From Devilish to Debonair

Today was Picture Day at Miller's school.  These photos show our Miller Man when he has a twinkle in his eye, as well as when he is posed and looks quite dashing.

Granddaddy's Sweet Celebration

This year Granddaddy's birthday was celebrated at T.G.I.Friday's.  The meal culminated with a yummy caramel/hot fudge sundae.  As soon as it arrived on the table Lorelai and Miller wasted no time digging in.

Poor Grandaddy had to get some assistance from a mystery hand just to enjoy his own birthday sundae, but knowing him he didn't mind sharing one bit.

Comedian on Cue

Miller has one of the funniest, cutest facial expressions.  What's even better is that he makes it on cue.  All you have to say is, "Miller, make the face," and he's off and running. 

Showing Lorelai how it's done.

Flower Girl

Miller Man Milestones

Miller James is last, but certainly not least in birth order.  The phrase most often uttered regarding him is "I could just eat him up!"  It must have something to do with the stunning combination of blond hair and blue eyes he was blessed with.  It will just about knock your socks off! 

Then again it could have something to do with his demeanor.  He is just as sweet as can be to everyone he meets.  He is loving and cuddly, although he can be shy upon first meeting someone.  Don't worry though, once he warms up to you he'll talk your ear off.   He's a chatty little bloke who always has something to say.

He definitely has a good sense of style and isn't afraid to dive into the dress-up box on occasion since that's where Lorelai spends the majority of her time.  Miller looks up to his big sister with great adoration and they are the very best of friends.  They enjoy coloring, doing puzzles, blowing bubbles, watching movies, reading books, and cooking together. One of their favorite games is "Restaurant."  They take your order and then bring you various items that they've cooked in their toy kitchen.  They could play it for hours!!   Each night before bed Miller and Lorelai squeeze into one recliner and watch an episode of "Bubble Guppies."  By now we have every episode saved in our DVR so they're watching reruns, but it's so sweet to hear their little voices call out the answers in unison.

Miller also shares Lorelai's affinity for acting.  He likes to make faces on cue just like she does.  Here he is making his "angry" face.

One of Miller's trademark traits that endears him to us is his smile.  It is so enlightening and fills any room that he is in.  It brightens every day and truly makes every moment better.

All in all the Miller Man is just one really cool dude who has improved each of our lives by being a part of it.  It took a lot of headaches to get him here, but it was worth each and every one of them.  We love you, Miller!!!

The Lowdown on Lorelai

Most of my posts typically have snapshots with brief captions, but those of you who don't see the kids on a regular basis don't really get comprehensive updates.  Here are some tidbits on the precious Miss Lorelai.

Lorelai Catherine is our fiesty little four-year-old.  She definitely keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  One minute she can be running around and give you a hearty football tackle, and the next minute she's crawling up in the recliner with you on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons.  She can be very snuggly but it must be on her terms.

 Lorelai  is very logical and rational, and at times is wise beyond her years.  She has an old soul and can carry on  conversations that would seemingly be over her head.  She is also incredibly independent and amazingly self-assured.  After her first day of K-4 I asked her how her day went and she said, "I was awesome!" 

 Two of my favorite moments/quotes from Lorelai are: 
1. When we were riding in the car and listening to "Little Shop of Horrors" I noticed that she wasn't singing her favorite part of the opening song.  When I asked her about it her response was, "I can like new things. I can change my mind. "
2. While at a cookie decorating party when Lorelai was three years old, a friend of mine was asking me to tell her stories about what Lorelai had been up to.  Lorelai chimed in with, "You can ask me...I'm right here."

One of her favorite things to do is put on make-up.  Sometimes we even have to ration out her lipgloss for special occasions because she tends to put it on every seven seconds when she has it in her possession.

As many of you know she's we have a budding actress on our hands.  She attended an acting workshop this summer, but the drama doesn't stop there.  Her love of singing, dancing, and entertaining began about two years ago when she was introduced to the musicals "Mamma Mia" and "Hairspray."  From then on her adoration has only grown.  

She loves literature.  She can sit for what seems like hours just thumbing through books, either alone or in someone's lap.  If she knows the story she wants to take turns with you recounting the tale.  If she doesn't know it, you only have to tell it to her once and then it's in her memory for good.  Dressing up is also a favorite pastime for this sassy girl...the more accessories, the better.

Lorelai is a wonderful big sister who always looks out for Miller.  She "reads" to him, they color and do puzzles together, and their favorite activity is watching "Bubble Guppies" together before bedtime.  While they occasionally have their sibling squabbles, for they most part they get along famously.  She is our special firstborn and we couldn't imagine our family without her.  We love you, Lorelai!!! 

I Love It When This Happens

When Lorelai was two years old she wore a black corduroy jumper with cat eyes embroidered on it for our fall photo shoot.  This year we were lucky enough to receive the same jumper in a shipment of hand-me-downs.  I just love it when that happens!

All Hallows Eve

This year we went trick-or-treating with Cody and Maria.  Cody was dressed up as Optimus Prime~the big wig in the Transformer world.  Maria was pretty as a princess (and understandably so) as she went dressed as Snow White!

Elise, Cody and Maria's mom, got into the spirit of the season by dressing up as a cowgirl.  I was SUPER excited because that meant that for the first time everyone in our trick-or-treating brood would be in costume!!!

Dan and I didn't go dressed as a couple, but at least we were color-coordinated.  He was a gangster and my costume was apparently open to lots of interpretation.  The most common guess was vampire, but I also received several Scarlet O'Haras and saloon girls. 

Autumn Smiles

Since my last header photo had the kids wearing Halloween shirts, I knew that once November arrived I would need a new picture.  While Dan was on a golf trip the last weekend in October, I took the kids outside for a quick fall photo shoot in the hopes of getting just one good picture of the two of them together.  While the colors of their clothing may look a little more spring-like than autumnal, the pictures turned out well and I managed to get a shot I was pleased with.

The new header.

Fall Festival at Marathon

The day before Halloween we were invited by Lorelai and Miller's good friends Cody and Maria to go to a Fall Festival at Marathon Church.  They had rides, games, a petting zoo, and food ~ most of which were free!   

Before heading out for the festival a group of kids met at Cody and Maria's house to play for a while ~ there was even a bouncy house to keep the kids occupied while the adults chatted for a bit.  When it was time to gather the troops to leave Lorelai let Miller blow the whistle.  What a sweet sister! 

The first ride the kids gathered around to hop on was the swings.

A favorite booth at the festival was the hair coloring station.

While we were waiting in line to ride Thomas the Train, Lorelai saw that her best friend Isabella was several spaces back.  We decided to give up our place in line so we could ride with Isabella and so the girls could catch up since they don't go to school together anymore. 

Here's Isabella in her full costume.  She was a butterfly.

Teaser

On TV shows the snip-it before the opening credits roll is called the "teaser" and the quick part they have as the ending credits fly by is called the "tag."  Since Halloween is my favorite day of the year, or as Ma more more eloquently put it ~ "It's my Christmas!!" ~ I'm going to drag my Halloween posts out into as many as I can.  This is the "teaser" post which features Lorelai and Miller introducing their costumes. 

Lorelai was a spunky referee.   

Miller coordinated as a Penn State football player.

 I tried and tried to get a good picture of the two of them side-by-side smiling, by they were too excited to stand still.  Eventually I caved and said, "Fine, just stick your tongues out!"  :)