The 10 Kind of Grin

Happy 10 month birthday Miller! I laughed right out loud yesterday morning when I went to wake the 10 month baby up. Miller was sitting straight up in the crib clapping at my arrival with groggy half closed eyes and messed up hair. It's like he knew it was his special day, or it was just a general Happy Friday clap. Who knows? We're thinking he is already taking after me..a morning person.

Miller's latest development is mini cruising. He pulls up on the couch and then moves to his standing musical toy and then decides to go back to the couch..... hopping back and forth between two standing objects is his new activity. Our little guy also has taught himself to sit pretty smoothly from a standing position. He no longer just plops awkwardly! He'll reach his hand all the way to the floor to brace his falling bottom ,bends his legs and voila! What a funny baby!

Miller is now more adventurous in crawling. At first, he wouldn't leave my sight or the room for that matter. Now, I can hardly leave him for a second because he loves to explore new places and get into things without his mommy..the nerve of the little guy:) All in all, I'm proud that he is showing some independence, but I'm having to tell him "no" more often which is not fun. He looks at you with those big baby blues and smiles when you tell him no....he just doesn't get it yet.

For example, I just HAVE to tell him no is when he pulls up on the fireplace screen. It's pretty heavy and I don't want it to fall over on him. That screen is like a magnet calling his name every 5 minutes. I try to distract him but its the forbidden fruit luring him to crawl in it's direction. Not sure the solution to that one yet because if I take it away he'll be exploring the soot in the fireplace!! Our kitty has already tried that one and it wasn't pretty... Ahh!

Looking forward to saying YES to all kinds of fun with our baby this weekend!! Maybe an extra set of hands will make all of the difference.

Snowed In

It's another cold snowy day in Georgia. This time around Miller actually got to touch and sit in the snow! Instead of longingly looking at all the kids playing in the snow, Miller got to participate:) in all the fun...well sort of.

I dressed him in two layers of clothes, hoping this would protect his little body from the elements. Luckily, I remembered that Uncle Clay gave Miller "yoga pants" for Christmas so they fit perfectly under Milller's jeans. I attempted mittens, but he won't keep them on his hands. I figured for the 5 minutes that we were outside, he'd be o.k to just touch the snow....which he loved doing. Of course, the snow was a delicious powdery cold treat that ended up in his mouth. Miller also loved looking up at the falling flakes. It's all so much to take in!!
Our first snow experience was short lived because Miller had a wet jean bottom, a red nose and cold legs. We quickly retreated into our warm house just in time for Miller's afternoon nap. After hot chocolate and warming up a bit, Landon went back out to "play" with the neighbors...snowball fights and all. I have two boys around here!!
We're happy to report that our little guy is feeling much better after several days on antibiotics. Miller had a sinus infection all last week that took its toll on Mommy because Miller wanted to be held every second...poor baby!

Snow Angel

To all our friends out west..Georgia got snow today! I guess it would be more like flurries, but we did get some accumulation in the late evening. It's a BIG deal when we get an inch of snow in these southern parts.

Miller has been battling a fever the past couple of days as a result of more bottom teeth coming in, so we watched the beautiful flakes fall this afternoon from our kitchen door. I bundled him up in his hat and mittens too so he could get in the spirit of it all & because there is a draft near the door. We just pretended that the flakes were tickling our noses:)

Hopefully his fever will break tomorrow so he can actually touch the snow, but for now we'll admire the beauty from the comfort of our house.

We enjoyed visiting with our neighbors tonight as they enjoyed the falling flakes. Landon and I watched kids down the street even build a small frosty to commemorate our first and probably only snow of the season. Can't wait to play in it tomorrow..more pics to come if it doesn't melt on us!

Crawling Games

Today was a perfect Friday. I had an afternoon meeting at work so I enjoyed the whole morning with Miller. Our new game is to play hide n' seek around the couch. As I hid behind the couch, I would peek around and over the arm rest catching Miller's attention. With great anticipation, Miller made his way around the couch to find me. I love the sound of his laughing and his crinkly diaper as he moves across the floor. Another highlight was when Miller crawled towards Jackson almost cornering him in our closet. Jackson was clearly a "scaredy cat" when Miller grabbed his fur and screached with excitement almost to say "tag..you're it!" Crawling has opened up a whole new world to Miller & mommy too.




This afternoon, we had a wonderful time celebrating with Heather and Meg over a birthday playdate.... Uh-oh Heather's 3-0! Miller was thrilled to play with four other babies including Meg & Jack his two buds. All the other babies were walking except Jack and Miller so they enjoyed crawling all over eachother, eating books and investigating toys in a large tupperware container. Meg has ALL kinds of toys, different toys, to spark Miller's interest. What a fun filled Friday to start the weekend off!

Creeping Crawler

Bottom Shuffling, backwards crawling, pivoting, rolling and bottoms- up stands all have led Miller to the traditional form of crawling! Our baby has found some very creative ways to move around over the last couple of months. He's been on the move since mid November but in odd ways. If he wanted the toy, he would find a way to get it. I think the only form of crawling he skipped was the army crawl.
After a progression of different modes of mobility, the traditional crawl is finally official!Yesterday, I noticed Miller do a crawl, crawl dive towards our small floor fan in the bedroom while I was getting ready for work. He continued the same pattern all afternoon. Last night, he was crawling with his back legs while his hands grabbed on to a toy with a handle bar and he figured out how to slide all over the carpet. I knew crawling would be right around the corner but I've thought that for weeks on end with his other forms of mobility. He now will crawl for something he REALLY wants. Grandmama and Poppy had the privilege to see his new mobile talent! We just can't wait to show daddy when he gets home for work.
His new found independence has led him to open doors under our entertainment center and make head butts into the base boards and corners of furniture. Miller will have to toughen up that head of his. I'm afraid he'll have a permanent bruise on his forehead. Vacuuming the floors more often has become a bigger priority because Miller will find even the tiniest piece of fuzz and put it in his mouth. Oh the joys of a baby on the move!

Friday Playdate

Baby Anna and her mommy Mandy & baby Noah and his momma Jessica joined us for a fun playdate this morning. We worked around everyone's nap times to pick just the perfect time of day to play...that can be tricky with so many different schedules. It was hard to capture a still picture as all the babies were on the move and busy at play.

The mommas are my high school girl friends that all live in the area. They both have given me invaluable advice throughout the year on different questions I've had about Miller. It's so nice to have friends to share with about topics only new moms would have the answers too. I bounce ideas off of my mom, but she did this 28 some odd years ago so it's hard for her to remember everything. Between doctors advice, the internet, and books there's nothing like chatting up different baby topics with your girlfriends! Moms know best!

As you can see, we had a busy morning. The babies enjoyed wheeling around the wagon and taking turns pushing eachother around. Miller really loves a house full of noise and action..hunger doesn't even slow him down. We got so busy playing that his mealtime was delayed 45 mins. I didn't hear a peep of his hunger whines because he was having such a big time! We can't wait for out next playdate.

Nine Months

Here's a picture of Miller waving to the camera at nine months! Our growing baby had his nine month check up last week. Landon came with us this time as he's had some vacation time these past two weeks. We've loved daddy being home. Miller keeps growing and growing as evidenced by my aching arm. He weighs 21 lbs and 12 oz. We always makes predictions before his checkups about what we think he will weigh. This time Landon guessed 22 lbs and I guessed 21lbs. If you round up, Landon wins the bet this time! Miller's head continues to be in the 95%..We have to buy him toddler hats to fit over that big noggin of his.

The highlights of the checkup included Miller full belly laughing at the nurse checking his pulse with the stethoscope. I'm sure it was cold and tickled his chest:) Landon made the time go by faster in the checkup room by "zerberting" Miller's bare tummy. The walls and floors are so bare that his shrilling and laughing echoed all the way down the hall. Our door was cracked, and I noticed the nurses sitting at the front desk all laughing at Miller's loud noises. Finally, one nurse came in and commented that it was nice to hear a laughing baby instead of one screaming with pain!

Here are some pictures from last night's bath. I think our Fisher Price tub is reaching its last days. I have to physically hold Miller in the tub which is a back breaker when you're leaning over. He squirms & crawls all over the place and even tries to dunk his head under water! Little hands splash the water ALL over mommy. Gone are the days when our sweet baby would just rest peacefully in his little bath hammock while we bathed him. I think we'll switch to a bath mat or a safety seat next.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008! We hope this year brings just as much joy as 2007.

Aunt Laurel and Uncle Chad traveled from Knoxville to spend New Year's weekend with our family. They were excited to see the new wagon they got Miller for Christmas. Aunt Laurel put Miller in the wagon and pushed him around the house like a New Years Day parade. After a fantastic lunch at our favorite Greek restaurant on New Year's Eve Day, we all attended a New Year's Eve party with our Sunday School class.



Miller loved greeting all the other babies at the party & played until his little heart was content. It's really cute to watch a squirmy row of babies sitting up and crawling all over each other attempting to share toys. They reach, grab & pull hair while the mommas referee and attempt to have a conversation . No we didn't stay until midnight. It isn't pretty when parties last that late with kids:) After an entertaining white elephant gift exchange where you can steal other couples gifts, we packed up the car around 9:00 p.m. Dick Clark's "The New Year's Rockin' Eve" bash awaited us at home while Miller found his crib.






Around 4:00 a.m. Miller decided to wish us a "Happy New Year"! I've noticed when I put him to bed too early or too late, he gets all messed up..... After a bottle and rocking he finally fell back asleep. We had a full house that needed to get their rest. Between Jackson's late night meows and Miller's crying, I was exhausted trying to keep everyone quiet for our guests!

Reflecting on all our wonderful memories of 2007 and anxiously awaiting all the moments of 2008, we feel thankful for family and a wonderful group of friends to share it all with. Miller has truly made 2007 all the sweeter and we can't wait for this NEW YEAR!!