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.

Christmas and a New Year.

So here it is about 3 hours till the new year in Germany. It's been almost 3 months since I last updated this blog and Milana has changed so much. She has had some major milestones since then. She is now sleeping in her big girl bed, sleeping on her side, starting to eat some solid foods, cooing and babbling, wants to stand a lot, has fun playing swing dancer and airplane with Daddy, examining objects up close, and smiling none stop.

We had a small Christmas at home. Milana, of course, received many presents from friends and family. She was delighted to watch me open the gifts for her. Books, toys(noise makers), stuffed

animals, clothes and videos were some of the things in her loot. I received a really nice pair of brown leather boots from David. It makes me feel less Mommy like which is good...no mom jeans for me.

As for the new year, I don't have any new year's resolution. I wish for a happy and healthy family. Knock on wood, Milana hasn't has a cold yet. We hope to explore more of Europe next year and I should return to work. Until my next update, hopefully it will be sooner than 3 months.

The trip down South to Mobile

After spending almost a week in St. Louis and enjoying the relaxing family time there we took off to fly down to Mobile. As we were heading through the airport in St. Louis and going through the security screening Milana was making quite a few fans being cute and sleeping. She was actually called back for inspection after going through the metal dectector. Apparently the individual doing the checks thought she was a doll since she was sleeping. After that the flight was very easy with her sleeping the entire time. She really likes sleeping while moving whether it is in a car, plane, or by foot. Once we made it to Mobile she got to meet her Uncle Brian and then Grandma and Grandpa Presken. They were quite taken with her from the moment they saw her. She got to meet her Aunt Christy a little later at dinner down on the causeway. We tried to find a gator that is supposed to live near the restaurant but it must have been hiding. The room we spent the nights in was really nice and Milana had an entire bed to herself, so of course I made a pillow fort for her to sleep in. The next day we went shopping with the grandparents and Milana got more new clothes for when she gets bigger. Lots of cute stuff! Milana spent a lot of time hanging out with her new family members and just loving the attention. Since the weather was quite warm she got to wear a lot of her cute dresses we had bought for her in St. Louis. The next day we went over to a friend's house and met up with some high school friends for dinner. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to see them again and their families. Milana spent the whole time asleep, I think the jet lag was finally starting to get to her. On Friday we went to Christy's wedding rehersal and dinner and Milana had yet another cute dress to wear and this time Mommy and her matched! Don't they just look too cute together? Milana spent a lot of the time at the rehersal dinner being passed around and held by family and friends, again she was quite content and did not fuss at all. As long as she gets attention she is very well behaved (don't begin thinking that she is spoiled, I haven't begun to spoil her yet). On Saturday was my sister's big day and that meant another cute dress that was a gift from Grandma P. The wedding was wonderful and it was a beautiful day, but that also meant it was quite warm and Milana had to be taken inside to cool down. But that just led to her being passed around more and she just loved the extra attention she got in the pretty dress. She also got to spend some time being with her Great Grandmother Presken and Great Aunt Phyllis. I don't think she has ever met so many new people in such a short amount of time while we were in Mobile. But time drew short and before we knew it we had to board a plane heading back to St. Louis and then back to Frankfurt.

It was a wonderful trip and we look forward to doing it again next year. Until then Grandparents B and P will have to make do with seeing Milana grow through photos and Skype.

Milana's first trip to meet Grandpa and Grandma Benscoter

Milana is about to embark on her very first trip over seas to the US. She is going to meet both sets of grandparents and other relatives. She had to endure a 12 hour plane ride. She did extremely well. We were so lucky. No major fussy moments until we reached our final destination of St. Louis, Missouri. Here we are on the plane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.

Our first stop was to St. Louis Missouri to visit her Grandpa and Grandma Benscoter. Milana was very excited to meet them. Here she is with Grandma B. holding her for the first time. Milana seems so cozy with her. Grandma got really attached to her.

Now it was Grandpa's turn to hold and meet Milana. I think he's telling her about the big fish that got away. Her sideways tongue makes me think he's telling her a whopper of a story.

Milana had presents waiting for her at Granny and Grampy B's.

She received some cute sandals from her Great Aunt Charlotte.

Mommy also bought her a cute rocker hat that she immediately had to ham it up for the camera and play her air guitar.

While in St. Louis we decided to take a little adventure to the St. Louis botanical gardens. Milana enjoyed sleeping and being carried around in her front pack. Mommy and daddy each took a turn.

Our next adventure in the US will take us to Mobile, Alabama where Milana will get to meet the Presken Grandparents for the first time.