This is My Guy.....Happy Birthday Hun!

September seems to be the best month of the year for me. It is the month I went on my first date with Chris, it is the month he was born and it is also the month my baby Kate was born. I love September!

Chris turned 27 on September 20Th. The month has come and gone. Even though I wasn't able to blog about it at the time I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by. This is what happens when you are traveling endlessly but that is for another blog.

I told Chris he could go anywhere he wanted for his big day even Taco Bell....and guess where we ended up. I put on a big smile and said lets go. Lets just say we didn't hold back. We ended up spending a whopping $15. In Taco Bell currency that is a lot of money. Then we did what we have missed doing since we moved out to the big cities of the East coast. Went on a drive. We just drove around and went to places we hadn't ever been. The thing about driving back here is that it is very apparent that Brigham Young did not design there streets, therefore, nothing is on a grid system like in Utah. On a positive note you can end up in the most random places you didn't know existed. The down side is we don't have GPS to get us back home. It was a fun relaxing day.

I just want to tell you babe I love you! I know I tell you a lot but I can never tell you enough. I love you! You are a great person and I am grateful I have you for eternity, because without you the idea of eternity would seem pretty daunting. I am glad I have you to hold my hand through all the great times and the not-so-good times. I am most grateful of all that on this day you were born!

Tropical Storm Hanna.....

We weathered our first tropical storm out here on the East coast. One hit here a few years ago that did a lot of damage so many people were on edge. We were very fortunate to be on the outer bands of it and barley were hit. Still I know that some people were still flooded and damage was done. Watching the storm made me understand, only a tiny bit, how scary and dangerous a real hurricane must be. Well we planned to simply stay in for the day but it seems that fate was conspiring against me.

Tell me if this sounds right.....To get my two year old to stay in her diapers I promised her that I would go buy her a new potty and big girl underwear. I have been dreading the day she learns to take off her diaper herself because I have seen what my sisters have gone through. Particularly when they go to get there kids up from naps to find a naked toddler with surprises all over their crib. This was a day I could put off for another year and with no older sibling I thought we would, but Kate had other ideas. So, after running around naked for awhile screaming "potty" and then compromising with the hopes of big girl underwear we set out in the storm to fulfill my promise.

Umbrellas were almost useless and my clothes ended up drenched anyway, but we made it there and back in one peace. The worst part was that it seems the more rain and the harder it falls the faster people drive. Luckily we only went a few blocks. We came back tried out our new underwear and potty then we took a long nap. We spent the afternoon playing dress ups with the windows up to listen to the rain. This too was a compromise instead of Kate being out in the middle of the downpour and wind. She loves to be in the rain.

She can pull off anything.

Then to top off our day Chris and I set out to get a new bed for Kate. We had to get it while it was on sale and we got the very last one. It was worth the effort.

Kate is a little suspicious of her new bed to sleep in it but she likes to play in it right now. She has four months till her brother comes so hopefully she can adjust. But we are grateful we made it through our first storm no damage done.

First big game!

Chris, Kate and I went to our first Nationals game. I have never been to a professional baseball game before. We had a blast going. It was so much more fun than I thought it would be.




This is just a random pic we took, on our way to the game, when Kate found a squirrel running around. She named him (or her) Bunny. It was probably because here the squirrels look like full grown bunnies. When I we first move here they freaked me out because they are everywhere.

The stadium is right in D.C. I didn't think they could fit a stadium in D.C. but lo and behold here it is. I thought this was an awesome pic with the Washington Monument in the back ground.

Kate was wonderful despite the crazy humidity. If you look at us you can tell we were soaking wet.


We were surround by Philly fans-who the Nats -Nationals-were playing-it was pretty intense. The Nats almost won but couldn't quite do it. It was fun to be there anyway.

Elder Miller

I just wanted to give a shout out to my little brother Cameron. He was just called to the Richmond, Virginia Mission. We are so excited and happy with his choices and his decision to serve. I am still a little in shock because he is only going to be 2 hours away from me. It is so random out of all the missions across the world he is going to be right by me. It sounds like a pretty hard mission-Good Luck Buddy!

Here's Elder Miller with Jay's little boy.

I stole these pics form my sisters blog because obviously I wasn't there. Good thing he has lots of sisters to take care of him.

The family minus me!

I'm so excited for Cam. Here I have had a greater opportunity to work with the missionaries and get to know them. The majority of my ward here are converts. It has been wonderful to see what missionary work does for people and their families.

Baby, baby, baby....

It's a Boy!

For sure. This baby boy was not shy about showing us his stuff. We are still a little surprised and shocked. We are so stoked. Kate is excited about her baby brother.


They also did some 3D images for us. I thought Grandma might like these. The top one is of his face. The bottom one is the side of his head with his hands over his face. His big sister did the exact same thing and we never were able to see her face. Luckily we did with him. We had a hard time getting pictures of his face because his arms were always there. He has learned well from Kate.

Daddy of the Year!

I'm not sure what is on the list for The Best Dad award, but I am sure these have to be on it:

I gave Kate some stickers with our old address on them to play with. Paper, however, wasn't good enough and thought her dad was the best substitute.

She thought it was pretty great. He was so nice about it too. Even when it came to pulling them off his legs. Which look pretty painful!

Then I had this great idea one hot and humid day to build a fort for Kate in our bed room. I started with just a simple sheet, a couple of hair clips, and a chair. Once Chris rested his head in my mock fort his mind suddenly began to flood with images of childhood and building real forts.

We then ended up with a few blankets, an air mattress, and fancy front door that was the only entrance. It was so wonderful we picnicked in there.

Kate thought it was so great. It was really fun to lay in there and reminisce about the old times when I used to build forts with my brother and sister. As soon as you lay down and look up you can't help but have all those fun feelings come flooding back. Thanks Hun for being such a great dad. I know we girls can be difficult sometimes but we appreciate you patience and the subtle eye rolls you give us.


Wish us luck! Tomorrow we go in to have our ultrasound. We are so excited and hope the baby will cooperate. I am just hoping everything is looking good. I am thinking it is a boy simply because this pregnancy is so different from Kate. I am less hormonal in every way. I think Chris is enjoying this one much more because of that. Chris says he doesn't have any idea. With Kate he was the only one who said she was a girl and even when they weren't sure during the ultrasound with her, he still knew it was a girl. It is too bad he isn't getting that clear channeling this time. We'll keep you posted.

Camping

Chris and I were brave enough to set out on camping trip with our two year old a couple weeks ago. It was so much fun that we are already planning on going back. We got there later than planned and packed way too much food but all in all it was a good time.

Dinner time.....we bagged the idea of tinfoil dinners the first night because we were all too hungry to wait and instead had Frito's and chili.....in the bag. I had never had them this way. My sister Melynda swears it taste better in the bag but it was all the same to me.

My little pyros. The one thing I love about camping is the fire. The one thing I hate about camping with a toddler is the fire. She was far too fascinated for my comfort. I spent a lot of time worrying that she was going to trip and fall in it. She made it back in one piece though.

Chris and Kate were both miffed because I kept taking there pictures while we were eating smores. It was so dark that the flash all but blinded them. Oops.



Lounging at the lake. Kate has somehow managed to end up with a sucker and my ice cream cone. She is pretty good!

Playing in the gravel.

Trying to be like dad.

This was our craft. We painted rock bugs. We met lots of bugs up there and Kate was fascinated with them all.



Heading home. We all look pretty ragged but were so glad we had the chance to take Kate on her first camping trip. There will be many more to come.