Happy 30th Birthday Daddy!

Today is Daddy's 30th birthday!

That seems ancient to me! ;-) Since he is getting "elderly", he is already requiring a form of assisted living. As you notice in the picture, he needed MY help with every aspect of his birthday celebrations this weekend! Poor ole' Man!

Here I am helping him open presents!

I gotta help blow out these 3 candles on the delicious ice cream cake Mommy made from scratch!
1 candle represents 10 years for all you mathmatically challenged folks.

Another cake...another candle. Seriously, what would he do without me?
I think I will extinguish this one by hand!

Simponsized Bethany!

Swept Away!

I love to sweep! Whenever Mommy wants to sweep the kitchen floor, I always end up taking the broom away! It is tons o' fun to "help" clean the house! I have so much fun...that I like to dance with the broom...as seen above!

A Great Uncle!

I got to meet up with my Great Uncle Chris Friday! It was great seeing him! Especially since he let me hold his car keys and make his truck honk like crazy!!!!

Getting away from Daddy!

Getting squished by Daddy. I must get escape before things get worse!

Free at last...Free at last!
YIKES! He caught up! My poor fingers!!!!!

What do you want...I'm busy reading!

Bethany loves reading her books. She takes them out of her basket and spread them all about. She picks one out & flips through the pages. As she flips she will babble a nice tale to go along with the pictures she points to. I am sure it is quite a lovely story if we only understood the words she was saying.

Workin' the Spoon!

Two spoons are better than one!

Getting it in my mouth is harder than it looks!
Ah Dah! (notice the sign, too! ;o) )

Nose!

Build & Destroy!

Today I helped Daddy build a tower with all of my blocks! Neat, huh?

And then I knocked it down! Ha ha ha! Daddy was watching the X-Files on DVD when we were building it. I heard the theme song and tried to whistle it myself!

I Cry More Now

I have noticed that since I have become a mama that ordinary things touch me differently & I look at everything through a different lens. This results in everyday-things bringing tears to my eyes. At first these occurrences could've been attributed to postpartum hormones. But I doubt I can use that excuse any longer.


Here are a couple things that touch me differently that B.B. (Before Bethany) really wouldn't have affected me in a greatly emotional way.

One: the birth of Jesus. A little bit ago I was reading Bethany’s bible to her and I read this story. Not only did it put tears in my eyes…but I was choking on the words. For the first time I understood what Mary felt; but I also know the fate of Jesus. I couldn’t fathom that for my own child. How could she?

Two: TV shows. Sometimes things happen on tv shows that wouldn’t have affected me before. But NOW when a kid gets kidnapped on a tv show I am feeling so much pain for their mom as she cries out for his safe return.

Three: Country & Christian songs are the worst at activating my tear ducts!

• One I heard in church & then on the radio was called "I Saw God Today" by George Strait. (video is here.) I made me reminisce about being pregnant & the birth of Bethany....how I wanted it all to be over with. But why? What was the rush? Each second of it was a second to be cherished.

• Another song is. I mentioned a previous song by Steven Curtis Chapman, “Cinderella”. (video is here.) (FYI which, was written about his 2 youngest daughters…one of which recently died in a horrible accident…how heartbreaking.) This reminds me of how fast Bethany is going to grow up & how I may want her to get to the next milestone fast. But what's the rush. I only get 18 years with her. Why wish for it to go any fast than it already is.

• A song came on the radio the other day. It was called “Stealing Cinderella” by Chuck Wicks (video is here.). This song takes the same premise from a new perspective. It reminded me that Bethany is growing up really fast and that some day someone one is going to come along and “steal” her away from us. But after reflecting on that fact for a while; I realized that is exactly what we should want. We should feel really blessed if we raise her well enough so that someone else loves her unconditionally. That is when we know we have been successful parents.

Overall, all the tears are worth it.

After all they are tears of joy, pride and love. There is nothing wrong with that.

Grapes & Eggs!

Bethany hasn't been the most adventurous when it comes to challenging her taste-buds. She has a few foods I know to be pretty reliable that will make it in her tummy & not in the crevices of the highchair & floor. Today, she had a good ole’ egg for breakfast. This is one of her staple breakfast items. However…she signed for some more. But once you eat all the egg of the plate…you actually have to get up & scramble/cook more eggs before you get more. So, I, feeling adventurous enoughfor the both of us, cut a grape into ¼ths & gave those to her. They passed the test. She actually ate some grapes. This is officially the first “big girl” fruit that she will eat! I think I will live on the edge and try some more new fruits for lunch!

10 years already!!!

I had my 10 year high school reunion this weekend. 10 years goes by really quickly & really slowly at the same time. It is hard to explain...but I am sure you understand if you are over the age of 25. A lot has happened in the pass 10 years, but all-the-while I amazed to see that really not much has changed since h.s. Overall, I surprisedly enjoyed myself. Even though I debated going, I am glad I went. SO this is to all of you out there. If there is a reunion in your near future...go. It will prove to be an intreguing, enjoyable evening!

FYI...this is my good friend Darlene. Just like in h.s. I stopped by to pick her up first.

While Mommy's Away, Bethany Will Play!

While Mommy is at another day of trianing, Bethany is really warming up to her zebra toy. Hooray! Note the "scrunch face"!

Baby Sign Language

Bethany has been learning very basic baby sign language. Of course, we still talk to her, but for the words she can't say, it's neat that she can still tell us via sign language. We have been watching the Baby Einstein signing DVD a little each day, and think she's picking up on it. Case in point: the other night, as we were watching an episode of Lost, a baby was on the TV, and she made the sign for "baby." Here's a picture of her doing the sign for "baby" as she watches. Pretty cool stuff!

Ahh Dahhh!

That's Bethaneeze for "All Done" for those of you who may not know. Yup...our kitchen is all done. The countertop people came out last week to install the new countertop. It looks *nice*! The floor guy finished a week ago. It took him 4 days to get the kitchen/bathroom/laundry room & the 2 upstairs bathrooms. It is great to be done! :) I love the new look. The new sink is great, too! :)

It was really cute when Bethany saw the floor for the first time. She was afraid to step on it. She timidly squatted down to inspect the floor while still on the carpet. She reached over to make sure it was ok before she took her first steps on it.

Giddy-up Horse!!

Bethany's horse on unexplored territory...

4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

Even though this is one of my least favorite holidays, we still had a good time. It was a relaxing day at the Milles household. We enjoyed taking it easy and just enjoying each other's company. On the 4th we went out to the cul-de-sac where we watched the neighbors set of fireworks. Bethany got a glow necklace.

We aren't too into the fireworks scene. We (Cory & I...Bethany has not voiced an opinion yet...) are of the opinion it is a waste of money to light fireworks. I do, however, find all of the fireworks that last for days to be a little obnoxious. Really...what enjoyment do people get out of lighting little Chinese-made bits of cardboard and chemicals. They last only for a few seconds. Despite their short life...people in our neighborhood like to light them for HOURS & HOURS. Ever try to get a baby to sleep for 4 hours while Bozos are out there lighting fireworks? I think people should have to take a US history test on Independence Day before they buy fireworks. Perhaps that would weed out the Bozos that light fireworks at midnight!!!

Sweet Bethany is finally asleep!