The Darts

Liza is 9 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:51:00 +0000

Sweet baby girl,

You are eating SO much better than you were a month ago. Bananas are clearly your favorite, but you'll eat any fruit. You don't care for vegetables, but we keep trying:) You are still nursing about 4 times a day, and you are now eating 2-3 servings of pureed food a day too.
You are really interacting now! You squeal and babble a lot, like you're having a real conversation.
Your hair is coming in! It seems to be growing so fast now!
Your two bottom teeth have broken through! And it looks like your two top teeth will break through any day now.
You are 16 pounds, 13 ounces, which is on the small side for 9 months (10-25%). I think it is because you were slow to start eating - now that you've started you'll probably gain weight fast!
You are such a sweet, laid back, happy little girl and I love you to pieces!

I'm back! And some BIG news!!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:35:00 +0000

SO much has happened since I last blogged, and I want to catch up, but first I want to share our good news...we are moving back to the town where Matt and I grew up - St. Simons Island, Georgia!! Matt found out around Thanksgiving that he would be able to keep his job and work remotely and we could move. It has always been our intention to move back down south, and our dream to move back to St. Simons, so we are beyond thrilled!

While we were there for Christmas we had one week to look for a house, and we found one! We will hopefully be closing on it in mid February and moving down there in late February!

Here are a few pics of the house...

The live oaks on the island are one of our favorite things about St. Simons, and partly what made us fall in love with this house. Another cool thing is that we'll be right down the street (literally) from Matt's brother Beau and his wife Kate and their baby Beau.

My goal is to regularly start blogging again. I'd like to (slowly probably) catch up on the last couple of months also. I'll back-date posts to when they actually happened, so look back occasionally to see pictures from our fall through Christmas! For now though, here is a picture of us on Christmas night taken with my phone...

Liza is 8 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:20:00 +0000

My sweet Liza is 8 months old!

Sweet baby girl,

You've just started sitting up this week without falling over AT ALL!
You've tried several foods now, but you really don't care for it at all. The only thing we can get you to eat is bananas.
Your hair is finally starting to come in a little bit!
You grab things constantly now! You reach and stretch for anything within your reach - you've even knocked a glass of water over (on your mom's phone!) in a restaurant:)
I LOVE your smile and I love to see you happy baby girl - you are my sunshine!

St. Simons

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 05:22:00 +0000

Here are a few more pictures from our week in St. Simons...

Will and Otto decorating a gingerbread house with Grandmama!

We had a great meal at Uncle Don's and Will spontaneously climbed into Grandmama's lap! It was so cute!

Lunch at Brogans (with all 6 of Will and Liza's aunts and uncles!)...

We flew back on New Year's Day and went from mild temps in St. Simons to FREEZING Chicago...but not for long!!!

Christmas Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 03:30:00 +0000

We spent Christmas morning at my parent's house. Liza got a chair like her big brother did two years ago (where has the time gone?!)...

My sister is so creative. She had Will help her "make" wrapping paper with his handprints - I loved it!

Will kept asking for a Mickey rocket this year (he had no idea that one even existed - he just loves Mickey and rockets!) and his mama found one! He was one happy little boy!

He made ornaments this year and we wrapped them up for our families!

Liza got a rocking horse bear from her Aunt B!

And Will got a Thomas the Train tent! It fits on Will's bed at my parent's house and he loves it!

Will also got a stomp rocket...

My dad builds model trains as a hobby and built Will one for Christmas! He built it in the garage at just the right height for Will - it even had a building with a "Dart Lumbar Yard" sign on top! It was really cool and Will loved it! And Aunt B got him a conductor hat with his name on it and a train whistle! Will had a ball...

Liza was just learning to eat and after having peaches for lunch she got a Christmas bath in the kitchen sink!

We had Christmas dinner with Matt's family at Beau and Kate's new house! It was their first night in their new home and there wasn't furniture in there yet but it was still so much fun!

Will was excited to show his Mickey rocket to Cousin Otto!

Kate got these cute matching Bailey Boys outfits for Beau and Liza!

Of course this is what it looks like when you try to take a picture of all four cousins...

A little better...

These two boys were SO exhausted at the end of the night...

Here's a few videos of Christmas morning...

Christmas Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:46:00 +0000

My extended family got together the weekend before Christmas this year. We had a house full, 18 including kids, and it was SO much fun! Here are a few pictures...

Will absolutely LOVED his cousin Cassidy!

Liza and her Meme!

Will was SO excited about his Mickey pj's he got for Christmas!

I love this sweet girl!

December

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 04:43:00 +0000

Picking out our tree!

Decorating the tree!

Hmm...something doesn't belong...

Making Christmas ornaments at Awana!

First (and only!) time Liza got in the bath with Will!

LOTS of phone pics from this fall...

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 04:20:00 +0000

Will's last-minute Bible costume for Awana:)

Enjoying a nice fall day!

Will's luau dance at school!

Penny Park on a fall day!

Hanging with Uncle Beau

At a Bears game!

Monday night story time at the library

First snow!

Caught covering his room with baby powder:)

Making daddy's birthday cake:)

Our 8th anniversary!

Family pics

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:38:00 +0000

While my sister was here for Thanksgiving she took some pictures of the four of us in our front yard. I am so grateful for them because it is rare to get a picture of all of us!

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:33:00 +0000

This year my mom and sister came to our house for Thanksgiving (sadly my dad had to work!) We've enjoyed hosting Thanksgiving at our house the past couple of years - Matt loves to cook so Thanksgiving is "his" holiday! And he cooked us a fantastic meal as usual - we actually enjoyed everything we had last year so much that we made it all again! We did have one addition this year that turned out ah-mazing - fennel baked in cream. Seriously the best (and easiest) dish ever! Not exactly healthy, but perfect for a once a year meal like Thanksgiving! And Matt made a pear tart for desert that was pretty outstanding too!

Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 19:05:00 +0000

I asked Will repeatedly the month before Halloween what he wanted to dress up as this year. Every time, without hesitation, he said Mickey! I couldn't find any Mickey costumes I liked online (and wasn't into making one this year!), but I found one that isn't sold at the Disney store anymore on ebay that was brand new with the tags still on! Yay!! Easiest.Costume.Ever. And Liza was a pumpkin:)

The weekend before Halloween we went to a fall festival at Will's school...

He was in a parade, and it wasn't until it was over that we noticed he'd been walking with both legs through one leg hole the entire time, like a skirt...

Nice huh? Halloween afternoon Matt and Will carved our pumpkins!

We trick-or-treated with all our neighbors. We have SO many kids on our block, including 3 that go to Will's preschool, so we walked around with them.

Don't you love the guy who went as a BMW?

Along for the ride!

Will and his best bud, TJ

My birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:41:00 +0000

I had a great birthday this year with my sweet girl...

And my goofy boy...

Matt made me a fabulous gluten free cake with chocolate frosting! And Will helped put on the candles and did an awesome job getting them all in a line...

A trip to Michigan!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:30:00 +0000

We had so much fun in Saugatuck, Michigan last year that we decided to go again this year for my birthday! We stayed in a different place - we rented a little cottage near the downtown area so we could walk there and really enjoyed it! It was FREEZING this year (the first weekend in October!) and rainy, but we made the most of it! We went back to the apple orchards and Will and Matt rode a cow train! We also went to a pumpkin patch and Will picked out our pumpkin! We have loved these short little getaways to the coast of Michigan and will miss them when we move!

Liza is 5 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:10:00 +0000

I love you sweet baby girl!

Lincoln Park Zoo and a Northwestern game!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 03:11:00 +0000

In September my mom came to visit and we took Will and Liza to the Lincoln Park zoo!

And Matt took Will to a Northwestern football game! We live really close to the stadium so they walked there with some friends from church. Will was so excited - especially to get a hotdog and popcorn:)

Rest in Peace, Coco

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:20:00 +0000

Our sweet little Coco passed away unexpectedly this week. On Sunday night we noticed she was sick, and Monday she seemed pretty lethargic and wasn't interested in eating. We'd just switched dog foods and thought that's what was making her sick, so we'd gone to get her old food, but she died during the night Monday. Matt was out of town traveling, but thankfully my mom was here.

Matt surprised me with Coco on our first anniversary in November 2005. Right after we'd gotten married I'd wanted a dog really badly. I wanted a lap dog. In March 2005 we saw Ellie at a rescue shelter and fell in love with her. But as much as I love her, she isn't exactly a lap dog, and that's why Matt surprised me with Coco that November. She was a 12 pound Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and instantly became my "baby." I absolutely adored that little dog.

2005 right after we got Coco

Christmas 2005

Aug 2008 - moving to Chicago!

June 2009

When we first got Coco I was worried about how Ellie would treat her. Ellie is definitely the alpha dog, and tends to dominate other dogs when she feels threatened. It turns out there was no need to worry. Ellie and Coco were best friends. They slept on the same little bed together, and would curl up together to take naps during the day. I think Ellie's a little lost now without her best friend.

We are thankful for our 7 years with Coco and will miss her terribly!

A visit from Aunt Lulu!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:41:00 +0000

Matt's sister Jessica came to visit Labor Day weekend (I KNOW, I am so far behind in posting!) We had a great time with her!

Liza loves her Aunt!

Reading new books that Aunt Lulu brought!

Aunt Lulu took Will to the beach!

On Labor Day we took a picnic to the park by the lake!

Feeding the ducks!

Jessica painted these stools for Liza and Will while she was here - aren't they great?!! She is SO talented!

I love these pictures of Will and Jessica - such happiness!

We had a great time with you Aunt Lulu, and Will and Liza adore you! Come visit us again soon!

Liza is 4 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:59:00 +0000

Liza,

You've started sucking your thumb! You don't really cry at all anymore when we put you down to sleep - you just put your thumb in your mouth and sooth yourself to sleep!
You've discovered your feet! You love to pull your feet up in front of your face and look at them!
You weigh 13 pounds, 15 ounces (50th percentile) and you are 25 3/4 inches tall (90th percentile)
You are able to sit in your bumbo seat really well now!
You are still eating 5 times a day and sleeping from about 10pm to about 9am.
You aren't swaddled anymore when you sleep! You've transitioned to a sleep sack (a wearable blanket for babies) and sleep so well with it!

A few recent pics

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Will went to his friend TJ's birthday party a few weeks ago. TJ lives a few houses down from us, is in Will's class at school, and is Will's best buddy. He had a cowboy party, and Will wanted to go in his Woody attire from last Halloween. The boots were too small, but we let him wear his shirt and cowboy hat.

I thought this was such a cute idea - cowboy and cowgirl cutouts done with boxes...

I love these pictures of Will blowing bubbles with Matt. Such unbridled joy...

Last weekend we had Matt's friend from work Kelsey over for brunch after church. It was her first time meeting Liza!

And Sunday afternoon we had my cousin Chrissy and her husband Mike and little boy Jack over. They live in Tampa, FL and had to get out of town last week because of the Republican National Convention and came to Chicago for the first part of the week (Mike's sister lives here as well)!

Giving a hug goodbye:)

Here's another way I'm keeping Will busy in these last few weeks of summer...

And finally, here is a picture of our date last Saturday. Little girl still goes on most dates with us, and is pretty good company:)

Mom and MB here!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 03:49:00 +0000

I'm a little late in posting these, but my mom came to visit the week before last, and then the day she left my sister came for a few days! August is a SLOW month for us (does the month before school starts creep by for anyone else?) so we really enjoyed having them here!

He'd had a blue popsicle:)

It rained one day while mom was here and she took Will to the children's museum! Will had a GREAT time!

And one day it was beautiful so we took Will to a park that is right next to Evanston beach. He played awhile with Meme, and then we went out on the beach!

Sword fighting with Meme!

My sister got in Saturday afternoon and couldn't wait to get her hands on these kiddos...

Giving his sister a kiss

(BTW - Will is REALLY into these little trains that connect magnetically. He pulls them all over the house saying "All aboard!" and "Choo Choo!")

Sunday afternoon the weather was perfect and Liza joined us outside for a bit!

We walked to dinner Sunday night and Will rode his scooter. We have a hard time keeping up with him when he's on this thing!

We went to the beach Monday morning before Mary Beth flew out. She got these pictures on her phone, which I think are great!

We had such a good time and can't wait for mom and MB to come again!!

The boy loves his airplane!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:19:00 +0000

Summer fun

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:53:00 +0000

We've been back in Evanston a few weeks now, and I've only gotten my camera out a couple of times (so sorry about all the very random pics!) Will's summer camp was supposed to have ended right before our trip to St. Simons, but they extended it 2 more weeks after we got back! Will absolutely LOVES it, so we were excited! His teacher sent me these pictures she took of him...

On a picnic date at Evanston "beach"... little girl came with us:)

Actually we were outside the fence so we didn't have to pay:) We have taken Will to the beach several times in the last couple of weeks and he LOVES it (and I always forget my camera) - I don't know why we haven't done it more!

Helping daddy fix lunch before summer camp...this just makes me smile:)

My sweet boy!

Giving Liza a hug

Happy girl!

My friend Jenny came to visit a couple of weeks ago with her youngest daughter Macy, who is 7 months!

Sweet friends!

Will has started making his own PB&J everyday! He is good at it!

Now that Will doesn't have camp, we are doing anything we can to stay busy - like making cookies!

And having lunch in "forts!"

Liza's been holding her head up pretty good so I pulled out the Bumbo this week! She did great!

I also pulled out the jumper, but I don't think she's quite ready yet.

Liza's also been hanging outside with me on nice days!

Liza is 3 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Sweet Liza,

You are sleeping through the night! You actually have been for about a month now - you usually wake up sometime between 7:30-8:30, although about once a week you'll wake up at 5 or 6. If you do, I'll feed you and lay you right back down, and you'll go right back to sleep.
You eat roughly every 3 hours during the day. You are on a routine of eating, awake time (tummy time, sitting in your chair, going for a walk in your stroller, etc), and nap time, which repeats throughout the day. You still rarely stay awake for more than an hour before you get cranky and we put you down for a nap.
You coo and "talk" to me a lot now! And you will get a huge grin on your face when your daddy or brother or I smile at you!
You will not take a pacifier or bottle at all. I'm not giving up on the bottle though - we'll keep trying:)
There isn't a 3 month doctor's appointment so I don't know how much you weigh, but you have outgrown all your newborn clothes and some of your 0-3 month clothes as well. You are still in a size 1 diaper but I think we'll be moving to size 2 any day now.
You are such a sweet baby girl - I could just hold you and look at you all day long!

St. Simons - week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 03:10:00 +0000

Matt left after the first week in St. Simons but Will and Liza and I stayed behind another week to get in a little more fun with family!

I love these pictures of Will with his Meme - can you tell how much he loves her?

Will got to spend a lot of time with Pops too - Pops taught him how to catch a football and shoot his new water gun, took him to a special lunch for just the two of them, and went to the park with him almost every night after dinner.

I walked downstairs one morning to find this, and had to run back upstairs to get my camera...

Will and Liza got to see the rest of their family too - on Wednesday Will went to the beach with Grandmama, Aunt Casey-mo, and Otto. And on Thursday mom and Will and Liza and I went over to Casey and Otto's house for a play date and lunch! Grandmama and Aunt Kate and Baby Beau were there too!

And on Friday we took Will and Otto to the Casino pool. They have slides and a shallow pool that is PERFECT for little kids - Will had such a good time!

We had a GREAT time in St. Simons!!

St. Simons - week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Miller) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 20:29:00 +0000

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from St. Simons. Our trip got off to a rocky start - we missed our flight down there (because of bad weather and slow traffic getting to the airport) and had to go back home! It was awful, and Will was so upset - we'd built up this trip so much! But we told him we would just try, try again the next day...and then we took him to a movie:)

Day 1, waiting on the train in longterm parking and excited about our trip:)

Day 2, exact same spot

We spent a lot of the first part of the week at the beach house that Matt's family rented for the week. This was our first time to meet Baby Beau, Will and Liza's cousin that is 3 weeks younger than Liza!

Baby Beau getting a bath!

The newest Darts!

Sweet cousins!

Liza and Aunt Sherry

My extended family came to St. Simons the day after 4th of July so we spent the next few days with them!

Cute Baby Jack!