Our family

Also, my wonderful husband has offered to give Micah his 10pm bottle. Because I nurse AND stay home with my babies I do not expect Derek to get up in the middle of the night and help me feed Micah. Honestly, I don't expect Derek to help me feed Micah ever. When he is home I need his help with Parker while I am tending to Micah. But, I have started pumping and giving Micah about 1 bottle a day. Parker did NOT take a bottle and it was hard when we needed to be gone for something, but couldn't be for a long period of time. I decided that I would not let that happen with my other babies. Although pumping is not something I enjoy I do it. A few days ago Derek volunteered to give Micah his 10pm bottle so that I could pump and then go to bed or whatever. I didn't really think too much of it until I was able to pump, then crawl into bed and read, then go to sleep. I LOVED it!!! And when Derek has given Micah a bottle he has slept until after 3am every time...which is great! This also gives Derek some time with Micah. Anyways...yay for bottles when I need them. I love to nurse...but you don't realize how nice it is that your baby takes a bottle until you have one that doesn't! :)

Sweet Micah

I realized the other day that we hadn't taken a family picture yet. Before Derek and I went on our V-day date I had my mom take some pictures of us. I think it turned out pretty good!

Micah's new trick

Today I came into the den and Micah was chilling out in his swing just like this. Made me laugh. I don't think he really meant for his foot to be up there, but I thought it was hilarious.


Check out that foot!

Parker and Micah...brothers forever!

"Hold!" is Parker's new thing with Micah. He has now decided that he wants to "hold" Micah. He does good! He puts his sweet hands around Micah for all of 5 seconds, sits there, and then gently pushes him away to me. ha! I am happy that he wants to hold his brother. It is sweet!


Micah's first time in his gym. He kept looking at the mirror.

Of course, why would Parker not join Micah in on the fun?

My little drummer boy

Tyler's 8th Birthday was on Sunday. We had his birthday party on Saturday though. Anyways, Tyler, if you didn't know is an awesome drummer! For his birthday he got a new set of drums. His old set was a small set for when he was younger. Because, Ashley and Jeremy know about Parker's love for music, they gave Parker Tyler's old drumset. Jeremy says that the way Parker is about music is how Tyler was at that age. Tyler is so talented...it makes me excited for Parker. Our good friends(who is also the worship pastor at Free Chapel), Jason and Paige Martin came over last night to help Derek reassemble the drumset. Today was the first day Parker was able to play with his drums. It was like it was Parker's birthday. I am NOT kidding! HE LOVES THEM! He played with them all day and if we were gone he talked about them.
THANK YOU AUNT ASHLEY AND UNCLE JEREMY!

Parker and his new drums.

So professional! :)

Parker and his buddy(cousin) Blake. Parker loves it when his cousins stop by randomly to visit(living down the street gives them the opportunity to pop in every now and then while playing outside). Blake is so sweet and plays with Parker every time he comes over. He feels like such a big boy when he is with Blake.

Parkers other favorite instrument. His "tar". Oh and don't forget about his "pi-ick". So stinkin cute!

Oh, just watching the garbage truck go down the street. Parker is all boy and loves everything boys love! Trucks, sports, music!

Everyone seems to have these pictures. I felt the need to have one too. Parker plays with all of Micah's toys. The bouncy seat is one that he enjoys!

Happy Valentines Day!

Here is Parker opening his gifts from us for Valentines Day. We got him a McDonald's cash register that came with food, a water bottle, and some suckers. We already have so much candy and I debated whether or not to even buy him any candy at all. But, it is Valentines Day so I HAD to get home something. He loves suckers so it was a great treat for him.

Micah's Bathtime

Here are some pics of Micah having his baths. He just recently was able to take a full out bath instead of a sponge bath. We bathe him in the sink. He loves it, but absolutely hates when I take him out. He also hates it when I put lotion on him. It is actually kind of funny. He sticks his bottom lip out and just cries...over lotion!!! So cute!



Where is Micah? Can you see him? :)

Mills Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Mills Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family name history - Free family tree maker
Ok, so I don't believe this thing. I, personally, think that both of my boys look like Derek. ESPECIALLY Parker! Anyways...boooo on the look a like meter! :) It was fun to do though.

Baby Shower for Micah

Ok, I have tried several times to post pictures of my baby shower on here, but for some weird reason blogger will NOT let me upload pictures from my mom's camera. I don't have any pictures of the shower because I let my mom take all of them. I have NO idea why it won't let me upload them. UGH!
My shower was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! I am serious! Ashley, Kimberly, and Lisa Collins hosted it. It was at Ashley's house. When you walked in on Ashley's foyer piece of furniture there were glass jars shaped as stars. They were full of chocolate dipped pretzels that were party favors for everyone. There was a table full of WONDERFUL food. Above the table Ashley had the letter "M" hanging from the chandelier with blue and brown ribbon. We had punch and cute glasses that had blue/brown polka dot ribbon tied to each glass. The Lord has blessed me with some great friends here in Austin. There was about 20 women there and it was so fun. The BEST part was when Ashley had everyone pass around a book of cards that she made. Each card was a topic to pray over Micah. What was even better was that Micah was there to be prayed over and to share with us this great celebration of him in our lives. The theme of everything was blue/brown. Anyways, I loved loved loved it! If I can upload some pictures I will! Thanks Ashley, Kimberly, and Lisa! Thanks SO much!!

The Answer

Hey!

So...I haven't posted the answer to GUESSS WHO?! The top picture is Parker. And the bottom picture is Micah. I have had people post their answers and also tell me their answers. Most of you, however, were wrong! Which, I am SHOCKED! But, I guess that shows how much my boys do look alike. And it shows that I am obviously their mom. Because I see differences. Lots of differences. :) Either way, they are beautiful, aren't they?!

"cry it out"

Hello...
Why is it that with Parker I was so strict about scheduling, wake time, nap time. And with Micah I am a little more of a sucker? Don't get me wrong...Micah is still very much on a schedule. But, for some reason if he is crying and is not supposed to be awake I go in there. Why??! When I know he is fine(he has burped, pooped, clean diaper, etc.). Having a toddler forces me to be more flexible with Micah. Last night I fed Micah at 9:30pm and he didn't wake up until 2am to eat again. I fed him and laid him back down. About 20 min. later he was crying. I went in there held him to see if he needed to poop, tried burping him(which he NEVER does at night), and gave him Mylicon(sp?) drops. Laid him back down. Shortly after he was crying again. I went in there(should NOT have done)...held him for a split second and realized that he was just awake. He was looking around...happy as a lark when I held him. It didn't take me long to realize this so I immediately said "you are going to have to cry it out buddy, it is night night time." I went to bed to hear him cry for maybe 3 min...I think it was more like 2 whole min. He was out after that. Why was it so hard to him cry for 2 MINUTES? I ALMOST went back in there. But he stopped and I was happy. He didn't wake up again until 6:30am.
I always tell my friends who ask me for advice to let your baby cry it out at an early age. Because if you cater to them and then decide to let them cry it out when they are older, the longer they will cry. I would rather hear Micah cry it out for 2 minutes now rather than 2 hours later on. Parker hardly ever has to "cry it out" and if he does it is literally until I close the door. Thank goodness for Prep for Parenting(christian version of Babywise) for teaching me not to parent based off of my emotions. That is not how God parents us. I think I might need to read that chapter again. Just so I can stay strong. I am such a sucker for my boys!! :)

Peace

Do I live in a small town or is Walmart and Regions just not real busy!?

Today I went to the pediatrician AGAIN! Yay...you forget how often you have to go with a new baby. Today I made an appointment for both boys. Parker needed a shot and a checkup and Micah had his 2 week checkup scheduled. Parker weighed 28 lbs and Micah weighed 8lbs 15oz. Parker is in the 70th percentile for weight and 15th for height!! He needs to hit a growth spurt. Ha! Dr. Spencer said that Parker didn't look short to him...but the measurements let us know that he is a tad short right now. It was a little crazy getting both boys undressed, weighed, measured, and looked at by the doctor. All while filling out paperwork and making sure Parker didn't tear the office to pieces. :) Sweet Micah just chilled out. It was so crazy that Dr. Spencer decided to help me out by strolling Parker down to the lab while I held Micah. Ha! That is so nice of him! All in all it was a great experience. This is the second time I have been to this doctor and today made me happy. Dr. Spencer and the whole staff was great! God is the reason we even got in with this doctor.
The REAL reason for my title is this. After the doctor's appointment we had errands to run. We had to go to two banks and Walmart. At our first stop...Regions...I went through the drive thru. The teller, actually all the tellers, there know Derek and me because of SquareCow and our personal account is with them. The teller was so excited to see me because she hadn't seen me since I had Micah. We also moved further away from this bank so I haven't been there in a while. Parker had a little conversation with her through the speakers and she sent him candy. I promised to bring Micah inside next week sometime. I, then, went across the street to Walmart. I had two employees stop me and say "OHHH!!! You had your baby!!!". Ha ha! This is cracking me up because two things: Apparently Regions and Walmart are not very busy. AND I go to these places WAY too often since they all know me!!! Austin is a big city. It is not like we live in a small town. I mean, it is a Super Walmart for crying outloud! I, however, enjoyed this experience. It made me feel so good and at home. Everyone from the pediatricians office, to regions, to walmart was so nice to me today. It has been a good day. Now...I am off to take a nap. :)

Parker or Micah?

I don't have all my pictures of Parker on this computer. So, it took me a while to find one that is somewhat similar to one I have of Micah. Anyways...lets play GUESSS WHOOO!!!! :) Which picture do you think is Parker and which one do you think is Micah? Let me know...I will post the answer in a couple of days. Peace!

Our sweet boys

I love this picture!!!


Micah 12 days old.



Parker giving Micah some kisses. He LOVES giving "Mikee" "KISSES!". :)

Parker, Papa, and Micah.

Conversation

So, this post has no pictures. I think I posted enough pictures earlier for the month! Ha! No...I will post more later. This post is about a conversation I had with my mom last week. My mom and dad are currently living with us, well sorta. My mom is here some and in B'ham some until they sell their house. My dad is permanently living at my house until they sell their house(which we are believing will be soon!). My mom has been here for a few weeks now. She has completely decorated my house, hung pictures, organized my garage and pantry, and many many more things. Thank GOODNESS! Because when I was 9 months pregnant I was very very slow! And there was no way any of that was getting done before I had Micah. Because of my wonderful mom I was able to come home from the hospital to a nice, warm, clean, decorated, candle scented home. Anyways, the conversation I was talking about went like this.

Me: Mom, having two kids has really not been that hard. It really has been pretty easy.

Mom: Well, you haven't really done the grocery shopping, cleaning the house, the laundry, errands, cook dinner, etc.

Me: Oh yeah. I forgot about all that stuff. Man!!!

Me thinking in the middle of the night while nursing Micah: She is so right...mom and dad or Derek even gets up in the mornings with Parker. I have NO idea what it is like having two kids. All I have done so far is feed Micah in the middle of the night. Everything else has been done for me. DANGIT!! What am I going to do when my mom leaves??!?

I have tried to kick it into gear since we had that conversation. I have taken the boys to the pediatricians office by myself. Today I ventured to Walmart by myself. My friend, Jessica, gave me the idea(from her blog) to front pack Micah and let Parker sit in the front seat of the cart. It went great! A lot better than if I would have put Parker in the back. Whew! There would have been groceries everywhere!!

So, this post is all in thanks to my sweet, wonderful mom who has been a lifesaver for me and Derek!! One morning we even got bacon and biscuits for breakfast. I am sure Derek will miss my mom when she leaves too.

THANKS Mom and Dad!!! We love you and appreciate you!!

Whats going on with Micah

Micah is 8 days old today. Last night I was reflecting on Micah's birth a week ago and I could not get over how fast time flies. Kind of makes me sad! Micah is doing great! I have to wake him up every three hours to eat...so today I am trying out feeding him every 3 1/2 hours. So far he actually woke up right at 3 1/2 hours to eat. He is doing great with eating, wake time, and sleeping. The first few nights Micah had some belly aches which caused him to be up more often. But...last night and the night before he only woke up one time to eat between 10:45 and 7. Yay! I hope it continues. He is so sweet and I don't hear a peep out of him usually. He is not a fan of his baths. He does, however, love it when you spray his head with the water to wash his hair. Alright...I will update more often now that I actually have the internet!

BTW, I am having my shower tomorrow night. I tried so hard to make it to my shower...but my contractions were way to bad. I ended up leaving for the hospital at 5:30 and my shower was scheduled for 7!! Anyways...I am so excited about it!! I will post pictures of it later. Kind of funny that Micah will be there.

Mama Don(my mom) and Micah

Aunt Ashley and Micah

Gray Gray, Micah, and Parker. CANNOT believe we actually took this picture and Micah survived!!





Sweet boy!!

Micah getting his first bath at home. He HATED it!

Micah Ashcroft Mills

I will spare you all of my labor and delivery story. But, lets just say it was TOTALLY opposite of Parker's. If my water had broken before I got to the hospital I would have not made it to the hospital to have Micah. My contractions were three minutes apart while we were driving in and out of traffic 30 min. to the hospital. I was in lots and lots of pain and it was not fun. Ha! I am glad I went into labor on my own...but whew! Those contractions were awful!!! I was 7 cent. by the time I got there and the hospital nurses and doctors were in double time trying to help me get my epidural before I had to push him out. Praise the Lord I did get an epidural! Micah came in to this world on Jan. 30th, 2009 at 9:03pm. He weighed 8lbs. 2oz and was 20 inches long. He has a head full of hair just like his brother. He is precious!!!

Ok...it is too much trouble to go down the pictures and tell you what they are. But one of the pictures is of me, Derek, Micah and Dr. Seeker. He is so nice and waited patiently to take a picture with us which was his suggestion! So great! I am so happy to have him as my doctor! At the end those are pictures of Derek and me on a date the week I had Micah. My belly is huge! And of our family of three before we became a family of four!