Ada is 2 Years Old!

Ada Elizabeth is two years old! We just love this cheeky little monkey.

On her birthday, we went to pick out our Christmas tree. She had fun running around and playing hide-and-seek with some other kids there. She is very outgoing and not afraid to join older children while playing.  

At her two year check-up, her doctor said she's smart & charming. I wonder if he says that to all of the parents :) 

Head circumference: 19.5 in. 90th percentile

Height: 36 in. 95th percentile

Weight: 29 lbs. 80th percentile

It's weird to see her weight percentile so low compared to before.  

She is really losing her chub and becoming a little girl! 

She had two shots, one in each leg. I had her on my lap and was holding her hands. I had explained to her beforehand that they would hurt, but only for a little bit; then she'd feel better, and they would help her stay healthy. 

I said, "Okay, here comes shot number one! Just a little poke." She didn't even flinch! No whimper, cry, grimace, anything! I was amazed. Then came the second shot, and the same thing. She just said, "All done!" Such a tough cookie!

We celebrated with family a little early while we were down in Santa Maria for Thanksgiving.

Ada was so funny trying to blow out her candles! 

Then, a day before her birthday, I brought cupcakes to our mom's group at the park. Since it was Matt's finals week (we made it through alive!), I didn't want to throw a big party or anything. This was perfect. A bunch of her little friends were there and we sang to her and visited.  

Being so patient (notice the tiny bite taken already)

 

Going to town! 

Lola hanging out and keeping warm in the stroller.

Ada is a bright little girl. She has been counting and doing well with her letters. I love to hear her sweet little prayers, too. She loves to talk, sing, and especially dance to Michael Jackson & Yo Gabba Gabba. One minute she is cracking me up, and the next she is melting my heart. This morning she saw a picture of Jesus and said she wants to give him hugs and kisses. She is very strong-willed as well, some of her favorite words are stop and no :) It has been such an incredible experience to be her mother and watch her grow. I am constantly amazed by the things she learns and the things she teaches me.  

Ada's birth announcement, labor story, and one year birthday.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ada!

Picking Apples

A few weeks back, Living Social had a deal for Fuji apples at Clearview Orchards. We jumped on the opportunity to go apple picking! They were delicious in the Glazed Harvest Apple Cake :) 

Ada had a blast and was very serious about it. Look at that game face! 

First you pick it up, put it in the bag, bump bump...

The apple picking crew...I spot a little strawberry in there!

Ada sees a good one...

Triumphant girl leaving the orchard with one of her spoils in hand. A good day indeed :)

Halloween 2011

We took our girls to the mall for Halloween. It was perfect because it was a well-lit, good atmosphere for Ada's first real time trick-or-treating! Plus we could get dinner at Hot Dog on a Stick :) 

 Ada was Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, and Lola was a little ducky. 

 Her little crown/headband was pushing her ears forward...I thought it was so cute!

 The most important people in my life. What a good Papa he is! 

 The squishiest duck you've ever seen :)

After the tick-o-teeting! A scary Halloween movie with floating ghosts, creepy eyes, and tired babes. 

Two Adas

Whenever Ada and Lola sit by each other, Ada says, "Two Adas!" After church a couple of weeks ago, we tried to get some pictures of them together in their pretty dresses. 

Oh how I love Lola's sweet smiles 

Turns out it's really difficult to get a toddler and a newborn looking at the same place at the same time! 

 The best one :) 

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Lola's Blessing

On her 6 week birthday, Sunday, September 18th, Lola Jennie Miller was given a name and a blessing. We went down to Santa Maria since all of our family is down that-a-way. We left Saturday night after Matt got off work, and arrived in Santa Maria at 4 AM. Church starts at 9 AM...so you can understand my puffy eyes & haggard appearance in the pictures :) The girls were both perfect on the drive down which makes it worth driving at night.  

Matt blessed Lola with love, health, strength, the ability to overcome trials, bring others to the truth, and discern between good & evil. 

...

With Matt's parents, Diana & Marc

4 generations!

Nana, Becca, Bobba, Liz, Devin, Kara, Lola, Matt, Nonnie, & Ada (who desperately wanted to go to Nursery, NOT take pictures)

All of the men (minus Matt's brother Ryan, his family had to leave to make it to their Primary Program in 1st Ward) 

who were in the circle to bless sweet Lola!

 Devin, Bobba, Marc, Lola, Matt, & Daddy

I love this one of Matt & Marc with Lola smiling at them.

Lola is 2 Months Old!

First, I need to catch up on her one month stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 91st percentile

Height: 24.41 in. 95th percentile

Head Circumference: 15.5 in. 90th percentile 

Now, at two months:

Weight: 13.8 lbs. 95th percentile

Height: 24.41 in. 95th percentile

Head Circumference: 15.9 in. 90th percentile

They had two separate nurses measure her head because they thought the number was too high! 

Nope, just another Miller baby with a biggol' head. I told them they should see my husband's dome :) 

She's already balancing and putting her chubby thighs to use!

This little Lola girl is FULL of smiles and coos! There is nothing better than that sweet smile.

She's very mellow and sleeps through her big sister's screaming and prodding. "Lola! Hi Lola! Hugs Lola!"

Her eyes look like they're staying blue and her skin is fair and oh-so-soft. 

She's rubbing her hair off the sides and will have a sweet old man toupee on top soon :) It's growing in really light.

These past two months have been so wonderful. We love you baby girl & can't picture our lives without you! 

Burrito Babies

Our babes loved to be swaddled up nice and tight. When Lola was 2 weeks old, I swaddled her. 

On this particular day, Ada decided that she wanted to be wrapped up too!

When my sister was with us, she'd wrap Ada up in a big blanket and sing, "Burrito baaaaaby!" to her. 

Ada saw Lola swaddled and asked for, "Beeto baby!" herself. I had to use our throw blanket since she doesn't fit in baby blankets anymore!

Two little burrito sisters :)

Ice, bath?

Have you played on Pinterest yet? It's so fun, but a total time suck. Don't say I didn't warn you!

 It is full of fun ideas like this one, which was originally "pinned" from this book.

Just add a drop of food coloring (or two for making purple, orange, and green) to your ice cubes. 

Pop a few in the tub with your kids and let them chase the cubes around before they melt.

This made bath time go from not so fun to coooooool! Ada now frequently requests, "Ice, bath?"

They didn't stain her or our tub, and the little bit of red on our bathmat (oops - they're slippery) washed out fine.

Notes About Santa Cruz V

- You see guys like this dancing to no music in the middle of a busy intersection. I turned our radio to the rap station and blasted it for effect. But he was just dancing to the music in his head.  

- Some people say really rude things. I think they mean well, but many around these parts have no filter. Concerned citizens? Maybe. Total strangers? Yep. My baby does not have really big ears, and she does not need to grow into them. They are perfectly proportionate to her beautiful little head and you are mean.

- Dudes with no deodorant stand WAY too close behind you at the grocery store. Holy stench! (I said that. He might have heard me. If he did, he didn't care.) I might have mentioned before that stinky people were the hardest part about being pregnant in this town. Olfactory overload! 

- People have signs like this in their yard

- Little boys flash you as you drive home. We turned around so fast and found the boy's parents. He couldn't have been  more than 10 years old. I was so mad...what if Ada had seen it? Thankfully I was the only one that did, Matt was too busy watching the other kid slapping his own butt on top of a Jeep. 

- There are shops called things like, "Puff-N-Pass." Oh dear.

- We saw this on a walk, it made me feel bad for the guy! His car must have been broken into multiple times before.

- You can pick juicy, sweet, blackberries in your backyard!

- Guys in kilts go shopping at Trader Joe's

Oh Santa Cruz you are colorful & we love ya.

Life as Four

We are adjusting into our new life as a family of four. It includes trying to spend as much one on one time with each child, especially the one who is used to having ALL of your time. Ada has been doing so well, we have only had a few times where I wish I had four arms and two laps. But that would just be creepy.

For the most part it's been good and fun...

And there's lots of love between these two.

We've figured out that the grocery store is an ordeal. To have room in your cart, you've gotta bust out with the car-cart. (I made Matt wipe that thing down with disinfectant wipes like crazy before we put Ada in it!) This cart is insane & has a mind of it's own. Ada was in heaven and honked that horn all over the store. At the end of the clip, after her maniacal laugh, she says, "Bye, Mommy!"

Ada's becoming quite the little performer...oh, the drama! She can see herself in this video while being recorded, and I think she's especially proud of her face around :25.

I've been trying not to worry about keeping my house perfectly clean. Trying not to stress about doing everything and doing it perfectly. I keep reminding myself that what is important is being present in my family's life. For moments like these :)

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Lola is 1 Month Old!

Already?! Fastest month of my life. 

She is such a squishable, huggable, double-chinned ball of love. 

Her cry is getting a little louder, but is still cute. Her bottom lip and chin tremble sometimes.

She is very vocal, I call her my little grunt. Even while she sleeps she's making noise!

She makes some of the greatest faces! She seems very serious sometimes with her furrowed brow.

This girl LOVES to be snuggled. Swaddled up really tight, held, cradled...she's a snuggler. 

I hold her upright a lot because she spits up and is more gassy than Ada ever was. I'll be holding her and she'll nuzzle until she is face down smooshed up against my neck! Then she falls asleep and I turn her.

We finally got a double stroller! I'm no longer trapped inside or have someone else with me to go on a walk! 

I found it on craigslist and it was close to us, a reasonable price for the condition (still too much if you ask me), and we had the money available.  

The girls love it! Ada kept saying, "New!" Here's Lola in the back.

Apologies for the grainy pic, but it was early morning and taken on my phone. 

This is one of my favorite Lola expressions. Bright eyed (they look like they'll be blue like her momma's!), tight lips, and double chin.

Ada loves her little sister and says, "Oh, sah Lala" whenever Lola cries. Her voice gets really high and she'll go over and say, "Aww, Lala. Hug!" Then lean over and put her cheek on hers. We have to keep an eye on her though because she'll try to help and not be gentle enough. I can tell Ada just can't wait until Lola can run, "fass" with her :)

Family Photos

Poor Lola, just trying to sleep with all of these crazy people in the background!