To all the Moms...

Every since bringing Aliyah home, Caden has not been sleeping well. He wakes up once or twice during the night crying and then wakes up after only 9-10 hours of sleep. He usually wakes up crying which typically means he hasn't had enough sleep. He also doesn't nap for very long, usually only about 1 1/2 hours.
Before Aliyah was born we had nights and days like that but they were few and far between. He was going down at 8pm and sleeping till 8 or later and taking 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon. Any one have any thoughts about how to get him back on the old schedule? Do you think it's just because of all the change going on? He has been great with Aliyah and hasn't expressed any signs of jealousy or anything. He just loves on her a ton and always asks about her if he doesn't see her.
It's just getting exhausting for me to be feeding a baby every two- three hours in the night and dealing with a crying toddler (which Daniel usually handles, but it still wakes me up) and then getting up at the crack of dawn. Any thought or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Aliyah Drue Miller

So, I'm not very good at posting... but at least I post with the important thing. :-)

Aliyah Drue Miller was born on Dec 30th . It was a "easy" labor... (if labor can be referred to as easy)... my water was broken at 7:30 and labor began about 10:30am. Then after 13 min of pushing, little Aliyah entered the world at 6:23pm, 8lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long. She has been a great baby thus far and I pray it continues. Caden is adjusting remarkably well. There have been no signs of jealously, and he kisses and hugs her as much as he can. It was a bigger adjustment to have me gone for 2 1/2 days then it was that Aliyah came home with us. Caden is still leary of being apart from me, so pray that that changes quickly. It's a little hard when Aliayah needs me and Caden constantly wants me and noone else. Other then that... things are great in the Miller house and we loving having a little girl in the family.

My Little Charmer...

Caden has quite the personality. He is Mr. Friendly. He loves waving hi to people and knows no strangers. He has this little charmer grin and head tilt he does when he knows he's being adorable. I happened to catch it on camera today. He was wandering around the house eating an apple, his new favorite snack. I looked up from the computer to see him sitting on the steps just munching away, looking very proud of himself. Here's the little charmer himself.

What I saw as I looked out the computer room doorway.


The charmer pose.

Caden's First Birthday

This is long overdue... as Caden turned one on Sept 18th. But better late then never, right? We spent a Saturday afternoon at the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Olathe, KS. Caden loved seeing all the animals and just walked around in amazement. Then on Sunday we went to Nonnie and Papa's house and had cake and ice cream and opened presents. Caden enjoyed his cupcake, but had a stomach ache later on that day. :-(

Here's just a collage of our birthday celebration.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Erin.

1.When I'm upset about something I clean, and I clean agressivly. It's get out of my way and let me clean.

2. I hate when any of my food touches on my plate. I like everything to be separate and in it's own spot.

3.I can read a book in a day and a half, if I'm really interested in it. Unfortunatly because I speed read I rarely remember what happens in the book, and sometimes will pick up the same book and read it again without realizing until I'm quite a ways in that I've already read it.

4. When I travel in the car, everything has to be in a specific spot. I can't leave until everything is organized and accounted for. I have completely unpacked the car just to re-pack it again so I know where everything is.

5. I can't think of any other wierd habits I have. So I guess that's it.

I tag... well no one. Sorry!

Lawn Mowing & Creative Parenting

This evening we had a dilemma... how could Daniel mow the yard and still spend time with Caden. Well, we came up with a solution.

Put Caden in the backpack...



Protect his ears with noise cancellation headphones and VeggieTales...



And be sure to capture it all on camera.

Some photos

It's pretty much been normal around the Miller house the past couple of weeks. Caden is growing so fast. It's amazing how much he understands. He wants to communicate and has done very well in learning some sign language. He knows "more", "all done", "milk/bottle", and "eat". When he gets frustrated and tries to tell us what he wants he just does all the signs he knows over and over. It's quite funny.


Caden loves playing in his pool.


My two studs!


He loved sitting on this saddle. Can you tell by the grin?


Look, no hands!


Just hanging out watching Sesame Street.