Adored

Our youngest baby is utterly adored... and most days, I think he knows it.

Blueberries

We are still figuring out Hunter's food allergies... but we have learned he LOVES blueberries!

Nothing Feels Right

Published in Her View From Home

As the School Year Nears, Nothing I Choose Feels Right.

Homeschool doesn’t feel right

Virtual school doesn’t feel right.

Hybrid school doesn’t feel right.

Delaying school doesn’t feel right.

Starting school on time doesn’t feel right.

Getting temperature checks doesn’t feel right.

Having my child wear a mask in school doesn’t feel right.

Having to choose between my children’s health and education doesn’t feel right.

Worrying if I send them to a school that not only looks different but feels different doesn’t feel right.

Worrying that later on down the road sending them to a school and wearing a mask and getting their temperature checked constantly will somehow impact their mental health doesn’t feel right.

Worrying about them possibly seeing a classmate or teacher become sick and worrying if that person will ever come back doesn’t feel right.As parents we aren’t just thinking about this upcoming school year, we are worrying about how this will impact our kid’s health and mental health now and in the future because both of those things are equally as important.

Because the truth is this school year nothing I choose feels right and the only thing that would feel right is school back to how it was last year before all this came along.

Originally published on Grief to Hope with Nikki Pennington

So It Begins...

My boys...

Howard is showing Hunter a worm...

and Hunter's face is so excited about Howard showing him a worm...

Hunter Nicholas -- His Name

As you may remember from the previous Birth Story Posts, Hunter was born on a Friday evening after a day spent with Hubby.

You may also remember that Hunter was born about 90 minutes after I arrived at the hospital, and about 10 minutes after Hubby arrived at the hospital.

Hunter was born at 5:15pm and almost immediately after he was born, Hubby and I made the decision to try to get our four older children to the hospital asap so they could meet Hunter that night before bed instead of their waiting until Saturday morning.

We knew it would be chaotic, and a late night for them... but then they could sleep in on Saturday having already met their baby brother.

We did a fun gender reveal for them with a small balloon filled with blue confetti, and then we told them (and my parents, and the baby-sitter and her mother who were so wonderful to bring our kids to the hospital) the baby's name.

His name was Hunter Miller... middle name still to come.

The kids were so excited to meet Hunter, and Howard loved that the two boys were Howard and Hunter.

Then, we started face timing Hubby's side of the family so the kids could tell their Memaw and Pepaw, and Aunts and Uncles and cousins the exciting news.  That they had a new baby BROTHER, and his name is Hunter.

In all that fun and commotion, something happened that I did not expect.

Hubby and I have NEVER announced a name of our child before the child is born.  For one, we usually do not know the gender in advance.  We only knew that Lee Lee was a girl -- the other four were a surprise, so we were never sure of the name.  Secondly, we usually ARE NOT SURE of the name until the baby arrives.  Hubby and I have usually had a few conversations, but we are never 100% sure of the name prior to meeting the baby.

Not infrequently, we have made a last minute switch or discussion or compromise or further discussed the purpose and meaning behind one of their names.

And then we introduce the new baby to everyone with their First, Middle, and Last names already decided.

With Hunter, we knew the first name -- and I thought we knew the middle name if we had a boy, but earlier that day, Hubby had expressed some opinions that he was not sure of the middle name if we had a boy.

So, when Hunter was born at 5:15 in the evening, and we knew he and I were doing well, Hubby and I made the decision to get the kids and my parents to the hospital, and Hubby zipped over to a party store to get a balloon filled with blue confetti.  I tried to get cleaned up and settle myself and Hunter into our room at the hospital before everyone arrived.

Hubby and I never took the time to revisit the discussion of Hunter's middle name because we knew we had time.  The more important things at that time were making sure Hunter got to meet his family... and Hubby and I knew we would take the time necessary to discuss and agree upon a middle name after the commotion of everyone meeting their baby brother.

All that being said... here is what I never expected.

As soon as we told our family that his name was Hunter Miller, middle name to be determined, everyone had a suggestion as to what the middle name should be.

Not just one family member either, and not just one side of the family -- nearly every female family member that we told had her own opinion about what Hunter's middle name should be.  (By the way, none of them suggested Nicholas.)

They had some fine suggestions but we will never make that mistake again -- introducing a baby with a TBD name.  No suggestions needed, but thanks.

So... back to how we determined Hunter's name.

Hunter had been a name Hubby and I had on the table since I was pregnant with the twins.  If they had both been boys, they would have been Howard and Hunter.  While Hunter is not a family name from Hubby's side of the family, I feel like it is simply because they are all Hunters.  It is not just a fun hobby, or an excuse for men to go play cards in the woods, they love hunting.  They are skilled at hunting and they take their responsibility as hunters very seriously.  I feel as though Hunter is a family name from the Miller side.

Regarding his middle name, I thought we had determined the middle name of our second boy many years ago.  My entire pregnancy, I thought we were completely settled on the middle name if our baby was a boy.  But, earlier on Friday, Hubby had asked my thoughts for a middle name to go with Hunter, and I told him the name that I thought had been agreed upon years earlier, when Hubby dropped the bomb, that he didn't really like that name.

We discussed the reasons that I valued the name, and he expressed his reasons for disliking it and not feeling right about it.

Then, he said that if we took a tally of family names being used with our children, my family was in the lead and he should get to choose the middle name because more of my family names were being used with our children.

We went through and talked about which names counted toward each side of the family... and which names were not family names, but that we had agreed upon together for a different reason.

THEN he started sharing his suggestions for middle names.

They were not good.

They were very... out-there.

They are names that I did not even like a little.

So after much back and forth, I pointed out that Hubby was correct and that we had used more of my family names than his... but these names he was suggesting were NOT family names from his side.

I said that it would be completely different if he was suggestion a family name like... and I rattled off about four family names from his side, one of which was Nicholas.

As soon as Hubby heard the name Nicholas, which is his brother's name, I saw on his face that Nicholas would be the middle name.

Hubby is very close to his brother and has a great deal of respect for his brother.  I remember from when we were dating that Hubby would talk about his brother as whom he was closest to at the time.

I make it a practice to not talk about the names that we did not name our children because I don't want someone preferring the name we did not choose.  In this case, however, I will make one exception.

As I was rattling off names from Hubby's side of the family, I mentioned about four names, and two of them were Nicholas, and Stanton.

Now, Hubby's brother's name is Nicholas Stanton -- so both of these names would have fulfilled the purpose of honoring his brother.

By the time Hunter was born, regarding his middle names, (as far as I remember it) there were three possible names still on the table:  the original middle name that I preferred, Nicholas, and Stanton.

Then, after talking to all the family, there were about six names on the table... not really but it felt like there were because everyone had given us the merits of their favorite middle name.

In the end, both Hubby and I preferred Nicholas but one factor made us consider Stanton even longer.  Nick and his wife Mandy were expecting their third child in three days.  Literally, three days -- I had Hunter on Friday, and her C-section was scheduled for the following Monday.

They knew it was going to be a boy, and they had already chosen and announced the name of Sloan Stanton Miller.

Their first son Silas, and our first son, Howard, have the same middle names -- Howard James, and Silas James.

We liked Nicholas better, but it would have been cool for both sets of boy cousins to have the same middle names -- 

Howard James, and Silas James,

Hunter Stanton, and Sloan Stanton...

We actually called Nick before we made the final decision.  He was the only additional person we asked for his opinion about the name because it is he who Hunter's middle name is honoring.  We did not leave the decision up to him, but we took his thoughts under strong consideration.  Both Hubby and I preferred Nicholas, and Nick said, "I think Hunter Nicholas is awesome!"

And Hunter Nicholas he is, after his dad's little brother, his very special Uncle Nick -- who is a Hunter.

Corsets

I started reading the Little House on the Prairie books to my children last summer.  We don't read it every night because some nights Hubby reads Magic Tree House books... but we are currently on "Little Town on the Prairie"

It is fun to re-read these as a grown woman, and as a mother.

Here was a excerpt from last night's reading that I enjoyed:

"I'm glad I don't have to wear corsets yet," said Carrie.

"Be glad while you can be," said Laura.  "You'll have to wear them pretty soon."  Her corsets were a sad affliction to her, from the time she put them on in the morning until she took them off at night.  But when girls pinned up their hair and wore skirts down to their shoetops, they must wear corsets.

"You should wear hem all night," Ma said.  Mary did, but Laura could not bear at night the torment of the steels that would not let her draw a deep breath.  Always before she could get to sleep, she had to take off her corsets.

"What your figure will be, goodness knows," Ma warned her.  "When I was married, your Pa could span my waist with his two hands."

"He can't now," Laura answered, a little saucily, "And he seems to like you."

"You must not be saucy, Laura," Ma reproved her, but Ma's cheeks flushed pink and she could not help smiling.

------------------

I'm very grateful to have a wonderful husband who "likes me" these 9 years later when my waist is not the same width as it was when we were married.  Through all the (literal) ins and outs of five children and four pregnancies and the fitness efforts in between, I am incredibly grateful for my Hubby who loves me through it all.

And I am grateful that I do not feel pressure to wear corsets to bed.

1000 Words

1000 Words

You Never Know

You never know who you're going to run into at my house...

Vigilante Justice

Last night Lee Lee broke a nightlight in the kids' room and Caroline came in and told on Lee Lee. We told Caroline to send Lee Lee into our room. Lee Lee ignored Caroline. Caroline came back to report that Lily was ignoring her. We sent Caroline to bed and told her that we would handle the situation.

Next thing we know Caroline is dragging Lee Lee down the hall to our bedroom.

Lee Lee was in her stomach and Caroline was pulling her by her ankle. 

Amazingly, no one was crying. 

Vigilante Caroline.

Makeup Samples

A few weeks ago, I was on the one with someone and Tracey kept coming in my room and asking for makeup samples... of which I have very few...

I didn't know why until I went downstairs.

When Youth Are Young

Hubby went to the school board meeting last night where parents and community members where sharing their thoughts regarding the forthcoming school year with the school board.

Over 100 community members addressed the board and then emails were read aloud.

Hubby came home and told me about the meeting and some of the perspectives that were offered at the meeting.

He said one person who spoke is a rising high school senior.  Among other things, this student said something like, "My friends and I are seniors in high school and nearly 18 years old.  We don't need adults telling us what they think is best for us -- we know what is best for ourselves."

Hubby said, the entire room quietly chuckled when that passionate student shared his thoughts.

Hubby and I each probably would have said the same thing at age 18... but so many changes come with the passage of time... I certainly don't think of myself as being "old" -- but here I am, an adult, a mother responsible for five of my own children and chuckling at this high school senior who does not want the adults to tell him what is best for him.

Time marches on.

Hunter Nicholas -- Eight Months

Hunter turned eight months a few days ago and we are having so much fun with this little bundle of giggles and smiles.

Hunter at eight months

Lee Lee at eight months

Caroline at eight months

Howard at eight months

Twins at eight months

Tracey at eight months

Comparison picture at eight months

Weight: 

I'm not sure... probably more than 16 pounds.

Length:  

I'm not sure... probably more than 26 inches long.

Clothing size: 

Mostly wearing Nine and twelve month clothing.  I pretty much go for the coolest easiest clothing possible these days.  We don't leave the house very often, so there are days he just wears a onesie.

 Eating:  

Well, Hunter had allergy testing this month which revealed he is allergic to peanuts and eggs.  He is not allergic to milk, almonds or shrimp.  So, we were avoiding peanuts and eggs... but then later this month, Hunter had a mild allergic reaction when we ate tacos -- so now the doctor has Hunter off wheat, soy, beef, corn, and taco seasoning for three weeks until further testing can be done.

So, that is what Hunter does not eat.

We have him on a pretty strict diet of fruit, veggies, yogurt, cheese, chicken, and fish.

His favorite foods are strawberries, jello, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.

He still nurses several times a day as well.

Sleeping:  

Hunter sleeps well and takes 1-2 naps a day.  His mid-day nap is getting longer, and it is starting to sleep really well through the night (for 10-12+ hours) so we may be close to getting a strict one-nap schedule for him moving forward.

New things/discoveries/accomplishments: 

He had his first camping trip as a family (cabin camping)

His first time to the Rifle pool

His first times really enjoying water

His first summer treats -- popsicles and a taste of an ice cream cone, which he would not let go of after he got a taste

His first family garage sale

His first Father's Day

He is very close to crawling -- he will sit up and then use his heels to move himself around in a circle.  He also leans forward to try to reach things, and then will get onto his tummy.  Once on his tummy, he can reach a few things, but he does not quite have the strength to move yet -- any day.

He is definitely teething, poor little guy -- I can see where his two bottom teeth are SO ready to cut through, but they have not yet.  Thankfully, he still sleeps well, but he is fussier than normal during the day, and at meal times.

Likes: 

Being outside

Being around his siblings

Tags -- like the silky tags on her stuffed animals

Strawberries and popsicles

Swinging himself in his swing

Jumping in his exersaucer

Starting to use his walker to walk over to things to grab them

Baths and showers

Sitting up and watching everything

Dislikes:

Teething

Food allergies

 Places He's Gone:

Cabin camping at  Grand Mesa National Forest

On his first family hike

On a bike ride with Mama in the bike chariot

I had a special girls outing with the two oldest girls and Hunter got to tag along to that -- a cheap movie, nails done, and ice cream.

Special Memories: 

Cabin camping

Father's Day

Some summer fun -- garage sale, pool time, water fun, popsicles

First Fourth of July -- which was pretty low key and our first ever Fourth of July in Colorado

Nicknames:

Hunt Hunt (by Lee Lee)

Hunner (by Caroline)

Hunny (by Howard and Tracey)

Buddy

Little Guy

Happy Boy

Buster

Buzz Boy

Hunt Buddy

Pictures from this month (all taken close to home):