9 Month Check Up

Yesterday Mila went to her 9 month doctor visit. She weighs 19.4 pounds, putting her just slightly above average. Although our wiggle worm was very hard to measure (especially since she wet the table during the exam!), the nurse said she's in the 50th percentile for height at 27.5 inches. She was going to get blood drawn for lead testing, but they couldn't find a good vein in her chubby little arm. After all the poking and pinning down during the attempt at blood work, we discovered a rash on her arm which the doctor thinks is due to a latex allergy. We'll try to test her again at her 12 month appointment, latex free!

Good Morning!

Mila's 1st Christmas Present

Grandma Lynn is visiting from Florida and couldn't wait to give MQ her Christmas present!
(It was an adorable little outfit)

Hungry Girl

Mila's culinary adventures started with simple homemade purees like apple, sweet potato, pear and pea and in two months time have expanded to include chicken, toast, broccoli, Cheerios, cod, pasta and even salmon. Today we tried whole grain mac n' cheese (with a little added carrot puree). She loved it! Have a look (and notice the TOTAL "Joel face" at the end!):

O Christmas Tree

The tree is trimmed and we are joyfully anticipating
Mila's 1st Christmas!

Works of Art

While Mommy crafts oil "beauties" like this in her Thursday night painting class...


Joel is on Daddy duty and sends
Mommy sweet pictures
like this of our true masterpiece...

8 Months!

Mila is now 8 months old and is REALLY on the move. She went from scooting to crawling to standing in a matter of a week or so. Watch out world, here comes Mimi Q!

Happy Turkey Day!

Between her sweet laughs and her "motorboat" noises,
Mimi's vocal chords are getting a workout.
Here's a short video of her baby babble...what a little turkey!

Bundled Up Baby

MQ's keeping warm in her sweet little snow suit
(and with snuggles from Daddy!)

Another 1st

We put Mila in a restaurant high chair for the first time on Saturday. She loved "being a big girl" at our nearby pizza joint, Salerno's.

Mila is a little young for Chicago deep dish, but she seemed perfectly happy to munch on her baby rice crackers at the table.

Standing Tall

Yesterday Mommy put Mila down for a nap. She heard some murmurs for a few minutes and then silence, so she went in to check on Mila and was SO surprised to see this:
A STANDING, smiling baby looking back at her! Mommy quickly snapped this picture with her phone as proof because this was the first time Mila had made her way into a standing position without help. Time to lower the crib!

Sweet Mimi Blue Eyes

And She's Off!!!

After her bath today, Mila was so intent on grabbing the lotion it seemed she might just crawl to it. Mommy quickly reached for the camera to catch her in action! As this little video proves, she is soooo close to becoming mobile (sorry for the shaky camera work)...

Au Naturale

1st Halloween!

We took Mila to the childrens costume parade in Roscoe Village...
...our little piglet had a great time and so did we!

Tongue Twister

Mila has been sticking her little tongue out a lot lately. Every week it seems MQ discovers something new she can do, and we can't wait to see what she learns next!

Just Monkeying Around...

A Swinging Good Time

Over the weekend, Mila tried out a public swing for the first time at Lincoln Park Zoo. We thought the picture we took of her was reminiscent of this one taken of Daddy when he was around her age...

Fun In Florida

This week Mila + Mommy took a trip to Florida to visit Grandma Lynn. We all had a great time!

Mila was quite good on the plane, it really helped that we were lucky enough to have an empty middle seat on both flights.

Mila loved floating in the raft with Grandma.

Beautiful Miramar Lake
Mila loves Grandma Lynn (and Grandma Lynn sure loves Mila!)

Perfect Day For A Picnic

Because it was such a warm and sunny autumn day, Daddy left work a little early and we took a picnic down to the museum campus. We had a blast enjoying the weather, the skyline and our sweet baby girl.

Weighing In

At her 6 month appointment this morning, Mila weighed in at just under 17 pounds and measured 26 inches. The doctor told us what we already knew--Mila is doing great.

Big Girl

Mom usually straps Mila into her bouncy seat, but today laid her on it for just a few seconds unstrapped...when she looked at her again, Mila had made it to this sitting position for the first time on her own. Way to work those tummy muscles, Mimi!

Breakfast Smiles

From the happy look on her face you would think she actually likes it! After almost two weeks of trying solid food, Mila still hasn't taken to it. We've tried sweet potatoes, pears, oatmeal, rice cereal, butternut squash, avocado and bananas...and most of it has just come right back out of her mouth. It's so hard not to smile back at her when she blows it out and laughs!

A Girl & Her Pup

Click play to see Mila interacting with Harry. It doesn't get much cuter than this...

Now and Then

The photo on the left was taken the week Mila was born, the one on the right was taken this morning. Our sweet, sleeping angel is growing so fast!

Tasty Toes

These days Mila is always trying to put her toes in her mouth. What a little monkey!

A Night NOT on the Town

Mila celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary
with us on Friday. The lack of a babysitter didn't
stop us from having a great time and setting up our own fabulous seafood dinner at home. Mila sure had her eye on those oysters!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Mila loves to be outside, so yesterday Mommy set MQ up with some toys and her Bumbo while she worked on the garden. Mila was happy as could be!

Rasta Baby

Our little "Wailer"

Safe And Sound

We took Mila to the North Coast music festival over the weekend. She was a trooper for all three days and actually seemed to like wearing her hot pink ear protectors. She also received a lot of attention in them...about 2 dozen strangers asked to take her picture!

Sitting Pretty

We've been working with Mila on sitting up on her own. Every day she is lasting a little longer...a few more weeks of practice and she'll be sitting pretty all by herself without doing her usual face-plant into the couch!

Pretty In Pink

Becoming A Foodie

This week Mila tried sweet potatoes for the first time...

She wasn't exactly a fan in the beginning...
But she started to get the hang of it...
She'll be moving on to sushi in no time ;)