. Millie was, of course, very preoccupied with the steps and went up them many times. Which brings us to one of our little random bits -- Millie seems to be getting the idea of "wiggling down" backwards to get off of things (i.e. the couch, the bed, etc.) and down stairs. She tentatively tried out this skill at Cole's house -- carefully backing down one step, then going up again, then backing down again... We've actually been working on the "wiggle down" for several months now, apparently she's been listening :). There's a chance she actually used it to get out of bed after her nap on Sunday. I have no proof of course, because I didn't see it -- all I saw was her crawling out of our room with a huge grin on her face! I heard her wake up and was headed in to get her, and there she was. I never heard a thump or crying, so I don't think she fell -- she must have wiggled down! Time to put a gate at the top of the steps...

Millie played very hard at the birthday party and was pretty interactive with the other babies -- of course the interactions weren't necessarily what we as adults would deem appropriate ...

Exhibit A (which I'm sure you all saw in the slide show...)

Yes, that is Millie doing ??? to her little friend Jonathan. Giving him zurberts (raspberries) on his tummy to cheer him up? Tickling him with her teeth like we do to her? Trying to eat him?! ... who knows what goes on in the mind of an almost 11-month old! Right before this she had pulled Cole's beautiful curly hair. Poor kid -- it's was his birthday! He gave her a much deserved glower, but took it in stride.
Exhibit B:

Like the other babies, Millie was exhausted by the time we left Cole's -- she fell asleep in the car pretty much after we pulled out of the driveway. Like Will's mom, we took the long way home and Millie got in about a 40 minute nap. However, unlike Will, Millie did not stay asleep once we got home. She's been a bit of a cat-napper lately. Seems to be in good spirits though...

Other news. October is coming up, which means not only Millie's first birthday, but also her first real Halloween. Technically, last year was her first Halloween, but she was only 4 days old :)

(side-note: OMG! Look how teeny-tiny she was!!) Anyway, we've now begun thinking about what Millie will "be" for Halloween this year. Last year I actually bought her a teddy bear costume. I don't know what I was thinking buying a costume for a 4-day old. Obviously when these things say "newborn" they don't mean THAT NEW born... The costume was huge. So big in fact that it fits now. Of course, Millie was NOT thrilled with it (and I can't say I blame her, it's kinda itchy on the inside...)
So, I don't think Millie will be a teddy bear this year...(though she has the "angry bear" face down pat!)

I saved the best "random note" for last. Millie has taken her first, very tentative steps! She took very small half-steps yesterday and then today at daycare she took a few more. When I went to pick her up we stayed for a bit and chatted with Stephanie (the transition between Stephy's and home can be hard for Millie so I try not to rush it). Stephanie mentioned that she had taken a few small steps. Millie then showed me by taking about 5 small ones walking between Stephanie and me! She took a few more small ones once she got home tonight (so daddy could see :)). She's not a walker yet, but she's close! When my parents were here a month ago, I told them I gave her about a month 'til she took her first steps, and here she is! She's such a good listener :). We couldn't be more proud of our little chickpea. Walking home with her today and seeing her falling asleep in the stroller I was just overcome with such a sense of love. Her sweetness just makes my heart hurt sometimes :).

Here are a couple more random pictures of the past few days -- just to make your heart hurt a little ... .

Happy Birthday Cole!

Millie had a fabulous time at her friend Cole's birthday party today. Cole is the first of our baby group to turn one -- Millie will be the last. Amazing that it's been a whole year already. Details about the day to come, until then, here is the day in pictures :). (some of these will definitely need explanation...)

A is for ....

Apples and animals. We enjoyed a very active family-fun day today. Millie and I woke early (after going to bed very early...) and got to play while Scott slept in. As soon as it was light enough out, we went out to the deck and Millie played with the leaves and splashed in the puddles from the night before while I sat and ate my breakfast. A nice way to greet the day :). Millie continued to play for several more hours and then went down for a nice long nap -- which gave Scott and I BOTH the opportunity to take showers and make ourselves presentable for public viewing (this does not always happen on Saturdays). We all had some lunch when Millie got up and then we headed to Easton, CT to Silverman's Farm. Here we played in a pumpkin patch, picked LOTS of yummy apples (Gala and MacIntosh), and got to see/touch/feed some animals at the petting zoo. Millie loved every minute! Though, at the zoo she appeared to be more interested in the rocks than the animals at times!

Millie had so much fun at the farm that she fell asleep in the car on the way home. She stayed asleep while I ran into the grocery store to grab a couple of things and then continued to sleep once we got home (thanks to Scott's smooth transition from the car to the house). After her afternoon nap we had a nice video chat with Auntie LoLo and then headed out for a walk to downtown Fairfield. We went to the library where Scott got some books to read on the train and where we both signed up for library cards. I'm thinking a weekly Saturday walk to the library sounds like a nice tradition to start :). We ambled through downtown Fairfield checking out dining options and eventually settled on Archie Moore's where we enjoyed a very nice dinner. We ended our night with a walk home and made it back just before dusk. Millie has now had a bath and is enjoying a little more playtime before bed. Couldn't ask for a better Saturday. Sigh, it really is too bad Saturdays only happen once a week. All the more reason to cherish every one of them.

Practice Makes Perfect



We finally caught Millie on video practicing her new standing skills. Up and down, up and down :). I gotta say, I wish I could do squats like that! She's got some strong glutes! Of course she chooses to do this outside on the concrete ;). She's going to be quite the little gardener -- she loves to play in the dirt!

Millie Goes to the Zoo and Other Random Stuff















After a rainy Saturday spent indoors, we went out to the Beardsley Zoo in nearby Bridgeport, CT. Shannon had noticed that Millie really liked watching the neighborhood dogs and thought she might enjoy looking at some more animals. Plus, she also loves to be outside and watch other kids. We met up with some friends from the new mom group (Luisa, Rovinson, & baby Jonathan) and had a really nice leisurely afternoon. Millie particularly enjoyed seeing Buffalo and the monkeys (and the kids of course). Mommy liked the baby sheep (Maaa!) and I was amused by the prairie dogs. Can't recall ever seeing them too much. Millie just soaked it all in. She just loves to see things. At restaurants it actually gets a little embarrassing because she will just stare at people. Not sure where this social baby came from, but she is pretty funny. The only downside of our day at the zoo is that Millie didn't get too many good naps in...

At the zoo fountain:



















Millie with friend Jonathan:














Looking at the baby pigs:














Random note 1: Mr. Duckie
In the picture above and pretty much all of the pictures we took today you will notice one thing in common with Miss Millie - Mr. Duckie. Mr. Duckie had previously been reserved for bathtime. I would give Millie Mr. Duckie to stop her from being so squirmy before and after her bath and then we would put him back in the tub so he would be there next time. Since then however, and particularly after Mr. Duckie helped Millie make friends with the frog pool, Mr. Duckie has been making more and more appearances. It now appears that Mr. Duckie is the first attachment object (besides Mommy) for Millie. She literally carried him around all day at the zoo and at home. By the head. I tried to put Mr. Duckie back in the tub for next time after her bath tonight and she just looked around for him. She is currently asleep...with Mr. Duckie.

Random note 2: Trains!
One big part of our move has been a change in our commutes to work. As Shannon has previously blogged, she is close enough to work to walk. This means I am further from Darien. To commute the 14 miles to work would take 45 minutes to an hour, mostly sitting in traffic. It could be less on some days, but it could also be more. This is something that I had no desire to experience. I had always complained about the lack of good (any?) public transportation in Detroit and said I would love to be able to commute on a train like in Chicago and NYC. Well, I am making good on those words by being an official train commuter. It is going really well. It takes about an hour, but most of that time becomes usable time and exercise. Check back with me in the winter.

This also means that the end has come for the Dynaride (my 93 Buick LaSabre). My grandma would be sad to see it go and we are too (except that Shannon isn't). Since I am not driving it, we don't really need 2 cars otherwise, its old, and it needs some work, we are donating it and saying farewell. As Shannon also mentioned previously, we are trying to simplify and not having another car to worry about or pay for is a nice step!

The Dynaride!














Millie and Daddy say goodbye...















Final notes:
One last picture of Millie showing the Wolves at the zoo her friend, Mr. Duckie. Millie is getting bigger and certainly is developing a fun little personality. We think she is too funny most of the time. She is starting to enjoy rolling around on the floor and standing. Yesterday she was in this little hallway we have (the sleepy hallway) and she crawled to the end and just stood up out of nowhere. Then she clapped for herself. Mr. Duckie just smiled and so did we....















Goodbye for now!

Making a House a Home...

I think, after two weeks, that we have definitely made this new house our home -- and we love it. The house absolutely "fits" us and gives off such a calming/soothing effect every time we walk in the door (especially now that all of the boxes are out!). Putting together a new house is like doing a puzzle though -- one of those puzzles where all the pieces are the same shape and hues of the same color and there are extra pieces that you aren't supposed to use. It's tough. There are new spaces that aren't the same as the old spaces, there are spaces that you used to have that you don't any more... But, I think we rose to the challenge and made this look and feel like OUR home. And, maybe someday it will be our home. We'll have to wait and see what the next year holds for us before we know the answer to that one.

The kitchen passed the "Sunday Cooking Marathon" test yesterday. Scott and I were both able to work in the kitchen for several hours cooking our meals for the week (and Millie's meals) without tripping over each other. We were able to put our kitchen cart back into use (it had been in storage in the past two houses due to lack of room for it...) and that helped a lot with opening up counter space. We did find out this morning that you'll blow a fuse if you run the microwave and dishwasher at the same time -- oops! There are a couple of other small quirks to the house, like placement of light-switches (the backroom ones are especially tricky), necessary sequence of opening drawers, doors, and cabinets, the "garage"... . All-in-all though, it seems like a very reliable house.

The neighborhood is great too -- lots of kids out and about, lots of dogs for Millie to watch, and just plain friendly people. We've met quite a few people on the street already and we even had a couple of young girls bring us cookies and brownies last week! We also got our flyer for the big block party this week too. The party is at the end of September and we've been told it is quite a bash! It's just like being in the Midwest again :). I'd say the biggest thing we miss about the old house is our old grocery store! We have the same chains here in Fairfield, but for some reason the Nowalk Stop and Shop was different. The lay out was easier to navigate and they carried all of our staples. We've had a hard time finding everything we need at the stores here. Which means we switched chains to Shaws. It seems to be working out, but it's not the same ;). (There's a reason I work with people with autism -- I can relate to some of their idiosyncrasies, like a need for sameness!)

We've been walking LOTS. Scott is walking to the train station everyday and taking the train to work. While I was off and still unpacking, I walked Millie to daycare and last week I even walked to work 2 out of the 4 days! It's been very nice to trade in my car commute for a foot commute. I still have time to decompress and go over my day after work, but I don't have to deal with traffic! I get in a good 45 minute walk by myself and then another 20-30 minute walk with Millie (depending on how tired I am at the end of the day!). Much more fun than going to the gym and using the treadmill! If I walk to work, I can get in about 8.5 miles a day -- not too shabby!

Millie continues to enjoy exploring the new house. She loves to stand at the bottom of the stairs (where there is a gate...) and given the opportunity, she will climb them (followed closely by me or Scott of course), she still likes the backroom and loves to empty her bookshelf, she likes crawling on the deck and really likes her bedroom. Her room actually looks great and is nice and big with plenty of space to play. We were able to put out Scott's old child-sized rocking chair and Millie LOVES to sit in it. She quickly figured out how to make it rock! Her Fred Bird and Detroit Bear sit in the rocking chair when she isn't there, but neither of them are special enough to join her while she's rocking yet. She throws all stuffies overboard!

Millie has been practicing her standing skills this week -- slowly standing up from a squat (not holding on to anything), hanging out for a while, and then slowly going back down to crawl on to the next activity. It's fun to watch her get better and better everyday. She hasn't tried any independent steps yet, but she does like to walk around holding onto someone's hands. As always, Millie loves to play outside and we are starting to have quite the collection of rocks in the house as she likes to dig them out of the dirt and carry them around with her. She'll come in handy at both grandparents' house! Millie has also been helping Scott put together pieces of furniture -- usually by sitting on said furniture :). She quickly notices each new hanging we put on the wall or nic-nac we put in a room. She's taken to waving at everyone and everything, particularly the neighborhood dogs, her stuffies, and the trees. She also waves to each new room that she walks in to in the morning -- as if to say "good morning world, here I am!" Too cute.

We decided to give Millie one of her birthday presents early. We got her a water/sand table and I wanted her to be able to enjoy it before the weather gets too cold. So, Scott put it together today and she took it for a trial run :). No sand yet, just water, but at this point, I think that's good enough for her! She enjoyed splashing around in the water and playing with her ducky and boats. She did a great job standing and playing by herself, though the toys were hard to reach at times.

We've enjoyed having the long weekend to get things finished on the house and to just get back into our normal weekly routines. Hope you enjoyed yours as well! Enjoy the videos and pics! We'll post a video tour of the house soon! (guided by Millie of course...)