Let's Make 2016 a Year to Remember!

What better way to set the tone for 2016 than to start at the beach watching the sunset!

Even in the few short weeks of 2016, we have already made some great memories!

Papa drawing a "Keety Cat" for Parker

Making cookies with Mimi

Visiting Sam and Winnie at their campsite making S'Mores with Daddy

Picking strawberries with Aunt Mandy

Sharing stickers with "My Nee Naw"

"Mommy!  Look my underwear is on my head!" 

Parker loving on Baby Addison

Lunch dates with GiGi 

These two are honestly a blessing from God.

2015 was full of changes for us and 2016 has started with all new (unexpected) changes for us!  We bought our first home in May of 2015 and closed on our second at the end of January.  We had no intention of buying this soon, but the opportunity came our way and we decided to take on the new adventure!...and what an adventure it has turned out to be (more about that in the next post...)

When we decided to buy the new house, we knew it needed quite a bit of work, but we were up for the challenge...we had a lease signed for renter's to move into our current house and a tight timeline to make, but we knew we could work hard and meet the deadline...that is until Michael got a call that he had to leave town for work without any idea of when he would come home...yikes!  So that left me and a very busy toddler to juggle the chaos! All I can say is thank God for amazing friends and family who love us unconditionally even covered in paint, dirt, and wall paper stripper!  Without all the help we got, NEVER EVER would we have made it!  But...we made the deadline and are now moved into our beautiful new home...wait until you see the adventures we endured...

Michael was able to come home for the weekend to move, and with the help of Ann and Duane, we were able to get everything to the new house and get the other house ready for the new renter's.  We thought we were in the clear, but no such luck...

Cooper darted out of the back door at the new house Sunday evening and was hit by a car.  He was one lucky little pup ending up only with some bad road rash and a cut on his front paw, but we ended up at the emergency vet until midnight and made daily trips to our local vet throughout the last week for bandage changes.  Raw honey does wonders for wound healing even on dogs, who knew?!  He is recovering well, but with his "cone of shame" because he keeps trying to get his bandage off.  Punk.

Overall, we are all on the mend - the bruises from moving, sore muscles from raking leaves, and lack of sleep have almost become distant memories :)

Now for the details on this house of ours...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Parker!

When we first welcomed Parker into our world, I cannot count the number of times we heard "Enjoy every minute because before you know it, he will be all grown up!"

Well, you were all exactly right.  Some days it feels like the longest 3 years of our lives, and other days like weeks go by in minutes...

Parker is still enjoying school and loves learning new things!  He is infatuated with trains, planes, trucks, bikes, and pretty much anything with wheels.  He constantly asks questions about what things are and how they work, and will sit for hours reading books and going through flashcards.  His curiosity challenges us, but keeps us on our toes all at the same time!

With everything going on and how crazy things have been for us lately, we decided to just have a low key family day to celebrate Parker turning 3.  My parents were in town for a visit, Aunt Pam and Uncle Bob drove up from Ft. Meyers where they were spending the winter, and the Miller/Walcott clan drove west all to celebrate their favorite little man!

Nana has officially agreed to be on birthday cake duty indefinitely (we all know I don't have the patience to decorate a fancy cake...) and made yet another incredible birthday cake!

As you can see, Parker was super excited to see his Toy Story cake and still talks about his "Blue Woody Buzz Cake"!

Parker's class even made him a birthday banner that he insisted we hang up in his room as soon as we got home!

Thank you for all the wonderful birthday cards, messages, and wonderful gifts sent from near and far to celebrate our little monster!  We are so grateful for each of you!

All our love,
The Miller's :)

2015 In Pictures

I realized this morning just how much of a slacker I have been with our blog...yikes!

Parker turns 3 in just a few short days and I have been looking through a lot of old photos smiling at all the wonderful memories we have created as a family during the last three years.  Instead of a flood of blog posts explaining every detail of our entire year, I went through some recent photos and I am going to do a quick recap in photos to share what 2015 looked like for us...

We hung out in baskets.

We washed cars.

We had staring contests with chocolate bunnies.

...but then realized they are just plain delicious.

We got cool new shades.

We played with friends

We learned to blow dandelions with Pap Paw.

We gave Daddy birthday kisses.

We moved into our new home.

We went to the Disney Animation hotel, it was basically Heaven on Earth.

We watched traffic.

We discovered our OCD.

We hung out.

We went to Lowes.  A lot.

We watched movies and ate popcorn.

Papa came to visit.

We got a new suitcase.

We rode trains.

And carousels.

We "helped" Daddy build a deck.

...but quickly realized it was too much work, so we played trains in Daddy's workshop instead.

We held puppies.

We watched more movies and ate more popcorn.

We realized Daddy should probably pay us for our hard work.

We played at the park.

We got creative when we wanted to come inside.

We held adorable babies.

We got tired from all the fun.

We helped Pap Paw extract some honey.

We played at the park some more.

...and at Chuck E Cheese.

We blew bubbles.

We flew to Maine with Mimi and spent a week without Mom and Dad.

We hung out with tractors.

We rode Papa's tractor every single day.

We helped Mimi with her gardening.

We helped Uncle Brian at work.

We went on nature walks with Mimi.

We went on our first boat ride with Charlie.

We met a goat.

We rode more trains.

We picked apples.

We became Scuba Steve.

And a Ninja Turtle.

Oh look, more trains.

We started potty training, I didn't quite get it.

We went to visit Granny and Pop Pop.

We tried to pick pumpkins, but they were really heavy.

...so we asked Pap Paw for help.

We made cookies with Nana.

We turned into Buzz Lightyear.

We played with our toys...in high heels.  It's totally normal.

Auntie Barb came to visit and we celebrated her birthday.

Those glasses.

Dad realized he isn't nearly as cool as me.

We had lots of nights by the fire in the backyard.

We visited the Ringling Bros Museum.

We read books about the circus.

Oh look!  More trains.

We hung out some more.

We rode yet another train.  This time, with Santa!

Santa train!

We gave Gia a tour at Dinosaur World.

We fell in love.

We missed Gia.

Uncle Chris came to visit for our first school play.

We sang in our first Christmas play!

Aunt Pam and Uncle Bob came to visit.

We rode MORE trains.

We got new shades.

We went to see Christmas lights with Mom.

Christmas was epic.

We learned to fake sleep.

We spent quality time with Cooper.

As you can see, 2015 was quite a year!  We made some great memories and learned some exciting new things.  I promise to be better with updates in 2016...here is to a great year!

All our love,

The Miller's :)