Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

The lights, the sounds, the warmth, the joy.

I love this time of year.

I love the anticipation and excitement in my kids' eyes.

And I love celebrating the birth of Christ.

Christmas 2010

Ward Christmas Party 2010

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mike's family this year.

Almost all the siblings will be here with their respective families.

We wish we could spend this time of year with all of our family and friends.

For those that will not be able to join us,

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas!


With love, The Miller Family.

Toddler Sleep

As soon as toddlers make the transition from sleeping on a crib to sleeping on a bed the won't-stay-in-bed-and-get-up-50-times switch is activated.  All of a sudden, getting them to bed is a piece of cake when compared to getting them to stay in bed.  Gracie, in particular, has honed down on this skill.  We have retaliated by swapping the lock on the girls room to the outside.  After making a couple of attempts at opening the door (and then cursing us in baby talk), she finds something else to keep her busy until she gets bored and goes to bed on her own.  Once the noise has settled down, we go back in to sort out bodies with assigned beds and blankets.  A few nights ago when  I went back in to do this, I took a look at Gracie's face and noticed something dark.  Worried that it might be blood I turned on the light.

If you decide to try this technique with your wandering toddler make sure to keep all markers (or other destructive paraphernalia) out of reach. 

But despite some downsides, toddler sleeping habits aren't all bad. 

Gracie on the bench of our kitchen table

I love that these little people can fall asleep almost anywhere, doing just about anything.