The Grins of our Girl

6 Looks 15

Anna-Kate has been asking for boots, and girl is proud of her boots!

Love this sassy grin,

and watching this awesome kid grow!

My Favorite

This picture is full of so many of my favorite things

family,

sleeping baby snuggles,

holding hands with my man,

home

9 Months

Bethie girl!

Weight - 18lbs, 3oz - 50 %ile

Height - 27.5in - 45 %ile

Well, baby girl, your monthly update may be 2 weeks late, but 

You are absolutely loved!

This image happens several times a day, in or out of the carrier!

This has been such a big month for you!  The day after you turned 8 months, I noticed 2 teeth!  Less than a week later, your next 2 teeth were coming through!

You love to eat!  We are introducing food quite slowly, but so far you have enjoyed it!  Let's see, so far you are eating:  zucchini, pears, green beans, broccoli, peas, prunes, butternut squash, spinach, apples, rice puffs, oatmeal.  Tonight we move on to carrots.  

By the 8 month update, you were a crawler.  

But, now, you are fast!  You go anywhere you want!  It is time to watch out - if I am not watching, you are at the hearth, or about to put dog food in your mouth!  Anna-Kate and Benjamin now realize it is time to move their toys out of reach

Now that you are eating more, we are going to try winding down the dream feed.  To remember how much we have loved these extra minutes with you, we took some pictures of your groggy, sweet and funny baby faces!

You generally sit with Mom and make faces at Dad.

There are nights, though, that you never wake up!  You eat and keep sleeping.

Look at those sweet baby lips!

I seriously love sleeping pictures!

...when church and lunch just last too long

...when Christmas shopping meant skipping nap at home

...when a busy day makes a baby fall asleep at the evening bottle

Kitchen Fun

As a foodie, I love that my kids enjoy the kitchen with me.  It is easier when just one joins me at a time, but this full kitchen is fun too!

Saturday morning waffles,

Yay!

 Asian for supper is a favorite for everyone!

Admittedly, Benjamin probably has the most stick-with-it-ness in the kitchen right now, but they both have their moments!

A little selfie break to send Dad a fun "Hello!"

Miller Cousins

It was so fun to see all the cousins together!

Getting all of them to smile at the camera, well,

we'll just post two pictures instead of one, ha!

This picture is so great, and will be only that much better next year!

the original Miller 3 with their littles

Walter and Jax (4 months), Amanda (about 7 months pregnant), and becca and Bethany (8 months)

Christmas Morning

Big kids, so excited!

Baby girl, wondering why her bottle has not shown up yet

Santa was here!

They helped Gladys find her stocking first, a new toy! 

While Bethany drinks her bottle, Anna-Kate and Benjamin enjoy looking through their stockings

Benjamin's happiness is evident, and Anna-Kate's  facial expressions, for another year, don't disappoint!  (This picture is when she found a pair of earrings in her stocking.)

Aaaahh, it's her!

the long-awaited American Girl doll, Josefina 

That is one happy Anna-Kate!  (She was excited to be surprised by finding another Josefina book with a pet goat for Josefina, and to get the set of Legos she asked for.)

Look, it's my dinosaur Legos!

(Benjamin also asked for "spooky ScoobyDoo" Legos, and then was surprised by a new transformer.)

Bethany loved Christmas this year!

 ...especially the wrapping paper

She had formula in her stocking.  Then she opened some sippy cups, a Palace Pet lovie, and some bath toys.

Mom and Dad gave each kid something to wear and books.  Not really on purpose, but that is how it worked out.

These rain boots were the biggest success!

Anna-Kate opend dollie and me nightgowns, but the real pleasure for her to open -and me to buy- were a couple chapter books!  She and I have LOVED reading American Girl books, a chapter at a time at bed time.  Such a special moment for both of us!

Bethany's bag of diapers and book did provide quite as much excitement for her as the tree skirt did!

I love ALL of Christmas morning.  The excitement of gifts.  Followed by the fun of playing immediately!

Benjamin gets Daddy to help him assemble his Lego Hulk and breakable car.

After opening Josefina, it was time to start on Anna-Kate's first Lego set. She and I worked for a little while and then I got booted for Dad's help.  Gladys didn't want to be left out either

Benjamin couldn't quite land on his favorite toy, which was fun to watch too!  Who can pick a favorite on Christmas morning?!

Gladys was ready for her Christmas nap a little early!

December Fun

I love the activities of December!  I love that there are so many fun church events, family moments, time with friends, traditions, ...

Holidays Fit for a King is a favorite at church.  

There are workshops to choose on different aspects of the holiday season (hosting, decorating, advent prep, service projects, ...).  The mornings starts with large group breakfast.  Women volunteer to decorate the tables.  This year Ashley and I did this table together (Ashley gets most of the design kudos for this one).  So.much.fun.

This is the second year the kids asked to make a gingerbread house.  

This is the first year I have followed through.

Cute to have this as our centerpiece for the holiday season!

Bethany's first visit with Santa

My favorite moment with Santa, though, was watching Benjamin's face as he walked up.  He was absolutely awe-struck.  "It's really him," you could see written all over his face.  Then he stopped right in front of him and said, "I want dinosaur legos," complete with big eyes.

It was precious! 

I have taken this picture with all three kids now.  

I love sharing experiences with these sweet babies!

This was a first for our family, and I hope it is not the last!  A family at our church hosted a live Nativity.  It was such a precious moment to see my children get a real glimpse into the picture of Jesus's birth.

a 2 week old lamb only added sweetness to the evening!

Christmastime means a visit with my long-time friend LeAnne and her family!

Making this year so special, our babies together!  Bethany and Asher were due 2 days apart, making their appearances 2 weeks apart.