Having a Boy...

Has been different from my girls.

He is more picky
(will not take formula or previously frozen breast milk).

He is more cuddly
(not necessary with me, but give him a blanket and
he'll smother his face in it and tote it around as his precious).

He yells more than cries.

He is a big time flirt.

He is fearless.

Which is why at 9.5 months, he is doing this...

Craziness.  I tell you.

Time perception...

Time can be so contradictory.

Days can often seem long,

while weeks and months fly by.

In what seems like a blink of an eye,

8 months are over.

Time seems to inch by when we are suffering,

yet, it is often all we need to heal.

And while the waiting tries our patience,

with it, we often find relief.

Time has been good to this little man,

and it has been good to my finger.

And though she doesn't need me to tell her this, 

(because she is taking it like a champ),

It will make Elena's broken arm better.

Growing

This house of ours came with a little garden plot.

Last week we (i.e. Mike) planted strawberries, peppers, cucumbers,

tomatoes, peas, basil, and cilantro.

We're growing our very first garden and it makes me so happy.

I go out there periodically, look at it, and just smile.

We're also growing some of these:

Sitting at their designated chairs where they are fed at least 3 times a day.

Though unequivalently more challenging than the garden,

growing these brings me joy I never imagined.

Periodically, I go into their room when they're sleeping,

look at them, and just smile.

It would be nice if the human kind came with instructions similar 

to my garden veggies, i.e., plant, water, let grow.

Here are my fruits, getting some sun.



And while we are on the subject of growing,

here is my fastest growing product.

Michael Jr. at 4 months.

Time

I don't like it. The passage of time.

No matter how hard I try to hold on, it seems to vanish.

I had a baby 3 months ago. 3 months. Thrrr-eeee.

This baby is growing up rapidisimo, and I don't like it.

Here he is today.

I'm so enamored with this little guy. 

I had a feeling it was going to be bad before I had him,

everyone told me so.  But I never expected it to be this bad.

Seriously.

This is what I see when I greet him in the morning.

You see how he looks at me?

We are super happy with this little man.  He has a very laid back personality.  When he cries it's more of a "talk" than a cry, as if he were trying to negotiate.  He gives smiles away easily and coos, babbles, and even laughs.  I love it.  And he is sleeping through the night.  Really, I couldn't ask for anything more.

And though I've slacked in posting, I've tried to keep up with picture taking.  The problem is that the two don't go together very well, because when you finally decide to post you have hundreds of pictures to choose from.  So I've picked just a few from the things that have happened in the past 5-6 weeks.

Little Mike at 2 Months

 

Elena turns 5!

She went with Grandma and Raquel to see Puss in Boots, ate at RR, and had a day filled with presents. 

Mike has discovered the swap meet, which according to him is better than any thrift store/garage sale/craigslist deal.  He spent the weeks leading up to her birthday collecting presents, so on her birthday rather than having her open them all at once, we had her open 1 present every hour.

This worked out so well, we might just implement this for all their birthdays/Christmases.

She was excited about every present.  Actually played with every present.  And it made the entire day special.

1 Month

This is our little Mike at 1 month.  More than any of my other babies, this one demands likes to be held. all. the. time.  I've done more cradling than ever before.  Which as frustrating as this might seem at 2 o'clock in the morning, it's made me fully embrace and dote on this little one, and for that I am thankful.

Dressed in White

We had a wonderful white weekend.  Our oldest was baptized and our youngest was blessed.

It was almost too much for my hormonal, emotional, 2-week-post-partum self to take in.

The spirit was powerful and I was overwhelmed with gratitude and love.

Gratitude and love for being blessed with these amazing children;

for Raquel's compassion, intelligence, obedience, courage, joyfulness, pleasantness and friendship;

for a healthy baby boy, who is mild-tempered and sweet;

for a loving husband who is an amazing father;

for in-laws whom I get along with and who love and teach my children;

And for goodly parents who at 33+ years of age still take care of me

and made it possible for both of these events to happen so soon after I had given birth.

Newborn Rawness

An encounter with diaper changing (pictures taken in sequence).

Since the arrival of baby, this little girl has become more witty, sassy, and overflowing with personality.  It's been a real treat.  She's handled being booted from the baby-spot rather well.  And besides diaper-changing, she seems to be all about him.

Son of Michael

9 years ago today...

November 23rd 2002,

we were getting married.

 

Today we celebrated

by snuggling,

                  holding,

                                      and kissing

our new baby boy!

 Michael Cohen Miller

born November 21, 2011 at 3:45 pm

7 lbs. 8 oz. 20 1/4 in.







We have waited a long time for this little man and feel so blessed everything went well.

So much to be thankful for...Happy Thanksgiving!