HOW SWEET IT IS

a little december recap!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:26:00 +0000

so things have just been a tad bit busy around here.. I am still doing photo sessions... have my 3rd one for this week, tomorrow... and placing orders, and feeling just a bit like Santa as I deliver orders of prints and cards.. I am having SO much fun.. really... I can't believe how busy I have been in the last two months... but it is so much fun and I have met some really great people and played with some super adorable little ones =)..... more to come on the photography side.... but you'll have to wait on that...

lets get thru next weekend first.. lol

Besides my picture taking business, we have been doing fun festive things as we prepare for the day that the coolest baby was born!!

I wrapped up my Christmas Party for Lafayette Transitional Housing... it was amazing. I really felt blessed and I think my team of volunteer worker bees felt it too. We threw a fabulous party for 15 families... 29 kids.. gave bags full of groceries, and hats and scarves and mittens, and we played games, made an adorable little picture frame, sang songs, had a visit from Santa himself as he brought each kid some warm jammies and a toy off their wish list.

I was telling someone it was kinda like planning my wedding.... I worked so hard for many many weeks in advance, getting things in place just so, and then in a blink of a few hours, it was gone.

Well I know that the kids had a fantastic time, and I so appreciated all the folks from my amazing church community coming together to make it happen.

I really haven't seen a church community like this before.. its not about writing a check...

its about gettin down and dirty.. participating.. and doing what it takes.. and one might just find out that doing this kind of thing really, makes not only those who are the recipients, but those who are giving..helping, serving.. etc. feel blessed in an incredible way.

so THANK YOU !!!

(sorry for that little tangent.. lol)

We have had some play dates with our friends, cookie baking , girls nights out, a bit of shopping(but we have a LONG way to go)... driving around looking at lights, counting down the days til Christmas... lighting our advent candle, picking out toys for our adopt a kid, and a whole bunch of other stuff... here are some of the highlights of the last couple weeks-

we had our FIRSt real snow! I didn't even know it was supposed to.. it had been yucky rainy for the couple days previous.. and well, I drove Brigham down to the bus stop and came back in... ready to start the day by staying warm inside with my mug o' joe and checking emails... watching super why.... typical morning activities.. LOL, when I looked outside and saw these HUGE , amazing, GORGEOUS flakes coming down. it was so magical... nothing was really sticking yet, but I grabbed Tatum, threw clothes on her, tossed on her hat and coat (which is totally cute don't ya think?) and drug her outside in the (oh I forgot to mention that there were 55 mph freezing cold winds) ...

Well, there is nothing that this photographer mama won't do... (as long as it won't really put my kid in harms way..) and so I snapped about 10 pics super fast, all the while my poor baby is saying "mommy , its too whinny"..... and the other phrase " can I have froo snax?"..... and after this shot, I am pretty sure she deserved her "froo snax" Love this !!!
Our little Beckham turned 5 months old!! I totally re created this shot.. we have the same one taken by Picture People's studio of Brigham at this age.. same outfit.. blue background.. it . is. eery. how much they look alike. Beck is just a chubbier version of his big brother =)

...and we went to Hobby Dobby (as Tatum calls it) for the kids to pick out their ornament...

they went for their first pick. and after we saw them, we decided we could get best out of three... so each got to pick three of their favorites, and then we narrowed it down. I was pleased with their choices....(will debut them later =)

We just got the tree up on Monday, and started the decor last night... silly me, got some new ribbon, b/c the last had been used for the last few years.. so not realizing that I got the most expensive stuff they had.. went to unroll it and found that it was only 12 feet... and that it had lights in it.

yeah.. I am sure its all pretty and stuff, but for $12 a roll , I was going to need a lot of it, and I didn't really care about the lights. I can't believe I grabbed the wrong kind!

and so my wonderful husband went out to Menards and picked up new ribbon, oh, and new lights, b/c of course the ones we had were the wrong kind as well. not the male/female version.. so of course we couldn't get it to work the correct way !

and then we started with the ornaments, and I realized I needed more, so I took the littles today and we picked up some more at Hobby Dobby.
Next I have to get the ribbon up and figure out how in Sam Hill how to make a bow.. I totally

trailer park rigged one for life group tonight.

I am really hoping that if I do a little on the tree each day, it just might be ready for Christmas Eve... lol

Last Saturday my mom and I took Brigham to see the PMO Christmas Show at Purdue. He has gone the last two years with us, and just loves it. He is totally enamored with it. I have to say , this year's show was really terrific. It almost makes me want to get back into the singing sides of things.... we'll see... maybe after Beck turns one... The director had invited us to come down for a visit in the hospitality suite, and so before and after the show we got to enjoy these little chocolate dudes. Brigham couldn't get enough of them. I am so trying to find a mold that will make these. They are so stinkin' cute.

and so here we are hanging out before the show....

my mom and Brigham....

Um, yeah.. took these with my little p/s , so thus the reason you are seeing right up our noses. but I still think they are cute =)

my mom watched the kids last Friday night , so Andrew and I could have a date night... she made these little things with them.

they are heaven in a ball.

seriously, I have the ingredients and we are making them this weekend.

Oreo Snow balls.. melt in your mouth.. if anyone wants the recipe.. let me know. they . are. divine.

and we also attempted to see this guy last weekend. Tatum, was totally psyched for sitting on "ho, ho's lap", but as soon as she actually saw him, she went running as fast as she could. Brigham tried to have a conversation, but was told by the not- so- in -the- holiday- spirit -worker, that there was a minimum purchase order to sit on the big guy's lap.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

so we didn't get it. a friend told me of this cool train museum that has Santa visiting every night . for free. So I think we're going to fit that in next week.
I do need pictures after all. Because, although some of you may not remember... I am a scrap booker. and so I have to document every second of every event of my children's life.. and well, I have really been sucking at that lately.

I really am looking forward to New Year's Day... football on.. lots of snacks and a whole day of scrapping.

and then into January.. despite the fact that I already have some sessions on the books, I am going to focus on getting caught back up with my pages.

poor Beckham doesn't have a single page yet. =(

while we were at the mall, we decided to write our letters to Santa. We totally forgot to do that like we did last year.

Our postal workers walk thru our annual Christmas Parade and pick up the letters and then we get a letter back from the North Pole.

Since I was busy prepping for the Outreach party, and Andrew took the kids to the parade, it totally slipped our minds.

so luckily, Macy's was able to help us out.

and I just deleted the cute pic of Tatum mailing her letter.

OOPS.

We also dedicated Beckham at church on Sunday.. I'll get some pictures of that up. He did really well.

***********************************

and do you remember this list below?

well, we are kinda moving right along... pictures to come...

how are you coming on your list?

it is the eve before one week before the eve before Christmas Eve.

THE LIST:
Make a holiday craft
Watch Elf
Assemble/address holiday cards with music and cocoa
Wrap gifts by the tree
Read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Have lunch with Santa
Bake/decorate cookies
Make pinecone elves
Take a drive and look at holiday lights
Donate toys to a family in need
Cut out paper snowflakes
Go ice skating
Deliver baked goods to friends
Make breakfast for dinner and eat in our pajamas
Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage
Write down the 10 best memories from the past year
Attend a holiday concert
Take a family photo
Watch the snow fall
Share your favorite holiday memories with your kids
Go sledding
Have a candlelit dinner
Leave cookies/milk for Santa
Enjoy giving as much as receiving

Hope you are able to slow down a bit and enjoy the season(what is left of it anyway)

23 days and counting

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Geesh ! Where did November go? Seriously, I just barely got my Halloween post up ( and yep, totally never posted from our Halloween trip to the Children's Museum). and then we just blurred past Thanksgiving. and now just 3 weeks left until Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and totally indulged in all things fattening. We spent the day with my dad's side of the family at my grandma's farm. Lots of good down home cookin' which unfortunately I was trying so hard 'not' to over eat.. that I hardly ate, and then 5 hours later I was starving.. and really wanting a thanksgiving meal.. and well.. we didn't have any leftovers! We had a great time with aunts and uncles , cousins and little ones.(mine). I LOVE the fact that my grandma gets to interact with my kids. She LOVEs them soo much. Beckham even took his nap in a bassinet that all her kids slept in. So its about 63 years old! she cleaned it up, and got a new Carter's blue blanket for it. She was so happy to have Beck (try) to sleep in it . I took pics, b/c I am so going to scrap this.

(and so I plan on creating our own turkey day meal with all the fixings this weekend). I can't Wait!!

I had a busy weekend of photo sessions. We are not big Black Friday shoppers.. ( I really like my sleep) and so after we met my college room mate and her family for lunch at our downtown candy store.. we headed to Target. I was so surprised but at 2pm, it was not busy, at all. We did stop by a few other stores in town, and had the same experience.. easy to find parking spots.. no lines in the stores... it was so great since we were at the kids' nap times.

It was so fun to see my friend Stephanie and her family. Since she moved to OH, we have not seen each other in about 2 years! The kids all got along great and had so much fun(with the added sugar we dumped into them)laughing and playing.

So I am also in the home stretch of the big Christmas party for my church that I have been heading up.. lots of final details to complete, but it is this Sunday and I know it is going to be tons of fun, and we will bless these kids sooo much!

I have also been busy editing, and filling orders. Totally thought I was done.. (in fact I had publicly announced that I was done) just b/c I knew December was going to busy, and I didn't want to miss out on things with my family.

however, I got 3 calls yesterday and one today for last minute sessions before Christmas. So , what do you think I am doing?

trying to figure out how I can plan sessions around the activities we already have on the calendar.

I may be crazy.. but actually I thrive with a busy schedule. I really feel like I am at my best when I am running around with my head cut off.. (for a while...)

(and then I crash and burn).. but that will be in January.. lol

We got the holiday decor up and we'll go out and get the tree this weekend. I have my lists made of what we want for each of the kids and (for myself) and Andrew.. the grandparents are always hard.... I am hoping that we'll have a date night this Friday and be able to get a lot of our shopping finished.(and of course a peppermint mocha will be a must)

my santa baby... he's bringing sexy back, don't ya think?

(somebody is ready for his first Christmas)... he has no idea what we are going to do to him...lol

So as we enter into the greatest month of them all... I am hoping that in the midst of all the hussle and bussle, that we can find time to do some of these things. I love keeping with traditions.. and some of these are. And I love making new traditions and I hope that we are able to.

Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite tradition is with your family at Christmas time.. and if you need to, you can totally steal something from this list =)

Make a holiday craft

Watch Elf

Assemble/address holiday cards with music and cocoa

Wrap gifts by the tree

Read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Have lunch with Santa

Bake/decorate cookies

Make pinecone elves

Take a drive and look at holiday lights

Donate toys to a family in need

Cut out paper snowflakes

Go ice skating

Deliver baked goods to friends

Make breakfast for dinner and eat in our pajamas

Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage

Write down the 10 best memories from the past year

Attend a holiday concert

Take a family photo

Watch the snow fall

Share your favorite holiday memories with your kids

Go sledding

Have a candlelit dinner

Leave cookies/milk for Santa

Enjoy giving as much as receiving

at least its good for something

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Yep. even though we got super excited about our Dora potty a few months ago.. and we have actually sat on it about 15 times with out screaming!!.... a certain exactly 2 1/2 year old cutie head still has no interest in actually doing her business in the potty.
take that back.. she has interest in "pretending" she can go potty.. like last week at MOPS , when I picked her up and the lady said she was so cute, and when the took the kids in underwear across the hall to the bathroom.. Tatum said.. "ta ta wants to go potty!".. I laughed and said, "well , she doesn't really know what that means.. lol".. the lady said "oh, well she sat there like a big girl " and that is my Tatum.... such a charmer....=)

and so , so silly. this girl is such a hoot and just keeps me laughing all day long! I asked her if she wanted to go sit on Dora potty and she went to the bathroom and came back like this.

This girl has quite the little imagination too... she has really engaged in interactive play since Brigham has been in school all day. Instead of doing what he does, or just reacting to the torments of big brother.. she is creating little towns. and setting up little families. sometimes it is with pumpkins, from our fireplace fall display... (she has little conversations with them.. daddy and Beckham are mentioned quite often.. lol) or playing with the farm set.. or this one.

she has really been obsessed with this little people's bus. not only do the boy and the girl in a wheel chair go to school.. but the giraffe and Ho Ho (Noah from the noah's ark set) , along with Diego and the spider monkey travel as well.

I love to hear her stories. It makes me smile when I am sitting across the room, and she doesn't know that I am watching her.

and speaking of creating... I have NOT been scrap booking.. in fact my friend Heather and I were venting to each other the other day, because our passion for scrap booking has been pushed back these last few months due to crazy busy AWESOME photography gigs we both have been having.

I *think* I am going to have a scrap night tomorrow night. Grandma wants to take the older kids for the night, and Andrew will probably find something to do.. so maybe next week I'll have some pages to share. It has been SO long.. you all probably forgot that I was a die hard scrapper before photography.. lol

however, due to my little man's fascination with consuming way to much milk waaaay too fast, and then smiling all the while he pukes down my arm, my back, the floor, etc. I made some boyish burp cloths. totally wanted to monogram them, but I have no idea how, and the store I was going to take them to went out of business. so I am just dealing with these.

and speaking of my little guy... who is FOUR months old now.. (how did that happen?)

He had is dr. appt on Monday and I didn't even get to be there =( I totally didn't realize that I had leader training for MOPS that morning and I couldn't get him another appt for a while, so since Andrew had Monday's off.. he took him. Of course I prepped him on what to ask.. which was really nothing.. but I did warn him that little man was going to get two more shots.. and my husband being the wuss that he is... could he handle that?

I actually think Andrew did worse..lol. the feed back was that Beckham didn't even flinch for the first one, and cried for like 30 seconds on the next one.

and the stats are in......

Weight: 16lbs 9 oz

Height: 27 inches

So he is slimming down a bit.. thank goodness.. I was so afraid he would by pass all the cute clothes I have in 3-6 and 6 month sizes left from Brigham. He actually does fit into some 6 mos stuff already.. but he is starting to bust out the toes of things.. thus the time is coming for him to graduate from the bassinet =(

and so we are going to Indianapolis on Saturday to scope out and hopefully buy bunk beds, so that next weekend we can transform Brigham's room into the "boys" room.

and so I'll leave you with a pic I took a little while ago... he was actually 3 1/5 months in this pic:

and he is wearing the same outfit that Brigham wore in his 3 month photos.

and so in this one I went with a vintage look because I was curious if it would look similar

to this one:

took a picture of this framed one we have displayed.........

think they look similar?

whatz going on....

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:44:00 +0000

(and now I have that 4 non blondes song in my head)

we have had so much going on lately, I sometimes wonder if I'll make it to Christmas!! lots of family/friends outings and my photography has been slamming me (and keeping me captive to my computer.. lol !!) But I totally LOVE it.. LOVE meeting new people and playing with new kiddos and itty bitty baby toes... YEP.. I definitely LOVE what I do. I am so thankful for those of you who have asked me to take your family's photos and those of you who have referred me! I am starting some work on some new business related things... hoping to have it done by the end of the year.. (maybe.)

not sure if anyone read my previous post.. BUT it was Andrew's birthday.. and I we got to go out for a fabulous dinner celebration here.

It was so incredible... we usually have get our sushi fix from Bea One , but had heard this place offered an all you can eat sushi special.. the menu was totally overwhelming, and after my first order, (which I could not even finish).. I realized where they make their money!! LOL
Grandma had all 3 kids , so we enjoyed a nice lei surly dinner with some nice wine!! then a trip to Starbucks for some lovely conversation.

His actual birthday was Monday , which he has off from work, so we just sorta hung out. He fixed breakfast for us after he took Brig to the bus stop. YES. HE cooked on his bday. He LOVEs to cook. especially breakfast. So he spoiled us with a yummy way to start off the morning.
Around 1 pm we headed to MOE'S for Moe's Monday, where they have specials on their burritos. Tatum loves the 'cheese crisps' and chips and green salsa..(the spicy kind , of course) and the cookie.
We had some other running around to do, before Brigham got home from school.. and then I made a pork chop dinner.
We went to the grocery store to pick up snacks for Brigham since he was TOP DOG on Tuesday, and ended up doing a full blown shopping trip!
Got home around 9pm and we still hadn't had the cake I had made. Actually it wasn't even frosted yet.
Brigham got in his jammies, and created a masterpiece complete with half a jar of blue sprinkles (b/c blue is daddy's favorite color, don't ya know?)
The cake was super yummy, and we (I ) have been eating on it all week..
* I LOVE BIRTHDAYS FOR THAT REASON*

and today is career day in kindergarten.. remember Brig's career goals were an artist, or a janitor.
we went with artist, (since a mop or broom could have become a weapon in his class)

NO! I am not trying to sway my son one way or another!! He can do what every he sets his heart on. I will support him no matter what. (and if he is a janitor, or said artist) we WILL be supporting him for many , many years! LOL
but doesn't he look so dang cute?

I went with the 'french' artiste... but has I was tying a little lime green neckerchief on my son, I was hoping that this day of dress up was not going to scar him for life... hoping children don't 'label' him ... lol !
maybe the faux stache would declare his manhood, even if it was carefully manicured!

and look who has a new chair!! borrowed this from Tatum's little boy friend Finn , who is now a big boy and no longer needs it.

Beckham LOVES IT!!! (for about 3 minutes) and then he loses it.

its the most liked piece of furniture we have gotten in years. the kids are all testing it out. yep. even my 5 year old , fits quite nicely in it..

(don't worry, Katie, he has been warned not to do it again.. he breaks it and he buys you a new one with his money)

Love that he is looking up, like 'hey! what is going on?!"

got this basket like (at the end of summer! ) sorta on a whim, while in HL to buy a little trunk/suitcase thing to do Beck's 4 month pics in. I had this scene totally worked up in my head from walking down this trail, and just had to wait for the leaves to drop. Well, and the trunk was like $59 and NOT on sale, so then I saw this lady putting up displays using this bushel basket.. and asked if they were for sale. $4.99 is my cheapest prop yet!! LOL

and I have used it quite a bit with other families this fall. bonus.

as you can see almost all the leaves around here are off the trees. I am becoming creative with my photo sessions.. lol.

and the bare trees are putting me in the spirit of (Gasp!) Christmas! well, that , and the fact that I have been working on getting our church outreach party under wraps. My first year to chair it, and since I have never been before , I am kinda learning as I go.. its going to be so much fun though. I can't wait!

off to enjoy the continued 60 degree weather we have been having, I NEED to plant my bulbs.. been putting it off forever! and then lots to edit, and then actually get to prep for a scrap booking night!

(another Gasp!) its been so long, not sure if I'll remember how to scrap!!

enjoy your weekend everyone!

they say its your birthday.....

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:44:00 +0000

and it IS... we have been celebrating for a couple days now as Andrew is officially "in his thirties"...

I am so thankful that God gave him life 32 years ago. So happy that our paths crossed on that crazy New Year's Eve 2000. Giddy that we fell in love and got married.
Amazed that we have been together 6 years and have 3 fabulous kiddos. So very appreciative of all the love, support and kindness that he shows continually towards me. So in awe, of what an amazing father he is to each one of our kids.. and gives each one of them something special. Full of disbelief at his insane love for music, and the memory he has for artists, lyrics, etc. Full of excitement as I watch him watch his favorite teams. Go Bronchos .. give him a birthday *W* tonight!!!
Grateful for the fact that he works so hard to provide for our family so that I can stay home and raise our kids. Amazed to watch him grow in his faith. Thankful that he is teaching our kids to be like Jesus. Unworthy of his unconditional love he shows towards me.
Incredibly blessed to call him as my husband and best friend.
just a little glimpse of what you mean to me

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

(pictures to come from our celebrations!)

every year it happens...

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:04:00 +0000

we dress our kids up in ridiculously cute outfits resembling some sort of character or animal.. sent them out in sub freezing temps and force them to beg for the stuff, that we spend the rest of the year telling them they can NOT have.

But our kids did not disappoint, and we have been enjoying their rewards all week!

So I mentioned that we did a lot of tricking and treating festivities... below is a picture of when we visited grandma at her office. Her coworkers always go way into dressing as themed characters.. last year was the wizard of oz.. and this year was Mickey Mouse and company. the kids loved it, and they got lots of attention and a little bit of the sweet stuff.

here is our ZOO CREW!!!

I am finding it is super hard to get 3 little munchkins to all look at the camera at the same time.. it couldn't have anything to do with the chocolate they inhaled before hand right?

and here is the super cute craft that I brought in to do with Brigham's class for his party. I was so excited, that I was able to attend his party. I had had a photo session scheduled for like 2 months for that morning, and all week, they had been calling for rain. I wasn't going to cancel my session until the last minute, so when we woke up to downpours, I did a little happy dance.

(don't get me wrong.. ) I was bummed not to have the family session, but we rescheduled for a much warmer , non - raining kinda day, and it turned out fabulously.

SCORE. Brigham was so thrilled to have me in his class room and I admit, it was pretty fun helping out, and being able to finally be that fly on the wall..

Here is our trick or treating crew on Halloween. we continued our 3 year tradition of running around with friends.. we realized that we are missing a little one for the group picture. I thought Andrew had brought him out, and he thought I had. sadly, we had left our little giraffe all alone on the couch inside! lol

(not sure he noticed though)

and action shot.... the two older kids ran around up and down.. while the two littlest ones lingered for a bit..

about half way thru, I was waiting 4 housed behind, for my little monkey to come back down from the houses. she got distracted with the candy.. or with some decoration on the front porch.. or the fact that she said 'thank you.'

she did not fail, in coming down each drive way yelling " I say Tank you"!!

her first experience with a pixie stix.... and it did not go well.

sucking powder out of a tiny hole can be very frustrating!!!

our giraffe trick or treated in style.. not sure he really made a peep the whole time, until it was pitch black and 10 degrees colder than when we started. he became a tad unhappy

here is the pic of him (left inside by himself). Does he look sad? that about wraps up our Halloween adventures. still have to share our museum pics. they are pretty cute too. hope you all had a great time too !

************************

Beckham turned 4 months on Tuesday.. and since I have yet to even post his 3 month pics, I'll leave you with one from his 4 month mini shoot..

I had posted his traditional "4 month" pose on the chair, but I just accidentally deleted it and don't want to redo this post. so you get this super cute one where Tatum just couldn't stand not being "in" the picture. she kept trying to climb up on the chair while I was trying to get Beck.. finally I gave in.. and I am so glad I did !

boo at the zoo and other fall stuff...

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:02:00 +0000

last year , grandma took Brigham to our little zoo's festivities... this year we piled up the car.. and took an elephant and a monkey. we figured they would be in their element...

where a monkey could practice their putting...(the elephant actually got a hole-in-one!!)
and an elephant would be super scared of the mouse that ran across the grass!!!

lots of different games were played.. and it only rained for like 3 minutes so we headed into the butterfly garden , got sprinkled by fairy dust, and saw some scary creepy crawly things.

this cracks me up. as if people staring into the cages of the llama , the goats, and the rabbits.. were not strange enough.. NOW... an elephant and a monkey.. (and lots of other spooky things) peered over the edge to catch a glimpse.

don't worry.. we didn't get 'treats' from these folk

Brigham always likes the "mad scientist" tent.

it was a bit too much for Tatum, but Brigham got to do all kinds of crazy things.. the highlight was making slime. which ended up (supposedly left on our bumper in order to disappear), but instead got shut in our trunk, so that we drove around town for 2 days with a large baggie full of hot pink slime hanging out!! LOL

the end of the night... one pooped out elephant...

***************************************

Tatum sporting her new favorite coat... I think this was taken at the rest stop somewhere in Kansas.. lol... and yes.. people.. I know I haven't even blogged about the Colorado trip... I am really losing pts.. (and probably readers too! ) HA! and yes, brig's pumpkin patch field trip was on the 22nd.... I have become the worst bloggin' mom ever !!

um, Heather.. we've got bunny ears too!! LOL
maybe he knows peace out.. don't know how though..

and these are two of Brigham's bus stop buddies Skye and Jaylie

getting into postition to find that perfect gourd....

and he spots it... wanted one with 'a little bit of green".. he kept sayin.. lol

lunch time.. Brigham was so excited that I packed a cooler with lunch for him and I. except one poor kid forgot to bring a lunch so I gave him mine.

well ... dang... didn't have to force down the lunchable... bleck!!!

Brigham with one of his class mates Toby showing off their prize pumpkins...

and his friend Adam, who is in a different class so it was fun for them to play together

success.... after a fun day out! perfect weather, and it didn't start raining until the kids were on the bus, and moms were in their cars.

thank you Lord!
could have made for a muddy, miserable day!

*************

and so there are a few glimpses into our October outings..

I'll post more pics of our trip to the Children's Museum in costume on Halloween as well as our trick or treat night!

We actually celebrated several days... as the kids went to with grandma trunk or treating at a local church last Wednesday, and then we went to dinner with friends Friday night all in costume. were supposed to do our traditional downtown trick/treating.. but it rained cats and dogs... =(

(seriously, our kids are not lacking in the candy department)

Thank You Lord!!!

And I just realized that I haven't posted the littlest trick or treater...

any guessed on what he was?

3 months!!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:11:00 +0000

my cute little punkin head!!

so, yeah, I am a little behind on posting his 3 month pics. Did two different photo sessions with him. One I did right before we left for Colorado. ... which still have yet to be edited =(... and then while in Denver, met up with my friend Farrah and our visit turned into a mini session for Beck and then she took our family pics too. she rocks.

Isn't this fabulous!! I am so going to blow this one up BIG and put it on canvas up on my wall.
( the wall in my lr that I still can't figure out what images /display collage I want up).. but THIS one will be there...lol

We did some super cute shots of him with baby legs on. Can't wait to see them. and we did a baby parts collage. I had one for Brig and Tatum at 3 months, so I wanted one of him too. I love to create these same types of collages for my clients. In no time at all, you forget how teeny tiny.. their parts really are =)
and though these pictures don't document it.. Beckham is such a happy baby. almost always smiling and he is belly laughing quite a lot. He has just found his *deep* baby man voice, and uses it all the time. He is decided that sleeping thru the night is over rated and about a week ago, has been up 2x a night. joy. He is a big boy, not sure his stats yet.. but as my mentor mom said to me on Tuesday "oh, my kids had big heads too... " !! yep. he does. it is all in proportion, but he does have a perfectly round.. Charlie Brown kinda noggin going on. Beck is wearing some 6 month clothes already, and I am hoping that I didn't miss my window on the tons of 3-6 mos outfits that his older brother wore (at 6-9mos)

This is NOT our family photo that she took. Just one my uncle took after I passed him my camera(set on auto.. lol) at the wedding reception. Notice, I didn't even bother to crop out my daughter's exposed crotch. she'll love me years from now! LOL

So glad I did have our family session finished, because ever since we returned from our trip , it has been a whirlwind of activity around here. Trying to get in as many photo sessions in as we can before the leaves fall off.. and pretty IN becomes , blah. nasty. gray IN.

I just have to get our card design decided soon, so I can forget about that and start working on stuff for clients. That is always more fun for me anyway .. I love new faces =)

Still need to edit the pics from Brigham's first field trip last Thursday. I went with his class to the pumpkin patch and took my little p/s camera (it was calling for major rain, and I was not about to risk rain on my heft lens!) If nothing else I got some great pics to scrap up.

Luckily, the weather was fantastic, and not until we are all in our cars(the parents) and the kids were on the bus, that it started to drizzle. THANK YOU GOD!

Its been so busy, that we have yet to even turn our little pumpkin dudes in to jack. Hoping to get to it tonight.. after the BOO at the ZOO. our local little zoo, puts this thing on and State Farm sponsors it. My mom took Brigham last year and he loved it! full of all kinds of creepy crawly stuff.

She took the kids minus Beck to a local church's trunk or treat last night while we had our lifegroup celebration dinner. They loved it. and I have been enjoying their candy all day today

I . Love. Halloween. (for that reason)

so there is a quick catch up on what we're doing... we're heading into another busy weekend. still need to blog about our trip and I'll put more of Beck's pics and our fall festivities up soon.

enjoy the last few days of October!!

it has made its way to my house....

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:19:00 +0000

and I am the only one that got it.

the killer sore throat. splitting headache. chills. cough. aches.. etc.

My amazing husband went to the store at 2am last night to get the essential remedies. I slept in late, while he watched the kids... and now I am trying to figure out the day.

Was supposed to have a play date this morning, and I am really sad to have to miss out.. Brig is off school for fall break today, so I had wanted us to all do something FUN !!

But all I really want to do is cuddle under the heaps of blankets and sip my tea. At least there will be no yelling in my house(by me anyway.. lol) ! that is a good thing!!

On an up note, I did have a great weekend, UNTIL about 10pm last night.. lol

*had a family movie night Friday with pizza and popcorn and Night at the Museum part 2

* had photo sessions on Saturday, while Andrew went to the PU football game (which we won. YAY!)

* had a date night with Andrew Sat, (was supposed to be a double date with our friends Scott and Emily, but we were both late, and missed each other).. so we ended up having separate date nights.. lol.. which was all good !

Andrew and I saw Couples Retreat.. and LOVED it! It was so good. Cute. Funny. and definitely a LOT of eye candy.. for both he and I .. lol

then we went to Kohls, and A got me 3 cute new shirts.. one of them was only $6 !!

and then we went to the Irish Pub for a late dinner. I got my fave chic salad sand.. and splurged on their shamrock pie. DElish..(if you're local.. you must try it! =)

and all three kids were at gmas.. so we finished our date night at home .. lol

*Sunday we drove to Indianapolis for the 2peas IN shoot out! Met at the circle, and then all of us just went nuts shooting various things and each other's models. It was great to meet all of my online friends IRL. can't wait to edit them and post .. but it will be awhile.. as I am getting bombarded with photos from sessions to edit.. (but its a good thing =)

* and then I had a super family session to round out the weekend. Can NOT wait to start in on editing these.. they are so cute!

... and now friends.. back to my sick self.. seriously.. I am just going to go to back to bed. ( and I hate HATE doing that, when I have so much do to.).

I want to be well enough to go to MOPS tomorrow.

so if you read this.. please send your healing vibes to me.. and pray that the sickies stop their infestation with me. I would hate for my kiddos to catch it !!

I am so proud

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:18:00 +0000

of this guy.

seriously. more than words. sometimes I wonder if other parents feel as much love and adoration towards their kids as I do. because I can't imagine how they could. I thank God every day(sometimes lots of times a day!) for blessing me to me their mama! I mean I am not very grown up myself sometimes. I don't know history.. or spelling, for that matter very well. I can't make decisions. I can't cook very well. {but I CAN BAKE} I am a bit of a control freak. I lose my temper. I don't have patience. I raise my voice (more than i should). but I am so very, very grateful for the three wonderful gifts I have been given.
and this guy. My first born. My amazing 5 year old is living proof that (just maybe) I(we) am doing something ok with him.
We had his teacher conferences last Thursday evening. The first thing the teacher said.. was " you don't know how lucky you are"....

she proceeded to show us his prepared folder.

page 1- your kindergartner could not recognize the numbers circled. NOTHING circled

page 2-your kindergartner could not recognize the letters circled. NOTHING circled.

page 3-identifying colors- CHECK.

page 4 - identifying shapes-CHECK.

then it came to the DIBELS testing SCORES:

for initial sounds fluency.. the goal was 8.. and he scored a 21

for letter naming fluency... the goal was 8.. and he scored a 46.

and MATH TESTING:

for counting... the goal was 60.. he counted to 72 (and then they stopped him)

number identification... the goal was 20 and he got a 33... (though I don't really remember what that meant! LOL)

quantity discrimination .. the goal was 10... and he got 20.

READING:

reading level was an E... um... the goal was a B.

she said that he is by far the BEST reader that she has in the class. actually she said "he is so quiet, that for the first few weeks I never knew he could read"..
I guess she would ask the class questions about books or things she wrote, and he would never answer.
little stinker was getting it alright.. just not wanting to answer out loud.
so she says she has to go to the library to get books that will challenge him, b/c the class room library doesn't have any.
she also said he has been sent to IDEA class a couple of times, but she is asking that they take him every time they pull students out.
She already was telling us about the 'gifted' class that he would be in next year.
and I start thinking....
(oh.. no!- my kid is a nerd!!! .. well, he takes after his father.... lol) guess I should be proud.. I AM. but we are definitely going to keep him in sports so he is well rounded.
We had to laugh at the comment about him being so quiet! seriously, did she have the same kid in class that we have at home!
he is definitely a social butterfly. and very creative.
in fact while in Colorado, he decided on his career choice aspirations.

to be an artist.

a janitor.

he was so sweet as he asked "mom, could I be both ?"

um, yeah.. honey you'll probably have to be one to support the other ! ha! dream on kid. dream on. never stop dreamin' !!
I *LOVE* it !!

his teacher also raved about what a kind boy he is to his classmates. how much he helps them with their work, and shows them how to do things. he is coming home each day talking up a storm, about what he did..what kid got in trouble... what they had for snack... what he did at recess.. who he played with..who said a bad word..
today, I was waiting for him at the bus stop and when the bus pulled up... he hopped off and full sprinted towards me.. arms held out wide and leaped into my arms.
big ol' kindergartner hug. I * LOVE* it !! and then he grabbed my hand and we walked home.

I am sooo glad that I submitted to my husband and gave up control (in this area) and let Brig go to full day school. and ride the bus.
I know this has been a big lesson in trust. and I trust Him to watch over my baby.

a little mia lately....

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:22:00 +0000

we have been busy , busy around here. Home projects(will share when finally finished) and photo sessions(see my photog site as, I update), play dates, life group- RESET, church projects(hope to share more about this soon), hanging out with family ... and a week long trip to Colorado!! have been keeping us busy, so my blog has sorta suffered because of that =(....

but I figured as I recoup from our trip(we got in yesterday evening), and spend the day with unpacking and laundry, and cleaning the house(how does a house get dirty, with nobody in it?)

I'll go ahead and do a quick update of Purdue 's homecoming two weekends ago. this score started out hopeful, but of course, we're talking Boilermakers, so they always manage to screw it up somehow.. lol.. SO of course we lost to a team that we definitely SHOULD have beat.

But we had fun anyway. and looked cute doing it !! It was pretty chilly, but the kids never stopped moving as we went around to various tailgates with our friends. Always love tailgate food. seriously, I think I am going to host a tailgate party like in March... or maybe June. anyone wanna come?

Brigham showing off his (non) coordination skills playing FB with some of the kids !

We have a tradition of going to homecoming with Grandma each year. She always works the booths since she is on the alumni board of CFS(consumer &family sciences), and so we usually meet her at the tent for some yummy food. This year, we stayed at the tailgates, and met up with her at game time. We sat in the end zone and Brigham and Andrew got to use my dad's season tickets at the 30 yrd line about 12 rows up.

It ended up being kinda cold on my behind (didn't have my seat warmer!)and I needed to feed Beck, so I took Tatum back to the van and we sat in the warmness listening to the HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, second half.

Tatum loving the pop-pop(as she calls it)!

see how well, Beckham enjoyed his first college football game?
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and right before we left, I pulled out all my decor, and fall-di-fied my house a bit.

this guy guards our front porch. don't let his smile fool ya!

I got the Pier 1 flyer in the mail as we were leaving town last week(andrew was tired of hearing me oooooh and ahhhh over things)... I will be heading there tomorrow for some fun new additions to my October make over.

and of course, Hobby Lobby, since their stuff is already half off.

pulled out the ol' dishes... this is Brigham's and Tatum has a pumpkin.

Target dollar spot last year.

it makes eating so much more fun!!

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and, so now, I am off to check on the laundry and get something started for dinner .. which will likely be pb and j (oh, wait there is no bread).. so maybe mac n' cheese(thankfully, my mom put a new gallon of milk in the fridge).. since we have nuthin' in the house.

We also have Brigham's parent/teacher conference this afternoon. So interested to see what she has to say about the little booger.

I'll try and get thru our trip pictures and hopefully post some tomorrow. =)

sweet stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:03:00 +0000

made these yummy black and gold cupcakes in honor of the Boilers on Sat. this is the most heavenly of cupcakes that I have made lately. the icing is divine.

and we ate way too many of these on Sunday as we sulked in the horrible loss to Notre Dame , Sat night. though being only the 6th night game in Ross Ade history, the crowd was pumped.. until the coach started calling ridiculous plays. nuf said about that. hopefully this week for homecoming, we'll do better =)

***********************************

and then since we finally have fall weather, and I am loving it.. made some carmel corn for a surprise after school snack for Brig. I promise he did get to try it. (though mom and dad have had their share too)
*************************************

and the sweetest lil man ever? love it when his eyes light up and sparkle like that!

he just melts me. and he'll be 3 months old on Saturday.

.....and for those of you have noticed my sweet tooth.. yes, I have been keeping up with my walking routine. (almost) every day, after the bus pick up, I have been doing 1.5-2 miles. it really helps get my day off to a great start!

(and lets me continue to enjoy the sweetness of the season.. pumpkin spice lattes anyone?)

look WHOOOOOOO surprised me?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:58:00 +0000

is this not the CA-UTEST mug ever??? my friend Nichole sent it to me and just in time for fall. I have already had many cups of joe, but I am looking forward to hot spiced cider and peppermint hot chocolate.

Somehow, even though we're nearing October, I just can't drink hot apple cider when its 80 degrees outside! Thanks friend, you're the best, and I will think of you sweetie, whenever I drink from him =) *******************************************

Don't think I shared this pic of my little guy . So trendy to go out and buy the IKEA doll bed.. however, I had this one and it has character. lol.. it used to be mine when I was a kid, and for Christmas last year, my mom made a new set of sheets, and a blanket and pillow that matched Tatum's room decor. She LOVES it.. and always has to 'put baby in bed' when she wakes up in the morning.. funny that when she awakes, it is time for her doll babies to sleep!!
anyway, I almost waited too long as my little guy is about to bust out of the thing! I am thinking of joining the bandwagon and getting the natural one from IKEA and painting it white.. just because I don't want to paint this one.. but we'll see, b/c I am starting the process of getting Tatum's big girl room ready, and while the garden / shabby chic theme won't change, I will finally be adding the picket fence, since it will fit now that the crib will be gone. I have this idea in my head since before she was born.. so we'll see if I can get it all to play out.. and then I have to tackle the 'boys' room.
so back to the bed.. I have a newborn session next week, and I am excited to try a couple different poses with a teeny tiny babe. =)

and remember when I took Brig's 5 year old pics? Well I put together a collage, so that it will be easy to scrap it up!. always thinking.... (I figure if I can digitally create multi pic collages) then I'll have to stress less about how I will fit the zillion pics I take onto a certain page.
I have created about 10 diff collages in Picasa lately, so hopefully this weekend, I can actually slap those babies down on paper , add a title and my journaling.. and call it done!

****************
and so it is officially FALL. although the weather has been steamy and miserable. I want to wear my sweaters and jewel tones, and I just don't feel right doing it when it is in the 80's. It is supposed to drop down to the 60's next week. we shall see. I have my garden all ready, and mums planted.. now I have to get the inside done.

totally wanted to do it before we hosted Life group last night, but it wasn't going to happen, and so I gave myself grace to just wait for the weekend. I did pull out all the totes out of the garage. that counts for something right?

look at the punkin head dude! so adorable. swiped it from my friend Heather's blog. I need to find out where it is from. Ballard's maybe? I haven't gotten their new catalog yet. I always let myself buy one or two new things per season. ( and I usually toss a couple as well that I don't use anymore)
this guy may just have to be mine.
************************
and so of course lots going on... we are trying to plan a trip to CO in about two weeks. We were not sure about it, but finally decided last week, that we would go out for Andrew's brother's wedding. The Miller side has not met Tatum yet, (or Beckham of course) so it will be fun and I am excited for Andrew to spend time with his bio dad. We'll stay at the Hollands so we'll get lots of grandpa and grandma time too. It will be fast trip, and we are driving out which makes me a bit nervous. Flying had advantages in saving us time, but had issues with the logistics of 3 little ones, a vehicle and car seats once we got there, etc.
so we're driving.. and did I say that I was nervous? yep. pray for me on that one =)
**************************
So our Life group started a new 6 week series called RESET and I am so excited. It is really interactive, and thought provoking. Its aim is about us "RESETTING" what we think about who Jesus is.
I shared that I picture him to be the South Park Jesus. ha. ha.
I also shared that I bet Jesus cut it up, and farted in front of the disciple dudes, and then tried to blame it on someone else. ok. well he probably farted, but the passing the blame - that would be sin. and we all know JC didn't sin.
(I hope no one busts me for sharing something from group... I said it. so maybe that is ok, right?)
I would love to be able to share on the blog bits and pieces as we go along. I'll have to figure out how to, without breaking the confidentiality rules. =P. I just know it is going to be very. cool.
************************
and so along, with the anticipated trip, the changing of T's room, I have also started the process of searching out designs to change our guest bathroom. totally thought I had it figured out yesterday.. (curtain, paint color, etc).. until I went back to read online the reviews. found out that the curtain showed under the 'fabric' listing is actually vinyl. puke.
so I am going to start over. but at least I have a place to go from now. excited to start some little updates around the house.
afterall, we have been here four years!
****************************
and heading into the most beautiful season, I am finding that my photography is picking up, which while I love it.. and love meeting new people and playing with babies, and capturing family moments and etc. etc.
I tend to stress myself out a bit. but I thrive on stress. so (don't hesitate if you want to book a session- I do better under stress )! I am also in the process of coming up with a new website- I think.-
we've got a busy weekend already, and I just keep cramming more stuff onto my plate.
My husband tells me to stop and b-r-e-a-t-h-e.......
(but then I found this on my friend Kelsey's blog)

and I like it ever so much more.
and with that , I am off to eat some ice cream, that Andrew surprised me with last night!
night all !

a blog without pictures is

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:30:00 +0000

like an ice cream shoppe with no mint chip

absolutely ridiculous, and not worthy of my patronage .

I had a blog post worked up in my head, and well, Mr. Blogger is not cooperating with my desires to share the fruits of my labor from the weekend(I'll leave you in suspense as to what those 'fruits' may be.. LOL) with you all. So I'll leave you with a poll question that I received in an email this morning.

taken from a Christianity Newsletter thingy, that my mom signed me up for:

Question: Is it wrong for a Christian to drink beer?

hmmmm. I have some thoughts on this, but I'd LOVE to hear yours!

Leave me a comment. Express yourself!

a bit of a recap

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:55:00 +0000

so yeah.. can't believe I went that long w/o blogging! what is wrong with me?!! LOL

(ok, don't answer that!)... we have had a lot going on.. some good and some not so good that has been consuming our time.

let's start with the good stuff, shall we? Brigham finished a stellar season of t-ball. um, yeah, I am pretty sure that Tatum could have coached a better team then the coach we had.. geesh. I should have known going into it, since she is the same chic that taught Tatum's swimming class, remember her Kelli? This girl was so lazy, and did absolutely nothing.. sometimes not even getting into the water, b/c it was um.. cold.
But luckily some of the dad's and a mom stepped in to help the poor kids. I mean she was more worried about tossing her hair, and watching the cars go by than she was teaching the kids. She basically showed up late each practice and said "play amongst yourselves".. to 4-5 year olds! but the kids had fun, some too much fun as they did cartwheels in the out, no wait the in field... sat on the bases and played hand slapping games in the dug out. the classic moments were when the kid (s) ran the opposite direction when we had to play a game on a middle school football field. (the lines got him all confused). and when every time the ball is hit.. a mob of uncoordinated children trample over each other all going for the ball, which no one even seems to recover said ball.

But if you had fun. and you got a certificate and a trophy. AND a free game at MONSTER MIN GOLF.. then it was a successful season. =)

( and luckily Grandma took him to his celebratory monster mini golf game).. lol

Andrew and I headed to a downtown festival of sorts.. (more like all the home less people came out for the free beer)... shame on me.

I have to say though, there was a time, when I feared a bit for me life, as we wedged ourselves(and our beast of a double stroller) thru the sea of beer drinking and french fry contest eaters!

I did feel somewhat compassionate, as a homeless man proudly waved his trophy in the air for winning the contest!

the shops were open late and there were lots of vintage-y craft type booths-

(yes, Heather, I said, vintage, as in old, as in smelly. and yes some of it smelled bad.)

oh, and speaking of your gift is in the mail =)
**************

We also went to a community bbq which we do every year. its always fun. always interesting. and there is always drama. well.. unsaid drama. but drama never the less. ugh.
Brigham braved the pirate ship obstacle course.

and road a pony. I am pretty sure he is negotiating the sale of the thing.. b/c when we went over to the booth, the lady said they were done giving rides. minutes later, my kid is up on a horse.

somehow, he can always talk them into it.

(remember the Free dessert he talked the girl into at the jazz and blues festival a couple weeks ago?)

and our church had a picnic. actually before the above mentioned picnic.

so yeah.. we ate very well two weeks ago, Sunday. we did not labor at all and enjoyed the food and company of friends.

Tatum was a little unsure of the games...

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and a new year of MOPS started up!! So excited for this year. I am so thankful that God led me to this group of women. It is such an authentic group. down to the core.

no games. no fuss. no drama.

just real. love it.

so yeah.. brought a friend with me this year and I look forward to seeing how God will encourage the women at my table and I hope I will be able to be a good leader.

ps. if you have a MOPS group anywhere near you , and you're NOT part of it. check it out!

it will be so worth it. it has blessed me in many ways for most of the years I have been a mom.
***********

and my little guy turned two months.

and we found out at his Dr. appt. yesterday. that he is not. so. little.

weighed in at a whopping 14 pounds

24 3/4 inches long

95 percentile in both

YAY for big babies.. cept I kinda wish he was a girl, so I could test out the leg warmers I got for photo shoots. had them in my stash for awhile.. and just haven't had sessions with the right size little legs!

mister blue eyes.... and when he smiles... he just melts me.

************

oh , and PURDUE WON their first game.. which we took the kids too(two weekends ago) . all decked out in Purdue gear, ready for hours of tailgating. so where are the pictures you ask?

oh, as we packed up the car, and the stroller and made sure everything was ready.. battery was charged, etc.... of course we get there, and I have no memory card.

bummer.

I had taken them both out to clean them off for a photo shoot I had later on that day.

so we'll definitely be re enacting in a couple weeks at PU's homecoming game.

And I will be making the bloody Mary's this time... husband has lost his job when he mixed 1:1 ratio of vodka to mix.

um, yeah.. can you say "fire in your mouth?!!!"

*********

and my big kindergartner had his school pictures last week. and since I never am happy with his school pictures.. (mostly b/c of the hideous backgrounds)...I decided to take my own.

actually my husband was pretty upset that I was going to write a check to the company when I take pictures for a living.

(ok, so we don't live on the money I make taking pictures... but its a start. and we certainly don't live on the money I make cleaning up poop.. ).. and that is a story for another day!

anyway.. got some really good ones, and I'll have them posted on my photog site soon.but I'll leave you with one of my sweet little boy.

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Had two photo sessions that I am trying to sort thru too many incredibly cute shots to edit. Will post those on my site soon too.

*shameless* plug... if you are in the need for family or child portraits.. NOW is the time.

Dates are filling fast, and if you want an outdoor session with the fall color, there is a small window of time 'around these here parts'!

so... head over to my site.. and EMAIL ME =)

I also am going to be sharing new holiday cards.. soon..

you think I am crazy... but 'tis almost the season!

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Had a fun scrap party Friday night, and busted out a mere 3 1/2 pages...

but I had a really good time chatting =)

heading off to scrap some more now, so I'll post some pages later this week.

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so that is a recap of the good stuff going on... and the bad stuff...

well.. let's just not talk about it, k?

has it been that long?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:29:00 +0000

geesh.. can't believe I haven't blogged in 9 days!!
lots going on.. some I can share.. some I can't =(...

trying to get a home work assignment finished with Brigham.. he is TOP DOG tomorrow.. lots of important duties.. ya know.. LOL

will post about our happenings tomorrow! just wanted to check in! have a good night! =)

the birthday bash!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:05:00 +0000

does this give it away?

you think you know the theme right? well.. if you know me, then you know I am all. about. themes. hardcore.

so since, I am not a fan of the mouse house, or chee chees, or chucky's , as it is referred to around our house.. but I did have one little boy that would be super excited.. and one husband that was thinking 10 friends at this place would be severely cheaper then the $400-500 usually spent on a birthday party... and since I just had a baby, and figured my time could be better spent w/o the set up and clean up....

I decided to give in...... very. reluctantly. In fact, the poor kid's party got pushed back 3 times, b/c I was having a hard time actually creating the invitations (and putting a date on them!)

I still themed it up a tad...

and each kid got a lei, (this also helped us in keeping track of our kiddos)

some kids were so excited, that they couldn't eat their pizza!

and other's were just plain happy

and this birthday boy was pretty stoked about his cake. he requested a pineapple upside down cake. but since I kinda like to decorate cakes.. I persuaded him for this one... he was not disappointed.

the kids were off and running.. with what started out as 25 tokens each.. but we are suckers, and well... they just go so fast.. and the kids were having so much fun. So Andrew bought some more, and then he quickly became each child's very best friend.

here are some of them driving....

(totally deleted this and can't get it back to place here..)

so picture, Lilly, Adam, Gabby, Michaela, Hannah and Brigham

racing!!)

and some dancing

ahhh. the presents.. or in this case a very well thought out, and created with a catholic prayer card, penny, random jewels all on a card. Michaela has a future in the greeting card business.

t balls and batting gloves, and baseball cards!! very cool

and of course, out of all the awesome toys.. the boy loves his book...

here is baby sister, having a blast driving the jeep!

oh , and in case you didn't catch it... it was a CHUCK E CHEESE LUAU....

and in case you're interested here are some of my other parties...

(click on each for a link to the party )!!

Brigham 2 year old Farm Party

Brigham 3 year old Circus Party

Tatum 1 year old Garden Party

Brigham 4 year old Jungle Party

Tatum 2 year old Cowgirl Party

and yes.... already got themes in my head planned for this year =)

NEW :

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Lots of new things going on around here... thought I'd share them....
new profile pic on face book.. still hoping for a good pic of all three looking at the camera.. I have high hopes for Beck's 3 month photo shoot. Beckham: he will be 2 months next week!! geesh.. and growing right along.... has new tricks:

lifting is head is an everyday thing.. and he is getting so strong!

and last week he started smiling... though its always when I am making silly mommy faces at him, and not when I have my camera in front of my face. go figure. caught this one.. I think he is smiling with his eyes =)

and Greg and Kelli got a new swing for their baby, so they brought us ours back... not really sure , if he would like it, b/c the other kids, didn't really care about it too much.. Beckham trying out his new swing.

I think he likes it, huh?

Brigham: loving week 2 completion of kindergarten. we are seeing these new reports coming home each day. yay!!

and he has found a new love in t-ball. finally getting the hang of fielding.. (at bat, has always been his strength).. doesn't he look like a serious player .. lol

and Miss Tatum is sporting her (mama's) new favorite hairstyle! I finally had the patience to sit down and braid her hair. I can't wait to try the two down the back that meet in the middle ....

(oh, and Tatum found a new replacement for the phone. that would be the calculator.) maybe she is thinking it is a like a razor phone or something.. lol)

and we are in week two of sitting on the potty. actually had the dora potty since right after Beckham was born, but we have just mastered sitting on it (with out the lid up) and with out screaming bloody murder!!.. she is in mid- bite- of -cookie here...

don't ya just love the accessories?.. she got these back for Christmas, but they broke right away.. she got some new strands of pretties from grandma last weekend, and has been sporting pearls nearly every day now!

And we are now doing this new tantrum, when in the stroller and we won't let her out. She is generally a good stroller rider.. like on our morning walks, I don't hear a peep out of her, unless she sees a dog, or hears a bus. then there is all kinds of excitement!

and since we're home alone now... Tatum can choose her shows, w/o being over ruled by Big Brother... so we are back to PBS... (the only channel we had until Brigham was 4) . Now, we have all the 'cool' channels, so he is to 'old' for PBS... lol

don't worry, I monitor very closely, b/c most of the Disney, nick, and cartoon network shows annoy me like crazy.. totally not appropriate for his age.. anywho...

so now that Tatum is calmly relaxing with the chaos of big bro... she has found Clifford to be her new favorite show.

and I learned something new too: like how Clifford came to be the BIG RED DOG?

any of you out there know?

and here are some (not so) new pages.. did them over the last few months.. but new to the blog. I have been terrible about posting pages..

Actually, I took a scrapping hiatus and just now hopped back into it last weekend while Andrew was at his Fantasy Football draft(s). I just have to finish up a few more things on them, and then will post them next week. I am having fun using up all of my over flowing stash of stuff.
I won't describe any of them, if you wanna see detail, you can click to see a page bigger.

totally random pages. but that is how I scrap.. completely random. maybe I'd get more done if I had a better system though.. lol !

yeah.. only two years behind in the birthday departments.. I do have Tatum's first bday almost finished.. and gotta get her 2 year old finished.. then I'll feel better..

oh, and I got a NEW do last week! My hair had gotten so long during pregnancy, and it was time for a new color, got it chopped off and it feels so much better!

I created a new profile pic for my photog website:

and I am heading out for a girls night out tonight which is also something 'new' for me lately.

I have a few good girl friends that I get together with and hang one on one.. but it has been awhile since I had a group like this. We went to see The Ugly Truth a few weeks ago(highly recommend it, it was hilarious and cute) and tonight we are doing a fondue thing.

I hope you are all doing something new and fun !

click to win

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Elle Mi - Photography

1.read the post.

2.sign up to be a fan

3.leave me a comment

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totally simple =)

struggling

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:44:00 +0000

to find balance.

last week in Life group, the topic was on what do we spend our time doing? Is it something that is furthering our friendships, family relationships, or spiritual growth?
so often, we can't even put a finger on what happened to the time as we come up with excuses as to why we didn't read our bible... or call a friend... or sit down with a child to read a book... or have dinner ready... or , or.. the list goes on and on..

I am finding that I am being pulled in so many different directions. I love , love being home with the kids.. but sometimes, I wonder if I wouldn't get more done, and would obviously be a HUGE benefit for me to go back to work.... (that has been on my mind a lot).. but then I think about some of the benefits of me being at home, both for my children, and my well being.
but then I think about how my window of time would be that much less w/o being home all day.. so would home maintenance suffer? would my sanity.. either way? lol

I find that when the kids are napping,(thank goodness, my kids nap at least 2 hours) I can do any number of things.. but the window of uninterrupted time is scarse... so am I making wise decisions on what to do with my time?
I am busy with my photography.. and the editing and marketing side takes a lot of my time. Cleaning the house , and the maintenance. ie.. decorating projects, that I always seem to have going on.
Scrap booking. Closet cleaning. Maintaining friendships., Meal planning and preparation. a nap... community outreach... blogging, email.. and um.. Facebooking!!!.......and notice all of these things I have listed, and yet prayer, and time spent with JC is not even on the list yet!!
kinda gives a big kick in my hiney, to point out where my priorities are...
geesh...
so back to the life group thing... they were basically saying that it is pretty normal for us as Christians.. and really, we have been getting away from the "religious" factors for a while now... (that is a whole other post.... LOL) of reading the bible, doing devotions, praying at meal times..etc. etc.
we actually CAN experience a relationship with JC w/o all of these things.... (again.. another post)
but are we putting in what we need in to the right areas of our lives. So I challenged our life group peeps, to come up with one thing that they want to be held accountable for. We have a month to focus on doing that thing.. could be dinner with the family every night.. could be prayer time at bedtime with the kiddos.. could be calling friends... reading the bible.. whatever..
So interesting as I was thinking about all this, that I came across this post . while some of our thoughts are different.. we are definitely on target in several areas.

I know I turn into a major B if I can not be creative. and my lack of organization and that desire to work on my creative outlet creates a visious cycle.

If you are reading this, and you feel any tiny bit like me, then leave me a comment.. and if you are brave enough.. share one thing that you are going to prioritize to make happen more regurally in the next month!
We can do this together... yes?....

i am in denial

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:59:00 +0000

that the time for me to go to the most awesom-est store ever, whenever, I want, with any number of children may be a thing of the past. I usually visit the Target 2-3 times a week.. and when I just had baby Brigham, it was more like every day. We usually do things like this as a family.. meaning daddy is included. and since the arrival of baby Beckham, we now take TWO carts, which you would think makes the experience that much more glorious... more room for more STUFF., right?

well, no, that would not be the case because . one cart now houses one adorable bow headed toddler. the above picture is to remind me of what a precious angel she is... most of the time.

except for when mommy took her to Target yesterday and plunked her in the basket of the cart, while baby Beckham got to ride of front.

we had been doing fine, cept, she did not want to sit down. I had repeatedly told her to sit down and explained that she could get hurt, and fall down, etc..etc..

Since I have the big carrier in front, I can't always see if she is holding on, or even if she is up on her knees. I had been going carefully and slowly up and down the aisles, still reminding her to sit down on her booty.

well, I made a sudden move, in the granola bar aisle and she fell. luckily it was in the cart, but it did bust up her knee. and there was blood.(a tiny bit, but none the less). and tears.

but I could hardly feel sorry for her, b/c I had been telling her over and over.

maybe now she will listen to me. and she got the granola bars to hold now.

well, she insisted that she needed a Dora ban-aid. .. so I told her she could get one at home.

she quieted down, and on we went thru the store.

I was just hitting the bargain racks and trying to quickly look thru sizing and all the time I kept popping my head around the carrier to see her.

by now, the cart was full with groceries, so she was kinda wedged in there.

I let my gaurd down for a second , to hear

" aaaaah.. me mom."

"aaaaaaaah..... me mom"

(which in Tatumese means " look at me mom")

and as I looked up, there she was hands in the air,

as I walked around the cart, I saw that she had put the capri sun box up to the edge of the bottom of the cart, and she was standing on it.

totally pulling a Titanic stunt.

I got there just in time to catch her, as she fell onto the edge of the cart.

Now there were full blown tears, and screams, b/c she had whacked herself in the chest .

well, little girl, you better be glad mommy caught you, b/c otherwise the floor would have.

I think her days of a stunt double may be over, at least for one anyway...

she still didn't want to sit down and hold on.

I felt terrible for her, but she did have to learn for herself.

she redeemed herself at the checkout, when she stood up in the cart to carefully place every item onto the counter.

eta: I sometimes come out of Target w/o spending anything. I know shocker right? but it is seriously my happy place.

and

the fairy tale art was done by the uberly talented Nancy at 2peas.

who wouldn't love a cuppy cake?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I whipped these up to have waiting for Brigham when he got off the bus after the first day.

He LOVES anything blue, so that was a hit.. but even more so was the cuppy cake wrappers.

I went against, everything we believe and teach him... and surrounded the yummy goodness in Sponge Bob wrappers.
I think I scored some major points with that one.

(and he's been asking for a cupcake , everyday after school).

unfortunately since mama is nursing.. they have disappeared )

and these lovelies came from Grandma.

what a cool surprise, to find on our front porch!

notice the scissors, markers and pencil case?

We are so excited around here for kindergarten.

things are going great!

I hope those of you out there going thru the same thing are enjoying it as much as we are!

this kid was born for school !!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:51:00 +0000

of course he had to have the right gear first... grandma and Uncle Monkey took him backpack shopping. My mom sent me these pics... I had given strict instructions... NO CHARACTERS!!!! thankfully... Brigham didn't even venture down that way.....

we had actually looked at Target a few days earlier, and I just can't believe how HUGE they are!! I mean.. I didn't want him to have a cutesy one like he had in preschool and preK.. even though I LOVED it! I inquired at my favorite boutique about bigger sizes. and she told me StephenJoseph makes them bigger.. but kinda pricey.

anyway.. we're hoping he can use this 'big kid' one for a couple years at least!

I was pleased with his choice even though it is as big as he is!! LOL

so many choices!!

um, he tried to go with a camo one.. good thing my mom steered him away! Andrew told him he'd never find his backpack anyway!

we are not fans of camo... though I did LOVE his two year old camo cargos.. and I am secretly wanting a pair of camo capris for myself...

******

and so the time came.......

he had his backpack on 25 minutes early, waiting to go to the bus! He wasn't thrilled about the picture taking.. I can't believe he was resisting at 5 years old!! lol

what do I have to look forward to?

He was SO excited!

but I could tell he was nervous too.. because as we got to the bus stop he was pretty quiet...

had been that way the night before at his open house too.

Plus, I couldn't get a single smile out him!!

Here he is waiting for the bus. I have to say.. I was pretty nervous about the bus riding thing. Having never been on a bus, and only once or twice for public transportation even...

I had totally planned on getting up and taking him and picking him up every day since the school is less than 2 miles away...

Andrew really was encouraging the bus. Then at life group Wednesday , night I was sharing my concerns.. and everyone was talking about how great it was! I guess I can't keep him a mama's boy forever. He does need to experience the socialization that comes on a bus.. you know away from the class room. He does need to be around other kids not just his age as well. I can't just keep him in a little box.......

He was super stoked to get on the bus.. funny, b/c we had never even talked about it really. He never even asked what it would be like...

and he hopped on there, like he had been doing it all his life!!

Not a hug or kiss for mom or dad... not even a "see ya later"!!

Andrew and I had to be at school for a few hours for a parent meeting and to help adjust the kids into the routine. So we got to the front of school before the buses arrived.

We didn't even know what bus number he was on, but as I sat prepped with my camera, Andrew saw him jump off.

And here he came.. and he walked right past me!!

As we yelled his name, he didn't break stride and said "

No, mom, I have to get to my class"

funny guy.

we were about 25 ft behind him walking thru the hallway and heard the principal ask him if he knew where he was going.

"Yep! I know where my class is. "
he said, with confidence!!

Here he is at his desk. such a tiny little desk, that he shares with three others. He knew two other girls from his PreK class, and another girl from gymnastics.

such a good student... already, so focused!!

we had a first assignment to do together.

and here is Ta Ta holding the monkey. Thankfully, we found the stuffed animals, b/c she was about to lose it in the stroller!!

She didn't really seem to care that Brigham was gone for so long... we'll see how it goes next week.

I kept asking her where Brigham went, and she would say

" on the bus!!"

had a little celebration when he got home yesterday, I'll post later.

craziness!!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:13:00 +0000

ok, so I have been trying to upload pictures of Brigham's birthday part all day... blogger is not cooperating. =(

I have also been trying to edit pictures from two recent photo sessions, and my eyes are going a bit wonky.

All this is in between putting said birthday boy in time out 437 times today.

and in between, giving said birthday boy 292 spankings.

and changing 876 poopy diapers from a pretty stinking adorable little man

and wiping a snotty nose of an adorable blonde headed , pink bow wearing little girl.

I have about 27 unfinished projects right now... and I am just about going batty!

Example: made a sandwich for lunch... and finally got to eat it 2.5 hours later due to all the interruptions.
oh, yeah.. one of those was taking the time, to clean all the green algae out of the sand box, b/c some little boy and little girl, decided it would be fun to fill buckets of water and mix with the sand.
guess, how else would you make a sand cake?.. however, putting the lid back on and keeping the moisture in, created the lovely green stuff.
I did get some help with that task, as a whole lot of water and dish soap was a perfect place to play.
just wished it would have occupied them for more than 10 minutes!!
so ..that was my day...
and we're off to Brigham's school open house in an hour, and then back to host life group.
Gotta go get my toilets cleaned!
(and hopefully, I can get the party pics up later!)

TGIF.... seriously!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Miller) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:00:00 +0000

it has been a crazy , busy, week and I am ready for the weekend! (though it is just as packed! LOL)

Started last Sunday, when we finally had Brigham's fifth birthday party- can you guess the theme?

Totally not my usual kind of party, and if you know me or have been following my blog, then you know I LOVE my theme parties! But I had to exercise the act of the submissive wife. Um, yeah... totally went with respecting my husband's thoughts on the whole party thing this year, considering we just bought a much more expensive van, and just had a baby and such. it actually worked out fine, though, printing up the invitations, was a stretch for me .... I'll post them, and several pics from the party. The kids did all have a great time! The parents must have too, b/c it was supposed to end at 6pm, and people were not really leaving until after 7pm!! It was nice not to have to prep or clean up too much. Which is always my stress out turn into mega [B] , and Andrew and I don't speak for awhile time.

So, yeah... didn't have that. Was able to talk to all our friends, instead of being the party planner and dictator. Watch for a post coming soon on that.

****************

Also, this week, was Kindergarten registration! WHOO HOO! somebody is excited. oh and Brigham is looking forward to it too. lol.

no really, this has been yet, another time, in me learning to do the whole submit to your husband thing.

We had signed him up for half day last March during the round- up. I guess, I never considered that we would do anything other than send him to half day. I was already planning how I'd pick him up at lunch time, come home, get the kids lunch... watch their show, and then they would all go down for naps. I had already talked with friends of mine, about getting together in the afternoons, for play dates..In my mind, it was a done deal.

Well, Andrew had really been thinking that all day kindergarten would be best. Our school doesn't offer half day.. it really just offers 3 full day classes, and if you want to have your child in half day, then you have to pull him, out and provide transportation at lunch time. So basically just a few kids would be leaving around lunch every day. Andrew didn't want Brig to be one of those kids.

So anyway, unbeknownst to me, Andrew had called the principal a few weeks ago, and got him switched to full day. I was a little thrown off , when I got the letter from his teacher, saying he would be in half day, but then it was crossed off, and hand written 'full day'. hmmmmm.

It took me a few days to soak it in and to be honest, I still go back and forth with it. There are days, where I am super excited.. looking forward to being able to spend special time with just Tatum and the baby. Tatum has been kind of shoved into Brigham's world for awhile, and I think it would be great to do age appropriate things with her. Also, I really do think that Brigham would love learning all day. The socialization would be great for him as well. I just worry that it is going to be such a long day for him. Especially, when he takes a two hour nap like he did today. Its going to be a big adjustment for all of us.. considering we don't get up before 9am.. and don't eat dinner until at least 7pm!!

Um, now we are going to be putting Brig in bed by 7pm.. (or at least starting the bath process, to be in bed by 7:30p.)....

Thankfully, his school doesn't start until 8:55am, but he will be taking the bus( another BIG thing for me to get used too....) and I don't know yet, what time our stop is.

sorry , to ramble on and on... not like I am the first mom of a kindergartner , I know... I just was thinking I would have an 'ease' into this whole letting your kid go.. thing..

But, he did have fun getting his supplies. And yep, I was the nutzo mom with my big honkin camera in Wal -Mart.

C'mon, people, you know that I have to scrap this right?
though he doesn't look happy here.. he really was having fun.

His sister never disappoints with a big grin.
She now gets the spot inside the cart, so that baby Beckham can ride up front.

And also, this week, I managed to get a few more pics of Mr. Beckham.
If you read my previous post, you see that I started the traditional.. "month" pose.
Never did that with the other kids. I hope I remember to do this, I think it will be fun to scrap.
We had his 1month check up and the kid is in the 81st percentile.
weighs 10# 11oz
length is 22 1/2 inches long!
(also way bigger than the other kids at this age)
the Dr. was pretty impressed . guess my milk is doing the trick. I can't wait for the rolls to set in!
LOVE me some chubby baby!!

Love this bottom one. You can kinda see how pudgy his belly is getting =)

Here are just a few fun pics from
VBS last week. Had to put together a slide show for church. I took about 300 pics, and then narrowed them down and edited just 60. The shaved ice was a big hit.

The lighting was terrible here, not sure why he is so washed out. ugh.

and here is my guy trying to pop the balloon with his booty. Poor guy, finally did it, and then was in pain the rest of the night.

He seriously has no padding. And we found out during his Five year physical this week, that he sits in the 21st percentile for weight!!!

the kid eats like crazy too... I am convinced that it is because he just never stops moving.

Gosh, I wish I could be that way!

And we also had T ball practice. This was our second week, and the second time that practice got rained out and postponed to the following day. So we raced to practice.. picture day. But I did not pay for the pictures. totally over priced. and really there are only four kids showing up out of the eight that are supposed to be on his team. this is not the big leagues. lol

Poor kid.. his hat his huge, the shorts are falling down. His kleets are too big for him.

But he still can swing and hit the ball. He is really having fun at this.

We came home from practice to life group, which we host, and were late for. Everyone is so laid back, and we actually didn't even do our study, we just sat around and talked. still good stuff.

Grandma surprised us , coming to take our kids and the others out for a walk around the neighborhood.

Here is another picture of him in the field. He really enjoys chasing after the balls.

And we have had some time with Grandpa.(again hate the lighting here. it was so bright.. (definately a no- no for good pictures, but I just wanted to snap one). If you all notice, I don't spend a whole lot of time editing snapshots.. lol...

And some park time with Uncle Brian.

Love this picture of Tatum. It shows what a big girl she is. The kid has no fear, unlike her older brother. Definitely have to watch her like a hawk. So interesting how different two siblings can be. Makes me excited to see how number three will turn out.

And then last night we went to a huge fundraiser for Lafayette Transitional Housing. BINGO.

It was tons of fun even though we didn't win anything. There wasn't really anything in the silent auction we wanted either.We tried to win at the pull tabs and 50/50 too. No go.oh, well. It was a fun night out, minus kids.Beck had his second night away and did great.

Seriously, after two beers, I was almost buzzing.

I think Beckham enjoyed nursing after that. He slept well and only woke up once last night!

hmmmm. maybe mama should always drink before going to bed!! LOL

so that was our week... and I am tired.

Got to be at a T-ball game at 8:30 in the morning, and then I have two photo shoots.

Hoping to get some more scrapping done this weekend too. We were planning on going to the zoo , Sunday, but the forecast is 95 degrees. a bit much to be out in with a baby.

counting down the days til school. He starts next Thursday! YIKES!