Happy Halloween!!

Millie got to go to Shannon's work today for a Halloween party. To say her costume was a hit would be putting it lightly. Everyone thought it was the cutest thing ever especially when she waddled around like a little chick. It was really too much. Millie had fun at the party exploring (she even got into the game of limbo a little bit...) We are going to have a low key Halloween. Millie has a Dr. appointment this afternoon and after that we are going to stay home and hand out candy. We are glad to have Millie at home this Halloween (we were still in the hospital last year). Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Birthday Millie (Part 2)

It has been one whole year since Millie joined us at 4:01 AM on this date. It has certainly been an interesting and great year. I was never too sure what to expect from fatherhood before Millie arrived, but I can say that it has been better than anything I could ever have expected. In an effort to be sure to remember as many special moments as I can, here are a few of the things that I will remember from Millie’s first year:

• Shannon’s tears of joy when I showed her the baby to be named Millie
• How much Shannon is a natural and awesome mommy
• How small she was when she was born (and really how small she still is!)
• How Millie knows what she wants!
• The first diaper change
• Millie’s first laughs
• Pacing around and bouncing Millie to get her to sleep (both around the house and in the sleepy hallway)
• What it is like to travel with a rock star (we get a lot of attention from strangers sometimes due to Millie’s cuteness)
• Millie’s big smile when I get home from work
• The smile on Millie’s face when she does something that she thinks is pretty awesome (or mischievous!)
• Millie and Shannon playing in the front yard when I get home from work
• Her fuzzy (and crazy) hair
• Millie pointing at things
• Millie helping me make coffee

I could go on and on for awhile, but I think that pretty much sums it up! We are sad that many of you are too far away to help us celebrate this day. We appreciate everyone who has sent presents and happy thoughts our way. We really appreciate everything. It has been hard for us to be away from everyone, but in the end that makes the three of us rely on each other that much more – we have to be a tight knit family and that is a pretty good silver lining for us.

Happy Birthday Millie! Looking forward to another fun year!

Happy Birthday Millie!


Styling provided by Uncle Brandon, Hair by Aunt Lauren, Photography by Soon-to-be-Uncle Jason :)

Birthday Fun

Much like our friend Emily, we believe in making birthday celebrations last at least a week. Scott and I achieve this in June by celebrating our anni-birth-a-versary. Millie is building her own birthday traditions and is on day 5 of celebrating ;)!

Millie got to open a few presents early on Wednesday and Thursday as the packages started rolling in. An alphabet carousel and piggy bank from Aunt Carolyn:

and a fun music table from Aunt Janet, Uncle Dick, Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim:

Grandma Lainey, Grandpa Ric, LoLo and Jason arrived on Friday afternoon and we enjoyed a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch

followed by more presents once we got home.

Then Saturday was the big day -- Millie's first birthday party. We got up bright and early (well, I got up bright and early, Scott and Millie enjoyed the morning to sleep in) and started getting things ready. There were cakes to frost, decorations to hang, fruits and vegetables to chop not to mention the task of getting 6 adults showered and ready! The preparations all went off without a hitch and we were ready for our first guests to arrive at noon. Millie took a short nap before hand but probably could have benefited from a longer one. Her nap schedule shifted a bit in the past few weeks and she's actually been taking her afternoon nap around noon and sleeping until 2 or 2:30. Oops. A 12:00 start time for the party may not have been the best! There was a little fussiness and clinginess at first, but Millie quickly perked up and enjoyed all of her friends. She also seemed happier once her tights came off -- it warmed up in the house pretty fast once it was full of people. Then we stripped her all the way down for cake and she was REALLY happy :). She spent the rest of the day in her birthday suit ;).

Millie's friends Cal, Jonathan, James, Chase, and Leo all came to help her celebrate. Notice all of her guests were boys! She didn't seem to mind :). The kids all enjoyed playing with the toys Millie had opened the night before and eating butternut squash soup. And then came the cake.

Millie was a bit shy during the birthday song -- even turned away from the crowd for a few moments to bury her head in my shoulder. I guess being the center of attention can be daunting at any age. She gave everyone a great big smile at the end though and then moved to her high chair for her very own cupcake. She started out eating the cake in a very dainty and lady-like way, but by the end she was squishing the cake and icing everywhere and was covered head to toe (just as she should be!). Her friend Leo did an excellent job with his cupcake too! He got in some good practice for his own birthday which is just 5 days after Millie's. Bevin and Robert brought their dog Maisey down with them from Boston. She hung out on the back deck for most of the day, but she did get to come in for a little while to clean up the kitchen floor after Millie ate her cupcake ;). Millie was amused until she came and started cleaning her toes!

After cake there was more time to play with friends. After everyone left and things had quieted down a bit, we opened more presents.

After all that it was time for some naps.

Whew! What a great couple of days! I'm sure there is more to report -- I know there are more pictures. But now we are headed out to dinner with Lainey, Ric, LoLo, Jason, Emily, Dave and Will and then to the Maritime Aquarium for the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular!

Back home!

Not too much more to report from the end of our Minnesota trip. We thought we might go back to the mall but decided to try and get on an earlier flight instead so that we wouldn't land at 11:00 PM eastern in NYC. We were successful and landed around 5pm instead. So yesterday morning Millie and I hung out at the hotel while Shannon finished up at the conference. We then made a mad dash out of the hotel and made it to the airport with time to spare. We had a pretty uneventful flight home. Millie was about the same on the way back as she was on the way there. She slept for about the first 40 minutes and then was squirmy the rest of the way in Mommy's lap, flirting with all of the nearby passengers. All in all, she was SUCH a good baby the whole trip.

Millie enjoying the view before takeoff:




















Shannon and her Giant Steps crew: Glen, Shannon, Millie, Liz, & Gretchen

Today we ran some errands and did stuff at home, which was nice. Unfortunately, back to work and day care tomorrow. Millie roamed around the house right where she left off. She loves to hide behind the kitchen and dining room table and thinks its hilarious when you find her by looking underneath the table. This furniture was in my Grandma & Grandpa Albrecht's dining room and I am sure I probably played the same game as Millie did when I was little. We are all getting super excited for her birthday in almost a week!! Hard to believe its almost here!

Live from Bloomington, Day 2:

Hello again! Well, day 2 started out the same as Day 1. We had some breakfast, played and then it was naptime!















Millie has been a solid napper here, which has been pretty critical for us! Such a good baby! Again, we met mommy for lunch and then it was off to the Mall of America. We walked in and there is this big amusement straight ahead. Millie loved seeing all of the kids running around and the rollercoasters. I took Millie for a ride on the carousel. I think she enjoyed it but the wait for it to move coupled with comparatively short ride time was a bit disappointing. Still fun though!















Then we just kind of roamed for a bit. I was getting a little concerned that I couldn't find anything for Millie to eat (normally would have packed something but not much available while traveling). I ended up getting her oatmeal from Starbucks of all places (gotta love Starbucks). Millie rode around in the stroller and laughed and clapped her hands at all of the sights and sounds.



















I touched base with Shannon and we both thought it would be good to get Millie back for a nap (no way it was happening at the mall!). We had to take a taxi back to the hotel, which Millie had a blast in again. She loves to be able to get up to the window and look out. It seems weird that you are able to have a baby loose in a taxi when if you did that in your own car you would be looking at a ticket. Anyway, here she is about 5 minutes after we got back, which by now is a common sight!















This has been a great couple of days. The location would not be my first choice(or even twentieth - its nice but we are not close enough to anything besides the mall) but it has been awesome to be able to spend some time with Millie at this fun stage. She is such a sweet baby - I even got some baby kisses the past 2 days. It would have been more fun if Mommy hadn't been conferencing, but it is good to have solid Daddy time. It is my goal to be very involved and hands on and it has been working out well so far. We had been a little worried before the trip since Millie hadn't been letting me put her to sleep much, but she has been Daddy's little angel the past couple of days! More updates on this super exciting vacation to come!

Live from Bloomington: End of Day 1:

When last we spoke to you from Minnesota, Millie was asleep. She napped well and when she woke up we found some things to do. Since we were taking it easy we mostly stayed close to the hotel. We met Mommy and friends for lunch and then we walked to a nearby hotel with her and stopped to play outside and by the pool playground (inside the hotel) for a bit. It is indeed a tad bit chillier here (but we are happy the midwest grey haze hasn't started yet). I had a really nice day with Millie - but she was most definitely happy to see Mommy!

Millie playing by our hotel:



















Millie thought this play house was pretty sweet:














One of Millie's favorite activities is just roaming around the hotel. Not only do people think she is the cutest thing, but it is kind of amusing to see this little human less than 2 feet tall walking around. She thought she was big stuff walking to our hotel room. She also likes to push the elevator buttons (with some help!)



















Next Millie got to go in the pool for the first time! Mommy helped her. She thought it was pretty okay - intrigued but not quite ready to really "jump in". She was also suspicious of the guy in the pool nearby.














We ended the day with a very nice dinner at a nearby restaurant, Kincaids. Millie had a blast in her first taxi ride. A little more expensive than we would have liked (although maybe still cheaper than a comparable meal in CT), but it was very good. I had bacon wrapped kobe beef meatloaf - enough said! It was a really fun dinner with great company in Liz, Gretchen, and Glen. Millie had fun flirting with people and tried walleye, calamari, the aforementioned meatloaf, and cabbage.

After all that - bedtime!!

Minnesota: Day 1 - Live from Bloomington:

Shannon is attending the Closing the Gap conference for work here in Minnesota and I am on vacation having been enlisted as the traveling babysitter. It is certainly nice to have the chance to spend some time with Millie (and not be at work!). This way Millie gets to stay pretty close to Mommy too, which is still a definite need for her (and me too of course).

Shannon's friends from work (Liz, Gretchen & Glen) met us at our house yesterday afternoon. Millie gave them a tour of the house and hammed it up big time, walking, laughing, rolling around on the floor, trying to do headstands (still not sure about that one...). It was definitely a sign of what was to come at the airport and on the plane. We were a little curious to see how Millie would do on the plane since the last time we all flew was in June - a long time in baby months at this point. Before she would sleep the whole time. Now she is super active and super mobile.

After an uneventful drive to the airport and a somewhat harrowing ride on the parking shuttle (Guest post from Liz: BARF), we arrived at JFK. She did well in the airport since we sat at a restaurant and she concentrated mostly on eating. On the plane, Shannon and I didn't have seats together and she was in the middle of two businessmen. I asked to switch and neither would - apparently the seats just behind 1st class are "premium" and have lots of leg room. Much better than the back of the plan in a middle seat. So, I guess I can't blame them too much since it was a long flight and all - but still - you have the chance to do something nice... Liz did switch with me (since she is so nice) and I was behind Shannon and then we got the lady next to me to give up her aisle seat (only to gain leg room) so we were reunited at last.

At this point, Millie decided it was super fun to lean out in the aisle and smile at all of the other passengers. Of course she wanted to get down, so Shannon guided her around a little bit. Everyone told Millie how cute and adorable she was and she just laughed and smiled. She has such an outgoing little personality - not sure where she gets that from when her parents are a double dose of pure introverts. But complete strangers just ooh and aah over her and I am sure it really brightens up their when they get a smile from such a sweet little baby. So Millie squirmed around for most of the flight and was pretty happy the whole time - except when daddy tried to hold her. She was all about Mommy the whole time, which was a little frustrating, especially for Mommy. She finally fell asleep for the last hour of the flight and then was awake for baggage claim and the ride to the hotel. Millie then got to explore her first hotel room and she had a grand old time checking it out. As you might guess, she wasn't too ready to go to bed, even though it was around 11pm eastern time, WAY past her bedtime. Too much stimulation for the baby Millie. She squirmed around for at least half an hour and finally went to sleep.

The plan for Millie was to go hang out at the Mall of America. But she had such a crazy day yesterday we decided she should take it easy. So we got up and ate breakfast and then said good bye to Mommy. We played for a bit and then Millie took a good hour and a half nap on a bed of pillows. Lunch with Mommy and then some hotel exploration and we are back napping! Maybe we will hit the mall tomorrow!

Millie's day today:

More Fun With Boxes

We've kept Millie's box around since she likes to play with it so much. She climbs in and out on her own now :). Pretty good problem solving skills there!

It's Amazing...

... how much can change in just a few weeks time. Check out Millie walking today! I would say that she's walking about 90% of the time now. Such a big girl!

Fall is Here!

We are enjoying a quiet weekend here in Connecticut. The trees are all starting to change and we are having some excellent fall weather. Next week, from Wednesday to Saturday, we are going to Minnesota since Shannon has a conference to attend and the whole family is coming along. I am looking forward to what will hopefully be a nice break from work hanging out with Millie for a few days. We will be close to the Mall of America and since we are going to be in what I imagine is not a tropical location, that is probably where will be spending a lot of time while Mommy is getting some new knowledge!

So we spent part of the weekend getting some errands run and getting ready for Millie's big first birthday (Only 2 weeks away!) With Fall comes fall festivals, and we took some time out to go to a pumpkin festival at a nearby farm where we got to make a scarecrow, drink some hot apple cider, and even pick out a pumpkin - all for free! Sweet! Millie enjoyed strolling around and seeing all of the kids and playing with the hay. She mostly wanted to take it OUT of the scarecrow. We didn't plan on taking home a pumpkin but Millie did not want to leave until she picked one out. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out. Millie is sacked out on Mommy's lap and getting ready for another day of family fun tomorrow!

Our little pumpkin with her pumpkin:

Me and our scarecrow (looking a little slumpy at the moment):



















Millie playing with the scarecrow hay:




























Other random pictures, including a recent picture of Millie with Mommy's hair band. Pretty! Just like Mommy!

Fun and Games

The Sleeping Game has quickly become a household favorite :). Best played with daddy!

Things I Like
(a story in pictures as told by Millie, captions by Shannon)


My purple water bottle that is my very own


Mr Duckie, of course


Climbing, on ANYthing :) (in this case, drums)


Chewing on ANYthing :) (in this case, a CD case...)

Party Girl

Millie attended the second of our newborn groups birthday parties yesterday (and I believe the last until her own ...). This time we were celebrating Jonathan! He looked so handsome and grown up in his birthday outfit -- complete with matching shoes and crown!

Louisa threw a wonderful party. There were plenty of toys for all the babies to play with, great food, special treats for the babies, great background music -- she thought of everything! And there were a LOT of babies there! Millie was GREATLY out-numbered by the boys (there was a 3 month old girl, a 5-year old and one other older girl, but all the one-year-olds were boys!) but that didn't seem to phase her at all. She was right in there playing with them all. Let's see if you can find her in a little game we'll call "Where's Millie?!"
Okay, so not too tough when she's standing right next to Scott who is the tallest one in the shot... But at least you can see all the people who were there!

Millie was SO excited to see the bouncer/exersaucer. Bouncing is one of her favorite activities at daycare. She got right in there! Jonathan was very cute and came over and bounced with her :).
Looks like they are just hanging out chatting about their weekend :).

Millie was sure to play with her other friends who came too -- Will and Cole. She and Will really enjoyed the activity table.

Millie really enjoyed everything there actually, the balloons, the little baby sized couch, the push-toy, all the people....

Yeah, we just met these people at the party yesterday -- Millie had no problem jumping right in!

Millie has really taken off with her walking these past few days. Ever since Friday she's been walking more and more. She still crawls when she wants to get somewhere fast, but more often than not she's choosing to walk to get between point A and B. She's just an active and curious little girl all around.; loves to climb and play and have fun. She's makes life around here a little more interesting ;). We couldn't be happier to see her thriving the way she is. She's not our little baby anymore, she's our little girl.

The Best Toy

Just in case anyone was wondering what kinds of toys Millie likes these days... Like most children, she is most entertained by the simplest of things -- no batteries required, endless possibilities for fun :).