The Mills Family

Martin Luther King Day 2012

2012-01-16T18:32:00.000-06:00

So I started this project with Libby on her first Martin Luther King Day in 2009 when she was four months old. I just stepped outside with Libby and took a picture of us with the Hoars' Frost that was on the trees that day. We have been able to keep up the outdoor pictures from this Holiday in January.

Libby, MLK Day 2009

LIBBY, MLK Day 2010

LIBBY, MLK Day 2011

LIBBY, MLK Day 2012

LUCAS, MLK Day 2011

LUCAS, MLK 2012

I hope everyone is enjoying this winter. I, for one, would like some more snow than what we got, but I think I am in the minority!

Unitl Next Time!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Cruising and Other Things Update

2011-11-02T13:34:00.001-05:00

Hello Family and Friends! It has been a while, that is for sure.

The biggest thing to throw up on the blog is that Denise and I took a cruise at the end of September. So, those are the pictures you will be seeing here. We were on the largest cruise ship in the world, Allure of the Seas, with Royal Caribbean. With over 6000 guests and 2200 staff, one would think you would feel crowded, but we never did. There was definitely enough space for everyone!

Here is our ship from the airport in Ft. Lauderdale. We were a couple of miles away, but it still was quite large!

Here is the back of the ship. The ship had two open air areas, a Boardwalk and a Central Park. This area would be the board walk and lead you out to a pool where they would perform diving shows. There were also big screen video boards on each side that would show movies at night and the NFL games on Sunday. You can see the rooms that had balconies that opened into this area.

Here is the entrance to the Boardwalk area. There was a carousal and a lot of eateries along this stretch.

Here is a map of the Central Park area. Along this area were the Specialty Restaurants that were an extra fee on top of your dining privileges. This area, as you will see, also had a lot of LIVE greenery and was open air.

Central Park Walkway

Central Park Ivy

A tree grows in Central Park!

On board there is a comedy club. They had two comedians that gave shows for about half the trip. You needed to make reservations for the shows, but it was definitely worth it!

Here is the floor diagram for our floor. We were on Floor 9 (duh?), which was right in the middle of everything. The pools were up on Deck 12 and the Boardwalk, Central Park and Royal Promenade were on Floors 5 and 6.

This picture must have been taken on Saturday. Every elevator has a "day plate" in it so you don't forget what day it is.

The Flow Rider on the ship. Lines were always long and I didn't want to wait in the heat to give it a try. Hopefully next time.

The view from our balcony down to the ocean. Yes, it was really that blue! And that life "boat" held about 350 people.

You can even ice skate while cruising. The ship supplies the skates and any safety gear you may want. All you need are long pants.

The Kiddie Pool area on the ship. Looked like lots of fun!

Mini golf on the ship!

Chops Grill! Mmmmmmm.... One of the specialty restaurants that Denise and I did hit!

Our room. We had an ocean view balcony, which is behind the camera.

The Royal Promenade. Lots of shops, bars and eateries.

A towel creature

A towel monkey

A towel stingray

On shore at our first stop, Labadee Haiti. This is a private stop for Royal Caribbean. A nice, relaxing day!

The view of Labadee from our room as we set sail.

Haiti through the foggy camera.

More of Haiti

Falmouth Jamaica, our second stop. This is a new port for the Oasis Class of ships, specially built to handle their size.

Our ship behind the shops in Falmouth.

The caribbean in Cozumel. Denise and I went to a private resort that day, Nachi Cocum, where they only allow 100 people in a day. A very relaxing and quiet day!

Cozumel as we pull into port in the morning.

The beach at Nachi Cocum.

On our way back to Fort Lauderdale, this is what our wake looked like at sunset.

Sunset again....

And again......

The view from the top deck of the ship. If I recall correctly, there were 18 decks, with deck 3 being at water level.

From our balcony. Most of the time, the ocean was like this, smooth as glass. Outside of it being abnormally hot and humid, we didn't have any weather issues.

Other than that, we have started hockey season as we again have season hockey tickets to Bemidji State. They have only had one home series so far, but things will start revving up in November. Libby and Lucas love going to the hotel for the pool!

We have also made two trips to the twin cities for weddings. One trip was for my cousin Ashley and her husband Christian as they got married at the campus chapel at Northwestern Bible College. The other trip was for Denise's cousin Nichelle and her husband William as they got married at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Both buildings were gorgeous! Congrats to both couples.

Well, that is about all from here. Hopefully we don't take as long to update as this one did!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

One, ONe, ONE!

2011-09-16T16:08:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to Lucas, who turned one today! It has been eventful year for our "little buddy", but we can't imagine what it was like without him.

Libby, Mommy and Daddy love you little guy!!!

Libby Is Three!

2011-09-02T08:18:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to our three year old girl, Elizabeth "Libby" Rose Mills!!!! Hard to believe it has been three years already!

Love
Mommy, Daddy and Brother Lucas

Day One

2011-09-01T08:46:00.000-05:00

Day one of the new addition was a hit. The kids enjoyed the play room and Libby slept all night in her new bedroom and her "big girl" bed! Here are some pictures.

Libby's new bedroom all "tricked out". We still need to get a full size bed frame for the bed, but otherwise, it is done.

And here is the toy room after day one, with Libby going in for more!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Moving In!

2011-08-31T09:40:00.001-05:00

Well, we are moving into the addition! Our contractor finished up the inside stuff yesterday and we started to move in some of the furniture! Can't wait to get home tonight and do some more.

Here is Libby's room, all finished out. We have moved in one of her dressers, her night stand and the head board for her "big girl" bed.

Here is our toy room / bonus room. I was giving Denise a hard time last night about now needing a home office and she stated that this room would be perfect for that. But, we need to get the toys out of the way.

Here is the new hallway, completely finished

And, over the last couple of weeks, we have been changing over to laminate flooring over all of our vinyl.

Here is our original hallway, all completed.

The laundry room / back entrance

Our kitchen, which was posted before

And the main bathroom

We also did our front door area, but I have been having troubles getting that photo to upload.

EDIT: Here is our front door entrance!

And here is the outside of the house, just about completed. We are just waiting on gutters, the excavator to come back and move the dirt around and slope it and to close off the crawl space.

Ahhh, such relief knowing it is complete!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

I Think We Are In The Home Stretch

2011-08-29T12:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, I think I can officially say that.......

Last Thursday night, Denise, the kids and myself got the laminate flooring laid down in the new addition. Sorry, no pictures as we put paper over it right away to protect it somewhat from construction traffic. Over the weekend, our contractor was able to get the addition pretty much trimmed out and ready to go for carpeting...... Which went in today!!!!! Here are the two rooms courtesy of Denise:

Libby's room with carpet and trim

The toy room / bonus room with carpet and trim. You can also see the "Powdered Maize" color on the walls.

Electrical also showed up this morning, so we now have outlets and lights finished out!

Our contractor still has to get the closet doors on and trim out the windows (there was a mix up with the lumber yard as they were to send finished jams for the windows, but sent unfinished). The hallway also needs baseboard. HVAC is also supposed to come back and double check all of their work.

Our contractor will also have to come back and fix the ceiling in our basement that had to be tore out for running of the duct work.

On the exterior, they got the front sided and are supposed to be working on the other two sides today. The seamless gutter people are supposed to show up this week, as is the excavator to move the rest of the dirt around and / or out.

Over the weekend, Denise and I were able to finish off the rest of the laminate flooring in the house and give it that "finished" look! We are loving it!

We just may be all moved in by Labor Day Weekend! Which will be a good thing because once we get past that weekend, we only have three or four weekends open between then and New Years!

Can't wait to have this project over!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

A Little Closer

2011-08-26T08:06:00.001-05:00

No new pictures for you today as it was too dark in the addition last night when I finished up. But, the toy room did get painted and the flooring is down in the hallway. Our contractor got the insulation blown into the attic and the soffits on!

Today, the excavator is supposed to come out and get the yard put back together and then hall away any dirt that isn't used. Our contractor is either going to side or start on hanging the closets and entry doors and trimming the inside. He plans on working Saturday and Sunday, as do Denise and I. The carpet installer is going to show up Monday and the electrician and the HVAC guys are to show up early next week to finish their work.

Fingers crossed, by this time next week, we will be complete!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Painting

2011-08-25T10:21:00.000-05:00

A little more progress was made last night on the addition. Painting went very quickly as there is no floor covering or trim work to worry about.

Denise got Libby's new bedroom painted in the afternoon, a light purple color.

After I got home last night from work, I attacked the hallway and got that painted in Bleached Wheat.

Up next will be to paint the toyroom/bonus room in a Powdered Maize (light yellow).

Also, I hope to start on laying the laminate flooring for the hallway tonight. We will see how the kiddos do with allowing me to do that though. Painting last night became somewhat of a problem as they didn't like the two chairs blocking their way into the addition. Our contractor, Bill, is blowing the insulation in the attic today and then will start on the trim and doors tomorrow and work on that through the weekend. We also have to get the light fixtures hung and get the electrician back to get everything finalized. The carpet layer will be there on Monday to put the carpet in the two rooms and then all the interior stuff should be ready. Outside, gutters, siding, soffets and landscaping need to be completed and the crawl space closed off.

We are starting to feel good about things!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

The Addition Is Open

2011-08-24T10:54:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture Denise took this morning from home! The hallway to the new addition is now open!

Getting Closer

2011-08-23T12:51:00.000-05:00

Well, we aren't quite in the home stretch, but we are getting close!

Drywall and taping has been completed, as has the primer coat of paint. That means Denise and I can get in there starting Wednesday to put color on the walls. Carpet has been ordered and we are hoping to line up an install early next week with that. HVAC has been completed and is working. Trim and doors have been ordered and siding/gutters still have to go on, but that will happen as we are working on the inside stuff. The excavator is suppose to come out on Friday and do his thing and take away the left over dirt, so we will have some grass seed to get down and watered. We are hoping we can be moving Libby and the toys in by Labor Day Weekend.

Here are the most recent pictures I have.

Looking in Libby's room from the hallway

Looking at Libby's room from the window. The closet is now drywalled.

The toy room / bonus room from the hallway.

On the laminate flooring front, we have gotten the laundry room and the front entry area done. All that is left is the hallway in the addition and then the one strip to tie the two hallways, family room and kitchen areas together. We are still trying to decide if we want to go this route in the master bath or not. That bathroom just seems to stay a little more humid than the rest of the house and we are not sure how well the laminate would like that.

In other news, we had to make the trek last weekend to Rolette, ND, for Denise's grandma on her dad's side (Danielson) funeral. She was 90 and lived a great life, only really being sick here at the end. I guess if I can live a great 90 years and only be sick the last three months, I would take it!

After seven and a half hours and almost 400 miles we arrived in Rolette.

The funniest part of the trip was the motel in Rolette. It was a little, 10 room, local motel and laundromat. When I called to make the reservation, I thought it was odd that they would tell you the room number right on the phone. Well, we got there, the office was locked up (it was 4:30 in the afternoon on Thursday), so we went to the room number given, and sure enough, the room was unlocked, two keys on the TV and a note telling us how much we owed. When it came time to check out on Friday, the office was still locked up (it was 10:00 in the morning), so we just left a check on the nightstand with the keys and closed the door. Turns out the owners of the motel have other jobs, but have an "older" couple "manage" the motel when they are not there, but the "managers" aren't always there either.

After the funeral, we loaded the up the car and headed to Edinburg, ND, to meet up with Denise's mom's (Kertz) brothers and their families. Glad we did that as it took two and a half hours off our trip home. Since we got to Edinburg while everyone was still at work, we decided to hit city park and let the kids blow off some steam. Now, this town has the classic city park look to it. One block near the center of town that is just dedicated to a park. Trees, playground equipment, grill pits, tables, just classic. Libby and Lucas had fun.

Saturday rolled around and after lunch, we made the four + hour trek back to Garfield. All in all, it was nearly 800 miles and 14 hours of butt time in the car. Libby and Lucas did fairly well, sleeping most of the trip. Although on the way home, Libby wanted to ride in Grandpa Curt's pickup. Luckily, we couldn't catch him on the Interstate, probably because we were about an hour ahead of them, but she didn't know that as she could see a camper in front of us!

Well, that is about all from here for now. I will post more once we get some "finishes" completed!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

A Slow Down

2011-08-15T09:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess things didn't move quite as fast last week as we had hoped.....

The HVAC guys got in there on Tuesday and cut in for the vents and cold air returns. But they didn't run any duct work as they need to move a couple of water lines in our basement for the new feeds. They are waiting on that until all the drywall work is done as to not pull drywall dust into our house and to not leave us with air conditioning. They figure they can get it done in one day.

Electrical did get in and was inspected and approved! So we are done with that until final hookup/inspection.

Our contractor, Bill, spent the weekend getting the walls insulated and the poly up on the walls and the ceiling. Hopefully that means drywall will be starting today?

Here is a look down the hallway from Libby's new room towards where the addition will enter the family room/kitchen area. We are not going to cut the hole out until the drywall is complete.

Here is a look at the smaller of the two rooms, what we will use as a "toy room".

And here is a look at what will become Libby's new room.

On the floor front, Denise and I got the laundry/utility room completed and took care of some "gaps" that were visible. It is amazing that it takes one just as long to do a doorway as it does the rest of the room, I guess we haven't figured out the doorway "trick" yet. Trying to cut the boards just right to eliminate any visible gaps and getting the boards to lock together can be troublesome. So, all we have left now is Denise's bathroom and out little entry area by our front door. We could probably pound both of those out in weekend if two little helpers would let us work. Once the addition is done, we will be able to finish the strip we have left in our family room/kitchen area and down the hallway. Hopefully by the time our cruise rolls around, all of this will be done.
Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Tuesday Morning

2011-08-09T08:08:00.000-05:00

A quick update on the addition here! Electrical got done yesterday and is supposed to be inspected today!!! Shingles and windows were installed and HVAC is supposed to be installed today. Once that is completed, Bill can start with the insulating and drywall. We are definitely moving along!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

PROGRESS!!!!!

2011-08-08T08:34:00.001-05:00

Alright, now we are getting somewhere!

Bill and Crew started on our addition Saturday around 3:00, once all the rain got out of the area. By the time the next rain storm moved in around 7:00, the crew of three had insulated the crawl space and got the floor joists up. Then the rain.......

Sunday morning rolled around and Bill and only one of his crew were hitting it at 9:00. By noon, they had this much completed:

After a brief lunch break, they kept right at it and it is now closed in. Today, they will get the shingles on and the windows in. Then they will be done until electrical and HVAC get their work done, which we are hoping will be completed by Thursday.

Here is what the smaller room is like. It will serve as a "toy room" for us, but could be an office or a small bedroom. It will end up being 8 1/4 feet by 10 3/4 feet and have a closet.

This would be Libby's new bedroom. It will measure 10 3/4 feet by 13 3/4 feet and plus some closet space.

And this is looking in the hallway window towards Libby's room.

While this was all going on, Denise and I attacked the flooring in the bathroom, along with two little "helpers". Here is the finished project, minus a couple of pieces of baseboard!

I hope to take a day off this week so that while the kiddos are at daycare, I can get the utility room done. Then it will just be the master bath and the entry way left. Oh yeah, we will have the new hallway to do and finish up the edge between the kitchen and family room, which we can't finish until the new entry into the new addition is cut. But it is PROGRESS!!!!

Denise and I did have some fun on Saturday night as we headed to Theatre Le'Homme Deiu to see "Power Balladz"! It was basically an 80s rock show with comedy thrown in. It was AWESOME, I would definitely go again. The show was written by Minnesota natives and has been shown in New York and Las Vegas, among other stops. From the sounds of it, the three main singers (actors, cast) are constant, but they get local talent to play in the band. The five members of the band here in Alexandria were from a musical school in the Twin Cities, as I found out from the mom of one of the members sitting next to me. They had to take a week off from classes for this show, and Monday was going to be back to reality for her son. If you get a chance to see this show, I would highly recommend it if you are an 80s rock music fan!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas!

Construction Update

2011-08-01T09:29:00.000-05:00

Well, not much got done on the outside construction this weekend, and I don't think much will get done today. We woke up this morning to a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and since then have had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, a Tornado Warning, a Flood Advisory and a Heat Advisory. Let's just throw in Hurricane and a Blizzard and get all our bases covered.

Denise and I were able to work on our floors this weekend though. We got the kitchen and hallway just about done as we only have about a 5 inch strip left to put down. But first we have to get all the finishing pieces in their proper places. Let's just say the kids didn't allow that to happen on Sunday. Most of the baseboard is back on and the quarter round is up in the kitchen except for the center island. All that will be left then are the utility room and main bath.

Denise leaves for work in Denver today (comes home Wednesday), so it will just be Lucas and I at home since Libby will be staying with Grandpa Curt and Grandma Rosemary. Maybe I can get a little done on it this week? We will see.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

The Brickwork Is Complete

2011-07-29T08:13:00.000-05:00

Well, the brickwork was completed yesterday!

The next step in the process is up in the air right now. Will the excavator come back and back fill and dump the dirt back into the crawl space area? Or will our construction guy start with his framing? Our general, Denise's dad, made a trip to Rugby this weekend to spend some time with his mom. I am hoping the excavator comes first so we can get the dirt off our yard.

Up next, hoping to get our flooring done in the house this weekend!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Progress

2011-07-27T08:26:00.000-05:00

Well, the footings got poured yesterday and as we were leaving this morning, the block for the crawl space was being delivered! We just may have some sort of structure up by early next week!

Once you see the outline though, it doesn't look as big as it did on paper or scratched out in the yard..... Oh well, I am sure we will survive!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Construction Has Started

2011-07-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

Well, we got home last night, and this is what we saw!

Libby knows this is going to be where her new bedroom is, so she had to check the hole out also.

So, today the block layers are suppose to come out and pour the footings and then tomorrow do the block work for the crawl space. Once that is done, our builder is ready to go on the two bedroom structure!

Also, last night Denise and I got another box plus of flooring down in the kitchen. We are now to the point where we have to move the fridge and get under that. Once that is done, we will be heading down the hallway. Most of our terrible angle cuts are done (I think I have one, maybe two, left).

More to come later!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

New Flooring

2011-07-25T08:38:00.000-05:00

Well, we are starting on our construction! At least Denise and I are. Here is a picture of the new flooring we started to put down this weekend. We have the kitchen a little over half done, and then will do the hallway, utility room and main bath. Once the new addition is done, the hallway of that will be done with this flooring also.

The digging on our addition is suppose to start today. It was suppose to start two Fridays ago, but six-seven inches of rain put a stop to that. Then it was suppose to be last Thursday, but our digger got tied up on another job. So, he is suppose to be there today. We will see when we get home!

We will keep you updated!
Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

A Few More Pictures for You

2011-07-18T12:26:00.002-05:00

Well, I got to thinking that I needed to get a few more pictures up of what has been going on.

Lucas started to crawl on July 4th of this year. It started out as just a few "steps" and then down to his belly. He has now progressed to where he will go down the hallway to the bedrooms if we have headed that way. He doesn't like to crawl on the linoleum though.

Lucas has also started to pull himself up on things. Here he is the other night in front of the TV. He has started to do the whole furniture walk thing.

Here are Libby and Lucas playing one morning. This was at 7 AM.

Here is Libby with her new pool. We broke out the wading pool from last year, but with Libby and Lucas, it was just too small. So, we had to head out a purchase a bigger one. Of course, it has cup holders for when Mom and Dad want to sit in it.

Here is a picture of our yard the other day with the heavy rains. This was at 7:30 when I left for work, it had only been raining for two hours. We still got another three hours of rain after that.

And here is a picture of Lucas' thumb after surgery. It looks a whole lot better now than it did that first day after cast removal.

Libby on the giraffe statue at the Como Zoo!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

WOW! Summer is half over!

2011-07-16T22:42:00.000-05:00

Hello Family and Friends! It has been a busy couple of months since the last update, so here we go!

We are getting ready to start an addition onto our house. With the need for Lucas to move out of our bedroom, we decided to do a two bedroom addition on the east side (right in the picture below) of our house. It is going to be an 18x20 addition with one of the bedrooms being about 10x15 and the other being about 10x12. There will be a hallway coming off our current kitchen/family room area. They were to break ground this past Friday, but we got between 5 and 7 inches of rain in five hours. Our rain gauge quit measuring at 4 inches and it rained hard for at least another hour after that.

Our contractor has removed the siding from the east side of the house and has measured for the trusses. The addition will be flush with the front of the house and go back 18 feet, or to just in front of the window in the picture.

Last weekend, July 8-10th, we headed to the Cities. Lucas had a follow up appointment for his thumb and everything is going outstandingly. They will want to see him in a year again. He will not have movement of his top joint, but he can still use it like a lever. He has been using it a lot and has adjusted well. But then again, he is young enough and doesn't know any differently.

Anyway, on Saturday, our family and my sister Stacy, her husband Dave and their twin daughters Abby and Maddy made the trip out to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen. Here is a picture from up on the hill looking out towards the lake across the road.

For those of you that haven't been to the Arboretum and you like plants and landscaping, this is a must see. They have all the different plants broken out by type and their are wide paved trail and little foot paths all over the place. Denise and I would like to do it again, on a cooler day and without Libby and Lucas as the stroller really limited where we could go. Below is one of the foot paths.

Here is Libby and Daddy at one of the resting areas.

And Troy and Denise. Libby didn't want to get completely out of the picture.

Libby, Maddy and Abby looking at all the monies in one of the many ponds and fountains.

Libby loved the waterfall in this picture.

So much so that she had to point it out to all of us!

Libby in the "birds nest" at the entrance of the Arboretum.

Maddy, Libby and Abby in the "birds nest".

The weekend of June 26th, Denise's mom, Rosemary, had all of her brothers and sisters in town for a gathering. On Sunday, we made a trek out to Carlos Creek Winery with them and Libby and I had to have our picture taken in wine cask out front.

On Saturday night, Rosemary and the clan made the trip out to our place for some food and bonfire with Smores.

Libby anxiously awaiting the bonfire to start so she can have her Smores.

The fire pit is about ready to go, much to Libby's liking!

We can fit 18 people on our deck. Just no more than one person try to move at once!

Memorial Day weekend, we made the trip to Rugby, ND, for a Danielson (Denise's maiden name) Family Reunion. It was set up to coincide with Beulah's (Denise's grandma) 90th Birthday. Unfortunately, Beulah was in the hospital in Fargo that weekend, so we made a stop to see her on our way to Rugby. Below, you have Beulah, Curtis (Denise's Dad), Denise, Libby and Lucas.

Here are Libby and Lucas with Great Grandma Beulah. Beulah really enjoyed seeing them and they liked sitting on the bed.

And some random pictures here. Here is Libby helping Lucas eat his Puffs one night!

Libby watching TV (probably Barney) and Lucas tagging along!

So, what does the rest of the summer have in store for us. Well, we have our addition project that hopefully will only take about a month. Our contractor, who also is our next door neighbor, thinks he can pound it out pretty quickly as there is nothing complicated about it. Outside of that, we think we have done most of our running around, so hopefully we can sit back and enjoy the days and nights. Once fall rolls around, we will be busy again with two weddings, a cruise and hockey starting back up. I think we figured it out and between October 1 and December 31, we have three weekends open right now! YIKES!

Well, everyone else enjoy the summer and we will try to keep things a little more updated for those of you that don't have Facebook.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

May Update

2011-05-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

Hello Family and Friends, just a quick update here while I am on my lunch break.

Denise and I seem to have survived turning another year older, Denise on April 3 and myself on May 2. Denise got to cash in her birthday present, a night stay in downtown Minneapolis and tickets to see Sugarland. She absolutely loved it and I enjoyed it also. Even though it was country, it was a good show.

The other major event that has happened is that Lucas had successful removal of his duplicate left thumb last Friday. He will be in the cast you see below for one month, and then we will know for sure how it all went. But the doctor felt very confident.

And now for some pictures.

Action from the Bull Riding event we took in up in Bemidji. We had great seats and Libby loved it and talked about it for weeks!

Lucas' duplicate thumb before surgery

What we now see, and will see for the next month.

Libby and Lucas enjoying the swing set. Lucas tends to fall asleep! May have to try this at 3:00 AM sometime.

Libby loves pushing Lucas in the swing!

And Lucas loves having Libby do the pushing!

Like I said, just a quick update! Until next time.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

More Pictures

2011-04-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the pictures from our photo shoot with Impressions By Sarah last month. Lucas was six months old and Libby was two and a half. These are just 12 of the 47 we ended up with.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

WOW, where does the time go?

2011-04-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

Hello friends and family! I can't believe it has been a month since our last post and that was for Lucas' birthday......

Here things are moving right along, but you think I can remember much of what we have done? We did make it up to Bemidji on Denise's birthday weekend to watch some bull riding at the new events center up there. We went with our season hockey ticket group and had sweet seats: Row 7 right off the chutes. We even had some clay fly up into us from one of the bulls when he was "asserting his authority" in the arena. There were 50 rides that night (40 in the qualifying round and then 10 in the finals) and we only saw three full rides (2 in the qualifying and 1 in the finals). But, do you really go to bull riding for the rides or for the "wrecks"? Nothing major on Saturday night when we were there, but we did hear that one rider snapped his arm on Friday night. Libby absolutely loved it and got to go pet a horse (she wouldn't ride it) and like the clowns. We would definitely go again.

Outside of that, we have just been busy with stuff around the house. We are having a garage sale the weekend of fishing opener (it is a huge weekend for garage sales in the Alexandria area), so we have been busy getting ready for that. If you know anyone that needs baby boy clothes, toddler girl clothes, or baby things, we have them! May 14th at 540 West Latoka Drive in Alexandria (Denise's parents shed).

Lucas will be a busy boy here the next few weeks. On Monday, he will get tubes in his ears as he has had nine ear infections over the seven months he has been around. Hopefully this will take care of the situation and he will get to sleeping through the night.

Then on May 13, he will have his duplicate left thumb removed at Childrens in St. Paul. He will then be in a cast for one month to allow everything to heal and then we will be back at Childrens on June 10th for a follow up and hopefully cast removal. Just as he is learning to crawl, he will be in a full arm cast up to his shoulder. They have to go above the elbow in order for the cast to stay on. If they don't, casts tend to slide off baby's arms due to the shape of their arms.

On May 7th, Denise will be cashing in her birthday present as we will be spending the evening in downtown Minneapolis and going to the Sugarland Concert at the Target Center. She is pretty excited!

Libby is enjoying daycare and is about ready to be moved up to the pre school room from the toddler room. This is suppose to happen on April 25th, so she is excited to be moving up to the "big girl" room. She will be in the same room as one of her friends that is a couple of months older than her, but they were at the old daycare together and have been at the YMCA together since it opened.

Work continues to go well for Denise and myself. Denise has been busy with maintenance this past week and this upcoming week, so that means some night work for her. My job continues to be busy as the number of members we have enrolled seems to be holding steady. I have become more involved on the pharmacy side of things as we have gone through a pharmacist change, so as he gets his feet wet with PrimeWest policy, I get to pick up some of the slack. It isn't bad at all and makes the days go by fast.

That is about all I can think of for now, so onto the pictures. I know that is what you come here for anyways!

Libby likes to take daddy's Sports Illustrated and look at the sports pictures, especially hockey. Here she grabbed the whole pile off the night stand and brought them out into the living room. Magazine #2 in the pile was the Swimsuit Issue. I don't think she made it into that one.

With the new camera we got for Christmas, Denise and I have been having fun experimenting with the settings and taking pictures of the kids. Here is one of Lucas.

And another of Lucas

Libby showing off the purse and bracelet that Grandma Rosemary sent her from Texas.

Libby and her bear before bed one night. She doesn't go many places without him.

Lucas hamming it up for the camera.

It sure was good, but now your telling me it is all gone?

Hmmmm, what can I ask for next?

Hey Bear, Daddy sure likes to use this, I wonder what it does?

NO! You can't have it back. I am watching Mickey right now.

Libby and Lucas one night.

Hmmmm?????

One night Libby was being awfully quiet. Well, she was on the other side of the kitchen island from the living room and this is what we saw........

...and without Libby in the pictures. She was feeding her "daycare kids".

Until next time!!!!
Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

2011-03-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

Happy St Patrick's Day from Libby and Lucas!

Happy Half Birthday

2011-03-16T13:29:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note to say "Happy Half Birthday" to Lucas! Six months ago he arrived in our lives!

Love Ya Little Buddy!
Mom, Dad and Sister

2011-03-10T09:23:00.002-06:00

Just found out that Lucas's surgery at Gillette Childrens has been postponed from Friday May 6 to Friday May 13. I'm trying not to be superstitious but surgery on Friday the 13th....Really?

A Snowy President's Day Update

2011-02-21T15:38:00.009-06:00

Happy President's Day! So much for a nice relaxing day off from work as the winter storm that hit the Twin Cities managed to drop somewhere between 5 and 10 inches on us in Garfield. It is really hard to tell as we had some pretty good drifting going on. But the driveway is clean down to the cement again and the sidewalks and decks are cleaned off.

We haven't really done a whole lot since the last update. We did manage to make it down to Stacy and Dave's one weekend to take in the Minneapolis RV Show. We are still RV-less, but did see a couple we liked. Maybe next year we will enter the world of RVing.

Lucas had a doctor's appointment today, another ear infection, so it is more antibiotics. But we did find out he weighs a hair over 20 pounds at five months old.

Here are some pictures for you. The car ones are from last Thursday. As you can see, the driveway is clear of snow and ice due to the 40s, the sun and the wind we had for one week.

And here are some pictures from the other night. We had Lucas in his exer-walker (even though his feet don't touch the ground) and Libby decided to help him learn the activities on it.

They then proceeded to watch Barney together. Libby is a Barney nut, unfortunately.

So, that is the quick update from here. I hope you all have a great week and until next time!!!!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

"Puttin' on the Foil, Coach"

2011-02-07T19:13:00.006-06:00

I know I did an update this past weekend, but this was just too good to pass up. All I could think of was the above quote from "Slapshot", even though I know Libby was not "puttin' on the foil".

When Libby and I got home today, we decided to play "hockey". The last time we were up in Bemidji for hockey, they handed out little hockey sticks to everyone when they left the game. So we broke out the sticks and a Nerf ball. I had to feed Lucas first, so this is what we saw next.
Libby had walked over to the drawer and got out the masking tape and proceeded to tape her hockey stick.

She started down on blade of the stick and ran tape from the toe to the heel and up the shaft.

Here she is with her completed tape job.

Now, where did she get the idea? I swear I did not or have not talked to/shown her how to do this. The only thing we can think of is the last time we were up in Bemidji we ate at the Corner Bar (yes, we had their cheese burgers, mmmmmmmmmmmm). Well, the had a whole bunch of autographed, used hockey sticks on the walls and ceiling, and we had to go look at them all. And of course they had tape on them, and she noticed that.

That is the only way we can think of that she came up with this. Even though we have been to a bunch of hockey games with her, we have never really been close enough for her to see the tape on the sticks. Or at least she hasn't told us about it.

And of course I had to throw up a picture Lucas. This is after he had his rice cereal and a whole jar of Stage 2 Bananas. Yes, a whole jar after having cereal.

And here is Libby yesterday morning helping Lucas color!

Enjoy the cold this week! Just remember, it is going to warm up this weekend!!!

Until next time!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

February Picture Update

2011-02-05T16:50:00.008-06:00

Happy February 2011 Everyone! Not a whole lot going on here outside of riding out wave after wave of snowfall. I am not sure how much we have gotten this season, but it is the most we have had in the five years I have been here. And we still have February, March and April to go!

Anyway, here are the pictures that I know you all love.
Libby's tired eyes one night. She is now 29 months old and a lot of fun.

Here she is putting one of Lucas' bibs on one of her bears. She has really developed her imagination here lately and we hear a lot of comments out of her about her running her "daycare" when she is playing.

Lucas is 18 weeks now and we got the go ahead at his four month appointment to start with cereal. Here is the first night. He wasn't quite sure what to think.

He has now moved up to green beans and applesauce along with the rice cereal.

By the way, his four month checkup stats: 17 lbs, 11.5 oz. and 25 inches.

Here is a picture of our table on the back deck. That is a good three feet of snow on top of it and the warm weather around Christmas and New Years melted a lot of what was already on there.

Libby and Daddy went outside to play today. Libby insisted on having to go out to the slide in the back yard. So, Daddy had to carry her through a snow drift that came up to between his waist and arm pits. Libby liked it, Daddy got a little tired.

After using the slide a few time, we made our way back to the garage and grabbed the sled. We went up and down the street and even found a hill of snow at the end of our cul-de-sac and Libby got to do her first "hill sledding". She thought that was cool and wanted to go faster. The hill of snow was only around 8 feet high.

That is about all from here. I hope all are enjoying the winter as much as we are! :) Of course summer can't be too far away as we are attending a RV show next weekend!

Until next time!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

MLK Day Photo Update

2011-01-17T10:03:00.006-06:00

Well, this all started back in January or 2009 when Libby was 4 months old. We woke up on MLK Day 2009 and there was an awesome Hoar Frost on everything. Since I didn't have to work that day, I decided to grab Libby and the camera and head outside for a couple of quick shots of Daddy and Libby, along with one of the pine trees with the Hoar Frost on it (and you can see it on the other trees behind us in our picture).

Last year, with Libby at 16 months, we had to do the same thing. So here is the picture from MLK Day 2010.

And now, the pictures from MLK Day 2o11. Libby is now 28 months old, and I had to add Lucas to the tradition and he is four months old in the picture. If you compare the four month pictures of Libby and Lucas, I think you can come to the conclusion that they are brother and sister!

And now for some miscellaneous pictures from the new camera. The first few are of Lucas having fun with his "Jungle" gym and back time. Notice his sister likes to torment him from time to time already?

The next couple of pictures are of Libby showing off her "ponies" the other night. She likes having them in, but always seems to pull them out within an hour.......

Well, that is about all from here. I hope the first couple of weeks of 2011 have treated everyone well!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Ice Cream. ICE CREAM!!!

2011-01-13T11:56:00.002-06:00

Just a quick funny for ya here.

Libby, Lucas and myself were pulling out of the YMCA parking lot last night after getting them from daycare. Libby spotted the Schwans truck across the intersection from us.

Libby: "Look daddy, the Ice Cream Man. He is coming to our house tonight!"

Me: "No Libby, he will be coming next Wednesday night"

Libby: "No daddy, we need ice cream."

Me: "No Libby, we have ice cream in the freezer."

Libby: "But Lucas needs ice cream."

Me: "What kind of ice cream does Lucas need?"

Libby: "The same kind that Libby does!" (Yes, she used third person).

Already using her little brother to try and get what she wants. 28 months old......

Fun with Pictures and "Libbyisms"

2011-01-09T12:43:00.007-06:00

Not much going on here other than staying warm and shoveling and snow blowing when needed. But I thought I would post some of the pictures Denise has played with and two funny "quotes" Libby has had the last couple of days.

The other day, Libby was sent home from daycare due to her throwing up. Well, we found out they had au gratin potatoes at lunch and she does not like potatoes unless they are french fries or potato chips. She was home with Denise and she took her shirt off and grabbed the "pen" from her GloDoodle and put it in her armpit. Denise asked her what she was doing and her reply:

"Taking my temperature. Its 96, I'm normal"

The other night, she had her slippers on and was sliding around on the kitchen floor. We asked here what she was doing.

Libby: "I am playing hockey"
Denise: "Are you a goalie?" (Libby knows who the goalie is on the ice)
Libby: "No mom, I am Libby."

Just had to share those. I hope she is not already becoming a self-centered superstar or something.......

And now for the pictures. Enjoy!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Happy New Year 2011!!!!

2011-01-02T19:49:00.021-06:00

Well, I had good intentions heading into December to try to keep up on updates, but guess what?? It didn't happen, and 2010 is now gone! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year, welcoming in 2011!

We are all pretty much healthy. Lucas is currently battling an ear infection, and the antibiotics have given him the runs and a nasty diaper rash. We are hopefully going to kick this bug here in the near future.

We are still up in the air with Denise and her platelets. She has an appointment tomorrow with the specialists she has been seeing. She had one more test since the last post, and her levels had actually dropped a little more. So, hopefully we will have more answers tomorrow.

Up next, the pictures that everyone likes to come over and see. Denise and I decided to forgoe presents for each other this year and instead purchased a nice camera. After researching some, we ended up going with a Canon EOS Rebel T1 (I think that is all of it). We have had a lot of fun learning how to use it (and STILL learning) and Libby loves posing for the pictures. So, enjoy!!!!

Our little buddy Lucas enjoying some back time!

Libby at her daycare Christmas Program. She really loved singing the songs to mom and dad at home, but when the gym at the YMCA was full 0f parents and grandparents, she got a little stage fright.

She saw mom and dad and spent most of the program with that "SAVE ME" look on her face.

Here is Libby hamming it up for the camera in front of the Christmas Tree (pronounced Chemistry for a couple of weeks)! She eventually told mom and dad that "no, it is CHRISTMAS TREE!"

Lucas snuggling up for a nice nap on daddy's chest! Daddy probably fell asleep also.

Libby on Christmas Eve night at Grandpa Curt's and Grandma Rosemary's. She loves it when mom puts curls in her hair.

Libby and Lucas in front of the presents at Grandpa Curt's and Grandma Rosemary's.

And another shot.......

Look at that smile and curls (okay, so I am biased)!

Libby with a new dolly...named Oprah. The doll crawls, "breaks wind" and laughs. We need to remember to shut her off at night or else Oprah will start laughing in the middle of the night when we are sitting up with Lucas...talk about FREAKY!!!

Grandpa Curt made it home from Texas for the holidays and got to spend some quality time with Lucas. Curt and Rosemary were able to leave again before the big storm here New Year's Eve and are now enjoying the sun and warmth of southern Texas.

More quality time!

Santa dropped off a sock monkey in Lucas' stocking!

And one in Libby's stocking! Libby also got a lion that she asked Santa for, but it slid to the bottom of the stocking.

Libby standing next to her and Lucas' bounty!

Libby trying out her new bean bag.

Libby with her Dora floor mat pieces. Every present had to be opened and tried out before moving onto the next one.

Lucas enjoying his first Christmas. 13+ weeks old at this time.

Libby with her Barbie "Style Me" hair head or what ever they called it.........

Libby with Abby, Ayden and Maddy at the Soderberg (Troy's Mom's Side) Christmas Celebration.

Lucas looking over daddy's shoulder, wishing he could eat some of the great treats Great Auntie Sharon made. Don't worry, your sister had enough for you this year. Maybe next year, Lucas!

Great Grandma Millie holding Lucas!

Four generation photo: Great Grandma Millie, Grandma Vicky, Lucas, Daddy Troy and Libby.

I just love this picture..........

Libby playing peek a boo with the camera over the back of the couch.

Grandpa Wayne instilling some of his wisdom. I can't remember what it was though, so just laugh at the picture! He is doing very well after his surgery, which we are thankful for.

I love this picture of Lucas! If there was a way to put this one together with the one above of Libby, it would be my wallpaper on every computer and cell phone I use.

Lucas has this little caterpillar that we sit on the tray of his swing when he is in it. He will talk with it a lot. Here he is in a stare down contest with the caterpillar.

From over the caterpillar!

I wonder what he is thinking!

Well that is about all from here. Denise and myself will try to keep up with this blog better in 2011!

Have a great first week to 2011!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

December 1st Update

2010-12-01T14:54:00.003-06:00

Okay, so it has been a bit, so I wanted to give you a quick update on things here.

Denise's last blood test really has us all confused. She was off her prednisone for one week after tapering down over what seemed like eternity, and her platelet count actually went up into the 160,000 range. What is up with that (got to keep with the recurring theme). So, she will have another blood test this week and we will see.

We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with Denise's mom on Thanksgiving Day, and that is where the above picture of Libby and Lucas comes from. We had to take it and send it to Grandpa Curt, who got out of the cold of Minnesota early and headed to Texas. He will be back at Christmas time and then he and Grandma Rosemary will both head to Texas until April.

On Sunday, we headed up to Verndale to have Lucas baptized at the United Methodist Church. This is the church Troy grew up in and where he and Denise were married. It was also the church where Libby was baptized and Pastor Jill has been able to officiate all three ceremonies. All of us feel blessed to have her be able to do that for our family! After the ceremony, family headed over to the Verndale Community Center for a little Sunday Brunch and socializing. It got to be a long day, but was well worth it.

December looks to be a busy one for our household as just about every weekend we have something going on. But tis the season, and spending time with family and friends is very important. We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year if we don't post more before then.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

What is up with that?

2010-11-14T17:10:00.003-06:00

I had my platelets routinely checked last Friday. While on 5 mg of prednisone every other day they dropped from 97,000 to 60,000. I am now suppose to be prednisone free (yeah..no more hot flashes!!), and was suppose to have platelets checked in 2 weeks, but since they are getting close to the "worrisome" level (50,000) I am suppose to have them checked again this Thursday. This is getting frustrating because I dont know whats going on and what is causing this!! I guess that is what Dr's are for, right?

Denise

Our little buddy is doing great!!!

2010-11-03T09:23:00.003-05:00

Dr Hennessy (the hematologist from Childrens) called me last Friday and recommended we have Lucas's platelets checked yet one more time. This would be like heel stick number 439?? Poor little guy!! Yesterday I took him to the clinic (they know us by name there), and today the clinic called with the results. Lucas's platelets were 269,000!!!! WOW!! I think we can officially say he is a healthy boy now!! He constantly wants to eat and is gaining weight like crazy. Cant wait to see how much he weighs at his 2 month check up later this month.

Denise had her platelets checked last Friday and they dropped from 158,000 to 97,000. The oncologist continues to ween her off the prednisone while re-checking platelets. We will see what happens to them when she is off prednisone altogether. The oncologist is pretty sure Denise has ITP, and it just happened to be uncovered during pregnancy.

Hope you all have a great week! We will keep you posted of any updates!

The Mills Family

Latest Update

2010-10-22T08:50:00.002-05:00

Well, we got great news this week. Both Denise and Lucas had blood tests and both of them came in at an excellent number. Lucas' has risen to 158, 000 while Denise's are now up to 148,000. Childrens' in Minneapolis seems to think he is out of the woods, but would like to do a couple of more tests in the next month just to make sure. Denise has an appointment with her doctor next Friday and we will know more then, but all signs look good there as well.

We will keep everyone updated! Thanks!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

2010-10-11T15:02:00.004-05:00

GREAT NEWS!!!!

Just a quick update....Lucas's platelet level rose from 97,000 last Monday to 148,000 today.
This is GREAT news for our little guy and hopefully it means the good antibodies are finally winning over in his body. The medical team at Children's recommended we have them checked again (here at home) in about a week and a half to make sure the level is holding steady. Pray for excellent numbers again next week!!

Monday's Lab Results

2010-10-06T15:42:00.003-05:00

Well, Lucas had another blood draw on Monday and this one did not come back as good. His platelets had dropped from 191000 last Thursday to 97000 on Monday. And with Lucas' pediatrician out sick, Denise and I didn't see this as a very good sign.

But Denise called Children's Hospital and spoke with the team that we dealt with when we were there for the IVIG treatment. They were not too worried as they don't start getting concerned until the levels drop below 50000. Then today, Lucas' pediatrician spoke with them and they said that for 3 months after IVIG treatment, his platelet levels are going to look like a roller coaster. That was reassuring at least from the standpoint that this is all normal.

So, the little guy will have another blood test next Monday and we will see where he lands!

Thanks everyone!

Troy, Denise, Lucas and Libby

A Quick Update

2010-10-01T11:42:00.003-05:00

Hello Family and Friends!

Just a quick note to give an update on Lucas and Denise after yesterday's tests.

Lucas' platelets were up to 194,000, which is EXCELLENT! He will have a couple of more tests in the coming weeks, but it looks like the IVIG treatment he had worked and he will not have ITP. Our fingers are crossed.

Denise met with an oncologist yesterday and her platelets were up also. We really don't know if that is from the prednisone she has been on or the ITP weakening, but they are going to wean her off the prednisone and she will have another blood test next week. It could turn out that she has/had gestational ITP and not idiopathic ITP. Gestational would be just pregnancy related while the idiopathic would something Denise would have to live with from now on.

All the reading we have done on ITP, it is not all doom and gloom. It looks like most people live with it with very little ramifications. The oncologist yesterday basically said they don't get concerned until the platelets get below 20,000. So that was reassuring as Denise's platelets have never been that low.

Hopefully we will get more good news next week! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

MONDAY'S LAB RESULTS!!!

2010-09-27T16:16:00.003-05:00

Lucas had his followup in Alexandria today and everything came back excellent. His platelets were up to 161,000 (120,000 is the benchmark) and his billirubin was down to 11! It doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet, but right now it looks like the antibodies are left over from Denise and not some he has been producing. He will have another blood test Thursday and probably be followed closely for the next few weeks.

That is all from here. I will post more when I know more. Thanks everyone!!!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

One Week Checkup - Off To Childrens We Go!

2010-09-26T21:14:00.006-05:00

Well, what an eventful last couple of days we have had around here!!! For those of you that know we got sent to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis on Thursday, sorry I haven't updated this sooner with this information.

On Thursday, Lucas had his one week checkup. Everything was fine when we saw his pediatrician, but he had to have some blood work done also. That is when things started to get a little "hairy".

When Lucas left the hospital, his billirubin was 9 and his platelet level was at 90,000 (they like them to be around 120,000). But with Denise having low platelets, the level he was sent home with was more than acceptable and had actually rose since birth. Well, after two rounds of blood tests (the second just to confirm the numbers), his platelets had dropped down to 10,000 and his billirubin had risen to 17 (jaundice). Well, we were sent to get a "billi-blanket" for him while the pediatrician called Children's to see what should be done with that low of a platelet count. They basically told us we had to get down there that day. They were concerned with blood that thin and unable to clot that Lucas could have a bleed somewhere and we would not even know it. So, after quickly packing a few things, we were off to Minneapolis to see if we could get to the bottom of this.

After a stressful ride down there (massive rain storms with several spin outs on the Interstate), we made it safely and made our way to the Specialty Clinics. There, we were seen by a team of three hematologists and they did their blood draws. After some consultation, we were then admitted into the hospital where Lucas would receive an IVIG treatment (IV Immune Globulin).

Lucas has preliminarily been diagnosed with ITP, or Immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura. What that means is that he has an antibody that is attacking his platelets, causing his levels to drop. He more than likely picked this up from Denise during pregnancy, and we are not sure how she got it. It seems to be something that just shows up and no one really knows why. By giving Lucas IVIG, they are hoping to confuse the antibodies and get them to attack each other until his body gets strong enough to fight them off on his own.

So, after a fairly sleepless Thursday night at Children's Hospital, they did some more blood tests on Lucas. His billirubin had dropped to 12.9 and his platelets were up to 45,000. They were surprised that his platelets had risen that much in that short of time after the IVIG, as the peak is usually not realized until day three after treatment. So they were more than happy to discharge us and we were more than happy to go.

Tomorrow (Monday), he has a follow up appointment at the clinic in Alexandria where they will do another blood draw and check his platelets and billirubin. The results will be sent to Children's and they will coordinate with Alexandria on treatment/follow ups.

So, what does ITP mean for Lucas? Well, we don't know as he is only a week old. Best case scenario, his body fights it off and there will be nothing for us to worry about. Worst case scenario, he will have the condition his whole life, which isn't a bad thing. It just means we will have to monitor his platelet levels and watch for any abnormal bruising. But for the most part, he will have a normal life.

Denise will have an appointment with a hematologist on Thursday to try and see what the reason is for her low platelets. More than likely her diagnosis will be the same thing. If it is, it is something you can live a fairly normal life with. We actually had a nurse at Children's that has had it for 23 years. She got it in her third pregnancy. She said she gets tired from time to time and has to watch what medicines she takes, but otherwise, she hasn't really had to change her life style. But, if it is worst case scenario, they would have to remove Denise's spleen. But that is the extreme and hardly happens.

And now, a few pictures for you!

Here is what was waiting for Denise and Lucas when they came home from the hospital!

Troy, Libby and Lucas, all asleep in the chair one night! That is Libby's teddy bear, not daddy's!

And this one is from today, Libby and Lucas sharing daddy's lap during the Vikings game.

That is about all from here. We will update more as we know more! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers everyone!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

The Kiss

2010-09-19T20:01:00.001-05:00

Just had to get this picture up tonight! Libby giving Lucas a kiss goodbye and see you tomorrow!!

Sunday Update

2010-09-19T12:51:00.004-05:00

Just a quick note here to give everyone an update.

Denise will be released from the hospital on Monday. She was put on prednisone to elevate her platelet level and will be following up with a specialist in a clinic setting.

Lucas continues to improve. He has been removed from the IV and is now nursing and being supplemented with bottle feedings. He has a slight case of jaundice, so they are doing photo light therapy to help his body break it down. They are not sure when he will be discharged, but it will not be Monday. Depending on his billirubin tests and his eating, it should be this week sometime. He is able to now come out of the nursery and visit us for 15-30 minutes at a time for feedings, so that is a plus. It allowed both sets of grandparents to see him up close last night, as did big sister Libby.

Once Denise is released, she will be able to become a "boarder". What this does is allow us to rent a room at the hospital to store our things, sleep at if we wish, and just stay close to Lucas. She will get meal service and use of the "facilities", but no nursing care.

So that is it for now. More to come later!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Lucas and Denise Update

2010-09-18T14:28:00.005-05:00

Good afternoon and happy Saturday. I figured I would throw up a couple of new pictures of Lucas and give an update on mom and baby.

Things continue to progress here, just not as fast as we would probably like. Denise's platelets continue to fluctuate, so much that we met with and Internal Medicine doctor today. He is going to run a battery of more specific blood tests and see if we can't get to the bottom of this. Her blood pressure has risen some, but not nearly as bad as it was, so he is going to look into that more also. But she is not bleeding and there is no bruising, so that is a great thing. Right now, they are looking at Monday as her discharge.

Lucas was taken off his oxygen on Thursday night and his stats are doing very well without it. He is on IV nutrition and has been supplemented with breast milk as he will take it. His platelets are low also, around 90 and they would like him 120-130 range. They are thinking it is probably just a bi product of what Denise had going on and will come out of it as his body keeps maturing. But they are monitoring it just to make sure. He hasn't been out of the nursery yet, but we have been able to go in there and hold him.

These pictures are from Thursday night, when Denise was able to get up and go see him for the first time, about 12 hours after he was born. He did also open his eyes for the first time during this visit, and of course, they are blue! Go figure, huh????

That is about all for now. I will keep everyone updated. Thanks!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

HELLO Lucas Troy Mills

2010-09-16T11:49:00.006-05:00

Well, what an eventful couple of days it has been. When I did the previous update, we did not see coming what the last couple of days has brought us.

On Monday, Denise had a visit with her OB/GYN. Her blood pressure had spiked and they put her on bed rest ASAP. Then, later in the afternoon, they called back and said they needed to admit her to the hospital Monday night as her platelets had fallen to 31, where they should be up around 100. They were not sure what the problem was, but were concerned with pre-eclampsia or HELLPS disease. Basically two things that can happen during pregnancy. But Denise's kidneys and liver were fine, so that ruled out pre-eclampsia and left us with HELLPS disease. This basically happens with 8% of pregnancies, and if caught, there should not be any problems in the future.

On Tuesday, they ran some tests and with meds, Denise's platelet had risen from 31 to 44. So, they planned the C-Section for Wednesday morning. But when Wednesday rolled around, the anesthesiologist didn't want to do the C-Section with her platelets only at 69. So, we had to wait until Thursday.

Thursday morning rolls around and the platelets were at 89, so the C-Section was a go. They had to give Denise some platelets to get her through the procedure, but she got through it with flying colors. Her blood pressure has dropped back down to normal, so now it is just monitoring that and watching her platelets to make sure they are coming back up. In most cases of HELLPS, platelet levels get back to normal with 2 to 4 weeks.

So, onto Lucas. Being 4 weeks early, there were some concerns with him also. Basically, all concerns revolved around the lungs. Boys lungs tend to develop a little slower in the womb compared to girls. But, he came out screaming, which was a relief! And at 8:39 am, here is what joined us in the world!

I had to get a picture of his foot as he was just putting in out there!

Here he is while being looked over in the OR. He doesn't look too happy, which I guess I can't blame him as his life has been turned upside down!

Here is Denise and Lucas seeing each other for the first time. It was then off to the nursery.

Kind of a blurry picture, but Lucas weighs in at 7 pounds and 9 ounces.

Lucas did not like the oxygen in his nose at all. But his crying is a good thing as it helps clear his lungs out.

Here he is a little more relaxed with daddy in the nursery with him.

Ahhhhhh..... peaceful!

The next couple of hours and few days for that matter, will be important. They figure Denise won't be going home until Monday as they want to monitor her vital. Right now with Lucas, everything is still up in the air, but the first three plus hours have been great for the little guy.

Libby will get her first look at her "baby brother" this evening as she will come back with Grandpa Curt and Grandma Rosie! I can't wait to see her reaction!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers! They mean a lot to us!

I will type more and post more pictures later!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

We Have A Two Year Old

2010-09-12T15:12:00.005-05:00

Hello Family and Friends! Summer is winding down and days of fall are just about upon us.

My how the last two years have flown by. Below is one of the first pictures we had done with Libby. This one was within the first month she was born.
Now, here are the pictures we just had done as her two year old pictures. WOW, what a change!

We did have a birthday party this year for Libby with family showing up. Cousins Abby and Maddy were very helpful showing Libby what she is suppose to do with presents!

The next picture is Libby patiently awaiting her cake!

Every morning as we are getting ready to go to work/daycare, we have to watch Mickey Mouse. So we had to get a Mickey and Minnie cake for Libby's party.

Libby got a lot of great gifts that are already being used. We actually had to do a little cleaning out of the toy box to make room for the new ones.

In other news, Denise and I were able to get to a Twins game in late July. Target Field is AWESOME. We went with a tour out of Alexandria, which was great as we didn't have to drive or pay for parking. The game went fast, under two hours, and got done just before severe thunderstorms moved in. They would not let our bus leave the parking area until the storm passed.

The view from our seats in the second level down the third base line.

The other major project that got completed was the swing set. What started out as a two weekend project turned into about six. But once we got it boxed in and the mulch laid, it is great. Libby absolutely loves it and it is a pain to try to get her in the house once we start swinging. We were also able to put her sandbox with it, so all her outside stuff is in one area.

Outside of that, the last few weeks have been somewhat uneventful. We did get rid of the money pit known as the minivan and got a lease deal on a Nissan Murano. Denise loves it and the little bit I have driven it, it is very nice. We lost some seating room (6-7 in the van with up to 5 in the Murano), but with the nickel and diming that was starting to happen with the van, it was time to unload. It is Merlot (fancy name for maroon) in color, not our first choice in color, but we were given a very sweet deal to take one off their lot rather that having them go get one in Glacier Pearl (fancy name for white).

Everything else we have been doing had been revolving around getting ready for Baby Boy. We think we are ready for October 6 to roll around, but I am sure we will think of a thing or two between now and then. Denise is going to take the full 12 weeks she is allowed off while I am going to take about a week of full days off and then work half days for about four weeks. Libby will still go to daycare as we don't want to break her routine too much. We did that when Denise's sister and her family were here from DC, and it took quite a while to get her back into it.

That is about all from here. I hope everyone is having a great September and I will definitely update when our family grows, if not before.

Troy, Denise and Libby

A long overdue update.

2010-07-13T12:16:00.009-05:00

Hello friends and family! I know....it's been awhile since the last update, but we have been very busy with summer projects. We have to get these all out of the way before "Baby Boy" arrives in October.

Denise is now 26 weeks along and everything is progressing nicely. Her blood pressure so far has stayed down, which didn't happen with Libby and she was put on bedrest. The baby is going to be a big boy by the sounds of things though, as he is measuring around 32 weeks size wise. Technically, the due date is October 14, but yesterday Denise and her OB/GYN set up a scheduled C-Section for October 6. The way the baby is growing though, it may even be a little earlier than that. Libby was about 10 days early and 9lbs 6oz at birth. We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything will go well the rest of the way.

Here are two of the ultrasound pictures. The first one is of the baby's profile and the second one is for Grandma Vicky..... who doesn't believe us that it is a boy!

Onto the summer projects! We started by replacing the boards on our back deck and putting up a railing on it. There were some boards that were starting to crack, so we decided to replace the whole floor with composite decking. Since we were putting a railing on, we didn't want to have to keep taking the railing off in the upcoming years and replacing boards as they cracked. The deck did not have a railing on it before, so it is a lot nicer for Libby to be out on it. She actually likes the railing and looking through it and waving at daddy as he mows the lawn. We also lost our privacy fence on the deck with this work, so we decided to plant three arborvitae trees and make a natural privacy fence.

Up next was a swingset for Libby. We found a cedar one online that has a glider, two swings, a slide, a "fort" tower and a little picnic bench. Its not a Rainbow, didnt have the price tag of a Rainbow, but still nice and adequate. It isn't completly finished yet as the directions are incomplete on attaching the slide. But, it is useable and Libby loves the swing part anyway. Basically, all that is left to do on it is the awnings and the slide. We placed it in a nice shady area in the yard, but we had to build it up with some Class 5 from the driveway since it is one of the lower spots in our yard. We plan on boxing that in and putting a couple of inches of mulch on top of the Class 5 so it is a little softer.

Finally, it was time to redo our driveway, not that our old one was in bad shape. We decided to pour a concrete driveway so that Libby would have somewhere to drive her "wheeled" toys. Our driveway was Class 5 and our cul-de-sac is gravel. It was a lot of work, probably too much for Denise's father, Curtis, and myself (BTW, a big THANK YOU goes out to Curtis for his help). It ended up being a 45 foot by 20 foot slab, five inches thick and reinforced with rebar. Libby absolutely loves it already and it has helped keep our garage a whole lot cleaner.

Our Driveway before "The Project"

Our driveway excavated, formed, rebar laid and ready for the pour.

Curtis and Troy awaiting the concrete. This is when we still had energy.....

Half the driveway is done!

The pour is complete!!!! The concrete kind of got away from us (set up fast), so the brooming didn't quite work.

Of course with all the excavation and pouring, the concrete was higher than the rest of our yard. So we had a load of black dirt delivered to bank up along the driveway and to fill in some of the low spots in our yard. Lets just say that it takes A LOT of wheelbarrows to move 12 yards of black dirt. I didn't think the pile was ever going to end, but after spending most of the day Saturday (we had to break at 5:00 due to tornado warnings) and most of the day Sunday, it got cleaned up and grass seed is planted. Here is what it looks like now! SWEET!!!!

Talking about swing sets, here is Libby enjoying her swing. We usually spend close to an hour a night out there after work, just pushing Libby so she can swing. She LOVES it! Its a fight every night to get her off the swing and back in the house. Alot of coaxing goes on!

Over the July 4th weekend, the Alexandria Airport had an old Bi-plane exhibit, flights and some vintage boats on display. We just had to sit Libby in one and she was driving up a storm! She also had her "ponies" in, which she likes to have in, but then plays with them and they end up falling out after a short period of time.

So, what is on the agenda for the rest of the summer? Well, this Saturday, Denise and I are hopping on a tour here in Alexandria and heading down to a Twins game against Chicago at Target Field. Then, we are planning on having a garage sale so that we can get rid of baby girl stuff and make room for baby boy stuff. After that, it will be time to get things ready for the arrival of "Baby Boy"!

Well, that is about all from here for now. But we will leave you with one more picture of Libby. Here she is in her bathrobe (she calls it a coat?) that Grandma Rosemary made for her. Libby says "Tank-you Gamma!!" I hope everyone has been having a great summer and we will keep you updated as things happen!

Until next time....take care!
Denise, Troy and Libby

Its A Boy!

2010-06-01T10:02:00.002-05:00

Good morning everyone and Happy June! Just a quick note here before I get back to work. Denise had her ultrasound last Friday and everything looks great with the baby! We also found out the sex of the baby and it is a BOY! All grandparents were extremely excited, as are we.

Now it is time to sort all the girls clothes out and have a garage sale and shop for boy clothes.

Thanks and we will post more later!

Troy, Denise and Libby

2010-04-15T11:22:00.004-05:00

We are happy to announce that the newest addition to the Mills family is scheduled to arrive around October 14! We are very excited and know that Libby will make a super big sister!

At daycare 2 weeks ago they had "baby week". The kids learned about and found pictures of babies. There are pictures of babies from magazines hanging up in the classroom. Every morning when I drop Libby off there...she runs from picture to picture and says "baby". She definetly knows what they are! We were recently on a plane where there was a mom holding a baby sitting behind and across the aisle from us. Libby was SO fascinated with everything this baby was doing. She kept repeating and pointing, baby...baby...baby. I'm sure the 2 men sitting behind us were not to pleased as Libby was standing up in her seat and squealing with excitement!!

April 7-12 we flew down to Texas to visit Grandma and Grandpa Danielson for a few days.

It was so nice to get away and relax! Troy got to do alot of golfing, we went swimming, visited the beaches on South Padre Island, played shuffleboard, sat around and visited, and ate, ate, ate!! Libby got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, which was great!

Libby also spent the week with her favorite animal...puppy (aka Teddy). Actually, she calls everything a puppy right now! She also learned how to yell at Teddy like grandma does.....TED-DEE, TED-DEE!!

We are looking forward to summer, although we have alot of things we want to get done...new floor on back deck and put railings up, build a firepit out of landscape block, build Libby a swingset and sandbox, and poor a concrete driveway. Summer will be over before we know it and then it will be time for baby to arrive!!

Hope everyone is doing well. We'll update as we know more!

Libby LOVED going for rides in the golf cart around the park!!

Chillin' in the hammock swing that Grandma put up

Future WPGA'r????? Daddy hopes so!

First beach experience on South Padre Island

Sportin' a bikini and splashing in the pool

Big Sister!

2010-02-11T08:22:00.002-06:00

Yep, thats right!!! We found out yesterday that Libby is going to be a big sister! Not sure on the due date yet, but Denise does have an ultrasound scheduled March 3rd, so we will know more than.

We are excited! Let the planning begin!

February 2010 Already???

2010-02-08T13:20:00.010-06:00

Hello family and friends! Sorry it has been so long........

Here it is, 2010, and we are already a month and a half into it. Yikes! Happy belated New Year!!!

Libby continues to keep us busy and it is difficult to get any computer work done while she is awake. She likes to look at the pictures of herself on the "wallpaper" and hit the keys. If you ignore her, well, it doesn't always go over to well. Since today we are snowed in and didn't make it into work, Libby is napping, so I thought I would throw a quick update for all of you.

Libby in now 17 months and has moved from the infant room at daycare to the toddler room. We switched daycare providers as the one we are now with has the daycare contract with the new YMCA being built here in Alexandria, and we really wanted to get Libby in there. We loved the gals at the old daycare infant room, and felt bad changing, but we have been very happy with the toddler staff at the new place. Libby has become much more vocal now that she is around older kids, and will repeat words that she hears. Ball, car, night night, nana, no, good, hi and bye are used quite a bit right now, and she has said please along with several other words occasionally. She LOVES to dance right now, any type of music and any place, she will dance. It is so cute!!! We took her crib down a couple of weeks ago and put the toddler bed in her room. She loves the new bed and like being a "big girl". We have put the "potty chair" in the bathroom, and she like sitting on it, but that is with a diaper on. If we sit her on it before her bath, she is not too sure of her bare bottom falling down through the hole. I guess she is growing up fast....

December 2009 came and went very fast. It started out on a sad note as Troy's grandma on his dad's side (Rosa) passed away at the age of 92. It was a blessing though as she was not living the life she was used to. We miss her but know she is better off. But the month didn't slow down at all. On the weekend before Christmas, Troy's family decided to rent a few rooms at the Holiday Inn here in Alexandria and celebrate Christmas. It worked out very well at Abby and Maddy (Stacy and Dave's twins) and Libby got to swim and run around and play together. The adults even had a great time. Christmas Eve was spent with Denise's parents and Christmas Day with Denise's parents and sister and brother and law (Lisa and Eric) and their two girls, Emily and Anna. Libby, Emily and Anna had a blast together as they were chasing each other and hugging and wrestling in grandma and grandpa's living room.

2010 came in and we made the trip to Browerville to celebrate Christmas with Troy's mom's side of the family. Again, Libby, Abby and Maddy had a blast, along with Mason and Ayden.

Outside of that, it has basically been work that has consumed a lot of our time. Troy's job with PrimeWest continues to be busy and does not look to be slowing down anytime soon. Denise's job with Verizon has gotten busy as well as they are in the middle of a bunch of upgrades right now. This requires her to work several nights over a four week span, but at least she can do it from home. This week is the last week of it, hopefully for a while.........

We have been making it up to Bemidji for Bemidji State Hockey. We thought last year was a wild ride, but this year has been even better. With a 18-6-2 record, they are ranked #5 in the nation right now. It is also the last year for the John Glas Fieldhouse, the home of the Beavers for 43 years. Next year they will be moving into the Bemidji Regional Events Center, a 4500 seat arena, that will have individual seats instead of benches. I KNOW Denise is looking forward to that! We have our "seating assignment" time next Tuesday, and we have a good idea where we would like to sit. Hopefully it all works out.

That is about all from here, I guess. I will leave you with what you want to see anyway, pictures of Libby!!!!

Libby's newest favorite spot, under the chairs in the kitchen!

Libby opening up her CD Player at Christmas.

Libby opening up her Little People Amusement Park

Libby in her Christmas Dress

The great grandkids on Troy's mom's side.

Maddy, Abby and Libby hiding at Christmas in Browerville

Libby and dad checking out the pregame warmups for BSU Hockey.

Yogert is both a food and a hair product!

Libby and dad on Martin Luther King Day 2010 (we took a picture in 2009 as well).

Libby wanted to go snow blow the driveway for dad.

Libby showing dad something under the couch.

One weekend bathroom reno. A new vanity top, a new faucet, along with a mirror and light.

Troy, Denise and Libby!

2009-12-18T14:10:00.005-06:00

ummm....latest fashion trend??

Libby cant decide if she wants to go swimming or sledding?

This is where we found her playing...in the cupboard!

She fits perfectly!

It Has Been Awhile....

2009-10-25T15:52:00.004-05:00

Hello Friends and family, it has been awhile. I guess I can blame it on being busy, but that isn't the greatest excuse. We have to update more often or else we will forget what has happened!

Since our last post, Libby has continued to grow. Now at almost 14 months, she has gotten this walking thing down pat. She even has figured out how to almost run (I wouldn't call it running yet, but a VERY fast walk). One of the more fun things she likes to do is dance. It started out as bopping to music, but now has moved onto stomping her foot and now this weekend, spinning around and moving her arms. It is really fun to watch and hard not to laugh, even though mom and dad try to join her. She probably thinks we are nuts!

The other thing she has started doing is bringing us a diaper when the one she has on needs to be changed. Is it too early to start potty training????

Denise and I were able to get away for a week. The week of our anniversary, we took a cruise in the Eastern Caribbean. Leaving from Port Canaveral, Florida, we made stops at Cocoa Cay (Bahamas), St. Thomas and St. Maartin on Royal Caribbeans Freedom of the Seas. Let me tell you, I was one that didn't think I would enjoy a cruise, being stuck on a boat and all the other arguments you hear against them. But Denise talked me into it and I LOVED IT! There is just so much to do on the ship that you can do as much or as little as you like. We are already talking about doing it again in a year.

Here are two pictures of our ship, the Freedom of the Seas. Right now, the Freedom class for Royal Caribbean is the largest cruise ship sailing, but in December, Royal Caribbean will break out the Oasis of the Seas. We did have some people tell us that we were starting out our cruising experiences right by going with the biggest and the best right out of port.

Here is the sign to Coco Cay, Royal Caribbeans private stop in the Bahamas. We decided to just rent some beach mats and lounge around on the beach an in the water. Unfortunately, I forgot to upload a picture of the actual island......

After a day at sea, our next stop was St. Thomas, where we decided to take an island tour with one of the local guides. We got to see the WHOLE island, the rich and high points along with the poor and low points. It is kind of amazing that there can be such a huge disparity on such a small piece of land. In the picture below, we are at an overlook that has Magen's Bay behind us (one of the top 10 beaches in the world).

The next day was a stop at St. Maartin, where we decided to take part in the America's Cup sailing regatta. There were 30 of us from the ship that were divided up into two team and we raced actual multi-million dollar boats that have participated in the America's Cup races. Our team ended up on True North from Canada, while the other team was on Stars and Stripes from the US. After a quick tutorial by our captain and his two helpers, we raced, and the Great White North prevailed! I was a grinder on the boat, while Denise was a relief grinder, and it was a workout. My shoulders were a little stiff the next day.

After two days at sea to get back to Port Canaveral, it was back to Minnesota and to Libby, who spent the week with Grandpa and Grandma Danielson.

So, enough about us, back to Libby. Below are some pictures of her in her Halloween Costume. We decided to take her outside and put her with one of the leaf piles and a pumpkin!

A couple of weekends ago, we made a quick little trip up to Fargo and on the way home, we decided to stop at a farm with a corn maze, pumpkin patch and petting zoo. Well, we pick a horrible day to stop as it was cold and rainy. And since it had been raining off and on for a couple of weeks now, that Red River Valley soil was very soupy. We did get a few pictures though.

Libby on a hay bale.

Libby petting "Baby Davy" the cow.

Libby looking at the goat, who looks like she wants Libby's stroller. Libby loved petting the goat and having her nibble at her hand.

And here is proof that Libby is not always the little angel that we like to make her out to be! One day at daycare, they decided to put her hair in "pig tails". Not only do we have the three that you can see, but there was one in the back also.

Both our jobs continue to go very well. Last week Denise had to spend three days in Denver doing some hardware upgrades to the network out there. This week, she will spend three day in Golden Valley, MN, doing the same upgrades as those two sites are paired together. Even though she is gone for a few days, it bodes very well for her future as this part of the network will be hers to watch over once she is fully trained. Her mentor keeps giving her more and more responsibility and she is loving it, finally having something to do again. And Libby survives very well, taking care of dad while mom is gone!

Well, that is about all from here for now. We will try to update a little more frequently here in the future. Until next time......

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

We Have a Walker!

2009-09-06T12:05:00.002-05:00

Wow, two posts in one week.....

Just a quick update for all the Libby fans out there that Libby took her first unassisted steps today. It was kind of humorous as I don't think she realized what she was doing. Some of the Sunday newspaper was on the floor and she figured out that she could make noise by stomping on it. Well, a stomp with one foot lead to a stomp with the other foot and so on until she had taken six to eight steps. It was once mom and dad reacted that she fell to the floor on her bottom. Denise and I then sat on the floor about ten feet apart and she proceeded to walk unassisted between us. One year and four days old!

Up next, serious baby proofing to do.......

We Have A One Year Old

2009-09-04T20:28:00.009-05:00

Hello again everyone! It has been awhile and it has been a whirlwind since July 4th. We were expecting our weekends to kind of slow down, but that has not been the case.

Libby continues to grow and change every day. We now hear her say "ma ma" and "da da" and she babbles a lot. She loves music and "bops" to music, any music. Every time the Empire Carpet commercial comes on, she stops what she is doing and just watches the TV. When I pick her up from daycare after work, I have the 80's Hair Band station on my XM Radio and she will bop in her car seat on the way home. She is so close to walking and has tried to take a few steps unassisted, but ends up on her bottom. Good thing those diapers serve as some padding. She had her one year checkup today and came in at 22 1/2 pounds and just under 30" tall.

Over the past six weeks, Libby has gotten her first taste of a parade (and lollipop), firemen water fights and of the beach. She really seemed to enjoy both of them (slept through the water fights) and we hope to get to the beach again this weekend if it warms up enough. Weekends this summer have either been rainy or unseasonably cool, but this Labor Day weekend is suppose to get up into the 80s, so we will see.

Denise and I left Libby with a baby sitter from outside the family for the first time when we were visiting my sister Stacy, her husband Dave and their twins Abby and Maddy. Stacy and Dave had a neighbor girl and her friend watch Libby , Abby and Maddy one Friday night so we could head out on a St. Croix River Cruise. Denise and I were a little worried, but Libby was none the worse for wear and we are very glad we did it.

Finally, with Libby turning one, we had to have a birthday party for her. We got some decorations on the new deck and in the house, a DQ Ice Cream cake and had a small group of friends and family over. It was a fun time, but it is still hard to believe it has been a year ago that Elizabeth Rose joined our lives. We wouldn't trade it for anything, and yes, I mean that even at 4:00 in the morning when she refuses to go back to sleep.......

Now that summer is over, it doesn't look like our fall is going to slow down. Denise has gotten much more involved with Verizon operations. Her days have gotten much busier and she has been involved with upgrades at night. She will be going to Denver for a couple of days of upgrades and then will be in Minneapolis the next week for a couple of days to complete the upgrades. She is assigned to a network that has "hubs" in Minneapolis and Denver, so when hardware upgrades happen, she will more than likely have to travel.

My job continues to be busy. With the economy the way it is, we see our enrollment increasing for Medicaid and Medicare benefits. But the positive is that PrimeWest has been in the forefront of the "Public Health care Option" debate as an example of how things could be handled.

Denise and I also have a little fun planned as we will be taking a cruise this fall to the Eastern Caribbean. It will be a week away from Libby, but we are confident that she will have a load of fun with Grandpa and Grandma Danielson.

Also with fall comes the start of the college hockey season, and yes, we did renew our season tickets to Bemdiji State hockey. Next year, they will be members of the WCHA and they will have a brand new arena to play in, so the excitement is building (okay, for me at least it is).

Well, that is about all from here. I am going to leave you with some pictures from Libby's photoshoot celebrating her one year birthday (and a picture of her on Grandpa Danielson's bike). Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Troy, Denise and Libby

Fourth Of July, 2009

2009-07-11T15:08:00.008-05:00

How about this........ Two posts in a little over a week!

Denise and I figured we should get some of Libby's first ever Fourth of July pictures up!

For the Fourth, we were invited out to our friends Roger and Peggy's seasonal campsite on Pelican Lake between Ashby and Evansville. It is about 15 minutes from Garfield and is very wooded and back off any main roads, so it feels like you are away from everything!

The resort where Roger and Peggy's campsite is, has an annual 4th of July boat parade. Peggy and Denise brought along boxes of decorations. They decided to decorate the pontoon in red, white and blue, and Libby found this headpiece!

This is the second time we have been out to Roger and Peggy's site. The first time we were there, Libby didn't really know what to think of Roger. This time, we were out there a little late and it was time for Libby to go nite-nite. Unfortunately, she would not take her eyes off of Roger. Once we left the camper though, Denise was able to get her to sleep in minutes. Well, in the picture below, you can see she was having lots of fun with Roger. Hey Roger...whadda ya drinking??

Around 2:30, we headed towards the boat for the parade at 3:00. Of course, everyone knows with a little one you cannot pack light, so we needed the half hour to get everything loaded on the boat. Luckily, we took Libby's wagon with us, so we were able to haul a lot of the stuff in the wagon or on Roger and Peggy's golf cart. And yes, it all fit on the boat with lots of room to spare.

This was Libby's first ever boat ride. As you can see by the pictures below, she did not like the life vest at all (she does like hats though, so that is a plus). We had a zipper up one that fit her better, but was way more confining than this one. But, she hated that one with a passion. We were hoping to get Libby into the lake that weekend, but the swimming area at the campground had "the itch", so we didn't want Libby anywhere near that. During the parade though, we did see a nice "public" area that had a bunch of pontoons and boats pulled up on shore and lots of people swimming (and partying) so we may have to check that out next time.

Here is the boat we voted for first place. I would say we were second as a lot of the boats (27 in all) had no decorations what-so-ever. Ironically, these people have the seasonal site right next to Roger and Peggy. And yes, that is an giant inflatable Uncle Sam on the front of their pontoon. Guess where the valve was to inflate him? Yep.............. and one of the sisters took care of it without an airpump. Hmmm?!?!?!

Goofy hats and plenty of beverages were in order for the day. Obviously, I was following orders quite well!

Libby was a real trooper all day and really enjoys anything outside, including her first ever boat ride. But even for her, a few hours on the boat and in the sun was tiring. She did get a hold of Roger's "do-rag" for the next look! Is it patriotic to dress like and arab on the 4th of July???

The next day (Sunday) was a beautiful day to spend out in the yard. Again, Libby likes anything outside and loves the wind in her face. She absolutely loves her swing!

I decided to lay down in the shade and grass and rest up. Libby had other ideas though.....

Libby always seems to be on the wrong side of the door..........

Well, that is about all from here! Until next time!

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

Third of July Update

2009-07-03T16:01:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone! It has been awhile since we allowed Libby to update the blog, but you are going to have to deal with me in this one since Libby is taking a nap right now. It has been a month, so it is time to rack my brain and try to remember what has been going on since then.

We did get the new landing, errr, deck on the front of the house completed. It turned out really great and once the railing was added, it just tied into the house nicely and looks like it has been there all along. It ended up being around 9 feet by 9 feet, so we were able to put two chairs out on it for sitting in the evening. The house creates some shade on it in the evening, which is something we don't get on our main deck out back.

Libby got to meet the Kertz side of the family last weekend as one of Denise's cousins got married in Edinberg, ND. Libby did real well on the three and a half hour car ride, only requiring two stops. The minivan worked out very well as Denise was able to crawl into the back with Libby and feed her while I kept on driving. All of Denise's aunts and uncles got to meet Libby and she did very well with all the passing around. A side note, just to show how small of a world it can be sometimes. A former student of mine was a bridesmaid in this wedding.

Libby has gotten her third tooth, this one on top. She has one more coming in for sure, maybe another two, which would give her four on top and two on the bottom. Of course, she is running the "teething fever" right now and has been a little fussy.

Libby is getting very close to walking right now. She is pulling herself up with anything she can get her hands on and has done a little furniture walking. She is even getting very brave and holding onto things with one hand and showing off. But she hasn't mastered balancing with no hands yet.

Otherwise, there has not been a whole lot else going on here. Denise and I are looking forward to this three day weekend. We made a vow to each other that we were just going to veg out since every weekend leading up to it has been dealing with yard work, house improvements or traveling. Ahhhhh, it feels good just relaxing!

Of course, what blog entry would be complete without updated pictures. So here they are. We hope everyone has a great and safe Fourth of July!

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

Having Fun

2009-06-05T09:23:00.001-05:00

Long Awaited Update

2009-05-31T20:56:00.006-05:00

Posted by Libby:

First off, I need to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Auntie Stacy!!!! I could try singing to you like Maddy did for daddy, but you would not be able to understand it!

Like mommy has said, where has the time gone! I blew by my eighth month birthday and will have my ninth birthday on June 2nd. Since the last blog, I have gotten my two bottom front teeth and my top two teeth are getting very close to pushing through. Of course, this has caused me to make several trips to the doctor's office for ear infections. Mommy and daddy never know what they are going to get from me, some days I am crabby and others, I am the best baby in the world.

On my eighth month birthday, I got to stay overnight with Grandpa and Grandma Danielson. Mommy took daddy with a couple of friends to the casino. I don't think they won big as I didn't get anything from the trip. I kept Grandma and Grandpa on their toes, but I think all three of us would do it again.

The other big deal in my life is that I started crawling on Thursday. I am not motoring around yet, but I am giving mom and dad a good idea of what needs to be baby proofed. Mom has a couple of decorative baskets with things in them that have been some of my first targets. I keep trying to bypass this crawling thing and get up on my own two feet.

Memorial Day weekend I got to travel with Grandpa and Grandma Danielson (and mom and dad) as we went to Humbolt, Iowa, for one of mom's cousin's highschool graduation party. I got to meet a lot of the Danielson family and Great Grandma Beulah. She was great! I got passed around a lot that evening, but I still kept my eye on mom and dad. In a few weeks, I will get to meet the Kertz side of the family and one of mommy's cousins on her mom's side of the family is getting married.

Dad started a major project this spring, which was putting a bigger landing on the front of the house. Well, this landing turned into a 9' by 10' deck. I don't think he and mom realized how big it was going to turn out when they spray painted the outline on the ground. But now, three weekends later, all he has left to do is put the railings on. We ran to Menards today to purchase them, but they were out and there was a 10-13 day wait for them. So, the new deck will be railing-less for a couple of weeks. If anyone falls off though, it is only a 2 foot drop to the ground. There are also plans to put up railings on the back deck this summer.

I have been in the tree swing a few times this spring and I just love it!! When mommy pushes me I hang on tight and cant stop giggling. Also, the feeling of the fresh air blowing through my red locks is AWESOME!

Until next time.....

Libby, Denise and Troy

2009-05-28T08:21:00.001-05:00

Why does life always get so busy?
We know its been awhile, but we promise to have a new post on here by the end of the weekend...stay tuned!!

Not Much Here But Pictures

2009-04-26T17:27:00.010-05:00

Well, it has been a while since we last updated the blog, but we have just been too busy with things that it has taken a back seat. Well, with today being a rainy, foggy, cold day, it is time. We have a few pictures to get up also, and we know that is what you all wait for.

Libby continues to grow and learn new things. We are starting to baby proof things as she is getting ever so close to crawling. She is babbling up a storm and is sleeping through the night occasionally. She will turn 8 months on May 2nd, which is also daddy's birthday (Denise also had a birthday on April 3rd)! Libby enjoyed her first Easter with the Mills side of the family, where she got to see relatives that she had not seen since baptism.

The snow is gone from here, including the huge snow drift we had in our back yard. The last snow storm we had pushed it close to the 100 inch high mark. It was nice enough yesterday that we were able to get the lawn dethatched and cleaned up before the rain today. Up next will be hanging a swing for Libby in the back yard and building a railing on our deck as well as building a new landing for our front door (bigger and nicer, just for you Stacy!). On the nice days though, we do get the stroller out and go for a walk with Libby, heading up to the bike trail here in town (part of the Central Lakes Trail that runs from Fergus Falls to Osakis where it links up with the Lake Wobegon Trail to Avon).

On the hockey front, Bemidji State lost in the National Semifinals, 4-1, to Miami of Ohio, in Washington, DC. It was a great run (they were the #16 seed out of 16 teams) and will make the off season that much shorter. Bemidji will make their pitch to the WCHA on Monday, April 27th, to try and become a member of that league as the league they are in, College Hockey America, will disband after this upcoming year.

That is about all from here for now, so here are the pictures!

Libby playing on the floor with her stacking cups.

Red headed and a girl power bib. We may be in for a little trouble!

Staying home with mom as she works from home is hard work!

Libby on her way to Easter Dinner at Great Aunt Esther's

Libby ready for one of the many stroller walks we have taken this spring already.

Libby with her hat on and out playing on the deck as mom and dad do some yard work.

Libby with her pink sunglasses on!
Is this Libby's Rocker pose????
But mom, this is how all the kids are wearing them at Daycare????
A cup with holes in the bottom can be an exciting toy at bath time!
The is what mom and dad do with me when I am ready to go and they aren't!!! I really wish they could get ready on time........

Have a great rest of the month of April as May is just around the corner!!!!

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

Just Have To Get This On The Blog

2009-04-09T12:31:00.002-05:00

GO BEAVERS!!!!

The Bemidji State Beavers Hockey Team will be playing today in the first game of the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four (Final Four of hockey). The game will take place at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, and will be on ESPN2 at 4:00 CDT. A win by the Beavers and they will play on Saturday night at 6:00 on ESPN for the National Title.

Daycare Drama!

2009-03-25T20:07:00.006-05:00

Okay, so no pictures with this post, but Denise and I have been talking about daycare and what we observe every day when we drop off and pick Libby up. We find it kind of funny, so we thought we would share.

In the morning, Denise drops Libby off at daycare. The last couple of weeks, when she sits Libby down on the floor to play, one of the other girls in the room, Alexa, always comes over to her and they start "gabbing" away. This morning when Denise dropped her off, she sat her down and Alexa came over and started talking with Libby. Well, Libby coughed some and Denise patted her on the back. Alexa walked behind Libby and started patting her on the back just like Denise had. Alexa also likes to rub Libby's hair according to the daycare personnel. Looks like Libby has her first friend!

In the afternoon, I get to pick Libby up. It is the complete opposite with Isabelle and Libby. Every day when I walk in and get Libby, Isabelle and Libby will just stare at each other. I have never heard either one of them babble to each other, let alone smile! They just stare. Looks like Libby has her first enemy.

Denise said something to the daycare staff the other day and they had noticed both of these situations also! Libby also likes to laugh at the kids that throw temper tantrums. The other day one of the boys in the room just had a fit and was laying on the floor kicking and screaming. The staff was trying to get him to calm down when all of a sudden they burst out laughing. Here, Libby was sitting off to the side, just letting a great big belly laugh out. The more she laughed, the more the boy kicked and screamed. The more Libby laughed, the more the daycare staff laughed, and the more upset the little boy got. I guess it is not the first time she has done that as they have said she will laugh at kids that are crying.

Not a whole lot else going on here. Our hockey travels are over until October now. Bemidji is still playing as they won their conference tournament and now will play in the NCAA Tournament. They drew Notre Dame in their first game and will play in Grand Rapids, MI. Lucky for me, the game will be on Saturday night on ESPN Classic at 6:30. It will be a very tough game for them as Notre Dame is ranked number 2 in the nation right now, but in a one game playoff, anything can happen. If they win, they play Sunday, if they loose, they are done.

Both our jobs are still going very well. Denise just got done with a weekend upgrade that switched a portion of the Unicel customers over to Verizon. She had to work Saturday night from midnight to Sunday at 6:30am to complete the task, but it is done and Unicel is no more (for the most part). But as I have stated in earlier posts, her job looks pretty secure.

Our snow is, whoops, WAS just about gone. We had a pretty good blizzard a couple of weeks ago dropping 8-10 inches of snow with 40 mile per hour winds. That made the drift behind our house push 100 inches in height. Right now, after three days of rain, that drift is about down to 12 inches tops. It was also about the only snow left in our yard. But now today, we have gotten about an inch, maybe two. As far as flooding goes, we are pretty high and dry here. Our cul-de-sac had a nice pond for about three days, but that is now gone. Otherwise, most of the flooding is at least an hour from here.

That is about all from here. We will try and have some pictures for you next time!

Troy, Denise and Libby

Libby's 1st Spoon Feeding

2009-03-07T16:38:00.001-06:00

Libby at 6 months!

2009-03-04T09:33:00.001-06:00

Six Months Old

2009-03-01T15:37:00.011-06:00

I know, I know, it is a day early. But tomorrow, March 2, Elizabeth Rose will be six months old. It is hard to believe as it has flown by fast. Everyone that sees Libby for the first time in a couple of weeks talks about how much she has changed. I guess we don't see it as we are around her daily. But then we go and look at her past pictures and we see it! She is getting bigger, so much so that we had to get new car seats for the vehicles and install them today as she has outgrown the ones we have now. It will be interesting tomorrow to see just how big she really is as she has her six month checkup. We will also have to put up with shots............

Things here have been busy. We sat down last week and realized we needed to take this weekend just to have to ourselves. We have been on the run or doing something every weekend since the beginning of February and this was going to be the only weekend we would have free until April. So, we spent four hours at Walmart on Saturday getting Libby's six month / Easter picture taken. The photo center was running behind and that pushed us back about a half hour. They then told us to go do our shopping and then stop back to pick out photos. Well, when we stopped back, there was a family in front of us and they took what seemed like forever. Libby was a trooper through all of this, doing very well, probably better than mom and dad.

As for our hockey trips, we only have two left. The Beavers will conclude their regular season next weekend in Bemidji, and then the following weekend they will host the Conference Tournament. It seems like just yesterday the season was starting and now it is almost over. Okay, at least for Troy it seems that way!

Our jobs continue to go well. Denise survived her week in Texas for training with Verizon. More importantly, daddy and Libby survived the week without mommy being around. Verizon has announced that they will keep the building in Alexandria open, just who all will be staffed there is yet to be determined. But, with the company training Denise the way they are, her job looks more and more secure every day. The Alexandria community did take a big hit as they handed out pink slips to the call center staff and some others, about 65-70 individuals.

My job continues to get busier and busier as more and more people hit the unemployment lines. Working for a company that deals with government assistance for medical, perscription and dental care, our jobs get busier and busier as people get laid off. Add to that the fact everyday I learn a little more about the "system", it means that there is more I can do. It is a fast paced job and the days just fly by. I will admit I work on a great team, so that has really helped the learning curve.

For not posting in about six weeks, this post seems a little short. But, I will leave you with some pictures of Libby, since that is who everyone wants to see! We also picked up a video camera around Christmas time, so videos should be appearing on this site in the future (just have to edit them some!).

The first few pictures are of Libby "sitting" in the huge snow drift we have on the north side of the house. Back in January, it measured around 40 inches above the surface of the deck, or 70 inches total. We had a few days in the 40s and a day of rain in February, so it shrunk down to around 50 inches total. Well, this past Thursday, we had a storm that dropped around 10 inches with a little bit of wind. Now the drift measures 73 inches, so it grew again.

Anyway, enjoy the snow pictures.

Up next is Libby and Daddy lounging around on Saturday.

Honestly, Libby does like bath time even if that "look" doesn't look like it!

Libby laying around on the floor. She loves being on her back and is getting better at "tummy time". She has figured out how to hold her head up with her arms and how to hold her rear up with her legs, but hasn't put both of them together yet to start crawling. I think she sees the crawlers and walkers at daycare and wants to move like that. She is getting pretty good at sitting up and is pretty close to being able to hold herself steady without help.

Libby "looking" at the roses that Mommy got for Valantine's Day (the roses are a little droopy now, but they did look nice at one time!) She is really starting to get curious about things, scratching, touching and tasting as many things as she can. We have started to pay REAL close attention to what she is doing. She loves the newspaper and Target ad!

We have used this "Jump and Go" that we got from my sister Stacy quite a bit. Libby just loves it. It is portable, so it has worked great on hockey weekends in the hotel room and last weekend when we helped move my Grandma out of her apartment. We just hung it in a doorway somewhat out of the way and she was happy for hours.

Well, that is about all from here for now. We hope everyone is doing well and we will try to keep this updated more frequently. Hopefully we can get videos figured out and we will have those up soon.

Troy, Denise and Libby

So Sorry!

2009-02-26T17:11:00.002-06:00

To all our faithful followers...
We are so sorry we havent updated Libby's blog in such a long time! We have been busily enjoying life with our little one! We promise to add some videos this weekend.
So...keep checking back!!!

Daddy Daycare!

2009-01-19T13:45:00.004-06:00

Good Afternoon to everyone. With today being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I have the day off from work, but Denise does not. So, today is officially "Daddy Daycare Day" here at the Mills Household. I have gotten some decent pictures today, so I thought I would post them while Libby is asleep. One week in a daycare center and she has a cold, so she sleeps quite a bit right now.

Daddy and Libby outside for a quick picture with the "Hoars Frost" on the trees behind us! One shot and I am surprised how well it turned out without looking at the digital screen. That will become my "wallpaper" on my computer at work tomorrow!

These three shots are from lunch today. Libby had graduated up to "real food" if you can call the purees in the little jars real food. Today was squash. She wasn't too sure at first, but we do know she loves peas, carrots, bananas and now squash. She isn't too sure of green beans yet.

Here are shots of Libby in her walked/exerciser. She loves the thing and really loves the chew toy now that she is starting to teeth. The doctor said at her four month checkup that the teeth seem to be a ways out yet, but she sure does love chewing and grinding with her gums.

Next up are some weather shots. On January 4th, we had my parents and my sister, her husband and their twin girls over for Christmas. Well, in our back yard, we had some monster drifts, many between three and four feet high. Well, the twins, Abby and Maddy, wanted to go play in them, so out they went. As Dave and Maddy went around the house to get to the back yard and the drifts, Denise and Abby went out the back door and onto the deck. Well, you can see a metal Shepard's hook attached to the deck. Abby, being 2 1/2 years old, didn't realize yet what happens when something wet comes in contact with something metal at a temperature of zero degrees. Yep, classic, just like it was right out of the movie "A Christmas Story". A glass of warm water from Uncle Troy and a gentle pull from daddy Dave, and Abby was free. Needless to say, the drift jumping was awash.

Well, the reason I bring all that up is because the size of the drifts have grown. It now measures 40 inches from the flooring of the deck, making the drift about six feet tall. We kind of want to see how tall it will get, but also realize with it being on the north side of the house, it could be July before it melts. The shovel and snow blower may have to find it as spring gets closer.

And here are pictures of today's Hoars Frost. I just love waking up and seeing this. One, it looks awesome on the trees, and two, it has to be fairly warm out for this to form. Right now, it is close to 60 degrees warmer than last week!

And the last picture of this entry is one from Christmas. Grandpa Wayne, Grandma Vicky and their three granddaughters!

Well, someone has woke up, so it is back to being "Daddy Daycare"! Everyone have a great week!!!!

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

Winter, Daycare and Checkups

2009-01-14T19:22:00.007-06:00

Good Evening from a cold Garfield, MN. It is 24 below outside right now (7:30), but that is warmer than the 35 below we had Monday morning. But tonight is suppose to be the coldest of the week, so we will see just how far the battery in the remote sensor outside will withstand!

Last Friday, Libby had her four month checkup and all is well. She measured 26 inches and 16 pounds, both above the 90th percentile for her age. She also has passed daddy up in the hair department! She had her four month shots, which bugged her for a little over a day. But by Sunday morning, Elizabeth was back to being herself.

The other big event happened Monday as Libby started daycare at a daycare center in Alexandria. After spending October, November and December with Grandma Rosemary and then the first week of January with Grandma Vicky and Auntie Stacy, it was time to "institutionalize" her. It was rough on both mom and dad dropping her off at daycare, but the staff seems to really enjoy what they do and all the kids we have witnessed seem to be really happy. Libby is happy to see us when we pick her up in the evening as she always has a huge grin on her face when we walk over to pick her up. It must be tiring on her though as she goes to bed a little earlier now and doesn't fight it nearly as hard.

Otherwise, not a whole lot going on here. It is too cold to really get out and do much, but this weekend we are suppose to be 50-60 degrees warmer than we are tonight. Sounds great doesn't it, even though it only amounts to 30 on the plus side of the thermometer! We will post some recent pictures of Elizabeth this weekend also.

Hope everyone is well, enjoying 2009 and staying warm!

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

Libby Is Now Four Months Old!

2009-01-02T15:45:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year to all our friends and family! I know that greeting is a day late, but oh well!

Today is Libby's four month birthday. It is also a little over a year ago that we found out she was going to be joining our lives as we found out Denise was pregnant on New Years Eve 2007. My what a change a year can make, but it has been all for the better.

Libby continues to grow and hit milestones. Yesterday, New Years Day, we decided to thicken up so Rice Cereal and Formula and introduce her to the spoon. Needless to say, by the pictures, she LOVED it. She was smiling up a storm and every time the spoon came into view, she would open up as wide as she could! It was a blast and we got a video of it also. She is very much into sitting up like a big girl and is getting closer to sleeping through the night. We have had an occasional one here and there where she has made it, but not consistent yet.

Libby sitting in her Bumbo with her new dolly that she just loves! It laughs and she laughs right along with it. Thanks Great Aunt Sharon!

Libby trying out the high chair and being spoon fed for the first time.

Look at that face. I promise, most of it did end up in her mouth.

Christmas 2008 was a good one. We were able to attend Christmas Eve Mass in Alexandria with Denise's parents. Yes, this Methodist was in a Catholic Church. Libby did really well and wasn't even close to being the loudest child in the church. She loved the music and did take a little nap on Grandpa's lap. On Christmas Day, we had our own little Christmas at home. We then made the trek over to Browerville to celebrate with my mom's side of the family. Friday night, we were able to celebrate at Curtis and Rosemary's with Denise's sister Lisa, her husband Eric and their two daughters, Emily and Anna. It was a great Christmas season and Libby did seem to enjoy it. We still have one more day as this Sunday we will celebrate with my mom and dad along with my sister Stacy, her husband Dave, and their twin daughters Abby and Maddy.

Grandpa Curtis and Grandma Rosemary with Elizabeth.

Our Christmas Tree. Keeping it simple and loving it!

Elizabeth under the tree with the presents on Christmas morning.

Four generation picture at Christmas.

Elizabeth in her Christmas dress along with cousins Abby and Maddy.

The ever growing Mills Family (Dave, Abby, Maddy, Stacy, Troy, Elizabeth and Denise)

New Years Eve, we decided to stick close to home this year. We invited our friends, Roger and Peggi over along with Denise's parents. We had a few beverages, a lot of snacks and some fun board game action. Everyone left here a little after 11 and Denise and I managed to stay awake until 12:00 to see the ball drop on TV. It wasn't long after that our eyes dropped.

We have not made any recent hockey trips as Bemidji State was off for Christmas break. They did play two tournament games out in New Hampshire last weekend, defeating Massachusetts and losing to Dartmouth in the Championship Game. That puts them at 8-8 on the year, but a big improvement over their 1-6 start. This weekend they play a home and home series with the University of North Dakota, but we had to pass on going to tonight's game as Denise has caught a flu bug that is going around amongst some of our friends. From the sounds of it, it is only really bad for about 24 hours, so hopefully tomorrow morning she will be back to normal.

So that is about all from here. I hope 2009 is treating every one well!!!

Troy, Denise and Libby

Merry Christmas from the Mills Family!

2008-12-23T11:06:00.005-06:00

A Long Overdue Update

2008-12-10T19:55:00.007-06:00

Hello to all our family and friends. I know it has been a long time since we last updated the blog, so hopefully this will be a chance to catch up.

Libby is growing by leaps and bounds. She is three months old now and more alert than ever. She goes to bed around 7:30 and will usually only get up once during the night, usually around 2:00 for a bottle. She then falls back to sleep on her own with very little help from mom or dad. That bottle will get her to 6:30, when it is time to get her up, feed her and get her ready to head to Grandma Rosemary's for the day. She is pushing 14 pounds, if not already past it. She has rolled over from her back to her stomach a couple of times on her own, and the other night she did roll from her stomach to her back while we were on the floor playing. She does not like "tummy time" at all and prefers to be on her back. She really likes to sit up "like a big girl" and stand up with mom or dad helping her. She loves her baths and is "happy go lucky" most of the time. About the only time she is fussy or crying is when she gets over tired and we don't get her to bed on time.

We have attended six Bemidji State hockey games and Libby has seen five wins and one loss. We are thinking she is a good luck charm and we should get a road trip or two out of it! She enjoys being at the games, watching the action on the ice and the light show before the games. She will take a nap or two during the games, but when she wakes up, she wants to be facing the ice. She sleeps very well in the hotel room and mom and dad enjoy being able to just veg and bond with her in the room on the weekends away from home. Last weekend in Bemidji we were able to get her picture taken with Santa and will try to do the same in Alex and Garfield.

Troy's new job with PrimeWest is going very well. Now a little more than a month into it, more and more tasks get put on his plate. His main task is to process all dental requests that come in and gets them off to the dental reviewers. When the approval or denial comes back, he then processes the results, gets them off to the State and notifies the provider of the outcome. Right now it is all paper and pen, but the company wants to process them electronically like medical claims starting January 1. Right now that means testing claims that come in, working the bugs out and creating a flow chart for the company. He also helps out with medical claims and will be training in pharmacy claims in the next few weeks. Since he is the bottom person on the totum pole in the department, all phone calls come into his line (questions and forwarding) and he handles the agenda and minutes of department meetings. The 15 minute drive to and from work is great and he is able to pick up Libby from Grandma in the afternoon.

Denise's job with Verizon is going well. With the takeover, there have been many questions, some of which are still unanswered. We feel very fortunate though that she does have a job in this time of economic difficulties. What Verizon has in store for her future is any one's guess, but she is "mapped" to a boss at Verizon headquarters and they are sending her to training seminars in February. They are in Southlake, Texas (outside of Dallas), which means she will be away from Libby and Troy for a few days. I am sure it will be harder on her than it will be on Libby and Daddy. Her parents, who winter in Texas, have already made plans to visit her for a few days.

Well, that is about all from here. Hopefully it won't be so long between this update and the next one!

Troy, Denise and Libby

2008-12-02T16:43:00.001-06:00

I'm 3 months old today!!

Libby's Christmas Pictures!

2008-11-19T08:53:00.001-06:00

Just a couple of cute pictures of Libby!

2008-11-02T20:38:00.004-06:00

What are you up to???

Libby taking one of her many naps.

And we are so lucky, cuz Libby loves her bath time. Lets hope that continues!

Enjoy the new week!

Hockey and Baptism

2008-10-28T20:46:00.005-05:00

It is October, which in the Mills household means the start of hockey season. This past weekend, Denise, Libby and myself made the trek up to Bemidji to see the Beavers open their home schedule against St. Cloud State. There were several surprises on the weekend for us.

First, after an 0-4 start and being manhandled at Air Force, Bemidji managed to split with the Huskies from the WCHA. Bemidji was 0-10 in the D-I era against St. Cloud, but they outworked and outhit the more talented Huskies to skate away with a 4-2 win on Friday night. On Saturday, Bemidji played very well again, but had about a 12 minute stretch in the second period and St. Cloud made them pay for it as the Beavers fell 5-3. Then next time we will make the trek to Bemidji will be the end of November as Michigan Tech from the WCHA will make the trip to Bemidji.

The second surprise was how well Libby did at the games. She did not raise any problems and actually slept through most of the games. She also did very well in the Pack and Play in the hotel room.

Here are some pictures of Libby at the game. They are not the best, but oh well!

After getting up at 6:00 on Sunday morning, it was on the road to Verndale at 7:45. The reason, Elizabeth Rose's baptism. Elizabeth did really well again this day as she slept through most of the service and the gathering afterwards. She was passed around a lot that day as there were several relatives who were meeting her for the first time. Thank you to Pastor Jill for making the service special and to all our family that witnessed the day with us! A special thank you to Stacy and Dave for standing up there with us and being Libby's godparents.

Here are a few pictures of the baptism:

Pator Jill baptising Elizabeth Rose Mills!

Godparents Stacy and Dave with Denise, Libby and myself

Denise and myself with Elizabeth.

The grandparents with Pastor Jill, Denise, Libby and myself.

How Libby spent most of her day, being held and sleeping!

Godfather Dave and Godmother Stacy!

Denise's parents with Libby!

My parents with Libby.

Four generations of Soderberg/Jasmers, myself, great grandma Mildred Soderberg (Jasmer), Libby and Grandma Vicky Mills (Soderberg).

Pictures of Libby

2008-10-24T10:08:00.046-05:00

2008-10-21T09:26:00.008-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIBBY

Our baby girl is 7 weeks old today!

Mommy & Daddy love you!!

It Has Been A While

2008-10-18T19:09:00.003-05:00

I know, it has been a couple of weeks since we last updated the blog. So, we will try and get you caught up on what has been going on with the Mills Family.

Denise and I are both back to work. I went back to Lakewood Health System on October 6th and Denise went back to Verizon (formerly Unicel) on October 15th. It has been going fairly well as we have been doing a rotation on the night time feedings. So far, I have been working later shifts in Staples, so I have been getting up a half hour early to get Elizabeth fed and changed so that Denise can get ready at a less rushed pace. We have not quite decided how it is going to work when I work the early shift at Staples since that means I have to be out of the house a little after 6 in the morning. But we will only have to do that for one week because...........

I have landed a job in Alexandria. During my paternity leave, I had an interview with a company called Prime West (www.primewest.org). They are a non-profit medical assistance provider for the residents of 13 counties in western Minnesota. They focus on education and prevention as ways to help keep health care costs down for their customers. My position is a Utilization Management Specialist, kind of a catch all since I will be the bottom rung on the ladder, but a majority of my duties will be working on prior authorizations in their growing dental division. I will also be helping out in the pharmaceutical and medical prior authorization areas also since the UMS unit is all one area. I will be starting there on November 3rd.

What this means for us as a family is that I will be 10 minutes from home instead of an hour and fifteen minutes. It also means a little bit of a pay raise, which always is nice, and no weekend work. It is also considered a government position as everything is run through the county from a benefits standpoint. Denise will be able to drop Libby off at daycare in the morning and I will be able to pick her up in the evening. It may cut into our hockey travels some since I can't take vacation days during my six month probation period. But that is a sacrifice we will make for this excellent opportunity.

As for Libby, she has been spending the days with Grandma Rosemary and Grampa Curtis and it seems to be going well. We will be getting her pictures back from Grace Park Photography here soon and will get them up on the blog shortly there after. This upcoming weekend will be a big one for her as she will attend her first Bemidji State Hockey games. Those will take place on Friday and Saturday night and then Sunday morning, she will be baptized in Verndale at the United Methodist Church by Pastor Jill (the same one as our wedding).

So, that is about it from here. Libby is a little over six weeks old now and as close as we can tell, between 13 and 14 pounds. She is growing well and getting stronger in the neck, arms and legs. She hasn't quite rolled over yet since the accidental one early on, but if she ever figured out how to work her hips and shoulders at the same time, she would have it.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Denise, Troy and Libby

Happy One Month Birthday!

2008-10-02T18:58:00.005-05:00

I know it has been a bit since I last posted, but there has not been a whole lot going on here. But today seemed like as good a day as any to post since Elizabeth has now been in our lives for one month, and what a month it has been. I don't think either one of us would trade it for anything, and that is including the 2 1/2 hours of sitting up at night. It has had its rough spots, but with both of us on leave, it has been manageable. Next week will be interesting as I have to go back to work and Denise will have 10 more days off.

We haven't been completely home bound though. We did make it up to Verndale to see them play Bertha-Hewitt in football and took Grampa and Grandma Mills with us. It was a historic night as Verndale's football coach set the state record for career wins at 308, and Libby was there to witness it (even if she did sleep through most of it).

We have had a chance to get some newborn photos taken, and I will post a couple of them here at the end. We took advantage of a deal Walmart was running and got a package done through them. Those are the two pictures I will have at the end of the post. We also went to the Cities for a day and had her pictures taken at Grace Park Photography. This studio is run out of a house and my sister has used them for pictures of Abby and Maddy. We have absolutely loved the results of their pictures, so we are very anxious to see what we get for Elizabeth. Once they arrive, I will post some of them on here.

Last weekend, we again made the trip up to Verndale to see Grampa and Grandma Mills, Great Grandma Millie, Auntie Stacy and Cousins Abby and Maddy.

Other than that, we have been busy getting the house and yard ready for winter. I was able to get the lawn dethatched, aerated, fertilized and over seeded. We have also done some cleaning and weatherstripping, and this weekend will probably be spent organizing the basement storage. Then Monday, it is back to work for me!

Now, here are the pictures, both of which came from Libby's Walmart shoot!

Two Week Checkup!

2008-09-17T15:16:00.005-05:00

Cousin Emily holding Elizabeth.

Elizabeth (12 days old), Emily (3 years old) and Anna (10 months old)

It has been a few days since I last blogged, so this one will be a wrap up of what has been going on in Libby's life the past few days.

Last Friday, we loaded up the minivan and took Libby on her first weekend trip. After a stop in Alexandria to pick up Grampa Curtis and Grandma Rosemary, the van headed down I-94 for Mosinee, WI, just outside of Wausau. We were all on our way to visit Denise's sister Lisa, her husband Eric, and their two daughters, Emily and Anna.

We left Alexandria around 10:15 in the morning and we made a quick food stop in Hudson, WI, around 1:00. After the McDonalds was consumed and Libby had her bottle and diaper changing, it was back on the road. After a while, we realized we were probably making too good of time and decided to stop at a truck stop for some beverages, ice cream and any other munchies we needed. Of course, Libby needed another diaper change and bottle, but that was easy enough to do with four adults in the party.

We arrived at Lisa and Eric's around 5:00 Friday evening. The evening was pretty much spent catching up on events since the last time we saw them (August) and introducing the cousins to each other.

Saturday, we all decided to head into Wausau and catch the United Way Community Day Parade. The weather was a little chilly and it was drizzling off and on during the parade. It was a pretty good parade and Emily came home with a bucket full of candy. It was nice that the candy was actually handed out to the children along the street rather than being thrown out and having the kids go running for it. Everyone got some and it was a lot safer.

After the parade, we headed out to a local establishment (The 2510) for some food. It was outstanding food, the portions were huge and the cost was decent. The Minnesotans in the group decided to go off and find a cheese shop that Curtis and Rosemary had been to before before heading back to Lisa and Eric's. Due to road construction, we got to see more of the Wausau/Mosinee area than we bargained for. We did find the cheese shop and made our purchases just in time as they were closing soon. Once we got back to Lisa and Eric's, more conversation and some college football finished the evening.

Sunday, it was time to load up the van and head back to Garfield. A little over 6 hours and Libby handled it very well. With her in the vehicle, it kind of forced us to take a break about every 2 1/2 hours, which worked out great.

On Tuesday, Elizabeth had her two week checkup, which she got through with flying colors. She is up to 10 pounds now, so she put on almost a pound over the last week (15 ounces). She measured in at 21 3/4 inches, so needless to say, Dr. Peterson was very pleased with her progress. That also meant no more checkups until 6 weeks from now, when Libby will be two months and it will be shot time. We are all looking forward to that.

Today, Wednesday, we took Libby to Walmart for her first photo shoot (they were offering a great deal on pictures). She handled it pretty well, and the photographer did a great job with her. We got 18 shots taken while there and were able to narrow it down to three poses. I am sure those pictures will make it up on this site once we get them in the beginning of October.

Otherwise there is not a whole lot else going on here. We are working on getting the yard and the house ready for winter as the weather is still nice. On Friday, we plan on heading up to Verndale to catch the Verndale / Bertha-Hewitt football game. Not only is it a big rivalry, but Verndale's football coach will be going for his 307th win, which would be a Minnesota State Record. Then next Tuesday and Wednesday, we are planning on heading down to White Bear Lake to visit Stacy, Dave, Abby and Maddy, and to go to a photographer that has done excellent work with the twins.

So, all in all, not too busy, but busy enough to keep us from getting bored!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Love
Troy, Denise and Libby

Trial Run at Traveling

2008-09-10T16:46:00.007-05:00

On Tuesday, Libby, Denise and myself decided to take a little trip as a trial run at traveling. We decided to take the afternoon and head up to Staples to visit the hospital pharmacy (my place of employment), Wayne's Hardware in Verndale (to see Grampa Mills) and then to Wadena to meet Great Grandmas Mills and Soderberg. All in all, things went very well and we even had a little time to grab supper at The Uptown in Wadena and then stop by our friends, the Formaneks, before making the drive home. All in all, we feel Libby will travel very well as she handled everything outstandingly. Here are a couple of photos from the day!

Great Grandma Rosa Mills (part of Libby's middle name along with Grandma Rosemary) with Libby. We showed up and kind of broke up the bingo game going on at Fair Oaks.

Great Grandma Rosa Mills, Libby and myself, three of four generations of Mills.

Great Grandma Millie Soderberg with Libby.

Three of four generations of Soderbergs.

That is about all for tonight!

Love
Troy, Denise and Libby

One Week Checkup

2008-09-08T20:35:00.003-05:00

Good Evening Everyone!

Today we had Libby's one week checkup, okay, six day checkup. Everything is going really well. The main thing they were concerned with was her weight. She was born at 9 pounds, 6 ounces, but then dropped very quickly to 8 pounds, 7 ounces. By the time we left the hospital, she was at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and today she weighed in at 9 pounds, 1 ounce. Dr. Peterson was impressed with her growth, the way her eyes follow things around and how she moves her head already. We go back next Tuesday for her two week checkup and hopefully that will be it until her two month checkup and, GASP, "THE SHOTS"! Although she did have her Hepatitis B shot today and handled that great.

Evenings are going very well. Libby will take a bottle (either formula or breast milk) around 10:30 PM and then it will take about a half hour to rock her to sleep. So by 11:30 PM, she is out and we usually do not hear from her again until around 3:30 AM. After that, it is usually around every two hours until around 10:00 AM, and then it usually goes to three to four hours. She is usually pretty alert from 10-12 and then again around 3:00 PM.

This past weekend, Grampa and Grandma Mills made it down and spent some more time with their newest granddaughter. We also have had time to spend with Grampa and Grandma Danielson and tomorrow (Tuesday), we are going to head up north to Wadena to see Great Grandma Mills and Great Grandma Soderberg. Then this weekend, we are going to make the trek out to Wausau, WI, to visit Denise's sister, Lisa and her husband Eric, and their two children Emily and Anna. Grampa and Grandma Danielson will be along also, so we will have help on the trip. So that leaves Wednesday and Thursday as a chance to give a little yard work done, at least that is the plan.

Here are some of the latest pictures we have taken.

Three generations of Mills with Grampa and Grandma Mills, Libby and myself.

Denise and Libby in front of the "It's A Girl" sign that appeared in our yard.

Libby likes to put her hands on her bottles from time to time.

I just had to throw this cute picture on the blog!

Libby's deep blue eyes, chubby cheeks and blondish-red hair! I am not quite sure how she ended up with all of those!

Have a great evening!

Love,

Troy, Denise and Libby

We Are Home!

2008-09-05T20:39:00.006-05:00

There is just something to be said for being in your own house!!!

Denise, Elizabeth and myself made it home today around 3:00 in the afternoon. It feels just awesome and Libby seems to be taking to it very well. Once we got home, Denise tried feeding Libby, which we are finding out to be a problem at times. She only seems to eat when she wants to eat, which is a little bit of a problem for her. As you know, she weighed in at 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and at one point of our hospital stay, she was down to 8 pounds, 7 ounces. When we left today, she was just under 9 pounds, but she just will not eat on any type of schedule. But when she does eat, it is close to 45 minutes of breast feeding followed by anywhere from 1 to 1.5 ounces of formula. Then it is back to sleep for Libby and she sleeps until she is hungry the next time. The nurses would like to see her eating every three hours, but at times when we wake her, she just doesn't want anything. But we are going to try and keep to their schedule.

Mom is doing really great today. The pain isn't nearly as bad as yesterday, and we are keeping her on the Ibuprofen scheduled and the Percocet as needed. She is getting sleepy with Libby on her chest right now, so we may be off to bed here shortly and await the next feeding. Which will it be, scheduled or demanded?

Dad is doing great also. I have gotten two loads of laundry done today and the luggage put away from the hospital stay. Once Denise is done feeding, it is up to me to burp Libby and feed her formula if needed. We take turns holding her as she sleeps really well laying on our chests. Hopefully the crib will work as well for her as the bassinet did in the hospital.

It is about time to sign off today, but I am going to leave you with a couple of pictures from today. Most were from our bath teaching at the hospital before discharge.

Good Night Everyone!

Troy, Denise and Elizabeth

Last Day In The Hospital

2008-09-04T21:20:00.005-05:00

Hello to one and all. Today will be the last full day in the hospital for us as they will be releasing Denise and Elizabeth to my care tomorrow morning. We could have went home tonight, but Denise and I decided to give it a few more hours. Her pain has been more intense today and we hope to maybe get a little more sleep tonight. Last night we had Libby in our room all night as they had some problems with a newborn last night in the nursery and felt she would be better off with us. We will see if we keep her all night tonight or let Libby sleep there and come in for feedings.

Libby is getting us trained very well. Last night she wanted to eat about evey hour and a half, which made for a very long night. We eventually had to break out the bottles and supplement the feedings with them. Then today when the lactation nurse was here, Libby would sleep for 3 hours (yes, great nap time) and only eat for about 15 minutes. Needless to say, the nurse was not too happy about this, but what can you do if she just doesn't want to eat? Now tonight, she is back on her feeding frenzy.

My sister Stacy made it up here with the twins Abby and Maddy today to see Elizabeth and Denise. They claim they were also here to see me, but somehow I have a feeling I was playing second fiddle. And you know what, that is okay!

Here are the only two pictures I got today. The first one is of Denise's OB/GYN, Dr. Michelle Mirau with Elizabeth. She is great!

The second one here is of Aunt Stacy and Cousin Maddy with Libby. Unfortunately, Abby didn't want anything to do with the camera at this moment!
So, that is about all from here for now. We want to thank everyone for their well wishes and good thoughts and prayers. We feel truly blessed. We hope everyone has a great weekend and the next blog update should be from the comforts of home!

Love
Troy, Denise and Libby

Elizabeth Rose, Day 2!

2008-09-03T21:58:00.003-05:00

Libby Rose in the morning!

Mom and baby spending some quality time together!

Dad and Libby catching some zzzzzzzzz

Libby up close and sleeping!

Grampa and Grandma Danielson with Libby

Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone for their congrats messages! I just wanted to post a few more pictures here before signing off to bed!

Love
Troy, Denise and Libby