Owen's Birthday!!

For info on our newest family member, Owen- please visit Millers Online Outpost!! Thanks for posting (and taking) such nice pictures Emily- what would we do without you???

www.millersonlineoutpost.blogspot.com

Help!!

I've been working on a quilt for the new baby for the last 2 days and have, in the meantime, been completely ignoring my children- who have mostly behaved really nice for me during these mental check-outs. The last 2 days they have gone into the family room, then they remove all the sofa cushions and do their best to make a 'fort'. I'm okay with this since it keeps them entertained and out of my sewing area. This morning after an hour or so I hear Seth calling from the other room- Help! Help! Ayuda me!! Help! Help! Ayuda me!!! You'll have to excuse my lack of correct Spanish spelling I'm sure- but the meaning cannot be misaken. I don't know how many of you have watched Go! Diego, Go!, but I have... apparently so has Seth. Needless to say, I was cracking up.

Seriously, so Funny

I know it's wrong to get wrapped up in a make-believe world- but I can't help myself. I find myself going to Noelle's blog- scrolling down to the link and checking in with TAMN every few days and I finally had to do it- I added it to my list of Favorites. I know there will be those who have NO clue what the HECK this crazy person is talking about- but I LOVE it. I had to say something to excuse my addiction is all- so there's my excuse- I am just too weak- I had to have my OWN link.

Our Newest Addition

...and No, it's not a baby- yet. This new addition comes after many years of dreaming of less wasted space and the desire to hide unsightly heaps of toys. Yes, it is our new CABINETS!!! Yeah! 2 Weeks ago while the Teeples were in town visiting, Matt graciously used up most of his time here installing the beauties. They look sooo good- and we couldn't be more pleased with the practicality of the new set-up. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Matt!!- oh, and Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Santa (Morgan) for the best gift EVER! You are awesome!

Oh, yes- and please notice our lovely bare light-bulbed lamp if you will. We finally replaced the hideous black one that was Morgans bachelor lamp and got us a nice brushed nickel one with a glass lamp shade the week before our cabinets were going to be installed- a feat (replacing the lamp) only about 6 years in the making. The day after the installation everyone came over while Matt was installing the hardware and lo and behold, it was not baby proofed enough. Baby Maggie was trying to get the stick horse from behind the lamp and CRASH!! There went the shade- so I guess it's time for a trip back to Home Depot- let's hope it takes less than 6 years to make it there!!

I know, I know!

I just realized that it's been a few weeks since my last post. We just got back from visiting California LATE monday night (don't get me started on that one), we have BEAUTIFUL new cabinets in our family room (hooray!!!- and thanks Matt!), we are officially 33 weeks pregnant (aaaaahhh!) AND my smart husband sold our 5,000 lb TV last night and got it officially out of our hair... it's been a GREAT month so far. Plus, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it pretty much doesn't get any better. I'll post later tonight with some pictures of our home inprovements and our CA trip. See Emily, I'm totally up-to-date now!

Family Home Evening

We're racking up a great list of firsts in our family this last month or so. We held our first official Family Home Evening- or Family Game Night, as Porter prefers to call it- earlier this month. We decided to keep it pretty simple- 1. Start with a primary song- which was surprisingly enjoyable since everyone actually knew some of the words, then 2. a prayer- the boys always end up praying together since Seth is such a great parrot, 3. we then read a story out of the kid-friendly scriptures (pretty much just adds pictures)- then it's game time! We broke out the colored dominos that conveniently have 4 colored little trains and we each built train tracks. It was fun and Porter now looks forward to Family Night every week. It was fun to sit around and all play together with no distractions- I find Monday night is becoming my favorite night of the week as well!

Halloween- Boooo!

We decided- upon insistence by our pro-party-throwing Mother, that we would put together a little Halloween party in our garage- a throw-back to the GREAT ones that used to take place annually at my grandma's house when we were young. Unfortunately, the pro-party-thrower was in Houston at a quilt show- leaving behind 3 fairly lame daughters who were less than motivated (who knew?) and- to be fair, several of us had the flu that week- up until Thursday night...that's a good excuse-right? Not really, but ANYWAY, we DID at least have a party with our 3 families and it was SUCH a perfect Halloween night- totally unheard of around here. It couldn't have been cooler than 65 degrees- so our garage "party" was comfortable in addition to fun since no one was freezing. Emily made some delicious Chili- a Halloween tradition, and I made some cornbread and we had a Fishing booth and everything- so it was LIKE a real party. The kids LOVED dressing up( ...with exception of Jack, Beth's little boy, who we finally slapped a spare fireman hat on and called a fireman) and trick-or-treating was a huge success. Overall, a good night.

For Keeps...

I'll Keep Your Kiss Forever.
~Porter At Naptime Today

So- As for an Update...

Johnson Family Reunion- Eagar, Arizona

Heber House Playing- Summer 2008

Goofing- Off at Home- August 2008

Swimming- Veterans Park- August

Seth's 2nd Birthday- August 10th

Oh, Aren't we so Cute??? September- can you guess it's a BYU Football Game?

Notice, if you will, that John and Lily jumped into the background as well- what are we going to do with them????

Jack & Seth playing at the park in St. George. We went down to see Big River-

one word- AMAZING! Tuacahn outdoor theatre- if you haven't been-go!

Actually, the time between now and June really HAS been too fast. Currently, I am sitting at home during what ought to be my quiet time- oh, wait, it's called 'nap-time', and it's for the kids (yeah, right)- while waiting for Seth to decide to stop screaming at me from his crib to come back and put his blanket on him- which I did, about 5 minutes ago when I put him there for his nap. He has learned (from Porters good example) how to put off nap-time and bedtime. Since he sleeps in a crib and (thankfully) hasn't ever put his mind to figuring out how to get out of it- his distraction of choice is to keep me by his bed asking me to sing "I Love You" over, and over, and over and OVER again, or he tells me- everytime I turn to leave the room " I need something"- which of course, he doesn't. It is usually followed up by a request for cold water or to have me put every blanket in his bed on- then tells me that he doesn't want one, the other- or any of them at all... so usually, on these hard to distract him days it ends like this- I walk out- he screams at me about not meeting one or the other of his needs and in ten minutes finally gives up and goes to sleep. He is still my joy.

Porter is at preschool- his new favorite place on earth. He is addicted to people. He finds a new best friend- young, old or in between, everywhere we go and will do his best to talk their ears off. As my first to cross the line out of babyhood and into the big kid world, I often find myself at a loss at to what to do with him. I can no longer just state things as fact, and bark out orders and have them obeyed. He already thinks he knows better than me- and is sure that I just don't understand him. You should've heard our conversation a few months ago about why he couldn't give his friend, Jack Bluth, a kiss goodbye. He thinks- well, I give all my family kisses goodbye- and I really like my friend- too bad Jack about died when Porter came running after him trying to grab him so that he could bestow his farewell wishes on him. I tried to explain over the next few days that we don't kiss out friends- we give them a high five- and thank them for playing with us- he would have NONE of it. "No, Mom! I can kiss anyone I want!" he informed me- end of conversation. Slowly, I am becoming more patient and understanding. He gets really embarrassed and hurt when his behavior is called to question- so I'm relearning tact, and thoughtfulness- we'll see how I do. As for the past week- I've actually seen and HEARD him use his own good judgement which gives me hope that I am not going to ruin him. He is still my miracle baby.

Morgan and I are expecting our 3rd boy (BOY!!!) oh, boy oh, boy.... at the end of December. I tell everyone that the baby is due Christmas. First of all because I always said that having ALL boys was my worst fear- and second, that I would die if I had a Christmas baby- so this year is bringing to pass all my worst fears- and I guess I'll be living through them all. I just joined the world of mini-van mommy's (gasp- I know, I thought I would die before I saw that one happen as well...there's another one for you) but we love it. The boys LOVE it- are actually in LOVE with our movie-playing- magic door opening, more-room-than-either-them-know-what-to-do-with, mini-van. We got a 2007 Honday Odyssey with only 8,700 miles on it for 24,900- we were pretty stoked. It's practically brand new- and it will fit everything we need in it- including our new little guy. We just had a clear bra put on it yesterday and plan on lots of fun being had in it.

Shut- up

June 19th wasn't THAT long ago.

Toy Story Strikes...Again.

As many children before him have- and many more to come will- Porter went through your average addiction to the Disney movie Toy Story. You know, Buzz, Woody and Andy... Well, for those of you who are unaware- Porter also has an incredible knack for remembering EVERYTHING he ever hears: good, bad and ugly. It's all recorded up in his little brain in a seemingly bottomless pit of knowledge. He also possesses an uncanny ability to reuse his vast supply of tidbits at horrifically appropriate times in ways that have astounded me time after time- you'd think I'd be used to it, but he still catches me off-guard.

We actually get a LOT of quotes from Toy Story due to the fact that they loved using the words: shut-up, idiot, stupid and any number of other words that for whatever reason NO ONE wants to hear coming out of their children's mouths. He even uses the knowledge that those words are undesirable as an excuse to tell me all about how many of the characters use them and how naughty it is. Several times a day I will hear "Mom, Woody told Buzz to shut-up and that's not nice" "That girl (Sids sister) says Stupid dog to her dog- she needs to bite soap" "they just said Idiot- the police are going to get them"- and on and on and on. Just the other day I heard a new one though. We were heading down to Orem to go to the pool with Emily, Beth, my Mom and all the children that that entails. As we approached the highway there was a long line of cars stopped- all waiting to be let through some of the never-ending road construction that they love to do in our glorious state. At the sight of the road congestion Porter said "Oh, no Mom- look at all this traffic!" and I murmured something in return. Right on cue- without hestitation came the next line- straight out of Buzz's mouth "This is no time to panic!!"

I almost died...

Heber Creeper

Our friend, Linda came to visit from Australia and we spent the week hanging out at all the Johnson households to visit with her. On Friday, everyone came up to Heber for dinner at our house and you can't come to Heber without riding our famous train- the Heber Creeper. It was such a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time.

Linda Rowan and Porter- Sydney in the background.
Me & Seth with Linda enjoying the incredible view.

For those of you who haven't met Morgan's evil twin... haha, just kidding- about the evil part anyway... This is Stuart & Becky with their children: Sydney (left) Mitchell (center) and Dallin (right)- we have the best family- that is all we can say.

River 2008

COKE!!! Yes, he needs his morning pick-me-up already... sad, I know...
Mommy & Seth chilling in the shade- Seth is sporting his manly fairy wand- courtesy of cousin Elena.
This quickly became a favorite outing for the boys. "Motorcycle" rides were a great treat.
Jr. Captain Seth in his favorite seat on the boat. Our trusty Sr. Captain Grandpa will attest to this fact. We wouldn't be 20 seconds into a boat ride before being bombarded to let Seth drive. Or Ollie. Or Porter...you know how it goes.
Expert fisherman Porter fishing from his favorite spot on the new ladder.

Oh, Swim Lessons- what a joy!!! Can't you see the excitement in Seth's hysterical face?
The best time of the day (and the quietest) was snack time featuring Cheetos...can't beat them.

Freedom!!

Mowing the lawn with Dad is a HUGE treat! Everyone loves to help...

Porter and Seth on the rocketship swing.

I had to post this one even though it wasn't very good- this is Seth's first reactions to having a camera pointed in his direction: he squats down, puts his little hands on his thighs, squenches his eyes and says, " Cheeese. Cheeessseee."

Freedom!!! Well... for a couple of days at least. We have had so much rain the past few weeks, but it's an improvement on snow and it's GREEN outside- which goes a LONG way with me! But in-between rain storms we've enjoyed some beautiful weather and I just wanted to show the boys out playing in the backyard since it's made us a SUCH happier family!! Seth is still addicted to Ow-shide and can be brought out of almost any pre-2-year-old tantrum by being asked if he'd like to go outside to play... works like a charm! He has actually turned into quite the 2-year-old nightmare. He thinks he can (and should physically be able to) do anything that Porter is capable of doing and gets sooooo mad when he can't. He's so freaking cute though that it's more funny than anything when he throws a fit. He is my snuggle buddy though- and still has time to give out loves to grandma's, grandpa's and anyone else he takes a liking to. Porter is Mr. Bigshot. His favorite line for me right now is "Whatever.." He says this anytime he thinks I'm being repetitive, mean, bossy, demanding, if he doesn't want to do what I need him to do or anytime and any place he can squeeze it into a conversation. It is SO funny. There are no words to describe how it feels to have your 3 year old say this to you in the exact same way that you would use it with your friends or family just to annoy them. He and Seth are the cutest friends though and I LOVE watching them play together. We are just having a great spring!

Happy Birthday- and Happy Spring!!

We had a joint birthday celebration for Grandpa Miller and Morgan two Sundays ago at the Heber House. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and the boys kept their grandpa and their daddy busy taking them on never-ending 4-wheeler rides. We would like to wish them both a very Happy Birthday!!!

Kindred Spirits

Yes, that is DIRT all over his face. I made the mistake of sending the boys out in the backyard to play- equipped with spatulas and such... Well, the next thing I know I looked out the window to see Porter shoveling dirt on top of Cache and when Seth came inside to check in I saw that Cache was not Porter's only victim. We were still finding dirt on him 3 days later.

I've observed since getting our dog last August that little kids and dogs really do have a lot in common. They are both naughty, enjoy getting dirty, eat things they ought not to, and don't listen to a word you say... Seth and Cassius are buddies down the line in all these catagories. My favorite thing since we got Cache is to watch him interact with the kids. Seth has taken to bonding with Cache in what we affectionately call 'the dogs corner'. The other day I had been working on the computer and since it had been quiet for rather a few too many minutes I decided to go make sure no one had escaped or was dead. When I walked into the kitchen I found Seth laying on his back next to Cache on Cache's blanket- rolling around kicking his legs, evidently having a great bonding session with the dog. It was so cute- but I couldn't grab the camera fast enough to catch his original funny position- but here are a few pictures of naughty Seth moments...

Listening...

Listening isn't easy for any 3 year old (I am hoping) and Porter is no exception. I must ask him to listen to me- or someone else at least 1000x a day. When I was trying to help him with getting potty trained I told him that he just needed to listen to his body and it would tell him when he needed to go. Since then I've heard many derivations of this idea... My body is telling me I'm this.. My body is telling that... This morning he climbed into bed with us and was promptly asked if he needed to go to the bathroom- of course he answered No, and that was it... Sometime later when he was informed that he would need to go to the bathroom before we turned cartoons on- he hesitated, then whispered "My body told me (then in a super low, puckered-lip tummy-ish voice I guess) I need to go potty...I need to go potty."

Thrills & Spills

Saturday, being the BEAUTIFUL 70 degree day that it was, could NOT keep this family indoors one more minute. We were out working in the yard, watering our spring flowers that are trying to emerge and washing cars OUTSIDE at the Papa McEuen's Hand Car Wash. We were intoxicated with fresh spring air and were delirious with spring-y thoughts... Porter has been asking for a bike forEVER and after trying unsuccessfully to satisfy the desire by way of D.I. (Deseret Industries- a Utah Salvation Army) and Target- we made our way to our cool local Brothers Bikes bike shop and picked him out a beautiful little blue bike and helmet that he can't stop talking about. We thought you should see him go (the cheesy grin was complimentary)!!!

Happy Days are Here Again!!

The last week has been one to remember. Porter turned 3 in January and I realized that it was time to start really working on potty training...not that the thought hadn't crossed MY mind- it had, I mean- he got underwear for Christmas and all, the problem was- it hadn't really crossed HIS mind. He's used the toilet for this and that, and had been pretty good about telling me he needed to go when he was in the tub- but actual day-to-day use- absolutely no interest. In March we.. okay- I, started really trying to help him get into the spirit of it so we established a post-potty training reward- he wanted a watch... this only proved to make him obsessive about having one. We'd have an all-out war whenever I asked him to go- no matter how gently or forcefully the suggestion was made. He'd do well half the day only to wet 20 minutes after using the restroom. Now, I am all about not forcing the issue, and waiting until the child is ready- but with pre-school on the horizon and size 6 diapers getting not only smaller, but incredibly annoying to change- I was finally fed up. Last week, after WEEKS of being alternately patient, firm AND understanding- I was done. I put the diapers away and vowed that we would be potty trained without use of anymore diapers or die trying... unfortunately for me, it actually almost came to that. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday saw nasty accident after nasty accident and by Tuesday I told him he would spend an hour (or more, depending on how pissed I was) in his room following every single accident...I didn't see him much on Tuesday. Wednesday, the same rules applied, but I was soooo much less nice when sending him off to his room. After 4 #1 (you know the code- right?) "accidents" and 2 #2 "accidents" ("accidents" actually being actions in direct rebellion of the nazi-mother mood I was in) he wound up spending- let's see... probably 18 1/2 hours of that particular day in his bedroom and I was on suicide watch. Anger, frustration, guilt (...which is TOTALLY not fair), a little dab of hysteria and utter DESPAIR at having the most completely stubborn, retarded child that ever existed. I went to the gym that night and moped around with no energy to do anything- so I just went home. I didn't know what else to do. The next morning, Porter came into our room- he went in and used the restroom with NO argument and he hasn't had an accident since. I think the Lord knew when enough was enough and sent me a (not at all small) MIRACLE!!

Ow-shide...Ow-shide

OUTSIDE!! Seth thinks he should be outside all day, everyday, in any kind of weather- California gave him a taste for the outdoors that he can't get over...despite the fact that snowed for us everyday for a week after we got back. Depressing? You have NO idea. Here's the thing- we live in a snowy climate- we understand and actually APPRECIATE that, it's just that the first snow came somewhere around the end of November and it didn't let up until this week. The temperature (other than the occasional week long dip into the negatives) which usually fluctuates somewhere between 20-40 degrees, NEVER (and I actually mean NEVER) even made it to 20 degrees for several months. Never. It was too cold to even take our kids sledding- sledding (or skiing) in 7 degree weather just didn't sound like much fun. Our Christmas lights were actually frozen to our house until about 3 weeks ago at which point we finally took them down. The beginning of March brought us 45 degree weather and we were in our short-sleeves playing outside like it was going out of style- along with about everyone in the state.

So it is easy to understand why Seth and Porter think outside is soooo great! But to prepare throughout the winter- and up until last weekend, it was shoes, socks, jacket and hat... Well, Seth is sure that as long as he has at least ONE of these bases covered- he's good to go. He came to me the other morning in his pajamas, with Porters hat pulled on his head ski-wompas saying "ow-shide.. ow-shide". I HAD to take a picture...