Mia Cleona

Where do I even start with this child? She is so amazing, and I am not just saying that because I am her mother! (well maybe a little bit because I am her mother). This girl is going to be 3 in june. 3! How did that happen? Its been amazing so see her be a tiny new baby brought home to parents who had no idea what they were doing, and growing up into a toddler who was interested in absolutely everything, and now she resembles an actual kid.

She is pretty amazing. Here are some things about this glorious child. Mia still LOVES Spongebob Squarepants. I blame this on her dad. When she was tiny and I would go to work, Doug would just be coming home from his 12 hour night shift and would nap when she napped. To try and stay awake he would have the TV on in the background and Spongebob just happened to always be on. I think this child will forever adore Spongebob.

Minnie Mouse is now a close second. She loves everything about Minnie especially her bow. Any time she sees a bow of any sort she shouts "MINNIE MOUSE BOW!"

Mia LOVES babies. Mostly baby Georgia. But any time she sees a baby in public she exclaims "Oh! Cuuuuuuute baby!"

Mia adores animals. Any animal. Fish, dogs, goats, bugs, birds. Her friend is our doggie Burrito. But we also have a neighborhood cat "Oreo" who stops by frequently. Mia will be the first to point out an animal she sees. And she is fearless. You know those kids who get freaked out by a bug or a frog? Not Mia. She will gladly go up to any animal to say "hello".

Mia is her mothers child. Sorry kid. Besides being my twin, she acts like me. Oh boy. She says things like "shoot" and "oh mannN!" just like me. I better be careful what I say. She is stubborn and impatient. There is nothing more humbling than staring at a child who is pretty much you.

She is the most strong willed child I know. But, she is also extremely gentle, kind and the most caring child I know.

Mia is smart. She loves to learn the alphabet and numbers. She loves to sign them. She picks up sign language so easily. Sometimes she is signing something and I even have to figure it out, but she knows what she is saying.

Some of my favorite Mia-isms: "Spongebob gre grat" (spongebob squarepants" "Hi baby seeeester" "AWWWWW cuuute baby!" "Minnie Mouse bow!" "I U mom, dad" ( I love you mom and dad) "Baby Gerga" (baby Georgia) I love my Mia so much. Thanks for letting me be your mommy!

Phone Dump and holiday post

My phone is full of pictures and videos. Granted half of them are pictures that Mia takes of random things, but still, it was time for me to put my pictures on the computer. Since this is mostly a blog for me keeping record of our lives (I am terrible with journals, and not crafty enough, at all, for scrap books) I guess I will put a bunch of pictures on here:) Since its already well in to 2014, and I did not put up a single blog post in 2013, I will put up some pictures of this most recent holiday season. Mostly because thats whats on my phone:) We did have a lovely holiday season last year. It was so much fun having it with two kiddos. Mia and Georgia were both Minnie Mouse for halloween, because I'm creative like that. Thanksgiving was lovely because it was the first in years that Doug was actually home! We did not have anyone over and that was ok with me. It was a quiet, fun day with our little family. Just because we didn't have anyone over does not mean we didn't cook a large meal, I made a TON of food and we spent the next week eating it.

Christmas was nice. Doug had to work Christmas eve, which was a bummer, but it was still very cozy. He went into work while I was at home being "Santa" for the very first time. Usually we just put out all the gifts, but this year Mia knew that Santa was coming. I got up before Doug came home to get breakfast started. Doug got home about 5:30 and tried to sneak in a shower before Mia woke, but failed. So Mia and Georgia helped me make pancakes. I guess I should say I made the pancakes while simultaneously keeping my baby happy and keeping my toddler out of the presents Santa brought. After breakfast we opened stocking and gifts, then Doug took a much needed nap while the girls and I played. For dinner I made Prime Rib (blasphemous to not have Ham, I know) and we watched Monsters University. It was such a nice first Christmas as a family of four.

Also, if we've known each other a while, you've probably seen the super cute give-the-child-a-candy-cane-at-the-store-to-keep-busy photos I've taken over the years of Mia. The first two, super cute. This year? Fail.

I think the Lays Potato Chips give the photo a festive look:)

Georgia's Birth Story

Georgia Teresa Miller - August 1, 2013 4:28am What a pregnancy. There was so much that went on during this pregnancy that its taken me a long time to fully work through the stress. After going into labor four times previously, I figured out what it felt like to be in the "pre labor stages". On Wednesday, July 31st, I woke up feeling the familiar feeling of tinges and pains in my lower back - my clear sign. Doug was set to go into work that night so I decided to just let him sleep and see what was going on. I had an appointment at 11am, which I would have to get him up to go to anyways. As the morning wore on the pains came around to the front of my tummy and a pattern started. My stomach would get tight, tight, tight, then relax. I spent the morning with Mia, watching spongebob, having breakfast and cuddling. Around 10am the pattern was about every 10 minutes for the tightness. I had to get ready for my appointment so I got Doug up. As we were getting ready I told him he may not be going into work tonight. We drove to the doctors and at this point I had to stop and catch my breath through every contraction. They were now about 8 minutes apart. Got to the doctors and by now the contractions were about every 5 minutes. She said "Ok, lets get you up to the hospital and have a baby". I was so relieved to hear this. I was 36 weeks pregnant and had already gone into labor four times. I did not want to medication again to stop labor, because that is rough stuff. I felt confident that my baby was fine and big enough and ready. So the doc told me to go home, get my bags packed and head to the hospital. We headed home. I was so so sad that my one on one time with Mia was coming to an end. I took my time. We got home and I laid down with Mia for her nap. Pretty sure I sobbed the whole time. She napped and I laid with her. I was using my phone to time my contractions and by now they were every 2.5-3 minutes lasting about 45-60 seconds. I figured I better finish packing. I got all my stuff together and came downstairs where Doug was. Told him the frequency and he thought we'd better get going. I called my dear friend Emily to let her know what was going on and she said she would be home around 2 and could come stay with Mia. So we all went up to the hospital (Mia included). Got checked in and started to weight. Apparently even though my doctor said this was it, the nurses thought it was ok to tell me they wanted to stop labor again. No no no. They did not want to deliver me so early. I understood their concerns, but said they had to go through my doctor because I trusted her and felt like everything was fine. Once the nurse ( shrugging) checked me and said that I had gone from 4cm to 6 cm, they admitted me. Doug left with Mia to bring her home to stay with Emily. While he was gone a doc came in to give me an epidural. I was freaking out. Dont know why, i've done this before but the thought of the epi scared me. He tried to get it. Messed up. Tried again, now my legs felt like electric shocks. Tried again. nothing. tried a fourth time ( by this time Doug was back), finally felt some relief. The doc was nice and wished me luck saying another doc was taking over. After a couple hours I was about 8cm. The eli wore off. I could feel the contractions, they werent bad but I was very uncomfortable. I called to see if I could get a new dose, or check the lines or something. Thats when the fun started. The new pain doc came in and was a total dipshit. He told me that I was not really feeling any pain. He informed me that his goal was not to numb me but to take off the edge. He asked me what my pain level was, I said a 7 or 8, he then said that he didn't think that was true. I was so uncomfortable and so upset I just ignored him. Doug was furious. He said he would give me a new dose of medicine "to be nice". Jack ass. Its his job to manage pain. How is doing his job being nice. Well the new dose didn't do anything. Which is why I thought the line might be messed up, but what do I know. I'm just a mother in labor. He's the big hotshot doctor who apparently knew what it was like to shove a watermelon out of your own body. Far be it for me to ask him to do his job. (I am not bitter, no I am not). ANYWAYS. The pain was getting worse and worse. My OB got there and tried to give me more meds but it was not working. The pain doc informed her that he didn't think I needed any more. Guess what? I felt everything. There was no medication numbing anything on my body. Even more of a bummer? because they wouldn't take out the hose from the epi I couldn't get off the bed. Ugh. They checked me and I was at 9cm. My water had not broken yet so my OB broke it. I thought I was in pain before but holy hell. Once my water broke it felt as though every contraction was a bus slamming into my body. The nurses told me I had more time to go and that I shouldn't start pushing. It was agonizing. Poor Doug was so concerned about me. I did not know how to handle the time. The nurse was awesome though. ( They had switched nurses by this point). She started a breathing mantra with me for each contraction which consisted of "shhhhhhiiiiiittttttt". My body was in pushing mode, but the nurses told me not to push. The pain was so intense and my body took over. I told everyone that I couldn't help it and the baby was coming now. I must have screamed loud enough because my OB came running in, put her gloves on and pretty much caught my baby. I think I was 3 pushes and she was here. 4:28am. I have never felt more relief in my entire life. She was perfect. Georgia Teresa was born August 1st. She is named after her grandparents George and Teresa Hill. I held her and cried and cried. Then Doug and the nurses took her to make sure all was well. She needed oxygen for a moment but then was fine. She was 7 lbs 2oz and 20 inches long. If she had been on time I can;t imagine how big she would have been! One of the first things we noticed about her was her dimple in her chin:) She was perfect.

We were moved to another room and Doug spent time with us and made sure we were fine. He then went home to be with Mia. Emily had to go to work around 5am, so my other friend Delaney came and stayed with her in the morning. Doug came home and got Mia ready, they took a nap and then went to lunch before heading to the hospital. I could hear my Mia coming down the hallway. This experience of my babies meeting for the first time was incredible. Mia came in and got on the bed and saw her baby sister. She was a little cautious st first bit that did not lasr long:) She loves her baby sister. My heart feels so full. I am so in love with my daughters.

-Lets just ignore how I look in the following pictures..... Mia and Doug stayed for a while with us and then they went home so that we could all get some sleep. Doug said the next morning when Mi woke up she immediately wanted to go see mommy and the "baby with the hat". Once she got back to the hospital she refused to leave without us. Luckily that was perfectly alright. We all made it home safe and sound, and were all in bed by 6pm.

I never thought I would have one daughter, let alone two. I always pictured myself with sons. But now that I have them I can't picture anything else. I love my girls. Poor Doug is greatly outnumbered but I don't think he would have it any other way. I cannot wait to watch these beautiful girls grow up and I hope and pray that I will be the mother that they deserve:)

I dont know if we will have more children or not, but if we don't, I am perfectly happy with my two girls:)

Christmas 2012

We had a really nice Christmas this year, well the time leading up to Christmas anyways. Again, we got really sick! Mia and I were up all night Christmas eve. She threw up every half hour until about 3:30 am. Thats when I finally went and got Doug and switched! Her and Doug slept in the guest room and I tried to get some sleep in our room. We got up around 6:30 am, Mia had gotten up Doug and wanted to find mommy. She still wasnt feeling well but we decided to try and open presents anyways. We got through stockings and then had to take a break and let Mia (and us) get some more sleep. Here are some pictures purely for documenting sake:)

Its been a while

Holy crap, I havent updated in over a year. Oops. I guess thats what happens when life gets crazy, and over the past year, it got crazy. Since my post October 2012 we had our (very sick) holidays, found out we were pregnant, spent two weeks in Florida ( well Mia and I did), went through some scary testing for our baby (all ended up just fine), got ready for a family trip to Maine, went into preterm labor (four times), canceled our trip to Maine, endured an extremely hot summer being 8 months pregnant and on bed rest, had our Georgia, had my family come visit, Doug's family come visit, and then some wonderful holidays as a family of four! Phew! It has been quite a year. And I suck at updating. I blame my kids. And my school work. But mostly my kids. 2014 is going to be a good year, I hope! We are at a place where we need to slow down and just enjoy our time together. I am learning that the only things that really matter reside within the four walls of my home, so I am trying to focus on that. We are planning a trip to Florida, trying to redo our trip to Maine ( BIG shoutout to JetBlue for not charging us to change our tickets, I got really lucky and got a person on the phone who had dealt with preterm labor herself!). Other than that I want to enjoy ourselves! I want to bring some peace into our home and into our lives and just enjoy! We will take trips around our beautiful state of Washington, to Seattle, or the Ocean. I really want to check out Mount St Helens. We will garden and play outside, we will BBQ and go for walks. I will continue to get back into running (mostly for my sanity). Heres a quick update on all of us: Doug is working A LOT. He takes overtime shifts when he can. He works 12 hour nights so when he takes an extra shift its more like being gone for two days. He likes roasting coffee though and I think finds a little bit of "relaxation" ( I use that term lightly) in getting out of the house for the night and not constantly making deals with our two year old. When he is home he is with the girls. Mia enjoys dragging him around, jumping on him, and licking him. She is weird. I am trying to find balance in our life. I am home with our girls and work a few hours a week outside the home. I am also in school full time (online) and try to find time throughout the week to work on that. I am VERY ready to be done. I have a few more classes and then student teaching and I will have my Bachelors and Teacher's License. I recently started running again and am enjoying that very much. It clears my head and makes me feel good. I hate the actual act of running though. Oh well. I love being able to be home with my girls. Mia will be 3 this June! I can't believe it. I am so blessed to have her. She knows her colors, shapes, signs her ABCs and loves every single animal on the planet. She is still doing sign language and I truly feel it helped her grasp her vocabulary much quicker than she would have without it. Sometimes she signs things and I don't even know what it means and have to go look it up. Right now she is having fun watching daddy ball (football) with Doug on the weekends, and stealing my diet coke every chance she gets. Georgia is perfect. She was be 6 months old February 1st. Aside from not liking to sleep for long periods of time at night, she is doing great. She is super long and skinny. At her 4 month check up she was in the 97th percentile for height and the 6th for weight! Since then though she has really started to chunk up. She is still in 3 month clothing though. She loves to roll over and is absolutely amazed by her hands. She also loves to grab anything she can to inspect it. She is very happy baby for the most part. Oh, and she has recently found her thumb:) Theres a very jumbled catch up update about our family. I should just do a post of pictures, probably more fun to go through. But seeing as though this little blog is to keep some sort of record for our family, I should really write more. Isn't there a way to print out blog posts at the end of the year and put into books? I should look into that. hmmm....

Halloween 2012

Like most of my friends, the time between halloween and now has been a blur and gone by so fast! I will try and catch up the time between them and now just so that I have some sort of record for myself! Halloween was ok this year. We got really lucky that Mia's first year and a half of life she went through without sickness. That came to and end. The whole day all three of us were really sick. We are talking stomach bug, buckets and baths all day sick. Towards the end of the day we were all feeling a little bit better, so we brought Mia out in her owl costume for a little bit. She didn't really understand the concept, and did not like it when scary people answered the door! But she did like the candy part of things!