Milestones, Mother's Day, and Ma-ma

My first Mother's Day was more than I could have asked for.  All of it was made possible by my wonderful husband and sweet little girl.  My first gift came the day before Mother's Day when Milana crawled up to me, tapped me on the arm, looked me in the eye and said "ma-ma".  I am not usually one of those mushy women who cry at everything but I have to say I was blubbering for a while.  On Mother's Day, Milana got me another bead for my bracelet that was started before she was born.  David got me a beautiful pair of diamond earrings to celebrate my first Mother's Day and made me a fabulous dinner.  Well enough about me, onto the reason I get to celebrate Mother's Day for many years to come.

The last time I blogged about Milana's milestones she was just learning to crawl.  Today she is ten months old and has learned so much in the last two months.  She is at full crawl now and is following me around where ever I go.  She can pull herself up to a stand on various pieces of furniture.  She likes to hold on to said furniture and do squats.  She is going to have the strongest legs in the neighborhood.  She is feeding herself with her hands and has acquired a taste for more adult food.  Some of her favorites are pasta, green beans, mandarin oranges, grilled cheese, cheese, pancakes, french toast, polenta, carrots, mommies broccoli soup and the ever popular German soft pretzel.  Tonight we are going to try mommies chicken and noodles.  Her new found interest in adult food makes it interesting to try and find food for her to eat.



Milana has been a very lucky little girl in that she has not been sick until 10 months old.  She has a mild case of bronchitis. It doesn't seem to slow her down at all.  Milana is now in daycare since mommy has gone back to work.  She enjoys going each day and is happy to see us when we pick her up.  I think she is learning a lot from the older kids on how to use her legs and feet.  Her daycare mother only speaks German which is good motivation for mommy to keep learning more German.  I know there are many arguments about if women should work or stay home and take care of the little ones.  For me and my family, it is important that I go back to work not only for the extra money but more importantly because we are living in a different country.  Working and interacting in the German culture will help me raise her while living here.  Many things are the same but many things are different as well.  The more knowledge that I gain will help her in the long run.  I miss her throughout the day but I know I get to see her at the end.  So to all the moms out there, I say, do what is best for you and your family and don't let others influence your decision one way or the other.

Milana's 2nd Us Tour

Milana's second trip to the US wasn't as hectic as the first but there was plenty to do none the less. Our first stop was Mobile, AL to visit Grandpa and Grandma Presken. We did lots of shopping, went to Bellingrath Gardens, and Milana cut her second tooth. Milana also got to experience her first time eating in a restaurant.

She was fussy at the first restaurant but the more times we went the better she got. She was really fascinated with the servers bringing the food. A big shout out to Grandpa P. for keeping her entertained at the restaurants.

Our next stop was St. Louis, MO to visit Grandpa and Grandma Benscoter. We stayed at home for a couple days to rest. Milana and Mick the dog tried to make friends but one or the other was a little timid. Ok Milana didn't like his stinky hot breath. We had a nice easter dinner on Sunday and took some pictures of Milana in her new Easter dress. 

We had two days of rest and then it was on the road in car to West Virginia for Milana to meet her Great Grandpa. We stayed in a couple of hotels which Milana loved because she got her own big bed to sleep on. The trip to West Virginia took most of the week. We spent two days with grandparents and took some nice pictures. On Sunday it was back to Germany.

Eight Months Old

As I pack for our second trip to the US, I am amazed that one little girl can learn so much in two months. It seems like she learns something new every day. Last time that I had an entry into this blog she was just learning how to sit up....now she has fully master it. We are now working on crawling and seems to improve everyday...mainly because once she learns something new she practices it over and over again. She can get up on her knees but hasn't quite got the moving part down yet. Maybe she will move while we are visiting the grandparents. Even though she can't crawl just yet, that doesn't stop her from rolling where she wants to go.

Another major milestone for her is that she got her first tooth. It wasn't a pretty sight to see her in pain. It wasn't as big a deal as I thought it would be. Only about an hour of crying until the medication kicked it. The next morning it was as if nothing had happened. Now that she has her new tooth she enjoys using it by taking bites of animal crackers and chewing them like a big girl.

Milana has started to really learn her name and responds back when she is called. She is also a babbler and a squealer. Some squeals are at octaves I didn't think were possible.We are hoping our trip to the US will be like the first trip where we had no major upsets and she was calm and quite the whole time we were in flight.

As for our life in Germany, it has been one surprise after another. Whether it's new and exciting things we discover or all of the paper work and time took to find Milana a daycare, we know that most everything we do now is for her. As it should be.

Six Months and Growing

I can't believe my little girl is six months old already. Time has flown by. It has been wonderful to be able to stay home with her these past months and watch her grow, change and have her own little personality develop.

Milana is really coming into her own and seems to learn how to do something new every few days. She is now eating solid foods with gusto. Her favorite is spaghetti bolognese. She wouldn't be her mother's daughter if she didn't like spaghetti with red sauce. Her favorite activity now is floor time. She spends floor time either doing multiple turnovers or playing under her activity gym. She is desperately trying to learn to crawl and move on her tummy. She doesn't have it quite yet and gets frustrated easily.

We have been practicing every day with trying to sit up on her own. She does it for a few seconds on her own and gets the biggest smile on her face and then down she goes. A few seconds later she is ready to get up and do it all over again. I can't say she is not determined. Milana is also able to grasp things and is taking an interest in looking at things in detail. She is also taking a interest in our three cats. She has out grown her swing so we bought her her very first chair. She loves eating, sleeping and playing in her new pink chair.

Physically she is getting bigger and getting more blonde hair. Her eyes have stayed green for a while and I am hoping they won't change. I am amazed how fast she goes through clothes. I know she will be tall like her daddy.