When I let the dogs outside this morning the air still smelled of smoke.

Milly was pretty fussy this morning. During breakfast, anytime we asked her to say please she threw a fit.  That was not the most fun.  Amanda ended up fixing pancakes and eggs though, which she liked and that calmed her down some.

Milly Dotsey drinking a strawberry smoothie through a straw After Milly had a nap, she, Amanda, and I decided to go downtown to walk around at the farmers market. Michael and Jenn were at the Dixie Grill, so we joined and there for a brunch before going back out to walk around a little more.  The three of us ended up walking to the very end of the Riverwalk (which I wanted to do simply because I hadn’t done it before) then we stopped at a coffee shop on the way back so Amanda could get a smoothie.  She poured some into a small cup for Milly and gave her a straw and Milly contentedly sipped on it the whole way back to the car before spilling some of it in herself in the car while trying to drink from the (lid-covered) cup.  She isn’t very used to straws yet, but she did pretty good with this one, though a shorter cup would probably have made it easier for her.

Milly was ready for another nap once we got home, so we put her down. Amanda went to the grocery store to buy some things for dinner, which was spaghetti.  Michael and Jenn were coming over later for that.  I napped for a little while Amanda took care of some laundry and general pickup.

Milly was fussy again after eating when she got up, so I took her outside, which made her happy.  I took her by the hand and we walked all the way from the porch swing, down the driveway and over in front of Bonnie and Dave’s house before she got really tired of it.  I was pretty impressed with her effort.  She didn’t want to go inside yet so we took a stroller-walk to the cul-de-sac and back before going back inside.  I took her straight out back since she expressed her displeasure at being back inside.  Out there she climbed into one of the larger plastic Adirondack chairs and beat on the back door for a bit before we went on inside again, at which point, being still fussy, she went down for a nap with but a little resistance.

Michael and Jenn planned on getting to the house around 6:30 but ended up being over an hour late due to a flat tire Jenn got.  They did eventually arrive and we all ate, including Milly who was very entertaining for dinner.  We gave her some spaghetti, but she was more interested in the bread.  She was kind of talkative and very ticklish.

After we finished dinner and put Milly to bed we played Phase 10.  Michael started off slow but ended up with the fewest points (a good thing in that game).  Jenn won though.  She was the first person to get to the tenth phase and completed her phase that very turn.  Amanda, who usually does pretty well at Phase 10, was on the lowest phase and also had the most points by far.  Jenn was excited to win because she said she never wins anything.

So Milly’s firsts today included eating pancakes and spaghetti (though not together), having a smoothie, going to the end of the Riverwalk and setting a record for distance walked (assisted).

Zach Dotsey