Visit to the Knoxville Zoo

In a haze of crazy dreams I swore that I dreamed that someone mentioned they wanted to go to the zoo when we were in town. But then I could never figure out if that was a dream or real. I mentioned that I had the dream to mom and she told me that she had told me that. So it was real. Mystery solved! Tuesday morning we picked up Grandma and headed to the zoo with mom and Ally. It was a little hot but not sweltering.

The first stop were  the black bears but they were not out. I was disappointed because Miller would know them from a book he has, so we went to the penguins next. Miller was in his stroller and I was hesitant to let him out but he did really good getting in and out and even walking some between exhibits. 

We asked Miller to hug the rhinoceros but he hugged this little girl instead. 

He likes lions.

Mom had to ride the camel with Miller. I thought he might be scared and he looks a little unsure but he LOVED it. When he got off and we asked him if he had fun, we got a very enthusiastic yes.

We stopped for lunch and Grandma shared her ice cream with Miller. 

The second to last stop was the kids zone. Mom asked if he would pet the goats. I honestly was not sure because he has not been overly friendly with the dogs at my dads house. He ran in there and went to pet this goat immediately. Then he had  to go to each one. I was pleasantly shocked that he had that much fun. 

We tried to get him to milk the fake cow. 

Right before we went to the exit, I remembered to go back to the bears. It was perfect timing! Miller waved bye to them and blew them kisses.

Such a fun day! We bought a groupon to the Atlanta zoo and I can not wait to take him this summer (or fall when it is cooler).

Memorial Day Weekend

We have been looking forward to Memorial Day weekend for months. Not only did we get a long weekend but this year our family from Oklahoma would be in town and we only get to see them once a year. We got super lucky and our family in Virgina and Kentucky came down too so we got to have a decent sized gathering.

We surprised everyone and got in on Thursday evening (we had originally said we would be there Friday morning). Friday evening we went out to eat with the Oklahoma Millers. At the restaurant, we had three tables and were trying to arrange it so we got to hang out with people we do not normally get to see but who did we end up with -Tine, Bob and Ally. Thankfully Hayden joined our  table and we always love getting to spend time with her.

Miller got so excited when the train would come rolling down the tracks.  He could see it pretty well from across the lake.

On Saturday, he brought me Ben's shirt and asked me to put it on him. I kept saying he was the cutest tie-dye ghost. 

On Sunday we had our big family get together. The Miller men occupied the upper part of the deck. 

Miller had the BEST time. He just roamed  the yard all the day. Sometimes he would go and play with the kids and others, he just did his own thing. 

We were trying to get him to say "Natalie".

Us Miller girls occupied the lower deck. 

We were able to capture a pretty good picture with Grandma and Grandpa and all 5 of their great grandbabies. Are those not some cute kids?!?!

My mom is always able to get  the kids. This time, with her phone. 

On Sunday we went over to hang out with the remaining visitors before they left the next day. I love this picture because it looks like Miller is flashing Knox and Trent. 

The phone again. Knox and Miller are only 7 months apart and they were so cute playing together. 

I always hate saying goodbye to family, especially knowing that it will be over a year before we see them again. Thankfully, we are planning another big family beach trip for next summer.

May Happenings

I thought that I would do a separate Mother's Day post but I just never got around to it. I figured it was just easier to do a whole May update since not too much happened.

Last year, Miller and I were in Oklahoma for Mother's Day so Ben got off the hook. This year he had to step it up. The boys got up and let me sleep in. They walked to Dunkin Donuts and got me coffee and doughnuts. Once they got home then came upstairs to give me a special heart shaped doughnut in bed but Miller sat down next to me and stole it.

After a little while, they left to run some "errands" and came back to set this up. 

That afternoon we packed up the food they had gotten and we went for a picnic. This is our view from the picnic area in the back of our neighborhood. 

This was not the best picture of us but at least I got one picture of my baby and I on this special day. 

The next weekend, Ben left work early and we went out to Marietta to the Greek Fest. We had been 3 years ago but that was before Miller. I am not a fan on Greek food so the boys ate the food, and I had dessert.

I love this face!

Our baklava sundae. Yum!

He has this habit where he has to pile up all of his animals when he sits. On this day, he wanted every pillow and blanket in the living room, plus his animals. Such a goofy kid!

Miller's Hijinks

Having a toddler is the most exhausting job! He is always in to something and as many times as I tell him no, he will not learn. How do you discipline a toddler? Oh yeah, you can't!!!! Here are just a few of our recent hijinks.

Ben was out of town one night and rather than sit in his high chair, he took Daddy's spot. My handsome little date!

I was doing something in the other room one day so I was listening to hear what Miller was getting in to. I heard an unfamiliar noise and went to go check on him. This is what I found. Of course I took a second to get a picture before I got him down. Do you see his high chair in the bottom right corner of the picture, that is how he got up there. I am still not sure how he did it because it is too far to jump. The scariest thing is that there was a knife lying up there on the counter that he completely passed up. Whew!

Just an hour or so later, he got himself stuck between the couch and our side table. He was upset, but again I had to take a picture. 

I have had my eye on this backpack since before Miller was born but since he doesn't go to school, I had to reason to get it. I finally caved in. The only problem is that he seemed to associate wearing it with the trauma of wearing a life vest from swim class. It took him a few hours but eventually he warmed up to it. Everyday he asks to wear it a few times. He looks so grown up!

Of course two weeks ago, Miller and I got a cold. For me, I just had a fuzzy head and was stuffed up. Miller had a 103 fever for two days and was pitiful . 

Of course, my cold turned into a sinus infection that has had me down for weeks but Miller felt better after those two days and made sure to make up for all the trouble he didn't get into those two days. 

He found his spatula and ran straight to my mixer. He helped me make chocolate cupcakes.

The boy loves frozen blueberries. He could eat them all day if I let him. I think some of the messes on his face are hilarious.

Weekend Activities

Our weekends have been fairly busy lately. Back in late March Miller started taking swim lessons every Saturday morning with a bunch of our friends. The first few classes he did great. Most of the other babies were just getting used to the water since they were younger and hadn't clocked as much time in the pool before. Miller and Isla did so well because they were already comfortable with the water. I say the day it went downhill was the day that they put a life vest on the kids. The babies were fine but the two older kids were not happy. Ever since then, Miller has not been please with swim class. He loves getting in the water and splashing around but he does not want to follow instructions and do what the teacher wants him to do. Ben got in the pool with Miller since I figured he could use the practice as well. Miller started screaming for me on the bleachers for most of class.

Since that class, we both get in with him. He has done so much better but still stubborn. For example, the teacher wanted him to learn how to doggy paddle and kick. Last Saturday as soon as we got in the pool I was holding him under the arms and he kicked so hard he propelled himself to the wall a few feet away. Of course, when the teacher came around and we tried  to get him to do it again, he refused. I am so scared for what he will be like when he starts school.

A few weeks ago we went to a crawfish boil that a friend hosts every year. They had a mostly fenced in yard so Miller just wandered the yard the whole time. He had so much fun!

All that wandering tuckered him out. I wish we had a fenced in backyard like this for him to roam around in. He loved it!

The following weekend we had a pig roast to go to but I do not have any pics from that. Sorry! Too busy chasing Miller. 

This isn't from a weekend but I still love it. We watched it Ruby and Isla one day and I love this shot of Ruby looking over her shoulder checking out Miller. 

Mommy Thoughts

I know that I traditionally post pictures but I haven't had a chance to get the latest batch off of my camera. I will tonight so look for some photos in the next week or so. I figured that since I do not have many pictures lately, I might as well post a few thoughts that I had recently. Sorry to disappoint you with the boringness but I just wanted to put them out there!

- Last night while I changed out the Baby Einstein in my DVD player to watch my nightly dose of "Golden Girls", I wondered what the heck has happened to me? This is now my life. 

- I have felt like a failure of a mother lately. Short tempered mommy, boundary pushing toddler equals a very frustrated household (poor Ben!). I was so down today and then Miller gave me an unprompted "thank you" when I gave him his blueberries. That is the first time ever!!!! Maybe I am making some progress with him after all.

- .....then a little while later, I was laying on the couch and he was sitting next to me. He bent down and gave me a kiss on the forehead. Just out of the blue!

- Barring that above statement, I think I have come to the realization that Miller is the love of my life. Ben and I have never had a romanticized relationship. We love each other and are best friends and perfect partners for each other, but I have never thought of him as my knight in shining armor. With Miller, I totally hear myself gushing about how much I love him. Sorry Ben!

Miller's 18 Month Pictures

I wanted to take some 18 Month pictures of Miller so while we waited on the Campbell's to do their family pictures, I got some of Miller. Everyone keeps telling me how old he looks. He is such a big boy but he is still my baby boy.

These I took one afternoon while we were waiting to go on a walk. We have this gorgeous tree in our side yard and I was waiting for it to bloom to take pictures of Miller. However, once it bloomed, I realized that there were no good angles or shots that I could take. I noticed this afternoon that it was kind of pretty with the petals on the ground.

Oh my gosh, I love him so much!