MillerPics…

This could possibly be the best Christmas ever.  It felt like I was living in a movie, a perfect movie.  My mom, Randy’s parents, brother & niece spent the entire day at our house (some spent the night Christmas Eve).  We ate great food, it snowed, the kids loved all their gifts & played great all day, the people we love were together (in one state for that matter) & everyone stayed in their jammies ALL DAY!!  That’s right.  I did finally shower at noon, but changed into clean jammies!  Not having to go anywhere Christmas day was wonderful.  No rushing, no running, no coats, just sitting at home & watching the snow fall.  Next year will be hard pressed to be as wonderful, but I can only hope.

 As for Christmas morning, Evann was very excited to see that Santa had come.  Although, we finally had to wake him at 8:15am because all the adults where sitting around in anticipation.  His big gifts were a John Deere Gator from Santa (see pictures) and train table from Maw-Maw.  As soon as he saw the Gator he was speechless.  However, after learning it had a bed to carry things around, he says “oh, now I can pick up dog poop!  I can carry dog poop in there!”  OK!!  Weird child!  Maw-Maw also gave Evann a Zu Zu pet, which he named Fred.  Believe it or not, the little thing is cute.  We had to make a special bed for Fred & Fred even got to sit by the Santa cookies on Christmas Eve. 

New Year’s is next on the list I suppose.  Hard to believe.  What a year!  I think back to Evann one year ago today.  Still wearing diapers & sleeping in a crib.  Now he’s 100% potty trained (even overnight), sleeps in his big boy bed, brushes his own teeth, picks out  his own shirts…. but one thing is exactly the same…. he’s my big sweetheart!

Cheers to the new year!  Be safe & healthy!

Not exactly sure who is more excited this year, Evann or ME!  Evann has been so much fun & has something hilarious every day.  Today he asked if we could only leave Santa a few cookies so we could eat the rest.  After leaving Wal-Mart the other day, he said he needed to see Santa right now…to tell him that he needs all the Cars toys (the movie Cars that is).  While not using his “listening ears” recently, I told him I was calling Santa.  With huge, real dinosaur tears pouring down his face, Evann begged me not to call, that he was going to be good.  Post Christmas will stink to not be able to use this one any longer!  We have a lot of work to do around the GIVING aspect of Christmas.  For now, we enjoy giving to the kettles and talk about what that means. 

Grandma & Grandpa will be here Christmas Eve & we’re all very excited.  Lots of baking to still be done in preparation but Evann is a great baker.  I’m not worried.  My bones tell me this is going to be the BEST Christmas.  Maw-Maw, Jeff, Morgan, Grandma & Grandpa will all be here.

Evann & I have spent the week making cookies, eating lunch out, working out at the gym (to offset the aforementioned), shopping & attending Evann’s new school for a few hours in the morning.  It’s been rather perfect.  If my kid was as freaking adorable everyday, as he’s been this week, I’d seriously have 5 of them!  Don’t tell my husband that!!  Anyhooo, the new school is awesome!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new teacher.  She not only used my top five favorite parenting phrases (such as “I can’t understand you, use your words”), she taught me new ones!  She was a tough cookie.  Evann gave her a big hug, saying “merry christmas” when we left!  Evann only has 9 kids in his class & everything is brand new.  His room was part of the building addition just completed in December.  They even have this super cool gymnasium.  Looks like a great place to run energy.

Merry Christmas to all!  Be safe & enjoy the time for family, friends & all those you love.  Look for photos post Santa’s visit. 

Hopefully all had a wonderful Turkey Day!  We ate like hogs & continued the habit right through the weekend for some reason.  Evann had a great time playing with his cousins.  We didn’t host for the first time in years & it was kind of nice.  Although, I really do enjoy having Turkey Day at the house!  The smells, the conversation, the laughter, the kids, the overheated house & cook…. it’s my favorite time! 

This time of year always makes me long for those who are no longer with us.  I’m so thankful for the time they were here & the impact they’ve left on my life!!  My wish is to pass on what I’ve learned from each of them onto Evann.  It makes me so sad to think that he’ll never know the family I grew up with.

 You’ll also be happy to know that Coaly received the royal treatment this weekend.  Took advantage of the warm weather to give him a bath, major brush job (I swear I took off 20lbs of hair), washed all his bedding & even bought him a new padded bed.  Randy says if we spend some money on him, he’ll probably die!  Murphy’s law just doesn’t work THAT way!!! 

The Christmas lights are up on the house.  Now if I could just get motivated to put up everything else!!  However, I did finish my Christmas cards today…. aren’t you jealous???  Or did you just call me a loser??? 

I have lots of excuses to have posted NOTHING since August but why waste your time, right?  So here she goes…… We’ve been busy having fun & I think we were all sick the month of October.  Fit in another “Adult Only” vacation with our neighbors to Boca Grande , FL (we just can’t get enough of those crazy neighbors).  I got the much desired promotion I was going for in September.  Labor day was lots of fun with a visit from Grandma Miller & the annual Lindemann party.  October had lots of fall fun at Stuckmeyer’s & Halloween trick-o-treating with Morgan & the neighbor girls.  Evann broke his collar bone in November jumping off the couch.  Dog won’t die & seems to lose all bowel control often (any takers??).  Evann starts a new school on January 4th, 2010.  Going to Goddard.  Our last day is Dec 18th & I can’t wait to be done.  Ehhhwww…. there!  I feel better.  You are officially up to speed on the big stuff.  Promise to not take so long between posts….. really….. promise!!  I posted lots of pictures from August until today in the November 2009 folder.  Enjoy my friends!

WOW!!  It’s been a month since I updated last.  My computer time has been devoted to work or the much hated quick hits on facebook!  Sorry bloggers.  Let me catch you up to speed on the happenings of the Miller household.

Evann turned the big 3 in July.  He had a family party, his first friends party at the Museum of Transportation and then on his actual birthday, mommy and daddy made sure to make him feel special by having lunch at McDonald’s followed by spending his own birthday money at Target on more toys.  Evann also transitioned to a big boy bed and has yet to get out of it!!!!  He did fall out once, but I don’t count that.  We bought him a big boy Lightening McQueen bike (with real pedals and all) for his birthday and he’s been riding like a champ.  My baby turned toddler turned preschooler will be off to college in a few months I think!!  He moves to the 3’s room on Monday!!!  Every time we turn around, Evann is telling us a new funny story.  Today he informed me he was going to buy some new toys with Daddy’s money!  Sweet!  Hope he shares with me.  Mamma needs a new pair of shoes.

The whole family took a week to visit Grandma and Grandpa Miller in Colorado.  The trip was a bust!  I got sick, Evann couldn’t sleep (and we all know my kid is worlds best sleeper), the weather was winter like and it rained!  While we loved the visiting part and had some great food, my poor sick head just wanted to be home in my own bed.  So goes life!  Thank goodness Randy and I go to Florida with our neighbors next week to make up for two crazy vacations this year (Disney was great fun but A LOT of work).  No kids allowed!!  Just us, the beach and a lot of foo-foo drinks!

I’ve been taking off most Friday’s to spend time with family.  That whole work-life balance thing, ya know.  It will be really sad when September hits because my work load is nuts-O and about to get more crazy.  But we’ve been going to Six Flags, Grants Farm, local parks, spending time with great friends, City Garden downtown, baseball games and it seems like a million other things. 

Bought a new mommy mobile!  Bigger is better, as they say.  I could shuttle the neighborhood around in this ride.  My Armada is as close to a minivan as I’ll ever get.  Randy surprised me by getting the side windows tinted the other day.  So sweet.

Our garden is growing great this summer.  The extra rain and lower heat has helped a lot.  We’ve had tomatoes, basil, hot banana peppers and our red peppers just started budding.  The squash didn’t make it so much.  Not sure what I did wrong there.  Nothing like picking your own veggies and cooking them up!

July & August has new pictures posted!  Oh, and for those checking, the stupid dog is still alive.

Evann turns three years old today.  Hard to believe.  Well, not until 5:41pm technically!  I still remember exactly… a pain you never forget!  We had a family birthday party for him last weekend.  He was so excited he could hardly stand himself.  The theme was Lightening McQueen.  I’m pretty sure he’s going to turn into Lightening soon!  To celebrate today, his actual birthday, we went to Target & let him spend his gift card on toys.  He didn’t know which way to turn first but finally selected a CARS item & some airplane gadget.  Then off to McDonald’s for lunch & he picked out a tiny round Thomas the Train cake at the store this morning that we’ll have after dinner today.  Fun stuff. 

In other news, Evann slept in his big boy bed for the first time last night.  No big deal.  Like he’s been doing it all his life.  When we woke him (at 8:30 this morning) he was upside down, feet on the pillow.  Whatever!  Evann asked me when he would be a really big boy to drive a car?  Geez… can’t we go to kindergarten first?

For some strange reason, I bought a new truck this weekend too.  Traded up to the Armada.  It’s fabulous.  Love it!  It’s my minivan alternative.

Check out the pics for June & July.