Millie's Room

Quite a long time ago, I said that I might post pictures of Millie's room. I never did, and as time went on, I decided it probably didn't matter to most people anyway. But I did have someone ask to see a pictures of it just this week, so this post is for Katie. :) Also, I am glad that I have a reason to record it, because I realized that I didn't have many pictures of it, and I think it's my favorite room it the house. It has changed in lots of little ways over the past year and a half. Many of the things in it were lovingly made by family members.

Here is the view from the door:

Millie's crib is the crib that I had when I was little!

Bed Set (not all is shown)--Brandon's mom

"AMELIA", "A" (hanging from shelf), and little plaque on shelf--Brandon's sister Heather

Blessing Dress--My mom (made from vintage pillow case)

Pillow--Me

Tent--Brandon and Me (My mom helped too--it was made from an old sheet from her wedding and was Millie's Christmas present. There once was a rocking chair there. Now it's hanging out in the guest room)

Curtains--Mostly my mom, a little by me.

Cowboy hat--Fort Worth Stockyards--a fun memory. Millie thinks cowboys say "uh-oh" instead of "yeehaw."

Dresser--My old dresser, with repainted knobs

I painted the boxes on the ferris wheel (a cheap find), and crocheted the round thing (doily?) the piggy is standing on (mostly I just needed some place to put it). Brandon made the lamp out of an old seltzer bottle for me when we were dating.
Book Case and hanging shelf from Ikea. We painted the baskets so they would be more fun.

Quilt in bookshelf--my mom. We also received many other beautiful quilts from my mom/aunts, my cousin Katie, and a friend of Brandon's family.

Embroidery Hoop decor--me

Bow holder--an old frame, repurposed.

Changing pad cover--my mom

And there you have it! My favorite place in the house!

Amelia

Millie makes me smile. Here are some of the things she does that make me smile...

- On Christmas day, she said, "Hi Mommy, I love ya!" That is the biggest sentance we have heard her say before or since, but it was a wonderful Christmas present.

- We took her ice skating while visiting family in Utah this Christmas. She LOVED it. I am so glad. :) I had fears of her crying and hating it, but she was always grinning and saying, "Ice! Ice!"

- She says "uh huh" to just about everything. Sometimes it really means uh huh, but other times I think it just means that she heard what we said... Kind of like Brandon when he is on the computer pretending to listen to me. :)

- She has started saying "pease" when she wants something. It's pretty hard to resist.

- She has had increasing interest in the toilet lately, and asks to sit on it once or twice a day. She calls it "poppie." I think she means "poopy," or maybe "potty," or maybe that just her own random word for it. Last night, she even had some success while sitting there! It was exciting. Weird how parents can get so excited about Pee and Poop.

- She loves to help with everything she can--and some things she can't. She gets mad at me if I don't let her put the wipes away after we change her diaper, and she knows where most of the dishes go and loves to help empty the dishwasher, and sometimes she will even help put away her toys.

- She has funny eating quirks. I guess they are generally not so funny (more exasperating), but I wanted to document them. She likes to suck on her food for LOOONG periods of time. A couple of times I have even found food in her mouth after she has woken up from her nap (scary, right?). And even then, she will continue to suck on it. She also likes to spit out whatever she is eating/sucking on if she sees something better.

Millie survived strep throat and allergies to two different medicines she was given for strep throat before Christmas. She had awful hives for a few days, and a really bad fever. Her sickness doesn't make me happy, but it sure makes me thankful when it's over.

- She is almost always jabbering when we are at home. Some of her latest words are Up, dow (down), uh huh, pease (please), Poppie (toilet), cheese, ca (car), agua (water), hi, hello, babye, many animal sounds (lion, cow, cat, dog, monkey, gorilla, duck, chicken, sheep, horse, bird...) all of the sounds in Mr Brown Can Moo, fis (fishies). She also entertains us by attempting to beatbox and dance, bursting into little songs, and mimicking us in funny ways. She does not like to show off her sounds when we ask, though. And when we are in public, she is usually very quiet, so many people think she doesn't say much. Little do they know...

She is quite the little mama. She loves babies, and can be found trying to help any baby she sees (Usually this means she takes their binkie from them, sucks on it, then tries to give it back.) She enjoyed hugging, holding, and kissing her little cousins when we visited Utah (and playing with the bigger ones). She likes to wrap, rock, pat, sing to, and feed her dolls. She makes a whimpering sound and a sad face whenever she hears others crying, and also pretends that her dolls are crying and comforts them.

She is still a teaser, and loves to do things like run away when she knows it's time to change her diaper, or pretend to bite me (though it's never pleasant when she forgets to pretend), or tickle or squish us, or make silly faces.

It's so incredible to see her little personality coming out, and to treasure small moments each day that make motherhood worth it.

Piano

Lately, Amelia been sitting for long periods of time at the piano, playing and singing her heart out. I love it. :)

Whirlwind of an October

This past month has been super busy, and also very good. We are hoping things will slow down a little bit in November. Here is a glimpse of things that have going on this past month:

We (mostly Brandon) started October with a "quick" front door painting project that we were going to finish between conference sessions. It turned into a much bigger project (we learned that regular primer doesn't stick to a plastic door) and took a while to complete. Isn't that funny how that happens sometimes? But it looks so much better now!

Brandon got a call from a "head hunter" a while ago who was looking for someone that would be interested in working for Cooper Industries. So he went through the interview process this month and was given a job offer at Cooper! Although he will miss his friends at Raytheon and is grateful for the wonderful opportunities he has had, he is excited to start at Cooper on Monday!

Brandon has also been extremely involved in scouts this month. He works with the 11-year-old scouts, and he has had many nights of training, activities, and camp this month. I never knew scouting was so intense. I think it will be fun for him though.

Millie has greatly improved her climbing skills and is keeping me busy. One day a couple of weeks ago, I walked into the kitchen to find her standing on the table. I sort of forgot to breathe for a few seconds; she had only climbed onto a chair for the first time earlier that morning. Now she must be watched even more closely than before. She loves being up high, and her exuberant celebration and dancing when she has climbed somewhere make me a little nervous. She continues to charm us with her cuteness and amaze us with all of the things she is learning. I love the way she says "Dak'mm" (thank you) every time I give her something, and the way she smiles and waves at strangers and makes friends wherever we go, and the way she loves spinning (I do too). She loves to explore, and rarely stays put in one room for very long. Luckily, we have discovered the magical secret to being able to watch an entire movie together: If we turn off all of the lights in the house except for one in the family room, she will stay with us and play so we can relax. It's funny how something so simple like that can be so magical!

Brandon's parents took all of their kids and grandkids to Disneyland for a week. It was lots of fun! It was especially meaningful for us to have time to spend with our family. That time has sure become more precious to us since we moved away. Some of us also went surfing a couple times (a first for me), and it was more fun than I thought it would be (I am NOT a swimmer and had never swam in the ocean)! It's such an amazing feeling to ride a wave. We were able to make lots of great memories on our trip.

Just a few days after we got home from California, my parents came to visit. We went with them to San Antonio for a couple of days and enjoyed spending time with them. They stayed here through Halloween. We had a great time, but I have no proof, because all of our pictures were taken with my mom's camera.

I decided to dress Millie up as "Rapunzel" for Halloween. Her costume was based loosely off of Rapunzel... the one at the end of the movie with short, brown hair. :) Brandon thought that was a little weird, because Rapunzel is known for her long, golden hair. So sometimes I just told people she was a princess. But either way, it didn't matter; she was cute. I have always thought homemade Halloween costumes are more fun, and it was exciting to create Millie's first real costume. We took it with us to Disneyland because her cousins were dressing up one day too, and it was fun to join in on the fun (but impossible to get a good picture of all of them).

Tidbits

Millie says a lot lately. Here are some of our favorites:

Mama, Dada (sometimes this means much more than just Dad), Dance (always accompanied by a little dance), Ah wuv ya (I love you), Jesus, Ice (means anything that she wants to eat, but especially ice), Hi, Uh huh (usually echoing us whenever we say it). Lots of the other things she says are mimicking us.

On Friday, she said her first prayer, and it was so adorable. She started folding her arms, so I stopped the music and asked if she wanted to pray. Then she squinched her eyes shut and said something in Millie-speak. She opened them and looked at me as if she wanted me to tell her what to say, so I did, and she did it again and again, all the way through a prayer. Even though I didn't understand what she said, I'm sure Heavenly Father did. :)

She has all sorts of tricks too. She can play Patty-cake by herself, Point to her tongue, teeth, mouth, nose, eyelashes, ears, hair, hands, knees, feet, toes, head, and sometimes elbows.

She likes to "help" with the laundry and water the garden and uses almost anything as a phone. She also does amazing things with the computer keyboard that even Brandon doesn't know how to do.

She is really proud of her backwards and sideways walking skills and likes to pull us around the house and roll us over and help us stand up.

We Canoe, Can you?

A week ago, we went canoeing with one of Brandon's friends from work and his family for FHE. It was so fun! Millie loved it and sat still the whole time. I love how she makes everything seem new and exciting again. It's so fun to show her the lovely things of life. We often go walking around this lake, and it was fun to finally get out in the middle of it.

I had shingles. It is a weird, painful rash related to chicken pox and cold sores. It felt like a fresh burn that itched. It lasted a couple weeks, and I'm glad it's gone. :)

General Conference was good, eh? I really liked the one talk about using time wisely. It was just for me. It's amazing how you can always find something just for you at conference. It's so neat to have such guidance from Heavenly Father.

13 Months

I have been planning on posting about Millie and what she was doing at a year... plus a couple of weeks, but I finally sat down to do it and realized that she is already 13 months old! Time is just going by too fast! It has been so fun to see Amelia's personality begin to emerge these past few months. These are a few of the things she has been doing lately:

• You know the part on the movie Elf, where he is sneaking cotton balls into his mouth because he thinks they are candy? Millie does this with paper. She looks at us mischievously, stuffs it in her mouth, and runs away. If we try to get it out, she giggles and usually swallows it before we can get it.
• A few weeks ago, she figured out how to get past the child locks on the cupboard doors. Funny, it took us so long to finally get them installed, but now they aren't even useful.
• She loves to climb things and people. We now keep our oven door locked.
• The other day, she was kept running between two cupboards that I didn't want her to get into. I told her "no, no, no!" and she grinned and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
• She loves ice cubes, and always says, "ice? ice?"
• She has started giving the best hugs. I absolutely love the feeling of those little arms and hands around my neck, accompanied with an "mmmm." It doesn't get much sweeter than that.
• She gives sweet little kisses, sometimes many in a row. She sometimes likes to tease us with her kisses, and pretend like she doesn't want to give us any.
• She also is pretty good at zorberts (you know, when you blow on someone's stomach and it makes a silly sound?) She figured that one out on her own.
• She is very motherly already. She likes to help with laundry and dishes, and she loves littler babies and tries to give them kisses and hugs and talks to them in a high voice.
• We have alphabet letters on the fridge, and she likes to hide them (and other things) all over the house. It's always fun to open a drawer and find something that doesn't belong.
• When she is excited, she stomps her feet really fast.
• She is expanding her dance moves--She loves spinning and head-banging.
• One of the not-so-sweet things she has been doing for a few months (but ever-increasingly) is gagging herself. She does this whenever she is bored and wants some attention or change. Many times she has made herself throw up--Yuck! And then she tries to play with it. I wish I knew how to make this stop.
• On a happier note, she has finally learned how to fall asleep in her own bed (instead of screaming in it). It is a great thing.
• We are also halfway through weaning. But I am worried that I won't be able to calm her down enough to put her to sleep without nursing her. Any suggestions, moms? She has always been very sleepy when nursing, so it was... convenient. But now? I'm not sure what to do.

From God's Arms

In February of this year, something incredible happened. Late one night, after everyone was asleep, I felt inspired to go look at the computer. I thought it was a bit of a strange inspiration, but I did it anyway. I checked email, looked at blogs--the normal stuff, and didn't find anything unusual. I went back to my room, wondering why I had felt so strongly about it, and said a prayer. As I was praying, suddenly I began thinking of my birthmother; she was all I could think about.

To give you more background information, I was adopted as a baby. It was a closed adoption; I knew very little about my birthmother. She and my parents were allowed to exchange a letter once a year (although it hadn't happend for many years) through LDS social services, so I knew just what little I had been able to glean from those letters, and also that she was 16 when I was born. Being adopted is something I have always seen as a great gift and blessing.

Anyway, after I finished praying, I curiously decided to look up "finding LDS birthparents" on my phone. I clicked on the first website that came up, and it happened to be an adoption registry. I simply put in my gender, birthdate, and state of birth, and clicked 'search', and there was a match! It came up with a profile that had been put in by someone named Cherilyn. She had entered some information about herself, and then put as much as she knew in about her birthchild. As I read the description, I was shocked to see that it was describing me! She knew that I was short, that I had one brother who was 3 years older, and that as a baby I had blue eyes and blackish hair. The doctor and hospital were a match as well. I created my own profile so I could access her contact information. I was having a hard time breathing and believing my eyes. Could it really be true that I had found her in less than 5 minutes? I woke up Brandon and told him about it. He was very excited for me, but quite sleepy.

For the next few days, I was on an emotional roller coaster. This had to be her! Should I contact her? What if she was mean or crazy? What if she wanted to take over my life? What if she didn't want anything to do with me? What would my parents think? Would they be hurt or excited? What if??? What if it was great? What if I didn't do anything about it? What if I did? What if her family didn't know about me? What if I regretted it, and I couldn't go back? What if??? Brandon was very patient and comforting through all of this, and I kept coming back to the conclusion that I really did feel prompted to look her up. It wasn't just chance that I found her. And so with faith that Heavenly Father was behind all of this, I started writing her a careful email to make sure that she really was who I thought she was, and to thank her for the choice that she had made. And I sent it.

Meanwhile, Cher had just emptied 152 messages from her junk mail folder. She always received unwanted mail from that adoption registry site, so it automatically went into her junk mail. My email went in to her junk mail just moments after she had emptied it. She may have never noticed it otherwise. But she did notice it, and it turns out that SHE WAS WHO I HOPED SHE WAS! Not only that, but it turns out that she is the opposite of what all of my fears said she would be. She emailed me back and we have been exchanging emails and pictures and getting to know each other better ever since. She is very kind and excited about me and has a sweet little family of her own. She has two cute little girls. I think they are in 1st and 3rd grade. She lives in the Salt Lake area and comes from a large family. It has been very neat, and also quite emotional for everyone involved to get to know her better and go through this experience. It has also been enlightening to see where some of my talents and traits came from. Ones that in my family are a little strange, like music and writing, are more common in Cher's family. Her mother even has a master's degree in music and a hymn in the hymnbook (hymn #8)! It is so neat to know that Cher is a great person, and I am so excited to be able to be her friend!

A couple of weeks ago when we were in Utah, we were finally able to meet Cher and her family. Brandon, Millie, and I spent a day with them, and despite both Cher and me being nervous and not being able to sleep much the night before, I think it went quite well. It is kind of like I have been able to fill in a missing piece of my puzzle. It's also interesting and exciting to look a little like someone else. :)

The day before we met Cher, my parents spoke in their Priesthood/Relief Society class about adoption. It was a neat chance for me to hear their perspective, and also to reflect again on my own feelings about it. Although I think at times this all has been a little hard for them, they have been very supportive and curious about it. I am so grateful that I was adopted. I have felt strongly many times that I was meant to be with my family, and I am so glad to have been raised by two incredible parents. I am grateful for the blessings of the temple; for me it has made me feel like I truly belong with and can keep my family forever. Perhaps you have heard the phrase "It's about love" associated with adoption. I know that is true; my parents love me as if I was their own flesh and blood... or even more. Cher showed tremendous love, both for me and for herself, when she gave me up for adoption. I have realized just how involved Heavenly Father is in our lives. He knows what we need and where we need to be, and he knows when the timing is right, and I know that when we turn to him, he can make the most difficult things turn into the most beautiful things. I have heard a few people say that they were bitter about being adopted, but I know that I have always felt double loved, and grateful.

A year ago now

A year ago at this time, I was laying in the hospital, clutching my barf-bag and oxygen mask in my shaking hands, and nearing the end of about 30 hours of labor pains. Brandon was getting very hungry and about to go find a snack (funny timing, he almost missed the birth...), and I was very "out of it," with lots of strange wires and things attached to me. We had no idea just how much our lives were about to change. Brandon rushed back to us after being called on the hospital loudspeakers, and after three quick pushes, Amelia was here!

Sometimes I say it seemed like we went to the hospital because I felt sick, but then we came home with a baby. That is how it felt to me; as if there was no way to prepare mentally for what was coming. But come she did, and though being a parent is not always easy, she has been such a joy and blessing in our lives!

22 Steps

Millie took her first step last Sunday (the 19th). We were in Relief Society, and she just stood up and took a step. I couldn't even cheer her on, because it was in the middle of the lesson. We have been working on it little by little this past week; she always does the best if both Brandon and I are there helping her.

I guess I may be a little OCD about counting steps, but Millie went from taking 5 steps in the morning yesterday to taking 22 steps right before bed! It's kind of unreal to see her learning to walk. It is so very fun to watch her learn and grow. It's amazing how it can make me feel so proud, excited, and happy, yet at the same time, a little sad, because I'm realizing she won't be a little baby for much longer. Brandon and I held a brand new baby this week, and it made us realize just how much Amelia has grown! Brandon said that he wished he had taken more time to enjoy that new, cuddly stage, because Millie doesn't just hang out and cuddle anymore. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze some moments in time so that I can always keep and remember them as clearly as when I experience them. It seems like we so easily forget what she was like before she could do what she can do now. It is a neat experience to watch her grow, and to grow with her.

The Never Ending Project

We have been working on this project every day after work and Saturdays for the last month plus, and Sheena has been working on it while I am away at work. Needless to say, we are glad to be on the home-stretch. Hopefully I can talk Sheena into posting about some more interesting things like Millie's first step etc., but I thought it would be good for me to post a little something too.

Before:

After:

8 Months and Other Happenings

I seem to have taken a long vacation from blogland. Actually, it was quite nice. I recommend it. We have had lots of interesting things going on our lives lately; here are just a few things.

Millie is now 8 months old! She seems to have quite the sense of humor... She thinks it is pretty funny to suck on our faces, dance to music, give people huge, cheesy, wrinkly-nosed grins, hang out on our shoulders, play hide and seek, make funny sounds, and pick up teeny tiny specules from the floor and put them in her mouth. She has recently decided that naps are not for her, and is lucky to get one in per day. She also likes to climb things like stairs, dishwashers, and dangerous furniture. She thinks that the proper way to get off of things she has climbed is head first. Luckily, we keep a close eye on her and haven't had any major catastrophes so far. And who couldn't love this face?

Hopefully you don't mind our laundry (it IS clean), but I had to share this picture. She loves to make this face at us... She wrinkles up her nose, squints her eyes, and smiles as big as she can. :)

We love her.

We went to California last month for some awards that Brandon got. It was nice to go on a vacation mostly paid for by Raytheon. :) And it was neat to see Brandon get his awards. We decided to try out some of the cheap or free things that there are to do around Los Angeles, because usually when either of us have gone, we have spent our time at Disneyland. The things we liked the most and highly recommend were: walking around Manhattan Beach, driving over the Venice Beach Canals, showing Millie the sand and ocean, Griffith Observatory, and a fancy breakfast here (Thanks to Raytheon). Favorite foods were: FRESH orange juice, bread, and Brunette (a hazelnut spread that the airport had to confiscate from us that came from the aforementioned fancy breakfast place), and we tried coconut water... it was quite refreshing. :)

Our least favorite parts (which we don't recommend) were: Venice Beach (we were hoping it would be a fun sort of weird, but it was more of a scary/icky-weird,), driving through Hollywood (guess we're not very into that sort of thing), and driving to "Chinatown." I say "Chinatown" because we looked it up in our GPS, and after driving about 15 minutes through some pretty scary ghetto areas (and possibly seeing drugs being passed, etc), we finally arrived at our destination. But, to our dismay, the GPS had taken us to a laundromat called Chinatown. ugh.

Overall, it was really a fun little trip!

Other goings on lately:

-I finally finished decorating Millie's room! (pictures to come, hopefully... if I get to it)

-We have started biking as a family; it's so fun! We biked through a drive-thru the other day. :)

-We were just released from the Spanish branch. We'll miss the people, but I am really thankful to have church in English again.

-AND, one of the coolest things... I contacted my birthmother. But really, this probably deserves its own post, so more on that later. :) For now, just know that it has been a good and exciting thing so far.

RSV

We have had quite a lot going on this past month, but right now, poor Millie is sick. She has RSV, ear infections, and bronchiolitis. It is so sad to see her this way! Luckily she is still a fairly happy person, despite the way she feels. She also makes us laugh a little because every time she sneezes, she blows us some nice bubbles.

Half a Year

February 9th. It's a special day for our family. It's the day Brandon and I were engaged, the day our niece Brooklyn was born, and now, it's the day Amelia turns 6 months old!

It's hard to believe that Amelia has already come from this:

And This:

To this:

And This:

Millie is...

• CURIOUS: She can now go and check out those things that she has been wondering about, and likes to spend lots of the day exploring different areas of the house and overturning baskets and tasting things. (She is currently trying to check out the DVD player)
• CRAWLING: She officially started crawling last Friday. Suddenly I need to keep a closer eye on her.
• GIGGLY: She laughs more and more these days. Sometimes we are surprised by the things she finds entertaining. It sort of gives us a new view of the world as we see through new eyes. The other night she thought that going up and down the stairs on her dad's shoulders was the funniest thing.
• MISCHIEVOUS: She LOVES to pull our glasses off of our faces, and does so without even batting an eye. She also pulls my hair and has a knack for finding the things I don't want her to find. When we feed her, she often tries to grab at any food she can get ahold of.
• TALKATIVE: In the evenings (and other times), we are serenaded with a beautiful, resonant WAWAWAWAWAWABABABAWAWA! (That's her favorite thing to say)
• GROWING: She is 25 and 3/4 inches tall and weighs 15.9 lbs.
• EASYGOING: She is generally content wherever we are (unless she is hungry or tired)
• OBSERVANT: I have been seeing more and more signs that she knows what is going on and what we ask her to do.
• LOVING: She still has wonderful cuddly moments and loves to give slimy, slobbery, openmouthed kisses (we need to work on that) on our foreheads, noses, cheeks, and today she got my eye. She also loves being kissed and played with.
• PLAYFUL: She really likes singing games and loves it when we tease her.

We are so in love with our little Millie! It is an amazing experience to watch her learn and grow. Sometimes it's a little uncomfortable for us, because we are learning and growing too. But it is so neat to see things in a different way as a parent and to feel such a deep love for her and each other.

Projects

You know those people that have those blogs that you look at and every day (or at least every week) they post some new, cute, amazing project that they have just invented in their heads and finished and taken incredible pictures of? Well, I'm NOT one of those people. :) I made a list the other day of how many UNFINISHED projects we had going on, and I listed eleven of them (eleven! at least!), some of which we've been working on for over a year. So, like I said--I'm not one of THOSE people. But, making said list has helped me focus on at least a couple of them over the past couple of days. Actually, I think I'll post some from the past couple of months. Then maybe it will look like I'm more on top of things. Regardless of how unnaturally long my projects may take me, I have really enjoyed being able to create and learn a few things along the way. So, without further ado, here are a few of my (and Brandon's) projects:

I made a couple of embroidery hoop decorations to hang on Millie's wall. Are they on her wall yet? Well, erm, no. But at least I have made them, right? I did sort of make them up out of my head, but I found a lot of inspiration online.

We have been searching for an affordable, comfortable office chair for a while, because our current one was falling apart and looked like this:

But instead, we bought some fabric and reupholstered it ourselves (it was mostly Brandon). The exciting thing about this project is that we didn't put it off very long. It only took 3 hours.

While we were in Utah for Christmas, my mom helped me make a little dress for Amelia. I found the pattern HERE. I made the headband too.

This project is one I finished TODAY! I've really been needing new pajama pants. I had an old pair that I really liked, so I used them as a pattern. They are NOT perfect, and took me way longer than they probably should have, but they are done... and wearable.

Now, only about 7 more projects to go. Why is it that it's so much easier to start them than to finish them?

Incredible Accomplishments

I am the wife and mother of some pretty incredible people. They do all sorts of amazing things. Like today, Amelia scooted about 26 feet in one go. And she makes faces like this:

Kind of like her dad does:

And Brandon... Well, He's just amazing. But you may have already known that. Recently at work, he earned not one, but two really neat awards (the SAS Excellence in Quality award and the SAS Excellence in Operations award) for making huge improvements. I guess the awards are a pretty big deal. Only five groups of five people were chosen for each award (out of about 11,700 people) They will fly us to California for a dinner to receive the awards. And that will be fun, eh? So I guess you could say I'm a little proud of my people.