Mother's Morning Out

Molly started MMO this morning.  She'll be going twice a week from 9 - 12, and it's at our church.  Her teachers are Miss Becca and Mrs Candace, and I am sure she will have a great time!  I worked with Becca when I kept the nursery for a few years before I had Molly, so I was so excited to learn Molly was in her class!

Yesterday I felt like Mother of the Year when I realized none of Molly's sandals fit her feet!  She never wears shoes, and I knew she'd need to wear shoes to MMO, so after naps we loaded up and ran to Dillard's for a quick shoe shopping trip.  Thank the good Lord Molly has adjusted beautifully to having shoes on her feet.  So far anyway.  Yesterday evening I put them on her, and she stopped playing one time, grabbed her foot and said, "Osh!" which means off.  I ignored her and she went right back to playing!  Thank goodness!

She was all dressed up and ready to go this morning!

Yep, shoes, bow and all!  I was so surprised, and I wondered how long they would last! Miss Becca told me the bow only came out once!  WOW!

I will readily admit my heart stopped for a second when I took this picture this morning.  I may have said outloud, "how in the world am I going to leave you for three whole hours today, Molly?"  She did just great at drop off and only cried for a few seconds.  Once I got out the door, she was playing with her new friends in no time!  What a blessing!

Ellie's also doing MMO this year, so we grabbed a few pictures of the girls after their day.  Ellie loves to "hep bebe wak."

Both girls had a great first day!  I think it's safe to say Molly was pooped!



Molly Miller ~ 14 Months Old

Molly is 14 months old!  This last month was full of fun and development!  Molly started walking a few weeks ago at the beach, and she has really taken off in the last week.  She walks everywhere, and has started walking while holding toys, too. 

Also in the last month, Molly's vocabulary has started to really explode!  Along with Dada, she's saying dog, ball, off, up, signing more, and shakes her head no at every question you ask her!  We've got to work on yes!  It's so much fun having her say a few words!  She jabbers A LOT, too!  We don't know what she's saying, but she points and her face fills with expression as she talks away.  It's too precious to us!

As for eating, she is still very very picky.  So picky that one day she may love a food and the next day spits it right out at you.  It's a constant struggle to get her to eat.  Some days I fret over the fact that she's hardly eaten anything, but my momma always reminds me she will eat when she's hungry.  Any of you have picky eaters?  I'd love to hear suggestions on healthy foods your kids enjoy. If it weren't for scrambled eggs, gold fish, cheerios and bread, we'd be in a total mess!?!?!

This week Molly will start going to the Mommy's Morning Out program at our church.  She'll go two days a week, and I'm sure she'll love it.  It's got to be a good sign that she cried when we left her room during orientation, right?  I know she will love playing with her friends and learning!  Me on the other hand?  I am not sure what I'm going to do with my two mornings a week?!?  I'm looking forward to going grocery shopping, cleaning the house and going to the gym alone.  But I'm also a bit sad about it!  I get pretty teary just talking about it right now.

Month 14 was a total blast, and we absolutely love every single second with our MM!

Ole' Bud

He was blind.  He was deaf.  His knickname was Granpa.  And he could be grumpy for sure.  But he was old.  Still, Buddy was one of the most loyal dogs I've ever known.  I got him in December of 1996; he was a rescue dog who we took in and loved immediately.  He came into our family at just the right time, a little over two years after my Daddy died.  Goodness knows he sat with us Miller Girls on our back deck and watched many tears fall, heard a few squabbles, and saw more than I care to ever admit.  We have always joked that we'd be in a heap of trouble if Buddy ever learned to talk! 

He loved nothing more than a trip to the groomer.  Those shaves literally added years to his life.  He would prance out of there like he was King.  It amazed us every single time how much spunk those shaves gave him!

He was such a good dog, and we will miss him dearly.  RIP, Bud.  There'll never be another one like you.

Ellie the Make Up Queen

It all started with painting her toesies....

And quickly turned into a make up party I obviously had no control over....

Apparently Ellie is a fan of the Mike Tyson look!!!

And it's just 9am.  Looks like this is gonna be a DAY, y'all!  If you need me, I'll be scrubbing make up off a certain little girl's face! 

Beachin' It

A week at the beach was just what our family needed!  We ate, played in the sand, enjoyed the sun and ocean, ate, rode bikes, shopped, toured Parris Island (the boys did anyway.  Brian went through boot camp there, so it was neat for him to go back, and Tim loved tagging along and asking a million questions, I'm sure!), ate, spent loads of time in the pool, made friends with a family from Connecticut, laughed, played, and ate some more.

And it was awesome.  Every single second of our trip was just perfect!  Since Molly is such a little princess, we were a little worried about how she'd feel about the beach. The sand, the noise, the breeze, the ocean.  .  .  we just were not sure how she'd do.  We quickly learned she LOVED it! 

We played in the sand. . .

We sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" on the beach. . .

We sunbathed. . . 

And we snuggled on the beach. . .



We took the girls to the beach one evening for some pictures, and goodness gracious, did we get some great moments!  The girls are so fun together, and they love each other to pieces!

Ellie is always helping. . . 

Molly was content to watch Ellie . . . 



And Ellie was in constant motion, as usual. . .

Molly did a little walking. . .





And Tim got a few kisses and snuggles with his baby girl. . .

One night, the adults loved a night out (thanks, Lovie!). . .

These two girls light up our lives. . . 

And we had the best time with them! So very thankful for a fabulous vacation!

Molly Miller ~ 13 Months Old

Wow this last month has really flown by!  And it's been slap full of excitement!  Molly is so close to walking that it's scary.  She's cruising all around furniture, standing by herself for seconds at a time, and is trying her very best to climb the stairs.  I just know our world is about to be R-O-C-K-E-D!

And it's so much fun!  Molly loves playing with her ball, her train, teaset, and birthday cake.  She also loves loves loves her ladybug toy.  Most of these were birthday gifts, and she has the greatest time with them!  We've set up a play area with Molly's toy chest (that her Daddy and a dear friend made her) and toys, and it's right down the hall from her bedroom.  Now, everytime we walk out of her room, she points towards the play room and starts grunting.  She'd play in there all the time, I do believe!

Molly has also decided wearing my sunglasses is one of the funniest things in the world.  She gets to tickled when we put them on her face!

Another first this past month was a boat ride!  Molly was NOT a fan of the life vest, and since we were in a pontoon boat going s-l-o-w-l-y, we relented and let her just enjoy.  She obviously found the ride to be quite soothing and relaxing.

Month 13 was full of fun for Miss Molly for sure! We love you to pieces, precious one!





Birthday Wishes to my True Blue Friend

Ashley, B, and Jodi ~ Lifelong friends

A truer friend I could not have ever asked for than the friend I have in Jodi.  I firmly believe a friendship like ours happens once in a lifetime.  At best.  The last 32 years have woven a beautiful tapestry of two lives, one friendship. 

See, I have a little golden book my mom received when she was pregnant with me.  It was To Baby Miller (that was me!) from Baby Outler (that was Jodi!).  So when we say we've been friends all our lives we mean it.  Literally.

And my, oh my, the memories we share.  From the absolute heartache grief and pain of untimely deaths and personal struggles to the incredible joy of marrying two amazing, godly men and having beautiful babies of our own, we've built a friendship steady and strong.  From partying like rockstars in our wild days - days we'd both likely wish we could erase - to worshiping together every Sunday at church, studying God's word together in Sunday School, and praising our Heavenly Father for his amazingly steady provision through all of it. . .  Jodi is my true blue, best friend. 

Jodi's the friend I walked 60 miles in 3 days with.  She's the friend I worked with for about 5 years.  She's the friend who squealed the loudest when I got engaged, the friend who smiled the biggest when Tim and I got pregnant.

The friend I simply cannot imagine my life without.  And I thank God for her always.

Especially today as she celebrates her 32nd birthday.  I love you, dear one!  Here's to the rest of our lives!  The best is truly yet to come!