Just Us

Parker eating cookie cake at Kimberly's birthday celebration with the fam. This was after the haircut...that he needed as you can see below.

Ok, so maybe he needed a haircut(maybe is not even worth saying...he REALLY needed a haircut), but he is so cute! Just so you know...when you have a child that has hair like my kids you are bound to have a long haired boy every once in a while. He truly needs a haircut every 3 weeks. Who has time for that?!

My beautiful cousin, Stephanie on her wedding day! I flew to Alabama just for this event all by myself(no kids or husband) and to be honest, it was wonderful. Did lots of Christmas shopping with my Mom and got to see a beautiful wedding! And my cousin is one of my best friends...it was worth every thing to be there!

Flip Video Camera

Hey!
Yesterday Derek came home with a gift for me. Well, he didn't buy it but his client gave this to him to give to me. How sweet! It was a brand new(in package) Flip Video Camera. This one is one of the original versions so now they have ones more advance and that can record for longer. This thing is so cool! It is small like a camera and it has on it a USB port that flips out of the side. It can record up to 30 minutes and then you download the videos on the computer just by connecting the USB port. Derek knew I would love it because I am always recording on my phone short clips of the boys. We have a video camera. But, we don't have the cord to connect to the computer. Plus getting the video camera out takes work. Whereas something like this will be used LOTS!!! You can make "movies" with their program, get snapshots off of the video footage, e-mail the videos, and lots of other fun stuff. Anyways, Hope this works and you like it. This is the only clip I have uploaded. It is not long at all. But so cute!

Only Words

This post is just an update of what is going on in our lives. No pictures. My Mom and Dad sold their house in B'ham! PTL! And my mom borrowed my memory card to my camera so it is in B'ham with her. :)
So, after a whole year of my parents house being on the market they close on November 10th! If it wasn't ever clear to you, my parents have been living with us since Jan. Which some of you or your husbands would HATE. However, Derek and I have enjoyed it. Derek is so easy which is wonderful. His feathers don't get ruffled easily and he doesn't ruffle anyones feathers. (Side Note: SO wish I could be that way). And I get along with my parents very well. We are open with each other and respect each other. They are so easy to live with. They have been a huge help with my boys and my boys love having them here. Yesterday we had a play date and Parker said "Julia is going potty in Papa's bathroom". Which is also known as the guest bathroom. Ha! We told my parents not to be in any rush to move out and to take their time on finding something else. They might rent, they might buy. Either way I will be glad when my Dad AND my Mom(who is B'ham a lot still) have a place here and are here for good.
Parker has definitely shown me that he is 2 in good ways and not so good ways. Parker has always required a lot of sleep but for some reason for the last 3 or 4 weeks he has developed an awful habit of waking up at 4am. All I have to do is go in his room and put him back to bed and he is fine. BUT still...interrupted sleep by your 2 1/2 year old is ridiculous. I have tried everything to get him to stop but now I am having to leave him in there and let him cry. It is NOT fun! And what stinks is I should have nipped it in the bud forever ago. Now, he cries for a long time. Tonight will be the 3rd night so I am hoping that this is what breaks the habit. He has shown me attitude, and talks back, and pitches fits. However, he has shown me how smart he is, sweet, loving towards us and his brother he is, and how funny he is. We have good days and we have bad. Being on top of the discipline is the key but isn't always easy. He is MUCH better when I am on top of it. I love him so much! He brings so much laughter to my days. Today we went to the zoo and I was able to let him walk the whole time. He was so good and obedient. A little slow...but obedient. I said that I can't believe he will be 3 in 6 months!!! He is just about to the too big for a stroller age. I remember when there was no way I was letting him out of the stroller without his daddy around. Crazy how time flies!!

Micah is just as cute and sweet as he can be. He smiles ALL the time. Way more then Parker did at his age. He has lots of hair but it is his daddy's texture. Which means, he probably won't be having a bowl cut like his brother(Parker has my hair). I think we might have to keep it short and maybe spike it up most of the time or kinda long but not too thick or it will be BIG. lol. He just turned 9 months old last Friday. He is so close to walking. He stands up without holding onto anything. He will be standing there playing with a toy. He can walk with his walker toy. And he is everywhere. He will play in the playroom for forever by himself. He is still nursing but I think I am about to have to quit. I don't think he is getting enough milk. He just gets frustrated and will only nurse for 3-5 minutes sometimes coming off several times. Good thing he will take a bottle of formula. He actually loves bottles. Since day one Micah has only cried when it has something to do with sleep or getting off his sleep schedule and trying to get him back on it. That is how he is still to this day. Lots of people say "I have never heard him cry." Thats why. Because most people aren't at my house during that time. But as long as he is doing good with his schedule he doesn't cry. We want to wait until a year from right now to get pregnant again. That way Micah and the next baby will be 2 1/2 years apart. However, because Micah is so good I am already thinking about having another baby!!! I am going to try SO hard to wait simply because it makes sense for us to. But don't be surprised if we don't.

The business is doing good and Free Chapel is too. However, we always need prayer. Prayer for growth, God's provision financially, God's protection and His favor. I will post pictures when I get my memory card back which should be in about a week.

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Things that need to be done at my house

I am not good about doing a "Top Ten Tuesday" List every week. I do it when I get the urge. Today, I have the urge. :) Since I woke up this morning I have seen several things that I need to do in my house. Which drives me C-R-A-Z-Y! Because I want to get all of it done right then. However, I have 2 little ones pulling at me almost every minute of the day. Besides, right now...the ever so wonderful NAP time. That, my friends, is why I still have this list. Because during nap time I do not want to be doing a million things. I want to chill out, watch whatever show I want, take a nap if I choose, eat lunch, etc. However, the list still exists. Here goes.

1. Clean the guest bathroom-AKA my parents bathroom. Why should I clean my parents bathroom? Ha! Because my Mom is gone to B'ham and lets just face it...my Dad is not going to clean it. Thats ok...I like doing things for my Dad.
2. Organize, get rid of, tidy of playroom. Ok, so I already did this one. But, I did it this morning. It was on my list.
3. Wash, Dry, and Fold the HUGE mound of laundry on the chair(that has been sitting there for 2 days).
4. Sweep.
5. Mop. Due to the fact that my 2yo thinks he is an adult and needs to drink out of big boy cups. I do put lids on them, but he takes them off and spills his drink every where. Today I told him that he was going back to the sippy cups. Oh well...he is 2!!!! What was I thinking?!
6. Wash dishes that are in the sink. If my Mom was here these would have been done by 7:30 am. Darn you work! My mom needs to be here! ;)
7. Clean outside fridge. Really, it is in my garage. But I have leftovers in there that need to be thrown away. I dread doing this. Yuck!
8. Make a grocery list and buy groceries. This is usually done by today. Gonna have to wait until tomorrow.
9. Get my hubby(and a friend) to figure out how to switch our Dish Network to a different room. I REALLY do not want to pay someone to come and do this. It should be simple, right?
10. Wash all my cushion covers for the 2 chairs and couch in our den. But, why would I do that when they will be stained in no time after they are washed. Hmmm?

Just Doing Life Together

Oh just enjoying his frosty. You know...needed to air out his bottom.

Parker has had a virus the last couple of days. So after his Dr's appt. I told him I would get him something sweet. Anyways, he didn't eat all of it that afternoon so I let him have the rest of it after dinner. My dad had already trying pulling his pants up once but Parker pulled them back down where you could see the top of his bottom. He has had an opinion about his clothes lately. Like "I don't wanna wear shirt" or "I don't wanna wear my underwear." lol. Please don't be surprised if you come over and my child has no pants on...just underwear. That is how it is here most of the time.


How cute is the bottom on this outfit?!

My mom's good friend bought Micah this and I love it. It is so soft and he looks so stinkin cute in it!

Having SO much fun playing in the water why brother takes a bath.

One day Parker was taking a bath at a random time and I was cleaning his room. I hear Micah crawl in there and he is laughing so hard. I finally decide to see whats up. Parker has the bath tub so full of water it is about to go over the top. Micah is standing there splashing in it with his hands...not caring one bit, actually liking it to splash everywhere. You know what I did? I laughed and walked out of the bathroom. I let them play. Even though it drives me bananas to have water on the bathroom floor and for my kids to get their clothes wet sometimes they just need to do it. For their sanity and mine. :)

Vacation Continued

The resort had an awesome pool, baby pool, lazy river with a beach/sand area, play ground, places to eat, a game room, and bikes to ride. Our room was so nice! I posted 4 pictures of it at the bottom. I wrote by all my pictures so not much to say up here.


Boys playing in the baby pool

Parker swimming. The water is actually not even 2 foot deep where he is at. It looks like he is swimming laps. ha!

Derek and Parker going around the lazy river. Parker loved the lazy river!

You can see the hotel in the back. That was just part of it. It was really nice!

Me and Micah hanging out on the beach/sand area. The water was REALLY cold in the lazy river. So, we opted to hang out and wait on them.

Micah eating some really good ice cream and lovin every bite.

Parker being sweet taking pics for his mommy.

Me, Micah and Parker

Derek, Micah and Parker

My sweet boys!

Mini Vacation Sept. 2009: San Antonio

Because just Derek and I took a cruise in May we wanted to take the boys somewhere for a mini vacation at the end of the summer. We decided to go to San Antonio. Our good friend works for Hyatt hotels. He offered us a great deal on staying at The Hyatt Resort. We also decided to hit up the San Antonio Zoo while we were there. Besides Micah not sleeping well at all the first night...we all had a great time. It was a much needed break for Derek. I am ready to visit the zoo again. This zoo has so many fun things to do for a kid. And it has a lot of shade. Here are pictures from the zoo.


This bird kept following Parker. It was so funny!





This picture is funny to me. We were trying to get Parker to be the butterfly so we got Derek to show him. lol. Parker didn't do it. I do, however, have a picture of him running away from it. :)

Parker loved the monkeys. I used to think monkeys were cute. Not so much anymore. I saw way more than I would have liked.

This is where Micah hung out most of the time. I did end up front packing him towards the end. He was so good the whole time.

On our way into the zoo. Parker was ready!

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Favorite Recipes from my Recipe Blog

Here are my Top Ten main dish recipes. I have a recipe blog and I am only going to list ones off of there because that way if you are interested in the recipe you can get it instead of me having to list the whole recipe. Go here if you want to make one.

1. Rattle Snake Pasta. Yum-O! And makes a lot!
2. Cheese Tortellini Beef Stew- Not a big beef stew fan, but this is not like beef stew.
3. Lazy Lasagna-Easy and so good.
4. Paula Deen Chicken Pasta. Anything Paula Deen is tasty(and fattening..ha).
5. Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
6. Taco Soup
7. Angel Hair Pasta
8. Chili
9. Chicken and Rice: I have 2 chicken and rice recipes on the recipe blog and both are really good.
10. Stuffed Chicken Croissants

Pictures to Come

Hey! I still haven't posted anything on our trip to San Antonio. Our mini vacation. BUT I will soon. Our computer got a horrible virus on it and we had to have a neighbor friend wipe out the whole computer. I still have to download Picasa to get my pictures on here. I will soon! My kids are being so funny these days! Today for the first time I saw Micah really think about doing something I told him "no" to. And he didn't do it! I don't have to tell Micah no too much. But, something he does DAILY is crawl right up to the Plug-In in the wall and pull it out. Then, he crawls away. I have no idea why he loves doing this, but he does. I have told him no several times, but he doesn't seem to care. Today though, I was right there. And kept telling him no. He finally crawled to me. I was so proud of him. I clapped and told him I was proud! He smiled so big! :)
Parker is a stinker. Today his daddy told him that he could have some more drink after lunch. BUT I had just told him no more because he already had plenty(he is potty trained...therefore I have to be careful about too much liquids). Parker heard me say no after his daddy said he could have some after lunch. He turned to his Dad and said "Daddy, I can have more after lunch, right?" Ahhhhh! He is only 2! And he already understands communication so well. A scary thing.

Ok, pictures to come. I promise!

Top Ten {Tuesday}: What to feed my 8mo that has NO teeth!

To start this off, I have to say that my 8 month old has no teeth. But, I no longer feed him baby food. So, I thought this might be good ideas for people who want to go off of baby food but are not sure what to feed their baby with no teeth. Ha! But, you have to know that Micah doesn't choke very easily. My first child did. Micah is great at gumming almost anything which makes it easier for me to feed him a variety. Also, I do not do the whole organic thing. And I am not a health nut. However, I do like to try to give my boys healthy stuff, I am just not way strict about it. With that said here is the list:

1. Fruit cups. Both of my boys love these! Peaches are easy for Micah to gum and mandarin oranges. They are easy to grab and go too.
2. Beanie Weenies. My Mom suggested these. They seem gross to me but they are a hit!
3. Gold Fish.
4. Apple Sauce.
5. Baby Mums. These are little rice cake things that a friend told me about. These are great because Micah can hold them himself and munch on them while we are out and about. They are not too messy and two come in one package. You can get them in the baby aisle at Walmart OR possibly at a local grocery store.
6. Canned veggies. Just pop them in the microwave and voila!
7. Flip It Crackers. A pretzel on one side and cracker on the other are great. A little messy.
8. Instant Grits.
9. Instant Oatmeal.
10. Re fried Beans. I give these to Micah when we eat at Mexican restaurants and he LOVES them!!

Whats going on with Micah??

Wow...my baby boy has been up to so much within the last month! Here are some facts about Micah that you might like to know:
-started crawling at 6 1/2 months. Now crawls EVERYWHERE.
-started pulling up and standing right at around 6 months.
-started eating solid foods at 7 months.
-at almost 7 months he weighed a little over 17lbs.
-6 month check up he was 5% in length and 50% in weight.
-Got his first big boy hair cut at almost 7 months old.
-Wears size 3 diapers.
-still takes 3 naps a day. But the 3rd nap is only about an hour or less.
-I nurse him 4 times a day(was doing the bottle at night but decided against it.)
-LOVES his brother, food, playing with toys, his baths, and crawling, AND standing up.

So, my little Micah might be little but he acts big!! He is so tiny to be so mobile. Today he was in the pac n play playing and I look over there and he is trying his absolute best to CLIMB out. Like, his feet were going up the side. He, also, has let go of things and stood for literally a split second.
He is now eating solids all the time. I was spending SO much extra per week on baby food that although Micah doesn't have teeth I decided(because of my mom) to try some solid foods with Micah. Well, that boys chews food like he has a mouthful of teeth and he has zero teeth! The last few days he has eaten real food for almost all of his meals and I am one happy mama! This is big for me...er...him. :)
Micah is such a good baby in every way. We love him so much! He adds so much joy to this family.

Eating his first oreo...this was after the fact. He was happy about it.

This was before/during.

My little crawler.

Look at his new hair cut! I LOVE it! He looks different(you will see the difference below) but you can see his sweet face. His hair was taking over! Something had to be done.

One of the first times he stood up holding onto the piano.

In his crib with his lovie.

LOVE this picture! His hair is crazy long, he is so happy, and I love his name above his bed. My mom painted and hung those when Micah was a newborn. This picture is definitely making the baby book.

When I walked into his room that day he was doing this.

Derek wrapped him up all tight one night after his bath. He looked so cute!

Happy Birthday Jax!!!

Recently we were able to join the Freedom Boat Club through SquareCow Moovers. Labor Day, my nephew Jax, had his 3rd birthday on one of the boats we rented from them. It was the first day took one of their boats out and we had a blast! It was so nice and the whole family minus my mom was there. Wade and Kimberly did a great job of making Jax's party special for him and all the other kids. You will see in the pictures as to why it was so fun for everyone. This was also Micah's first boat ride. And he was WONDERFUL! I wasn't sure how he would be since he would be missing his morning nap, but he didn't make a peep the whole time. It was a great labor day. Happy Birthday Jaxy!!! We love you over here at the Mills house. :)

This flag was hanging on the boat. It was so cute! Kimberly made it. If you can't tell, it says "Happy Birthday Jax" on one side and the other side it is a skull(I think). And this was the BEST picture we could get with all the boys. It was the end of the boat trip rather than the beginning.

Parker and Lawson waiting on the picture to be taken.

Parker the Pirate

Harley just slept almost the whole trip. She was the only ray of pink on that whole boat. :)

Derek and Parker tubing. Parker did NOT want to go tubing...but we do NOT want him to be scared of anything so we made him. And guess what? He was laughing during it, and when he got done he was super excited about it. Ha.

The first thing the boys did was find a treasure...which was these treasure chests full of gold fish and candy. Good thing they found them because everyone loved that treasure. :)

Micah the Pirate.

Sweet smile...I love this smile!

Me and my baby.

Buddies

Parker and Micah are big buddies. I have mentioned it before but let me say again they really love each other. Micah laughs so hard at Parker all the time and Parker LOVES when Micah is not napping and plays with him in the play room. Parker looks for Micah the minute he gets up and asks where he is. It is so cute. The other day Derek was bathing the boys and he yelled for me to come in there. Parker and Micah were sitting SO close. The had the whole bath tub but instead wanted to be right by each other. So funny...and so sweet. I pray that they always have a relationship like this.

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Favorite things to do while my kids are napping

1. Take a nap. I really struggle with this one. I am SO tempted to lay down for a nap almost EVERY time my boys nap(in the afternoons). It doesn't always happen, however, it probably happens more than it should.
2. Eat my lunch. So, I must confess, I LOVE to wait to eat lunch until after my boys are down for their nap. It is nice, peaceful, relaxing for SO many reasons.
3. Catch up on my DVR shows. 18 Kids and Counting, Army Wives, Project Runway, SYTYCD, and the list goes on.
4. Get online. Facebook, bloglines, gmail, twitter, craigslist(sometimes).
5. Talk on the phone. About the only time of the day I can talk and have uninteruppted conversation.
6. Take a shower. This doesn't happen too often during the naps for a few reasons. #1 I already took one. #2 I am lounging around and not having one that day(gross, I know.)#3 I took a nap instead(you would think I had a newborn or 8 kids...lol!). BUT, usually if I take a shower during nap time it means that I am going somewhere that night like on a DATE with my husband OR to small group, OR to Walmart all by myself. All of which are exciting!
7. Do my Ephesians Precept Bible Study/Quiet Time. Love spending time with the Lord. Need to do it more often...like every day. It changes everything for me.
8. Work out. 30 Day Shred my friends...and I think it is working. BUT it is hard! 20 minutes of a butt kicking work out! Maybe not my FAVORITE thing to do during this time, however, it is good for me.
9. Clean. NOT my favorite thing, but I LOVE how I feel afterwards.
10. Call my husband twenty million times because I am bored. Yeah...that doesn't happen. I am only bored by choice if that is the case. I just didn't have a #10. :)

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Advice Given to Me about having Happy and Good Babies

So, my friend, Amanda(sorta like a famous blogger...ha...seriously though) does this on her blog and I love reading it. I have been entertaining the thought of doing it on my blog because it is so interesting. I am starting today. It is a Top Ten Tuesday list. I will pick any subject I would like and make a list of the "Top Tens". Get it? Anyways, here it goes. Hope you enjoy. :)



1. Order and Schedules. Wow! I am a scheduled person, therefore this is KEY for me and my boys. Someone(my sister, a friend, a book) told me that God created order and not chaos. Therefore, babies need the same thing(please do not comment if you disagree..this is my Top Ten.) I could not agree more!! My boys know when to eat, sleep, and play. And they are more than happy(well, usually) to do it all.

2. Be Consistent! Enough said. Easier said then done, however, it NEVER fails with my boys. NEVER!

3. Do NOT wake a baby sleeping at night. Just don't do it. No matter what.

4. Homebound until the baby is 2 months old, but well worth it. Meaning, stay home, be consistent, keep your baby on a good schedule. Then after the first two months you will be able to go out and about when your baby is happy because you will know when he should be sleeping/eating/awake.

5. YOU(the parent) are training the baby. YOU know what is best...even if that sweet little baby is trying to tell you otherwise. Sometimes, you have to forget about your emotions and base your decisions off of what you know as a parent. For instance, if YOU know he is tired, but HE is trying to tell you otherwise. Do what YOU know. Lay him down. He will go to sleep(hopefully...at least he will be in his bed though. ha)

6. Crying is NOT going to kill him. It is true mommies...we HAVE to let our babies cry it out some. And it won't kill them. They will be ok. And hopefully we will end up with a positive result. Right?

7. Sucking his finger, thumb, or paci is really not that big of a deal...they will grow out of it. Because of this piece of advice from several of my mom's friends and her...I don't sweat the fact that both of my boys suck on their finger and have a lovie. They will grow out of it. No biggie.

8. Be balanced...clean some...and play some. I don't want to get caught up in either one too much. I want to make sure my boys grow up knowing I am a fun mommy, but I am also their mommy and not their best friend. I want them to know I keep a clean house, cook, and help them when they need it. And I will be goofy. :)

9. Babies love bath time. Kinda of random, I know. But, my boys love their baths and so do I. They play together and it relaxes them. Afterwards, I lotion them up and put their pajamas on. They are on the road towards bed time. Love a clean baby!

10. Strive for first time obedience. When I say no to my 2yo I mean no right then...not after the second or third time. This one, is HARD. However, I think he is getting it(not doing it always but getting it...ha ha). And I think it makes things better for me and him.