Mother's Day Out

Miller started Mother's Day Out this week!  He goes two days a week from 8:30-12:00.  His teacher is so sweet and I think it will be really good for him to have a little interaction with other children.  Plus, if I'm being honest, Mommy likey :)  I actually got to run errands on Tuesday without having to work around nap times, meals, and car seat shenanigans.  I also went to the chiropractor and got to read a magazine while I waited.  I know.  It's the little things.  In September, I'm going to use the time go to a ladies Bible Study and I am soooo looking forward to it.   As much as I enjoyed my time, I was definitely ready to pick my baby up!!  When I buckled him in his car seat I noticed that his sweet little hands were covered with marker and discovered that he had created his first piece of art.  So precious.

Grab a Spoon

I must admit that when I read on babycenter that Miller should be learning to use a spoon, I was a bit hesitant.  All I could picture was him covered from head to toe with yogurt and my walls splattered with potatoes.  So when we tried it last week I was very pleasantly surprised.  Miller did so well!  I couldn't decide which hand to get him to use.  We think he may be left-handed, but how can you really know?  I let him try it with both and it seems that he is better with his left hand.

We tried mashed cauliflower first and it was fairly neat.  Then we moved on to yogurt with blueberries and oatmeal.  That's when things got a little messy.

We'll keep practicing :)

Ty & Mia

We FINALLY got to meet our niece and nephew this weekend!  Ty and Mia are twins who are ten months old.  Their dad, Jay, is my step-brother {John's son} and they live in Florida.  On Friday we went down to the lake and got to see Alexis, my step-sister, and her fiance, Gordon.  We had a Miller crab boil that was delicious!

Alexis and Gordan left Saturday morning and Jay, Amy, Ty, and Mia rolled in that afternoon.  It was such a fun visit, but way too short!  They will be staying for the week at the lake, but we had to get back this afternoon.  It was pretty crazy having three babies in one house, but they were all so good that it made it really fun.  I think Miller was so excited to have some playmates!

Mom reeeeeaaaaaallllllly wanted to get a picture of all three grandchildren in Advantage Chiropractic onesies {my brother's clinic}.  The onesies are size 6 mo.  Did I mention that the twins are 10 months and Miller is 12 months????  They were fine for a million few quick pictures.

Her next idea was to get the back of the onesies.  After several attempts...

we finally got one!

We had so much fun seeing you, Ty and Mia {and Jay and Amy and Alexis and Gordan}!  We can't wait for the next visit!!

Lost in Translation

Miller is "saying" quite a few words these days!  I forgot to include them in his one year post and I want to be sure I remember them all.  He's not consistent enough to catch on video, but here is a listing of his "words":

Mama, Da (Dada), K (Cat), Ba (Ball), Uh (Uh Oh!), Duh (Deer - to the mounted deer in the garage :)

That's all for now!  I love when he talks to us.  It is so sweet!

Bye Bye Bottle & Stairmaster

We have a few accomplishments to update on.  About a week ago we said "bye-bye" to Miller's bottle!  This was sort of an accidental accomplishment.  About a month ago, Miller was finally able to drink out of his sippy cup, but he didn't really want to and would protest until I gave him a bottle.  I asked for tips from other parents on facebook and the majority seemed to respond that I needed to just go cold turkey and take away his bottle completely.  This caught me a little off guard and I must admit that I was hesitant to do something quite so drastic so early {11 months}.  Being a first time mom though I often doubt myself, the job I'm doing, and where Miller should be developmentally.  I just don't have much to compare to.  I was so thankful for a few friends {and my mom} who encouraged me to give him a little more time.  Only two weeks later he was doing so much better with his sippy cup!  I felt completely comfortable with giving him a bottle for each meal and his cup at snack time.  Within a couple of days, we traded out the lunch bottle for his cup.  He just rolled right with it.  Within a week or so he was down to no bottles at all and didn't seem to mind one bit.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of babies who only get it when you go cold turkey and I would definitely have done this in the future if Miller just wasn't giving it up.  However, I want to give a huge THANK YOU to those of you who gave me encouragement when I doubted myself and my mothering skills.  I definitely needed to hear your words of support and it all worked out in the end!

Another thing that Miller has gotten really good at is climbing stairs.  He can go up and down all by himself {we of course stand by in case of a fall!}  Here is a video of him climbing them.  We took this a few weeks ago at Poppy & Cissy's and he has gotten much faster/better since then.  I just refuse to take a video of him on our disgusting carpeted stairs {which we'll be replacing soon - more on that to come} :)

Ten Year Reunion

About a week and a half ago we went to Birmingham for my ten year high school reunion.  Crazy!  I cannot believe it was time for it!  We had a great turnout and it ended up being even more fun than I expected {and I was really looking forward to it}.  The night went by way too quickly though!  There were so many people that I didn't even get a chance to talk to.  I guess we'll just have to look forward to our 20th!

Miller's First Birthday Party

Miller's first birthday party was a great success!  We decided to keep it to immediate family this year, and I'm so glad we did.  We still had eleven people {in addition to the guest of honor} and about 1, 345 gifts so I think many more guests might have been a bit overwhelming for Miller.  It was a such a fun day and I was so pleased that Miller handled everything so well.  I let the pictures do all most of the talking.

 Ohhhh, the anticipation!!!!

I went to sleep in a normal house and I woke up to a houseful of people and a party!!!

The hat didn't last long.  I forgot to put it back on when it was time for cake!  Boo :(

Poppy and Cissy brought this all the way back from Alaska.

Miller enjoyed his first cupcake, but we never really got a good smile.  I've included the video if you want to watch, but do so with the warning that it is LONG!!!

After cake, Miller burned off some of that energy playing with his new toys!

Shortly later we noticed a rash forming in all of the places that Miller touched with icing.  We think he might be a little allergic to the coloring.  After a bath and a few minutes it went away though.  Thankfully, Miller didn't even seem to notice.

It was such a wonderful day and we are so thankful for those who were able to be a part of it!  I hope you had a happy first birthday, Miller!