Congrats!

Congratulations to Terra & Andrew who are expecting! Terra, whose made a recurring blog appearance more than once, was my college roomy and sorority sister in college. We've evolved to telephone pals every week and blogging buddies across the miles. Did I mention that there's not just one baby...but two! TWINS..can you believe it? I've been SO thrilled about this announcement for weeks and have about blown a gasket trying to hold all this anticipation in. It's about killed me;)
These little tiny miracles have no idea what a fuss they are causing!
Heartfelt Congratulations and love to you both. We couldn't be happier for you!

School Days

Here are our belated First Day of School mommy& me traditional door pictures. Notice my upside down name badge. Even momma had the first day jitters! Miller is loving his new big boy backpack. He can even carry it on his own. Well, we're practicing how to wear the pack. Miller can't figure out how to remove it. He turns and turns in circles with his head looking over his shoulder in order to get a good look at his big boy bag. How did it get there...and how can you make it go away, momma?

He won't be carrying markers, crayons, paper and folders to Miss Karens. Right now, his pack is filled with diapers, breakfast, sippy cup and wipes. If anything, he just has the "look" of a preschooler!

We're loving our great start to the school year and Miller is in heaven at Miss Karens. The first week, he came home ready to eat lunch and exhausted from all the morning playtime. He's still napping in the morning, but his nap is dwindling down to 45 minutes. I don't think he wants to miss any of the action with the other kiddos.

All grown up, with my choo choo backpack!

Miller is determined to climb over the baby gate!

Lunch & Play

Miller and I had a blast over at Heather, Meg & Kate's for a lunch playdate today. The kiddos dined on pizza & fruit picnic style in Meg's playroom. Poor Meg had to sit in between two boys and guard her plate before it was "free game" open to curious hands wanting to sample her food. She takes it all in stride! Miller actually sat down at the picnic table for only a few minutes before the sights and sounds of the playroom lured him to get up and run around. Who has time to eat when there is SO much playing to do? He then ate lunch on the fly, stopping by the picnic table for a quick bite before hopping to the next game or activity with friends.

Five busy toddlers and one newborn made for a fantastic group of playmates. They turned that playroom upside down and inside out on their quest for the perfect toy. Miller enjoyed Meg's piano and karoke set for sure. Then it was off to the playscape for some swinging and sliding fun. We kept these toddlers on the move! Before long, crying won out over laughter. That's when you know to start packing up to head home for naptime! Thank you Heather for hosting us at your house. You make mothering two look so easy. We loved it!

Meg "pushing" Miller on the swing after she sweetly kissed his cheek.

Miller diving in front of Jack to sit on the slide. Ahh..these boys...SO active!

Budding Artist

When I picked up Miller from church nursery this morning a little surprise awaited me....Miller's first piece of artwork. There it was sitting in a row with all the other children's artwork proudly displaying the name "Miller" in the bottom right hand corner. I know...I know...it's only stickers on a piece of paper. But, he chose those stickers and decided where to put them on his construction paper. Promotion Sunday has brought many changes for Miller. He's in a new big- boy room with new teachers. The biggest change is that he hears a weekly lesson and participates in a craft. At least, he's traveled with a few of his buds that he's grown up with over the last year. Familiar faces have made the transition easier on our little guy. Enjoy!

Back To School!

No, it's not actually school..... but Miller is enjoying his mornings at Miss Karen's house with friends. I swear he thinks he's attending a fun filled playdate every morning! 1/2 time teaching has allowed me the perfect blend of mommyhood and work. I feel so blessed to have the wonderful opportunity to do what I love again this year and still feel like I'm being a good wife and momma. My schedule is nearly the same as last year which allows Miller and I to eat lunch together and enjoy playdates in the afternoons.


We've had fun getting him ready for this brand new adventure over the last two weekends with all the fun preparations it takes to get a toddler ready for "school". And, what better way to celebrate back to school than with shoe shopping?? Last weekend, we took advantage of tax free shopping and our B.O.G.O 40% off coupon at Coggins shoes in Marietta. This is where my mom purchased shoes when I was a little girl. It's a family owned and operated shoe store that used to be located right on the Marietta Square. Of course, We always think of Grandpa Ralph Miller when we get fitted for shoes. He use to be in shoe sales when we (his granchildren) were little. All the cousins reaped the benefit of free shoes. Check out Miller's new big boy shoes for the fall. He now wears a 6 wide shoe!! Yes, I'm a sucker for saddles. I think it's the last time he can get away with wearing these traditional shoes. After all our shoe shopping, Gymboree had a great sale and we indulged in some new T- shirts and shorts...all TAX free of course.


Miller would like to take this opportunity to thank Grandmama and Poppy for his new fall sandles that were on his feet when we returned from New York. They're carrying on the tradition of Grandpa Miller. Just in time for back to school!

Today, we got a little hair trim at Kids Kuts. This was Miller's second hair cut!! I love Miller's side wisps, but you see, there's that line between long & cute and long & out of control, unruly. We wouldn't want Miss Karen to get the wrong impression that he was a wild child by the looks of his hair!! Check out his "back to school" cut. We didn't capture too many smiles from this snipping event,but Miller was thrilled to sit in the shiny red car again. It's a little short, but I think it will "grow on me".








After all the hair trimming fun, Miller modeled his new back to school look for Grandmama and Poppy. We joined them at their neighborhood clubhouse for some swimming fun. It just so happened to be a "back to school" party with music, food and kids galore.


Grandmama sat poolside in awe of just how active Miller has become in the baby pool. I'm his little lifeguard shadow ready to swoop in to rescue a submerged toddler at any moment. He actually LOVES dunking his head under the water, and I haven't let him stay under water long enough to see if he can stand up on his own. Don't want to chance that one!



There's just something exciting about August! Is it the smell of new pink erasers & unsharpened pencils? I love a fresh start to a new year. And, it's a year full of possibilities, new friends, and change for Miller! I have a feeling we're in for a great ride again this year.

Green Eggs & Ham

I spy Miller wearing a sticker that reads," I had a blood test !" Today, I took Miller to Wellstar to get tested for an egg allergy. I've noticed that when I give him a whole egg.... scrambled or hard boiled, he gets an eczema type rash on his chest. I followed all the rules and waited to introduce this protein rich treat until after his first birthday & stuck with all the guidelines and still....a rosy rash!! I am encouraged that he can indulge in foods that have eggs in them so far. He devoured his first birthday cake that had eggs in it. He's all about pancakes (w/out syrup) in the mornings. From time to time he eats a cookie as a treat. Very puzzling....I know!!

I was somewhat dreading taking Miller in for the test. Who wants to spend their afternoon in a doctor's office? In my mind, I pictured a busy waiting room filled with quiet adults waiting to be seen. It's not fun waiting very long with an active toddler. I went armed with graham crackers, a toy car, and his sippy. It's so true that 99% of what we worry about never happens. And, in this case, we were the only ones in the waiting room and we were seen right away.


Miller was such a big boy when the lab technician drew his blood. He sat on my lap unaware of just what was going down. They tied a baby sized turnicate around his upper arm. While they anxiously searched for a vein, Miller resisted his arm confinement. No such luck on the right arm. Luckily, within a few seconds of searching on the left arm, sweet success. Miller wimpered and turned down that lower lip when the needle went in, but tried so hard to contain his cries. I envisioned screams of terror, but was pleasantly surprised when Miller handled himself so well. He was delighted with his 2 big boy stickers from surviving the event. Now, we'll just have to wait 7 days to find out the results. If the results are negative, I think we'll celebrate over green eggs and ham!

Sweet Sixteen

"Sixteen candles"....That's the tune we're humming around here lately! Our little guy turned a sweet sixteen months old last Friday. Your probably thinking, "When will they stop celebrating month to month?" It's important to me to document every facet of Miller's growing personality so I don't forget little priceless memories along the way.

Miller is mastering spoon usage. He picks it out of my hand and is showing near perfect aim into his mouth. We're going to move on to forks next. I serve him alot of finger foods so my goal is to give him the opportunity to use plastic ware more.

Miller's new favorite passtime is looking at books. He'll sit uninterrupted for 10-15 minutes turning the pages of small cardboard books while talking jibberish to himself. Occasionally, he'll spot a familiar object on the page and point to identify the picture. He LOVES to "read". His little vocabulary is growing daily. Miller spoke his first phrase last week, "See the car?" We kept pointing out the cars, firetrucks, and airplanes in a Richard Scarey book and then he would mimic pointing and uttering the same phrase. He now loves to comb the house on a car hunt to voice his new phrase proudly.

Funny Story:Miller spotted his first airplane in the sky and to our surprise, he pointed up and said," See the car?" I guess anything that moves and has a motor sound is a car to him! His other new phrase is "more crackee" signaling me to give him another graham cracker after his lunch. It's too cute to hear him say more. It sounds like...." mmmm - or". I've been trying to use words he already knows and then model putting them together.

When Miller wants me to help him play with something, he'll open my hand and place the toy or book inside it, then he closes my hand around it! He knows how to get my attention one way or another. It can be somewhat of a frustrating stage because he's so aware of what he wants but doesn't have enough words to communicate yet. Sometimes he'll get so frustrated that he'll just shrill. He's does wonderfully during independent playtime. I love to watch him entertain himself while talking jibber jabber.

His newfound passion is blowing bubbles. He stands at the back door looks outside and says, "Bubbee", "bubbee". We spend a little time each day enjoying bubbles on the back patio and Miller thinks he's in heaven. He loves to pop the bubbles that stick around on the ground using his pointer finger. I found gallon bubbles at Wal-Mart with a long wand to make bubble blowing a little easier on my cheeks.

Sixteen months is SO sweet already. We're excited for what this month has in store for our growing boy!