The Millers are (finally) moving!

About that "I'm going to blog regularly now" garbage that I spouted back in January.....yeah, I'm not even going to apologize. All I can say is....life. :) It's crazy busy.

But, hey.....

WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!!! 

It took forever and it felt like it was never going to happen.....but it finally did. We've spent almost nine months living multiple states apart. Against our will. We saw each other through Facetime or visits every 6-7 weeks. We've looked at countless houses. We've loved some and we've hated a lot...a few we were either ready to put in offers for or actually did put an offer on and didn't get or backed out on because reasons. We were to the point where we were talking about apartments and anyone who knows us knows that would have been a nightmare. We were worried about getting Ruthie enrolled in school - a GOOD school - in time, in trying to live out of an apartment with minimal stuff (thought we've been doing that already) while we continued to house-hunt. And this house is a mile from her school. Checkmate.

We are so glad it's over. This house has mostly everything we wanted. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a basement, an office/sewing room/playroom/whatever room, two fireplaces (not necessarily on the wish list but nice to have in the winter,) a huge living room, and a kitchen that I really like. 

We went back and forth with the sellers for what felt like forever. It's an estate sale and there were four siblings and their ability to get in touch with each other was somewhat less than consistent. Their ability to make decisions was also inconsistent. But it's done now. We close next Thursday, June 30th. The moving truck and all dogs go up over the weekend. Wish Jay lots of luck on traveling 12 hours with an anxious hound dog. ;)  I'm coming up with the kiddos either Monday or Tuesday....depending on when I can finish getting stuff packed up here. My parents are coming up also and that will be a huge help!

Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes over the last few months - it's been a crazy journey. Here are some pics of the house. I don't have any good ones of the office/sewing room or the basement.

Front - needs some landscaping and a "fly the W" flag on the mast. ;)

 Back - has a great backyard with lots of room!

 Hall bath - needs some paint and a little decor. Thinking of beige/blue like our old bathrooms in Greer.

 Main bath - we're pulling out that tub and putting in a new one right away b/c it leaks. We'll ditch the shower doors (this claustrophobe is grateful for that) and get a "normal" tub w/ shower curtain. Debating decorating this one in gray/yellow.

 Front entryway - I LOVE this as is, but we'll probably be pulling that paper off and painting it - either a gray or beige. Those brown doors lead to the office/sewing room and the white doors are to a closet.

 Kitchen - we plan to paint it a light blue and put in a backsplash, as well as hardwood floors and matching curtains.

 It has all new appliances, which is great since we gave up a practically-new refrigerator when we sold our old house.

 Laundry room - you can enter it through the kitchen or from the garage. The door to the left is a utility close and right beside that door is another door leading into the office/sewing room. The hall bathroom is "behind" where this pic was taken.

 Living room - I LOVE all this space! We're going to put a dining room table in the dining space and we still have to buy living room furniture for the rest of it. We're also planning to put hardwoods down all over and paint either gray or brown.

 Master bedroom - the current color will look great with our bedding set so we'll probably leave it for now. Two closets - we're used to living out of drawers so this is much appreciated! Ruthie is still deciding who should get which one. ;)

 Ruthie's room - her bedroom in Greer was this exact color and she has worried so much that her new bedroom wouldn't be the right color. She was so excited when we showed her this picture and that her new room was already the color she wanted. :)

Levi's room - those shelves are coming down and his walls will be painted blue. We plan to re-carpet all of the bedrooms. 

A view of part of the backyard. 

Levi's stats 1-6 months

I did this for Ruthie for about two years and I keep meaning to update it for Levi as well, but....you know....there's no time for anything most days. So here is a catch-up of as many of Levi's stats as I can remember, and boy, am I glad I don't have to do actual/adjusted age for him. Theoretically, I could, since he WAS 3.5 weeks early, but once you've experienced a micro-preemie, an 8-lb 36-weeker is golden. :)

1 month:
Weight:  9 lbs 10 oz 

Height:  22.5"

Head circumference: unknown

Diapers: size 1

Clothes:  0-3 mos

Shoes: haha, yeah right

Teeth: 0

Naps:  whenever and wherever he feels like it ;)

Sleeps:  4-5 hours at a time at night, in the rockNplay

Feeds: every 2.5-3 hours, and Mommy better be close by when he's hungry b/c he is NOT waiting!

Personality: Fiery. :) He is usually very easy-going until he gets hungry and then I'd better be ready immediately. He's very snuggly and loves to cuddle. He has a mean habit of pulling his own hair until he screams, then looking around to see who pulled his hair. At least a dozen times a day. He also gives a wicked stink-eye. ;)

2 months:
Weight:  13 lbs 

Height:  24.5 inches 

Head circumference: unknown

Diapers: size 2 (it's all in the thighs ;) )

Clothes:  3-6 mos (he's so long!)

Shoes: haven't even bought any or bothered

Teeth: 0

Naps:  still whenever and wherever he feels like it, but starting to get some sort of pattern down ;)

Sleeps:  anywhere from 4-7 hours at night, transitioned to the packNplay, on his belly (yes, I know - gasp)

Feeds: about every 3 hours

Personality: Found his hands this month. Started doing more tummy time regularly, though he doesn't like it much yet.Started more social smiling. HATES to be hot and LOVES to be held. Hardcore Momma's boy.

3 months:
Weight:  14 lbs 8oz 

Height:  25 inches 

Head circumference: unknown

Diapers: size 2 (it's all in the thighs ;) )

Clothes:  some 3-6 mos, some 6 mos (he's still so long!)

Shoes: not even bothering yet

Teeth: 0, but teething like crazy

Naps:  mostly all in his bed, every 2-3 hours for about 30-45 minutes

Sleeps:  7-10 hours, usually from 8p-6a, with a dreamfeed around 10p

Feeds: every 3ish hours

Personality: You rolled over belly-to-back for the first time on 12/28/15 and Ruthie was the first one to see it! You started laughing out loud when we tickle you. You got a new exersaucer and are learning to enjoy it. Your favorite way to fall asleep for naps it by holding my finger close to your face. You are weight-bearing really well on your legs. You decided Mam bottles were acceptable. ;) You love baths and snuggling and nursing to sleep at night. You have this adorable habit of sucking your lower lip really hard when you're concentrating. You also started sucking your thumb a lot and it is the cutest thing I've ever seen. You started doing some imitating this month!

4 months:
Weight:  16 lbs 4 ozs 

Height:  25 inches 

Head circumference: unknown

Diapers: size 3 (those thighs are killer!)

Clothes:  6mos for about 2 weeks, now steadily into the 6-9s

Shoes: nah

Teeth: 0, but still teething like crazy

Naps:  every 2ish hours for about 40 minutes - total of 4 naps/day usually

Sleeps:  a solid 12 hours, usually from 7p-7a, no more dreamfeeds - just good, solid sleep

Feeds: every 3ish hours, 5x/day

Personality: Graduated to the convertible carseat (still rear-facing, of course) this morning, b/c Mommy's arm is breaking trying to carry you in that infant seat. You are so heavy! You LOVE Momma and you love to be held and talked to. Ruthie can make you laugh like nobody else. You are such a happy baby and pretty laid-back unless you're tired. You eat great (surprise surprise.) Car rides have gotten much better since you moved to the big-boy seat and can see things.

5 months:
Weight:  17 lbs 7 ozs 

Height:  25.5 inches 

Head circumference: huge

Diapers: size 3 (those thighs are killer!)

Clothes:  9 month clothes.....seriously. It's the length.

Shoes: nah

Teeth: 0, and Mommy's starting to give up hope. (j/k)

Naps:  every 2-2.5 hours for anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5hrs - still a total of 4 naps/day usually

Sleeps:  a solid 12 hours, usually from 7p-7a, no more dreamfeeds - just good, solid sleep

Feeds: every 3-3.5 hours, 5x/day

Personality: Finally rolled over back to belly on 2/24/16 and we all got to see it! You've been working hard on that one for weeks. You play with your hair or your ears when you eat and it's so adorable. You enjoyed your stroller for the first time while we went to the zoo. Usually Mommy wears you and we did for the first half of the trip, but then we put you in the stroller and you loved it! You're getting really good at holding toys and bringing them to your mouth and you want to chew on EVERYTHING. You have a great sense of "stranger danger" and don't like anyone unfamiliar to hold you (not that Mommy offers, hahaha.) You are very opinionated and if you don't like something, you let us all know about it.

6 months:
Weight:  18 lbs 4 ozs 

Height:  26.5 inches 

Head circumference: 17.75" (good grief!)

Diapers: size 3 (those thighs are killer!)

Clothes:  9 month & a few 12 month for length.....sigh.

Shoes: 3s but he never wears them. 

Teeth: 0, but I can see the bottom two moving up!

Naps:  3x/day -- two 1-1.5 hour naps and one 45-min nap, usually still every 2-2.5 hours 

Sleeps:  a solid 12 hours, usually from 7p-7a

Feeds: every 3-3.5 hours, 5x/day

Personality: You are so funny! You love to be "scared" with a good peek-a-boo game. We've made it six months breastfeeding - yay! I look forward to at least another six months, hopefully longer. No solids yet and I'm very happy with that - you don't need it and you aren't ready for it and you're obviously growing just fine on Momma-milk. You still think Ruthie is hilarious. You started sitting at the table in your high-chair to play with toys while we eat - you're not sure yet how you feel about that.

Levi's eval & Ruthie's playdate

Two posts in one week.....maybe I'm getting the hang of this. ;)

Levi had his eval today. It went well. Too well. They denied him services because.....he doesn't have any delays. I knew that going into it, but was hopeful they would accept him for his plagiocephaly. The therapist said the plagiocephaly would have to be impeding his development and it isn't. Which, on one hand, is GREAT news! He's progressing normally and just like a baby should - we're super grateful for that. On the other hand, it means we'll have to pay out of pocket for his cranial scan and Doc band (helmet) if it's determined he needs one. Boo. (But did I mention how super proud I was that he scored so well on the testing they did with him? A typically-developing baby! Boom!)

On a much lighter note, it took me four days to remember to transfer all of the pictures from my phone to the computer, but here are some from Ruthie's playdate with Noah last Saturday. She gets so excited when she knows he's coming over or we're going to see him. Noah is a 25-weeker and the sweetest little fella ever! His mom, Jenny, and I were put in touch with each other through a mutual friend back when Ruthie was in the hospital with the NG tube at 6 months. Noah already had a gtube and Jenny helped lessen my fear at the thought of Ruthie having to have one....and in the end, both of our kids ended up going to the same feeding clinic a couple of years later. Now, both kids have ditched their g-tubes and are thriving! Jenny is such a great encouragement for me in so many ways and I appreciate our friendship so much. Ruthie and Noah have had lots of playdates over the last 3 (ish?) years - I included some of those pictures, too.

 Utilizing those skills learned at the feeding clinic - EATING! :)

 I love this picture. (We'll blow it up to a 16x20 at their wedding...)

They all had so much fun!

 September 2015, visiting baby Levi

 July 2015, Ruthie's birthday party

 June 2013

 June 2013, with Pierce

June 2013

Happy New Year!

Every year I say I'm going to do this, I'm going to start a blog where I can keep up with the doings of our family. Every year I manage to NOT get it done. This year is the year!

So much is going on with the Millers right now - we're in the midst of a long-distance move, we (finally) sold our house, Jay started a new job, we had a new baby.....it's hard not to be stressed out sometimes. And though we cannot see it right now, we do know there is a great plan ahead.

Most of you know that Jay started his new job back in October. In Indiana. Yeah, Indiana. I am still here in SC with the kiddos and we are anxiously trying to find a house up north so we can all reunite once and for all. We've been close twice but each time something has happened that shut down our options. So, we continue to wait. Rather impatiently on my part. Part of me was so excited for this move/new job because it meant we would all finally be together as a family like a family should be - not dealing with a crappy night-shift job that took all of Jay's time and energy, not having him missing out on extra-curricular things because he needed to sleep during the day to be at work that night, not being so exhausted because he'd just worked a 72-hour week, etc. I was most excited because it meant he wouldn't miss out on Levi's babyhood. He missed so much of Ruthie's because of his job and that time is irreplaceable. Levi is almost four months old and the clock is already ticking way too fast. 

Ruthie is doing okay - very much missing her daddy every single minute of the day, but still her happy-go-lucky little self. She makes up songs about how she wants to be tall like Daddy and doesn't want to be little, etc, and it's really cute. She is in constant motion from the time her feet hit the floor to the time she falls asleep, and loves to be jumping, falling, and crashing into things at every opportunity. Her eating is going pretty well - she likes a wide variety of foods and is usually willing to try at least one bite of something new. She is funny and witty and loves to be outside. Without going into too much detail, she will be having another visit with the developmental pediatrician in the next month or so, hopefully. She has not been there since I fired the dev ped because he was useless canceled her future appointments about two years ago. Long story. However, some things are showing up that need to be addressed sooner rather than later, and since she's starting kindergarten this fall, we're hoping they will be able to fit her in quickly.

 

 Always a die-hard Daddy's girl!

She'll still snuggle with Momma once in awhile, though.

Levi will be four months old next week. I'm still not sure how that happened. It seems like every day he does something new, and usually something that it took months for Ruthie to do. We do not take it for granted and in some ways I think it makes us appreciate it even more, because we've seen how much work it took for her to do it, and his abilities have come so "naturally," so to speak. He has rolled over twice - from belly to back, and now refuses to do it again. ;) He eats like a horse and I am SO thankful for his healthy appetite. He sleeps 12-13 hours a night now and eats about five times during the day. He is very happy and starting to laugh out loud. He gets so excited when I walk by him, wanting to be picked up. (Of course, I oblige!) He has an appointment next week to be evaluated for his slight torticollis and for what I am 100% sure is plagiocephaly. (Nothing scary - just "flat head" syndrome.) I'm pretty sure he will need a helmet to correct it, as it's pretty obvious from the back. ;( 

You can see how his left ear is lower and further back than the right ear, and it's not so obvious in the picture, but he has a pretty flat spot on the right side. His torticollis, while mild, has caused him to keep his head mostly to that side, causing the flat spot. It's pretty common in babies, but his "damage" had already been done by the time he started sleeping on his belly, so it will probably need a Doc band (helmet) to correct it.

He has grown SO MUCH in just a few short months!

As I previously mentioned, the house-hunt has become such a chore. I knew it would take more than a snap of the fingers but I really did not expect it to be THIS difficult. Right now we're looking at probably March before any more decent houses go on the market, which puts the kids and me here until at least then. Something great could come available before then, but I've learned the hard way not to hold my breath for anything. We were so excited about one house in particular, only to learn the sellers weren't exactly honest in their sellers report. I'm glad we found out before we put an offer on it. 

Please pray with us that we can find a house soon. It is so difficult to be apart like this, especially for a little girl who doesn't understand why it is this way. We've been telling her for months that we were going to live in Indiana and have a new house.....but we haven't been able to follow through on it and she just doesn't understand. Pray, too, for the evals both kids have coming up. I know without a doubt what Levi's will entail and what the outcome will be (not a big deal at all, just something that needs to be dealt with before his skull bones fuse at 18 months.) Ruthie's will probably be a lot more in depth and I really don't know what the outcome will be. I know what we're praying for specifically, but I'm not sure what my heart says the answer will be.

One blog down, hopefully many more to come! Oh, and I couldn't just sign off without some adorable pictures of these beautiful children!