Daddy Daycare!

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

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!

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