she cracks me up

Here was our most recent conversation:

Me: "Reagan, what do you want for lunch?"
Reagan: "Bread."
Me: "What kind of bread?"
Reagan: "Tote bread."
Me: "Tote bread?"
Reagan: "Yes, tote bread."
Me: "What is tote bread?"
Reagan: "It sounds like food."

a bit strange

Here is a little clip of Reagan singing the United States song. She really gets into strange things, I know. I am not sure if that is because she is strange or because she has a strange mother. Who knows. But I'm pretty sure Planets, Dem Bones and the United States are not exactly normal interests for a two year old.

I'm still waiting for the girly stage to hit her. You know, dressing up, playing princesses... I'm actually not sure what normal girls really play. I think I was meant to be a boy or something. She does at least enjoy playing with her little dolls in her dollhouse. But again, not normal. These are what her dolls look like... (Grandma likes to get her "fun" ones).

I love my little girls, even though some days they drive me crazy. (Today was one of them.) 1:00 church is not ideal for my little gals. Oh well. After we came home and they napped, they were much sweeter.

Oh, and for those of you who haven't been to our place in a while, we added a few details to the toy room. I try to make it fun for the girls since we rarely ever leave the house in the winter. I added these Ikea pictures and dollar store alphabet border sometime around Reagan's birthday.

I pulled the slide inside when winter came. It has been a wonderful addition, Reagan helps all of her toys take turns on the slide.



I hung up the planets rings from the Tuckers. Reagan has an obsession with planets, which she has passed on to Kennedy. Those are the first thing Kennedy looks for EVERY time we go in the toy room. I also made curtains for the windows. Apparently having extra long windows makes buying shades super expensive. I opted for the $1.50 fabric at Walmart. I think they match perfectly.


Here's to a much better week. Now that I am armed with new fun games thanks to my Sugar and Spice ladies, and chocolate chip cookies I just took out of the oven. Happy Sabbath!




Oh yeah, and we have decided to finally take our blog private. A few too many weird anonymous comments... Sorry for the inconvenience. If I don't have your email address already, please give it to me so I can send you an invite. Thanks!

the latest

Kennedy - 8.5 months

She crawls everywhere and pulls herself up on everything. She follows Reagan all around the house and steals whatever toy Reagan is playing with. She loves unconventional toys, particularly: Paper, plastic, water bottles, cords, remotes, Reagan's compressor, wipes, diapers... you get the point. We call her our little houdini, because she manages to get to and get in everything. She sometimes says Da-da, but doesn't realize the meaning yet. She still doesn't have a single tooth yet! She is quite a good gummer, but I am still a little limited in what I can feed her. She is a super happy baby, and smiles at people everywhere we go. She has had a cold and croup for almost a month now, and I feel so bad for her. She still tries to be happy, but is just in discomfort. She hasn't been sleeping the best as a result. I am hoping we can kick it out of her system soon! She has been learning to turn pages in books, and always pulls them off the shelf. She loves to cuddle with me, and is just a bundle of joy!

Reagan - 28 months

She is my little talker. She is always, always talking. She is also always reading. I no longer get to read to her very much because she insists on reading everything. At night we let her pick out one last book to read, and she always chooses a long book that she reads super, duper slow. She is always saying funny things, here are a few of her latest:
When she slipped onto her butt Rick asked her if she was okay. Her reply, "Daddy kiss it, Reagan hurt her button!"
When we were looking for her necklace, I asked her where it was.
She said, "Where is the necklace? It's in the car."
I said, "In the car?"
She said, "No, not in the car. You're silly, mommy! Where are you necklace?"
Today she was having a conversation with herself that went like this, "Goodness me, do I know the answer? No, you silly goose. I'm a big girl!"
Lately she has been on a States kick. Ever heard the States song where you sing all of the names of the states? Yea, she knows it. Rick doesn't even know it. We have started trying to teach her how to write letters. She can get the Z, the O and the L pretty good, but thats about it so far. She doesn't want to be potty-trained, she always says she is a little girl and needs to wear a diaper. I think it may have something to do with the fact that she basically has chronic diarrhea from not absorbing enough of her food. I am hoping to be able to figure out her enzyme dosage at her next CF appointment, so we can help her have normal bowel movements - then we will tackle the potty training. Another favorite of Reagan's is "Dem Bones." I think he is her imaginary friend. She always prays for him and talks for him. ("Great job, cried Dem Bones!") She also makes us build her a "dem bones" out of her blocks and it always has to have all of the correct bones. She makes Kennedy laugh all the time, and is the best big sister!

FINALLY!

Two years of patiently waiting... plus an airplane

plus two banners

equals...

It's amazing how long two years really is! Elder Brooks returned home today from serving the people of Argentina. We know he was a wonderful missionary and taught so many people about our Savior. But we are so happy to have him home!

We were all a little bit giddy with excitement!

Reagan painted a picture of Eric, for Eric. But after she gave it to him, she still insisted on reading a book to him. He is such a good sport!

Reagan has been very patient this past week. Every morning when she woke up she would immediately say, "We get to see Uncle Eric next wednesday!"

She remembered to pray for him at least a couple times every week, but the last three days she has prayed consistently "Bless Uncle Eric that he travels safely." We didn't even know that he would be traveling for three days to get home. (18 hour bus ride to Neuquen, flight to Buenos Aires, 11 hour layover, flight to Atlanta, flight to Flint.) But even though he was exhausted, he was still his cheery self.

Welcome Home Elder Brooks!!

sometimes...

... I think Doctors are stupid. I know that sounds cruel, but hear me out. So I thought the girls were basically over their colds (Luckily Reagan still is...) Then on Saturday Kennedy started coughing pretty bad and her nose started running like a faucet. I figured her cold wasn't completely gone, but that was it. Then Sunday morning she was wheezing, so I called the on-call doctor. She told me that it sounded like RSV and to take her in to Urgent Care or the ER right away. I took her to the Urgent Care because it is closest (I'll never do that again). The doctor looked at her, said she had an ear infection and that was all. He put her on 3 meds, which seemed a little over the top to me for just an ear infection. Oh well, what do I know, I am just a mom. Monday she seemed the same to me, and then in the early afternoon her cough turned into a bark and the wheeze was back. I called our pediatrician to ask if I should bring her in or if they could just call in something for a breathing treatment for her. (I thought about just giving her one of Reagan's Xopenex treatments, since that is all we did when Reagan had croup). The doctor said there was nothing they could do if we brought her in, and that I needed to take her to the ER because she sounded like she should be admitted to the hospital. I start thinking, "What?? These people are psycho! She just needs a breathing treatment." They didn't believe me, so then of course, I start doubting my little bit of medical knowledge. SoI held her over the humidifier for about 30 minutes while I waited for Rick to get home from work, then I took her to the ER here in Howell because a friend of ours works there. He said she didn't have an ear infection at all, so I didn't need to be giving her the antibiotic. Then here's the kicker. If she is wheezing, give her a breathing treatment. Yeah. I was right. Too bad it cost me $75 at the ER to get that confirmed. On top of that, the antibiotic Kennedy didn't even need cost me 8 poopy diapers, and an entire box of wipes yesterday (Reagan had her own 3 poopy diapers)! Stupid, stupid, stupid. Guess I should realize my motherly instinct is normally correct...

new years day

We spent New Years Day at my Aunt and Uncle's house. We always love going there, good food and lots of fun. Plus Nick and Allison and the girls were there too.

Grandma reading a new book to Reagan, Nayeli and Austin.

Steve and Jill bought a gingerbread house and train kit to do with the kids. They loved it, thanks Steve and Jill!

Reagan and Nayeli decorating together.

The finished house. (Jill helped with the icing, while the kids stuck the candies on.)

The finished train. (Steve helped the kids with this one.)

Reagan thought her Uncle Nick was soooo much fun. (He is a little crazy.)

Reagan, Nayeli, Grandma and Austin playing with Legos.

Austin and Rick working hard to make Lego masterpieces.

We tried to get a cousins picture again. I was dancing to get the kids to smile, though, so I had to borrow this picture from Aunt Pat.

Kennedy also thought Uncle Nick was tons of fun.

The holidays were tons of fun! And now that we have the internet, I can start sharing our fun a little more often. Thanks for reading!

miller christmas

We went to my parents' house for Christmas morning. It was the first time we had been there since we brought Reagan home from the hospital. Due to health problems with my dad, we haven't been able to take Reagan to their home. But after he managed to stay healthy long enough, and with plenty of sanitizer, we were able to spend Christmas in their home. My Grandmother came from North Carolina for the holidays. We love having her here, and Reagan was so excited to see Granny again that she screamed (in excitement) and ran right over to her with a great big hug. The Crosses were there too, which is always fun! Reagan loves playing with them!

Granny with a funny mask.

Grandma helping Reagan open some of her presents.

Kennedy liked chewing on my new Twilight CD.

Kennedy and Granny bonding.

Kennedy loved this toy, maybe we will swipe it next time we are at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Rick, Reagan, Jill and Steve relaxing after a big meal!

christmas morning

Christmas Eve was absolutely horrible. Our power went out at 8 pm and didn't come back on until 5:30 am. It was 55 degrees in our house, and the girls slept horribly from being cold and pitch black. I slept in Reagan's bed with her for a while (not too comfy) and Kennedy slept in our bed. The girls still really enjoyed the morning.

Reagan giving her sister some smoochies.

Reagan and Kennedy playing with Kennedy's new present.

Reagan got a dollhouse ($15 at Michael's on Black Friday). I painted it and bought the few furniture pieces Michaels had. My mom got her more furniture and dolls to go with it, but she still thought it was awesome when she opened it.

Kennedy enjoying her wrapping paper.

before the holidays

We forgave Daddy for going to Chicago because he took the week of Christmas off. We had fun in the snow while Kennedy napped. Reagan got to ride in her sled, while Daddy shoveled the drive. Then we built a snowman and threw snowballs. Reagan didn't want to go inside, until her hands finally started to get wet.

I love this picture of Daddy and Reagan.

Reagan and our snowman.

Reagan posed in her Christmas dress, so cute!

Kennedy sleeps on her hands a lot, so when she wakes up she has imprints on her face!

I finally finished sewing our tree skirt two days before Christmas. Apparently sewing with kids is nearly impossible, so the stockings won't be done until next year.

A close-up...

brooks christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Dennis and Laura the weekend before Christmas, because they were heading to Virginia to see Amber, Dallas and Becky. The girls really enjoyed opening their presents and playing with Grandpa and Sunshine. Plus we had really good food, Salmon and Cheesecake....mmmm....

Daddy, Reagan and Sunshine trying to open her new microphone.

Did I mention that Kennedy loves paper, so naturally she loved the wrapping paper.

Reagan got a new Harmonica, which Daddy also enjoys!

Grandpa and Reagan reading - her absolute favorite pasttime.

Kennedy trying to eat the bus. She didn't seem to notice that it was way too big!

christmas cookies

While Rick was in Chicago, we had Molly, Austin and Kalli come over to make Christmas cookies with us. The kids had a good time decorating the cookies and the floor, but enjoyed eating the sprinkles even more!

They got a few more sprinkles on the plate than on the actual cookies!