Meeting Cousin Amelia

Mary Amelia Miller
born February 23 at 11:28 am
7lbs 9 ounces 20.5 inches

Saturday afternoon, Hannah got to meet her new cousin for the first time. She was super excited and couldn't wait. She colored a picture (with help from Mommy and Daddy) and wanted to give it to Amelia.

She went straight to Amelia when we went in and showed her the picture. Aunt Llora's mom helped her put the paper so Amelia would see it when she opened her eyes. It was all very sweet. She explored Amelia's room for a little while and decided that Amelia needed some hair bows. She finally opted for the hairband bows and loved seeing them on her cousin. Uncle Trip helped her put the purple one in and then later she had Nana help her put in a pretty pink one.

She wanted to touch her and rock her and hold her, but she couldn't. She helped me put in her pacie and was amazingly not jealous when both Justin and I took turns holding the baby. Overall, it as a great visit. We didn't get to stay very long since we were heading off to meet the Vitters to celebrate Aunt Jaime's birthday at Long Horns. I'm sure if we could have stayed Hannah would have continued to stare and grin at Amelia. It was a great first meeting, and I can't wait to see the two of them (and the new baby when it comes) grow up together.

Welcome to the world Baby Amelia. we are so blessed to have you in our family.

A Surprise Valentine's Day

Today was full of surprises for Miss Hannah. Our babysitter had to take one of her children to the doctor so one of us had to stay home with Hannah. At the last minute yesterday before leaving school I had to get a sub because Justin's boss said they had 69 routes going out today and only 65 drivers. Hannah was super excited to have mommy home. We walked downstairs and she found a balloon from Daddy! She was so surprised.I also found some beautiful flowers and was surprised that he was able to pull it all off. Hannah is in love with her balloon. Then, thanks to Danielle, Hannah and I headed off to EdVenture with some free passes. It was fun! She wanted to explore every little thing and had a blast. There was hardly anyone there until a school group (very LOUD) showed up and bombarded. They eventually went into the auditorium for something and we finished up and got out just as they were returning to explore. It really was a great day at the museum. We stopped by the store for some special ingredients to make a surprise for Daddy after nap. Most years I make Justin Mississippi Mud cake for his present. I wasn't sure it was going to happen this year. I haven't cooked that much since Thanksgiving. But...I was home for the day, had an eager helper, and decided to give it a try. Just the smell of all the sugar made me nauseous but I got through it all without losing it and now Justin has a special treat that he knows took quite an effort from me, so it made it even more special.
I can't wait to see what next year's Valentine's Day will bring.

A Valid Reason

I know I haven't posted in over a month. Closer to two in fact. I promise I have a valid reason.

Did you notice the new header? Did you catch on a little faster than some of the family did? On Christmas day Hannah gave a special present to Nana and Grandaddy, and then to Mimi, Papa, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jaime. Unfortunately she had to wait until New Year's Day to tell Uncle Trip and Aunt Llora, Uncle Grayson and Aunt Jess, as they were all traveling over the holidays.

Yes, Hannah is going to be a big sister. I am about 14 weeks pregnant with Baby #2 and the experience hasn't been much different than Baby #1 was. I've lost around 14 pounds and feel sick most of the time. This time it started at about 5 1/2 weeks (with Hannah it started at 8 weeks). The evenings are especially bad (poor Hannah) and I'm eating very little. I have finally gotten to where I can drink apple juice so I'm feeling a little less dehydrated than I was. Over all though, it was a pretty terrible December and 2012 has started off quite rough. We are eagerly looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully it won't last all the way through to August 1. The South Carolina hot summer will be enough to handle at that point!

I have to say an huge thank you to our families. First of all to Justin. I don't know how our family would have survived without him. He comes home each night to find his wife already asleep and the house a wreck. He makes his own dinner, packs his own lunch, washes all the dishes and cleans up after us. He's been truly amazing. Thanks also to our mothers (and Llora too for the lasagna that is waiting for us in her fridge!) who have been bringing by meals ever now and then, and stopping by to help with a wild and crazy 2 1/2 year old. Without them Hannah would not be eating any vegetables at all!

I don't have any belly pics to post yet. I did take one at 12 weeks, but it doesn't show anything at all. I am now starting to show some, and my jeans don't zip up, but with the weight loss I still have lots of clothes that fit! Stay posted, and hopefully I"ll be keeping my end of the bargain and posting more often.