Bel loved Easter

she's never eaten so much candy in a weekend and still checks our tree for easter eggs

the view from here...

...is pretty darn good.

(my apologies for the lousy photos - my seriously deficient camera skills will never adequately capture these moments, but i just had to try. their smiles make me smile)

a few things

we've had a sunny spring week - it's been simply lovely! we finally got to dust off the chariot and take jack and bel for a ride together - they both loved it - yay!

gosh - isn't he handsome!?!bel found a ladybug and observed, screamed at, ran from and harrassed it for at least 20 minutes.

I love how she is experiencing so many things for the first time - she really appreciates things and soaks it all in. if i don't limit her then she is never bored - she runs around discovering all kinds of new things and activities. similarly i am experiencing all these things from a parenting perspective for the first time so i can watch her in equal amazement for hours at a time

We've been lucky that she hasn't been much of a climber so when her new hiding place of the day was on the window sill behind her curtains - i simply had to document the climbing it took to get there. (she's saying, "here i am!")

In case you were wondering she is loving her little brother.

One last thing... Some of you may know that I've had my struggles with the fact that Ryan is not 6 inches taller than me (so I can comfortably gain a few pounds in my old age and he'll still be bigger than me in some way). This week the issue was settled - the verdict is in - here it is : our height according to Bel

it must be time...

...to start exercising again. bel is quite the movie watcher these days and today she requested, "exercise movie? watch a exercise movie?" so i was like, "sure whatever, go pick a movie and i'll put it in" believe it or not she actually found my turbo jam video amid our messy movie collection, brought it to me and demanded that i put it on the big tv (which has been super tempermental lately). as luck would have it, it played (first dvd to play in months - of course) then she commanded, "exercise mommy" i stood there laughing for a while and then she gave me my hand weights (the kind that have finger holes and velcro to your hand) and said "use these". i laughed some more and did a halfhearted warm up while holding the weights, but she was not satisfied "no mommy - fingers in the holes - put em on, put em on". what a slave driver she is! i can take a hint - i'll start exercising... in 2 more weeks - till then i'll continue eating fresh baked cookies every night after 9.


today's baked good - banana bread. but as many of you know, in this house, most things are enjoyed as UNbaked goods. so tonight bel and i made banana bread - mmm we love the batter. forget double dipping, triple - nope, quadruple - passed that one too, we were both up to about 30 dips each - that's right ryan's on a rainy scout camp out so tonight's dinner was a scrumptious four course meal of grapefruit, brocolli, crackers & cheese and banana bread batter. don't worry we won't be sharing this loaf with the neighbors.


today... ryan finished the last of his finals for the semester. i'm such a proud little wifey
tomorrow... spring break begins and i am so excited that we get to play play play for 10 whole days as a happy family - it will be bliss, pure bliss.

today was a good day

we showered, cuddled, bel ate (and said the word) asparagus, jack ate (and did not say the word) milk, I ate lunch on the porch while bel threw the last of the melting snow at the house, bushes and her mother. we made cookies, ate cookies, went on a walk, webcammed with both grandparents and uncle gordo, sang songs, played with dad and read books - all with a minimum of senseless crying and tantrums - it was a good day.

jack...

...is growing. he has gained more than 2lbs in the last 4 weeks, which makes complete sense to me since i still get to hold him in my arms at least every 2 hours all night, every night.

he is so loud in his sleep - ryan and i have speculated what causes all his groaning, grunting, whining and squeaks... dreams, gas, potential sleep talker? we're not sure, but it won't be long before we move his bassinet out into the hall to avoid his night time serenades so we can sleep a little deeper.

he is a good sport about tummy time and is lifting his head up already, his cord raisin is gone (yay!), he hasn't loss his hair (yay!) and his poop is mustard yellow. since he's the second child, he spends a lot of time in his swing and chillin in the background, but we have caught a few of his priceless smiles.

gosh i love feet - especially his.

bel...

is 2! and i like to call her sassafrass. she likes to build snowmen...

and then decapitate them...

one little anecdote before i retire (i love this story)... bel had been watching the movie surf's up a lot (plus the occassional real surfing she watches with her dad) and the other day she pulled a book off the shelf, put it on the floor, got on her belly on top of it, paddling her arms and pushing with her feet a little - i was a little puzzled by this, till the next time i walked by she was standing on the book saying "i surf, i surf". i jumped at this opportunity to save the binding on all our books and do a little art project - behold bel's first surfboard...

she even knows how to hold it like a surfer!

after our creation was complete bel knocked on the study door to show off her new toy and her new skills to her daddy. i'm pretty sure he welled up at the prospect of his daughter being his future surfing companion. i have to admit, i well up just thinking about it. that was a good day too.

we have a lot of good days around here.

Please meet...

Jack Ryan Miller

(ryan and i have decided giving names to our kids is the hardest part about bringing them into this world. too bad they don't have an epidural for this part of the process - sheesh)

meeting baby brother

getting better acquainted

family of 4!!!bel making sure he has all his fingers, toes, ears and elbows and lets not forget that charming little "raisin button" (we've got to make sure bel doesn't try to eat that)
so happy he's here!

happy, healthy and oh so handsome

meet our mini man

arrived tuesday, february 9 @ 2:45pm

7 lbs 10 oz 22 in

as is customary for us, we'll have to get back to you on his name

check back later for more photos and details