Millie turns 2!

Millie is 2 years old! I can't think too much about it without crying- out of disbelief, sadness that my baby's growing up too fast, and happiness at how great she is. She really is such a sweet girl and we are so blessed to have her in our family. 

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday the 4th instead of on her actual birthday because a) it was a Saturday, meaning Tyler was home all day and b) it was the last day before family started leaving. I went to the store in the morning to grab some of the things we wanted to give her and made a stop at Shipley's for donut holes- her favorite. We went to lunch at Bullritos with the Juergens crew, and Millie enjoyed the rest of her donut holes and an ice cream cone. Balanced diet much? The weather was really nice so we took Millie to the park after lunch and wore her out before her nap.

We had a relaxing afternoon/evening with family. I made some funfetti cupcakes, which Millie was really excited to eat when she woke up! I told her we had to wait until Nana and Botz joined us, and she was so patient. After dinner she opened her presents and had cupcakes and ice cream. Pretty much a perfect evening if you ask her! Her aunt and uncles spoiled her majorly, as well as Gigi and Poppy. Millie is clearly a very loved only grandchild!

When she got her Belle dress on she had to watch Belle dance and copy her

So happy!

Millie and Teddy

On Monday (her actual birthday) Millie and I went to Chik-Fil-A for lunch with Gigi and Heidi. It was frigid outside but she still wanted an ice cream cone! She also got to open her gift from Monka and Ampa, which she loves and has been using a ton since then.

Some things about Millie at 2 years old:

-She still loves her binky- her beebies, if you ask her. She gets it for nap time and bedtime, which makes it easy most nights to get her to go to sleep.

-Millie can count to ten, kind of. She says "1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10!" super enthusiastically. Not sure where 5 and 6 went, but we'll find them someday.

-She knows all her colors and most letters by sight also. Our favorite letter to hear her say is W, she calls it "dubby." I love it when we're in the car and she sees a sign and tells me all the letters she knows on it. She is so observant.

-I still make her eat baby food, since her palate isn't really expanding much. Millie loves toast, yogurt, chicken nuggets, fries, strawberries, oranges, grapes, any crackers or sweets, and occasionally pancakes. 

-Millie is great at making connections and finding shapes in things. She tells me every time she eats a pretzel that it looks like a kitty cat, or that her toast looks like a tree after she's taken a few bites.

-She prefers Mommy or Daddy to be with her at all times, making nursery and going on dates difficult. Luckily she loves Gigi and Monka, so if they're watching her then she is happy! She'll randomly say throughout the week, "I cry at church" or lately, "I cry at Lilah's house" (she went to play with Delilah last week while Tyler and I went to the temple). Apparently it's pretty traumatizing! 

Millie is such a sweet little girl and we're so happy she's ours! Happy Birthday Millie Mae!!

The rest of the break, in pictures

Tyler is back at work today, which I'm a little bit in denial about. It has been SO wonderful to have lots of time as a family the last two weeks! We know we have a couple of rough months ahead with busy season, so we soaked up every last minute together. I think I've pretty much blogged all of the big stuff, so here is everything that was neglected.

I fell asleep putting Millie down for a nap one day

What happens when I try to go to the bathroom alone

Millie stole Botz's hat at Willie's 

She looooved Elf

Trying out the bath paint set she got for Christmas

Playing with Daddy while Mom waited in line

On our way to the temple- squished!

Taking down Christmas

Millie's idea of lamb chops? Kinda morbid

Dad helped organize Millie's kitchen

She only snuggles when she's reeeeeeaally tired

25

I've decided that I really like having my birthday on New Year's Day. It feels great to have a double-fresh start, a new year and a new age! I'm not sure if I am big into goals because of when my birthday is or if it's just a nice coincidence, but it works for me either way.

We spent New Year's Eve at the Morris family's NYE party- both of our families were there and it was a fun party. Minute to Win It games, yummy food, and good friends to catch up with! Millie made it through the whole party without falling asleep... she's such a party animal. I felt awful later though because I neglected to bring a single diaper with me, which meant she went about 7 hours in the same one! Mom of the year over here. We got home around 1ish, thankfully in one piece despite the crazy driving we witnessed. My parents and Sarah came and stayed with us that night.

Tyler playing "junk in the trunk"

Despite her indifferent expression, she was insistent that she try on every hat and that her picture be taken!

Millie paid us back for keeping her up so late by waking up early. Tyler played football with some friends and family while my parents and Sarah took Millie and I out for breakfast and then birthday shopping at Target. Say what you want about Denny's, but their french toast that day was really some of the best I've ever had!

This is why I don't like sleeping with her

Picture stolen from Janet 

When we got back from breakfast/shopping my parents helped us re-arrange some furniture. We now have an official playroom and an official nursery for baby boy, and Millie is officially sleeping in a big girl bed! She was so tired from the night before that she was glad to sleep anywhere that afternoon and had no issue with not being in the crib. Thanks to Mom for helping me do those things that I'd been wanting to do forever but just never got around to. It was a great way to start off the year. They left around noon and Tyler, Millie, and I each took a nap. I couldn't believe Millie wasn't in her crib!

We ate dinner with the Juergens crew, and they spoiled me with even more gifts. They were so sweet to watch Millie while Tyler and I went to see Catching Fire! What a great movie. I loved being with just Tyler for a little while. We came back to brownies and ice cream (my favorite).

25 isn't looking shabby at all with an awesome start like that! Thanks to everyone for making it a great day.