miller's six month pics

Monday, February 21

We took Miller to have his 6-month photoshoot with Brenda. The pictures are now available to view online and will be available for 7 days. Just go to www.brendahoran.com. Click the Clients tab across the top of the page. The password is miller all lowercase. We love them and hope you will too!

mops and the great organization project

A couple of months ago, we met one of Colby's distant cousins at a family event. He is around our age and he and his wife live in Broken Arrow with their 2 year old son. I learned that she is a stay-at-home mom. We started talking about how staying at home can be lonely and really make you long for adult conversation. She invited me to MOPS (mother's of pre-schoolers) at her church and I went for the first time in January. They have breakfast treats, a speaker, and table discussions. It was really fun and Miller did really well in the child care!

The speaker at the January meeting was an organization expert and gave tips and ideas for organizing your home. I thought I was already organized, but I was wrong!

Just for fun, here are some of my "projects". Most of them are related to Miller and trying to fit all of his baby stuff into our tiny little house.

We actually had this done before Miller was born. We hung his bathtub on the back wall of our tub/shower. It's hidden behind our shower curtain and it can drip dry without getting water all over our floor or carpet. Perfect!

Cute storage for all of Miller's bath toys! It suctions right to our shower wall and the toys are easy to grab during bathtime.

This was a new project. Before, everything was thrown into one basket. I bought some plastic containers for his drawer. Now everything is easy to find. Vaseline and diaper creams on the right, brushes and tweezers/nail clippers next, medicine and droppers after that, and pacifiers/clips on the left.

His shoe drawer. I can't figure out how to turn the picture on blogger. The basket is for socks. Most of them were in the laundry when I took this picture.

I bought some hanging drawers to store all of his blankets. We have a lot of them! I couldn't fit them all into his dresser.

The top of his closet. In the green basket, I have binders with labeled plastic sleeves for special papers, cards, and memories. The plastic box underneath is for larger mementos that won't fit in the binder. I keep his little shirt from the hospital in there.

I found a really neat plastic container with a handle, so it is easy to pull down from the top of his closet. In it I keep extra accessories for his toys (such as chargers, headphones for his DVD player, etc.) in labeled sandwich baggies.

We had this basic concept in place before Miller was born. I had to reorganize after Christmas. The toys are easy to grab and the blue baskets look great in his room! I also have one on his changing table for all of his diapers.

I couldn't get a really good picture, but this is his cabinet in the kitchen. The white containers separate lids, nipples, teethers, and storage containers to freeze baby food.

We hung all of his bibs inside a cabinet in the kitchen. Each end of the string has a loop. So, when you want a bib you just pull one end of the string from the hook and slide off the bib. Or, you could unsnap/unvelcro the bib that you want to use.

Colby hung a shelf in the garage to store all of the baby clothes that Miller has outgrown. It goes so quickly! We chose small plastic containers so that things are easier to find and we don't have to dig through a huge 45 gallon container to find newborn onesies at the bottom. Also, I like the clear containers so that you can easily see what is inside. I also labeled the front of the containers. Miller's swing is on the shelf right now, but it will probably have to be relocated as we fill more storage containers with clothes. The shelf can hold 12 storage containers!

I had to include picture of my spice drawer. I love it! It is so much more convenient and efficient than storage risers or turntables.

pat-february visit

Thursday, February 24

Last Thursday, Caralee came over for our monthly PAT visit. Miller was in a great mood and was smiling and squealing the entire time.

We talked about the importance of playing social baby games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. Miller is a huge fan of peek-a-boo. In fact, it was the best way to get him to smile for his 6-month pictures with Brenda. (more about that in another post)

Caralee also wanted to see me interacting with Miller, so she gave me a lift-the-flap book to read to him. Miller loves to read books and especially enjoys feeling all the pages, turning the pages, and chewing on the corners of the book. Caralee said that she could tell that we read to Miller on a regular basis.

Miller showed Caralee how he can sit up without any support. He is also really starting to notice strangers. Caralee commented on how Miller really studied her and was very curious when she showed up at our house.

Our biggest goal is getting Miller to sleep through the night and, in turn, creating a more consistent eating and napping schedule during the day.

Caralee was very impressed with Miller and said that he is right on track developmentally and that he is lucky to have us for parents. She is so kind!

monthly photos

Miller's Birthday!

One Month!

Two Months!

Three Months!

Four Months!

Five Months!

Six Months! He's growing so fast!

happy valentine's day

Thank you to Grandma Paula for watching Miller the Saturday before Valentine's Day so that Colby and I could go out to dinner!

February 14 Prince Charming. The new little love of my life all dressed up in his Valentine's Day outfit.

February 15

A trip to Ponca City over the weekend, many long nights with a sick baby, and an unexpected trip to the doctor on Monday put me a little behind on Valentine's Day plans. So, Miller opened his Valentine's Day present the day after Valentine's Day.

Miller with his present.

He loved the bow!

Miller and Daddy.

Daddy reading Miller his card.

He was more interested in eating the card than reading it.

Opening the present.

It's a race car track!

So fun! We love you Miller!

sick again!

At the beginning of last week, shortly after he recovered from diarrhea, Miller began to sound congested and developed a cough. Our house is really drafty and because of the record subzero temperatures, the heater was coming on a lot. We decided to get a humidifier for Miller's room, hoping that it would help with his congestion.

Miller's elephant humidifier.

Over the weekend, he began to sound worse, so on Monday I decided to take him to the doctor. He was very wheezy and had a breathing treatment in the doctor's office. His oxygen was still 98%, which is good. The nurse did a nasal swab and he was diagnosed with RSV. For those of you who don't know, RSV is a respiratory virus that often manifests as a mild cold in adults and older children but can be much more severe in infants and younger children. It causes breathing difficulties and nasal secretions and often requires hospitalization and oxygen in addition to breathing treatments to dilate the airways. We now have to do albuterol breathing treatments at home three times a day. He screamed and cried during his breathing treatment at the doctor's office. He still doesn't like the treatments, but he doesn't cry anymore. He just tries to turn his head away or eat the mask.

Miller getting his breathing treatment. We hope he feels better really soon!

month six

January 8-February 7

Look at what Miller has accomplished this month!

Enjoying tummy time. He is able to lift his whole chest off the ground by pushing with his arms and arching his back. He loves to rock back and forth while kicking his legs and swimming with his arms.

Close-up. We get lots of comments on his beautiful eyes!

Sitting up! This is one of his biggest achievements this month. This picture was taken on February 2, but it is hard to pinpoint an exact day that he started sitting up. It has been a gradual process that started around Christmas time. He would sit momentarily without support. Now he is able to sit for at least 30 minutes without support. He loves to sit and play with his toys. It gives him a whole new outlook on life!

Pushing up. Miller like to play on his tummy and can drag toys toward himself. Miller also still loves to roll from his tummy to his back and his back to his tummy. His movements are becoming more fluid and he is much quicker! We really have to keep an eye on him!

Miller with his buddy Scout. It almost always brings a smile to his face. Another favorite past-time for Miller is talking. He even says things like "mamamama". He is also developing quite a personality and grunts when he is mad. He does this when we are feeding him solid foods sometimes. He also likes to blow raspberries when he has food in his mouth, spitting the food everywhere. He has now eaten carrots in addition to bananas and rice cereal. He is still not a big fan of solid foods, but we will keep trying. Eventually he will get the hang of it.

Such a big boy! We don't even have to prop him in the rocking chair for his monthly photos anymore. He is able to sit all by himself!

He is very interested in his shoes and shoelaces.

Six months old! We fall more and more in love every day!

Miller and his Christmas present from Nana Debbie and Poppa Curtis. At first, he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Then, all of a sudden, on January 12, he started jumping and hasn't stopped. He loves it!

we love snow!

Last Tuesday, Tulsa got a record 14 inches of snow and another 3 inches on Friday! Wow! Tulsa schools were closed for four days last week and Colby worked from home. We were all getting a little tired of being stuck at home, so Colby shoveled the driveway and we went out for dinner on Friday evening. The roads were still terrible!

We decided to go outside and play in the snow on Thursday afternoon! It was bitterly cold so we only stayed outside for a few minutes.

Miller sitting in our patio chair. You can really see how deep the snow is!!

Miller, Colby, and Chug. Gus and Chug really loved the snow. Gabby wasn't so sure.

a week of firsts

first time with a babysitter-January 27
On Thursday, I left Miller with a babysitter, who isn't a member of our family, for the first time. It was my first day back at work since Miller was born and my first day at a new job. Overall, it went well. I really enjoyed my job and know that I will like getting out of the house and having adult conversation. On the other hand, I really missed Miller and thought about him all day! Right now, my position is temporary on-call, so I should still get to spend lots of time with Miller during the week. The schedule isn't very consistent, however, so we are just trying to find babysitters until we settle into more of a routine and can set up more permanent childcare. Miller seemed to do just fine with the babysitter and I'm sure he didn't even realize I was gone.

first time overnight-January 28
Miller has not been sleeping well lately. Therefore, Colby and I haven't been getting much sleep either. So, my mom offered to take Miller for one night so that we could have a break and get a full night of sleep. On Friday, I took Miller to Bartlesville and he spent the night with my parents. It was the first time he has spent the night away from home without me and Colby and the first time I have ever spent a night without Miller. It was wonderful to have a date night and sleep all night long with no baby cries! But, it was also hard to be away from Miller. I walked by his empty bedroom after we got home from the movies and had a brief moment of sadness (maybe a few tears).

first time being sick-January 28
While Miller was at my parent's house, he started having diarrhea. On Saturday, when he got home, he was having watery, yellow stools. But he still seemed very happy and playful. He was eating well and didn't have a fever. So, we just figured that he probably had a little stomach bug and decided to wait it out. By Sunday, the diarrhea was getting worse so we took Miller to urgent care just to have him checked out. He still didn't have a fever and they told us that he probably had a virus which could last up to two weeks and to encourage him to keep eating. Monday, he was beginning to get fussy and was developing a diaper rash despite the heavy coatings of vaseline and Desitin. I called the doctor's office and the nurse gave me some suggestions. We had already been giving Miller pedialyte. We continued with the pedialyte and gave him Florastor, a probiotic, twice a day. We also started using Lotrimin along with the Desitin for his diaper rash. He finally started feeling better on Friday, a week later. Poor baby!

photoshoot with mommy

I am not a very good photographer, but I decided to try to get some close-up pictures of my favorite little guy! Here are some of my favorites!

first solids

Miller was showing all of the classic signs of being ready to explore new tastes and start eating solids. I, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure if I was ready for my baby to take such a big step towards growing up!

During dinnertime, we put Miller in his highchair next to the table while we ate our meal. He watched us attentively as we ate and even mimicked us by opening his mouth when we put food in our mouths. When he sat on our laps, he would reach for the food on our plates. So, we decided to give solid foods a try.

Give me that food!

January 16

Day 1-rice cereal was a success! Miller really seemed to like it. He would lean towards the food and kept opening his mouth for more.

January 17

Day 2-rice cereal did not go nearly as well. He kept turning his head and leaning back away from the food.

January 19

After a few attempts, we decided to try bananas instead. They are a little sweeter than rice cereal, so we thought he might like them better.

We were wrong! He kept making the funniest sour faces. Check out this video of Miller eating bananas.