Scott & Katie

Halloween!

2010-11-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

I just realized I never published this post and it was sitting as a draft. Oops. And now I'm too lazy to even comment on any of it. So I will give you the abbreviated version. Halloween was a blast this year. I felt like I was re-living my childhood trick or treating with the kids. It was fantastic! Ryan was spiderman and he stopped at every house to show them his muscles. He was so much fun. He told me that someday he will be big enough to go trick or treating by himself...But that I shouldn't worry because he will be there to hold my hand and take me from house to house because if he gets bigger then I will get littler. (what?) It was cute nonetheless :)
Macey was a fairy princess thing and she was so stinking cute. We just had a great time.
We also had a Halloween party Saturday night which was so much fun. Too much fun. It was complete with costumes, an overly decorated house and a flaming pumpkin. What's not to enjoy?
Lastly, we went over to our friends' house to participate in the 'spook' house they set up. I have to admit that it was very well done. But I felt really bad for all of the little toddlers who screamed and cried because they were so scared...Macey included. I told Ryan that if anyone tried to scare him that he could just punch them in the face. So he walked up showed his big muscles and was ready to punch! But then it was just Scott so he ended up laughing at 'silly daddy'.
All in all, Halloween was just too much fun this year. I wish Ihad the desire to comment on each photo...but I don't. And I haven't mastered the art of blogger so all of my photos are out of order. So here you have all of the various Halloween events we attended! At least I got the Halloween pictures up (and the decorations down) before Thanksgiving :)

Yes, it really has been that long

2010-08-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find myself wishing time away. Waiting for the next milestone such as, No More Diapers or All Day Kindergarten. But then I have moments like these and I wish I could just bottle up my kids and keep them babies forever. Because I'm sure going to miss this.

Kyle is the happiest baby ever. He is perfect. I call him my Ray of Sunshine because holding him literally makes me happier. I don't know what I would do without this little guy :)

Ryan showing Aunt Stephanie where to go next at the zoo. Even though he was reading it upside down he still managed to lead us along!

I love my sassy girl.

And my CRAZY girl.

And my forever pantless boy, thanks to potty training.

Cliff jumping at Sauble Falls

love him.

She's not sure what she thinks about Cole blowing out her candles. Well someone had to do it, we waited about 2 minutes while she just sat there staring!

Macey thinks she looks like a pirate when she makes this face.

But I think she looks like an angel when she makes this face!

This was my BIG catch at Chesley Lake. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I must've caught the smallest bass in the lake... a minnow.

Here Ryan is expressing his utter disappointment. He caught 22 fish so we were able to have a fish fry. He told me I should practice and then maybe I would be as good as him. You might have to zoom in but the fish really is there :)

Experienced parents out there....do they EVER stop fighting?

First morning at Chesley! I love how happy they are in this picture.

Ryan had a little more luck with the Barbie fishing pole.

The kids and Scott at Presque Isle. I don't know the formal definition of joy...but this has to be pretty close.

I'm going to miss his little baby frog legs

Playing some more at Presque Isle

He has the sweetest face

Movie night with the cousins!

She could eat a whole watermelon by herself!

The kids really like giving their toys to Kyle...in this instance it was obviously Macey!

Ahhh! I can't get over how much I love this feisty little stinker!

Welcome to life after baby #3....Yes Ryan really is wearing a princess pull-up (but now he is potty trained woohoo!)...while diving off the couch cushions...while playing the ipod...in a filthy house...while I stand idly by taking pictures. Life is good.

I found Macey...but not before she found the ice cream cake darn it.

Like I said...life is good. And so CRAZY!

He's Here!

2010-06-13T08:52:00.001-07:00

Kyle Maxwell Miller finally arrived on Wednesday! I went into labor on his due date but he was born 31 minutes late :) That would have been our second baby right on his due date!! Oh well :) He is our first blonde baby but other than that he looks just like a Miller Baby. He is the sweetest little boy :)

Kyle Maxwell Miller

8 lb 7 oz 20.5 in

6/9/10

The kids are adjusting very well. Ryan is obsessed with the baby and has nicknamed him Buzz Lightyear Marks. Not sure why...but now Macey calls him Buzz too. Other times Ryan will call him mini Ryan because he has heard us say that is what he looks like! Whatever they call him, all 3 kids are very proud to have a new baby brother.

They even shared their special friends with him...Teddy and Monkey.

They quickly took their stuffed animals back...but said he could keep the blue and yellow bear that rattles.

More pictures to come!

Just Me and my Mom

2010-02-23T13:42:00.001-08:00

Even though Macey is going through a huge daddy phase...I still love the little girl and will take all the cuddles I can get. (Ryan was practicing his photography skills!) We finally came out of a rough patch (3 wks to be exact) of sickness in our house. It ended with ear infections. My kids (and my life) were rotten and miserable! After a few days of antibiotics my playful, fun, silly kids were back! I sure missed them :)

Dear Santa

2010-02-23T13:21:00.001-08:00

Dear Santa,

I am telling you this now because I might forget in 9 months. Next year I want the biggest, baddest, blowiest snowblower you can find. Because I am never shoveling that much snow again. I will never go out and shovel 3 times a day for a week again. I think my baby hates me and I know my back hates me. The only good thing was that I guiltlessly counted that as my workout for 5 days straight.

While I am making requests, I have a few people I would like you to add to your naughty list.

1. The 3 neighbors with snowblowers who rushed to the woman's aid because her snowblower ran out of gas mid-driveway. Nevermind pregnant lady blazing a trail with nothing but a shovel through the 18 inches of snow.

2. The 6 year old neighbor girl who thought it was funny to throw snowballs at me during one of my shoveling escapades. Then eagerly jumped in the 5 foot snowpile that I had already shoveled only to have it tumble back into the driveway. Lame, neighbor girl. Lame.

3. The snowplow who keeps minimalizing my obsessive efforts to keep my driveway clear of even one snowflake by creating a 2 foot barricade at the end of my driveway.

4. Whichever neighbor it is that I now know lets their dog pee in my yard on walks.

ps. I know that picture might look like a light dusting but that was the part of the driveway I had already shoveled! There was already another inch by the time Ifinished!! This was after the snowstorm was supposedly over.

Some mothers always say the right thing...and then some don't

2010-02-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

Ryan has proven that he CAN go potty on the toilet, but that he most certainly chooses NOT to go on the potty. Potty training has not been very succsessful. In fact, I'm pretty sure Macey will be potty-trained first. Ryan went through a very promising phase in which he would tell me about 2 seconds before he was about to go to the bathroom (in his diaper) that he was going to go. I remember my sister telling me that her daughter did that right before potty-training. I was excited!! So every time he would tell me, I would rush him to the potty (like a good mother) in hopes we made it. He started telling me ALL the time that he had to go...and I brought him to the potty EVERY time thinking I would catch him.

One day, we started at Target and he said he had to go so we rushed to the bathroom to have him tell me "I just can't get it out". 5 minutes later we were wandering the store and the whole scene repeated itself. Later that day we were at the mall in Macy's and he said he had to go. I left Macey with my sister and RAN to the elevator, pressed the basement level and flew to the bathrooms. Out of breath we eagerly made it to the potty. "I just can't get it out again mom". I bit my lip. "Okay...let's go find Macey and Aunt Stephanie. We'll try it again later." Literally as we met up with them he told me he had to go again. The following is the frustrated and annoyed conversation I had with him:

Ryan: "Alright mom...My pee is coming....it's coming right now...a-ha there it is."

Ryan: (Pointing to his pee-pee) "Mom, do you know what's going on in here? I'm peeing everywhere. And I'm about to poop too."

Me: "Well Good. Thats what diapers are for."

Needless to say...he hasn't gone on the potty since. I think I could consider that a lost opportunity :) Now when he tells me he is about to go pee I eagerly (and hopelessly) suggest the potty...he says "No mom. You can just change my diaper when I'm done."

Is there a book on the wrong thing to say during potty-training?

More catch-up

2010-02-03T17:29:00.000-08:00

No pictures on this post...we have all been sick so the camera hasn't made it out much. But I couldn't help posting because Ryan has been so sweet lately.

Ryan is really into counting and categorizing. The other day we were all sitting in the family room and Ryan said "dad...we are the boys! There are 2 boys and 3 girls." Then after he thought for a second he said "no thats not right! There are 3 boys. Daddy...Ryan...and the super teeny tiny baby in mommy's belly!" What an observant little guy.

During Christmas season we tried to focus more on Jesus than Santa because we wanted the kids to understand that aspect first. Well...we might've done too good of a job because now Ryan gets the two confused. We finally put the kitchen together that Macey got for Christmas and Ryan keeps reminding Macey that Jesus brought it to her. Then he will say that they have to wait until next year when Jesus/Santa (the two are used interchangeably) comes again to get more toys. I told him that Jesus is here with him all the time and then he thought that meant he was getting more toys. It is so sweet and cute.

I think I might have a little OCD kiddo on my hands. Just this week he vacuumed the entire living room floor with our hand vac (our vacuum broke) and then went around and picked up any piece of dust/lint/etc. he could find with his hands and threw it in the garbage. Then he also spent 20 extra minutes in the bathtub the other night cleaning the walls and the tub with a washcloth. I told him that I had just cleaned it 2 days before and he said I missed some spots and he likes the tub shiny. Next time I'll give him the toilet brush too!

It is so funny to watch kids...I can look at all of my friends' kids and give you 10 reasons why they are exactly like their parents, but I couldn't do that with my own kids. Until yesterday. Scott took a little video of me to test out my new ipod and when we watched it I laughed out loud and said "I sound just like Ryan!" It was so funny to hear that we talk exactly the same. For a brief, very brief, second it made me proud to think that maybe some of his good qualities do come from me after all :) But then Macey rolls her eyes at me and Ryan farts in the bathtub because he likes to watch the bubbles and I realize that they definitely get the bad too hahah. Although I should clarify I don't fart in the bathtub...I just laugh when Ryan does.

Lastly, some things happen throughout the day that I don't necessarily want anyone, ok Scott, to find out about. For instance, if someone spills on the carpet I think "oh shoot, now scott is going to know I let the kids have food in the living room. Well the other day, Macey pooped (a downfall of the bathtub farting game) in the tub and I yanked them out so fast that they took off running naked thinking it was a funny game. Then as I was cleaning the tub I heard Ryan scream from Macey's room... "I'm peeing and I can't make it to the potty." When Ryan showed me where, I started laughing because it looked like he was peeing designs into the carpet. He was making circles and thought it was cool. SOOO then the next day Ryan told Scott all about it. Scott said "oh what did mommy do?" to which Ryan replied "she just laughed. She thought it was funny." whoops :) But really...what would motherhood be without laughter?

lastly part II. Just a little catch-up on Macey. She is officially 18 months old and an incredible handful. She is learning to talk a little bit more. She now knows a few words, even though Ryan can interpret all kinds of things he thinks she is saying. All I understand is : mama, dad, ooh ooh aah aah (which is her name for monkey), bath, off, please, thank you, pretty (which she calls barettes and headbands) good, no (she really knows that one), yes, all done, and boom blox (our favorite game on the wii haha). We did have a sweet little conversation the other day. She has been really sick and she looked miserable one evening:

Me: Macey do you feel good?

Macey: no

me: Do you feel bad?

Macey: 'es.

Me: Do you want to go to bed early?

Macey: peese. ooh ooh aah aah (which meant let's get monkey and go to bed now!)

She's a handful but she melts my little heart too :)

Anyone miss me?

2010-01-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

Well, blogger is being really obnoxious right now so this entire post is going to be backwards, and luckily for you, half of the pictures didnt show up. But oh well :) Why does it matter when I'm summing up the past 6 weeks in one post anyway?

Dallas
Scott and I were fortunate enough to go to Dallas for a mini 'vacation' while his parents watched our kids. The real purpose of the trip was kind of sad, as we went down for my grandpa's funeral. But nevertheless we had a blast. It was a great time seeing family and we managed to do a lot of fun stuff. Since I am HORRIBLE with a camera, this is the only picture I got (aside from a million pictures of the aquarium that we took for Ryan). This car became a very big joke between me and Scott..as well as the rest of the family. I made ONE little comment about how funny it was that we got an electric blue rental car and I am never going to live it down. But I wasn't the only one that thought an electric blue car was a bit of an eyesore....the hotel we stayed at was really swanky and it only had valet parking. The nice cars got the really close parking spots...jags, mercedes, bmw.... but our electric blue explorer got parked in the underground garage haha. We had to wait 10 minutes every time we wanted to leave the hotel. Anyway, things we didn't get pictures of: The Bodies Exhibit (which I would recomment to ANYONE...so cool), the Dallas aquarium and lots of shopping. We had so much fun and were just glad Scott's parents were willing/able to watch the munchkins for us.

Miss Independent
Apparently Macey was hungry :) I'm CONSTANTLY struggling with Macey because she would rather 'graze' and eat than sit in her seat. But this time she listened! She took Ryan's booster seat down so she could start eating.

And then climbed up on the table to get into her seat. I guess her 'gourmet' meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit was just too hard to pass up :)

"Look Mom! I buzzed my hair!"

I ran upstairs for TWO seconds to plug my phone in its charger. From upstairs I hear "BZZZZZZ" and the rest of the next 30 seconds occurred in slow motion....I flew downstairs screaming NOOOO but I wasn't fast enough. There was Ryan holding Scott's travel razor/trimmer thing. Then he said as proudly as possible 'I buzzed ours hair all by mineself'. I stepped out of the room for a minute to gather myself and then.....started laughing uncontrollably. When I went back into the room Ryan said "Here...here's Macey's hair" and handed me a 3 inch section of hair. The best part was that when Scott got home, Ryan offered to cut his too :)

**You're probably wondering how Ryan got his razor/trimmer and how it ended up in the toy box. Scott was away on a trip and all I can think of is that Macey yanked it while Scott was packing.
Oh well...hair grows back :)

** side note: the wii has been a VERY bad thing for our family...at least as far as productive activities and bedtimes are concerned :) Ryan's favorite is to "rock out", as he calls it, on the drums for rock band.

Little Cutie Pies

In the messy basement....brushing his teeth? Hopefully we brushed his hair next haha

Little spunky squirt :)

Michigan
They were obsessed with the piano this year. It was the first thing they wanted to do when they woke up. It was pretty cute. They were so gentle and it was so sweet to watch them play. Maybe someday I will have a piano of my own so I can teach them to play for real!

Grandpa LOVES it when his little babies fall asleep on him. I think its his excuse to take a nap as well! Do all kids get bedhead as quickly as macey?

Hmm...sweater vest much? We didn't realize until after we came home from church that we all wore sweater vests haha.

Christmas

Here is Macey enjoying her chocolate fondue...right before she puked it all up.

Christmas morning was so fun this year. Scott, Michaela and I were up at 4am because we couldn't sleep...AND because I caught Michaela downstairs sneaking a peek at the presents!!!!!!! After that, none of us could go back to sleep. So Michaela and Scott went and got doughnuts and hot chocolate and then we waited...and waited...watched home alone...and waited some more until the kids woke up at 830. It was worth it....we had a blast. Macey couldn't contain her excitement. We got lazy and didn't wrap the rest of the presents so they were just sitting out and the minute she saw all of the presents she literally ran to the tree and started going nuts.

Don't mind that the tree only has decorations on the top 2/3. Macey had a lot to do with that :)

Newest News

Last, but certainly not least...We found out that It's a Boy!!

Two posts in ONE day!

2009-12-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot to say about these pictures. Just some fun!

FHE

Three things we learned during FHE tonight:

1. Scott and I were never meant to be architects, designers or anything of the sort. Ryan wanted to make a barn and thank goodness for that because we couldn't get the 4th wall to stay up. I also wish we could say that we gave Ryan the freedom to decorate however he wanted...but this was all me and Scott....

Because All Ryan wanted to do was eat the candy! This will be one of those blackmail pictures in 15 years...trying to say cheese but his mouth was too full of gumdrops.

2. Macey has a REALLY sensitive gag reflex. She threw up after Scott squirted Redi-Whip in her mouth. Poor kid...doesn't know what she's missing. Here she is finger painting with it instead.

3. FHE is fun :) Here are the babies hugging and admiring 'their' handiwork

One last thing....Can someone please tell me how Macey starts the day so cute:

(I know I already posted this picture)

...and then 12 short hours later looks like this? No sweater. No barrette. No pants actually. One sock. From now on the camera only comes out before naptime and definitely before the nightly chase/wrestle/tickle routine begins.

My Little Monster

2009-12-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

I usually don't do the cheesy posts, but I can't help it. I am so obsessed with Macey right now. When she was born, I bonded with her immediately. I wanted her in my hospital room the whole time and just couldn't get over her. Now 16 months later, I know why that bond was so strong....because she DRIVES ME CRAZY and I still love her :) Seriously, her little smile makes me smile in a way that nobody else's does...but she also makes me more mad than anyone else. Let me explain:

She is CRAZY. She wrestles with Ryan and body slams him to the floor. My house used to be so quiet until she started engaging Ryan in screaming contests (which make us laugh pretty hard). She climbs on, in, under (anything but around) everything. She can ransack cupboards, drawers, toy chests faster than anything. She pinches, pushes and then screams and tells on Ryan whenever he gets mad at her.

On the flip side, she gives the BEST hugs. snuggles right in. She gives kisses a lot. For every pinch she gives Ryan, she gives him a million kisses. (Ryan says multiple times a day, “Oh Macey just loves me.”) Her giggle is insanely contagious. She is such a dramatic girl...the other day she got her shots and the rest of the day she pointed to her legs and whimpered lol. Last but not least...she is just so darn fun. She has added a whole different dimension to our family and we laugh so hard because of her.

Here is her cute little self all dressed up the other day after church.

We got Ryan a race track for Christmas...which he found about 2 weeks ago. I told him we had to ask Santa if he could open it. For about a week after that, every time Scott came home from work Ryan screamed "Is it santa?". After running to the door and seeing it wasn't, he said, "Oh. You're not Santa. You're just daddy." Then hunched his shoulders and sulked. So we caved and gave it to him early lol. But Ryan and Macey will play with it forever so it was a gift worth giving! (although you can't see it, Ryan has the remote and they are zipping cars around in this picture)

Apparently nursery in our new ward is pretty fun. Macey wants DESPERATELY to go. In fact, she spends about 2 hours on sundays sitting outside the door knocking to get in. When I do actually get her to go to class with me she cries and begs to go out to the nursery door. When I picked Ryan up the other day I found him a little disheveled....as in hair a mess, shoes off, socks off, tie (or tag as he calls it) off, coat off...face beat red. He didn't want to leave. Sounds fun to me lol. Thank goodness for nursery.

Two Holidays Later...

2009-12-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

I realize it is December. However, I thought that I lost my camera (which I didn't) and so I just now got pictures from Halloween and Thanksgiving from family members. I also realize that this blog in general epitomizes my sense of punctuality :) But anyway...Here are a few:

My little Tinkerbell. She was so cute...at Trunk-or-treat she was off in the corner twirling in her skirt all by herself in her own little world. I can't help but laugh at her sometimes. Most of the time, actually.

My very grumpy football player. What kid gets mad about having to go trick-or-treating?!?

The only picture of the cousins we could get: Cole, Macey, Adria, Grandma Offhaus and Ryan

Devouring their goods. Not only did they dump out every toy bin, but they came right inside and dumped their candy everywhere. They already had a stash of wrappers beside them by the time I found them.

But honestly, my family was in town so my sisters and I were too busy doing more important things to realize the TEN POUNDS of candy our kids ate when we all got home.

Exhibit A.

I LOVE this picture. One of my favorites of Macey...ever. For those of you who have never met her, this is Macey in a nutshell. If I could just bottle up this cute, pudgy, rascal of a face forever I would.

She is giggling at Ryan...and showing him her candy she is chewing. Such a lady she is...

I think she was hiding candy in her mouth...but seriously, it was 2 months ago so who knows.

Scott's side of the family at Thanksgiving. Sorry...it's all I've got.

Oops...one more!

2009-11-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

My sister just reminded me of one of the funnier comments that Ryan has made...so I thought my previous list of funny comments wouldn't be complete without it:

This year while Ryan was trick-or-treating he was really drawn to Milk Duds. So whenever he picked a piece of candy, he picked Milk Duds. Which means, he came home from trunk-or-treat with about 20 boxes of Milk Duds. So when we came home and he dove into his candy he of course went for the Milk Duds. Imagine his surprise when he opened them up and they just weren't what he expected....

"Oh no Mom! There is poop in my candy!"

Needless to say, I ate about 20 boxes of Milk Duds because I happen to like the poopy candy.

Life

2009-11-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

I love living with a two year old. He says so many funny things. I should write them all down because they are so hard to remember. But here is a glimpse of the everyday Millers...and what makes life so fun! Sorry the formatting is so weird. For some reason, blogger kept deleting the spaces I put between each conversation, so I had to go the old bold/non-bold route. Hope it's not too confusing.

Before bed the other night:

Scott: Tomorrow is Saturday, Ryan. I can't wait to play with you.

Ryan: I'm not a toy dad!

Me: Macey...you are so goofy!

Ryan: And I'm Mickey Mouse!

On our way to church the Sunday after Halloween:

Ryan: I love church! I get candy!

Scott: Well, we only get candy at trunk-or-treat...that was a special day.

Ryan: Oh. So no candy?

Scott: Nope.

Ryan: (Pouts in the backseat) I want to go home and play with Cole then.

Sunday someone in church gave a talk and mentioned an old neighbor of his named Ryan who made the decision to go back to school to finish his degree:

Ryan: That guy is talking about me, dad!!

Us: (chuckle)

Ryan: (gasp) I'm going to school...on a BUS?

Me to Scott: He's listening?!

Ryan and Scott were wrestling and when Scott was done Ryan wanted me to lift him up...throw him up in the air, etc.

Me: I can't play like that...I'm not as strong as daddy is.

Ryan: Do you need to exercise more?

Me: Ryan...why arent you eating your breakfast?

Ryan: (completely distraught) I don't want to be a big boy...I want to stay little!!!

Me: Ryan, why did you push Macey off the step?

Ryan: (Shrugging with his arms up) Well...because she was in my way.

Ryan: Remember, Macey, don't touch the fire (in the fireplace)...it will cook you like a hot dog. Or Macaroni n cheese.

Dog next door: BARK BARK BARK BARK

Ryan: Ugh. I HATE that stupid dog.

Me: (Smiling innocently) Oops... :)

Me: Ryan...what are you and Macey playing with?

Ryan: (running over to show me two balls) These.

Ryan: Can we play with these mom?

Me: Yes, Ryan. Of course you can play with your balls.

Proof that the Millers dont wear pajamas all day everyday

2009-10-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Our first professional family pictures...ever :) Here are just a few, so enjoy!

I never know what to title these things

2009-10-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

Peek-a-Boo!

This hat makes her look so tiny...and top heavy!

And what would a Miller photo op be without at least one picture of someone with food all over his face...

Ryan and Macey have a new game...Ryan goes outside and shuts the slider door and they give high fives through the glass...give kisses, etc. In this picture, however, they were actually licking each other. Shortly after I took the picture Ryan opened the door and closed the screen door instead and they kept up with the licking and laughing. How gross is that?

Another mess. What am I going to do with these two? Our basement has a play room and the kids DESTROYED it. Took every game off of the shelves and dumped them, took all of the blankets out, dumped all of the toys and then went to the storage room and found this infant tub and bouncy seat and thought they would make perfect lounge chairs. I found them watching Madagascar while relaxing. Where was I you ask? Beats me, but I'm sure I was off doing something very responsible...and productive... :)

The zoo! Ryan loves the zoo but his favorite parts never involve the animals. This time it was the park...

...and the train! He and Noah even got to ring the bell the WHOLE way around the track....twice.

Macey has discovered her belly button and is obsessed. She thinks everyone is as excited about her belly button as she is. So she was a little upset that she couldn't see it with her onesie on!

This is how Macey enjoyed her day at the zoo. Lounging in the stroller eating her lunch.

The Bank...my kids now love going to the bank...ever since the sweet little teller lady gave them suckers...but fun can only last for so long....

"MMM....THIS IS GOOD!"

"But Mom...I want the blue one too....and Macey won't share"

"If you only knew how good this was... mmmm"

This is going to be a big one!

2009-09-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

You know how you can be doing really well at something like, working out or reading your scriptures, or something else you should be doing daily...and then all the sudden something happens that interrupts your pattern and it's really hard to start up again? Well that's how blogging is for me. Sometimes it's really easy, but then all it took this time to mess up my habit was moving, two vacations, two broken computers and a sick Macey puking in her bed 4 nights in a row...while our washing machine was broken. But we're all back to normal now so here is what has been happening since my last post.

New House
First, we moved. We love our new house. I have trees everywhere and it is going to make the fall much more fun :) Plus we have a fenced in backyard. Can't complain about that! It's great because when the kids fell asleep on their walk, I just parked them on the patio, went inside and fixed dinner and watched them out my window the whole time.

Ryan also loves that the house has a 'circle' inside that he can run around...you know through every room in the house. Here he is in action!

Macey's Birthday
Macey turned 1!! She is such an animal. We love her so much! She is also walking now. She is pretty hilarious to watch. She has the WORST balance. She looks drunk all the time. Sometimes when she trips, she just falls right into a somersault. Which is probably pretty hard to picture, but believe me, it's funny. She also has developed a mode of self-defense...Her weapon of choice is pinching. She gets this really determined scowl on her face and just attacks Ryan (or me) when she's mad. I have to keep her nails cut really short :) Macey is so spunky. Her personality is so difficult to put into words. The first word that comes to everyone's mind is 'crazy'. hahaha. Love that girl. She's fast, loud and adventurous. She LOVES to climb...on anything. She loves to climb up slides, belly flop, and then slide down only to repeat the process 15 more times. She loves playing in sand and much to my chagrin, she loves dirt. I never had to buy Shout until she came around :) She is just a true little bundle of joy that keeps me on my toes. Oh yes, and she still doesn't sleep through the night. She fooled me into thinking she would for a little while, but it didn't last. She's up wailing on and off for about an hour each night still. I don't get up with her (I'm not mean...she's 14 months old for crying out loud) but I can still hear her LOUD wail and it keeps me up. But did I mention that we love her :)

She is just so kissable!

The whole family celebrating Macey's birthday.

The cake and its inspiration! My sister also made a really cute cake for her in Michigan, but all of those pictures are on my moms camera.

Ryan went around saying monkey cake all day while making this face. He's so weird :)

Michaela's Birthday
Michaela also turned 12! She is officially in YW which is really weird. She is such a good girl. She is the perfect big sister and perfect babysitter. I really don't know what we would do without her!

Finally, Michaela's true personality captured on film :)

Ryan enjoying Michaela's birthday cake with his new "I'm going to stick my tongue out in EVERY single picture" face

Macey also thoroughly enjoying the cake!

Random Fun!

Ryan LOVES to ride our jetski. He loves it in the water, but really loves it in the garage because he can drive it.

We gave Macey her first ice cream cone...which she devoured

...and then smeared all over her hair

I cant believe I am posting this picture because of my ridiculous face...but I finally got Macey's hair in pigtails and she looked so cute I had to post it.

Just some videos to enjoy. The first one is of Ryan saying "I'm a sweetheart" but the first time he said it I had no idea what he said...and if you ask me, it sure doesn't sound like sweetheart :) This is not PC at all, but I can't help but laugh every time he calls someone a sweetheart. Someday someone in public is going to ask me what I have been teaching my child. Sorry about the food in his mouth, sometimes you just take what you can get.

The second video is of Macey 'dancing'. Grandpa has this car that plays music and she likes one song in particular. She kept getting mad when we would turn it off or change the song...I didn't get it on camera the first time when Michaela kept switching the song on her, but this one was pretty funny too. And I do know her pajamas are 2 sizes too big. This was when our washer was broken :)Enjoy!

Where have we been?

2009-07-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well my laptop broke and now I just don't make the time for blogging. So here are a few random pictures of the last two months.

I'm not sure this one needs a caption.

I love how much these two love each other. Here they are watching some captivating PBS cartoon.

It has been established that Ryan is NOT a climber. I didn't know what climbing was until Macey came around. So here is my sweet little boy "climbing' the wall at the zoo.

And another trip to the zoo. This is by far the coolest double stroller. The seats can face each other, or when they start kicking each other (because inevitably they do) I can turn them around in just a quick little push of a button. It also has a carseat carrier too. This trip to the zoo we got interviewed for the local news. I was sure it was going to be my big tv debut...but I never watched it to see if I got cut.

Family reunion time. We went to two reunions last month...but only took pictures at one... of course. Our family color was light blue, which is why we are so fantastically coordinated.

What is childhood without a kool-aid grin?

Ryan fishing with Grandpa.

Scott and I decided to go for a canoe ride. Here I am looking comfortable and relaxed in the VERY tippy canoe.

Scott took Ryan in the VERY tippy canoe too, but finally decided that maybe the paddle boat was safer :)

I just included these cute pictures of Macey because they show her mischievous little personality. She is a monster...

But an awfully cute monster.

More to come of Macey's first birthday! Hopefully it won't take me two months to post them :)

Pictures that I love

2009-05-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

Just a little cutie!

And another little cutie!

I love how my kids just adore their grandparents! The way she is looking at grandpa miller is just priceless.

Ryan and I were playing chase at the park!

Ryan is so sweet. But he never gives me kisses and never says I love you. Such a boy. Whenever I want a kiss, he gives me his cheek or forehead and often rolls his eyes. Whenever I ask him to say I love you he screams NOOOOOOOO! It's sad, I know. But I found that he will give kisses for fruit snacks! In this picture, the fruit snacks were gone...he refused to give any more kisses and so I had to resort to stealing them and torturing him with smooches. Sheesh. What a stinker.

My kids also love Aunt Stephanie. Ryan begs for her to come and play all of the time. Anytime he sees a black car he says Aunt Steppy's car!! Here are Macey and Aunt Stephanie at the park.

Michaela water skiing at grandma and grandpas.

Very very cold and ready to be done!

Little Ryan had too busy of a weekend with the grandparents and fell asleep on the boat.

Our sweet little Macey is really starting to show her personality and we love her! She is so sweet. She is different from Ryan in so many ways but just as cute. For instance, Ryan calls her Messy Macey because she is such a bad eater. Ryan is constantly trying to clean Macey with wipes, tissues, rags, etc. It is so funny. Ryan is the tough guy and Macey is definitely a sensitive little soul. Recently we went to the doctor and Ryan got his shots. He didn't complain a bit...in fact, he gave the nurse a high five when she was done. During that same visit, Macey had a dirty diaper so I changed her. She screamed so loud during a diaper change the nurse came back in to check on us. Ryan is also very methodical...you can see his little brain working and plotting what he is going to do about something. Macey, however, seems to be a bit more impulsive. When she wants something she just goes for it! Anyway, she is so carefree and we just love her and can't wait to see how she keeps changing. I can see her a few years down the road twirling in a pretty little skirt just absorbing every little thing in this life...just look at her awe and amazement when Ryan showed her his tractor.

The kids "Going to Bed"

2009-05-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

So this video is only of my kids' bedroom door. Kinda boring, I know. BUT putting the babies in the same room (so Michaela can have her own room) has been an adventure. Sometimes frustrating and sometimes really funny. Tonight I put them to bed and for an HOUR they had a screaming contest. Ryan would scream so hard that he would cough....they would both laugh and then Macey would scream so hard she started coughing. I couldn't even tell who was who. So I went upstairs to catch it on tape just because these are the kinds of things that make being a mom fun and one of those things I will want to remember. When I got upstairs I realized they were both jumping in their cribs too and that made me laugh even harder. I wish I could have snuck the video camera in, but just the sound will have to suffice. I caught them in a lull so sorry it takes a minute for them to really get going. I realize that you all will not think it's quite as funny as me, but I had some requests from family members....so here it is!

MOTHER'S DAY

Well, my report on Mother's Day is so typically "Miller" it makes me laugh. First, I don't have any pictures. Second, there was no pampering...no breakfast in bed...no big bouquet of flowers. Scott is really sick so he got to enjoy all of the mother's day priviliges. Instead, I woke up with my kids at 4:30 (one of the frustrating parts of having the babies in the same room)...gave the kids baths, made my own sad little mother's day protein shake breakfast and hauled the kids off to church by myself. So - my real mother's day came when my kids were PERFECT during church! PERFECT. Sat all through sacrament...even when I had to get up to play the piano. Macey fell asleep on me...Ryan 'sang' the songs with me. Then they both took 3 hour naps when we got home. Perfect.

In case you are all feeling sorry for my protein shake breakfast...I should tell you that Scott already gave me my mother's day present last week so it was okay that his poor little sickie self slept in :)

Happy Birthday baby Ryan

2009-04-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ryan turned 2 on Monday! I can't believe it. Baby Ryan isn't such a baby anymore. So everyone came down from Michigan to celebrate. Here he is opening his bubble blower...

And his new Little Einstein puzzles...

And his Lightning McQueen remote control car.

Blowing out the candles!

Happy and full on birthday cake

Playing a good game of soccer with the family.

Wagon ride with Grandpa and Adria

Ryan loves playing outside and he loves his sports. He doesn't even really show a preference...football, basketball, baseball, soccer and golf. He is so fun!

Ryan kept telling me he wanted to go outside. Finally I turned the corner and found him like this. He put the dog's leash on her and was ready to go! How funny is that?

Macey showing off her new moves. Yup that's right- she's officially crawling. This picture was taken about a week ago when she was first starting. Now she's a machine!

Ryan is reading his truck book to Macey before bed.

Ryan is the best eater. He will eat ANYTHING. Broccoli, carrots, peas, asparagus, hummus, peppers, onions, etc. The only things he really hates so far are tomatoes. So imagine my surprise (and disgust) when he took a straw and started drinking the salsa at Chili's the other day. It was so gross. When he was done his eyes were watering and just said, "whoa."

Nothing too special about the video. I was trying to catch her 'first crawl'...but she was still learning how and had apparently had enough for the day. I just think Macey is so cute and I love how sweet Ryan is with her.

Sleeping Beauties

2009-03-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

I really do give my kids naps. Good naps actually. Long naps. And yet- here they are at their finest...

(Because he has never actually fallen asleep on the wood floor, I did make sure he was breathing before I got the camera)

This is how Macey spends most of our walks and visits to the park.

The first time he fell asleep in his high chair I was so upset because my camera battery was dead. Little did I know, it would become a regular thing...

Macey has all sorts of girly stuffed animals, but she really prefers the monkey over everything else. How can I argue when she looks this cute?

To Be a Kid Again

2009-03-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

Wouldn't it be great to be a kid again?

If I was tired...I would sleep

If I thought I did a really good job on the Wii (even though I wasn't even really playing) I would cheer for myself...

If I thought my handprint was the cooler than yours, I would say so

I would tell my mom that makeshift timeouts before bathtime don't work because I will just raid her bookshelf for a great novel and then jump back on the bed before she notices.

But the next time I would just admit defeat and put myself in timeout when I hit my sister.

I would attack my biter biscuit as if it were drenched in chocolate.

And on the rare occasion it was drenched in chocolate, I wouldn't complain!

I would make my sister's day by sharing my race car...but then I would quickly find her something else to play with because I would want it back.

I would pull my mom's hair over and over....

And then laugh about it for a really long time because I know she loves me too much to get mad!

Ahh...life is so good!

Good Times

2009-02-27T05:46:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my sisters and mom came down for a quick trip to Kalahari (an indoor waterpark resort). The kids were a little crazy after a full day of swimming so here they are busting a move in our room to the Madagascar movie credits. The star of the show is Cole...Ryan plays a nice supporting role and Adria has a litle cameo appearance at the end. You have to watch the whole thing...it just gets better and better. Cole is watching his shadow dance...which is why he is staring at the wall the whole time. I think this is the funniest thing I have ever seen.

But that's not all we did last weekend! We also went to California Pizza Kitchen where Ryan enjoyed this jumbo sundae.

Nice action shot!
We went to the museum...

Here we are not-so-patiently awaiting the simulated earthquake...

To top it all off, here are some cute pictures of Macey

I turned my head for one second and she attacked Ryan's yogurt. The picture doesn't do it justice. Two baths before 9am...not bad.

I. Love. These. Kids.

2009-02-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

They are just so cute! I love them! Here are some fun days at grandma and grandpa's house...and what would a visit be without a new hairstyle from Grandma, and sunglasses and dancing with grandpa? Ryan has been all anti-smiley for the camera lately...but Macey sure knows how to ham it up!

A Very Un-merry Christmas Present

2009-01-25T17:10:00.000-08:00

After reading everyone's comments/emails about Macey's hair acknowledging how much of it she has, I realized that I never shared the story of our unmerry Christmas present. When we were in Michigan for the holidays, Macey lost all of her adorable hair...all in 5 days time. I tried blaming it on the mesh siding of the pack n' play...because i brushed it too much, blah blah. Truth is, it was time for it to go. I am having a surprisingly difficult time with it because she looks like a balding old man. For awhile, and in most of these pictures, she had really long hair on the sides and NOTHING in the back. Well, I can admit when my kid looks bad and she looked BAD. So this week she got a long overdue haircut. She looks cute again, but I can't seem to avoid the Donald Trump combover and side wings. So I am basically traumatized by the experience and will just sit, rather impatiently, until it decides to grow back. But until then, pictures of Macey may be few...unless she looks like this:

Just kidding. But let's just take a look at the horrendous process that has taken place:

Look at her ridiculously cute hair...

Which over the course of 6 months turned into this...EEK...

And this.... (sad)

And finally...this. It's the best I can do.

On a happier note, here are some cute pictures we've taken recently:

Ryan and Grandpa Miller were dancing around last weekend wearing matching hats and sunglasses. For Grandpa's sake, I won't post the video :)

He is so cute...even when he is chasing me around with the ball popper!

Storytime. I love how Macey's little hand is reaching up to grab the book. Ryan was getting pretty annoyed because she kept grabbing his feet. But he didn't throw a vaseline jar at her this time. What a good big brother.

Finally he gave up reading and decided he wanted to try walking around with Macey. She doesn't think it's quite as funny as Scott and Ryan do.

Jenn and Steph, this one is for you:

bumps and bruises

2009-01-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Today Ryan threw a vaseline jar at macey's head, which definitely resulted in some bruises. There was a lot of screaming...most of it was very insincere cying by Ryan because he knew he was in trouble. He went right to timeout. When I wasn't mad anymore, which took a little bit longer thn usual, I brought Macey to him. I told him that throwing isn't okay...blah blah blah...and showed him Macey's 'boo-boos'. He squinted his eyes, scrunched his nose and said..."where?"

Poor baby

He's giving her kisses...finally

I couldn't stay mad at this cute face for very long. Notice the little bruise under his right eye. He fell yesterday and EVERY time he falls he hits his right eye. Go figure.

And they're friends again...somewhat forced by me, but friends nonetheless

This is the look I got when I tried to just get a cute picture of the two of them together. I think I'll be seeing this look a lot over the next 18 years! That's okay... I of course didn't get a picture of my "you are in so much trouble...you better run fast" look that I gave him. But he might see that a lot over the next 18 years too.

Random pictures

2009-01-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

Isn't this the cutest picture? I can't wait until Macey is old enough to play with Ryan. He just loves her. Except when I'm holding her. Lately he is starting to act a little bit more jealous. He brings me her bouncy seat, or exersaucer, and tells me to put her in it because he wants up. He doesn't exactly phrase it that way...he says it by pointing to Macey, pointing to the bouncy seat and then saying UP, please...with a smile of course. He usually wins. That little stinker.

In Michigan making cookies with the little ones. Ryan thinks Cole is so cool. I think this is the sweetest little picture.

Ryan decided to sort my mom's mail while he was waiting for me to make breakfast.

This is what Macey thought of Christmas this year.
I asked Ryan to give Macey her binky. He couldn't find it, so he brought her about 15...none of which we her actual binky. But they stayed entertained for about 5 minutes while he put them in her mouth one by one.

Oh I just love her. She is such a snuggly little doll.

Christmas...kind of

2009-01-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I am a horrible picture taker. But if there were one day out of the year I should take pictures, it would probably be Christmas. Well, you are wrong. I got a few, but none of the 'festivities' itself. We had fondue and presents with Scott's family, Christmas morning at our own house and then left for Michigan the next day where the kids and I stayed for 2 weeks. It was a great Christmas 'break' and I'm already a little bit sad that it's over.

Scott was explaining the nativity to Ryan. He didn't think that it was complete so he went and took the OSU football player ornament off the tree and added it to the set before we could finish. Does anyone else think that is funny?

Playing around with Grandpa.

Ryan and I decided to be 'creative' a couple of days before Christmas and we made puppets. He insisted on having one eye and two noses. I think his turned out nice...

This can't be comfortable...

2009-01-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ode to Teddy

2009-01-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ryan takes teddy with him everywhere. I've also grown quite attached to the stinky little bear. At one point I didn't think we could EVER survive without teddy, but lately, I've seen some promising progress.
We went to Build-a-Bear and though Ryan hated the experience, he loves the bear. Now he carries both teddies around with him.

And then the other night, He begged me to let him take the peanut butter jar to bed with him. So he slept with both teddies...and the peanut butter jar. So should I consider this progress?

Woes of Motherhood

2008-12-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

I have been blessed with great sleeping babies...until recently. One week of all of us being sick was all it took to regress to baby-just-came-home-from-the-hospital sleeping patterns. Take tonight for instance. I give the exhausted kids their baths and put them to bed at the typical 7pm. Usually, it would be sing a song, say a prayer, tuck them in bed... 3 minutes, tops. I then skip down the steps singing silent 'yippees' in my head after surviving yet another day. Tonight, after 59 minutes of rocking, frustrated lullaby singing, screaming/crying (by them), and a pounding headache...they're STILL AWAKE.

Scott's Birthday

2008-11-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

Scott hesitantly turned the big 3-0 a couple of weeks ago. Although he is feeling old (which I remind him that he is) and that he would rather be 20 again....look at the little cuties the last few years have brought him. Life is good!

Messy Cuteness

2008-11-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Go Go Gadget arms! How does Ryan reach these things while he is in his high chair?! He obviously poured an entire box of cereal out all over the floor. It made quite the mess!

He looks a little apprehensive here...but don't be fooled. He was pretty proud of his handiwork.

He's been really good about helping me clean up all of his messes lately so here he is with the vacuum attachment ready to help. All he really did was push them all around the floor. oh well. What a good helper!

Hat Hair

This kid gets in way too much trouble in his high chair

Ryan has been SO obsessed with Finding Nemo. I'm embarrassed to admit how many times we've watched it and even more embarrassed by how many times I have actually quoted the movie recently. So here he is the morning after Halloween wearing his football costume, eating his pretzels from his candy bag, and watching finding Nemo. All at 7am.

What happens when I give my "I'm tired and want to go to sleep cry" and mom still says "just a minute, sweetheart" over and over? I take matters into my own hands.

My mom made this dress for my oldest sister when she was a baby. Since then, all of the girls in the family have worn it for pictures. Macey is a really long baby so it looks a little bit more like a shirt. Oh well-at least we got a picture of her in it!

I LOVE THIS BABY! She had already taken her barrette out, but she looks so cute in this little dress. She is just so huggable and has the same kissable cheeks that Ryan has. She has, thankfully, gotten over her fussy stage and now is all smiles and sleeps like a champ. I just love my little cuties.

I think I may be losing it...

2008-11-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was shopping and I looked down at Ryan's feet dangling from the cart and I noticed that his shoes were on the wrong feet. I took advantage of the 'teaching opportunity' and explained that his shoes were on the wrong feet. (It's okay honey, let's just switch them around. Here, I'll help you, etc.) I was halfway through my mommy talk when I realized that I was the one that had put his shoes on him! :) Oops.

It doesn't end there. I was at church last week and I looked down at Macey sitting on my lap while I played the piano in primary. She was kicking her feet as usual and guess what....yup I did it again!! For those of you thinking baby shoes don't have a right and a left...these do. I had the velcro going the wrong way. Two strikes for me!

Other signs I may be losing it:
1. I brought Ryan to church a few weeks ago with no shoes...or socks. Although we can chalk that one up to miscommunication between me and Scott. All that rushing out the door and we were still fashionably late.
2. Another week I brought Ryan to church wearing black pants with an outfit so obviously coordinated for navy blue. We didn't even notice until we were at church taking him out of the car. That's the last time I pick out his outfit in the dark!
3. I backed into Scott's car in the driveway. I could rationalize and try to explain, but it's just not worth it.

So it's been decided- I need a vacation.

Halloween!!

2008-11-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Halloween. We started with trunk or treat at church and Ryan had a blast there. The actual trick-or-treating on Friday night was a little less successful. We were out for 30 min and only visited about 5 houses. Ryan kept getting distracted by everything else: the pumpkins, rocks, disney statues on someone's porch, and the boys playing catch with a football. But he had a good time even though he didn't totally get the whole candy thing.

Getting-ready-for-Halloween Fun

2008-11-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Ryan has been going to Playschool on monday mornings. It is a little preschool class for little ones. Last week we had a little halloween party and it was so adorable. This is Ryan's new "cheeeeeese" face.

Here he is "stirring the brew" as part of the singing activity.

BOO Game: For FHE last week we BOO'd our neighbors by dropping treats on their doorstep. We designated Michaela as the runner and she totally got caught! Scott and I were laughing so hard as we watched Michaela hide behind the neighbor's car and the neighbor hide behind the side of the house...neither of them wanting to be spotted. We had a great time and we were definitely glad that we designated Michaela as the runner.

Here is our little bag of DELICIOUS cookies with the poem attached.

Ryan and Scott laughing after Michaela got caught.

Michaela in action

Ryan wore his skeleton shirt A LOT the week of Halloween. Here he is enjoying his favorite pasttime...Everyone told me the day would come when pots and pans would override the millions of toys he has...but I didn't know it would be this annoying. He likes to pour things in them and I'm so sick of washing pots and pans! Good thing he's so cute.

The Haunted Trail with the Millers

2008-11-06T19:38:00.001-08:00

We went to the Haunted Trail a few weeks ago. It was freezing outside so we all bundled up in grandma and grandpa's clothes and headed out.In the end, Michaela, Grandma and Grandpa Miller were the brave ones while Scott and I stayed back with the kids.

Macey enjoyed her toasty little seat.

and Ryan enjoyed his ride in the backpack.

When we got home Ryan pulled up his little chair next to grandpa and they watched football together.

Lately, Ryan has been obsessed with holding Macey. He was holding her and I peeked over and caught him giving her hugs and kisses. How cute is that?! But, when he is 'all done' holding her, he kind of just pushes her off his lap...so we have to be prepared for that. What little cuties!

Apple Orchard in Michigan

2008-11-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I took the kids up to MI to see everyone. We had a great time, as usual, and we took all of the kids to the apple orchard for cider and donuts and did a lot of other fun things.

What a sweet face!

Where else can you find an apple this big...?

Look how cute all of these little ones are. This was the best picture we could get. We were able to get two 'good' pictures and Macey looks traumatized in both of them and Adria was either turning around or picking her nose...I decided to post the turning around picture.

I think he thought the geese were real because he ran away FAST to get to them

We celebrated Cole's birthday and one of the gifts we bought was this transformers mask that has a voice changer so the kids sounded a lot like Darth Vader. It was pretty hilarious. Ryan was wearing it in this picture.

Ryan thinks Cole is the coolest person. They were watching Tom and Jerry and Ryan kept looking at Cole to find out when to laugh. Then he would do this hilarious fake laugh.

Here he is in the playland thing in the middle of the mall. He worked up a sweat running around in there. It was a pretty good time.

Jumbo Post

2008-10-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is what happened when I tried to help Ryan perfect his fine motor skills by having him color, with colored pencils, a picture of Blue from Blue's Clues (who happens to be a girl...did everyone else know that?). Plan backfired. I turned my head for what I suppose was a rather long minute and I'm pretty sure he reached the box of markers and ate one.

Ryan helped me bake a carrot cake the other day by emptying out the entire tupperware cabinet for me. He did such a great job, I let him lick the spatula when I was done frosting the cake. I think he inherited my sweet tooth because his face lit up when he tasted it!

Grandma Miller wanted to do Macey's hair after her bath the other day. Voila!

Snug as a bug! Macey LOVES her swing and that means that I LOVE her swing too :)

I have a lot of pictures of her in the swing...I think in this pictures she's rubbing it in that she kept me up all night and then she got to sleep all day.

I thought this General Conference was great, and it's the first one I didn't fall asleep during, in...I don't know, ever probably. We went to our friends' house to watch it and Ryan enjoyed their toys as much as Scott and I enjoyed conference. It was a win-win situation.

We ran down to the park for a break between sessions. At the park, Ryan ran away to the basketball court where he found a lone basketball sitting in the grass. It made his day. Shortly thereafter, we realized that we were being followed at an uncomfortably close distance, by a teenager that appeared out of nowhere. It turns out that it was his abandoned ball that Ryan was playing with and he wanted it back. Bummer.

Just some fun outside.

Ryan has added football to his sports repetoire and he has learned how to hike a football. He usually uses his little one and got frustrated because the full-sized ball was too big to fit through his legs. Pretty cute anyway!!

Watch out LeBron

2008-09-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Highlights of the Week

2008-09-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

1. Ryan labeling items in a book, and upon seeing a lion, says 'mom' over and over. That's nice.
2. Ryan climbing on the table while I'm putting groceries away, and falling off...twice.
3. Ryan wiping desitin all over the dog.
4. Ryan drawing on the walls for the first time.
5. Ryan flushing the toilet so many times while I'm feeding Macey that it overflows
6. Last but not least....Ryan covering Macey's head with a tupperware bowl because she wouldn't stop crying. Awesome.

As you can see, I've had a great week. So thankfully I have these cute pictures to remind myself that although Ryan is an 18 mo monster, he is still a little angel

Well, it's official. Macey is one big baby! She is so sweet too. I can't get enough of her!

Ryan saw Macey holding his teddy the other day and that didn't go over so well. So it was time to give Macey hers, which also didn't go over so well because now Ryan thinks he has two.

Our Weekend

2008-09-09T13:16:00.001-07:00

We had Macey blessed this weekend and therefore had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with our family on both sides. We had a great time. This is our first official updated family picture

Grandma Offhaus made Macey this PERFECT dress. She looked so pretty!

I thought this was a cute little smirk :)

So Everyone thinks Macey looks like me...but I'm not sure...

The Miller kids... Why is Macey the only one smiling?

Look at Macey's smile!

We also celebrated Michaela's 11th birthday this weekend. She just started 6th grade...which is crazy to me because I still have friends that I met BEFORE 6th grade!

To celebrate, she had a few friends from the ward over on Friday night for a very loud evening of pizza, banana splits and karaoke.

Random Pictures of our Cute Little Kids

2008-09-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little boy.

Here is Macey with her eyes open!

This is Ryan's new face when he gets excited about something. Anytime someone walks in the door or he sees something he likes, he does this. It is so cute.

This was the first of about 100 baskets he made Grandpa Miller lift him up for.

This was Grandpa Offhaus' highlight of the week. Ryan never cuddles with anyone...except Grandpa Offhaus of course!

Cole was so excited to see Baby Macey. He even asked his mom and dad if they could 'get one of these'. Please note that Cole has also been asking his mom and dad if they could send Adria (his sister) back to the hospital where she came from for about 3 months now.

Cole and Ryan playing at the park. Surprise... Ryan is on the basketball court and looking for a ball.

I think he's ready to go fishing with Grandpa Miller!

Bedhead?!?

Sharing a bite of his sandwich with teddy. How sweet is that.

Pictures courtesy of Grandma

2008-08-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

We are still without a camera, but my mom took some pictures while she was here last week. Here is Macey with her eyes actually opened. This doesn't happen very often because she sleeps about 20 hours a day.

Sleeping...

Taking a nap with Scott after church on Sunday...Notice how I'm awake taking the picture...indicating that I no longer know how it feels to take a Sunday nap. Ahh the good ol' days
Ryan looks so huge now - but he's still just as cute!

Ryan loves to mow the lawn. Anytime we go somewhere and get in the car, he runs to the lawnmower in the garage and says mow. So here he is mowing the lawn. We'll see how much he likes it in 12 years when it's one of his chores :)

Ryan loves to give Macey kisses on the forehead and toes. She doesn't always like them very much- but he doesn't have to know that.

Macey Lynn Miller

2008-08-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I broke the camera in the hospital (perfect timing) so we're a little bit short on pictures. But I thought I could at least tell everyone her name. Our newest little addition is Macey Lynn Miller.

Here she is!

2008-08-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Baby girl was born Friday, August 1 at 5:12pm. She weighed 8 lb 6 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She is just a little angel! Here are some pictures of a very happy mom and baby after she was born.

Our trip to GR

2008-08-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I recently went to Michigan for a visit. These are pictures of him from the day we went to the park with his cousins, Cole and Adria.

Later that day we went and visited my friend Amber, who I grew up with, and her little girl, Quinn. This is a picture of Ryan trying to give Quinn a kiss. Actually, that's only what it looks like. They spent most of the time fighting over toys :)

Quinn is 10 days older than Ryan and look at what a giant he is!

We went miniature golfing with Amber and her family. It was a great time.

Ryan was all tuckered out and this is how he spent the time miniature golfing!

Baby girl's first camera debut

2008-07-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

Here she is! Baby No-Name Miller at 36 weeks.

She's feeling pretty big- I hope theory of the first baby being the smallest isn't right. Otherwise, we're doomed...Ryan was a big baby!

I'm sneezing in this picture. I thought that was funny. But every time I sneeze I get a contraction and that's not as funny.

My favorite quote of the week: I was at Ryan's doctor's appt and there was a little boy there, about 3 yrs old, and when I walked in he ran over to his mom and said, "Mom, why does that lady have a ball in her shirt?" The mom laughed, but I laughed harder. I wish it was a ball in my shirt...it'd come out a lot easier!!

Just a cute Ryan after a day at the water park

2008-07-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is Ryan staring at the box of graham crackers and signing 'more'...after he fed the other three I gave him to Veda.

But he looked so cute and asked so nicely, I gave in and he was pretty happy. This picture captures what most people know as Ryan's signature smirk. He does it all the time...especially when he thinks he's gotten away with something. This picture was taken right before he fed the fourth graham cracker to Veda.

We just think he looks so cute with his crazy, curly, sunscreen drenched hair.

This is just Veda being pretty. If she were only this calm all the time...

4th of July

2008-07-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

Every year for the 4th we go to Scott's aunt's house. This is a 4 generational picture taken of Ryan, Scott, Grandma Miller and Great-Grandma Schmucker. It's not very often that four generations of the same family line are together so I thought this was a pretty cool picture!

Ryan enjoyed fishing with Grandpa and hiking with Scott, but of course I didn't get a picture of those. Instead, I got a picture of him playing with gravel.

And playing a little corn hole. It's cute how big the bean bag looks in his tiny hands!

He was all tuckered out on the way home and we thought he looked so cute sleeping like this.

Veda was pretty tired too. She went hiking and fishing as well. She didn't even realize she slipped off her bed and was sleeping under the seat. Worn out dog + worn out baby = very happy parents!

The Basketball Obsession Continues

2008-06-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

How can you not love this cheesy little smile?!

He got a new basketball game which he loves. I've been hiding it and only taking it out once in awhile so he doesn't get sick of it. Unfortunately, he saw where I was hiding it last night and woke up crying for it this morning. So much for trying to outsmart my one year old.

He gets pretty possessive of his basketball...

Well I didn't get a picture of the first black eye, but I got a picture of the second!! It's the same eye too! It's actually healing pretty well. Let's see how long we can go without another one...

Reasons to shut the toilet seat lid when you have a toddler...

2008-06-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

Updates

2008-05-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

Now a list of things that have happened over the past 2 months that I didn't manage to take pictures of:

1. A trip to Georgia to see my brother who just came back from Iraq
2. A trip to Michigan
3. We painted the babies' room and completely redecorated Michaela's
4. Ryan's first trip to the zoo
5. Ryan's first time at the park
6. A perfectly wonderful Mother's Day
7. Our Memorial Day picnic at the lake

Here are some random facts about Ryan:
1. He has 9 teeth (2 molars- those were terrible nights)
2. He talks like CRAZY. I don't know what he's saying half the time, but it must be something interesting because he gets really excited about it
3. His favorite thing in the whole world is his Teddy. Maybe one of these days I'll actually get a picture of him with Teddy. I'm surprised I haven't yet because he rarely puts it down. My sister got him a onesie that says "Me and Teddy...we're tight". It is so perfect and cute.
4. He loves Playhouse Disney. I mistakingly put him in his high chair with the laptop in front of him one day (so I could make dinner in peace) and turned Playhouse Disney on. Now, he begs to get in his high chair so he can watch it all the time now. I guess it could be worse...
5. He is still not walking! He'll take a few steps but then just gets down and crawls to whatever he wants. He'll walk for awhile next to to me if I hold his hand. He's got about 9 weeks to figure out how to walk all the time, because I can't carry two around!
6. He adores his daddy. In the morning when I get him out of his crib, I take him into our room to see Scott. When he sees him he says, "Daddy!" and jumps down to give him a big hug. It is really sweet. He doesn't do that for me :( In fact, I'm pretty much chopped liver when Scott is around!! He's a daddy's boy!
7. His favorite game is to play catch with a basketball or football (full-sized...they're both almost as big as he is)
8. He got his first black eye! He fell and hit a rubbermaid box while walking a little bit. No wonder he would rather crawl :)

In just 9 weeks (after a really LONG pregnancy) we'll finally have our yet-to-be-named little girl! Wish us luck!

Let's Play Catch Up

2008-05-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. I am the world's worst blogger. In addition to that, I am also the world's worst picture taker. Here are a few pictures that I did manage to take :)

RYAN'S BIRTHDAY

Ryan enjoying his birthday cake

Ryan is completely obsessed with basketballs. Every Sunday he points to the gym and cries to get in because he wants to throw the basketball. (That's how we keep him occupied on Wednesday nights because Scott and I both have activities at church). So we attempted to be creative and make a basketball cake. It was a disaster...but Scott and I laughed really hard while we were making it. Bad cake...good memories.

Ryan getting cleaned up in the kitchen sink. FYI- yes the white shirt did come out stain free.

Ryan's favorite present was a basketball hoop for the bathtub.

It was Scott's favorite toy too.

FAMILY TRIP TO COLUMBUS TEMPLE

RYAN PUTTING ON "LIPSTICK"

Ryan was coloring with his new beginner markers. He decided to try and eat it when he was all done playing. It looked kind of like lipstick. I can almost picture my new little girl....

Pucker Up

He didn't know what I was laughing at, but he was pretty proud of whatever it was!

It's a girl!

2008-03-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

We had our ultrasound today and found out we are having a little girl. Twelve hours later, I am finally excited about it! I even went on my first little girl shopping trip and I must say, it was a successful one. Now I just have to decorate our little girl's room- which I guess won't be so bad after all :)

Picture time

2008-03-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Ryan was such a good boy the whole time we were at the photographer. He was giggling like crazy. All of the pictures turned out so nice, it was hard to pick some to buy!

I love this picture of Ryan and Michaela together. He absolutely adores her!

Ryan with a cell phone

2008-02-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't get a very good video of it, but Ryan's new favorite thing is to answer the phone, cell phone, etc. He says, "hello?" which usually comes out more like ' lo?" but it's still very cute. Every time the phone rings he crawls over to it and starts talking. He wouldn't do it for me while I had the camera on him, of course, but you get the idea. He really prefers his Buzz Lightyear cell phone because it makes noises back to him when he talks!

2008-02-25T16:32:00.001-08:00

Ryan really likes to clap lately. Whenever you tell him good job and act excited, he just starts clapping for himself.

He gets a little bit camera shy. He was throwing the ball back and forth with Scott and every time he threw it, he would start clapping for himself. But watch how unsure he is when I start taping him.

Ryan is almost 11 months old!

2008-02-25T16:22:00.001-08:00

I just thought this was a cute face
He likes to give kisses...but I think he might actually be licking Scott in this picture.
He thought Veda's dog food bowl was a fun seat.
Then he started laughing when it got stuck on him. He was crawling around with a bowl on his bum.
He woke up with a fever of 103 and still...look at that smile!

Pajama Pics

2008-01-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

I laughed when I realized how many pictures I have of Ryan in his pajamas....and with food all over his face. Here's a nice sequence to demonstrate what I mean. You can see his two little teeth in this first one. I just love this smile.

Cole was looking everywhere for 'baby Ryan' but couldn't find him. He found him crawling and rolling around in Cole's tunnel. So then they started going through together which was very cute.

Grandpa gave Ryan his first Oreo...and he loved it.

Halloween pics

2008-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

Our little cowboy :)

Madden

2007-10-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

Scott is preparing Ryan at an early age to be a football player so we tried him out on a game of Madden. He thought about it for a minute, and we thought for a moment that he was going to be a natural.
But then he realized how good it tasted and all hope was lost.

Surprise....pictures of Ryan

2007-10-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone keeps commenting on his long eyelashes...I don't know where they came from, but I'm jealous! Ryan is obsessed with his jumper. He has been kicking and pumping his legs since before birth so this toy was a natural for him. He will jump in it for a very long time. Notice the concentration...he sticks his tongue out and curls one side up. It's something new but I find it totally adorable. Showing off his jumping skills some more.

Ryan's New Game

2007-10-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ryan is really good at scooting....backwards. He keeps getting stuck in places. Here he is getting stuck under the couch and then finally realizing it.

What a little sweetheart!

And again...

2007-10-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

You'd think he would learn his lesson, but here he is again stuck under another couch! At least this time he was entertained because he kept pulling books off of the bookshelf.
He looked all through my Achievement Night materials and got an early start on the For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet

Happy baby!

2007-10-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

I feel so spoiled...Ryan is such a happy baby. This is the cute little smile I see all the time. Even when he wakes up in the morning or from naps, he sits there and talks to the little animals on his bumper until I come and get him. Life doesn't get much better than this!

Michaela at Chesley Lake

2007-10-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

Scott and I were sad we couldn't go to Chesley Lake this year, but glad that Michaela was able to go with her grandparents. It's her favorite vacation and from these pictures you can see why! Michaela is so fun. She is 100% girl....until she goes to Chesley. Then it is dirt, frogs, toads and turtles for a straight week. Here are some pictures to prove it! Showing off her itty bitty fish she caught. She has caught some pretty big ones in the past! She wakes up at 5am to go fishing with grandpa. She's dedicated.
Here are Michaela and her friend Peighton fishing off of the dock in front of the cabin.
Peighton and Michaela showing off their frog. Unfortunately, this frog wasn't strong enough to survive the 'spa day' the girls so kindly treated it to and it died shortly thereafter. Michaela can waterski!

She didn't even have help in the water this year! Way to go! I still need help in the water...

Dave and Heather's wedding

2007-10-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

Here are Scott and Ryan. They don't always dress to match but it was cute. An almost family picture...but we were missing Michaela.

Howdy Partner

2007-08-23T14:03:00.001-07:00

Ryan went on his first vacation to Texas. My mom and I actually drove down there. We were nervous to drive with him at first, but it went really well. It was an 18 hour drive and Ryan slept about 16 hours of it. He was a wonderful baby for the whole ten days. We had a lot of fun and he got to visit his great grandpa and a lot of other relatives. We bought him this cowboy hat as a souvenir. He's a real cowboy now!

He likes to eat!

2007-08-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

We fed Ryan his first meal of rice cereal a few weeks ago. He loved it! Now whenever I am eating something he tries to grab my fork and eat off of it. I don't think he is going to be a picky eater.
He wanted to try feeding himself. He played with the spoon for a little while before trying to shove it in his mouth. He actually got a bite in, although I think he preferred his dad feeding him.

Ryan is a Cuddlebug

2007-07-31T18:46:00.001-07:00

Ryan likes to cuddle with his stuffed animals a lot now whether he's awake or sleeping. It is very cute. This first picture makes me laugh every time I see it.

Bath Time

2007-07-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Ryan really likes to chew on everything he sees now. I had a hard time giving him a bath tonight because he wouldn't keep his hands or feet out of his mouth! Today at his doctor's appointment he tried to eat the doctor's fingers, coat and hair. It was pretty embarassing because he wouldn't let go, but I'm sure she's seen worse :)

Just Cute

2007-07-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

There's nothing special about these pictures. I just thought he looked cute today. He hates wearing shoes.

He won...by the end of church today his shoes and socks were both off.

Rolling Over

2007-07-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Everything started out just fine... Then things got pretty bad... Then they got worse...

Until finally... he did it!! When I roll him over, he thinks it's a game. When he has to do it himself, it's a whole different story.

Happy Baby

2007-07-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

He was so happy playing with his gym. He always gets stuck in this corner.
I almost had a smile in this picture... But then he got distracted by his dad walking by.

Ryan at the Lake... Before experiencing the water

2007-07-10T19:56:00.001-07:00

Ryan was pretty apprehensive about the whole trip to the lake. He didn't like being hot (and it was 95 degrees). He didn't want to wear his hat and he kept trying to kick his water shoes off. All in all, he was pretty cranky the whole day.

He was the happiest when I just put him in his carseat. Eventually he fell asleep.

Ryan at the Lake

2007-07-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

He was not excited about the water at the lake...We put his water shoes on and decided to dip his feet in slowly. But he just kept pulling his legs up so we couldn't dip them in.
Then we did and he started screaming. He was so mad. He screamed so loud I had to walk him around in the stroller to calm him down.

Ryan's gym

2007-07-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ryan loves to play in his gym. His favorite thing is to eat this rattle. He goes for it immediately when I put him under the arch. His other favorite thing is to talk to the little red bird that hangs down. He talked to it for about 10 minutes straight the other day!

Tummy Time

2007-07-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ryan really does not enjoy tummy time. He's getting better at it, but he doesn't last very long. I tried to keep him occupied with this hedgehog. Unfortunately, he thought the hedgehog was going to feed him...
He's going in for the kill... Giving it a taste...

And....he's latched on. He tried latching on about 4 times before he realized it wasn't for food. I laughed all 4 times.

Happy Ryan!

2007-07-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

He looks like such a big boy!

Ryan wakes up happy everyday. He'll laugh and play for about an hour and then he's ready for a nap. There have been times when I think he's still sleeping in the morning but he is really just in his room cooing and talking to himself. It's nice to not wake up to a crying baby anymore! In this picture we were also changing his diaper and he definitely likes his naked time.

Miller kids

2007-06-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ryan was too intrigued by his shoes to look at the camera
What cute kids!
Daddy's Little Girl! These pictures were part of Scott's Fater's Day gift

Michaela and Ryan

2007-06-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Grandpa. You gotta love a boy that can wear pink glasses proudly...

We can't catch Ryan's smiles on camera! He smiles constantly but every time he sees the camera, this is the face we get...

Risky Business

2007-06-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ryan got his first job...as Tom Cruise's double in Risky Business!

FedEx Pride

2007-06-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Although you can't see it very well, Ryan is sporting his new FedEx Custom Critical gear.

Michaela and Ryan

2007-06-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Michaela and Ryan have matching foreheads! Ryan's is a birthmark. Michaela's, however, is a result of rubbing her forehead so hard to remove a fake tatoo! It was pretty funny!

Ryan's getting so big!

2007-05-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

Admiring his OSU mobile

2007-05-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Just hangin' out

2007-05-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Veda

2007-05-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Wide awake at 2 am

2007-05-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

A very mad Ryan...

2007-05-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

More pictures of Ryan sleeping....

2007-05-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan sleeping in his swing

2007-05-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

Ryan Thomas Miller

2007-04-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

3-30-2007
4:30 am
8lbs. 10 oz.
21.5 in.

More Veda...

2007-03-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Veda is 15 months, she is a blue Weimaraner...she is an absolute pain and we love her!!!

Katie...39 weeks 6 days... about to explode!!!

2007-03-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding, is this even possible?

Veda...

2007-03-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures to get you up to speed...