The Milliorn Life

Drew is Six

2011-06-08T14:59:00.004-05:00

I haven't been able to post blogs in a while, so this one has been sitting there waiting to be posted since June.

I know I am a little late in posting this but, last month Drew turned 6, and finished kindergarten!! That is a pretty big month in the life of a little boy. We just had his 6 year checkup with Dr. Fikkert today and got conformation that is his very tall and skinny. I think the term "bean pole" was actually used, which may or may not have brought back some memories for me. He is 4'1" and weighs 49.6 lbs (no wonder I can barely carry him upstairs when he falls asleep on the couch!!)

Here are a few pictures taken by my very talented friend, Melanie Timmons @ www.melaniemtimmonsphotography.com.

He had a great year at school this year, and is looking forward to 1st grade (although he thinks he should skip 1st and go straight to 2nd grade). This should be a fun filled Summer for him with VBS, Camp Thurman (this is his first year), family vacation, and another day camp I signed him up for. Hopefully that will keep me from having to hear "I'm bored" all Summer.

My New Toy

2011-03-21T08:09:00.003-05:00

Last week I got an email from my father-in-law Mike, saying that he had bought me something. Unexpected gifts are always awesome. He is a very good photographer and is always getting new toys for his camera. He found a new accessory for this pop up flash that he really liked so he bought one for me and my-sister-in law too. It is called a Gary Fong Pop Up Flash Diffuser, and it works great. Whenever I have used my pop up flash inside, to take pictures of the boys they are always washed out, but this worked like a charm to fix that. It will be great to use when I don't want to mess with my external flash for quick shots.

Before and after shots. These have not been edited at all. Not bad for a $20.00 accessory! Thanks Mike!

Taken on full auto mode with pop up flash only.

Taken on full auto with the pop up flash defuser. Big difference!

This was taken in lower light and without something for the light to bounce off of,
but still much better than it would have been with the flash alone.

Teamwork and Child Labor

2011-03-16T09:52:00.002-05:00

One of the jobs I don't like to do is putting the waters away in the fridge. So we decided about a year ago to let Drew have the job (for a quarter per case). Today Cooper decided to help out, but, he might have caused more work for Drew, so I think at this point Drew may still get all the quarters. So when can they start doing the dishes and laundry? Too young?

PJ Day #2 - Drew

2011-02-02T13:15:00.001-06:00

Drew is loving having a few days off from school. But I am confused as to how event will be shuffled when they go back. Thursday was suppose to be the 100th day of school, Willie Brown students have a big celebration every year for the 100th day of school. Drew was suppose to bring 100 of something (of course he chose candy) that day to share with the other students. So I am not sure if he needs to bring them, or if the 100th day will now be pushed back 2 days because of the time missed. But, just to be prepared, we decided to get his candy ready. We laid out the candy in a grid, so that he could make sure he had 100 pieces. Then put them in a plastic bag so it will be all ready when he goes back to school.

Drew working on his candy grid. He loves counting by 10.

I think Drew is getting a little tired of his PJs. He decided to make them look like old man PJs, then decided it was time to take a shower. I really think the shower was just a ploy to delay taking a nap (I decided naps are mandatory on snow days!) But I wasn't going to talk a little boy out of taking a shower.

Drew and his old man PJ's

The snow days haven't really been as bad as I thought they would be. Drew does keep telling me "Mom, I have a job for you... you need to entertain me." Ummmmm, NO! Here is praying for school to be back in session tomorrow.

PJ day #2 - Cooper

2011-02-02T13:13:00.001-06:00

Cooper is loving the snow days too. I think he is a little confused by having Daddy home. This morning when I got him up, he looked at me and said "go church?" I guess he thought yesterday must have been Saturday since Daddy was home, so we must be going to church today.

He kept going to the window to see the bird.

He was fascinated with it, but it let me get some cute pictures of him so I didn't mind.

More random cuteness

Peek a Boo

One Trying to get into the Coocoo's Nest

2011-02-02T13:11:00.001-06:00

Here in North Texas we have ice on the roads and temperatures in the teens, with wind chills in the very low single digits. Not much is going on around here, so when we heard something crash into our back window we all ran to see what it was. Well, it was a bird... a fairly large bird. I wish I could say that my windows were so clean that it is no wonder the bird thought it could get inside, but if you know me, you would know what a joke what would be. Poor guy has to be so cold, I am sure the inside of the house looked very inviting.

The poor guy left a few feathers behind. Drew thought it was bird poop at first.

I thought the poor guy was hurt, because he stayed just like this for about 20 minutes. But finally flew away.

The boys were glued to "Bird TV" until it was time to take their mandatory snow day naps. Cooper even said "night night, bird."

So that was our excitement for today. We are thinking about venturing out the afternoon. I am not sure how much more family time in the house we can take.

Drew - 5 Years 8 Months

2011-01-17T14:02:00.001-06:00

Cooper got his own post, now Drew gets his. Drew is 5 years and 8 months old, or as he would tell you, he is 68 months old. Man that sounds a lot older than 5 years 8 months.

Drew started kindergarten this year and is doing really well. He has made some new friends, had a few play dates, and been asked to attend a few birthday parties. Now that he goes to school everyday he really appreciates school holidays more. He learned to read this summer and is just getting better and better this year. He has a little bit of homework most nights, but it doesn't take him long to finish it. He is already learning things that I know we didn't learn until 1st or 2nd grade. I ofter wonder how long I am going to be able to help him with his homework... and I have a college degree!

This Spring he will play on a new baseball team. The team he played on before is moving up to a new division, and we think he is too young to play up that far so Andy is going to help coach is team with one of the other dads. They will be playing modified coach pitch, which means they each get 3 pitches, and if they don't get a hit, they can take one swing off the tee. Drew is a pretty good hitter, but we thing another year in a less competitive league will help with his fielding.

Drew is still such a sweet boy. He loves his little brother, and and hanging out with his dad. He is standing right here and would like everyone to know that he is "really cool". He asks tons of questions, and all sorts of topics. This past Sunday on the way to church he hit us with "How do DVDs work?" and "What does 'His Grace is Enough' mean?" Really??? We often have to promise to explain something later, so that we can figure out how to answer it. Man are we in trouble when the questions really get tough!

I love the person Drew is. He is such a great kid! I am pretty sure I would like him even if he wasn't mine... but I am so glad he is my kid.

Cooper - 2 Years 4 Months

2011-01-17T14:01:00.001-06:00

I thought I would take a minute to update everyone on all things Cooper.

Right now he is 2 years and 4 months old, and so active. He goes to school 2 days a week at the same preschool Drew attended. He loves school, and his teacher says he really likes music and stretch and grow. He does not, however, like art much, especially if they are painting or doing anything messy. At home, if he gets his hands dirty he will hold it out to me and say "mess", which means "Mommy, please clean my hands." He laughs a lot, loves to chase his brother around the house, loves to cuddle, usually has a toy car in one hand (or both hands), thinks he is one of the big kids, loves church, and really likes having the house to himself when Drew is at school. He is really starting to talk a lot. He has new words and phrases everyday, but won't say his own name. If we ask "can you say Cooper?" he just shakes his head and says "nooooo", and laughs. He is in his big boy room upstairs now, but is still in his crib. He sleeps really well, and enjoys playing in his crib, so we aren't in any hurry to move him. I can't believe he hasn't tried to get out yet. He loves learning his letters, and can pick most of them out when asked. We are still working on colors. He calls everything "red". Sometimes I think he knows and is just messing with me, but who knows. I am not too worried, he will get it.

Here are a few pictures I took a few days ago. He was running around me in circles, so most of the ones I took were blurry, but here are a few good ones.

We love his kid so much. I can't wait to see his personality continue to change over the next few years. He is such a sweet, funny, smart boy. What a ray of light he has been these last 2 + years. We LOVE you Cooper.

Starting Over

2011-01-12T08:49:00.001-06:00

I have been so bad about keeping up with my blog that I have decided not to try to catch up. Instead, I am just going to start from now, and try to do better this year. My kids are not going to be kids forever, so I need to start documenting how awesome they are everyday.

Here are a few pictures of the boys and their favorite Christmas gifts. I promise to TRY to do better in 2011.

If you have talked to Drew since Christmas, you know he got a Nintendo DSI XL from Santa. Not just a DS... no, no a Nintendo DSI XL. He as to say the whole thing every time.

Santa brought Cooper a Strider bike, but that isn't his favorite. The loves the Leapfrog Alphapet Explorer. He is really getting pretty good at recognizing letters. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Better Late than Never - Look Who is Two

2010-09-27T13:11:00.002-05:00

I logged into my blog today with the intention of just starting fresh, and not trying to catch up. Once I got in I noticed that I already had the pictures from Cooper's birthday in SEPTEMBER uploaded. I couldn't just delete them... the boy deserves to have his 2nd birthday recorded in the blogging world. So here it is.

Drew "helping" Cooper open his first gift. Drew was really very sweet about it.

Cooper's first Rangers jersey... he got to wear this a lot in September and October.

Now he is getting the hang of it.

He loved his "Mimmey" cake, but I think he liked the propeller on the plane the best.

Our little guy is such a sweet boy. He amazes us every day with how funny and sweet he can be. He is such a blessing to us.

First Day of Kindergarten - In the Room

2010-08-25T09:39:00.002-05:00

As soon as we got into the room, all the kids had to put their folders in a bin, their lunches on a table, their cups by the sink, and their backpacks in their lockers. Luckily we went to "Meet the Teacher Night" so he knew where his locker was, and all his supplies were already at his desk.

After we dropped him off, Andy went home, so he could leave for work, and I went to the mom's breakfast. I guess I was suppose to be emotional about Drew starting life in the big bad world... but I wasn't. He was ready for it, and I was too. It hasn't been all smooth sailing, but after a bit of a rocky start, and a few trips to the doctor, we have settled in great. He loves school, loves to learn, and has made a good impression on his teacher.

First Day of Kindergarten - The Walk

2010-08-25T09:38:00.001-05:00

We are lucky enough to be able to walk Drew to school, most of the time. I sure was glad when the weather cooled off, it made the trip much nicer. However, the start of allergy season has kind of put a damper on the walking. I just haven't been up to it the last week or so.

I have been amazed that Drew actually has carried his own backpack every time we have walked. He never even asked us to do it.

I had to take a picture by this school zone sign because he looked so small next to it.

It was so nice that Daddy could join us on the walk for the first day.

About to turn the corner to his classroom... here we go.

First Day of Kindergarten - Getting Ready to Go.

2010-08-25T09:37:00.002-05:00

I am so far behind on blogging that Drew just finished his first 6 weeks of school and I am just now blogging about the first day. Whew, life gets busy when kindergarten starts. Better late than never right.

Drew has been so excited about his first day of school. I was a little surprised that he was able to sleep the night before. We set his alarm for him, laid out his clothes, and made a list of things he needed to to before he came downstairs (potty, brush, get dressed). He has to all these things every morning before he comes down stairs. He has done a great job of it, unless I forget to the clothes out. I am going to pick out his clothes as long as he lets me.

Here are just a few pictures we snapped before leaving this house.

Silly pictures in his new clothes

Waffles for breakfast... his choice.

Being sweet with his brother before he left.

Picture on the porch before school.

Puzzle time

2010-08-07T14:59:00.001-05:00

For the past 2 days Cooper's nap time has become Drew's puzzle time. He knows that trying to work a floor puzzle while Cooper is awake is pretty pointless, so he gets this one out to work while Cooper is napping. Yesterday was the first time Drew did the whole puzzle by himself. He made sure to tell me not to help him, and not to get Cooper out of bed before he was finished. He did a great job working it all by himself, and decided to try it again today. I hope he will do as well when he starts having homework to do for school.

Party Crasher

2010-07-19T21:09:00.002-05:00

Lately we have discovered the greatness of the nighttime swim. After we put Cooper down we sometimes take Drew swimming. It is some great time spent with Drew, and we don't have to spend every second hoping Cooper doesn't drown himself. We get to relax a little bit. Tonight after just such a relaxing swim, we were drying off, getting ready to go inside and Andy (who was headed to the door) jumped, very startled. I look over to the window next to the door and see just a little bit of this lovely snake peeking around the corner of the window seal. We both tried to get Drew inside, but he didn't want to walk pass the snake (who can blame him.) We finally got Drew inside, and I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures. The flash from my camera must have irritated him because he was gone a few minutes later. I guess there are a few downsides to the nighttime swim. I am not sure if Drew is ever going to want to do it again.

The Snake.

Drew's sad, sad face once we got inside.

Sea World - Part 3 - The Magic Time Machine

2010-06-17T15:01:00.004-05:00

One of the highlights of our trip was dinner at The Magic Time Machine. When I was in the 5th grade my class took a trip to San Antonio, and we at at this same Magic Time Machine. It was so cool to take my kids back there. Of course all the characters have changed, but it was still a blast.

Sheriff Woody from Toy Story was our waiter (so perfect for Drew). He was great, and kept reminding us to go see his new movie "Toy Story 3" on June 18th. Like we needed a reminder! Drew has been counting down the days. He even told Drew that if he ate enough dinner he had a special treat for him... Woody Pez Dispensers.

Sheriff Woody

Special potion" made by Harry Potter. Drew had to ask Woody if Ron and Hermione helped Harry make it. Of course they did!

Drew loved his, and of course it had to be green

Cooper liked the special potion, but he LOVED his peaches from the salad bar.

Cooper really had a great time at dinner. He was such a trooper the whole trip.

For dessert we got the Banana Split Monstrosity! It was so awesome just to see Drew's face light up when he saw it.

Closeup of the Monstrosity... Can yo see the smoke?

Drew took this picture of Andy and me. I thought it was a pretty great shot!

This was a great way to end a fantastic day. The boys had a good time, we had a good time, and laughed a lot. If you are ever looking for a place to take the kids for a special dinner... The Magic Time Machine is a great place, and there is one in Dallas.

Sea World - Part 2 - The Park

2010-06-09T14:45:00.003-05:00

On Thursday we loaded up and headed to Sea World for the day. It was fairly hot, but a nice breeze and some shade kept it from being unbearable. There were several school groups there, but we managed to either stay away from them, or in front of them most of the time, so it really wasn't too crowded. We were able to walk right onto most rides, sit wherever we wanted in the shows, and do what ever we wanted to do.

Waiting to go inside the park.

Family Photo

The boys watching the sea lions before the show.

This little guy must have thought we had food, because he kept coming over to "talk" to us.

Us with Shamu before that show.

We didn't sit in the splash zone because we didn't think Cooper would like that too much.

Cooper spent most of his time in the stroller, and he was such a trooper. He was having fun just taking it all in.

We had a great day on Thursday at the park. Our kids were awesome, the weather wasn't to bad, the crowd was almost non existent, and we had a ball. We returned to the park on Friday... along with the rest of San Antonio! We got to do a few things that day that we missed out on Thursday, but it wasn't as good of a time. It was crowded, we were more tired, and it was much warmer. I am so thankful for the great day we got to have on Thursday!

Sea World - Part 1 - The Drive

2010-06-07T21:34:00.005-05:00

A few months ago, Andy and I decided it was time to take a family vacation. We really want to start making family memories that our boys will remember as they get older. Cooper is still too young to remember this stuff... but I bet Drew will.

With the car already packed up, and gassed up, we picked Drew up from school a little bit early on his last day, and headed straight for San Antonio. We wanted to get a head start on traffic, and get to San Antonio in time for dinner. The boys did great in the car and we only had to stop a couple of times for potty breaks.

This was our first stop at Dairy Queen for a little afternoon treat. Okay, yes, that was more my idea than Drew's. And, yes I had to wake him up to go in.

While watching the Food Network a few days before our trip we saw this restaurant featured for their "puffy tacos". So we decided this would be our dinner choice in San Antonio on our way into town. It was great food and the kids were still in great moods!

Cooper really enjoyed his tortilla and queso.

Andy actually did order the puffy tacos they are famous for.

After a delicious dinner we hopped back in the car and headed for our hotel. I will blog more about the rest of our trip later.

Memorial Day at the Ranch

2010-06-07T15:23:00.001-05:00

Just a few pictures of our Memorial day at Daybreak Ranch with Andy's family. It is always nice to spend time out there, when all the kids are asleep it is so quiet! Drew loves getting to spend time with all his cousins, and Cooper just has fun exploring a new environment.

Just chillin' on the porch with the grownups.

Playing at the "treetops". That is what Drew has always called the playground at the ranch. This was the first trip where Cooper really got to play out here since he is walking now.

Drew at the treetops, telling us something important.

The big kids spent some time playing in the water. It was such a hot day they loved the water guns and sprinkler. The sprinkler was mainly used to reload the water guns.

Preschool Graduation

2010-06-07T15:21:00.001-05:00

We have been fortunate enough over the last 3 years for Drew to attend a terrific preschool program at a church pretty close to our house. He has LOVED it there, and we have loved him learn so much there. Since this was his PreK year, it is his last year at this school. They held a little graduation ceremony for all the 4 year olds. It was really sweet to see these little kids all decked out in their caps and gowns.

This pictures just makes me picture him 13 years from now graduating from high school.

Drew and his best buddy Jake goofing around after the ceremony. Can't you picture this same scene 13 years from now?

He will probably be this much taller than us then too, but we will be standing.

I know it is just preschool, and he really didn't need to accomplish much to graduate, but it is just one more reminder that he isn't going to be a little boy much longer. He is growing up so fast! Some days I am afraid I am going to blink and miss it all. He is so excited about Kindergarten, but I know there is no slowing down after this.

Drew's Birthday Party

2010-06-07T15:20:00.001-05:00

Drew's birthday party was the Sunday after his actual birthday (better late than never for this post right?). We had a Star Wars party for him this year, complete with a Darth Vader pinata (that got knocked down before the party even started.) But Drew took it like a champ and had a great time with is friends hitting what was left of the helmet.

Darth before the party, and before the fatal hit.

Drew with his new Star Wars shirt and birthday button.

The Yoda cake made by the wonderful Sandy. The cake was actually green just like Yoda.

The boys hitting Vader's helmet after the pinata was knocked down.

Much like last year, once the festivities started to calm down, we realized that Drew was running a fever. Later that night he ended up getting pretty sick. But as least he got to have a great birthday week.

Five Years

2010-05-13T09:27:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my first born is 5 years old. It has been a great 5 years too. I am so proud to be Drew's mommy (although he has started to call me Mom more and more). He is a sweet, thoughtful, funny, and smart little boy. He has brought so much joy and laughter into our lives. I cannot wait to see what God has planned for this little life. Thank you God for trusting me to look after such a precious gift.

May 12, 2005
8lbs 11.5 oz
21" long

May 12, 2010
46 lbs 4 oz
46.25" high

Four... for one more day.

2010-05-11T09:02:00.002-05:00

Today is the last day that my sweet Drew will be 4 years old. Five years ago tomorrow, this little guy was placed in my arms. What an amazing blessing he has been in our lives.

I will have a full birthday post soon. But for now, I just wanted to leave this one picture, and enjoy my last day with the most awesome 4 year old ever.

Going Green

2010-05-04T13:04:00.001-05:00

For a couple of years now Drew's favorite color has been green. If there is a choice of color for something you can bet he will pick the green one. So I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that he decided it was time for the Milliorn house to "go green".

In Drew's class at preschool they have been talking about how to help the Earth. They evidently have talked a lot about recycling, and practice it at school. He has been telling us for a few weeks that we need to start doing it at home. (No, we haven't been recycling. Yes, I know we have curb side pickup in Mansfield. Yes, I know we are bad people.) So last night we finally stopped being lazy and got out our recycling bin for Drew. He told us that this had to be his project, so he went around to all the trash cans and got out all the water bottles and soda cans and put them in our bin in the garage. He made sure first to empty them all out... including the almost full bottles of water Andy and I had on our nightstands. I guess maybe we should have been supervising a little bit better.

First of many trips to the bin.

How many water bottles can a little boy carry?

He was proud of his hard work.

But he was a little disappointed that our bin was wide and green and not tall and blue like the one at school.

More Flags More Fun

2010-04-28T15:48:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, Andy and I woke up and realized we had a totally free Saturday. The rain the night before had cancelled Drew's tee ball game, so we had nothing to do. What a rare treat that is. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so we decided to take Drew to Six Flags for the first time. (I say first time, but he actually went when he was about 6 weeks old for a Day Dots company event, but I am not counting that.) We dropped Cooper off at Grandma and Grandpa's for the day and headed out. Once we got there we realized that Drew was not quite as tall as we thought, but he was still able to ride a bunch of stuff. He loved the Conquistador, the Mexican Hat, and the Tea Cups, as well as the swings, and just the over all experience of going to Six Flags. What he didn't like much was the Mine Train... he really didn't care much for that one.

Waiting in line for the first ride in the kiddie part of the park. This is the only ride he rode in this section.

The Mexican Hat

The Tea Cups. This was one of Drew's favorites from Disney too.

The Mine Train. Yep, that is actually a look of terror.

After seeing how much the Mine Train scared him, we decided to skip the Judge Roy Scream. I think we will let him get a few visits under his belt before we start pushing the bigger rides on him. He was such a trooper all day, and slept so good that night. What a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday in April!

Easter 2010 - At Grandma & Grandpa's House

2010-04-06T17:06:00.003-05:00

After a much needed nap (for all of us) we headed out to our last Easter stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. The boys once again got to have an Easter egg hunt! Here are a few more pictures to round out our weekend.

We had a great time celebrating Easter with our families. In between all the festivities we also got a chance to celebrate with our church family at FBC Arlington. We love our friends there, and we loved being able to reflect of the reason for this holiday... Jesus is Risen!

When NOT to take Easter Pictures

2010-04-06T17:04:00.004-05:00

This year I learned a very valuable lesson about when NOT to try to take Easter pictures of the boys. After church but before lunch and naps, it NOT the right time!

Drew is trying to get Cooper to laugh here by tickling him, but it just made it worse.

Easter 2010 - At the Ranch

2010-04-06T17:04:00.002-05:00

On Good Friday we loaded up the car and headed out to the ranch to spend some time with Andy's family. It rained a little bit on us as we drove out, but then the weather cleared up and we had perfect weather the rest of the weekend. The boys had a great time playing on the playground (or "treetops" as Drew likes to call them) taking walks, going for rides on the "mule", eating all of Granny's great food (Drew was particularly complimentary of the food this time), playing with their cousins (they have 6 cousins), and having an Easter egg hunt in the front yard. They even got to fly kites and play with jump ropes that Granny and Granddad's super sweet neighbors brought for all the kids! How sweet was that? It really was a was wonderful weekend.

Cooper riding in the wagon while the bigger kids took a walk.

The big kids getting buckled in for a "mule" ride

Cooper picking up Easter eggs. He didn't want to put them in his basket, he just wanted to throw them back down to see if they would bust open.

One of the few shots I actually got of Drew's face. He was too busy running around picking up eggs for me to get many good pictures of him.

Drew's First Tee Ball Game

2010-04-06T17:02:00.002-05:00

After only one practice, and a game cancellation due to rain, Drew finally got to play in his first Tee Ball game last week. The team is made up for mostly 5 year olds with a few soon to be 5 year old. Non of the kids have had much experience playing, but several have played one season. So this is the perfect team for Drew to test the waters and see if he likes tee ball. His team is the Cardinals, and he looks so darn cute in his uniform. They really don't keep score at this age, but we think our team won this game. Drew was 3 for 3 batting, but needs to work on playing attention to the game when playing defense.

In the dugout before our teams first time up to bat.

Switching out of hats and gloves into batting helmets. Thankfully that sweet dugout mom brought bins for all the kids with their names on them to put their stuff in.

Drew at his first at bat.

He didn't care much for playing catcher... as you can see.

Cooper Almost 18 Months

2010-03-17T15:39:00.002-05:00

We have been trying for months and months to get Cooper to walk... well it looks like our hard work might finally be paying off. My goal was 18 months, and he will be 18 months on March 23. His doctor agreed with my statement that "he is taking steps, but not walking yet." However, she was very pleased with his progress. She said we should continue with ECI until he is walking well... which is pretty much what ECI said too. Hopefully he will decide that since he can walk, that he should walk more often, and just give up the crawling all together. But, just like everything else has been with Cooper, he will do it when on his time and not anyone else's!

Other 18 month stats...
Height 33.75 (90%)
Weight 23.12 (25%)

Drew - Getting Ready for Tball

2010-03-12T16:13:00.001-06:00

The same night the pictures from the last post were taken, I snapped these shots of Drew practicing for Tball. He was suppose to have his first real practice with his team this night, but because of all the rain on Monday the field was still too wet. So, this was a great way to keep him from being too disappointed. He is suppose to have another practice on Sunday, and he told me that even if it rains he is still going to practice with his team, even if he has to go by himself. His first game is the 25th , so I am sure I will have a lot more pictures to post then. Our lives are about to get a lot busier.

I just love the pictures of Andy helping Drew with the bat. So sweet.

He is running the bases.

Cooper - 17 Months

2010-03-12T16:11:00.001-06:00

The weather this week as been a mix of absolutely beautiful and rain. On Tuesdays night the weather was near perfect so we took the boys outside for a little fresh air. Here are a few shots of Cooper loving being outside. I wish he would just realize how much MORE fun he could have if he would stand up and walk! He is getting closer everyday, but he just won't do it on his own, YET.

Playing in the Snow

2010-02-16T16:52:00.002-06:00

Thursdays in our house is known and Grandpa and Grandma day. My kids go to my parents house every Thursday night so that Andy and I can have a date night (yes, I know we are spoiled). This week I thought we might stay home because of the snow, but Drew really wanted to see his grandparents. So when Andy got home (early) we loaded up and headed over to their house. We had so much fun having a snowball fight, and building a snowman.

Drew getting ready to get me with a snowball.

Drew and Grandpa fighting it out.

Since Cooper doesn't walk we just put him in a trash bag and sat him in the snow.
He didn't last long, he liked watching from the porch better.

Our snowman. He fell down not long after this, which broke Drew's heart.

It makes me sad to think that we may never get this much snow again. Cooper will never remember this, and didn't even get to play in it. It was beautiful, and so much fun to play in. I hope we will get snow like this again while my boys are still young. I would love to see them playing in the snow together.

Snow Days

2010-02-16T16:32:00.002-06:00

By now you all know about the snowfall from this last week. While the official total is 12.5 inches (at DFW), our house got about 7.5 inches. here are just a few pictures from Friday. I will post a few more later of us playing in the snow.

The Park with Allison

2010-01-26T15:21:00.001-06:00

Last week the weather here was so nice that the boys and I decided to meet some dear friends at the park. Kristin and Allison met us there for a lovely morning of play and food. My boys both adore Allison. Drew has always loved her, he called her "baby Allison" for the longest time. Once Cooper was born, Allison was torn between the Milliorn boys. I am afraid Cooper may win the affections of sweet Allison in the end, purely because of the age difference. Allison is only 7 months older than Cooper, but Drew is nearly 3 years older than Allison. We will worry about that heart break later, right now it is just sweet to see them playing together, and it gives Kristin and I time chance to talk.

Cooper is trying to share a pretzel with Allison.

Drew helping Allison down the slide.

Drew, just walking.

Cooper loved swinging.

Memory Lane

2010-01-12T15:35:00.002-06:00

In December of 1990, I had surgery at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas to treat scoliosis (curvature of the spine). It was 2 weeks before my 17th birthday, and I was a junior in high school. I remember my 5 days in the hospital very well (except the part when I was still pretty drugged up.) So imagine my surprise when I was asked to take part in a medical research study, following up on patents who have had scoliosis surgery 20-30 years ago. Really... was it really 19 years ago? Yep, I am that old. In talking to the surgeon who called to ask me to participate, I found out that 4 of the 5 doctors who treated me are still on staff at TSRH. How cool is that? So at the end of December I dropped the boys off at my parents house and drove to Dallas to have some Xrays taken, and have an exam done as part of the study. I didn't realize what a trip down memory lane it would be, how excited I would be about going back, or how little things had changed in the years since I had been there. While I was there they tried to get my main doctor to come down to say hello, but he was in a meeting so they couldn't get in touch with him. I really wish I could have seen him... he was the one I remembered.

I saw that sign every time we drove there for appointments... about 4 years total.

This hangs in the lobby. It is the same one that was there when I was a patient. They also have always had popcorn in the lobby. That smell brought back all the memories of being there 19 years ago.

All the sections of exam rooms have a theme. These have not changed a bit.

I spent a lot of time napping in rooms just this when I was a teenager, waiting to see the doctor. I remember the appointment when they decided I needed surgery was the longest we ever waited.

Even though at 17 I hated having surgery, and all that went with it, I always new that TSRH was a great place for kids, and I actually remember my time there fondly. I was one of the lucky ones that was only there for a few days and was able to see my family everyday. There were girls in my recovery room who had been there for months, who hadn't seen their families in weeks. There was something going on everyday to get these kids out of the rooms and allow them to have some fun. Instead of sterile white walls, everything is brightly colored and geared for kids.

Hopefully I don't ever need the services of TSRH for Drew or Cooper, but if I do, I know they will be in great hands.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T20:21:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year 2010!

I hope each of you have a new year full of love and laughter. Thank you for being apart of my life, and my families life. I am so blessed to have such a great family, wonderful friends, the most amazing husband and the sweetest little boys I have ever met. God has truly blessed my life beyond measure. Happy 2010!

Christmas Day

2009-12-31T12:38:00.002-06:00

It has been so long since I posted anything to this blog that I decided to just start with now, and not try to catch up. Here are just a few pictures from Christmas Day. We spent the morning at home opening gifts, and waited until after lunch to head to the ranch. We had to wait, we were actually waiting for the ice to melt off the roads.

Cooper with his new puppy dog and chair from Santa.

Drew trying to get Cooper to open his gift. A stuffed Yoda.

The boys in their chairs. We got Drew's chair on his 1st birthday.

Drew in his new Star Wars shirt. He loves all things SW right now.

This is actually all I have from Christmas day. I never even took my camera out of the car at the ranch. But I will try to do better in 2010. Happy New Year everyone.

Look What I Can Do

2009-11-12T12:00:00.002-06:00

Early this week while I was surfing the net, I mean working in my office, Drew came in and said "Mommy, you have to come see what Cooper is doing." So being the good mother that I am, so course I rushed right in. This is what I found.

Up until this point Cooper had never even attempted to get up the stairs. Which, to be honest, while a little troubling, has also pretty nice. Most babies head straight for the stairs, but we made it 13.5 months without even an attempt. Now he is climbing the stairs. He got this far today without me even hearing him. The other night, with all of us cheering him on he climbed all the way to the top. Gone are the days for not worrying about what he is doing.

He is always so proud of himself.

Drew has been a great coach for the stair climbing. He is such a sweet big brother.

Not only is he climbing stairs now, but he is pulling up to his knees to play with stuff. I found him like this today. He loves playing with the doors to the DVD cabinet. Now he can actually pull upon the drawer and use it to pull up to play with what is inside.

Maybe I should put some of his toys in there instead of DVDs

I just love the look on his face.

So our little one is making progress. ECI was here yesterday and they were very happy with his new skills. He still has a ways to go to catch up to his peers, but he is getting there. I never thought I would be so happy to have to keep a kid off the stairs, but this time I am so happy about it.

Carving the Pumpkin

2009-10-25T21:33:00.002-05:00

So the after we went to the pumpkin patch, we of course had to carve the pumpkin. We had such a busy week last week that even though we bought it on Tuesday, the pumpkin remained uncarved until Friday night. Drew wanted so badly to help, so we let him to some of the yucky clean out part, but what he really wanted to do was the actual carving. No, we didn't let our 41 year old play with the knife, so he just had to sit and watch for most of it. But he loved the finished product. Of course he had to have it carved like Darth Vader! So you can see the final version of our Darth Pumpkin below.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-25T21:06:00.001-05:00

Last week the weather finally got nice enough to take Drew and Cooper to a pumpkin patch. Drew really just wanted to pick the pumpkin we were going to carve, and Cooper could have cared less, but they did humor me for a few pictures.

Cooper Turns One

2009-09-24T12:59:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday we had Cooper's 1st birthday party. We had both of our families over to the house for pizza and cake to celebrate our youngest member's birthday (Cooper is the 8th of 8 grandchildren in the Milliorn family.) We had such a wonderful time getting everyone together.

This card is from Drew. Drew loves to pick out cards for people, and Cooper pretty much loves anything Drew does.

A super sweet friend of the our family made this cake for us. She does such a good job every year and even makes a small one for the birthday boy.

Cooper really enjoyed having people sing to him. He loves to hear music and bounce along.

Mmmmmm, a fist full of cake.

Cooper is such a sweet boy. Andy and I have felt so blessed to have him in our lives this year. He is a little ray of light, that brightens up every day. He is smiley, and happy the majority of the time, talks non stop when he is excited (a lot like his big brother), rolls all over the place, eats whatever is put in front of him, sleeps like a champ, and is even army crawling now. He loves to watch Drew, and Drew loves to play with Cooper. One of the sweetest things this year has been watching Drew and Cooper together. I think they will be great friends one day.

Happy Birthday Cooper! We love you SOOOOOO much.

Labor Day

2009-09-15T12:06:00.001-05:00

September is always a busy month in the Milliorn house. We have 5 family birthdays, not even counting Cooper's (yes, he will be a year old next week). So we got together at the ranch over the Labor Day weekend to celebrate 4 of them at the same time. It was a great time as usual. Drew and Cooper love getting to play with their cousins, spending time at the "Tree Tops", and this year Granny and Grandad made it especially fun by renting a bounce house! Here are just a few pictures from the weekend.

This was Cooper's first time on the slide. He mostly just sat on it, but he loved it all the same.

My happy boy, just chillin' at the bottom of the slide.

Andy teaching Ryan and Drew how to play horseshoes.

The bounce house. What a great way to wear kids out.

A Clean Room, A Happy Heart

2009-08-27T16:08:00.002-05:00

Today Drew and I embarked on a task that I have been neglecting for a LONG time. We cleaned the game room! I don't often have to see this room, so we don't clean it much. For those of you have been to our house for play dates, you know what the room looks like when you get here. But today, we cleaned it, and boy do I feel better.

I tried to get Drew to purge some toys, but that didn't go as well as I had planned. He was willing to part with a small bag of stuffed animals (that have been in a plastic box for a year). But that was about it. I think when school starts things might magically start to disappear.

I knew I had to document this occasion, because it happens so rarely, and because before the end of the weekend it will look like normal again. But for now, it is CLEAN!

Just Another Day

2009-08-22T14:38:00.001-05:00

I snapped these on Thursday just before we left for Grandma and Grandpa's house. Drew wanted to hold Cooper before we left. They were both clean and happy, so I thought I would break out the camera.

Fun with My Camera

2009-08-17T22:07:00.002-05:00

While Drew and Andy were at the Ranger's game tonight I decided to have a little photo shoot with Cooper. He is such a good sport. Enjoy!

On a little side note: I talked to Cooper's doctor today. I have been getting concerned about his gross motor skills, and evidently she thinks I have a right to be. She has suggested we get him evaluated at the Child Study Center. Dr. F usually takes a "better safe than sorry" approach (one of the many reasons I LOVE her), so hopefully he is just a precaution and nothing is wrong. If there is a problem, I would rather catch it early, so we are going to get him checked out. I will be making that call tomorrow, so just pray that our little guy will start doing the things most 11 month olds (on Saturday) should be doing. Thanks!

Brothers

2009-08-14T15:15:00.003-05:00

The boys were being sweet brothers the other day, and I was lucky enough to get it on film. I am sure some day I will show them this to remind them that they really do love each other.

Aren't they sweet!

2009-08-04T16:21:00.002-05:00

During some of the lovely Summer storms we had last week one of the trees in our front yard got blown over. I was a little upset at the time, but now I think I like the house better without the tree, and I want to remove the other one. They were never even anyway, so they always looked lopsided. I think we should remove the other tree now too. What do you think? I have included pictures of the front of the house with and without the trees. Let me know what you think.

A few years ago, with both trees

Now with only one tree (I want to remove the one that is still there).

Closeup with the trees

Closeup with out the tree

I never noticed how much that tree on the right had grown until I posted these pictures. WOW, what a difference a few years makes. I still think we should remove it, but I want to know what you think too!

Counting My Blessings

2009-07-29T11:30:00.010-05:00

Update: 08-03-09

I just thought you all might like to know that Stellan went home from the hospital today. He is off all IV meds and onto oral medication and has been SVT free for several days. God is GOOD.

I know that usually this blog is pretty light and fluffy. Mostly just pictures of my sweet boys having fun. But I have to take a break from that for a minute.

For the last several months I (an thousands of people, literally, around the world) have been keeping up with another blog, written by a mommy with a very sick baby boy, named Stellan. You may have seen me reference him on Facebook, usually just saying that I am praying for, or reading about him. This little 9 month old boy has captured my heart. He is just a month younger than my sweet Cooper so I have cried many times just trying to imagine what this family, and that little guy is going through. It has made me hug my boys a little tighter everyday and thank God that they are healthy and happy kids. Stellan's family is extremely strong, and have a faith so strong that I am in awe of them. They placed their baby in God's hands completely before he was even born, and they are still trusting totally on God. Knowing that Stellan my never know healing on this Earth, but he will in Heaven. They don't claim to understand the purpose in this suffering, but they know it is all a part of God's plan. I hate to admit it, but I am not sure I could be that strong in the face of my little boys suffering. I hope I could, but I pray that I never have to find out.

If you go to the blog, look back at older post... this little boy looks like any other baby, chubby and happy. He has 3 older siblings that love him, and want their baby brother to come home from this most recent hospital stay. Please also take a minute to pray for Stellan, and his family.

This break from the light and fluffiness is over for now. I just felt the need to pass this little boys story along. You can read the details on the blog if you want to, I just couldn't do it all justice on my own.

Just Stuff...

2009-07-24T16:56:00.003-05:00

I computer crashed last week so I don't have access to all my pictures right now, but I thought I would update on some stuff going on in the Milliorn house.

Drew is on a big vocabulary kick these days. Anytime he doesn't know what a word means, he asks. Which means I have to come up with a definition on the fly! I guess I should practice saying "lets look it up when we get home", but I never think of that. So today's vocabulary words were Preposterous, and Ridiculous (he was watching "Bolt"). So I told him they both meant silly, or totally crazy. To which in all seriousness he replied "then why don't they just say that, Mommy?" Good question!

He asks LOTS of questions... ALL the time right now. Most of them are the garden variety "but why?" said in a 4 year-old's whiny voice. But some of them are really good questions about God, and Jesus. Last night as I was putting him to bed he asked "Does God talk?" to which I replied "Yes, of course he does," hoping that would be the end of that conversation until I could prepare more of a detailed answer. But no! Quickly after that the question came "but how?" That is when my memory of Experiencing God kicked in. I totally broke out the "through prayer, the Bible, the church, and circumstance." I said a fast "thank you prayer to God for giving me that memory at that moment, and thought "whew, that should end that conversation for a while." But no, he had to go back to the vocab lesson with "what does circumstance mean?" Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that he is already asking such great questions about God, but I am afraid I may have to go to seminary one day to have all the answers.

Cooper is 10 months old now, and rolling everywhere! He isn't trying to crawl yet, but he may not have to if he keeps rolling like he is right now. He can get pretty much anywhere in the living room he wants to, in a matter of seconds. However, he has yet to venture off of the carpet, onto the hardwood. I am totally fine with him staying on the carpet, there isn't much he can get in trouble with in the living room. As I type this (on a borrowed laptop from Andy), he is just rolling from side to side trying to figure out how to get Drew's Light Saber. He just got it, good thing Drew just left with Daddy. Cooper is also getting much better at standing up while holding on to my fingers. Before he would get too excited about standing, and bend over to look at his legs instead of standing up straight. How he stands straight and proud.

We are having a great summer just hanging out around the house, and going to the occasional play group and story time, and swimming in the pool. Andy brought my computer home today, so hopefully once we get all my pictures restored I can get some more pictures posted. I am so thankful we had them all backed up!

July 4th Weekend

2009-07-08T12:53:00.006-05:00

Over the July 4th weekend we loaded up the kids and headed out the ranch. We had high hopes this year after all of the Spring rain of getting to put on our own fireworks show. Unfortunately able the dry, hot weeks leading up to the 4th have made it too dangerous this year. Hopefully we can do it next year. The kids did enjoy bike riding in the cooler mornings, and splashing around in the little kiddie pools in the afternoon, but it was too hot to do much else. Drew did have a great time just playing with his cousins, no matter what they were doing.

Here are a few of the pictures. I took over 300, so it was hard to narrow it down.

Great Grandpa with all 8 of his great grand kids

Pool time was a big hit with the kids, but the adults sure got hot

Drew cooling himself off.

Cooper and Brett (Brett is 2 months older than Cooper) in the baby pool.

Cooper - 9 Months

2009-06-25T20:28:00.005-05:00

We were out by the pool tonight and I got some super cute shots of Cooper making funny faces. As you can see from these pictures he really getting such a little personality. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

The Beach...

2009-06-12T14:28:00.003-05:00

Or as close as we will probably get this year. I finally took Drew to get his 4 year pictures made today. Yes, I know I am a month late, but he is still 4! I have lots of great pictures but I thought the ones of them on the beach would be great for this blog. You see, I love the beach! Andy on the other hand does not. Maybe when he looks at this and sees how cute our boys would be at the beach he will want to take us there. I mean, really... could they get any cuter?

I really love that they are holding hands.

I never knew how hard it would be to get 2 boys to look at the camera at the same time.

See Daddy, I love the beach!

Me too Daddy... please!

I just had to show off my sweet boys. I know we will get to the beach one of these summers, but it is probably best to wait until Cooper can walk. I am pretty sure he would get tired of sitting in sand, and Drew would need someone to play with anyway.

The Pool is Now Open

2009-06-06T08:50:00.002-05:00

Last night for the first time this season, we went swimming in our pool. This was the first time for Cooper Man to go swimming, so I grabbed the camera to commemorate the occasion. He wasn't too sure about it, but being his normal laid back self, he was fine. That is until Drew started splashing around. He wasn't splashing Cooper, but Cooper did get splashed. He didn't like that at all and got very upset (yes... Cooper does get upset from time to time). He calmed down after a few minutes, and I was able to get a few shots.

All my boys together in the pool.

Cooper is going to spend a lot of time in this floaty! I hope he likes it.

Andy and Drew playing around! I think Drew was suppose to be a rocket ship.

Drew being a monster... he was roaring at me. One of his favorite things to do.

Even though the pool was a little on the cool side, it was great to break it in for the first time this summer. I know before too long it will be so hot we almost don't want to go outside. But for now, we will take was we get, and try to enjoy our boys as much as possible.

How Can You Resist...

2009-05-29T15:33:00.001-05:00

this face... I know I already posted about Cooper today, but seriously, how could I not post these pictures?

The Young Jedi

2009-05-29T15:30:00.001-05:00

Drew got a Light Sabre (or Light Saver, to him) from Santa for Christmas. He loves it, and often calls himself a Jedi while playing with it. He is usually trying to kill Darth Vader, since he is Luke Skywalker. This particular morning I think he was taking it very seriously.

He has some pretty sweet Jedi moves.

This is his mean Jedi face

After the Jedi training, he wanted to have his Jedi hair. Any time I give him a faux hawk, he calls it his Jedi hair. This happened to be the last day of school so I let him go to school with his hair like this. He loved telling all of his teachers that this was his Jedi hair. They thought it was pretty cute!

He really enjoys making silly faces while I am trying to take pictures.

Finally one with his sweet face.

He looks like such a big boy in this picture! I can't get over how quickly the time is going by. It feels like this school year just started, and now it is over. It was such a great year for him at school, he loves it so much. I can't wait to see how much he learns next year.

Sitting Up... Sort of.

2009-05-28T16:31:00.002-05:00

I have told you all before how my youngest son, likes to take is own sweet time in doing things. So of course, sitting up has been no different. This week he has finally started to sit on his own... a little bit. He can sit for a few seconds at a time, especially if he is distracted by a cool toy. But he pretty quickly wants to lay back down.

It still counts with his back against the couch right?

And some pillows beside him, those are really just for safety!

See, I told you he needed the pillows!

Anyway, he is getting there. He still has absolutely no desire to get onto his hands and knees, but this week, we are just going to work on his sitting up skills! He is 8 months old after all!

Brothers

2009-05-21T12:46:00.004-05:00

I decided that my blog had been a little Drew heavy lately, with all the birthday stuff. So, I decided just to post a sweet picture of both of them.

Cooper isn't doing much that is new, so I don't really have much of an update on him. He is still super sweet, unbelievably mellow, and crazy about his big brother. He just really isn't too interested in becoming mobile! Which, now that I think about it, is probably a blessing! Thanks God! I am not sure if I am ready for 2 mobile boys in the house!

The Actual Birthday

2009-05-18T14:45:00.003-05:00

Now for Drew's actual birthday. We started the day by letting Drew open one small present. Then it was off to the doughnut shop! At his preschool you get to bring a special snack to celebrate your birthday, so Drew wanted to bring doughnuts. He was really excited... he always loves it when it is his turn to bring the snack. As another special treat, I brought him McDonald's for lunch that day. I felt a little bad that he had to go to school on is birthday. You see, my birthday is so close to Christmas that I never had to go to school on my birthday. So that thought to me is just terrible. I think Drew really loved it. Once we ate lunch, I took him home so he could get a good nap at home. Daddy got to come home a little early that day, and was there when Drew woke up from his nap. I think that in itself was a gift to Drew. We let him open a few gifts before dinner too.

This is Drew opening a Star Wars card that had music. He loves those cards.

After that it was time to head out to dinner. Drew had picked Red Robin for his special dinner. My parents meet us there too. Drew had started to get a bit of a cold so he really didn't eat much food. He didn't even touch the ice cream sundae they brought him.

I think he got a little nervous when they were singing to him.

Next it was back to our house. He had Drew ride with Grandpa so that we could get his main present ready. So Grandpa and Drew went to their house to pick up the homemade ice cream my mom had prepared, while we headed to our house.

Drew and Grandpa waiting on the main gift.

Finally we told him he could look. I think it took a minute to sink in.

Then he finally got to put on his helmet, go outside, and ride his first big boy bike. At first he was a little scared of it, and he thought it was a little too hard to do. At one point he wanted his old bike back, but he really loves it now.

Drew on his new bike.

In this one you can tell he just isn't feeling well.

Between the Pump it Up party and his actual birthday we had a celebration with Andy's family for Drew's birthday as well as his cousin Brenna's birthday. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. Granddad did send me some but I have not been able to go through those yet, so that will have to be for another post on another day.

Pump It Up Birthday

2009-05-18T14:42:00.003-05:00

I am finally getting around to blogging about Drew's birthday festivities. We started off his birthday week with a party at Pump it Up. Drew's best friend Jake is only 8 days older than Drew. They go to school together, they are in the same Sunday school class, the same children's choir class, the same Mission Friends class, and since they live about a mile down the road from us they will go to the same schools. So it was only natural that we give them a joint birthday party together. I am not sure if Drew had more fun at the party, or just thinking about getting to share his birthday with Jake. But needless to say, they had a great time, and really... so did we.

Drew and Jake watching the safety video before the party started.
(Jake's sister Natalie is sitting next to Drew and Drew's cousin Madeleine is next to Jake)

Jake and Drew sitting in the inflatable chair in the party room before pizza was served.

Enjoying some pizza, they were all starving.

Blowing out the candles. Notice how clean Jake's face is and how messy Drew's is!

I took a ton of pictures while they were playing on the inflatable slides and other things, but the kids were moving so fast that I didn't get many good shots. The adults didn't move as fast, but no one really wants to see that!

I have to say a big THANK YOU to Jake's parents! Kristin and Stacy... Thanks for booking it and sending out the invitations. You guys are so easy to work with! I am so glad our boys are friends!

4 Years Old

2009-05-12T14:34:00.002-05:00

Today Drew turns 4 years old. I can hardly believe it! Four years ago today God brought one of the sweetest, smartest, funniest and kindest little boys into this world. He has been such a blessing to us.

Let me tell you a little bit about Drew this year:

He had his first trip to the ER to get stitches just after his last birthday. He ran into a corner of the wall in Andy's office and came out crying and bleeding profusely from the his head. We rushed him to the hospital (about 2 minutes away). He was such a good boy, once they numbed it, he was playing and ready to go. He stayed calm and was such a big boy the whole time. We were so proud of him! You can read more about that here.

Last summer, after crying everyday at swimming lessons, Drew became a great swimmer. He would swim, with his head under water, eyes open the entire length of our pool. Granted, it is a small pool, but that is pretty good for a 3 year old. He even got to where he could come up for a breath, and keep swimming.

In September, Drew became a big brother. And what a great big brother he is too. He is so sweet with Cooper. He has always loved to hold Cooper, and play with him. If Cooper fusses, Drew will talk, or even sing to him to keep him happy. And, oh, does Cooper LOVE Drew. Cooper's face just lights up when Drew is around. And the rougher Drew plays the more Cooper loves it.

Drew attended First Faith Preschool again this year. He loves school so much. He teachers always tell me how smart he is and what a great memory he has. Andy and I think the memory part is both a blessing and a curse! He will return to First Faith next year and will be going 3 days a week, instead of 2. I can't believe this will be the last year before kindergarten!

In the Fall, Drew played on his first soccer team, and was a pretty good goalie. He also started singing in the preschool choir at church, and started attending Mission Friends on Wednesday nights. He loves church too, and has started asking me some pretty tough questions about God, and Jesus. I have already had to email our preschool minister to make sure I answered something right!

It has been such a great year! No words can express how much we love this little boy! Every night when I tuck him into bed and look at that sweet face, I thank God for trusting us with such a sweet heart. I can't wait to see what this next year hold for him. He is one special boy!

Brotherly Love

2009-05-09T10:27:00.002-05:00

My boys were being so sweet together this morning. Drew insisted on holding "the Cooper Man" right after breakfast. He is such a great big brother, Cooper is one lucky little guy!

Such Sweet Faces

2009-05-08T13:11:00.009-05:00

I have been playing around with some picture editing software, and theses are my latest creations. These were done @ http://www.picnik.com/. It is pretty cool, and free (unless you want to do the really cool stuff.)

My Boys

2009-04-24T21:02:00.001-05:00

A few nights ago the weather was really nice outside. So after dinner we decided to hang out on our driveway for a little while. Cooper really enjoyed having a breeze blowing in his face, and Drew always loves being outside. It was really nice just to spend sometime outside as a family. Plus it allowed Andy and I to get some work done in the garage.

Cooper in his favorite chair

I thought this was such a sweet shot of Andy and Cooper.

Drew really likes to take over Cooper's chair.

Every Morning

2009-04-17T13:15:00.004-05:00

Every morning when I go in to get Cooper out of his crib, this is what I find. Notice the missing arm? He has it stuck under the bumper pad, between the slats of the crib, and is scratching the wall. Every morning he is just like this, and just as happy as can be. When he sees me he gets really excited and starts to kick his legs because he knows it is time to get up and start the day! I am not sure how I got two morning children, because I am not a morning person at all, but it sure is nice to start the day with this big sweet smile.

Cooper in his normal morning position.

Since he was so happy I decided to get a few more pictures.

Yes, this is before his morning bottle!

Isn't he just the sweetest thing!

These pictures were made possible by sweet grandparents who let big brother spend the night so that we could have some time with just Cooper. Also, because they have a hard time saying no to their oldest grandson when he ask to spend the night!

You Are My Sunshine

2009-04-06T12:53:00.007-05:00

Saturday we attended Drew's Spring program at First Faith Preschool and Kindergarten, in Mansfield. Each class picked their favorite songs they sing at school and performed them for family and friends. Drew has been singing them to us for weeks. They all did a really great job, and I could even hear Drew singing.

He was turned backward most of the time looking at himself on the screen behind them, but his was a rare time he faced forward.

He looks upset, but he is really just singing.

After the program we got to go to his class room for Open House. He teacher had a list of things he had to show us to get a prize. We got to see he sibling chart, the refrigerator, his cubby, and his mud prints on the bulletin board in the hall way.

Looking a little confused

Drew giving his best friend "Jakey" a hug... and not letting go.

We have been so pleased with his school, and he loves it too. Next year he is going to go 3 days a week to ramp up to kindergarten. I can't believe that this time next year I will be registering him for kindergarten! Where has the time gone?

Sweet Brothers

2009-04-06T12:52:00.002-05:00

Just a few quick pictures of my sweet boys being nice. After taking a couple of months off, Drew has decided he wants to hold Cooper again. It is so sweet. Today Drew asked if he could help me chase Cooper around when he starts to crawl. I am sure Drew will be a big help!

Drew (almost 4), Cooper (6 months) just before bedtime.

Aren't they sweet?

Cooper - Six Months

2009-03-31T11:47:00.001-05:00

I took advantage of Drew being at school today and set up my own little photo shoot for Cooper. My friend Adrien gets such beautiful shots of her boys that I thought I would try it out.

Cooper is now 6 months old, and such a happy baby. This was right before his morning nap, so I didn't get a lot of smiles, but he was still being sweet.

I may try again later when Drew is home because he can always get a big smile out of Cooper. They are so cute together. We are very blessed to have such healthy happy boys!

My Camera is Fixed

2009-03-30T21:17:00.006-05:00

As some of you know, my camera has been broken for several weeks. The pictures I have posted lately have been from my iPhone or my smaller camera. I finally got it back from the repair shop this weekend, so I wanted to put it to good use. Drew, Cooper and I, headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's today to play in the yard a while, and snap a few pictures. It is so good to have my camera back.

Drew and Grandpa planting some bushes. They bought him a little rake, shovel and hoe so he can play in a dirt pile they keep for him. And I wonder why he always wants to go over there

Drew, just being Drew.

Look at that sweet face, and those blue eyes!

This is the non sweet face we are trying to get him to stop making!

You might be wondering why there are no pictures of Cooper outside. Well that is because 1) he falls asleep whenever we go to my parents house, and 2) he isn't sitting up yet so it is hard to get a picture of him outside until he decides to sit up. I really want to get some outdoor shots of him too, but there is just no rushing that boy!

On a side note, I think it is pretty cool that this is the same yard I played in as a kid! We use to play a lot of kickball in this yard! It is a great yard for kids!

A Day at the Ranch

2009-03-23T19:33:00.002-05:00

This weekend we took advantage of the great weather and made a day trip out to the ranch. Here are a few pictures of the boys.

Cooper reaching for my phone

Drew holding Cooper in the game room

Cooper's first time at the "Tree Tops".
Drew was being a great big brother and pushing him in the swing.

Daddy holding a very sleepy Cooper

With the Flip of a Switch

2009-03-06T12:00:00.021-06:00

UPDATE: Cooper had his appointment yesterday and the doctor said he looks great! He really showed off for her and even rolled from his tummy to his back. Of course that was right after she asked me if he could do it and I told her "no"! He already has a stubborn streak. He even started to put some weight on his legs while we were there.

Not to be outdone, while the doctor was examining Cooper, Drew started to sing his ABC's... she was pretty impressed. We even showed her how he knew what each letter "says". So both of my boys are showoffs for pretty female doctors.

As many of you know, Cooper has not been holding his head up during tummy time. At his 4 month appointment his wonderful pediatrician said that if we wasn't making progress by 5 months to bring him back in. On Tuesday of this week I made the appointment, for today (Friday). Last night at my parents house rolled him over to his tummy, and he did what he always does and just laid there. But after a few minutes he started to lift his head and shoulders, and even push up a little on his arms. We were amazed, it was like someone flipped a switch and he figured out what to do. I tested it again this morning and he did even better. Here are a few pictures.

This is from last night at my parents house

This one is from this morning...
it is a little blurry because he was moving.

Big brother showing him how it is done

We are going to keep the appointment with the doctor, I just hope he shows off for her. I will try to give an update on how he is doing soon. Even if he is a little behind physically, he is such a good sweet baby. What a blessing my 2 boys are.

Cooking...The Kim Way - Part 1

2009-03-02T15:06:00.005-06:00

While talking to some friends at play group today I was told I needed to put some of the stuff I cook on my blog. I know some of you will be shocked to know that I actually cook, but it is true. I have actually been cooking a lot lately. None of it is difficult stuff to make, so really, if I can do it ANYONE can do it.

Here are a couple of chicken recipes I use!

Crunchy Onion Chicken – Recipe from the back of the can
2 Cups French’s Cheddar French Fried Onions
4 Chicken Breast
1 Egg Beaten
· Crush French’s Cheddar French Fried Onions in bag, or food processor
· Dip in beaten egg
· Coat in onions, pressing firmly to make it stick to chicken
· Cook for 20 minutes at 400

Ritzy Chicken
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers
2 TBS Sour Cream
4 Chicken Breast
· Crush Ritz Crackers in the sleeve or plastic bag
· Coat chicken in thin layer or sour cream
· Coat chicken with crushed Ritz crackers
· Cook 25-30 minutes at 350

Since my camera is broken, maybe I can update my blog with this kind of stuff while I wait for it to get fixed. It better get fixed fast, because I will run out of recipes really quickly.

Another Beautiful Day

2009-02-20T15:08:00.005-06:00

The weather here in Texas was very nice this week, so the boys and I (with a little help from Grandma and Grandpa) headed out to the park. Just thought I would share a few pictures.

I think Drew is roaring at us, but I am not sure why.

Grandma's favorite thing to do... hold Cooper

He looks like he is ready to run a race.

Grandma was really worried that Cooper would get sunburned.
I don't think he liked this much.

My Little "Reader"

2009-02-06T12:23:00.002-06:00

I came upstairs the other night to tuck Drew in, and I found him "reading this book to Andy. He did such a great job, and it was so cute that the next night I tried to get a video of it, but as you will see it didn't last long. It is still too cute not to share.

What a Difference a Year Makes

2008-12-31T14:06:00.009-06:00

I was looking at our Christmas pictures from this year trying to decide which ones to post. I finally decided there were just too many to choose from. So instead I have decided to take a look back over 2008. Drew has changed so much. This first picture was taken January 2008, the second in December 2008! He looks so much older now, all the baby fat is gone! He is totally a little boy now, no longer a toddler! This year he had his first trip to the ER, and his first set of stitches, he started wearing big boy underwear, played on a soccer team, started Mission Friends and choir, and most importantly, he became a big brother! He loves Cooper so much. Drew gets so excited when Cooper smiles at him, or holds his hand. Drew has really turned into a little boy, which for me is a little sad. But I am excited to see what type of big boy he becomes.

This time last year Andy and I were about to start trying to have a baby again. After a long and difficult 2007 we took a break from trying and were going to start back in January. By the end of the month, we knew we were expecting again! In May we found out it was a boy, and we finalized the name Cooper James! He was born on September 23, 2008, needless to say, in the 3+ months of his short life he has changed a lot too.

He is such a sweet baby. He smiles, and babbles, and coos all the time. He looks so much like Drew did as a baby... but we are already starting to see personality differences. I can't wait to see how this little baby grows up!

2008 has really been a great year for us. I can't wait to see what changes 2009 brings!

Happy New Year Everyone!

A Belated 2 Months

2008-12-04T10:13:00.008-06:00

The time has flown by the last few weeks. Just before Thanksgiving Cooper turned 2 months old. This is one of the pictures from when we had our Christmas pictures taken. He has really started to smile a lot, and usually only wakes up once a night now. He got a great report at his 2 month doctors appointment. He is up to 11lbs 12oz, and is 24.5 inches long, For those of you wondering... Drew was 24.25 inches and 14lbs 3oz at this point. Yep, same height, but Drew weighed almost 3 lbs more than Cooper does. They look so much a like, but we are already seeing personality differences.

Drew is such a good big brother . He loves Cooper, and really likes to be a helper. He is getting to be such a big boy. This morning he got dressed pretty much all by himself, including shoes and socks! He is becoming increasingly independent, and likes to have his own "jobs" to do. His favorite thing right now has to be helping daddy with the "stinky trash". He told us the other day that he wants to be a garbage man for Halloween next year! I am sure that will change a million times before next year, but it sure is cute!

A Look Back

2008-12-03T22:43:00.000-06:00

I was looking through some clips to night of Drew when he was "a little bitty baby" as he would say. I found this one and can remember it vividly. He was about 1 1/2 at the time. He had gotten into the cabinets you can see if the background and found our old wedding napkins (we had a bunch left). We came in to find him playing with them, and having a ball.

Enjoy, we sure did seeing it again tonight.

One Month Already

2008-10-22T19:33:00.009-05:00

I can't believe that Cooper is already a month old! He is already getting so big. I put a 0-3 month outfit on him today and the onesie fit just right in the length, but there is not a lot of room to grow for the next 2 months. Cooper has settled into a pretty predictable nighttime feeding schedule, he usually only wakes up 2 or 3 times in the night, and has started giving one 4-4.5 hour stretch. He almost always goes right back to sleep, so it is really not to bad. I take the first shifts and Andy takes the last one of the "night", since he is usually up getting ready for work anyway. I have a great husband, don't I? Drew continues to be a great big brother, he always wants to hold Cooper and even tries to give him his pacifier if he gets fussy. He really doesn't seem to have much jealousy towards him yet! I hope it stays that way.

One night Drew was holding Cooper (like he always does before he goes to bed) while watching a movie, he got really quiet so I looked over and saw that he was totally asleep. Luckily I was able to grab my camera before he woke up.

I think we are getting settled into our new routine. Life seems to have gotten so much busier, but I don't think we can blame that on Cooper. I really think life did get busier just around the time he was born. Drew school, soccer practice and games, as well as Mission Friends and choir at church. Andy and I have social events and commitments at FBCA as well. So we are on the go a lot more than we were with Drew at this age. I know this is just the beginning, soon Andy and I will be taking 2 kids to all these activities, and probably in 2 separate cars.

Cooper is Here

2008-09-28T10:41:00.005-05:00

Tuesday, September 23rd at 5:08pm Cooper James Milliorn finally made his entrance into the world, weighing in at 8lbs 3oz, with a length of 20 inches. Drew is absolutely in love with his little brother and wants to hold him all the time. Well, almost all the time... when he cries Drew usually covers his ears and says "what's wrong with Cooper?" So far Cooper has been a pretty mellow baby. He usually only cries when he is hungry or undressed. He really likes to be swaddled.

Everyone is adjusting pretty well to having a new baby at home. I am recovering well and feeling pretty good. I even made it to Drew's first soccer game yesterday. I just couldn't miss his first game... and after seeing how cute they all are, I know I can't miss any games. His favorite part was playing goalie, I think most kids like it because they can use their hands. He did pretty good, and actually stopped several balls. It was a lot of fun to watch, and they all look so cute in their uniforms.

I will try to post more pictures soon.

It Finally Clicked...

2008-08-16T14:40:00.003-05:00

Several months ago, I posted about the adventure of potty training we started with Drew (see The Adventure has Begun... ). After that weekend he showed absolutely no interest in using the potty, so we decided to back off until after our cruise in early June. Once we got back from our cruise Drew started swimming lessons, so we (and by we I me "I") decided to wait until after swimming lessons to start trying again. Swimming lessons ended 2 weeks later and we sort of half-heartedly began potty training Drew again. He still wasn't real interested, so we tried not to push it, but still took him to the potty regularly. He would go when we made him, but never told us he needed to go. Like all boys, he loved using the potty targets we had bought him, and like all kids, loved whatever the latest bribe we were trying, but really didn't ever initiate going to the bathroom on his own.

Then, about a week ago, something "clicked"! We were at dinner with some good friends and Drew said "I need to go potty!", so Andy took him! Not only did he go in the potty, but he was still dry too. That was a Friday night, and by Monday he was staying dry most of the day, with only a few accidents. By Thursday he was waking up dry in the mornings, and going to the bathroom by himself without even telling us throughout the day. Last night, he even woke up at 3:00 am and called for me because he needed to go to the bathroom. He hasn't had an accident during the day since Tuesday! What a difference a week makes. Someone told me about a month ago that one day it would just click, and that he had to decide he wanted to do it... and boy were they right.

Right now, he is still wearing a pull up, because he likes being able to see that his designs are still there, but we are planning to make the jump to "big boy underwear" on Monday. So say a prayer for us and him as we take this next step.

We are so proud of our little boy. But also a little sad that he is growing us so fast.

Technology is Amazing

2008-08-06T19:07:00.011-05:00

Last week Andy and I were able to go get a 3D sonogram of Cooper. It was so cool to get to see him in more than just shadows like in the regular sonograms. The sonogram tech said that he really cooperated well, so we got some good pictures. They turned out much better than Drew's did.

Cooper @ 30 Weeks

For your comparison here is one of Drew's 3D sonograms. To be honest, when we had Drew's done, it really didn't mean too much to us... yeah, there is a baby there, but it could be any baby. But once Drew was born and we looked at his pictures compared to the sonogram you can totally see how much the sonogram really looked like him.

I don't think Cooper looks like Drew did at this stage, but who knows if they will look alike when they are older. We can't wait to meet the little guy! Only 8.5 more weeks, if I make it that long!

Hawaii Cruise

2008-07-01T11:21:00.006-05:00

I thought it was about time I actually posted some pictures of our cruise. We had a great time, and saw such beautiful beaches that pictures really don't do it justice. I definitely want to go back sometime and spend more time on certain islands. Kauai was our favorite and the most beautiful.

It really was a great trip, the only reason we were ready to come back was to see Drew. We really missed him while we were gone. Especially since he refused to talk to us on the phone when we called. Grandma and Grandpa had a great time with him while we were in Hawaii. I think he had a great time to, but he is in no hurry to spend the night again anytime soon.

This is the view from our hotel room in Honolulu.

The Road to Hana in Maui

Me (and Cooper) on a black sand beach on the Road to Hana

Meredith and I on that same black sand beach

The boys were playing golf this day, that is why there are no pictures of Andy. The Road to Hana is beautiful, but not exactly a "fun" drive. There were lots of narrow, very curvy roads. I spent most of the time on the bus trying not to throw up.

Steam and ash from the rim of the volcano

On the ship pulling into Kauai

A beach on the drive from the pier to Hanalei

Us in front of a waterfall we found just by following some road signs

That is all I have time to post for now, if I find some more good ones I will add to this. I hope everyone has a great July 4th.

Drew's First Trip to the ER

2008-05-24T14:17:00.008-05:00

We have had quite the eventful Saturday morning in the Milliorn house. After breakfast Andy and I were in the nursery getting stuff ready for our trip next week when we heard Drew screaming and crying from the other room. We go out into the kitchen to see him coming in from the living room with blood pouring from his forehead. We got a wet rag and tried to stop the bleeding, but quickly decided he needed to go to the hospital. Thankfully we only live 2 minutes from Mansfield Methodist Hospital. We scooped him up and were there not more than 10 minutes after the whole thing started. The bleeding stopped pretty quickly, but he did need 4 stitches to sew up the 1 inch gash on his forehead. We are not really sure what happened, he said he hit it on the door in Andy's office, but we can't find any sign of where he hit.

This pictures was taken with Andy's phone in the waiting room of the hospital. He looks so pathetic, but just 15 minutes later when the numbing stuff started to work he was smiling and ready to play (until they came in to do the stitches).

He was such a brave little boy, so the doctor gave him a bunch of stickers. Andy and I are actually a little surprised it took 3 years for us to have to take Drew to the ER. I am sure it won't be our last trip.

Edit: I thought I would edit this to show a few pictures of the actual stitches. He is getting them out tomorrow, but I thought they should be recorded too. As you can tell, they haven't bothered him too much.

The Official Verdict is Finally In

2008-05-09T22:16:00.003-05:00

Today we had our sonogram to tell us the sex of the baby. It is a boy... no doubt about it. The sonogram tech said "well, its a boy and he isn't shy!" His name will be Cooper James Milliorn. Drew is pretty excited. As Andy and I were discussing (in front of Drew) the name Cooper, Drew started saying "Cooper, Cooper, Cooper" so that settled any doubts we had about the name.

While I am not sure I have the energy for 2 little boys, we are all really excited. I can't wait to meet the little guy.

I will try to get some sono pics up soon.

The Adventure has Begun...

2008-04-12T15:46:00.002-05:00

Today, one month before Drew turns 3, a new adventure has begun. The day I have been dreading since Drew was born, has finally arrived... Potty Training Day! We had absolutely nothing planned for today so we thought it might be a great time to start potty training. Believe me I wanted to back out, I wanted to find someone I could pay to take on this task, but at 7:00am we dove in. And to be honest... it hasn't been too bad.

His first success came after a whole glass of orange juice at about 8:00am, followed immediately by an accident. By 11:00am he had gone in the potty 5-6 times, and in his Pullup 3-4 times. He really loves the Skittles we bought him as a bribe, and he is trying so hard to keep his Tow Mator Pullups dry. He has even started telling us when he needs to go, before it is too late. Sometime it is a false alarm, but that is alright. He stayed dry all through lunch and nap time (from about 11:30-3:30) and went like a pro when he woke up! We are so proud of our little man! We are even letting him pick dinner tonight!

I will keep you posted on the progress. Yea, for our little man.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-24T10:14:00.005-05:00

This weekend was Easter weekend. Since we spent last weekend at the ranch, we got to relax and hang out around the house this weekend.

On Saturday, Andy got a lot of work done in the garage, and Drew kept him company by riding his "bike" around. He loves that little tricycle, and is even getting pretty good at peddling. While I was drifting off to sleep in our room that afternoon, Drew decided to play in my laundry hamper. I was woken up by him saying "I'm stuck, Mommy". Of course I had to grab the camera before I could get him out.

These pictures were taken before we left for church. After church on Sunday, we got some much needed rest and relaxation at home. Drew was in a great mood all day! We really enjoyed some low key family time.

I hope everyone had a great Easter.

Spring Break

2008-03-21T10:35:00.006-05:00

We started out our Spring Break by taking a trip to the Ranch. Drew had a great time playing with his 5 (soon to be 6) cousins. He and Ryan are starting to play together more and more every time they are together. Drew loves playing at the "tree tops" (that is what he calls the playground that Granddad built.) On Saturday the kids all had a Easter egg hunt in the front yard. They had so much fun finding eggs and especially eating all the candy. The weather was perfect all weekend.

We made it back to church on Sunday and spent the rest of the week just hanging around the house. Drew got to spend some time at Grandma and Grandpa's house, he even spent the night so that Andy and I could go to the Stars game. He love it, and so did the grown ups.

On the 17th I had my 11 week baby appointment. Everything is looking good so far. I got to have another sonogram and I could see the baby moving around. I also got to hear the heartbeat, and get measurements taken. The baby is already 2 inches long! Only 29 weeks to go. We should get to find out if it is a boy or a girl at 18 weeks.

The big news...

2008-02-26T16:29:00.006-06:00

I know it has been a while since I updated this... but I really didn't have much to update until recently. I will try to do better from now on.

Right now all is going relatively well. In January we found out that we are pregnant again. We told a few people (okay, more than a few) after the doctor confirmed it with 2 blood test. We waited to tell the masses until we could have the first sonogram done. We had that sonogram on February 21st. Everything looks good, we got to see the heartbeat and confirmed that there is only one baby in there. The sonogram also confirmed our due date as October 6, 2008. Needless to say, we are all very excited... Drew included. Here are a few fuzzy sonogram pictures to show off our little bean.

Here are some cute pictures of Drew and Andy as well.

I will update with more pictures later.

Christmas Day

2008-01-04T17:10:00.000-06:00

Okay, so it took me a few days to actually get around to posting our Christmas day photos. But at least they are here now.

Christmas morning we were lucky enough to wake up before Drew. Andy woke up first and cooked blueberry muffins. After I got up Andy went up to get Drew. We had a great time opening gifts and watching Drew play with all of his new toys. Santa gave him a tricycle, and a remote controlled car. Unfortunately, one of the key pieces of the tricycle must have gotten lost in Santa's slay. At least he was able to sit on it.

After we got done with all of our presents, we headed over to Mike and Barbara's city house for Christmas with the Milliorns. Again, Drew had a great time playing with all of his cousins, and new toys. The first picture is Meredith (1) playing with the new doll we gave her from Disney. The next one is Madeleine (4) with her princess jewlery. The last one is Cara (2) and Brenna (4.5) praying with some of Granny's old toys before we opened gifts.

Christmas Update

2007-12-27T08:58:00.001-06:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this, but I really haven't had much new going on. Here are a bunch of pictures from Christmas.

These pictures are actually from my birthday celebration at the ranch with Andy's side of the family. That is Drew and Madeleine (4) playing on the horse swing, Drew playing with a bow, me with my new Christmas dishes (this one is a pie server I got from Matt and Sharee). Drew always has such a great time at the ranch.

This year we spent Christmas Eve with my family. They came over for lunch with Mark and me doing most of the cooking. Okay, it was mostly Mark, but I helped a lot. We had a Mexican feast with fajitas, empanadas, tamales (Andy steamed those), and chips and queso. We were so full after lunch that we didn't even eat any of the 4 pies we had.

After we went to the Christmas Eve service at church, the Stringers came over for a birthday party for Jesus. We ate pizza and cake, read the Christmas story, sang happy birthday to Jesus, and just let the kids play. It was really a fun time, we hope to do it every year! Drew had a great time playing with Cameron, Sarah, and Rachel. I really wish I had taken more pictures. Maybe next year I will remember.

I will post again later with all the Christmas day festivities. I hope you all had a great Christmas.

Jacob Cochran

2007-11-05T14:56:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to post a few pictures of my cousin Josh and his wife Tracy, and their son Jacob (Jake). I thought it might help to put some faces to the names of the people you have been praying for. These were taken before the heart murmur was detected, in the 2 days were able to hold and care for their little baby. The last update I received was last night.

From Josh: "He's still doing very well. He's been taken off of dopamine, which is used to open up blood vessels to improve blood flow in cardiac patients. He's still on another IV heart medicine but it's being steadily decreased too. Once he's off both medications his heart will be working entirely on its own without any assistance. Absolutely amazing to me for a baby who had open heart surgery two days ago. He was also able to have some food today for the first time since Thursday afternoon, although it was given by feeding tube rather than from a bottle."

"The only minor setback he's had is that he had to be placed back on a ventilator early this morning. This isn't at all uncommon in patients who have been on a ventilator. Already he's back to the lowest level of sedation (necessary to keep him calm with the tube down his throat) and breathing with the assistance of the ventilator, rather than being dependent upon it. The nurses expect him to be taken off of it again tomorrow."

"Once he's off of the ventilator and all IV medications he will be moved from the ICU to a regular hospital room. That will be an enormous milestone in his recovery. I'm not willing to speculate on when that might happen but he's definitely making progress toward it."

"We're already noticing small things about him that his surgery changed. Several people commented on his hands and feet being a little purple and cold during his first couple of days, before his condition was diagnosed. Since the surgery they've turned a much more normal pink and are noticeably warmer. The incision from his surgery, which is just as gruesome as you might imagine, looks better than it did yesterday."

I have edited down Josh's post, but you can still see that this is going to be a long road for this family. Please continue to pray for all of them, I know they appreciate it, as do I.

Finally Finished...and Cute Drew Stuff

2007-10-30T08:33:00.000-05:00

The decorating is finally finished! It actually has been for a couple of weeks, I just never got around to taking pictures of my office. So here they are. It is great to finally have it done, and not have to explain to people what we have left to do. Now I can't wait to figure out where all of my Christmas stuff will go.

I decided yesterday to try something different with Drew's hair. We have been pretending to spike it, so I decided to try it for real. It is pretty cute, but I don't plan to do that much work everyday, so that will just be for special occasions. Too bad his Buzz Lightyear costume has a hood, or I would spike it for Halloween. He really looks like a little boy now instead of a toddler. It really make his mommy a little sad to see him growing up so fast. But he sure is fun right now!

I made the mistake the other day of leaving the salt shaker on the table... Drew decided to use it to his advantage. It was such a mess, but I had to take a picture before cleaning it up. You can't tell by this picture, but he is actually sick and running a fever in this picture.

Disney Trip

2007-10-10T14:21:00.000-05:00

We got back home on Saturday from our big trip to Walt Disney World, and I just now have the energy to update my blog about it. While we had a great time, we were ready to come home so that we could get some rest. Drew was great for the majority of the trip. The last day or so he was getting a little cranky, but when he fell to sleep before take off on the way back, it really made up for a lot.

We saw just about every character we wanted to, Buzz Lightyear, Lightening McQueen, Pluto and Mickey Mouse were Drew's favorites. He also loved riding the Teacups, and driving the cars on the track. Now whenever we are in the car he says "I drive!". He was even tall enough to ride Goofy's Barnstormer, his first roller coaster. But I think his favorite thing was just playing on the little playground in Mickey's Toon Town. He also really liked riding the buses to and from the park. The first night we were there we attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, at the Magic Kingdom. All the kids got to dress up and trick or treat in the park after it closed. It was so neat to see all the kids in costumes, I have never seen so many little princesses in all my life. Drew was Buzz Lightyear, of course.

Andy and I did get a little time to ourselves. Since my mom and dad went with us, Andy and I were able to take the Segway tour at Epcot. It was so much fun! I was really nervous before I got on, and the first time I stepped up on the Segway, but it was really easy. I totally want one now... but I am not sure where I would use it. Maybe I could use it to walk Drew to school someday.

I am actually going to try and scrap book this trip, so when I am done (hopefully before we decide to go again) I will be able to show you more of what we did.

Inching Closer

2007-09-19T13:19:00.003-05:00

So it has been two weeks since the decorators did the first and largest install at the house. Today they came back and finished up the kitchen area. We got the wall repaired so they were able to hang the drapes in the breakfast snook. It really adds a lot to that area. They also added a bunch of accessories to the kitchen and rearranged some stuff I already had. We are still waiting for a few pieces in the living room to come, and my office still needs to be done. But it is looking really good! I am so excited to almost be finished. We were finally able to finish the outside work. The brick and concrete work is complete and looks really great with the rest of the house.

You will all have to come by sometime soon to see all the changes.

Party Under the Stars!

2007-09-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

Andy and I had the opportunity (thanks to WBAP) to go to an event at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas this weekend. The event was a fundraiser to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters. I knew when we first heard about the event that Brendon Morrow of the Dallas Stars was scheduled to be there, but I was giddy when we saw how many of the Stars players showed up. The table right next to us included Marty Turco, Mike Smith (Turco's backup), Stu Barnes, Stephane Robidas, Brenden Morrow, Junior Lessard, and Philippe Boucher, and a bunch of what I assume to be new players because I didn't recognise a bunch of them. I was like a kid at Christmas! I was amazed that they were all just sitting at the table next to us, in the back! I guess it was the closest table to the open bar. Morrow showed great leadership skills by making a few bar runs for his teammates.

This picture is me with Philippe Boucher and Stephane Robidas. I wish I had been a little more brave about asking for pictures, but I didn't want to intrude. These two were just standing around talking when I asked for this one. Mike Madono was also there, but he was just signing autographs at a table upstairs. I did see him walk out with Willa Ford (his new wife). Part of the fund raising included an autograph session with the players. Andy and I both got several autographs... it was for the kids after all.

The last picture is of me hooked up to the Oxygen Bar they had there. There are several scents mixed with oxygen that are suppose to be good for you. I tried out the ones for focus, hunger control, and memory recall, but I can't remember what scents those were. We had a great time. Hopefully Andy will keep advertising with WBAP so we will be invited back to this event next year.

My parents didn't have as good of a time babysitting for us that night... Andy and I accidentally set the house alarm while they were taking Drew to dinner. So when they got home they set it off... twice! Yes the police came, and told them they need to get the code from us. They have it now. SORRY Mom and Dad.

Busy Week

2007-09-06T10:18:00.000-05:00

This has been a very busy week. Drew started school on Tuesday! He goes to FUMC in Mansfield, and absolutely loves it. He runs right into his classroom and starts to play in the mornings, he even wants to carry is own backpack and nap mat in to the room. He doesn't like leaving in the afternoon. He had a total meltdown on Tuesday when we were trying to leave. I think this will be really good for him, I know it is really good for me!

We also had the decorators here on Wednesday. They are about 90% complete. I have added a few pictures, but they really don't do it justice. We love everything they have done, but it will take some getting use to the living room layout. Evidently the "traffic flow" will be better this way. We have decided to give it a few weeks, before we change anything. I think the dining room is my favorite part. I am really not sure I am mature enough to have nice stuff like this, but maybe I will grow into it. :)

Of course while they were here they found another problem. We have a leak of some sort in our breakfast area. The wall is so soggy (we got a bunch of rain on Tuesday night) that they couldn't get the anchors for the new drapes to stay in the wall. So we have to get that repaired before they can finish. The contractor is on his way now to look at that... is initial advise was "MOVE", but we have put too much into it at this point. He has know the Milliorn family for years so I think he was kidding (I hope).

We still don't have the brick completely finished, but at least the concrete has been poured. All they have left is one pillar beside the garage, and the acid wash to bring the color out. I am sure it would only take an hour or 2, but getting them out here is the hardest part. I have just been told they should be here this afternoon... so I am crossing my fingers.

Almost There

2007-08-28T16:25:00.001-05:00

We are finally starting to see the light at the end of the decorating tunnel. The front door is stained and looking beautiful, the brick in just about complete, and the painting is almost done as well. The brick would have been done by now if they guy fixing a patch of concrete hadn't cut one of the foundation cables. We have been waiting on that to be fixed before the brick guys can finish up. We have been told that they should be done this week. The picture on the right is the new paint.

It is a good thing they are finishing up, because the decorator called and they should be ready to install the bulk of the new stuff on September 5th! We picked out all this stuff back in the first week of June, so I can wait to see it all pulled together. It has been a long summer of work being done, but it is almost over.

The New Door

2007-08-14T15:49:00.000-05:00

Today we finally got our new door. We have wanted to replace this door since we bought the house 3 1/2 years ago, and have been actually talking to the builder about it since the first of the year. It was installed today and looks beautiful. We still have to get it stained, but at least the old ugly one is gone.

Here are some before and after pictures.

New TV Cabinet

2007-08-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

Our new TV cabinet was installed last week, just in time to have the new carpet installed on Monday. It is kinda hard to take an interesting picture of carpet, but here is one of the new cabinet. We really like it, and it makes it easier to see the TV from the other side of the room. The new front door was delayed a week because it was made wrong. So we should be getting that on Friday. I am so ready to get that done, I am tired of looking at our ugly, faded, peeling door. I will try to make sure to get a before and after picture of the door.

We were finally able to get the weight set out of the front bedroom upstairs. While Andy was taking it apart, Drew just had to try and help. It was so cute to watch him concentrate so hard on something. So that room is now set up as a guest room, and the play room is cleaned out and ready for Drew to start using.

House Stuff

2007-07-30T17:28:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more pictures of the work going on at the house. When we started to have the cedar beams painted on the outside of the house we discovered that they were rotting at the bottom. They are structural beams so we had to fix it. We decided to cut out the rotten part, support it with steal, and then brick around the base of the beams. These pictures are phase one of that... we should have brick at least started later this week. We also should be getting our new front door this week.

You can also see the dining room chairs we had recovered. I was a little worried about this fabric when they showed me the swatch, but I really like it now. Once we get the drapes and accessories I think it will look great.