Happy Birthday Momoi!

(Please excuse Cecilia's look. She was 2 seconds from going to bed.)

Today was my mom's birthday and to celebrate she came up to have a girl's night with Cecilia and I.

Our first stop was to Gigi's Cupcakes so we could pick out our pleasure of choice. It has been awhile since we have been there and I was so looking forward to diving into one of the beautiful cupcakes but we had a little accident on the way to the restaurant. I had to quickly slam on my brakes when some idiot in front of me didn't know how to drive and it sent our beautiful, delicate cupcakes flying to the floorboard. I quickly picked them up hoping they weren't destroyed. Lucky was not on my side today. All 4 cupcakes were turned into 1! I managed to get them separated and back into their little cutout holders but it wasn't pretty. This is what we ended up with...

Thank goodness Mom and I don't care about looks! It was a good way for us to try all the flavors! Only me.

I let Mom pick where we ate so we ended up at Olive Garden. It was a packed house but we got in pretty quickly and enjoyed a wonderful meal. Cecilia had the best time watching all the people around us. I had to feed her while we were there and she was getting distracted and not eating. I was telling her to stop staring but my mom reminded me she couldn't help it...she is her mother's child! I have just mastered stuffing my face and staring at the same time! Brent was able to join us after he got off work and the 4 of us came home to devour our smashed cupcakes. At let me tell you, the look of the cupcake didn't stop any of us from inhaling our own! Man what is it about those cupcakes!

Mom, I hope you had a good birthday! C and I enjoyed celebrating with you! Next time I will let you hold the cupcakes! We love you!

5 Day Wrap Up

I hate having to write about a million days at once because I'm scared I'm going to miss something but I've been way too busy to blog. Thank goodness I've taken pictures this whole time so I know what we've done.

Thursday Cecilia had her check up with the pediatrician. My, my how she has grown! Cecilia is weighing in at 16 lbs 10 oz (96th percentile) and is 25 1/4 inches long (87th percentile). The doctor said she looks good and it looks like she will have her daddy's height.

She had to have another round of shots, which went so much better than last time and thank goodness Daddy was there to hold her right after and rush her out of the office while I made the next appointment. She really only cried right after and was happy the rest of the evening!

Cecilia is making so much progress these days. As you can see she is holding her head up off the ground which is a HUGE milestone because the child hates laying on her belly when she's awake so tummy time was becoming nonexistent. We are having to force her to have at least a few minutes of tummy time a day.

However, Friday all of a sudden when we were on the floor playing she started to try and roll over. She is trying to go from her back to her belly which is the hardest to do. It is so funny to watch her because she gets on her side and puts her face into the floor and grunts to get the rest of her body to move. She just can't get those hips of hers over but she doesn't give up. We have a feeling she will do it any day I just pray it doesn't happen at daycare! My dad keep her yesterday for a few hours and I threatened his life if he got her to roll over and I wasn't there!

This past week Cecilia also got a new toy thanks to my mom and dad. They got her an exersaucer similar to the one she plays in at daycare. They brought it over Thursday night and I was dying to put it together. After one scraped finger, one major toe cramp and a chocolate break, I had the thing together. I'm not sure why they have to make baby toys so difficult to put together but at one point I almost threw the whole thing up against the wall!

At least it is together and Cecilia seems to enjoy it.

Trying to figure out what everything is especially that big lion staring at her.

Still trying to figure out that lion.

Saturday we tired out rice cereal. I will let the pictures tell you how it went.

We tried again tonight and she seemed to like it a little better. Maybe by the end of the week we can get all of it down!

I think that's about it here at the Miller house. We had a pretty low key weekend; I finally got to lay eyes on Jaclyn for a little while and it was nice to talk face to face without a screaming baby in the background! One day we will do it again! :)

4 Months

This has been my favorite month! You have developed a personality and are doing so much these days! In a matter of a week you grew into this baby that loves to talk, sit up, and play with your toys.

You weigh about 15 lbs 15 oz, wear 3-6 in clothes and 6-9 in sleepers. You wear a size 2 diaper which literally happened over night. We had just bought a BOX of 1s and the next day you could no longer wear them! Thank goodness Sydney could!

You smile all the time and love to talk and squeal. Colt of course hates it. He runs to the corner and starts shaking. I think it is a little too high pitched for him!

This is how I find you every morning. EVERY morning! You are a morning person and I'm not sure where you get that. I am most definitely not. I'm not sure a smile ever hits my face til sometime around 10am and that's only after I have chugged a diet coke. Maybe Daddy. He usually hits the floor running in the mornings.

I may not be a morning person but seeing this first thing always puts me in a good mood!

You no longer like to fall asleep laying on my chest. Some days you just pass out sitting in my lap or you and I will lay in the floor on your quilt and stare at each other til you fall asleep.

You have figured out how to grab things so when we are laying face to face you like to grab my face, mouth or nose. I always wonder what you are thinking when you stare at me. I'm assuming 'who is the goofy person who is always up in my grill!'
You love playing with your toys and do so for hours on end.

You have figured out how to grab them and insert in your mouth. Which is where everything (toys, burp rag, my hair etc) ends up.

Its fun to watch you play because you are still trying to figure it all out. Sometimes I will catch you staring at your hands as you move them with your toys or your feet when you start kicking like crazy.

You are sitting up more these days and throw a fit if you lay on your back too long. We rotate you from your bouncer to the Bumbo to sitting in between our legs. You are still pretty wobbly but are getting stronger every day. Your teachers at daycare had you in an entertainer so you could be upright and you LOVED it. They said you played in it most of the day and smiled and carried on. So guess what Momoi and Pap got us the next day? One for our house! Oh the fun we will have!

I can't wait to see what the next month holds!

A Night Away

It was time for Brent and I to get away alone. His parents had offered us their Reds tickets for Saturday's game and we gladly took them. We were excited at the thought of getting away for the day just the two of us. And since it was a night game and we knew it would be really late when we got home, we made arrangements with my parents to keep Cecilia overnight. OUR FIRST!!!

I dressed her in a Reds onesie so she could be with us in spirit...

and kissed my little Birdie goodbye.By early afternoon, Brent and I entered the big city of Cincy and had a day full of plans! We had lunch on the porch at Arnies, walked around the Levee, enjoyed ice cream at the fountain square, watched an amazing game despite the HUGE thunderstorm that blew in right before the game and got to see a crazy fan run across the field! All in all our day away was good.

Cecilia did fantastic with my parents which also made it all wonderful! She got to hang out with my cousin Kelli for a little while and go to church with my parents where she was the main attraction! I may not be the biggest fan of daycare but it sure does help her social skills. She will go to anyone and apparently talked to everyone at church! It is so nice to know that Brent and I can leave her and she will be fine.

It was a good time away a made one day I'll do it again. Just not anytime soon! :)

Just Pitiful

It seems in a matter of a day Cecilia outgrew ALL her clothes. Onesies that she worn one day were belly shirts the next. I am so thankful people got us all different sizes at our showers. Had they not I would have been running around BG buying this kid clothes.

I had laid out an outfit for Brent to put on her the other day for school and when I picked her up I noticed that what was supposed to be her pants were actually CAPRIS! Even her sweet teachers pointed out that her pants were too little! I was so embarrassed and blamed it on Brent since he dressed her! When I asked him about her pants and he said 'well they fit around her waist and you didn't lay out a backup.' BLESS HIS HEART!

That night I did away with all her 0-3 clothes and pulled out the 3-6. The only problem is we have NO sleepers that size. I take that back we have 2 that size but guess what? Her toes curl up at the end! I hated that she was too long and that we didn't have any that properly fit her so here was my solution...

She looked like a homeless person's child but I couldn't help it, I was desperate.

Guess what's on my shopping list for tomorrow?

Spoke Too Soon

11:15 am phone rings

"Mrs. Miller, this is Mrs. Rebekah at the daycare. Cecilia doesn't have a temperature but she has been crying all morning and coughing. We have tried rocking her and holding her but nothing is helping." (cue Cecilia in background to start crying AND coughing.

"Really? She has been great for 2 days. That's so weird."

"Yeah about the only time she hasn't cried was when she was asleep."

"Ok. I'll be there in a little bit."

11:45 am pick up a sick looking baby. Red eyes and all.

12:30 pm happy baby laying on the floor laughing and playing as if she hasn't cried for 3 hours.

4:00 pm doctor's office

"The daycare said she coughed all morning but ever since I have had her home she has been fine. She still sounds congested but hasn't coughed." (cue Cecilia to cough)

"Let me take a listen and give her a once over." (doctor checks ears, throat and listens to her chest) "Well everything looks and sounds good. She may blah, blah, blah (insert boring medical terms that basically mean there is nothing more we can do right now. She may just be coming off her steroids so that may be why she is coughing). I think I will do an X-ray to make sure there is nothing there we need to be concerned about. Its downstairs and I will call you when I get them. Have a great day!"

Some people go their whole lives without ever having an X-ray. I would be one of them. I didn't even know what an X-ray machine looked like until today. My child is taking me on all kinds of new experiences and I have to say they aren't fun ones!

Is this what having children means? I can already her you mothers out there saying yes. FABULOUS!!!!

Just so you know everything looks good and we are just waiting it out hoping that all this clears up SOON!!!

All in a Week

Even though Cecilia has been under the weather all week, that has not stopped her in making some progress.

She has finally found her thumb! She has tried very hard for a couple of weeks jamming her whole hand in her mouth then upgraded to just her thumb and pointer finger but now she has master sucking her thumb and LOVES it!

She is constantly sticking it in her mouth which is fine for now but when she starts touching things, it has to go! Remember I am a germ-a-phob so that completely grosses me out just thinking about her touching things out in public then sticking her hand in her mouth! She will have an early lesson in germs!

Our next little step is her starting to sit up. The other night Brent had her elevated on his legs and she started pulling up. It looked like she was doing sit ups. We thought it was the funniest thing, as did she. We then assumed she was ready to start sitting in her Bumbo. The moment her tush hit the seat she was in love! She sat there forever and cried when I took her out of it.

This is her sitting like a big girl in her seat. She is of course watching tv, another favorite thing of hers! Since learning that she likes to sit up, this is the position she prefers. She will lay down for awhile but then cries to be sat up.

Lastly, today was a HUGE day in the Miller household. I had her laying on her quilt with all her toys scattered around her and the next thing I know she is reaching out to grab one of her toys! It was slightly above her shoulder but she found it and brought it to her chest and waved it around! I was so busy cheering her on that I forgot to grab the camera. Luckily, she continued to grab her toys today and I was able to get a few shots.

It is so crazy how excited we get at her little accomplishments! You would have thought she won the Nobel Peace Prize by the way I acted today. She just looked at me and laughed thinking what a fool I was. Oh well I'm sure all parents act this way! Or at least I hope!

Oh and for those who want to know, she is doing better. She is still a little congested but she stays that way and she only coughs every now and then. She is returning to daycare tomorrow and I'm dying to hear what they have to say about her since she had some one's undivided attention all last week. She was spoiled rotten and going to be a handful I'm afraid!

I will be John Brown!

My sister in law is pregnant; due in November. Her and my brother in law shared the news with us about a week after Cecilia was born. We are so excited for them and couldn't be happier for them!

We have anxiously awaited the day that we would find out what she would be having. The moment she told me that she was pregnant, I immediately told her she would probably have a boy. I have always assumed she would have the first boy in the Miller family. She felt the same way.

This past weekend I did a little wives tale test on her. A coworker did it on me and it proved to be correct. We tested several people at work and they were all correct so I knew I had to do this test on Kaci, my sister in law. I double checked the test on me and it came up correct. I was eager to do the test on Kaci. We all gathered around and everyone was waiting for the prediction. It came up boy! We knew it! They were going to have a boy!

Yesterday her and my brother in law went to have an ultrasound done and we were all waiting for the phone call to confirm our predictions. About 7:30 pm Brent calls me to tell me they are having...

AHHHHH!!!! It is a precious baby girl! We were SOOOO wrong! Granted I knew it was a silly test but it had been right on so many that I just figured it would be right this time. I was wrong! So for those of you keeping score that makes 6 (count them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) 4th generation GIRLS in the Miller family who is peppered with BOYS! I LOVE IT!!! These boys are just going to have to get used to the girls taking over!

Bryan and Kaci, Brent and I are beyond excited for you all! We love you and can't wait to meet our new niece this fall!

6 to 12

I read in a magazine last week that a baby will get sick 6 to 12 times in their first year. Well, we are 2 down 4 to 10 to go!

Saturday night Cecilia was pretty restless while sleeping and I assumed it was because she was in a new place. I was wrong. It was the beginnings of her coming down with something. As Sunday went on she got worse and ended up with a fever and a raspy voice. She cried a lot and there wasn't much we could do for her other than give her something for the fever.

Sunday night was HORRIBLE! She woke up every few hours screaming, hot and sweaty, and uncomfortable. Brent and I felt so helpless and she was the most pitiful thing we had ever seen!

Since Monday was a holiday, we couldn't take her to the doctor but I did call to make sure we were doing everything we possibly could. We were and he told us if she wasn't better by Tuesday then she needed to she her doctor.

So Tuesday Brent loaded her up and took her to the doctor. We found out she has some type of bronchitis. She told us it would last 3 to 5 days and gave us some steroids to give her. She seems to be doing better. Her breathing isn't near as raspy and we can actually hear her cry again. My mom stayed with her yesterday, I'm home with her today, and Brent will be home tomorrow so we are hoping that she will be better by Friday.

To help her sleep at night we had to put her in her carrier in our bed. She sleeps in between us (along with Colt!) and we are able to keep an eye on her.

The doctor said that the steroids might make her hyperactive and not to give it to her at night. But does this look hyperactive to you?

This is her 2nd nap of the day! Guess that side effect doesn't phase our little one!

Things I Learned...

this 4th of July:

1. Cecilia is a great long distance traveler! We sang, laughed, played... and slept.

2. When going out of town with a baby, you must pack everything including the kitchen sink!

3. Festive attire is a MUST for babies at any holiday.

4. Our niece, Aubrey, is just down right ADORABLE!!! (we already knew this but I love this picture. I didn't even tell her to pose. She saw the camera and struck a pose! She is too much!!)

5. Whipper Snappers are no longer for children. They are 3 times as big and powerful and can almost dang near take a toe off!

6. How intelligent people end up in the ER on the 4th!


7. Sparklers are still a blast!

8. The most pitiful thing in the world is a sick baby.

9. Watching fireworks out the window sitting on the couch is just as much fun as being there live.

Cecilia's first 4th of July will definitely be one we won't forget!