Miller at 15 Months!

Miller had his fifteen-month check-up last week. He is growing well! He weighs 23 pounds, 4 ounces, and is 32.75 inches tall. Our sweet boy is such a joy to be around. He's a mama's boy (but loves his daddy, too!) and is always making us laugh. Here are some things Miller does at fifteen months:

*He runs--everywhere! It seems that he doesn't think he can get places fast enough.
*He loves to hide. His new favorite hiding spot is under his crib. Scary. :-)
*He loves playing peek-a-boo. He likes to cover up his eyes and say "Boo!" He also loves to close doors, open them, and giggle.
*It seems like he's learning a new word every day. Some of his favorites: Mama, Dada, Ma-Ma (for Maggie), Nana, Yaya, Dadada ("Granddaddy"), Bop ("Pop"), uh-oh, no no no no no (said many times), muh (for "more"), bye bye, night-night, baby, ball, and baba ("bottle")--he loves to bring my water bottles to me and say this. He's so much chattier than Maggie was at his age. (Don't worry--Maggie is plenty chatty now.)
*He loves to sing and dance. His favorite song right now is "If You're Happy and You Know It."
*He throws fits--BIG ones. He bends over and puts his head on the ground while he screams. Maggie thinks it's funny. :-)
*He gives the best hugs. He will stop what he's doing multiple times a day to come give me a hug. It breaks my heart every single time.

People have said this of their little boys before, and I didn't really understand it, but I can say confidently that Miller is ALL BOY. :-) We love our little boy so much, and he's such a fun fifteen-month-old!

New Favorite Quotes

Maggie is developing QUITE the personality and is constantly saying things that make us laugh. Sometimes, it's the WAY she says them that is the funniest, but I will try to recap some our favorite Maggie sayings from the past couple of days:

*Conversation between Maggie and me on the way home from church Sunday:
Maggie: "Can I have some cheese crackers?
Me: "Well, we're driving right now, and I can't get to them. Wait until we get home."
Maggie: "YOU'RE not driving. Daddy is."
Me: "Oh my goodness!"
Maggie: "We don't say that. That is ugly."

*Said last night as Maggie was reading a book:
"I didn't know that turtles and dinosaurs could be friends. That's cool."

*Said this morning as we were talking about her friends' birthdays:
Maggie: "What week is Alex's birthday?" (She thinks months are weeks.)
Me: "November."
Maggie: "Why does Alex's birthday have a 'no' in it?"

And some recurring favorites:
"Hey, I think that's a good idea!" (usually said of trips to the playground, fruit snacks, watching cartoons, etc.)

"We don't EVER, EVER, EVER do that." (usually said to Miller when he throws food, climbs on top of things, or tries to open a cabinet)

"Hey, I think we should have Christmas today." (said EVERY morning for the past two weeks)

I'm sure I'll think of more. She keeps us laughing. Miller's pretty funny, too. His favorite things to say are "Uh-oh!" and "Mama" right now. He usually combines the two. :-)

Fall Fun

We're having a great fall so far at the Norris house! Below, you will find pictures of the Norrises carving pumpkins with the neighbors, getting ready to trick-or-treat, and visiting the playground with our Townsend buddies.

In other news, we are all doing very well and are excited about the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays. The kids are recovering from ANOTHER cold/cough, so we hope we are all building up our immune systems for a healthy winter! :-)Happy fall!

Maggie's Third Birthday

Here are a couple of pictures from Maggie's birthday! We went to IHOP and got a smiley face pancake for breakfast, went to pick out Maggie's new big-girl bicycle, spent some time with Becky and Alex at the zoo, ate cupcakes, and went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. It was so much fun seeing Maggie excited about her birthday! How BLESSED we are to have our three-year-old. I cherish her "baby" days but love watching her grow into a beautiful, sweet, and funny little girl.

Happy Third Birthday, Maggie!

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Water Table at McWane

McWane Center Trip

Yesterday we had a fun outing to the McWane Center with our buddies Becky and Alex. Besides an insignificant (but LONG) adventure I had finding my way there, we had a great time! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Miller Waving Bye-Bye

Miller Blowing Kisses

Blessed...

Jeff and I know how blessed we are to have each other and our two sweet children. However, we don't say enough how thankful we are for our wonderful parents, siblings, and friends. Our family and friends are always so selfless and thoughtful. Today, our friend Jessica brought Miller some soup, crackers, and drinks because he's not feeling well. A couple of weeks ago, our friend Becky made us dinner when the kids had the flu. Such thoughtful acts, and so encouraging! I was just thinking today how truly blessed we are...

Miller's Birthday Party!

Miller's first birthday party was last weekend, and it was so fun! We were blessed to have very loved family and friends there, and Miller seemed to have a good time! Here are some pictures of Miller's first birthday bash!

Miller's 1st Cake!

Happy 1st Birthday, Miller!

I cannot BELIEVE our baby turns one today! We are so thankful for Miller. He is SUCH a blessing and so precious to us! Below is a video of our baby boy's first year!

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A Trip to the Park!

After a week of being in the house, we took our first fun outing today! We went to the park for a picnic and some playground time. Here are some pictures from our field trip. :-)

Miller Walking...

As mentioned in yesterday's post, this little boy is walking everywhere!

Walking, My Little Pony...and Swine Flu

We have had an eventful past week here at the Norris house. Good things first...

Miller has started walking everywhere! He has been walking here and there for a few weeks, but he has just in the past week chosen walking as his primary mode of transportation. The sight of his wobbling around is pretty much the funniest thing ever! SO precious.
Maggie has decided she loves "My Little Ponies." She has somehow managed to collect three in the past couple of weeks. A few days ago, she begged Daddy to help her fix her ponies' hair. She then requested that he fix her hair the same way. :-)

In other news, both of our sweet babies are recovering from the swine flu. At the beginning of last week, they were acting "sickly," and by Wednesday, they were both running 103 temperatures. We went to the doctor and came home with two prescriptions for tamiflu. The poor babies were pitiful, pitiful, pitiful for a few days, but they are feeling much better now. Thank you to our family and friends who have prayed us through this past week! Whew! Maybe we'll all be healthy for a while now...

Miller's Walking!

My Favorite Things

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, as the kids are doing new things every day that make me laugh or smile. Here are a few of my favorite things Miller and Maggie are doing these days...


Miller...

• points at everything and everyone. Today, he pointed to an airplane in the sky. He pointed at a neighbor walking by our house. He pointed at me while I was feeding him breakfast. He pointed at his bottle after he threw it on the floor. (You get the point.)
• waves every time anyone says "hey" or "bye-bye" and claps when anyone says "yea." He even clapped for the girls in Maggie's ballet class last week--a lot! Such a polite little boy...
• says "Mama" a lot these days. Brings a smile to my face and my heart every time!
• is starting to take a couple of steps here and there. He's getting really sturdy, so I think he'll be walking soon!
• crawls away as fast as he can when he gets caught getting into something he shouldn't be into. I caught him with one of Maggie's crayons yesterday, and he threw it on the floor and speed-crawled away before I could even say anything. He always grins from ear to ear while doing this, too.
• puts his head on my shoulder (or Jeff's) when we pick him up. SO sweet.

Maggie...

• tells stories (both true and fiction) ;-) with amazing detail. Last night, she told Jeff that she got her orange bracelet from Susie and then ate Chickfila with Pop and Yaya and saw Nanny. She wrapped up her story with, "Then, I went to Nana and Granddaddy's." (This all happened a couple of weeks ago.)
• loves to wear and play with make-up. She mixed all my eyeshadow and blush together so that it made some strange mixture of pink and blue (which, by the way, does NOT flatter my face!).
• loves story time (We hop from library to library trying to catch ALL the local story times!). She always wants to sit closest to the "teacher"...wonder where she got that one....
• has FINALLY learned to ride her tricycle without saying "I not good at this." She does tell me frequently, though, that her "leg is broken off." (I'm guessing this is code language for "My legs hurt and I want to go home.")
• loves to "imaginary play"...She cooks us all kinds of fun creations on her toy stove, and she always pretends to wash her hands, saying "wash wash." She also pretends to change her babies' diapers, saying "change change," and pretends to brush her teeth, saying "brush brush."
• loves to cuddle. She has not always been a cuddlebug, so I am loving this new development!

Jeff and I are SO blessed to get to watch these sweet babies grow and learn new things every day!

Two hams...

Mama

Finally! Miller said "Mama"! This morning, he crawled over to me, gave me a hug, said "Mama," and put his head on my shoulder. SO sweet! I hope I will never forget moments like this one. Here is a new picture of my sweet baby boy.

Fourth Anniversary!

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary! I still can't believe how blessed I am that God planned for Jeff and me to spend our lives together. He's the best husband and friend to me, and he's the most wonderful Daddy to our sweet kids. On July 9, 2005, I could never have imagined the wonderful things these past four years would bring. Four years and two precious babies later, I can't WAIT to see what the rest of our lives hold. God truly does have a perfect plan, as He shows us more and more every day.

The Paci Fairy

We have been scheming for MONTHS for a way to sneak Maggie's paci away from her without the process being traumatic. Well, during Bible School a few weeks ago, a friend from church told us how she managed the process with her daughter. We talked about it with Maggie for a few weeks and decided to do the same thing, so....

Last night, the "paci fairy" visited our house to "take Maggie's paci and give it to a little baby who needed it." In return, the paci fairy was to leave Maggie a present to help her forget about the paci she has known and loved for the past almost-three years. Maggie, of course, insisted on several conditions: 1. She wanted to know who was getting her paci. ;) We told her it was going to Callie, the baby our friends Ashley and Brad. (Callie, by the way, doesn't use a pacifier, and I'm sure Maggie will insist on SEEING her with the paci, so this should be interesting.) 2. Maggie wanted to see the paci fairy. (I don't think the Santa Claus story is going to hold up very long with this girl!) We explained the necessity of the paci fairy coming at night, and Jeff drew Maggie a picture. :) 3. She started compiling a list of things she wanted the paci fairy to bring her (whew!). She wanted a "big ball," a football, some "water paint," and a "biiiiiig" Mickey Mouse.

So she went to bed last night with no paci. She left it on her bookshelf for safe retrieval. ;) (We could not leave it under her pillow because we were afraid she'd reach under there and it would end up in her mouth before morning.) :) She did fine last night, minus one hard hour between 3 and 4 when she woke up mumbling "Paci, paci, paci, Where my paci?".... When Mags woke up this morning, she was very happy about her presents. She even seems okay at the moment to have said "goodbye" to paci forever. I surely hope so! Otherwise, we will not be getting much sleep around here! Here are some pictures of Maggie's paci fairy setup:



My sister Candace always has something hilarious to say...In response to the email I sent friends and family last night with these pictures, she responded:

"Dear Paci Fairy,
Your handwriting looks suspiciously like my Mom's. And balls for pacis? I'm two, not clueless. There better be some cold hard cashola in this basket or you need to be hooking a sister back up with a paci. I do think it's cute that you thought this process would be this simple. Props on that.
Love,
Maggie

P.S. I better wake back up tomorrow morning with a paci in my mouth."

Breakfast and Maggie Quotes

The kids were being extra cute at breakfast today, so I thought I'd snap some pictures. Maggie's hair was also extra wild, so please excuse that. :) That's what it looks like every morning before a brush gets to it.

On to the latest Maggie quotes...

Said yesterday when she saw a clip of Michael Jackson on TV:
"Daddy, look at that girl singin'!"

A conversation with Mama yesterday:
Mama--"Maggie, open your door please. I like it open."
Maggie--"Well I like it closed!"

Said to Daddy when he told her to stop doing something (I don't remember what.):
"Go away. Get OUT of my house."

Said to Miller last night when they were playing before bed:
"Milla, pway puzzles with me!"

Said to Mama before bed every night:
"Mama, wead books with me. Two books?" (She then brings about ten or twelve books from her shelf.) :)

Said today as I was putting Miller down for his morning nap: "Mama, Milla not want to take nap."

I'll post more as I think of them. For the most part, Maggie is a very sweet little girl. The sassy quotes as listed above are just now beginning to make their appearance. ;)

Miller at 9 Months!

Yesterday was Miller's nine-month doctor's appointment. It went great! He weighs 19 pounds and 4 ounces and is 29 inches "tall." All in all, he is a very healthy little boy, and we are SO thankful for that. Here are a few facts about Miller at nine months:

• He is a SUPER fast crawler. Too fast for Mama and Daddy sometimes. Funny, but a little scary. ;)
• He pulls up and "cruises" around furniture. He can let go and stand for just a couple of seconds before sitting back down.
• He loves to "walk" holding Mama and Daddy's hands.
• He LOVED baby food until last week (ate two jars at each meal), but he now refuses it and wants all "big people" food.
• He says "Dada" (I think he is finally starting to realize what he is saying here), and he babbles A LOT! We love to hear him talk!
• He loves playing with his big sister. He wants to do EVERYTHING she does!
• When he hears music, he bounces, laughs, and tries to sing along. SO cute.
• He loves opening cabinets and drawers and "exploring." He also loves hiding. In the above picture, he is on his way to one of his favorite hiding places...the space behind the living room chair. He always gives his hiding places away because he laughs hysterically when we call his name. :)

I am so thankful for Miller. Just this morning, I was remembering this time last year...We were so excited about the upcoming arrival of our baby boy, but we had NO idea what a perfect addition he would be to our family. Miller and Maggie are living proof that God is constantly giving us more than we deserve. How blessed we are!

Maggie's Bible School Song

Maggie learned a few songs at Bible School last week, and she is so sweet singing them...She walks around the house ALL day humming them and singing some variation of the words (notice I said some variation). :) This is a video of Maggie using her "microphone" to sing part of her Bible verse song from VBS.

Transcript:

"Show me your ways, oh Lord! Teach me you paths!"..."Cheeeese!"

A ham? I think so!

Miller's Sweet Laugh

A video of Miller Man doing what he does best...

The Beginning of Summer!

We are so excited that summer is here! The kids love the pool, the ice cream truck, the warm weather, and the playground trips, but they (and I) especially love that Daddy is home for the summer! Miller took his first zoo trip last week, and he and Maggie both LOVED seeing the animals, playing in the water, and riding the train and carousel. Below are some pictures of our zoo trip.

In other news...Miller is growing SO quickly. He is crawling, pulling up, and trying to get into everything! He loves to eat (A LOT), play in his jumperoo (though he doesn't like being confined for too long) :), and torment his sister (He laughs EVERY time...). He is such a happy little boy and has the best smile and laugh.

Maggie is constantly cracking us up with her new sayings. Her new question is "Why?" She wants an explanation for everything, from why the sun hides behind the clouds to why she needs to sit at the table to eat a honeybun. :) She has become such a big girl over the past couple of months and is such a joy to be around.

Jeff and I are helping with Vacation Bible School this week and having a great time. Maggie is SO excited to go to "big girl Bible school," and Miller is just happy to play with friends and eat sweet potato puffs all morning. All in all, summer has been awesome so far, and we hope for more of the same!

My Sweet Miller

I love watching Miller's little personality develop. He has learned lately that it is F-U-N to get into his big sister's toys, books, etc., and it is even more fun when she throws a fit about it (Maggie...fit?? Nah...). :) Here is a picture of Miller catching up on some reading in Maggie's room this morning. The second two pictures are of my sweet boy just playing and being happy.

Pigtails!

Here is a picture of Maggie's first pigtails since her haircut last fall. She loves them and even insisted on wearing them to church yesterday! This morning, when she woke up, she said, "Fix hair pigtails, Mommy." I love my little pigtail girl!

This is the day!!

Maggie's new favorite song is "This is the Day"...We sing it every morning, and she always wants to sing it again. It's a wonderful way to get us going in the morning, and Maggie really seems to be catching on to it. Below is a video of Mags (and Mama) singing her new favorite song.

Miller has been sick this week. He ran a 103+ fever for two days, and when we took him to the doctor, he had two ear infections and a fever virus. Poor little fellow! We are giving him antibiotics for the ear infections, but the fever virus must be gone because he is fever free and is a happy, happy baby again. He is still scoot-crawling everywhere and rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. So precious!

We are so thankful that Miller is feeling better and can't wait for Daddy to be home with us this weekend! More later!

Maggie the Bully

This is my last post for the day....I promise! When I was looking through old videos, I found a couple of Maggie with her buddies Alex and Shawn. Now, most of you probably know that Maggie has a tendency to be a little bit of of a bully these days...These videos prove that it has always been the case, and it just took us a while to figure it out!

Today's Pictures...

Here are a couple of pictures of Miller from today...