miller's baptism

Sunday, September 5

Because some of my family was in town from Kansas City, we decided to have Miller baptized over Labor Day weekend. Also, Colby was baptized at Boston Avenue Church on Labor Day weekend in 2008. We had some of Colby's family and my family come from Ponca City as well as my parents from Bartlesville and my sisters from Stillwater. We were so glad that so many family members were able to come help us celebrate this special occasion. Miller did a great job and slept through the entire church service!


Boston Avenue United Methodist Church.


Me, Colby and Miller. Our happy family!

My entire family that came for Miller's baptism.

My immediate family.

Colby's entire family.

Four generations on Colby's dad's side of the family. Colby's dad, brother and grandpa-Bill Dick.

Four generations on Colby's mom's side of the family. Colby's mom and grandma-Annette Smith.

Colby and his brother, Brian with Miller.

Miller with his great-grandma Smith.

After Miller's baptism, everyone came to our house for a pot luck lunch. We had sandwiches, side salads, chips and desert. The food was amazing!

mcdaniel family visit

Saturday, September 4

Over Labor Day weekend, my family from Kansas City and some of my family from Ponca City came to Tulsa to see Miller for the first time. It was so good to see them! We had a great time and are so glad that they were able to meet Miller! Thanks to Uncle Ray for taking most of the pictures!


The entire McDaniel family minus Alfred, Janet and the twins (who live in California) and Peter and Brett.

Miller wearing orange for the first OSU game of the season against Washington State.

Aunt Patricia with Miller. Patricia, Ray, Merrick and Aaron came all the way from Kansas City.

Uncle Ray and Miller.

Cousin Merrick and Miller. She didn't even get mad that he pooped on her white pants!

Merrick's husband, Aaron.

Aunt Becky and Miller.

My grandma Ruby and her great-grandson, Miller.

My Grandpa Jack with his great-grandson.

Four generations.

Thanks everyone for coming!

miller's two week appointment

Friday, August 20

We saw the nurse practitioner, Kathy, for Miller's 2 week appointment. Miller did great! He weighed 9 lbs 5.5 ounces (more than his birth weight) and was 22 3/4 inches long. Miller had developed a blister on his upper lip and Kathy explained that it was from sucking and was completely normal. Miller's umbilical cord had fallen off so Kathy checked to make sure that it was healing properly. She also checked his circumcision. Miller had some adhesion that she was able to fix and instructed us to use vaseline for a couple of days to keep it from adhering again. We were concerned that Miller always laid with his head to the left, so Kathy checked to make sure that he wasn't developing more neck muscle on one side. She also went over the vaccination schedule with us and gave us some information to look over on the different vaccines. Miller is very healthy and our next appointment won't be until he is 2 months old.

lactation appointment

Monday, August 16

After leaving the hospital, breastfeeding continued to be painful for me and Miller was still having difficulty latching on properly. So, we called the hospital and made an appointment with a lactation consultant. The appointment was extremely beneficial and was the turning point for my successful breastfeeding. I had been very concerned with feeding a certain number of times a day for a certain amount of time. The nurse instructed me to focus more on Miller's body cues and to feed on demand. She also assisted me with latch on and weighed Miller before and after feeding to ensure that he was getting enough milk. We were surprised to learn that he took 2 ounces in a very short amount of time. She also assured us that we were good parents and helped give me confidence that we were doing a good job. She stated that in her opinion it was fine to use a pacifier. She even told us that according to recent studies, the use of a pacifier at night can help reduce the risk of SIDS. This helped relieve some of my guilt about the pacifier. Miller had already gained some weight since his doctor appointment and was almost back to his birth weight. He weighed 8 lbs 14 ounces at this appointment.

miller's first photoshoot

Friday, August 13

The Friday after Miller was born, we took him to have his first professional pictures. We used Brenda Horan who also took my maternity pictures. She offers a "babycakes" package that includes 5 separate photo sessions-newborn, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 1 year. She did an AMAZING job and spent an entire afternoon with us to ensure that we got some great pictures. She was so patient with us and Miller and was willing to take the time needed to put him in some adorable poses. As a result, we got some awesome shots. We were so pleased!!

Colby and I had not given Miller a pacifier based on the advice and opinions of some nurses and even our nurse practitioner. So, when Miller became fussy during the photoshoot, we had him suck on Colby's index finger. This worked for a little while but made getting a good picture difficult with Colby having to stay so close. In the end, Brenda had a pacifier that we gave Miller. I think Colby and I were both surprised at how much Miller liked the pacifier and how much it calmed him down. We were skeptical about using the pacifier at first, but after giving it to him at Brenda's studio we decided that we would use it at home. There are times when he just wants to suck but is not hungry and we did not notice any negative changes with his feeding habits after introducing the pacifier. This did not stop me from feeling guilty about giving him a pacifier, however.

Although you can not see the entire photo session on Brenda's website anymore, you can still see some of his pictures on her baby gallery. Go to brendahoran.com and enter the main site. Click on the "Baby and Belly Gallery" tab at the top of the page. Then, click on "babycakes". The first picture of him is #5, although this is constantly changing.

miller's first doctor appointment

Wednesday, August 11




In his carseat on the way to the doctor wearing his cute bowtie onesie.

Me and Miller in the doctor's office.

Miller did great at his first doctor's appointment. We saw the nurse practitioner, Kathy, and we loved her! She took a lot of time with us and explained everything that she was doing and what she was looking for during her assessment. She even talked to us about breastfeeding and normal newborn behaviors. Miller weighed 8 lbs 9 ounces. He lost a little bit of weight from birth, but that is normal. His umbilical cord and circumcision were both healing well.

miller comes home

Monday, August 9Miller in his cute "going home onesie" made by our friend, Emily Trout.

The family in front of the hospital.

Miller in his carseat for the first time.

Me and Miller in front of our house.

Miller in his nursery for the first time.