Three Little Pumpkins

Cute Little Kindergartner

Isn't Elise a cute little Kindergartner? She had her very first school photos a couple of weeks back, and they happened to occur while I was at the hospital with Steven. I didn't have very high hopes for the pictures since Dad would be getting her ready. Chris is actually good at quite a lot of things, but I am pretty sure that fixing hair is not one of them. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Apparently Grandma stepped up and got her ready for picture day and the pictures turned out very cute. Thanks Grandma!

AWESOME

Last night Elise and Cameron were asleep by 6:15 and Steven was asleep by 6:30. "Awesome," I thought. And awesome it was. That is until 5:05 this morning. Definitely not awesome anymore.

4 Months

Cameron had his 4 month check up last week, and the doctor told me he is the average height and weight of a 7 month old. He weighs 17 pounds14 oz. and is 26 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 90% for both height and weight. I think he is going to be a big boy!

At four months Cameron is generally a very happy baby and either sleeps through the night or wakes up one time to eat. He is really close to being able to sit up and balance on his own without tipping over. He is grabbing things and very interested in toys. He also loves it when Elise and Steven talk to him, and he has the hugest smile. He is such a fun baby to have around!

Yes I Did

I just had a piece of lemon pie for lunch. I hid from Steven while I ate it, in part because I wanted him to eat his healthy lunch, and in part because I didn't want to share. Yes I did, and it was so worth it!

Cutest Cow

Isn't this little guy the cutest cow around? His big brother and sister are definitely convinced of that fact. I must hear them say "Awww.... he's so cute" at least three or four times each day.

Making Mischief, Breaking Stuff and More by Steven

A couple of weeks ago we had quite a hard week. Most people who read my blog probably already know the whole story so I will spare you the details, but for anyone who doesn't know we'll just say it included a trip the emergency room, an ambulance ride to transfer to a different hospital in L.A., a minor surgery, a 3 night stay in the hospital in a shared room with a screaming two week old who had just had surgery..... what more can I say? Well, there actually is much more to the story. Lots of little details that made the whole week one I do not wish to remember. But like I said, I will spare you the details. We survived the week... barely. And Steven is fine and has recovered well. However, I have definitely decided he is my little trouble maker. He has these two shirts that I think sum him up perfectly, and I think that I have decided when he outgrows them I need to frame them and put them above his bed or something of the sort.

Shirt #1: Mischief is My Business and Business is Good

Shirt #2: Whoops! Sometimes Stuff Just Breaks.So there you have it. Steven in a nutshell!

Summer Catch Up: Elise's Birthday Celebration

Elise was asking for a birthday party this year that included more than the people who lived with her, which we have never really done. I had a brilliant idea and talked her into an early birthday party at Nana and Papa's house with Nana and Papa, Uncle Adam, Hannah and Aunt Kathryn as guests. She couldn't have been happier. She picked out a butterfly cake from a book that she wanted and my mom and I did our best to recreate it. She had a pinata, and she kept saying, "Mom, will everyone jump out and say surprise?" So even though it wasn't really a surprise we did it and she was thrilled. It was funny that she acted totally surprised anyway... funny girl!

A family picture from our excursion to Shasta Dam that morning.

Summer Catch Up: A Day at the Redwoods sans Kiddos

While on a trip up to Redding, my parents offered to watch the kids for a couple of days if Chris and I wanted to get away without them for a bit. That is definitely not an offer anyone needs to make twice. We took them up on it and went to the Redwoods on the coast for a day and a half. It was a lot of fun and a much needed break. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Summer Catch Up: Cameron's Blessing Day

On the day Steven was blessed I didn't take hardly any pictures. We had to be at church at 9am so there wasn't much time before, and then he puked all over himself at church so that was that. I only have two or three not so great pictures of him in his blessing outfit. I was a little bit wiser this time around and took some pictures of Cameron the Saturday night before he was blessed. That ended up being a very good thing because the morning was crazy trying to get everyone ready to go, and my Grandpa choked and ended up in the hospital before church was even over so things were a little chaotic after church. I didn't even take one picture of him that day so I am very glad I at least have the ones from the night before. Here are a few pictures of him in his blessing outfit.

Summer Catch Up: A Big Huge Cousin Post

One of the kids' favorite parts about this past summer was being able to spend some time with their many cousins from both sides of the family.

At the beach to see the tide pools with a few of their Miller cousins:

Cameron, meeting his older and wiser cousins, James and Matthew:

Swimming fun with a few of their Strong cousins:Elise and Ashley, cousins and buddies:

Steven, playing with his partner in crime, Hannah. I'm pretty sure he taught her everything he knows about being naughty. Sorry, Kathryn!

Summer Catch Up: Boating

Is it really October already? I haven't posted hardly any of our pictures from summer yet. How did that happen? I think maybe I will do a few "summer catch up" posts this week.

While we were on one of our little Redding excursions we decided to take the kids out on the boat. Steven had never been, and it had been a while for Elise. Chris and I both skied and wake boarded, and man did I hurt the next few days after that. I'm pretty sure I hadn't done either since before Elise was born, so it was fun to give it a go again. Elise and Steven both went tubing with Chris. Elise was all about slow and steady, but Steven was a little speed demon. I guess that shouldn't surprise me, but it did make me a little nervous. He kept putting his thumb up for "Faster Papa, faster!" They both had a great time, and Cameron had fun hanging out at home with Nana. Thanks Mom!

Dancing Diva

Elise is loving her ballet class. It is a ballet/tumbling class until December and then it will become a ballet/tap class for the second half of the year. She is having fun trying to learn to do a cartwheel right now. Her favorite part of ballet is when the teacher gives them each a scarf and lets them dance freestyle to the music while she sets up the mats to switch to tumbling. And she is having a lot of fun practicing at home with a ribbon. Don't tell Chris, but she has even gotten Steven to ribbon dance with her. Of course he does it Steven style, with no shirt and a toy gun holster which you may recognize as part of his Woody costume he refused to wear last year.