Miller's Moments

Season of Change

2010-02-14T15:08:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I am still out here! I obviously have not been keeping up with our blog. I feel like I never have time for it anymore. I don't even keep up with the blog reading and making comments on other's posts either. Also, since I have got my new phone in December I don't even log into Facebook anymore. I just generally look at status updates once a day, occassionally making a comment and looking at a few photos. I've been seeing updates about how they don't like the look of the new FB layout and settings - but don't really have a clue what they are talking about yet.

I work fulltime (and occassionally and then some)and have two small children. We are active in our church and within a small group. I am often overwhelmed with the responsibility. Recently, I have really been convicted on making a change in my life. A change to become a stronger Christian. I feel like I have been talking about wanting that for years, but haven't really done anything to make that happen. Those who know me well, know that TV is my drug of choice or my poison, if you will. I have been a TV addict for as long as I can remember. I have always enjoyed different programs and investing into the characters.

I have ALWAYS known that I should watch less TV and spend more time reading my Bible, being a servant and friend to others, etc. You could go on and on why watching less TV is a great choice. Being with our current small group and helping a friend through her life crisis, my heart has been stirring. How in the world could I possibly be the Christian and spiritual person, wife, and mother that I want to be when I watch so much TV?!

It seems like the DVR is always taping something. In the past I have justified the amount being taped was OK, because I could fast forward thru slow parts and commercials and an hour show could now only be 35-45 minutes now. Of course I knew that just meant that I could tape more shows to watch. On Thursday, I made the decision to cut out half of the shows I watch. I am praying that it won't be that hard to adjust, yet find it sad and embarassing that I might miss these shows. Satan has been doing an awesome job.

I have been thinking in my head about which shows I will cut out and how many shows I even watch but realized I needed to put that all in writing. I am more of a visual person as opposed to spatial. I have 28, yes 28, shows that I DVR. I may have even forgotten a few :( Of course, not all of them are on in the same season, but probably 20 or so are at the same time or overlap slightly. Granted there are a few that I crossed off that were a better choice to keep watching than what I chose to keep. I am going to list it all below as my public confession. The BOLDED shows are the ones I am giving up, some will be easier than others. I have already gone thru the DVR settings and cancelled some.

Chuck
Heroes
19 Kids & Counting
American Idol
Biggest Loser
LOST
Modern Family - my new favorite show
Community - also a new fave
Grey's Anatomy
Glee - another new favorite - is set in my hometown of Lima, OH
Medium
Survivor
America's Funniest Videos - this has become a family favorite. I love watching Brynn watching this - her laugh is contagious.
Amazing Race
House - I have really enjoyed House
Jon & Kate Plus 8 - ended anyways, but just heard there were talks of it coming back
Little People Big World
America's Best Dance Crew - no brainer, not sure why I bothered watching anyways
CSI:NY - one I have watched since it's very beginning
Fringe
The Office - an old fave I will miss
Private Practice - show has gone crazy
Secret Life of an American Teeanger - embarrased to admit this one!
Numbers - ahh, watched this show from day one, i've loved it, and Larry just came back!
Big Brother - smutty show, started not watching as much last summer
So You Think Can Dance
Extreme Home Makeover
Saturday Night Live - usually only watched a few regular skits and some of the singers.

For the shows I have cut out, I am not saying at some point I will never see another episode. I am saying that it will no longer be DVR'd. I will not follow it each week and season, or look forward to it. I do have a few other shows that I don't have it set to tape new episodes but I do enjoy watching them when I get the chance. I may still do so, but be more conscious of how much time I am spending watching them. This includes: Clean House, What Not to Wear, How Do I Look?, Hoarders - I generally watch these shows right before bed or when I need to work after the kids are in bed, these will be on in the background.

Please pray for me, pray for wisdom, pray for a more servant heart, pray for the Holy Spirit to be with me when I read my Bible and for understanding of God's teachings. Thank you friends.

...by the way. The kids are well and keep us entertained. Brynn acts so grown up and does well in her Pre-K class. Derek is growing like a weed and is getting more and more verbal. I do have a few photos from the holidays that I haven't gotten around to posting. Our camera was broken for about 6 or 7 weeks, but we just got it fixed. Whoohoo!

Derek can walk :)

2009-09-13T19:47:00.001-07:00

Yes, Derek can walk!! I wouldn't say he is a walker yet, but he's walking small distances and then taking a nice tumble. It is so cute!! Until I can get a video posted, here is just a cute picture with him and his fireman hat.

Blogwebs

2009-09-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've posted a blog I have to break through all the cobwebs ... LOL. I don't even know where to start on the catch-up or what pictures to share.

Derek is getting more personality and it's so adorable to watch him grow. He's almost one year old already! So insane! He's getting more teeth on the bottom, taking their sweet time but definitley there. He's been crawling for awhile now and is quite fast. He is also cruisin along the furniture very well. We can get him to briefly balance himself unaided, but he quickly sit's down or grabs on to something. His laughs are still irresistable. He had his first haircut at 10 months!! He jib-jabs all day, a handful of words you can even understand.

Brynn started preK today. She has a big class with many of the same kids from last year and then many new ones. She was so excited and can't wait to go back on Friday. She's a super big helper for Derek and Mia (our wonderful nanny is back with her baby). She loves playing her games on the computer - pbskids.org. She participated in the church musical about a month ago. Her age group were little bugs. She really had a great time.

These photos actually occur in reverse order, the top is the most current down to the oldest. I didn't feel like taking the time to reorder them.

Derek decided to sneak away and check out the toilet.

I didn't think the toilet resembled anything close to being a fun toy. Yuck! Yes, we immediately washed his hands really well.

Brynn got her hair cut, a little shorter than normal,but oh so, so cute!
Can't really tell from before, but his hair was way down in his eyes when not wet, it's still super curly but now it's not down in his eyes.
Curls, curls, curls
I love bugs, hairy, scary bugs ....
Brynn, first night of the musical.

The Millers!

Derek loving the swings.

We went on a vacation/reunion to Gatlinburg. It was so much fun.

Dirt is one of the best children's toys :)

Playing outside, both kids LOVE being outside.

Brynn climbed in with Derek when he woke up from a nap.

He is so cute when he sleeps. Obvious, he likes sleeping on his side. He LOVES his little blankies and like to tuck them under his chin and snuggle.
Princess Brynn
When he was finally learning to hold is own bottle, a pro at it now. Also does really well with a sippy cup and a straw.
Until next time ....

9 months

2009-07-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

Derek is over 9 months old now. We just took him in for his check up. He is 21 lbs 13oz and 30.5 inches long (75% and 90+%) He is still not crawling but I think he will be in the next two weeks. He is very mobile even though he can't crawl. He rolls, turns, and scoots to what he has his eyes set on. You can tell he is understanding more and more words and expressions. He likes to hold his own bottle now. He can clap when you ask him to or shake, shake them around. He has quite the personality and loves to make you laugh. He has the greatest giggles and belly laughs.

Room Service

2009-06-30T20:22:00.001-07:00

This happened two weekends ago but life has been crazy with work, having fun, computer was crashed for several days, crazy storm that took out power and a tree out. Life is still busy but I wanted to share a quick Brynn moment.

We were taking our afternoon nap. She woke up and tried to wake us up but we were pretty much dead to the wind. I heard her playing with things and going in and out of our room. Finally, after and hour of this we woke up. Matt turned to get out of bed and started laughing....

She had created us "breakfast in bed", as she called it. Pizza and hamburger meat for breakfast, yum! Ha ha! What a sweet girl!

Sweet things

2009-06-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Derek is 8 1/2 months, has 4 teeth (edit 6/20/09, he actually has 6 now!!!), eating more and more chewable food, can clap his hands, and reaches out for you to he held.

No peeing on the mantle

2009-06-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

We made a mistake of letting Brynn eat a bunch of watermelon before bedtime. We had planned on waking her up to go potty again before we went to bed...fast forward an hour....

Brynn stumbles sleepy-eyed out of her room and into the living room. She pulls down her pants and sits on the mantle as if it's the toilet!!!!

Matt was like, No, No, No! That's not the potty! Come on lets hurry to the bathroom. She holds herself and waddles to the bathroom just in time. Whew!

She's already back asleep and probably won't even remember in the morning that she thought the mantle was the toilet. She's a funny girl!

Soccer Boom

2009-06-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

in the car on the way home....

Brynn: (a big gasp) Someone left that soccer ball out.
Me: Mmhmmm
Brynn: Now the thunder is gonna come down and BOOM it!
Me: (chuckles)
Brynn: Seriously, it's gonna boom it right up.

Princess Brynn turns FOUR!

2009-06-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Brynn turned 4 today. She had much excitement and anticipation leading up to today ... and she wasn't let down. She truly enjoyed her party at the park and we didn't have meltdowns or any pee-pants. Whoohoo! Although not everyone we wanted to be there could attend we had a really great turnout of family and friends. A party at the park is a great idea ... no dirty house to clean up afterwards and lots of space for the kids to play. Getting everything there wasn't the most exciting thing, but well worth it.

It was just slightly interesting. Our party was from 10-noon and we didn't rent the pavilion (not paying $200!). We were taking our chances it wasn't booked. There ended up being someone who rented it from 12-6 and they showed up at 11:50 and wanted to boot us out of there so fast. We were done eating and had just finished our cake and ice cream so we graciously moved to the grass area under some trees to do the pinata and open presents. It actually turned out to be more fun like that!

Enjoy some photos.

In the morning, the birthday countdown ends. Brynn is 4!

Silly smirk from Derek who now by the way has 3 teeth!

The best nanny ever! ... her first child will be here soon, July 11.
We are very excited to meet Mia!!

Makes me nauseous just thinking about this photo and the spinning :)

Princess Cake (one of her only two requests for her party)

Great photo and yummy cake.

Cool Princess Castle pinata (the second of her only b-day party requests). No bats involved. Each kids takes a turn pulling a ribbon and the lucky one pulls the one that makes the bottom open and the goodies fall out.

Opening presents under the tree.

I am 4!

Blessed with so many gifts!!!

I cannot imagine life without Brynn. She somehow makes me laugh everyday and her laugh is so contagious. It's crazy to think how much she has grown in so many ways throughout this last year. Even though some of her behavior lately has been incredibly challenging I pray that I never forget that God gave her to us, how special she is, and that each day with her is an awesome gift. Mommy and Daddy love you soooo much Brynn!

Memorable Memorial Day

2009-05-25T12:43:00.001-07:00

Whoohoo! A new post! It's been a couple of weeks and boy has it been a packed few weeks. A plethora of photos to share. Derek will be 8 months in a week and Brynn will be 4 in less than 2 weeks!! Stayed tuned to the end for video clips! Let's see here.....

Brynn finally learned how to ride her bike (with training wheels). We got the bike for her 3rd b-day last June but until 2 weeks ago she had no interest. Now we can't get keep her off of it.

Derek now has two bottom teeth and working on a top tooth!!!

Derek's hair has gone wavy! It can be tamed too minimally wavy if brushed straight right after his bath, but when wet it curls up. I think his hair has also lightened in color a little too.

Brynn finished her first year of preschool. The last day they had a picnic with their classmates and families. She was so excited to have Matt and I there and to tell us about her friends.
Maggie is her favorite preschool friend.

Brynn can now also blow her nose....I didn't think she'd ever learn!
No photos of this but a few other cute pictures of the kiddos.

This past Saturday we went to the zoo with some friends.
It was a great day and all the kids were awesome.

Today we walked to the park and had a picnic. Derek fell asleep and we laid him in the wagon and Brynn ended up peeing her pants right before we left.

Derek was sleeping so peacefully in the wagon. Slept all the way home too.

Munching on an apple slice. With his new teeth he wants food he can chew. He now eats Cheerios, small pieces of banana, apple, or ham and gnaws on a carrot. He's growing way too fast!

Return walk home from the park

Train ride at the Detroit Zoo

You can't go to church

2009-05-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Brynn: You know why we can't go to church, Mommy/Daddy?
Us: Why?
Brynn: Because WE are the church! ... you can only go to a building

So fun! This has been a little ritual of hers the last few weeks when we are rushing around trying to get to church on time and saying a million times, Hurry up Brynn we gotta go to church.

Late Easter

2009-05-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting about Easter. It was a great weekend. We even got to visit with my grandparents and Uncle Terry. As usual, the girls had a blast together and couldn't play hard enough or long enough. I don't think we had been together since Christmas so they had a lot to catch up with! We had an Easter egg hunt the night before Easter and then the kids got their goodie baskets on Sunday. We still have candy coming out of everywhere at our house. We even have had to throw a little away here and there as discipline for naughty behavior. Hopefully we can all get together again soon!

Derek's blue eyes just melt my heart

I just love this shirt. I got it for him just for Easter. Had I known how stinkin'
cute he would look in a little button up shirt I would have gotten him one
long time ago! He seriously wore it 4 times the first week.
I kept washing it every other night.

Sweet cousins and friends

Big blue eyes and Big brown eyes

Sugar overload!

Aubree helping Brynn find the eggs

Rhyme Time

2009-04-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

Too bad I missed this Brynn crack-me-up. Matt told me this story about her. She has been so funny lately....

She has been learning to think of words that rhyme together and this is how a recent revelation went down:

Brynn: Daddy, Daddy!!
Matt: What sweetie?
Brynn: Orange and Orange rhyme together!
Matt: They do? Aren't they the same word?
Brynn: One is a tasty fruit and one is a color!

6 months

2009-04-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well 6 1/2 months now. Derek is awesome as usual. At his checkup he weighed 19 lbs 15 ozs and 29 inches long. He's 80th percentile on weight and 100+ percentile on height. He's one tall boy. He really almost looks like a 10 to 12 month old! In the last two weeks he has started blowing raspberries, saying da-da sounds, smacking his lips, liking his belly more and slowly working on getting up on his knees. Since this weekend we tried the little cereal puffs and he absolutely loves them. He's still going through the mommy is best stage. Can't let him see me or it's a cry for momma!

Fridge-a-later

2009-04-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Brynn just cracked me up with this. She has always pronounced 'big' words very well but she has a few that she just doesn't get quite right. The refrigerator has always been called the fridgelator. I just found out why she calls it that. She wanted to put something in the fridge for later. You know mom, the fridge-e-lator....where you put your food for later. Hilarious.

Church musings

2009-03-29T10:21:00.001-07:00

This morning during worship services Brynn whispers to me, "Momma, I have a secret." I was expecting her usual, "I Love You.", but got something much more entertaining.

Brynn: "God is in the trash can."
Me: (puzzled look) "Um yes, God is everywhere."
Brynn: "God is in the trash can."
Me: "He is? Why is he there?"
Brynn: "Because he is so silly."

...sweet Brynn finally has had some jealously issues kicking in. She does not want for us to give Derek attention and has been doing baby talk, always asking to be picked up and held, and in general having more meltdowns than usual. She even told Matt that she thought he loved Derek more than her :-( She is still very sweet to him and she can calm him down when he gets fussy, but just wants us to stay away from him. So, we've been having to work extra hard to give her special one on one time and reassure her that we have enough room in our hearts to love both of them.

..For Daddy while in TX

2009-03-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Matt is in Texas for business for a few days...here are some keepsakes from home...

Too cute for words

2009-03-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

Just Photos

2009-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

um yeah... pay no attention to the dog(s) in the background. I should be ashamed...but this is our daily life!

20 Weeks

2009-02-18T04:25:00.000-08:00

Derek is absolutely loving the baby food. Now, he either sucks down his bottle in 5 minutes or drinks an ounce just to take the edge off and then is like, "Where is my food momma? Forget about this formula thing." He is starting to sit up on his own. He is still very wobbly and you can't leave him by himself but he seems to be proud of himself. I am pretty sure I can say he is really teething now, slowly but surely. The drool and hands in his mouth are non-stop. The bump of his bottom tooth is getting bigger and more noticeable when you touch it. He won't let you actually see it, he covers it with his tongue or starts chewing our finger. I don't have a picture of it, but he is now also fascinated with this toes and thinks they are pretty tasty. I remember Brynn going through that phase too. It's so much fun to watch their developmental changes each day!!

February 2009

2009-02-12T04:40:00.000-08:00

The Miller's are well. Matt and Brynn both had separate bouts with the flu and Brynn had a nasty ear infection but have recovered. The days and nights have been just going by so fast that they all run together. I am thoroughly exhausted each day. Derek was 19 weeks yesterday and he had his 4-month check-up. He is 17lbs 15 oz, 27.5in long!! He is still 90% on weight, 97% on height, and 75% for head circumference. He's a pro now with the rice cereal and is starting to eat oatmeal. We even tried prunes and pears with him the last two days. Just in the last day or two he seems to want food more than the formula. At church last night he seemed very upset that I only had the bottle to offer him and not cereal. He kept opening his mouth like he was waiting for a spoon and kept screaming when it wasn't there. He can even roll over now. He's not doing it all the time but he gets excited when he does do it.

Brynn reading a night-time story to Derek. They are so cute together!

Annie always like to give Derek a little kiss.

Weeds

2009-01-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

Brynn and Derek are growing like weeds, but only in reference to the speed at which they grow! If feels like even since Christmas they have changed so much. Brynn is so smart and is just grabbing onto everything she learns at preschool. Lenny also works with preschool concepts at home with her. She has a very large vocabulary and understanding of things. She also has a very vivid imagination. She can count really well and can even do simple addition and subtraction.

She has been starting to write the alphabet and is even starting to recognize what letters are in names and words that she sees and says. She loves to dance around and make up silly songs. On her favorite CD's she can hear the first note or two and recognize the song...right now the her favorite is Go Fish's Party like a Preschooler. We all love that group (they have a really cool X-mas CD called Snow that is for adults) and I recommend getting their music.

Derek has grown about 6 inches since he was born. I will be taking him for his 4-month...yes I said 4 month check up soon! He adores Brynn and smiles whenever she comes close and he will watch her intently from across the room. He's been a little clingy recently and wants to just be held. He's usually fine for awhile by himself but then if you walk by and don't pick him up he is like, "Hey, wait just a minute there!". He is still sleeping through the night with an occasional early morning rise.

On Monday night we pulled out the exersaucer and it was a hit. He was a spaz hitting all of the buttons. He's already trying to stand up when he's in it and will slowly spin around to play with all of the toys.

I was going to wait for about another week but I decided to go ahead and try it today, he had rice cereal. I think it went over well for being his first time. Brynn was so excited to feed him. He's been staring at us very quisitively lately when we eat and he'll start smacking his lips. Since X-mas he has turned into the spit-up monster and I am hoping the rice might help keep more of it down. If not, just more to wipe up! We also have been jokingly calling him Ralphie instead of Derek when he's spitting up :-) He's also been a drool monster and is always wet. I wonder if he's teething already. One of his bottom teeth looks suspect and the gums are a little swollen and he is constantly gnawing on his hands.

Bedroom Makeover

2009-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted and gotten caught up with everyone else's blogs. It has been a real busy time for us. Christmas was great, we spent a few days at my parent's in OH, went to my cousins wedding, and then spent a few days at Matt's mom's house in Grand Rapids. Brynn really enjoyed playing with her cousins, all of the gifts, CANDY/SUGAR/COOKIES, staying up late, etc. I think we are still recuperating from it all. I think it is so cute that she refers to my parents as Grandma Huggs (code for Suggs) and Papa and then Matt's parents as Grandma Ponytail (she almost wears her hair up) and then Grandpa Miller.

School started back up again this week, which means long late hours for me. I think one night after working a few extra hours and then coming home, eating dinner, picking up things, spending time with the kids, and then finally sitting down - I was out within 5 minutes. I think it was 5 o'clock the next morning before I became semi-coherent again.

And then this weekend, on Sat night I thought it would be a great idea to go out in the weather and buy new bedding and paint for the bedroom....of course with the expectation that it must be done by tonight! Well, less than 24 hours later the room is done and put back together. It is a night and day difference than what it was before. It was dark walls with light bedding and now it's light walls with dark bedding. Now I just need to find a few more pictures that actually go with the new colors. Thanks to Matt for obliging and helping me out!

Before

After

Oh, and a funny story about the new wall color. If any of your kids watch the Disney Channel show called Imagination Movers, then you might be familiar with Uncle Knit-Knots. Knit-Knots loves everything BORING, all of his clothes are beige and every single thing in his office is the same boring beige. He thinks the movers are much too exciting. When I started putting the color on she comes in and says, "Mom, that is so boring." I was like oh my goodness I did pick a "boring" color. It was a very funny moment and made me second guess my choice of color. Who would have thought that Pecan Sandie could be considered so boring. Oh well, too late now!

Snow Day

2008-12-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

So what does one do on a snow day?! Snuggle up with family and play in the snow of course! Stay safe out there.

She got upset because the snow was starting to go up her sleeve. We only lasted 20-25 minutes before she had enough.

Holiday Happenings

2008-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Life continues to be fast paced at our house this Christmas season. I have been exhausted trying to keep up with it all but it has been much fun.

Brynn got this Christmas gift from her great grandma and it is a really neat idea. It is called Elf on the Shelf. The gist of it is, the book comes with this little doll elf that the child gives a name to. (ours is Joey Elf - after her imaginary friend Joey) The story tells how Santa knows if a child has been naughty or nice is because her elf watches her during the day and when she sleeps he goes back to the North Pole with all of the other elves and reports to Santa on how she was that day. When he comes back he's always in a different spot. She has enjoyed looking for his new watching spot each morning. I can't say it has made her anymore obedient though, but it will be a new fun family tradition.

Our small group got together and made gingerbread houses. It was a lot of fun with lots of sugar. Brynn was so doped up on all the candy that didn't make it onto her house but into her mouth. Whew! That was a night!

Brynn and I went to a Christmas Teddy Bear Tea Party at the Royal Park Hotel. We got invited last minute and it turned out to be a lot of fun. We had tea and finger foods and treats. They also had story time and got to take home a little tea cup and saucer. In the lobby of the hotel was this GIANT gingerbread house...a for real homemade gingerbread house!

Derek continues to be such a joy. He is so sweet and calm mannered. He's really into laughing and talking to you. His arms and legs are always moving around and he enjoys trying to grab the toys that hang from his little gym he sits under. He is getting pretty good at getting them! He is almost 11 weeks old now and just went for his 2 month check up last Wednesday. He is 14lbs (90%) and 24.5 inches (95%)! He's been starting to sleep 9-10 hrs a night so that is way awesome.

He kicked and cooed and batted at his toys for an hour and a half

and then feel asleep. He looked so peaceful.

Thankful

2008-12-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

We have so many things to be thankful for this year. Two great kids, loving families, a house, jobs, a wonderful nanny, and on and on.

We did a lot of traveling during Thanksgiving and both Brynn and Derek were super troopers. It was nice to be able to see both sides of the family. Brynn just adores playing with her cousins Aubree and Mia, they'd play 24/7 if they could!

We are looking forward to Christmastime. Brynn is into more than ever and I don't know where she learned so much about it! Everyday she asks if there are gifts in her stocking.

Derek has been doing really good and getting so big!
He's happy and smiling and laughing most of the time.

Our beautiful Brynn

Her favorite cousins at Great Grandma and Papa's house

Derek's first time in the hot-tub. He was a little unsure about it.

Our nanny, Lenny, sent this to me while I was at work. Of course it made my day!! Brynn couldn't wait for it to snow enough to actually play with it.

Picture Time

2008-11-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

I do not suggest ever spontaneously waking up and deciding to go get family photos spur of the moment! Not that it would have gone any better if we had planned it out. We went to Sears again and our 1pm appt turned into Derek's feeding time and bowel expulsion time. So we stepped out to take care of business and waited for the 2:30 appt. By this time Brynn was so sugared up she was running laps around the racks and they were both ready for naps. We go back in and Brynn either looks away, puts her hand in her face, or Derek starts fussing. Brynn has never been very cooperative when it comes to pictures and they were very busy so I felt like we couldn't take the time to get even better shots. Derek smiles and laughs all the time but we couldn't get a single photo of him doing so. Needless to say we got a few OK photos but none that I was really picturing we'd get, but I do not want to do that again anytime soon!

I can't possibly still be pregnant?!

2008-11-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

Ok I am totally at work and completely swamped with no time to make this post, but I just have to...as well as have re-told the story to like 4 different co-workers already.

So, I have this lovely fellow in my office bringing me some missing paperwork. I've known this student for a few years, I'll give it to him that he did graduate last semester so it's been several months since I have seen him. .... He is sitting in front of me and hands me the documents. I stand up and go around him and into the hall to make a copy of it. As I am waiting for the copy to print he tries to make some small talk by saying, "SO WHEN ARE YOU DUE?"!

I think not, my little friend!

I stand there in shock while my one co-worker looks at me in amazement. I was like how do I answer that?! After what seems like eternity I respond, "Uh, I did. 7 weeks ago". :-) He of course felt dumb and I silently vow to start working out every day.

I realize that he hasn't seen me since being pregnant. He knew i was on leave but was clueless to the fact that women go on leave generally AFTER having the baby and not 6 months beforehand. It's a good thing I am a gal who can roll with the punches and not really be bothered by this! This story just rates up there with the student who back in the spring asked me my parents name and then thought I was his childhood babysitter. ha! ....

Mr. Handsome

2008-11-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

5 Weeks

2008-11-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am posting a ton and I am sure I eventually won't post every week, but for our families that read and want to keep updated this is for you. Derek is 5 weeks old and I took him for his 1 month check up yesterday. He is 11lbs 8 ozs (90th%) and 23 inches (75th%). (Surprising enough I looked at Brynn's records and she was at the dr at about 5 weeks as well and weighed 11lbs 5 ozs and 23 inches too!) He is eating, sleeping, and doing well. He is really starting to coo, smile, and laugh and it is so darn cute. He wiggles his arms and legs a lot too. I love when he moves his arms like Ralph Macchio from The Karate Kid, "Wax On, Wax Off"! Some days his sleeping is better during the daytime than the nighttime but I am only getting up once during the night for a feeding so I can't complain! We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays so we can visit with family...just not looking forward to the actual traveling and how to fit seeing everyone in a short amount of time! Unfortunately Matt doesn't have as many days off as I do so it will be a challenge for sure.

Derek at 5 weeks and with a little jewelry beautification from sissy :)

Child Labor

2008-11-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Who knew child labor could be so much fun! I mean, yeah it can been a little frustrating because it slows down how long it takes to do something, but to see the joy in your child's eyes that they are helping you or to hear it in their laughter is just priceless! Brynn was a big help this weekend raking up the leaves.

Where in the pile is Brynn? :)

Annie Banannie

(this video took 4EVER to upload, had to resize a gazillion times,
hopefully you won't have problems viewing.)

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

We had trunk-or-treat at the church last Sunday and then Brynn had a Halloween party at preschool today. Brynn was a beautiful Snow White and Derek was a handsome monkey. It's been fun but I am already sick of her sorting through her candy and begging for it. Although, the big perk of this has been she only likes the sugary hard candies and suckers and doesn't want the chocolate, yum!

Anna Maria, Brynn, Emma Kate

Ella, Trent - also very cute monkeys!

Sweet Bee Grace, Grace walked around with Brynn during trunk or treat.

We went to the best Chinese place, Chengs, with the Johnson's afterwards. Brynn insisted on helping feed Derek. What a good little princess!

Storytime at preschool. I finally met one of Brynn's friends that she always talks about, Maggie (next to her in black).

This picture has nothing to do with Halloween, but I took it after we came home from preschool today and thought it was adorable.

Side note: Derek turned 4 weeks on Wed.! I really feel like over the last 3 days he has really grown and for the first time feels big to me. He's really long...and noone was here to witness it and Matt thinks I am making it up but he TOTALLY rolled over by himself today!!! I called Matt as soon as it happened. He was a little fussy and I could tell it was from gas so I laid him flat on the floor on his belly to see if that would help. He got mad and was rocking back and forth and then next thing I know I watched him flip over to his back. A fluke I know but very impressive!

Flying

2008-10-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

Time that is! It's the end of October already! Unbelievable!

Sitting in his swing chair - minus the swing. We can't find the frame to make the chair actually into a swing. Not sure how we lost that!

Everyone keeps asking if Brynn likes Derek. Well, she likes him enough to play playdough with him :) This is Prince Derek! She can't wait for him to actually play back with her.

My precious boy.

The kids enjoying time together :)

Papa Suggs

Great Papa and Great Grandma Suggs

Great Grandma Hickerson (Great Papa was there too but we didn't get a pic) I must say its pretty special for Derek to have both sets of great grandparents still living and to be able to meet them already. What a blessing!

The Millers!

Have a Happy and safe Halloween :)

This and That

2008-10-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

We are doing well and surviving in this new chapter of life. Derek is so sweet and I already can't imagine not having him around. I could imagine just a tad more sleep though....

When we get the camera out Brynn insists on taking a picture too. I promised her I would post one of the pictures she took. This was the best of the lot. She does really good holding the camera until she has to push the button, then she lowers the camera too far.

If you haven't heard of Lakeshore Learning Stores, they are pretty cool. It's a teacher education store in a plaza on M-59, just over the M-53 overpass (near babies-r-us and bed bath & beyond) I knew the store was there but haven't been in a store like that since I got out of the teaching field 8 years ago. I guess I've saved a lot of money that way, cuz boy was there a lot of cool stuff! Anyways, thanks to my mom visiting there when they were here for Derek's birth she told me about these arts and crafts activities they do every Saturday from 11-3 thru the end of the year. We went this past Saturday and Brynn loved it! If you have a preschooler I would totally recommend going.

Derek liked belly time, fell right asleep. Wish I could still curl up like that.

Ahh, just maxing and relaxing!

8 days old!

2008-10-09T15:51:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe Derek is 8 days old already! Seems like just a few hours ago we welcomed him to the world. Derek is doing great so far and is as sweet as can be, but man alive can he poop! I'll say he gets that from daddy :) Nursing and poop, nursing and poop, nursing and poop - that's pretty much my existence right now. I don't think he's been quite as fussy as Brynn was when she was a baby. At his first check-up Monday he weighed 9lbs 5 ozs (he was 9lbs 3 ozs when discharged) and 21.5 in long. His cord got a little yucky because Beaumont now tells you not to clean it with alcohol but it was putrid smelling and the dr said to go ahead and clean it since that smell was bacteria! The cord fell off shortly after that appt.

Brynn is holding her own and adjusting to having to share her time with us. We are trying our best to make sure she has special attention and we have an extra dose of patience. I don't think she's necessarily been any more or less ornery than before Derek, it's just extra stress on top of having a newborn. Brynn has been really adorable around him though and having the two of them now really does create a whole new dynamic to our family. Brynn seems infinitely bigger and so much more grown up than before. I don't quite know how to explain it, but I feel like in one week she just changed into this new person.

I wish I hadn't cut the top of her head off, I just love Brynn's face and smile in this pic.

Brynn likes to snuggle on the floor next to Derek, with Derek's green blankie. She adopted the green one when I bought it and won't let it out of her sight. And yes, Derek is laying on his side. He got there all by himself and has done it a few more times! Even tried to at the dr's office.

Drunk off of milk smile...off to la-la land now :)

My fave, I LOVE his blue eyes. I hope they stay that way!

I wanted a better pic of his feet but he wouldn't cooperate.

More snuggle time with brother and sister.

Precious!

On an adventure.

Pics of Derek's Room

Derek Matthew Miller

2008-10-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, I am ready to post a blog and show off some pictures of our handsome little 'big' guy! This will be the delivery post. I will post more later about updates since delivery. However, we are home and doing awesome!!!

Derek Matthew was born Wednesday, October 1, at 7:45 am at a generous 9 lbs 13ozs, 21 in long.

I'd been having contractions for over a week but everytime I thought they were at the point of needing to call the dr they would taper off. Tuesday was very similar, had consistent contractions for a few hours and then they'd stop. I tried to go to bed around 11pm but my mind was racing about the pending induction on Thurs, etc and eventually drifted off to sleep and woke up with contractions a little after 1 am. This was pretty common but for some reason I felt the need to get up, stare at the clock, and track them. They were every 5 minutes apart for an hour, but not very painful. I decided to take a shower and then see if I still had them afterwards. I did, so I called the dr at 2:30 and he said to go on in.

We got there around 3:30am and after being checked out and monitored they admitted me around 4:40am. I was dilated to a 4 and having contractions on a 5 min, 4 min, 3 min pattern, but they were still not painful. I got moved over and the dr came in around 5:45 and broke my water. Not too long after the painful contractions started in and I asked for the epidural. They came to put that in and I had a lovely embarrassing moment which I won't share here! The epidural only waved off contractions for about half an hour and then it was like I didn't even have it. I started saying HELP! PAIN! The anesthesiologist came back to increase my epidural and it didn't do a single thing. I remember seeing it was 7:08 when the nurse came to check me before the shift change and she said I was dilated to 6 and told the new nurse.

By 7:15 I was really begging for pain relief and said I was feeling pressure. The new nurse hadn't checked me herself (she thought I was still at a 6 from 10 minutes previous), but because of my delirium paged the dr to come right away. He tells her to check me and I was at a 10! He quickly comes in and talks to me and says he'll be back in 5 minutes. He leaves and my contractions were so intense and painful. The nurse was like you are fine just take deep breaths and I was like NO I CAN"T, I NEED TO PUSH! She was like don't push just deep breaths and frantically pages the dr again.

And like a scene from a movie, he runs in and sheds his white coat, throws on the scrubs, they tear away the bottom of the bed, and 4 hard core contractions later he is out! It was less than 10 minutes from when I started pushing but it felt like slow motion. I also won't give details here on how I acted like a delirious crazy woman during those agonizing 10 minutes :)

Holding Derek for the first time

Little bubba, big bubba

Big Sister Brynn - and proud of it!

Sweet Dreams

When he's sitting up I think he looks like a grumpy old man :)

Um yeah, the not so nice facial effects of using every ounce of energy to push out a baby that fast. But compared to 2 and half hours with Brynn, every broken blood vessel was well worth it!

Mom and her kiddos

Chilling with daddy

Going home!!!!

Big sister taking care of her little brother

Loves his crib already

Induction on Thursday

2008-09-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

Well, to make sure everyone is caught up to date - I am scheduled to be induced Thursday morning, October 2! I never really thought I'd be having an October baby. I figured even if I was a few days late it would still fall in September.

My dr appt yesterday took awhile and I almost got them to send me in from there but no luck. The dr did strip my membranes - ouch! - and it has sparked much more intense contractions. But as usual it's that whole not having them every 5 minutes for an hour thing to be in 'real' labor. They also monitored me for 20 minutes checking the heartbeat and contractions. One of the dr.'s came in and said that we wasn't very perky so they might just send me in afterall. She moved the probes and had me change positions. Well, he started having a party and when the other dr came back in he was like oh, he's doing great, see you Thursday!

Well, I guess there is a slim chance that I could go into labor or my water break between now and midnight, but signs point to Thursday. Luckily I am dilated enough that I don't have to go into the hospital the night before to be 'loosened' up. I can just show up Thursday morning and get started with the Pitocen (sp?).

Thank you so much everyone for your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, offers of help, etc.!!! It so great knowing we have family and friends to count on. Please continue praying these next few days for us and for a safe and healthy delivery! Finally, almost there! I am praying the next post will be our baby announcement :)

Passing the time

2008-09-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today has been a nice, breezy day. We played outside for awhile and then took Brynn (and Annie) on a wagon ride in her new wagon. Brynn was so excited and enjoyed every minute of it.

And in case you wonder what one looks like at 40 weeks plus 2 days....here you go!

You'd think if he was any lower, he'd fall right out!

Boo hoooo!!!! I thought for sure I'd be on the way to the hospital.

2008-09-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well, sad news for me - no baby today (at least not yet anyways, there is a small amount of hope). I guess it's great that he's doing so well inside, but I am SO ready for him to be outside! I've been really uncomfortable all week and everytime I thought this might be it, the contractions stop. I am still only dilated to a 3, which I found a shock after all of the contractions I've been having. The dr last week didn't think I'd make it today and the dr I saw today thought maybe in the next 12-24 hours but obviously they really have no idea! I have another appt set-up for Monday. If I haven't gone into labor by that appt they will set-up when I will be induced. Thanks!

Is he going to dig a hole?

2008-09-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

This was too funny not to share. This morning when I was carrying Brynn to the car - in an effort to actually get her there faster - when I got her into her seat I was out of breath and gave a big sigh. As I was buckling her up I said to her, "Soon Brynn! Soon! Your brother is going to come out of my belly soon!" (I hope!)

Her reply was, "Is he going to dig a hole out of your shirt?"

I laughed and said, "No, not quite like that, but he will come out of my belly." I quickly shut the door and thank goodness she didn't say anything else about it.

and waiting...

2008-09-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

...many intense contractions, but they are sporadic and not consistent. I've spent 3 hours over the last 2 days pulling weeds that I've haven't touched all summer and still nothing other than more aches :-) I go back to the dr on Thurs, my due date.

Still waiting...

2008-09-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

I am dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced...maybe this weekend still? Still officially 6 days to go, but the dr. didn't seem to think I'd make it another week. We'll see! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Preschool

2008-09-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I just couldn't let Brynn's friends start preschool and not her too! We decided Monday night to send her to the RC Preschool. She started Wednesday morning. She really liked it and had no problems with me leaving her. I am sure it helped that I've been dropping her off to play with other kids for 3 years now and she's familiar with the church building! I know this will be a really enjoyable experience for her.

In baby news...about 13 days to go. So far nothing laborific is 'going on down there'. :) Just anxiously awaiting for the big day!

Big Momma's in the House!

2008-09-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

ok Facebook/Blog Stalkers, this post is for you! :-)

Well, I continue to get bigger as the days go. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure now that it's not all baby weight being added to my belly (butt, thighs, hips). Too bad I couldn't get a two for one deal and have a tummy-tuck at the same time :-) I am sure lots of moms would love this deal!

With my ultrasound today, our little champ is up to 8lbs...less than a pound more than 2 weeks ago (7.6). I was surprised they didn't say at least 8.5 or more, but this is good news (just gets me back to the big belly not being all baby belly). His thigh bone took up the whole length on the ultrasound screen so maybe he'll be long. Everything else looks great and he's quite active. He's still as I say, locked and loaded and ready for delivery. Just counting down the days...

Baby Miller Update

2008-08-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time to update everyone of the progression of our arrival. I am a little over 36 weeks now. I feel like I have forever to go still. For those that have been around me lately the general comments are, Oh, I am so sorry, Kara...how much longer?, He's really low., Are you going to make it?, How big is he?. Even little children come up to me and stare at or touch my belly and comment how big it is!

It is getting increasingly more uncomfortable as the days go by. I feel like I could go into labor any minute, but yet I know it could still be a few more weeks. His room is almost ready and I am very pleased with how it looks. I will post pictures of the finished product once he arrives.

At my 32 week appt they told me I was starting to measure ahead and that in a few weeks I may need an ultrasound to check the size. At my 34 week appt I was even bigger yet so they went ahead and ordered an ultrasound. I had that last week at 35 weeks...he was already approx. 7lbs 6ozs, 90th percentile, everything else looked great. At my 36 week appt this week, no surprise, even bigger. So, next week at 37 weeks I will have another ultrasound to recheck the size and then my check up appt right after that.

Since I've had no complications so far and I have successfully birthed a good-sized baby before (Brynn was 8lbs 7ozs, 21 1/4 in long) they are in no hurry to have him come out. As of now, they won't consider inducing me or suggesting I'll need a C-section because of his size until I am 39 weeks. I figure if I make it to 39 weeks I may have to one more ultrasound to check the size again before they make their decision.

Hanging in there!

The Wiggles!

2008-08-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

We saw the Wiggles last night with Ms Wanda and Brynn's friend Amelia. Emma Kate was supposed to come too....seeing it was her mother who got us the suite!...but she became sick so they couldn't come. Brynn really enjoyed the show. It was a nursery rhyme theme so we got to sing all of the old classics...and it's just not the same with the new yellow Wiggle, Sam.

The newest belly shot - 34 weeks

She said her one of her favorite parts was Humpty Dumpty

She most enjoyed when the lights were off and everyone had their flashy lights on and we all sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Nursery is getting there...

2008-08-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally made his pending arrival more official and bought our little guy's bedding this week and this weekend we've been working on setting it up. It's still a work in progress but I am happy with what we have done so far.

We've got about 7 weeks to go! The famous question is, "How are you feeling?". My answer to that is, "Ok". I am doing as well as you can this far along. I have carried him much lower than Brynn so the pressure on certain organs hasn't been fun. Sleeping has also not been the greatest for awhile. I've started the 'pregnant waddle' too. At my check up on Friday they told me I was measuring big, so I am sure he'll be bigger than Brynn was. I am surviving and looking forward to his arrival.

I think Brynn sort of gets the idea of me being pregnant and having a brother. She kisses my belly and will say things to him. She talks about things she will help out with when "my brother" comes. Sometimes she tells me that he's hungry and I need to eat or that he's thirsty so I need to take a drink. If I am complaining about not feeling good she'll pat my belly and say, "It's ok, Mommy.". We'll see how long the compassion lasts when he is actually here! :-)

Walt Disney World

2008-07-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Disney. It was definitely hot and humid and involved a lot of walking...oh yeah, and everything was extremely over-priced. Disney has a great market going for themselves :-) Matt's sister, Allison, lives in FL so she met up with us for a few days. I had conference sessions to attend so I missed out on some of the fun. Matt didn't miss a beat though and took Brynn to the different parks and experienced the Disney magic.

Her first plan ride was a little rough. She wasn't at all scared and thought that the take-off and landing was fun. It was the behaving and having to stay in her seat that wasn't so fun. The plan rides were during her naptimes, so she was a little antsy.

Brynn's favorite character she met (the camera died so sadly there is no picture): Snow White

Brynn's favorite show: Iago's and Zazu, a bunch of singing birds.

Brynn's favorite ride: some blue one, we aren't sure which one she is referring to!

Disney Transportation took us to all of the parks

Stage show at Cinderella's castle

Mickey and Minnie!

Brynn couldn't wait to ride Dumbo with Aunt Ali

My favorite picture of the trip. At the water fountain at the hotel. Everytime we walked by she wanted to throw some coins in the fountain.

At the fountain

Family Photo (my belly has gotten a lot bigger since my last photo at 24 weeks!!)

Family with Chip and Dale

Timone!

Brynn loves the water and swimming

Pluto

Goofy

Sitting on Minnie's couch.

Pochantas

Really cool tree at Animal Kingdom

carved with all sorts of wild animals

Matt said this is one of the views he remembered the most..."Daddy, pick me up!"

Mickey

Kissing Minnie

At Animal Kingdom

Oops, Move over Thumper!

2008-07-13T05:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I feel just a smidgin better as far as diseases are concerned that Annie's late night snack was a baby rabbit and not a mouse. I found the poor little things brother or sister this morning by the back of the house, so terrified.

How could you Annie?!

Move over Mickey!....

2008-07-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Good thing Annie didn't go to Disney World with us, who knows what would have happened to Mickey. Aghh!!!! I am so sick to my stomach right now.

Once I recover and get all the vomit wiped off my mouth I will actually post something nice and update everyone about the fun we had at Disney World.

to Infinity and Beyond...

2008-06-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Brynn continues her nightly trips to her galaxy in her dreams. Mommy and daddy still don't show up or I should say, are not allowed to visit her galaxy. It's just her and 'Joey' and occasionally some new-named friends come along. I don't know if we should be doing it, but we have played into it with her and we now wish her sweet dreams at her galaxy and ask to hear all about it. She is so cute telling us about her adventures there. She always twirls and flips her hair as she explains to us the happenings on her special little place. Just precious!

...in other news....

Brynn had her dance recital on the 17th. It was absolutely adorable and all the kids did really well. I have to admit I did get a little teary eyed seeing her up there. I've been waiting to post more about it until we get back her pictures and DVD...but many of our posts this year have already revolved around the big event!!

We visited Matt's sister in IN for his niece's (Gina) high school graduation and brother-in-law's (John) 40th birthday celebration. Several other members of the family were in town too so it was really nice to visit with them. I hadn't seen most of them since last July, or even longer! Hopefully it won't be so long before the next visit. With expanding families, commitments to other things, alternating work schedules, and the soaring gas prices it's just getting harder to travel like we used to.

Matt's birthday is Wednesday. Happy Birthday Matt!

Next adventure, Disney World!!!! We leave July 4. Brynn is so excited to see Mickey. I am looking forward to seeing her reactions. I am actually going for a conference for work, ah-hem, at at Disney Resort :-) We couldn't resist taking the opportunity to make a family event out of it so we are going a couple of days early. It'll be Brynn's first plane ride and my first since 9/11. I am a little nervous, hopefully things will go smoothly.

Baby News - So far so good. I have 12 weeks (or less) to go! Sleep isn't so well and the pressure isn't so well, but all things considered I really am doing great. I am expanding quite nicely :-) Matt told me yesterday I looked like I was ready to go. Oh, if only I could be this size at delivery. I think this little guy might be a biggin'.

Until next time. Make it a great day!

Princess Brynn turns 3!

2008-06-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Brynn turned 3 on Friday. It's so hard to believe she is that 3 already! Her birthday celebration seemed to last a few days. The first of which was on Thursday night when we redid her room (Thanks Mark for the extra arm power!). She passed on her furniture to her little brother who is getting the old guest room. She got new bedroom furniture and we gave her the queen sized guest bed. She was so excited and absolutely loves it. We have a few finishing touches to do, but it turned out really cute. It was pretty sad though, packing up all of her baby bedding!

Sitting on her old bed for the last time.

Mommy reading her new book "Pinkalicious" in her new Princess gown the first night (Thanks Lisa for letting me know about this book!). She asked me to sleep with her that night. I told her I would come back in when I was ready for bed. She didn't realize until the morning that I really did come back in. When she woke up she had the biggest smile on her face. I said, "Good morning princess. You are 3 today!" She smiled and said, "I am 3 now, Mommy!" She'd been trying to say for several weeks that she was 3, but we kept saying in a few more weeks. She would always reply back, "I'll be 3 in June."

Brynn's beautiful new bed!

We have to read "Pinkalicious" at least twice a day! It's the new favorite.

On Saturday we had a birthday party with some family and then her little daycare and dance friends. It was hot, but a great day. The kids had a blast. Especially with Brynn's new sand and water table. We made the mistake of adding the water and not leaving just sand. Three year olds sure do know how to make a mess!

One of Brynn's dance pictures made for the cutest Princess Cake :-)

Brynn was tickled pink when we sang Happy Birthday to her.

Blowing out her Cinderella candle.

She received many special gifts. It is so much fun to see little kids open their presents. They are all still out and she goes down the line playing with them.

On Sunday we set-up the pool that we got her. She couldn't wait to get home from church to do it. Luckily we were able to play for awhile while it was filling up and all before that crazy storm swooped through! She loves playing in the water. One of her gifts was a ladybug sprinkler so she played with that for a little bit too a was full of giggles. I actually didn't get a shot of the pool, but it's there!

I love her hair in this shot. Matt was spraying her and she was trying to get away.

I pray we have many, many, many more birthday celebrations together.

Growing, Growing, Growing...

2008-06-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

24 weeks.

Only 16 more to go!

Dance Pictures

2008-05-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Brynn's recital is getting closer and closer and she's getting more and more excited each day! Last night was picture night. It was so much fun to see the girls get in their costumes and make-up and see each other all made up for the first time. It was a a great, chaotic, exhausting two hours. Brynn was a trooper and was thankfully very well behaved!

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say I spent most of the day actually remembering those who have served and died for our country and praying for the families that miss them. It was mostly a day to get more housework done, spend more time with Brynn, and have some friends over for games...May God continue to comfort those who mourn over lost loved ones. May God continue to be with those who are still actively serving our country. I still shudder over the tragedy of 9/11. Let each day be better than the previous.

I am truly grateful to be able to live in a country that I can play with my precious child outside without any imminent fear of being harmed. Thank you for those that serve to protect that freedom.

Hodge-Podge

2008-05-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a few weeks already since my last post. Things are busier than ever around here. Work never seems to slow down nor the people leaving!...I was blessed (I think!) this week to be promoted from the Associate Director of Financial Aid to actual Director of Financial Aid. It's a ton of responsibility but I think I am up for the challenge.

Matt is busy at work too and working some extra hours. He finally is getting to some of the 'real' work he was hired for. He'll also be doing some side work for a company he used to work for.

Pregnancy is going well. I am 21 weeks now, over halfway there! I had another check-up this week which was the first since my ultrasound 2 weeks ago. My dr said the ultrasound report was great, the heart looked great, my weight gain in right on, great blood pressure. I am truly grateful that I have been blessed with a healthy pregnancy so far and praying that all continues to go well! I do have so much pressure though, ugh. The little guy is quite active and moves around a lot and you can even see and feel it. The last two days I felt like I needed to eat all day long (and pretty much did) and I can definitely tell the belly has grown, he must be in a big growth spurt right now.

Brynn keeps us on our toes and never without laughter. She says the silliest things and tells the greatest stories. It's such a joy to listen to her! She is a month away from her dance recital and we are all getting excited. She got her costume last week. It is SO cute. She'll also have a veil that she will wear. She has tried it on twice and we played her song, Chapel of Love, so she could practice. I think she did it pretty well. I am looking forward to her getting her professional costume pictures done soon.

Survey Says.......

2008-04-29T10:56:00.001-07:00

It's a BOY!!!! Our ultrasound went well this morning and the technician thought everything looked good. We are very excited about having a boy, especially Matt. I know it's it's everyone's dream to have a child of their own sex, so now we'll have both! Brynn was there too. I am not sure how much she actually understands but we were glad she could see the pictures with us.

Here are the ultrasound pictures

Legs

Foot

Nose pickin' already!

Ms Wanda was so nice, she brought Brynn and the other little girls she watches up to my office and brought me a little gift to celebrate. I asked Brynn what the cookie said when they came in and her reply was, "I-love-you-mommy!". That was just as special as what it actually said. Thank you Wanda!!

As promised, a picture of me (at 19 weeks). Big I know, I tried my best to crop out the ever-expanding behind. :-) Ah well, not everyone is blessed with keeping that little cute figure while pregnant. I am my own worst critic!

Please continue praying for us.

Sinus Irrigation

2008-04-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

Sinus what, you say?! This is an oddball post, but once again I am plagued with a sinus infection. I either have sympathy for Brynn getting ear infections or both of our bodies just revolt to the change in weather, but I seem to get sick within a day or two of her. My doctor gave me this home remedy to help clear out the sinuses and boy, does it work. Effective yet disgusting.

If any of you happen to share in having allergies, or know of someone who could benefit from this remedy make sure to pass the 'recipe' on. Basically, you boil a cup of water. Let it cool to lukewarm temperature. Add a pinch of baking soda, one-third teaspoon of non-iodized salt, and stir. (Plain water will burn your nose, this solution is close to the body's normal pH.) Over a sink and with a syringe (i.e. one you would use to give a child medicine), hold one nostril closed and then squirt the solution up the other nostril. You will need to try and suck it up the nose and it will drain back down your throat. It can make you gag a little. Use 1/2 cup solution per nostril. The lovely snot will either work it's way out the nose or back down the throat for you to spit out. As bad as that may sound it has provided much relief. Keep Kleenex handy to blow out the loosened snot :-)

...3 more days until the ultrasound! I'll probably post an update Tues. evening.

LibEARation

2008-04-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ah, at last a peace of mind! I had been talking about it for at least a year and a half, but for some reason held back and didn't want to seem like one of those obsessive crazy mothers. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and didn't care if I was an obsessive crazy mother. I bought a $40 otoscope three weeks ago off of eBay that claimed to be the 'Very Best Otoscope' to check Brynn's ears. After Brynn's last double ear infection I knew I needed to be able to monitor her ears at home.

It came just a few days after ordering it and Matt was my first case study. We won't talk about what I saw in his ears! Brynn was next and she sat very still and didn't mind at all that I was looking around in her ears. I have looked at them about twice a week just to get practice seeing what is 'normal' for her. She's been a little snotty since Tuesday but hasn't been complaining her ears hurting. I last looked at them Wednesday night after her bath and they looked fine. Today after being outside doing yard work and playing for awhile she seemed all allergied up. I checked her ears and was like Whoa! Both ears looked really red, the left eardrum still looked ok, but the right did look infected to my novice eyes. She was way overdue for her nap time and said her ears didn't hurt so I just gave her some more Sudafed and some Motrin.

When she woke up I checked again and the left wasn't red anymore and the right still looked ouchy! I was convinced that she had an infection so off to Urgent Care we went. The Dr. looked in the left first and said that looks good, got the to right ear and said "Oooh. Yeah, infected!". I was right! As Dr. Mom I diagnosed my first ear infection. She started on a new antibiotic tonight. They were afraid of giving her the same one as last time since it was only two months ago and that it wouldn't work. Hopefully she won't be allergic to it!

I have been oddly giddy about the whole thing. I am very sad that Brynn is now on her 8th ear infection, but just knowing that I can help catch it at home feels like such a HUGE relief. As many ear infections as she's had we've had just as many 'false alarms'. She'll have all the same symptoms and it's just a cold. It's been so nerve-wracking to debate is this just a cold, is it now an ear infection, should I take her in, wait it out, etc.? Ahhh!!!

I highly suggest investing in an Otoscope! This is the website we were given to look at examples of how the ear should look: http://oto-scope.com/pictures.htm.

17 Weeks

2008-04-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok, I will make a new post about a baby update! I am feeling much better than two months ago and my energy is returning. I have been doing really good and my allergies haven't been as bad as I expected. So far, I have been able to take my allergy medication every other day which was impossible several months ago. Guess my hormones finally have changed back to my more 'normal' allergy state before my first pregnancy. We'll see how I fair as nature starts blooming :-)

I had another check up yesterday and the baby still has a strong heartbeat and all is well. I have had my countdown going since the first of April for my ultrasound...only 11 more days!! I am really looking forward to finding out what we are having. I am definitely not one of those people who can wait in anticipation the whole pregnancy. That just seems so much more nerve-wracking to me to not know! We will be taking Brynn with us to the ultrasound appt. I think she will enjoy it and hopefully make it a little more understandable. She does talk about the baby and occasionally will come up and kiss my belly. My belly, by the way, has POPPED! I cannot believe how much I am showing right now, no more disguising it. Please continue to pray with us for a healthy baby.

I am sure there will be another update in 11 days! Pray that the baby won't be shy and will show us that it's a he or a she!

Loving it!

2008-04-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

Another nice day to be outside!

We hope Spring is here to stay!

2008-04-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

It was such a beautiful weekend. We spent some time yesterday out in the backyard playing with toys, uncovering all of the patio furniture, picking up bunches of twigs and sticks, and getting excited about nicer weather! I think everyone is ready to spend time outdoors getting fresh air and doing springtime activities. I know I am looking forward to seeing the grass turn green, watching the flowers bloom, watching the leaves grow on the trees, and seeing Brynn get so excited about playing outside. (I am not looking forward to all of my allergy issues from experiencing natures beauty, though!!)

We went to the park today and Brynn had a blast.

As usual, Annie was a spazoid. She loves being outside too and wanted to say Hi to everyone and everything. With her being little, all the other little kids at the park kept asking to pet her and told us all about their pets. She was all petted out by the time we got back home.

Happy Spring!

Happy Easter 2008

2008-03-24T10:14:00.001-07:00

Yep, got to church and one of Brynn's friends had the same dress.
They looked very cute together.

Jesus all day long

2008-03-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

A moment in the life of a child's bedtime prayer...

Me: Dear God, help us to remember that's it's naughty to spit out our food and throw things when we get upset. That makes Jesus, mommy, and daddy sad.

Brynn (very matter-of-factly): Jesus spits all day long.

Brynn meets dresser

2008-03-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

....and the dresser won. Poor thing knocked herself silly before bedtime on the corner of our dresser. The pictures don't even begin to show what it looked like before we had iced it for a bit. Scared the heebie jeebies out of me! She seems to be doing fine, just going to have a swollen noggin for a bit and then a nice bruise. She was a trooper and let us ice it for a while and then kept looking at it in the mirror and laughing at herself.

Freestylin' with Brynn

2008-03-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

We are a little overdue for a post. I have just been so exhausted all of the time. I have hardly any energy and most days feel like a walking zombie. I can't wait for this stage to be over!! Nothing new or spectacular has happened recently. Brynn is still loving her dance class. Just about every morning she wakes up and either asks if we are going to dance class or to church.

Her dance class is called Creative Movement, and well, her moves are a little creative.....

....and just absolutely ADORABLE to watch!

I am sure most upcoming posts about Brynn will revolve around dance class. She signed up for it until June and then she'll be in a recital. We were able to see a picture of the costumes and they are so cute. I can't wait to see her in it.

Well....catching up with a few things

2008-02-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

Surprise! Not only to you, but to us as well! We are expecting another little boy or girl in September. I am eight weeks along.

I've been struggling with a sinus infection, thought I was over that and now something else has started. I had similar issues with my pregnancy with Brynn. Please pray that everything continues to go well with the baby's development despite me needing to take several medications. My allergies took a turn for the worse since being pregnant with Brynn and it's been a struggle to keep them under control. Pray that there will be no harmful effects on the baby. This has made me nervous about getting pregnant again, but I put my trust in God's plan (especially since it wasn't exactly our plan to get pregnant right now). I've been missing work when it's an important time for be to be there. I don't want to be sick anymore!!

Brynn was doing well, she battled a double ear infection for over two weeks and was on the mend, now we are both miserable again with a virus. She's enjoying her dance class and dances around the house all the time. She's really turned into a singer too, she's always singing her little made up songs and they are too cute. We've been telling Brynn about Mommy having a baby and she votes for a little sister, dad is hoping for a boy, and I wouldn't mind another girl. Of course, we will be blessed either way.

Please pray for our health!

Passing of a College Friend.....

2008-02-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

A college friend of Matt and myself, Heidi (Stewart) Hoffman, passed away suddenly yesterday at the age of 33. Since college we've seen Heidi here and there, but most recently came somewhat in touch with her again through the news that she had found out she had uterine cancer. I've been reading about her journey to beat it through the CaringBridge website she had started to keep friends and family informed. Please pray for her husband and all of the family and close friends she had. It's a great shock to everyone.

Here is the viewing information:

Viewing is at Martenson Funeral Home in Allen Park
Thursday 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Friday 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.

10915 Allen Rd.
Allen Park, MI 48101

Funeral is Saturday at Walled Lake Church of Christ
Viewing Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
Funeral at 12:00 noon

Walled Lake Church of Christ
1367 N Pontiac Trl Walled Lake, MI 48390

Dance Class!

2008-01-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, the moment finally arrived for Brynn's first dance class. I had been literally beside myself all week in anticipation. Even more so knowing that two of her little friends are doing it with her too.

The parents don't get to stay in the room so I am not sure exactly what she did but she was all smiles and said she had fun and that she wanted to go back next week. She didn't quite want to take her outfit off when we got home. We are definitely looking forward to going back again!

Hey....wait just one minute!!!

2008-01-06T07:19:00.000-08:00

Me: Matt, I am going to take a shower real quick before the ant guy comes. Will you please run the hand held vacuum real quick in the bathroom and kitchen?

Matt: ...that 'Are your serious?", we just vacuumed yesterday look.

When I get out this was the response to my request:

At least daddy was being resourceful!

Happy New Years!

2008-01-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

We went to a our friend Steve's house for New Year's Eve to play some cards. Brynn was the only child but she was a trooper and so was everyone else who helped keep her entertained. We had a lot of fun and Brynn enjoyed the noisemakers and the sparkling grape juice. She was amazing and was well-behaved and didn't even fall asleep until about 2 am!

Blessings to you all for a safe, happy, and healthy New Year! Make it a great one!

Bumper Bowling

2007-12-31T08:18:00.001-08:00

We did another first with Brynn and took her bumper bowling. She was so thrilled to play and we had a blast. She was squealing just putting on her bowling shoes and the people in the lane next to us asked us if this was her first time. It was very funny and slightly awkward with that (slightly liquored) group bowling next to us. They talked to us pretty much the whole time and got a big kick out of watching Brynn and saying how cute she was. It made the night much more interesting!

So cute in my shoes.

Soooo excited I couldn't contain myself.

This is MY bowling ball!

Watching the friendly folks in the next lane.

Had to hold my ball while watching daddy.

Daddy and Me

Poor attempt at a family photo. Should have
had the new friends next to us take one
before they left!

Mommy and Me

The ball had to be rescued twice :-)

After using the camera in a dark bowling alley made me so frustrated with our camera and getting quality photos! I am super appreciative for the free camera we have - it's definitely much nicer than the first one we had but I am saving up for one even better!

Christmas Fun!

2007-12-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

Here are more pics for the family! We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Brynn was excited that Santa Claus ate her cookies and water (she insisted he only wanted water). She opened her presents so slowly and wanted to play with each one before moving on. She also wouldn't open the next present until each piece of the wrapping and tape was put in the trash bag. Makes me proud; a (clean) girl after my own heart :-)

O' Sweet Child of Mine

2007-12-23T17:55:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures for the holidays. This will be the first time since I was born that I will not have seen my family during Christmastime and since Matt and I have been together that we haven't also seen his family!! It will be kind of nice to wake up on Christmas at home but we will miss seeing our families dearly. We love you!

Also a quick story...while watching a show (ok, it was during the Clash of the Choir finale) that there was a teary moment and I had a tear come down my face. Brynn looked at me so sincerely and said, "Don't cry Momma! It's ok, don't be sad." She cupped her little hand against my cheek and kept telling me not to cry. She's a very sweet girl!

Poor Annie, just turns into a million little
snowballs in the winter.

Crawling to the top of the castle

Eating the snow

Shelby wants to play too! (we are dog sitting)

Workin' out with Momma

2007-12-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

I am one of many who struggle to exercise on a regular basis (and not being a 'naturally thin' person). From January through July I did really great and was feeling good with my 15 lbs loss...then a new position with many hours and stress and there began the battle (again) of keeping it off. Sadly enough all of the weight has crept back up on me :-( I have been working out here and there but nothing consistent. By time I work a long exhausting day, then come home and deal with dinner, spending time with Brynn, and then bath and bedtime I am usually too pooped to work out! I want Brynn to recognize the importance of staying healthy.....so when I was flipping through our 'On Demand' through Comcast trying to find Blues Clues for Brynn, I selected Kids Fitness instead. There was a 20 minute workout to do as a family and I thought I'd see if Brynn would do it with me. She did! She was really into it a first and was trying to do the moves like the little girls. It was quite cute!! After about 8 minutes she was like "I am all done, Momma." She got up on the couch and snuggled with her blankie while she watched me finish the workout. Hopefully she's last longer next time. :-)

Clash Part 2

2007-12-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, here is the clip of the Flight of the Bumblebee :-) Looking forward to tonights finale!

Clash of the Choirs

2007-12-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me well, know of my unfortunate TV addiction. I have way too many shows that I watch. I don't know if any of you have been watching this week's short reality series, Clash of the Choirs, but it has been a really uplifting, feel good show! I have enjoyed the celebrity directors and the amazing talent of these choirs they have formed. I am dancing in my seat just thinking about it. If you haven't seen any of it yet, tomorrow is the finale and I am sure it will be great. I really loved the first night with Patty LaBelle's choir singing this:
.
I am so glad I found a video clip!! The best part of the song is about 1:35 into the song. It was even better listening and watching it on a big screen HD TV. Did I mention I loved it? :-) There was a cool performance tonight from Nick Lachey's Choir singing the Flight of the Bumblebee, but I couldn't find a video clip of that one out yet.

Rock a Bye Baby...

2007-12-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have children you know nothing fills the heart and give you warm fuzzies and can get you all vaclamped like rocking your little one. Even at 2 1/2, rocking Brynn and having her melt against my body is as special as when she was a baby.

After her afternoon nap, we just sat in her room with the lights off and no distractions and rocked and rocked. It was at least a good 40 minutes or so. We didn't talk at all and she almost fell back asleep a few times. She's a big thumb-sucker so she had her blankie with the satin edges and rubbed her fingers very gingerly up and down it. She followed suit with her toes. Her blankies definitely give her that 'security' feeling and it's as if she goes into her own little peaceful world.

We snuggle together a lot, but it's been awhile since we did that without a million others things going on at the time (like the TV, dishwasher, washer, Annie barking, my mind racing about what needs to get done at work or at the house, etc). I just watched her the entire time. I wonder what a little 2 1/2 yr old mind thinks about? Is she thinking about one of her toys, a game she like to play, what her next snack will be, playing with her little friends from daycare and church, and so on?

I know I was thinking about her future. What is she going to look like as she gets older? What is her personality going to be? Will she like school and have an easy time making friends? How much peer pressure will she have to deal with? Will we still be close during her teen age years or even older? I even get some morbid thoughts on what if Brynn is one of those kids who has an untimely tragic death? How will I handle it and how much of a heartache that would be? This then makes me think about and reflect on my Christianity. Am I being the best parent I can be? Am I teaching her lessons about Jesus and instilling the proper values in Brynn that I should so that she will grow up to have strong personal relationship with God? Am I putting into practice (DAILY) what I know in my heart I should be doing?

Most days I'd say I fall short, but it's in these moments of staring into Brynn's face that rev me up to stay the course and to keep striving to be the person I know God desires for me to be. Man, this is deep stuff me for me! I am off to pull myself together.... Blessings! Have you rocked your little one lately?

Suggs Roots

2007-11-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

We had some great time with my dad's side of the family last weekend. It had been awhile since we had all gotten together like that. We need to do it more often!

The food was awesome and I ate like it was my last meal. I couldn't get enough of this cheese dip. Seriously, I couldn't! I kept saying it was so good and I told my aunt I would be talking about that dip to everyone for the next couple of weeks.

Aubree, Mia & Brynn

Aunt Sandra, My dad, Aunt Rhonda & Uncle Dan

Aunt Stacey, Mia, Aubree & Brynn

(Everyone in the pictures are a Suggs except for Brynn)

Beauty

2007-11-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it was about today, but Brynn just looked so beautiful to me today. Well, ok, as a proud momma I think that she's beautiful everday - but today just seemed extra special. I don't think the pictures even capture what I saw, but I hope I will always remember it (even with her cute little Spaghettio mouth stains). She is growing up so fast!

Party Time

2007-11-07T19:04:00.001-08:00

Much like kids her age, Brynn is really into pretend play and using her imagination. She likes to tell me I am Jasmine and she's the Princess. Well, the other night she was just so adorable. There was no coaching on what to say, it was all her little fairy tale.

She had her mind set that she needed to have a party. She went to her room and grabbed all one million and one of her blankies, baby dolls, stuffed animals, and the couch pillows and made a party pile. She grabbed Matt's phone and started to dial all of her little daycare friends (she named them all, including Ms Wanda, Reinhart, and the family pets).

She had to make cupcakes for the occasion. There would be dancing and plenty of ring-around-the-rosies. There would also be pizza to eat and NO sleeping. Sadly enough, she was adamant that daddy was NOT allowed to dance. She had to take time to stop and feed the babies.

Halloween (Part 2)

2007-11-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Much like last year, I made no plans to take Brynn trick-or-treating and then the night before my friend Amy calls and asks us to go with her kids. We took her up on the offer. They swapped costumes from last year and we pulled them in 2 wagons and they got the hang of us stopping in front of the house, jumping out and going up to the door, saying trick-or-treat, and hopping back in to go on to the next house. Thanks, Amy! It was tons of fun :-)

October 2007

October 2006

October 2005

Man, three Halloweens later and look at how Brynn has changed! Crazy!!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-29T20:23:00.002-07:00

No costumes or trick or treating this year,
just two simple pumpkins and a few stickers.

Sugar Sweets

2007-10-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

I was at Bed Bath & Beyond looking for a replacement soap dispenser for the bathroom. Our other one got knocked into the sink and shattered. As I get to the checkout I see a bin with this adorable miniature bake ware set for little kids. It was only $4 and I know how much Brynn always enjoys helping me to cook.

She was very excited to play with it and I told her we would bake some cookies. This made her day and she couldn't wait to get started.

"Cheese!"

The cookies ended up as blobs, but notice
that she took one bite from each cookie :-)

Money Tree

2007-10-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

Receiving a speeding ticket because you were late leaving work and trying to get to the daycare before she closed ..... $100.00

Leaving to go to Sams Club and returning to your dog having devoured an expensive bag of personalized M&M's and getting super sick ..... $178.00

Having the blessings of a dependable car, someone caring to watch your child, a job to pay the bills, and a family pet who thinks you are the world .... PRICELESS!

As I often say, there is never a dull moment in the Miller household!

Chuck E Cheese

2007-10-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

It was a few weeks ago already, but we took our first trip ever to Chuck E Cheese. Brynn really enjoyed going. Another fun family moment. By the way, they have some great pizza. Yummy in my Tummy!

Weeeee! Brynn loves the 'swide'!

Me trying to get Brynn to look at the camera
& say cheese. I know, too many requests at once.

Is it time to go play yet?

She went on another ride just fine & was excited
to be on it, then when I tried to get her to sit next
to Chuck E & get a cute photo she wanted nothing
of it. Shocker! As you can see - this was the outcome.

Yates Cider Mill

2007-10-09T17:23:00.001-07:00

What is a fall season in Rochester without visiting the cider mill at least once?! Like many others, we braved the swarms of bees and got our fix of cider and donuts. $7 for a gallon on cider?! Come on now, is the economy that bad you have to charge $7 a gallon???!!! Geez!

Brynn really wanted to ride the pony (another $7, included the below polaroid), up until it was time to get on it, then she wanted nothing to do with it. I basically had to hug her as we walked around in a circle just to keep her on. By the end she relaxed enough to enjoy it.

yes, another $7 for the Elmo pumpkin!

We topped off the afternoon with lunch at Olive Garden.

I am starting the 'Yates Cider Mill Fund" now for next year.

Trip to Grandma Miller's

2007-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago I had plans to work all weekend so Matt decided to go to his mom's for the weekend. Matt was excited to do a daddy - daughter trip. This was also the first time I had been away from Brynn like that so I was nervous! Matt did just fine and they had a really good time. They went to the Botanical Garden in Grand Rapids.

We are on our way!

Stylin' in my shades!

Aren't I cute?

Brynn & Grandma

Standing under a HUGE horse (ummm, I am not sure if
that's the spot I would have chose to stand under :-))

Playing in the water

Getting all wet

Before Church at Grandma's house

On the carousel at the mall

Boxes of Fun

2007-09-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's about time I get back to my blogging!! I just downloaded almost 200 pictures off the camera! I have really enjoyed sharing our special moments with everyone. I have a bunch to catch up with so rather than try and do it all in one night, I will chip away at it.

I bought new bedding online and the night it came, Brynn thought the box it came in was better than the bedding I had been anxiously awaiting. We pulled out the crayons and had bunches-o-fun decorating the box. Hiding in it was a special treat, too. It was even better when we put Annie in the box. Brynn laughed so hard she dribbled in her panties and we had to make a mad dash to the bathroom :-) (btw - Brynn is much better now with the bladder control while laughing or crying)

Sorry Annie! ...speaking of Annie...she gave me a whopping dose of the heebie-jeebies today! I walked by the back door and noticed her eating grass and was like great she's puking again and kept on going. Ever since we got her 4 years ago she's had stomach issues. She eats special food and if she gets something out of the ordinary she gets the yaks. So this wasn't abnormal for me to see her trying to expel something she had eaten, especially with a two year old. Annie gets a lot of 'oops' treats from Brynn.

Barely two minutes later she was barking at the door to come in. I go over to the door and panic. Matt was pulling out of the driveway to go get some groceries and I ran out the door and flagged him down. He pulls back in the driveway and asks what's up.....I say, "ANNIE HAS A MOUSE AT THE BACK DOOR COME AND GET IT!!!!" AHHH!!!! I am still freaking out, ugh! Lucky for you all it happened so fast, otherwise you would have gotten to see the picture of the little dead mouse on my doorstep:-)

Stinky Doodie

2007-08-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

Kids are very impressionable to say the least and that comes with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Brynn repeats everything she hears, sometimes to my embarrassment and other times to my complete shock.

Within the last week or so I have noticed her saying things and expressions/sounds that she must be picking up from the other kids at her daycare. I only say that because that is where she spends most of her days each week and they are things Matt and I don't do or say. I can only imagine what she is teaching the others kids!

She has learned to hold her hand up to her mouth and then say, "Oh Myyyyyy Gosh!". (sample of that in the video from my previous post) She's been making these weird sounds when laughing that are pretty annoying and I keep asking her not to do that...and then the kicker....she called me a "STINKY DOODIE"! I don't know what that is but it can't be good and that's what she called me for asking her not to do something. I can't even remember what it was now that I was asking her to stop doing.

Thankfully as I was scolding her for saying something naughty like that she was sheepishly looking away, otherwise she would have seen the grin Matt and I had from ear to ear! It was so hard not to roll on the floor laughing. If she is calling me a Stinky Doodie at barely being two, I don't even want to know what she will call me at sixteen when she's mad at me. Lord help me!

"Aww frou tha town" (Brynn's music montage)

2007-08-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is my first video blog. I am so excited! Hopefully everybody will like it.

It is a video of Brynn Singing

A new post eventually...

2007-08-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

I will eventually get a new post on. I have been working crazy, mad hours! Unfortunately I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with the family lately, but they have been troopers and Brynn is as cute as ever. Soon, I promise.

Restrictions: NONE

2007-07-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Whoohoo! I have no restrictions...for my driver's license...meaning NO Corrective Lenses are required to be used while driving!! I have ALWAYS had restrictions since I've had a license.

I've always dreaded this part of having another birthday each year since it just means you get to wait in a long line, pretty much just to pay some money and prove you are still alive and semi-trustworthy to operate a vehicle. But since my license expired this year I was super-excited to tell them I don't need glasses anymore! I had LASEK in Feb. and no longer need glasses :-)

As I did my penance and waited an hour-and-a-half for my number to be called I had a lot of time to observe the people in the crowded room. There were several teens with their parents applying for their first license. Immigrants trying to prove they can speak English well enough and understand our driving laws - all the while having their 2 little girls run a muck throughout the building; the older girl (about 4 or 5) kept telling her daddy something that pretty much sounded like poopie. He had a look of horror on his face and scanned for a public bathroom (there wasn't). She was grabbing her butt the whole time and even though she wasn't speaking English I think we all knew the dilemma.

Two sassy elderly ladies with BRIGHT make-up talking very loudly about everything. The fun part I remember was that for her children, for the past 15 years, her birthday present to them was to renew their tags for them...(you are reading this, right mom? :-) j/k). Another elderly lady hopping from chair to chair as an empty seat opened up. A boy failing his CDL test at least 2 or 3 times.

And then there's the folks sitting on either side of me. A young lady talking on her cell phone with a friend about an upcoming bridal shower; who was coming from out of town, the dress tailor thought she could fit into a size 6, she was like whatever I need at least an 8!, etc. And then the my (least) favorite and who almost sent me into an anxiety attack was a hairy elderly man with a backpack and thick glasses. He starts grabbing hairs on his face and very deliberately yanks them out. At first, I thought for sure he was pulling out his nose hairs, but then figured out he was pulling at his unibrow, trying to make them two eyebrows again. By this time, I was fidgeting in my chair wanting to scream and was begging for them to advance to my number. Who knows?! Maybe someone was people watching just like me and I was one that stood out to them....Nah!

Randomness

2007-07-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Life is busy and we are trying to keep up. Matt and I both recently started new jobs so we are adjusting. Brynn continues to do well with potty-training. I guess we can say she is potty-trained (other than nighttime). Here a few pictures from the last month.

Laying on daddy's side of the bed while he's away :-)

.... and a Toddler Bed to boot!

2007-07-05T03:54:00.000-07:00

...So we go from potty-training to a "big girl bed". I was hoping it wouldn't be disastrous to try and change Brynn's crib into the daybed while potty-training, but it has been the easier of the two adjustments. She thinks it's the coolest thing and we've had no problems with her wandering the room and pulling everything off the shelves. I guess she was ready.

The funniest thing about it so far is we were outside doing some yard work (close to her window) and heard a thump. We rushed inside thinking she had fallen off the bed in her sleep, but she had shut the door hard. I had this waterproof pad under while she slept - which she doesn't like. When she woke up, she took it off, threw it out the door, slammed the door shut, and hopped back into bed.

Adventures in potty training!

2007-07-05T02:50:00.000-07:00

I actually don't have any potty-training pictures to share, but this week we started the task of potty training Brynn. She has used her little potty off and on for the last few months. Of recent, she stopped liking the potty and really didn't want to come near it so we knew we were in for a treat. We chose this week because I am on vacation for the week and knew I'd have a concentrated effort into the event.

We started on Saturday and we had several accidents and some great successes. We even got a poo-poo which she got up, looked at it and said, "That's sauce." - we rolled with laughter (it was nasty!)!. Sunday, many accidents and some successes. Monday, mostly successes in the morning and digressed after naptime. Tuesday, the thought came to mind should we give up already?! She doesn't really tell you that she has to go, she either just goes or gives a half-second warning grab to the crotch. She also doesn't want to pull her panties down herself yet. You ask her a million times a day, "Do you need to go potty? Do you need to go pee-pee? Do you need to go poo-poo?", over and over. Usually if she gives you an eye roll that meant she needed to go even though she adamantly would say, "No!"

Actually, after three accidents within a half hour in the morning on Tuesday, things improved throughout the day. She has a stash of books and toys that are surrounding her little potty. She also has to bring a blankie with her to sit next to her while she goes. She gets super excited when she does go and squeals with excitement and is eager to tell you that, "I did it mommy!", or "I did it daddy!", or "Lookie, I did it!". Stickers and M&M's have been the highlight as well. She also enjoys the routine of dumping it into the big potty, wiping, flushing, moving the stool to wash her hands, and then moving it back.

Wednesday was a great potty day with no accidents! Woohoo! There were only two what I call "pre-dribbles" where she knew she needed to go and a little dribble came out, but we made it to the potty where she really went pee-pee. We also started to put the potty lid onto the big toilet to see how that would go, especially with using public restrooms she needed to learn to use the big potty. She was a little resistant, but she actually went poo-poo!(She was trying to look down and watch it come out and called it a "Turtle"!!) Since then, she doesn't even want to use the little potty - the lid has to go on the big potty and have her little stool in front of it. We finally even braved leaving the house other than to go outside and play. I needed to go by the college and drop something off and then we went to Meijer to grab a few things. We had taken the potty with us and Brynn went potty at the college and then before we left Meijer. She was so good yesterday!

Overall, the experience hasn't been all that bad. She has even been staying dry during nap time and is learning that we go sit on the potty when we wake up. It seems that in the mornings she can go every 15-30 minutes! I don't know if it's because of sleeping for so long at night and then drinking a lot in the morning and she's got to get it all out or what, but sheesh! I think part of it is also that she gets so excited when she goes that she pops up to look at it before she's completely done.

I pray that rest of the week goes well and that she will transition well to going potty while at Ms. Wanda's during the day!

VBS in Ohio

2007-07-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

On June 23, I helped my old church from back home and taught a VBS class on being "Neighbors for Jesus". I had ages 2-5 yrs old and boy that was tiring. By the afternoon, it was meltdown time which was really meant it needed to be nap time. It was a great time overall.

Before we left to come back to MI, we stopped and had some ice cream with my brother and his family. The girls were so cute eating their ice cream together. Brynn always love spending time with her cousins!

Brynn is Two!

2007-06-11T20:04:00.001-07:00

Brynn turned two on June 6. We had fun celebrating our sweet little girl. We are so grateful to God for blessing us with a beautiful, smart, and independent daughter. She continues to challenge us daily in lessons on patience and for the amount of love we didn't know we had in us. Praise God for you, Brynn!

Summer Fun

2007-06-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, blogger is ok for now...Here a just a few random pictures.

Brynn enjoying her little pool.

Small group cookout at our house, some of the girls eating together. Adorable.

Crazy Blogger....

2007-06-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

...seems to fritz out on the evenings I want to catch up on my postings! Ah! I had one successful post, but now it won't let me add more pictures. So eventually, you will see pictures from Brynn's 'actual' birthday, June 6.