Windowsill Photo Shoot

One of Noa's favorite spots is by the window in our bedroom. She usually has her cell phone in tote and puts it on the ledge, then on the floor, then on the ledge, then on the floor, then on the ledge, and so on... The light is pretty good in our room though, so it makes for some good pictures. Check out the Chicken-Chicks!!









More news: The other day we stopped at Firehouse Subs (yummy!) after my doctor's appointment and she was getting pretty wiggly while we were trying to eat. We didn't have any puffs on hand (her favorite), so I let her suck on the pickle that came with my sandwich. I thought she would be totally disgusted, but she loved it! She was fairly content the rest of the lunch and the only annoying part was the pickle juice running down her arms. Oh well. It was totally worth it.

And here's the biggest news of all: Yesterday she said "Momma" over and over again!!! Today she's back on a "Dadda" kick, but at least I had my moment!

Baby #2 news: Had another appointment this week and I'm 13 weeks along now. The doctor said everything looked great and Noa and I heard the heartbeat loud and clear. 158 beats/minute. Hmmm...fast... Maybe it's another girl. ???

Noa Withdrawals?

Sorry I have been so sporadic with my posts. We've all been sick here and my camera was also freaking out, so I couldn't download any pictures. Finally I figured out what the problem was, but realized I hadn't even taken that many pictures because it was all screwed up! So, if you're having Noa withdrawals, I'll try to remind myself to take some more pictures... Here's a few to hold you over...

Noa's been wearing pants so often because of the cold weather and because it is easier for her to crawl around in them. I miss seeing her in little dresses! One day last week when it was a little bit warmer outside I put this little dress on her and thought she looked so cute. Unfortunately, I felt bad that night when her knees were all red and worn. Back to pants for a while...


By the way... Noa's first tooth is finally coming through and her second tooth is on the way too (bottom front teeth)! I think she likes 'em. :) She's also really been into sucking her thumb lately. It came out of nowhere. She's never even like pacifiers and all the sudden a few weeks ago it was thumb, thumb, thumb. I know it might be a pain later, but we sure think it's cute now! She had a doctor's appointment last week and she's still in the 90th percentile for weight and 97th for height. She actually went down since her 6 month appointment though - so I'm sure it is all evening out. We don't want it to even out for a while though - we definitely love those rolls!!!

Reptile Jason

So, for a while we’ve wanted to get rid of our broken 55” TV that has been taking up space in our garage. We finally put it on Craigslist for free and have not stopped getting inquiries since yesterday. However, we responded to our very first, almost immediate inquiry, whom we’ll call “Reptile Jason.” Little did we know what an unusual experience getting rid of our TV would be.

Let’s start with the initial phone call, which Russ made. Russ started out by letting Jason know that the TV was still available and he could pick it up at any time. Jason, definitely very interested, first felt compelled to make sure Russ knew what he was going to be doing with the TV before he signed off on Jason’s pick-up. Russ wondered what else you could possibly do with a TV other than fix it and watch it, but Jason, the honest and interesting man he is, explained that he fixes up old TV’s and makes them into homes for reptiles, which he was sure Russ would have a problem with. Wow. How green. Russ explained that we’ve never heard of such a thing, but to Jason’s delight, we don’t have any problems with it – many questions – but no problems.

The conversation continued. He then went on to tell Russ (for quite a while) that he donated these homes (minus the reptiles) to the Reptile Foundation where they auctioned them off for a small profit. He was very committed to the Reptile Foundation. He was very committed to these TVs. Just think of how many questions this conversation raises in your mind…

1. Who is buying these reptile homes made of old TVs? Especially huge 55” TVs?
2. How much do they cost?
3. Who would have a problem with Reptile Jason picking up their old broken TV for this purpose? Has he had run-ins?
4. Why does Reptile Jason do this?
5. Who thinks these look good? Maybe an old, classic, vintage looking TV might be all right, but even that’s a stretch.
6. Does the Reptile Foundation actually want these “homes?”
7. How long has Reptile Jason been doing this?
8. Would Reptile Jason send us a picture of our TV made into a home? Who will the lucky recipient be?

We were determined to get some answers when he came to pick it up.

Russ got a call about 7:15. “Hey Boss, I’m about a mile away.” Great. Game on.

He pulled up in his Dodge Ram (after driving 45 minutes) and looked exactly like what we had thought. He was about 6 feet tall with sandy brown hair and glasses, and was wearing high tops, tighter early 90’s jeans and a black leather jacket with laces hanging down. He ran the show. He definitely knew the best way to get the TV in the truck with only the two of them lifting it (Noa and I were only watching). The whole time they were working on it, he was telling us that he used to be a snake owner until one grew to 6’4” and started to run the place. Now he just prefers to make the cages. Evidently our 55” TV was for a smaller snake. We’re not sure what you would need for a larger snake. He offered so much information without us even asking, and said that if we wanted to see a picture of our TV home, he would have it up on Craigslist under “Snake Cages” or “Living Cages.” Evidently, he’s trying to raise awareness. He mentioned a “company” that he was working with, but didn’t expound. We weren’t sure what this was all about.

It all took about 3 minutes, and he was off; a true pro. Upon leaving we asked him if he wanted the remote for anything and with a smirk he said, “Sure. I have people asking me for things like this all the time. It will probably never be used as a remote again though.” Reptile Jason…up to more tricks…

Who needs clothes?

I've never seen anyone so excited to be naked. When we're getting Noa ready for her bath, we usually let her crawl around without anything on for a while. I used to think she was excited to take a bath (and I still think she likes it), but I think she is much more excited to be "nakes!" I imagine it would be very freeing to be footloose and diaper-free for a few minutes. :) Anyway, she continues to put a smile on our faces all the time. She is now babbling on and on all day. She says "Dah-dy," but I'm not sure she knows what it means yet... And every time I try to get her to say Mama, she just says Gee-gee. So, whatever...

First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound today to figure out how far along we are. The baby is approximately 9 weeks and 2 days old, which means the due date is August 18th, 2009. We can’t wait! But before all of that happens, we wanted to fill you in on some things and ask you to be praying with us. This isn’t because our doctor said anything negative in the appointment – on the contrary, she kept saying everything looked “perfect.” But because I am a Type I Diabetic, there is a higher risk for potential development problems, especially if my sugars weren’t perfect during the baby’s first 6 weeks of life. I’ll give you a little diabetes lesson here… any diabetic’s blood sugar is never perfect. We were never meant to think like pancreases – which is why God gave us one!

Anyway, there is a test that I take every 3 months to figure out how my sugars have been over the previous 3 months (don’t ask me how they know this), and a normal reading is around 6.0. I remember when I was first diagnosed and trying to get everything under control – my A1C at that time was about 12, which is absolutely horrible. Anyway, all that to give you a little bit of context… My last A1C reading was in December when I was pregnant, but before we knew. It was 7.2. This isn’t awful, but it isn’t great either. There were definitely some highs and lows going on. This has me somewhat concerned as doctor’s say you should aim to have it much better even before conception. Anyway, all that to say, please be praying for us and for Baby Miller in the following areas:

- For the baby to have no developmental problems, especially with the organs and spine. This prayer is most critical throughout the 1st Trimester.

- For the baby not to grow too big. This is almost a given with diabetic moms. Noa was 9 pounds, 7 ounces when she came out a week early. Had they known (the ultrasound said she was 8 pounds), they would’ve wanted to do a C-section.

- For me to have as much discipline with my eating as possible. Ummm… easier said than done – especially when you don’t feel like eating anything for the first 12 weeks. I did great with this during my last pregnancy, but it is always a struggle as insulin needs dramatically increase the further along you are. I was taking about 10 times the insulin towards the end of my pregnancy as I was in the beginning. It takes constant monitoring and an insane amount of communication with my endocrinologist.

- For healthy and honest interactions with my doctors. As I said before, they are constantly concerned and want to monitor everything, and often get very frustrated with you if things aren’t perfect. There’s a tendency with diabetics to just want to lie so they think you have great sugars. I can’t say I’m above it. ☺ But, obviously that does no good for anyone. I would love anxiety-free appointments.

- For a safe and healthy labor and delivery. We would love to have the most natural experience possible (even though I’ll be in the hospital) and to also avoid a C-section again. We will be praying that the baby even comes early as to get him or her out before they’re too big. But, of course we are most concerned about a healthy mom and healthy baby. That’s what matters most.

Above all, may God be praised for this little life! We anxiously await all that He’ll do through this sweet baby.

“For you formed my inward parts. You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” - Psalm 139:13-16

Noa has an announcement

I'm going to be a big sis!!!!


Yep. 5 pregnancy tests later, I finally believed we were pregnant again. We weren't necessarily trying and we weren't necessarily not trying, but are so excited! I've felt worse with this one than I did with Noa, and can't wait for this part to be over, but it is definitely worth it in the end. Our first doctor's appointment is next week, so we'll have a better idea of how far along we are. According to my internet skills, I think the baby will come sometime in August, but since we basically got pregnant the very first time we could've gotten pregnant, we don't quite know for sure until the ultrasound. Anyway, we are sooo thankful for such a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father!

Chick's First Christmas

After we opened up presents at our house, we went over Pops & Mimi's house for more fun! Here's Noa in her pretty Christmas dress with Uncle Lukie. She also has a sparkly new purse!

Lilly was the main attraction.

Then we took a plane ride all the way to Michigan!

Our first stop was Grammy Fran's house.

Ralphie was the main attraction here...

But Noa also loved the wrapping paper!

She desperately wanted to be friends with Dottie too, but Dottie was terrified of her. Noa backed her all the way into the TV stand without realizing it!

Of course she also liked seeing Aunt Abby for the first time!

It was soooo cold! We were convinced that she knew she was in a different place because she didn't even fuss when we put on her big parka.

Next we went to Grandma & Grandpa Roberts' house. We saw Uncle Chris, Aunt Beth & Uncle RJ, & Uncle Derek (sorry - I don't have pictures of everyone! You can send me some!)



Uncle Chris gave Noa a basketball game that she didn't quite know what to do with - she loved driving it though. :)


Aunt Jenny gave noa a purse with her own lipstick and money!


We miss everyone already! Thanks for having us! We can't wait to see you all again soon (we hope!).