December Already?

I'm amazed at how fast the time goes! It's December 1st already, and I feel so behind. I've only gotten a small fraction of my Christmas hopping done, and for the 1st time since we've been married, the Christmas tree isn't up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We just have to find the time to get it all done. Hopefully tonight we'll put everything out.

Benjamin is 5 months old today. He's a cutie-pie. He's eating cereal & green beans regularly now, and is starting to eat more formula than breastmilk. We're starting the weaning process, and it's going OK. I'm ready for him to be a little less reliant on only MOM to eat! We're having some trouble with him sleeping in his own bed, too, because he always wants to be near me in my bed (which is where our middle-of-the-night feedings take place), so I'm hoping that getting him strictly on the bottle will help that!

Happy Boy

He's NOT a morning person!

Mattie's continuing to thrive in preschool. Her teachers are very kind to her, and she loves them, so I'm happy! She's getting to where she likes a lot of attention and always needs it, which is something new for her, so I'm trying to be patient with this phase!

Mattie's Indian Name at her Preschool Thanksgiving Feast was "She who is as Sweet as a Honeybee"

Caroline is still Caroline. It's amazing how quickly her speech developed. It was almost as if overnight she begain enunciating and we could finally understand what she was saying. She's really growing up into a toddler. We still have loud crying & some temper tantrums, but it's starting to get better.

Smiling for the camera

What's funny is, she picked this book up out of a stack of books and walked around with it "playing doctor." If she only knew . . .

Jim started his new job last month and is doing well. He enjoys going to work and likes the folks who work there with him. He's also enjoying wearing real clothes to work now and has expensive taste, like me!! I keep telling him there's only room for one diva in this house!!

Us at Thanksgiving at Mema's house

As for now, it looks like we'll be staying home for Christmas. Jim has to work the day after, and we have to be home for church on Sunday morning, as Jim has to teach and I have to sing. So, we'll probably miss most of you but you can keep up with us on the blog!

Happy Halloween

Ariel, Batman, & Batgirl ready to trick or Treat!!

It wasn't my ideal Halloween, that's for sure. Mattie woke up complaining of a sore throat, but she wanted to go to school anyway. I got the call to come pick her up around 11 a.m.. She was crying because her little throat hurt. By the time we got back to school to pick her up, Caroline was complaining, too, and had a fever. We got to the dr., and they both had strep throat! Poor kiddos.


Dr. Goodlett said they could still go Trick or Treating, so we hit a few houses in our neighborhood. They only made it to about 10-15 houses, though, and everyone was cold and tired and ready for bed.

They looked so cute in their costumes, and Caroline & Benjamin both kept their masks on the whole time (Benjers' had to be tucked under b/c it was too big for his little nugget, though the bunting was way toooo short for him--that kid is so long!) We have way too much candy in the house now, but we had tons of fun with them!

Batman & Batgirl gearing up


Batman's big mask

Lots of Changes

Mattie & Caroline at the Snead's Asparagus Farm & Pumpkin Patch, 10/10/2008

So much is happening in the Miller household!!!!

Jason, Jenny, & Sydney came to visit from Hong Kong in the middle of September!

Jim started a new job with Synexxus and really likes it. He's back in Crystal City up in Northern Virginia and is happy to be back up there riding the train back & forth to work. He's very excited about all this job offers in terms of position & advancement.

Mattie had a ballet birthday on September 27th at her dance studio. The girls had a lot of fun taking a ballet class and learning a little dance to perform for the parents. I can't believe she's FOUR already!!! She's matured so much, even in this last month. She talks & acts like such an older child now. She's still loving preschool and is doing very well, already talking about heading off to Kindergarten next year on the school bus. We are noticing that she has the musical ability to memorize tunes & words and mix & match them, so we're going to take advantage of her enthusiasm and get her into piano lessons asap.

Caroline in costume learning a dance



Mattie dancing . . .

All 13 of the girls ready to learn ballet!!

Caroline is still adjusting to Mattie being in preschool 3 days a week, but she's getting better. We usually pass the time at the YMCA or running errands and try to avoid just sitting around at home all morning. Caroline just doesn't know how to play without Mattie telling her what to do!! She's still smoking everybody at gymnastics and it is the absolute highlight of her week. She has her daddy's competitive edge, so there's no doubt she'll be competing in the future!!!

Caroline getting ready to go to gymnastics class with her favorite leotard and scrunchie

Benjamin is growing, growing, growing! He's now 3 & 1/2 months old and weighs 14 lbs. He's such a delightful baby. We both can't get over the fact that he's so content and pleasant almost all the time (except when he's hungry or gassy!!). He's not shy or grumpy and loves to smile at everyone. Jim & I agree that he's the least difficult baby we've had.

Caroline & Benjamin were really talking to each other on this particular morning!

My happy boy!!

We went to Belvedere Plantation on 10/19/2008 and had a wonderful time there with friends. We wandered through the Maize maze, headed down zip lines, slid down slides, saw some animals, and took a hayride. It was awesome, and I wish we could have stayed longer.

Mattie at Belvedere Plantation

Caroline at Belvedere Plantation

There's nothing new to report with me. I'm still busy with everything I do with MOPS, choir, praise team, Mattie's activties & Caroline's activities, etc. There's rarely a day when we don't have somewhere to go or someone to meet, but we like to move around here. We don't like dull moments!!

Mommy & her girls at Belvedere

Daddy & his girls picking out pumpkins

Check back next week for pictures of our trip to Florida with Ryan & Tiffany!!!!!!!! I can't wait!

Everyone's growing up!

Yesterday was a big day for Mattie--she started preschool!!!
The day started out in the typical way:

She woke up quickly, though and was really ready to go! She was so excited, & so was I.
Here we are in front of the house on the way to the car:

And with Caroline showing off her 1st Day of School Show & Tell (her family crest):

And in front of the school:

Here she is with her friend, Lydia, who goes to the same school

And here she is in her classroom:

She did great! There were no tears (for her, at least!) when I dropped her off. She ran right in and had a fabulous time. They even made ice cream floats the first day. How cool is that?!? I did OK with her being gone all morning. Caroline asked for her a few times, but we passed the morning at the YMCA, so I think filling the empty space with other kids helped her a lot! She misses Mattie when she's away!

Benjamin is also growing like a weed! We took him to the doctor last week for his 2 month check-up, and he weighed 11 lbs, 11 oz and was 24 inches long--and that was a week ago already! He's BIG! He's growing out of his 3 month clothes already; I can't believe it! He's so precious. He smiles at us all the time and is doing a great job sleeping. We are soooo blessed to have such an easy-going baby.

Caroline is still doing great in gymnastics. She loves it. Her favorite is the balance beam, but Jim says she's best on the bar. He says she easily surpasses everyone else in that class. I'm excited to go watch her this week!

Mattie starts back to ballet this week and is also starting Cherub Choir (preschool choir) at church this Wednesday before AWANA. She's really excited. I think this is where she'll excel. She is very musical. It won't be long before she starts piano lessons . . .

A crazy Weekend

So, we had a busy wild weekend. It all started with Caroline's first gymnastics class! She was so excited to go do "Nastics with Daddy" on Saturday morning. She did awesome! Her instructor was amazed that she is asstrong as she is! Jim was so proud of her and thinks she may be a little prodigy! Here's a shot of her in her little leotard on her first day:

As soon as they got home from Gymnastics, I put the kids in the car, and we headed to a Princess Party! The girls got dressed up, walked the red carpet through the castle doors, made tiaras & princess wands, ate pink cake, & opened a pinata! They had sooooo much fun (me, too!).

After the party, we headed down to G-Town for a baby shower. The whole Parrish clan was there, and Benjamin met the fam. We had a good time with everyone. The girls especially had a blast playing outside with Heath & Grandpop

These are seriously some of the best pictures I've seen of my kids.

I guess I should throw in some of Benjamin, too, huh? He's started smiling now and is getting to be a better sleeper, though I wouldn't say we're well rested or anything! He's a super cutie!

I think all our running around is pretty much done for a while. My parents are coming here this weekend to watch the kids while Jim & I go out for our anniversary. Jim is going out of town next week for work, so we'll be here doing our thing (YMCA, ballet, dr. appt's, preschool orientation, tap class, AWANA, MOPs stuff . . .) while he's away. We may slip away to my parents' house if there's time, but it's unlikely.

Hope everyone is doing well! Let us know how you are if you can!

Just an Update

Hello, All!
Team Miller is on the mend. After quite a rough two weeks, it seems like everyone is finally starting to get better. It all started with Mattie. She got an ear infection and a sinus infection a couple weeks ago, 3 days later Caroline got it, then Benjamin came down with it 2 days after that. Mattie's even came back a second time. Between that and the well-child visits, we may as well live at the doctor's office! Things are looking up, now, though. Even Dr. Goodlett said she hopes not to see us for a little while!
We're enjoying some free time at the end of summer. We've been on a little break from Wednesday night church services after having the baby, but we started back this past week. AWANA starts back in 2 weeks, and Mattie is so excited! I'm even teaching a 4-yr old class this year. Mattie's getting ready to start back to ballet and we're enrolling Caroline in gymnastics, as well. Plus, Mattie startes preschool in 3 weeks!! Between all that and MOPs and Bible Study, our schedules are FULL! We've been able to get in a few visits at my mom's house, though, during this down time. The girls have loved swimming in their pool, and I've enjoyed having a little break during those days.
We're getting back in shape after the baby, too. I went back to the YMCA last week and started dieting, trying to get back into those pre-baby clothes. I'm impatient, though, and want to see results after 2 days. It'll come soon, though.
Jim's been teaching our Sunday School full-time for a couple months now, so that's been keeping him pretty busy, but he loves it and he's doing a great job. Between him teaching and me in the choir and on the praise team, we're at church every Sunday all morning long. Its really difficult for us to get away on the weekends because of it! However, the girls & I will be back at my mom's the weekend of the 24th & 25th for Rachel's baby shower (Jim has a "Man Thing" that Saturday night and he has to teach Sunday morning, of course, so he's staying here), so I hope to see a lot of you then.
Until next time . . .

The World's Newest Superhero!

Little Man is already one month old today! He weighs 9 lbs., 5 oz., & is 22 & 3/4 inches long. He gained a pound & a half and grew an inch & a quarter these past TWO WEEKS! He's a good eater, that's for sure!

Special thanks to Ryan & TIffany for Benjamin's "costume" (see picture).

Must love Radioactive Yellow Poop, Temper Tanturms, & Noggin

If I were posting a classifieds ad for a Nanny, this would be my title. It never fails--I change Benjamin's diaper, and he poops again, yucky, neon-yellow stuff. I can't read Caroline's mind, so she throws herself on the floor and screams for 20 minutes. And Mattie, she just wants to watch Noggin.
But who am I kidding? I don't want a Nanny, because I don't actually mind all those things. I need a MAID. A full-time, live-in, pick-up-my-junk-as-I-drop-it-on-the-floor-because-I'm-too-tired-and-lazy-and-stressed-out-from-chasing-around-three-wild-kids-all-day maid. I wonder if Florence is still available after "moving on up?" Or Alice (did she & Sam ever get married?)? I'd even take Tony Micelli at this point. If I had a "live-in," I'd have the time & patience to change 12 diapers a day, deal with the screaming, and actually sit down with Mattie to watch Yo, Gabba Gabba without feeling guilty about the dishes in the sink, the laundry piled up on my bathroom floor, and the enormous amount of work still to be done in our back "yard" before Jim gets home. It starts to overwhelm me right about 5:00 p.m. every day.
When it all starts to get to me, when I feel like I cannot fix another cup of milk or feed the baby again after only 45 mintues, or pick up those 30 Barbies for the 4th time today, I remember Colossions 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord." I'm not here to make myself happy or to be comfortable & rested. I'm here, in this family, with these kids, to glorify God. No matter how tired I am or how stressful it gets, I am supposed to be a reflection of Him in my service to my husband & children.
I shouold confess that my in-laws provided some help with Merry Maids after Benjamin was born, which has freed me up quite a bit, but the Merry Maids don't pick up the sticks in my play yard or pull the weeds in my flowerbeds or plant new flowers or cut the grass . . . Wait a minute--I think I need a gardener!