Say Cheese!

 Say Cheese!

Cousin Memories

Hubby and I do not live near our nieces and nephews and so we really try to get to know them, have tons of fun, and get to know them better and build our relationships when we're in town.

This trip, we opted for a hotel overnight in St. Louis with Aunt Brooke, Uncle Chris, Memaw and Pepaw and ALL thirteen cousins.  Thirteen came and ate and swam, and played, and twelve spent the night.  We had two suites and the nephews (Howard, Judah, Silas, Hunter, and Brady) slept in Memaw and Pepaw's room, and the nieces (Zivah, Mayah, Tracey, Caroline, Fridah, Lee Lee, Scarlett) slept in Uncle Chris and Aunt Brookie's room.

I'm writing this blog at 10:44pm... so I'm hoping that we all make it through the night successfully.  All children are peacefully sleeping as I write this...

Thank you for the prayers.

Also, when you read this, it will be June 8.  June 8, 2002 is the day that my sister, Tracey, went to heaven.  Knowing that she is an aunt that never had the chance to build relationships with her nieces and nephews makes me appreciate even more this special overnight with so many of my nieces and nephews.

Nine Years Five Months

 All of my girls have to wait until age ten to get their ears pierced... but yesterday was a very big day.

After nine years and five months, my oldest got her ears pierced.

We had a very special day with three cousins and three Mountain Miller girls all getting hair cuts, and hair styles, and manicures and pedicures.  This is an adorable salon specifically catered to little girls.  My kids have been there one time before in 2018 (so five years ago), and then they got to go yesterday.

It would be very special for Tracey to get her ears pierced on her tenth birthday... but it was also VERY special for her to get her ears pierced yesterday surrounded by her sisters, her mama, her memaw, and three of her favorite cousins.  Hopefully she will remember that for the rest of her life.

Of course Caroline and Lee Lee were all ready to get their ears pierced too... so new tradition -- they have to ten, or the trip to St. Louis that is most close to their tenth birthday, and we will go back to that same Sweet and Sassy salon with their cousins.

It really was an incredibly special day with the girls.

St. Louis Fun

 St. Louis Fun

Summer Adventures Begin

 We have started the pattern that every other summer we road trip like crazy... and this year is no exception.

School has been out for a week, and we loaded up SO many things for an action-packed three weeks of family fun, and memorable experiences across America.

We hugged good-bye to our wonderful animals, always with the awareness that they are older pets, and we hope and pray to see them again in three weeks... and spent 1108 miles in the car for our first stop -- St. Louis, MO.

All those miles, and these smiles make them all worth it.

Miller Nose

 Those Millers have strong genes when it comes to noses... just look at these pictures from our time with our cousins...

Fun on the Mountain

 Here are just a couple pictures for our very fun-filled 36 hours with our cousins in Park City this weekend.

Pride Comes Before a Fall

 Pride comes before a fall... sometimes literally.

Long Weekend, Long Trip

 We just got home from a long trip over a long weekend.  We went 3150 miles in 5 days with our 6 kids.  Events included dinner with family in St. Louis, a day and dinner with family in Michigan, a wedding in Michigan, a family reunion and birthday fish fry in Michigan.

It feels good to be home.  And it will feel even better to sleep in a bed tonight instead of our suburban while Hubby drives cross country.

Here are a couple of favorite pictures:

More pictures and stories from the trip coming another day.

Brady Christopher -- 9 Months

Brady turned 9 months a few weeks ago and I really need to tell you all that he is up to before low and behold he turns 10 months, which will happen before I know it.

Here is Brady at 9 months of age -- a little under the weather but being a good sport for the picture

To give you a picture of how he's changed over the past 9 months, there is a sequence of him as a newborn, at 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months.  What a cutie!

And here is the comparison of all six kiddos at nine months of age:

Top left to right - Tracey, Caroline, Hunter

Bottom left to right - Howard, Brady, Lee Lee

Weight: 

17 pounds 6 ounces at his 9 month check up

(He weighed 7 pounds 15.8 ounces at birth)

Length:  

27.5" at his 9 month appointment

(He was 20" at birth)

Clothing size: 

Twelve month clothing - everything from onesies to sleepers to pants and shirts.

 

Eating:  

He is a great eater - still, which is so helpful.  Also, we have not discovered any food allergies.  He still nurses before bed and a few times during the day, but I am getting the impression that when he nurses, it is becoming more about cuddling and less about getting milk.  I'm pretty sure my milk supply is on its last legs.

Sleeping:  

Brady had a great month of sleeping through the night with exception being that as a household, we have been ill for the entire month of January 19 - February 19 (and before and after).  So, Brady has had a few nights here and there that were rough but they were all due to illnesses.

 

 

New Things/Discoveries/Accomplishments/Places He's Gone/Special Memories

• He crawls EVERYWHERE and is very fast
• He can crawl up the two stairs from his baby-sitter's family room to the rest of the house, and she reports he has loved the opportunity to explore ALL the rooms in her home.
• His time celebrating Tracey's birthday
• His first Valentine's Day
• His first funeral service
• He is beginning to push toys (with the help of older siblings)
• Unfortunately, he took his first trip to the emergency room this month to check on his breathing.  Hunter came down with Adeno/Entero/Rhino Virus (I'm sure some of those are mis-spelled) with and incredibly high fever that went on for many days.  Brady had the same virus, and he had a fever that wasnt' as high as Hunter's, but he had major congestion, and would snore like a trucker every night.  So, we took him to the emergency room one night to check his oxygen levels and make sure he was doing okay.
• First wedding -- well first pretend wedding in our family room between a dinosaur and unicorn -- but we were all very dressed up and Brady was very well-behaved
• First time napping in the same room as Hunter
• First time with Mama and the boys (at home, but we still had fun)

  

Likes: 

• His siblings
• Peek-a-boo and smiles
• Crawling on the floor
• He loves when Hunter gets a diaper change because Hunter is down on his level, and Brady always comes over and begins to touch Hunter's face
• Kisses
• FOOD
• Baths with siblings
• Cords.  All electrical cords.
• Long car rides overnight (he did AMAZING on our drive to and from St. Louis)
• Mama
• Door-stops

Dislikes:

• Stuffed nose
• Disrupted sleep

 

Nicknames:

• Brady
• Buddy
• Brady Boy
• Brady Blue Eyes
• Braidster
• Braid
• Brady Buddy

Pictures in no particular order: