Anticipation...

Anticipation, anxiety, excitement, fatigue, wonder, blessed...so many emotions are going through me all at once right now. It is very surreal to walk around & think, "is my water going to break while I am here at Costco," or "am I going to start having major contractions while I am driving in the rain today." Knowing that your life will change forever at any moment is an interesting way to live your daily life.

I have not posted much this past year, & I do miss it. For those who are not aware, I am coming up on my last week of my second pregnancy. I am technically due next Tuesday, December 15th, although I could go into labor any day now (what a strange thought). We are expecting our second baby girl & we will be naming her when we meet her; & then introducing her to our family & friends by name at that time.

My pregnancy has overall been a very pleasant one & I am feel so blessed to be able to say that. The biggest difference between this one & my first is that I seem to be more exhausted. However, that could have something to do with having a very active almost 3 year old at home this time. :-)

(I just love this picture...

my handsome husband & beautiful daughter Riley)

Riley seems to be very happy & excited about having a baby sister, although we have been telling her for so long now, I am not sure if she believes that she is really coming. The arrival of her baby sister coupled with Christmas this year has made for one very exciting holiday season already, & neither are even here yet! Riley loves the Christmas lights & trees she is seeing everywhere & birthdays. There are so many family birthdays during this season for us that I think she now relates the two. The neat thing is that she knows how to sing "Happy Birthday" & she will get to sing it to her baby sister very soon. (She is also very excited for the birthday cake that goes along with the upcoming birthdays.)

How to be a mother of two? How to be a good mother of two? Those are the kinds of questions & thoughts racing through my head with every little task I do, action I take, thought I have, & moment with my family. I do have peace with those questions, most of the time. I feel very blessed, though, to have an amazing husband who loves his daughter(s) & me so unconditionally & truly wants to be apart of our lives. I am also very thankful for parents (on both sides) who desire to be a part of my new growing family's life. They take joy in spending time with each & every one of us, together or separately. I am grateful for having brothers & sisters-in-law who love us & our kids beyond measure. God has also blessed us with an incredible church & network of friends as well, who will not let us fail & will continue to support us through love, friendship, accountability, food, fellowship, prayer, guidance, humor, transparency, etc. Thank you to all of you who have become such integral parts of our lives. Thank you to all of you who will be part of my girls' lives. They say "it takes a village"...& I am so thankful we have one.

Millsy 3...Soon-to-be 4!

Halloween Fun!

We had a great time this Halloween. We enjoyed Treats in the Streets at the circle in Old Towne Orange with our friends & a fun night at Nana & Papa's house with friends & family. Riley made a beautiful Princess Cinderella & she loved twirling around in her sparkly dress. She learned very quickly what it meant to hold up her pumpkin pail to people in their doorways & say trick-or-treat, so there was no stopping her this year! She sped from house to house with a joy for life & an infectious smile on her face. She loved ringing doorbells & twirling around to show off her princess duds. We loved spending the time with both family & friends & look forward to many years of costumes, laughter, cozy nights in, yummy food & great fellowship.

Amazing...

The Image of the Elvis...found on a piece of bread............. $15,000.


The Image of the Virgin Mary found in an X-ray........... $500,000.00


Riley noticing the Image of Mickey Mouse on her Apple.........Priceless.

Beautiful, Beautiful Mammoth

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to take 1 final vacation as a family of just 3. We ventured off to the beautiful mountains of Mammoth for some hiking, kayaking, fishing, playing & sitting by the fire. We stayed in a comfortable trailer with plenty of amenities. We were able to order the trailer ahead of time to be delivered & set up before we got there. That is truly the way to camp when you have a toddler! Even better, we were joined by several friends of ours during the course of our 5 day stay.

We started the trip by waking up at 4am, not suggested when you only got to sleep at 2am the night before (or I guess that would be the morning of). We finished packing up the car with all of our food & transported a dead asleep Riley into her car seat while it was still very dark outside. She was groggy, but nice to us & looked at us like we were insane. We had told her earlier in the week that we would be going to the mountains soon, so all she could could get out in her very sleepy voice was, "mountain?" When we assured her that that was the reason for our insanity, she seemed satisfied. :-)

We stayed at the Twin Lakes campground in Mammoth Lakes. Not only are there the two lakes to enjoy, but also hiking trails, fishing, & a nearby waterfall. We were also a short drive from so many other beautiful areas we could explore nature. For those of you wondering if I did any hiking, I have to be honest...no, not really. I took walks & I kind of did a short hike to an abandoned mining town that was pretty neat (although others may not call it quite a hike). The altitude was a little tough for a lady 7 months pregnant, like myself; but I did what I could.

On our first full day there, we drove to another area where Aaron, Riley & our friends, the Callahans & the Lamphears, had an adventurous hike around Rock Creek Lake. I also enjoyed Rock Creek Lake...in my own way. I had the lovely opportunity to sit in a chair, relax, admire this amazing lake & read a good book. After about an hour I met up with everyone at Pie in the Sky, where we had delicious hamburgers & the most amazing Mud Pie I have ever tasted!

Throughout the trip, we were visited by many forms of wildlife. We saw playful chipmunks & squirrels daily. Our friends even had a bear outside their trailer a couple of nights & Riley & Aaron came across a deer on their segway ride around the campground.

On our second full day in Mammoth, we went down to spend the day at Convict Lake. Aaron & I had hiked around it years ago (pre-kids). This time, however, we had the great opportunity to do some exploring on the lake. Our dear friends' Aunt Polly & Uncle Paul, who live up in Mammoth, lent us their kayaks for the day. Although I wanted to try it really bad, I was not sure if I would be able to get up & out of the kayak, if I even got myself into it in the first place. Aaron took Riley for a ride & eventually, I gathered up the courage to just go for it. I am so glad I did! The weather was perfect. The water was beautiful & so clear. (I never knew how deep that lake is!) We kayaked over to the far end of the lake & had our picnic lunch with our friends, the Lamphears. That night we were also invited over to enjoy a scrumptious dinner (those cheesy potatoes were amazing) at Uncle Paul & Aunt Polly's house. Thank you both so much for your generosity, hospitality & kindness! You gave a us memories we will treasure forever!

On our way home we visited the Law's Train Museum, http://www.lawsmuseum.org/index.htm, with the Lamphears & Bob & Katy Davis. It was huge & it had all these neat historical buildings & artifacts, as well as a train that you could little walk on & ring the bell (which the kids did over & over). There was a general store, an old fire station with antique fire equipment, a pioneer building & an interesting, but almost creepy, medical building which contained antique dental & various medical equipment.

The whole trip was a blast & ranged from fun & exciting to calm & relaxing. We feel very blessed to have these great memories & wonderful friends to share them with. We are looking forward to creating many new vacation memories as a family of 4 very soon!

Over Half Way There...

I am now 23 weeks in to ultimately what is supposed to be a 40 week process. They count months differently with pregnancy, so I think I am technically 5 months now, and although, most of us would think that next week I would be 6 months, I think that happens at about 27 weeks...I think.

Again, I can only be thankful and praise God for having such a healthy pregnancy so far. This past month our baby girl...yes that is right, baby girl...started moving around a lot. Most of the month she has moved in a way that no one else may be able to feel her from the outside, but lately the movement has gotten much stronger. Aaron was able to feel a kick, or punch, or stretch or something last week. That was really nice to share with him.

It is probably because I have been pregnant before, but this time seems to be going so fast. It just hit me recently that I am over half way there, and I started to think, am I really ready for this? I guess ready or not, she is coming. It is not that we are not ready, I guess, as much as we are so busy with Riley, I have not thought as far ahead as maybe I did when I was pregnant with Riley. I have heard and been told that that is pretty normal. We tend to over think things our first time out, but the second time around, as long as there are no severe problems, you just go on with your life as normal and one day you have another baby living with you.

I think that is true to some extent. The nice thing is that I knew absolutely nothing about caring for a baby when Riley was born; so I was pretty nervous, and often times intimidated by a particular task or two. By no means do I think I know everything now, but I am more comfortable about the whole "trust my own instinct" thing. I guess I also feel a bit more educated and experienced than the first time around.

So, yes everybody, we are having a baby girl! We did find out, and although being surprised may have been nice, it is also very special to know who this little person is inside you growing. Riley knows that she is going to have a baby sister soon...although to what extent she understands, we are not sure. I think she knows that she is getting a baby soon, I am just not sure if she understand sister vs. brother. Her friend Logan got a baby this past year & his was a baby brother; our nephew Christian also got a sibling this year and his was a sister...so maybe she will understand more than we even know. Riley does love babies though. She loves holding them, kissing them, sh..sh..ing them, giving them their pacifier, etc. She already gives the baby kisses at night and tells her that she loves her. Tonight she even sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her. She will make a great big sister and hopefully will be a great help to Mommy and Daddy too. :-)

Flashback to Easter 2009...

During my blogging hiatus, we had some great family moments, a few Riley firsts, & a wonderful get-away! I hope to be able to share some or all of those times with you. Today, I am going to have you all think back to the lovely spring holiday & celebration of our Lord, Easter.




This year was Riley’s first Easter Egg Hunt & first time meeting the Easter bunny. Now that she knows what a bunny is, I think it was definitely easier introducing her to the furry friend. (Unlike Santa, who she is still hesitant about)






We took her to Stanton Park’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt & Pancake Breakfast. There were lots of kids & families there; & it turned out to be a very fun event. The weird thing – there were no Easter Eggs at this Easter Egg Hunt. Since this was our first Easter Egg Hunt as parents, we did not really know what to expect. They separated the hunting grounds into age groups. Riley got to go hunting in the 0-2 year-olds’ area. I thought she would be picking up eggs, but apparently it is either cheaper to just have candy thrown onto the lawn without the eggs, or there is less trash…not sure. The good thing was that she was very motivated to pick up the candy & put it into her basket. She loved it & was excited to enjoy a lollipop after the all the hard work she did in obtaining her bounty. Despite the lack of eggs, we all had a very fun time.


Game on...






















Just after the hunt...

















Riley enjoying her bounty...






















Good friends came with the fun...

















On Easter Sunday, we attended church as usual & then went over to Nana’s house for a lovely Easter Brunch. In addition to eating some great food with family, Riley had the opportunity to experience a real Easter Egg Hunt. Our friend Matt hid several plastic eggs (I think it was like 45!) around Nana’s backyard. They were hidden with varying difficulty, in case adults wanted to join in on the hunt. At that time, Riley had recently learned colors, so the hunt turned into a great game to locate the colored plastic eggs. She loved searching for the egg & putting them into her basket. Soon after the hunt, she learned that goodies were hidden in the eggs…& then she forgot all about the game part.


She found them all over the yard...
















Thanks for the hand Tony...

Look at all those eggs!

4 Months...pregnant that is

As of Tuesday, June 30th, I was 16 weeks along. I am very thankful to have been blessed with a relatively healthy pregnancy so far. No morning sickness & no real scares, yet. I have experienced a lot of fatigue, a bit of a lower tolerance level (but that could also be due to heat), and unfortunately, an increase in headaches. On a funny note, I did not experience cravings much with Riley, but with this little one, I have mostly craved meat - hot dogs, tri-tip, cocktail meatballs, etc. It can be very distracting sometimes too! All in all we (the baby & I) are doing well.

It is a little strange being pregnant the second time around. I find that I have more concerns & anxiety, & I realized that most of my memories from my last pregnancy are from the later weeks (when there was constant kicking & movement being felt). I think the concerns & anxiety may have been absent the first time around because of the whole "ignorance is bliss" ideology. I learned as I went along, & was just thankful every time I got a chance to see the doctor & hear everything was okay. Also, no news was usually good news. This time I seem to question everything. Which is odd, because as far as I know, everything is going along just fine.

I guess the only thing that has been a little strange is that we still have not heard the baby's heartbeat. We have seen it & it is very strong, but the midwife has had trouble finding it with her doppler. At 12 weeks I understood. It was early & I just assumed the baby was hiding. At 16 weeks, it made me a little nervous. The good news is that instead of hearing the heartbeat, we got to not only see it in an ultrasound, but we got to see the profile of the baby's face, the spine, & watched the baby kick. So, the baby seems to be thriving.

Oh, that is the other thing that is a little strange. We do not know the gender of the baby. Which really is not that strange, because we did not find out about Riley until 20 weeks anyway. However, this time we are considering not finding out until the day I deliver. There are pros & cons to both options &, even though I had to get adjusted to the idea of waiting, I am actually excited either way. The weird part comes in referring to the baby. I do not like calling the baby an "it," but there really is no other good pronoun to use when you do not know the sex. I am a little concerned that it may hinder bonding with the baby; however, I can also imagine how incredibly exciting it will be to find out when he or she arrives.

I continue to thank God, praise Him for this new miracle he is forming inside of me, ask Him for a healthy baby, a safe delivery & for a sense of peace during the rest of my term. Thank you Lord, for another amazing blessing.

Happy 4th of July/Buzzy's Birthday!

Announcement!

It is official...we will be having a new member of the Millsy family joining us this year. Aaron & I are very excited to announce that we are going to have a baby! He or she is due on December 15th. I am almost 13 weeks (3 months), so I have officially finished my first trimester. Thankfully, I have not experienced any morning sickness, just occasional queasiness. Headaches & fatigue have been the most prevalent symptoms, but both seem to to be easing up a bit.


I did not experience much in the way of cravings with Riley, but this past weekend, all I could think about was meat. Hot dogs, hamburgers, tri-tip...it was very strange & very distracting. We are not sure if that is a sign of a boy, but the thought has crossed our minds.


I am showing already, which is both nice & tough. They say you show earlyier with your second. Clothes are fitting snugger, but it is nice to have a defined belly as opposed to just looking chunkier every day. Riley already knows that there is a baby inside me & she has given my belly kisses every so often to say I love you or night night to her future brother or sister. We feel very blessed right now, even in these difficult times, to have another one of God's miracles growing inside me.




We hope to continue with more updates on our whole family throughout this exciting year!

We tried pigtails...

they stayed in for about 5 minutes this time...

& then they were gone.

Maybe next time...