Sugar & Spice

And, everything nice. That's what little girls are made of! We're ecstatic to announce that we're having a girl, a girl!


We're both pinching ourselves and thankful that this girly girl is healthy and growing nicely so far. She's measuring around April 30th. She was sucking her thumb and opening & closing her hands during the ultrasound. The little lady even showed us her stubborn side when she crossed her legs during the gender test.
Landon has already melted all over the place and to say we're gushing is an understatement!

We shared the news with Grandmama and Miller presenting them with a bunch a girly pink balloons. Grandmama is still in shock! Thanks for sharing in our joy.

"From the fullness of His grace we have received one blessing after another"
John 1:16

Boy or Girl?

Just 3 short days until the ultrasound. There's just a hint of excitement around here. I find my mind racing at night picturing both options for our family of three.

Miller would just love a little brother. Landon never had a brother growing up, so he would be excited to see that dynamic with two boys. And, boys are just the sweetest little things with their mommas. I'm picturing driving a mini-van full of little boys to soccer games etc. Practically speaking, I have ALL the clothes in the same exact season. The nursery would need sprucing up a little with accessories, but not a complete overhaul. We would just keep adding to our collection of cars and trucks in the playroom. What a lucky baby to inherit a stocked playroom of little boy toys?

Now, don't get me wrong, we don't have our hearts set on a boy. There would be no tears shed if it was a sweet bundle of pink. How could you cry over all things lacy, frilly, and girly? I guess I would just have to go out and buy dresses and sweet monogrammed bloomers:)Our little outings as a family would have to include the American Girls Cafe, shopping trips, and tea dates.

So, my mind has been a little preoccupied lately...

We're praying for a healthy baby and we are beyond excited to see what God wants to give us!

Live Nativity

Our little man may think Santa is scary, but he surely wasn't afraid of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. He marched right up to Joseph in the stable and greeted him with all smiles in true Miller fashion.

If lap visits and professional pictures with Mary and Joseph were offered, I think he'd have gone for it! We've been reading the Christmas story with our advent calendar for a couple of weeks, so to be able to see what Miller thought was the real thing was a pleasure. Isn't that the joy of Christmas?



Miller was thrilled to participate in the "Christmas Packages" event at "Grandmama and Poppy's big church on Johnson Ferry Road" as he calls it. It didn't take long for him to enjoy all the animals at the petting zoo around the stable. We saw pigs, sheep, goats, miniature horses, bunnies, and chickens as we listened to carolers sing Silent Night.


Another station at the event housed live reindeer. Too bad these beautiful animals were off limits to touch for the little man. We hopped from station to station and even enjoyed a quick pit stop for cookies and cider. Mommy ended up making the reindeer tree ornament while Poppy chased Miller from room to room. It's so nice to have all kinds of extra hands at events like these. How will we ever keep up with two?



On our way home, Miller said, "I talked to Joseph mommy." However, I think he's confusing the two Joseph's in the Bible. He commented that Joseph's brothers threw him into a "deep dark pit". I guess we'll hide his Coat of Many Colors book during the Christmas season to avoid confusion!

Santa Nostalgia

I thought I'd dig through the archives and post our visits with Jolly Old Saint Nick from Christmas' past. These are the only Santa pictures that will grace our blog this year as Miller has developed a most peculiar case of Santa phobia.



In 2007, we journeyed to the Avenue with our friends the Thrashers to sit on Santa's lap. I know what you're thinking...Miller has bare feet. I promise, ya'll it must have been 75 degrees that afternoon. I was sweating in my turtleneck.
As you can see, no Santa phobia from the little guy. At 9 months, we just expected him to sit there contently, and he did for the most part. Cute Santa Baby!

Last year, our family had a great experience in Woodstock meeting "Hippie Santa" as Landon coined him. We traveled a wee bit north to the cutest little cottage where we met Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Miller was in awe of all the lights and scenes set up outside to tour. We even got to tour the inside of Mr. and Mrs. Claus's kitchen and train room. Eveywhere you looked their were vintage decorations galore. It was a sight to see!
Let's just say the lap visit was a slightly uncomfortable place for Miller to rest. He enjoyed watching the other children's turn, but didn't like Santa up close.
About a month later, we read in the Cherokee Tribune, that this "Hippie Santa" won a local lottery. He commented that he was going to buy a new $200.00 belt. Landon said that he should purchase new teeth:) One thing's for sure, we'll be back for the light show this year!

Thanks for joining me on a trip down memory lane. When we chatted up a visit with Santa this year, Miller's response was, "Miller no like Santa...Santa is scary!" Anyone know of a site that I can virtually put a smiling Miller on Santa's lap?

Feeling Festive

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Thanksgiving Week

We have really enjoyed our time as a family this week! It was so nice to have the whole week off of work to catch up on managing this house of mine. Cleaning, playing, decorating, addressing, cooking and a little door buster shopping kept us all busy. Not to mention, we enjoyed two Thanksgiving dinners with both sets of grandparents.

We kicked off the Thanksgiving festivities on Tuesday evening at Grandmama and Poppy's with a traditional meal. Of course I requested my favorite side, broccolli salad. Miller SO enjoyed his Uncle Clay's companionship. Miller chases him around the house comanding his full attention.... "Upside down Uncle Clay", "Whatcha doin Uncle Clay?"


We gobbled until we wobbled all the way up to Knoxville on Wednesday morning. Traveling and road trips are so much easier with a toddler. We're enjoying it while we can, before we'll have a newborn in tow again. Miller's always excited to see his Tennessee family. He also talked about Omi's rescue truck in the car nonstop. He even named his favorite toy at their house "rescue truck Fokens"! To Miller's surprise, a new stuffed friend Curious George was waiting to be discovered in the pack n' play. What a joy to play with 6 month old cousin Meredith! There was no time wasted in breaking out the Christmas clothes. We dressed them in their Christmas PJ's from Omi on Thanksgiving Eve. Miller leaned over and smooched Meredith. It was too cute!


Miller loved being "Santa's Little Helper" while trimming the tree with Omi. I think he was more fascinated climbing up her step ladder than handing her each poinsettia.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. We sure are thankful to have such wonderful friends and family like you!

Popping Out: 16 weeks

Poor baby number two. It flys by all too quickly. I must admit that the weeks are ticking by and I have to look at my calendar to remember just what exact week we're on. Thank goodness for Babycenter's weekly development update that pops up in my inbox each week. This baby's already had more caffeine and a few feta cheese crumbles than Miller ever did. And, I don't freak out if I realize in the morning that I forgot the oh so fun prenatal. Ok, so it's happened twice. Poor number two.

To make it all better, baby number 2 does have one thing Miller did not have... a blog! And, momma's sporting around designer maternity jeans. A brand new purchase for me and baby number 2. You have to have something to boost your spirits when nothing else fits!

I had my 16 week appointment today and received a great report from Dr. Huffman. The heartbeat was 150. Hearing those thumping sounds is so wonderful to my ears. Since I can't feel any movement yet, hearing the heartbeat is reassuring.




Here's a picture of the bump. I've definitely "popped out" this week. You can't tell from the front, but the profile view is oh so telling. I'm in maternity pants most of the time, or the bella band is helping me transition nicely into the second trimester. Overall, I'm feeling more like myself. I'm craving veggies and southwestern dip, vegetable soup, and salsa. Landon makes a black olive, cucumber, tomato and red wine vinegar Greek salad that I could drink out of the bowl! I can't believe I ate a whole half jar of Claussen pickles the other day and washed down this salty snack with a few marshmallows.

The countdown is on for the big ultrasound on December 9th. That's the date when all the guessing will be over. Landon is already planning our big night out where we open our baby envelope. We'll find out if this baby is a he or a she...just in time for Christmas!
We keep asking Miller if he wants a baby brother or sister and he keeps telling us that he wants mommy to have a "baby truck"! He's in for a rude awakening!