MILLER PARTY OF FIVE

Introducing.....MY NEW BLOG!!!

2010-02-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well for those of you who haven't noticed....what started out as a family blog last summer has turned into a photography business. A few months ago I realized that I was going to have to switch from my blogspot blog to something that is more geared for professional photography. So here is the deal....I will no longer be updating my http://www.millerpartyofive.blogspot.com/ address. I will be using my new blog for family updates AND photography sneak peaks. So....change my address on your blogroll so you can keep up with me. Oh, and leave me a comment on the new blog and let me know what you think!!! Here it is:

www.ccmillerphotography.com/blog

***Coming Soon***
http://www.ccmillerphotography.com/
(my photography website and portfolio)

Miller Party of Five: Quotes of the Week

2010-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

So I have started a new addition to my blog: "Miller Party of Five: Quotes of the Week." Throughout the week as my kids do something or say something that I want to remember, I am writing myself a note on a notepad. Then, on Sundays, I am going to type them up and post them. I want to be able to remember some of these stories because some of them are just so stinkin' funny....or at least I think so. Hope you get an occasional laugh out of them too.

1. Easton's "mommy gender confusion."
Me: "Easton, I am SO glad we got to have a special day together. Thanks for hanging out with me."
Easton: "It's cool, mom. That's what BROTHERS do."
Me: (Thinking to myself) Does he really think I am his brother?!?! More importantly, do I look like a boy? *Note to self: STOP wearing baseball hats everyday and START wearing makeup every once in awhile.

2. Easton and his bff fighting over who was going to marry Emmy. They are literally both grabbing onto an arm and yanking her back and forth in each direction.
Easton: "NO! I am going to marry Emmy. She is MY sister."
Logan: "No, Easton. Brothers and sisters do not marry one another so I will marry Emmy and you can marry MY sister (side note: his mom is pregnant right now but they have not found out what they are having. However, Logan insists it is a girl and has already named her "Sydney" apparently).
Easton: "NOOOOO! I want to marry Emmy. Giver her to me!" (Almost yanking Emmy's arm out of socket)
Logan: (very calm and logical) "Now Easton. You are going to marry Sydney and I will marry Emmy and we will always be bestfriends."
Easton: (looking at me with the biggest crocodile tears welling up in his eyes EVER) "But mom, I HAVE to marry Emmy....BECAUSE SHE IS JUST....SO....BEAUTIFUL!!!!" OK seriously?!?! How sweet is that?

3. Emmy's question about the gym: "Why do we have to go to the gym mommy?"
Easton: (slightly annoyed and exasperated in a "know it all" tone) Loud sigh...."BECAUSE Emmy. Mommy's have to go the gym because they had babies in their tummys."
(Can I get an AMEN to that!)

4. Mommy Kisses.
Me: "OK guys! I have a special treat for you guys if you get your pj's on by yourself and super fast!"
Easton and Emmy: "WHAT IS IT?!?! WHAT IS IT?!?!:
Me: "It's a surprise."
Easton: "OK mom! I got my pajama's on super fast. Where's my surprise?"
Me: (Improvising at this point because I realized I am all the way upstairs, I forgot to grab the "special treat," and I am too lazy to carry my almost 30 pound 11 month old back down the stairs again unless I absolutely have to.) "YAY Easton! You get a.....(slight pause for anticipation to try to make the surprise sound really cool) KISS FROM MOMMY!
Easton: (total "disappointed face") "Ahhh Man! I thought it was going to be a COOL surprise or something."
*Note to self: Mommy kisses no longer qualify as "COOL" anymore.

5. Emmy at the doctor's office.
Emmy: (talking to the doctor while he was trying to listen to little brother's breathing who ended up having RSV by the way) "Dr. Baker. Look at my eyes." (smooshing her glasses to the side and sticking her finger in her eye whilte getting all up in the doctor's personal space.)"Dr. Baker....LOOK AT MY EYES."
Me: "Emmy, Dr. Baker is trying to help Cohen because he is sick. You need to leave him alone."
Emmy: "But I just want to show him that I have brown eyes....because that's what color God gave me."

What funny things did your kids say or do this week?!?!

The Schwerdtfeger Family {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

Over five years ago we met the Schwerdtfeger family at church. I thank God for that day. They are some of our dearest friends and we feel so blessed to have them as a part of our lives. Their son, Owen, is going to marry Emmy Grace. It has already been arranged! :) I had so much fun getting to go out and take pictures of not only Tyson, Kenna, and their two precious kiddos, but also Tyson's parents and gorgeous sister, Kami. We love you guys and hope you like the pictures! See you tomorrow at the birthday party...you know we wouldn't let a little snow keep us from celebrating that princess turning ONE!

Girl = DRAMA!

2010-01-29T06:01:00.000-08:00

I am beginning to notice some major differences between boys and girls the older that Emmy gets. At least my boy and girl that is. For instance, the other day big brother and little momma BOTH got in trouble for a bad report while we were eating at a restaurant with friends. The result: both kids had to put their favorite toy in time out for the rest of the day when we got home. We are very big on choices in our house. For example, good choices = good consequences (i.e. act good at a restaurant = you get to watch a movie in the car on the way home) but bad choices = bad consequences (i.e. spill two drinks because you are standing up in the benches, knocking over baskets of tortilla chips onto the ground, fighting with each other, and getting out of your seats to run around the restaurant like little crazies = you get your favorite toy put in time out when you get home.)

Easton had to put one of his Star Wars characters in Time Out (you can barely see it sitting next to Emmy's doll). His response: "OK mom. Here you go. When I get a good report can I get it out of time out?"

Little momma had to put her precious "Baby Nana" in timeout. Her response: DRAMA.(30 minutes of it to be exact.)

Drama queen: take one.

Try persuasive tactics and maneuvers.

***Stand and stare at the doll for 15 minutes with your head slightly cocked to the left while crying uncotrollably and fogging up your glasses (see picture below) and using choice phrases such as:

1.”But she’s my Baby NaNa....my FAVORITE baby.”
2. “But I NEED her. I love her so much.”
3. “I love her so very, very, very much.”
4. “But I love her more than any other baby.”
5. “But Santa brought her to me and she’s my baby.” (Hmmmm...that’s an interesting angle I had never thought of.”
6. But she doesn’t like the time out chair. Baby Nana neds her mommy.”

Drama queen: take two.

Hit mom where it hurts by moving into "manipulation mode."

Move to the ground, continue crying, and begin to manipulate her “mother’s heart" by saying choice phrases such as:

1. “But she needs her mommy so bad.”

2. “But she can’t go to sleep unless her mommy puts her to bed.” and my personal favorite....

3. “But I need to put Baby Nana in her crib and put her night-night. She is so tired. She is SO TIRED!!”

I will have everyone know that I was struggling at this point and almost gave in. Seriously?!?! Look at her!

Drama queen: take three.
Full on freak-out mode.
For this portion of the demonstration, the camera had to be put down. Let's just say that this part involves now laying on the floor while making gagging noises and dry heaving. This would be the portion where mom picks the daughter up and carries her upstairs to put her to bed because it is obviously way past nap-time.

So all you moms out there....I want to know two things:

1. Are your girls more dramatic than your boys (if you have both)?
2. Do you use the "Toy in Time-Out" method or not?

"Because a way to the man's heart....is through his stomach"

2010-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Sausage Rice Casserole:

This is one of my man's all-time favorites. And you gotta love that has only SIX ingredients. That's right girls....this is an EASY recipe. And for all those haters out there who say that I do not give good directions when I give people my recipes (are you reading this Wendi and Kenna? You know I love you girls!) I am giving a step-by-step pictorial of how to make it. If you make it, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

1 lb. hot sausage

1 bell pepper

1 onion

1 can water chestnuts (I don't use these but if you give it a try, leave me a comment and let me know...)

Sliced almonds or celery (I use celery)

1 (14 1/2 oz) can Sawnson's chicken broth

1 1/4 cu. regular, uncooked rice (I use Jasmati or Texmati rice...more on that later)

1/4 cu. water

Step One: Brown the sausage

Step Two: While browning sausage, cut up bell pepper and onion.

Step Three: Drain sausage on a paper towel, then put bell pepper, onion, and chestnuts (optional) in the pan with the remaining sausage grease and sautee.

Step Four: Layer ingredients in a 9x13 pan in this order: sausage, then sauteed bell pepper and onion on top of that, then rice, then celery. Pour chicken broth and water all over the top. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes then stir. Leave uncovered and cook for 45 minutes more (stir every 15 minutes or so.)

(Side Note: I use Jasmati or Texmati rice. It is just SO much better. It really is worth it, I promise. It is $8 for this jar of rice versus the cheap rice that you can buy in a bag. Do whatever you want, but believe me that the casserole will be 10 times better if you get the expensive rice.) At Wal-Mart, the Jasmati and Texmati rice are up on the top shelf on the rice aisle.

Also, after you take the foil off if you are stirring it and it seems like it is getting too dry, add more water if necessary.

If you make it, leave me a comment and let me know if your man likes it as much as mine does!

Baby Liv {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-26T17:40:00.000-08:00

Are you sersious? Gorgeous is all that comes to mind and I don't even think that word can begin to describe how beautiful this little girl is....AND sassy (obviously!) K & M - thank you for letting me capture your little sweetheart for the second time. I look forward to many more in the future! Hope you like what we got.

Oh yeah girlfriend...you lick every last bite of that icing off your fingers and enjoy it! That's my kind of girl...everybody knows that the icing is THE BEST part of the cake! :)

A Shout out to Sheila

2010-01-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago my friend Trina introduced me to Sheila. So began my addiction to embroidery. Now I had embroidered a few items before, but I rarely did it because it was so expensive. Then I met Sheila, and realized that embroidery could be inexpensive after all!!! She has amazing prices! I am talking a few dollars to get a onesie or a shirt embroidered. So now Sheila is my go-to-gal for birthday presents, baby showers, etc..... Here are some pictures of her handiwork. I have to say....I think they make the cutest gifts! Here is a tip: Target and Wal-Mart have adorable solid and strip patterned shirts that you can get for $3 to $5. They also have a package of 5 solid colored onesies in the baby section (a package of boy colors and a package of girl colors). Buy some shirts and/or onesies, take them to Sheila, and have a monogram or a large initial put on it.....SO CUTE! One quick note: this is usually a good gift for kids age one and under. Let's be honest....no 4-year-old little boy is going to get excited about opening a birthday present to find a monogrammed shirt. Are you serious? I can just see the look of disgust on Easton's face right now followed by some awesome comment like, "What the HECK is that!?!! I asked for a STAR WARS toy!!!"...resulting in sheer humiliation for his mother. So let's keep the monogrammed gifts for the babies, girls. Oh, and Sheila does adorable burp cloths, blankets, and pretty much anything else you can think of!

So next time you need a cute baby gift...give Sheila a call (91) 445-9235. And make sure to tell her that Carissa sent you!

And one more picture of Sheila's handiwork....Cohen's newborn picture taken by the amazing Ashley Ann (http://www.ashleyannphotography.com/). Probably one of my favorite pictures of him ever. Just look at how cute that little monogrammed hat looks on him!

2010-01-25T14:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Jackson Rew! Your crazy Aunt C.C. and Uncle Mike love you more than you know! We can't wait to watch you grow and celebrate MANY more birthdays with you. Daniel and Lauren, hope you like the pics of your little man.

Baby Lucy {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-23T06:26:00.001-08:00

I have been dying to get this session from Thursday edited and posted. This little baby girl was just absolutely precious and I was so excited to see how the pictures turned out. K - thank you for allowing me to take pictures of your little miracle. She is absolutely beautiful and I will look forward to taking some more pics of this little cute in the future! Hope you like what we got.

P.S. - I am really trying to only post my top 5 favorite pictures for Sneak Peeks! I could have easily posted 20 pictures from this session but unfortunately, the blog just can't handle it! I will have 5 sessions from this week to post so I have to start being choosy. K - you will have to come pick up your DVD so you can see the rest!

Something about these next two pictures (above and below) just melt my heart. The way she is looking up at her mom.....it's just beautiful.

Garage Sale Find of the Week: The Barbie Bus.

2010-01-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

I love garage sales. My affair with garage sales started when I was a very little girl...once a year the Crosby's would go through our house and "clean out" all the old junk and have a garage sale. My mom would always let us pick out some of our old stuffed animals and toys to sell at the gargage sale and we got to keep our profits from the sale. Once I got older and could drive, I would find myself pulling into neighborhoods whenever I saw a GARAGE SALE sign posted. I LOVE finding new treasures for DIRT CHEAP! I found every piece of furniture that Michael and I used in our first house after we got married at garage sales. And you want to know the best part? I resold it two years later and MADE money on every single piece of furniture. You gotta love that!

Now that the weather has warmed up, the GARAGE SALE signs are starting to pop up again. Me and the kids stopped by one today and I found two fun new treasures for only $12. Emmy was absolutely thrilled with her new "Barbie-mobile" and I am super pumped about my sassy new stool that I am going to use in photography. Envision with me if you will, a naked little newborn baby girl laying on that stool with a bright red bow on....CAN'T WAIT! Here are some more pictures of the Barbie-mobile and what transpired after we got it back home.....

Little momma enjoying HER new $3 retro Barbie Bus. Or is it really hers?!?!

Uh-oh. Big brother was lovin' him some Barbie Bus as well. Dad is going to LOVE hearing that. Now this next picture I am sure is going to get me many nominations for mother of the year....

Yes, that is Emmy punching her brother. "BACK OFF THE BARBIE BUS BROTHER!!!" Hmmm....Do I put the camera down to break up the full-on hitting and freak out session over the Barbie Bus, OR,

allow World War III to continue in the name of capturing the moment?!?! What is a mom to do??? CAPTURE THE MOMENT OF COURSE.

P.S. - You can submit your nominations for mother of the year now. Yes, I allowed my children to fight for a few moments so that I could take a picture of it. Yes, it was worth it. Yes, I would do it again.

T.C. Senior Session {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

I had alot of fun on Monday shooting this senior session downtown. It was a beautiful day and was perfect for pictures, which is hard to believe after all this cold weather that we've had! T - thanks for asking me to take your senior pictures for you. I hope you like them!

The Pioneer Woman: Revisited.

2010-01-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

Look what arrived in the mail the other day from my amazing sister from New York City....THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKBOOK!!! (THANK YOU RHESA!!) Now I know all you faithful readers out there (I seriously doubt I really have "faithful readers" but it just sounds so cool so I had to say it) are wondering "What in the world?!?! I thought Carissa hated The Pioneer Woman!!" You may have seen this post on my feelings of inadequacy as a mother after checking out Ree Drummond's (aka The Pioneer Woman) blog/website. I said I would never check her blog again. I lied people.

the truth: I do check her blog occasionally and now I love it. WHY? Because we love all the same things: photography, cooking, and being a mom. I am convinced that we would be fast friends if we lived in the same town. PLUS...And this is BIG news people....my bf Bethany met the Pioneer Woman and I told her to ask her when she sleeps. She informed Bethany that she DOES NOT, I repeat...she DOES NOT do her own laundry. AAAAHHHHH...everyone can sigh a huge sigh of relief because that explains it all. I am quite sure that I could run an award winning website, write a New York Times best-selling cookbook, AND be a world class photographer while simutlaneously homeschooling my four perfect children IF I did not have to do my own laundry. (Please note the sarcasm here). However, it does make me feel at least a little bit better about myself to know that she can't handle doing her own laundry....MAYBE SHE IS HUMAN! So that was the turning point for me. I now love the Pioneer Woman. She is just so darn likeable! Plus, those Photography tutorials, tips, and ideas and scrumptious recipes are just so stinkin' tantalizing. I couldn't stay away for forever.

the plan: Start cooking the ridiculously yummy recipes from my new PW cookbook (starting with the desserts of course because we all know that dessert is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of every meal) and be prepared to throw a huge feast for my sister of all PW Cookbook recipes when she comes to visit us in July.

So I just have one question: Who wants to come over for dinner ?!?! :)

Bye-Bye Baby Bambini's

2010-01-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know....my daughter was born with an eye condition called accomodative esotropia. The picture above is one of the first pictures we took of her after she got her new glasses. I will never forget when she was diagnosed and I was told that she basically could not see a thing (she is legally blind without glasses on) and that I would need to get a pair of special glasses for her called......

baby bambini's.

Of course I was devastated. My heart broke into a million pieces. My poor little baby girl. She couldn't see a thing for the first 10 months of her life. She wasn't crawling. She wasn't even moving. She just sat there and strained to see and crossed her little eyes. Then we put those little miracle-workers on her precious little eyes. And a whole new world opened up to her. She took one look at the world through her Baby Bambini's....and she took of crawling and never looked back. She was so happy once she could finally see. As a mother, when I found out she would have to wear not only special glasses, but an EXTREMELY strong prescription (we are talking coke bottle thickness here people), I was devastated. I didn't want her to have the struggles of being "different." I didn't want strangers to stare at her and whisper about her glasses. I wanted to give her my eyes and take away her broken eyes. But I couldn't. I could, however, give her the baby bambini's.

From the day we put those little pale-pink glasses on her face, the world became a new place to my little Emmy Grace...a place she could finally see! From that moment on, she and her baby bambini's were ONE wth each other. The second she woke up, she asked for them. Once she could talk, she would say, "Mom. I need my glasses. I don't see very well without my glasses." And we would immediately put them on her face. They wouldn't come back off until she laid her precious little head on the pillow. Now that I have explained the history....you will understand my dismay when I walked in one morning to find the precious baby bambini's in the dog's mouth.

Notice the bite marks all over the frames and the popped out lens with indentations from being chewed on...nice. Obviously this resulted in a trip to the pediatric opthalmologist and from that visit, we have a big announcement to make....I would like to proudly introduce:

little momma in her new big girl glasses

And I would like to say a tearful goodbye to the baby bambini's. Thank you for helping my baby see for the past three years. I will never forget the look on her face the first time I slid you over her precious little eyes and she truly saw my face for the first time. I will NEVER, NEVER forget you and I can NEVER thank you enough. (sniff. sniff. Yes, I am seriously crying about saying goodbye to my child's glasses. Yes, I am psycho but I know I am so that makes it better. At least, that is what I tell myself).

So what do you guys think of the new big girl glasses?!?!

Look Out Ladies!

2010-01-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

Can you say trouble?!?! This is Cohen and his BF, Jackson. Aren't they SOOOOO cute. Please remind me of this in oh, about 15 years. Lauren, we are going to have our hands full with these two!

Benefield Couple Session {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

I met the Benefield's downtown today for a little couples photo shoot. As you can see, this couple is absolutely gorgeous so my job was pretty easy. M & A....thanks for letting me take pictures of you guys! Hope you like them.

The Rew's Couple Session {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-16T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when your friend is attempting to start a photography business.....you are forced to go pose for photo sessions to try out new locations and also help get material for my new website. Yes, I am hoping to officially launch my new website in the next few weeks and I was needing to get some more "couple pictures" for my portfolio. Plus, I wanted to try out a new setting that I have been scoping out. What do you guys think??? Thanks Daniel and Lauren for being good sports and helping me out. You guys are the best! Lauren....are you ready to pose for some senior pictures next?!?! (HA!)

P.S. - If you know anyone who needs engagement pictures or just cute couple pictures, send them my way! This session was so much fun and I would love to do some more couples!

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

2010-01-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

So have any of you guys watched "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" with your kids? My parents took my kids to see it in the movie theatre and they loved it. It came out on DVD recently so Michael bought it and we had a family movie night last weekend and watched it. There is this part where the main girl in the movie is recounting her childhood trauma when she was constantly made fun of and taunted by the other kids for being a "NERD" and wearing glasses. She says they would sing "FOUR EYES. FOUR EYES. YOU NEED GLASSES TO SEEEEEEE!!!" I was completely heartbroken when I saw this part of the movie. Obviously it hit close to home because of Emmy's eye condition. It was as if I wanted to grab the little kids who were singing that song and just choke them out. WOW! Anger much?!?! It is an animated cartoon, Carissa. You might need some serious help when you are wanting to get violent with the non-existent bully characters being portrayed in your kid's animate movie. Obviously it brought up some pretty strong emotions for me and got me thinking about some things....

Does anyone else deal with FEAR as a parent? Isn't it so easy to let fear seize you and just control your life? Watching that part in the movie made me realize how much fear I have for little Emmy. Fear that she is going to be made fun of. Fear that she will be treated differently. Fear that she will FEEL different. Fear that some mean little brat is going to sing the "FOUR EYES, FOUR EYES, YOU NEED GLASSES TO SEE" song to my precious little baby and I won't be there to kick that little kid's butt for her. FEAR. FEAR. FEAR. But I refuse to let fear control my life. I want to live a life of hope and promise. I want to teach my daughter to be confident in who she is and not care about what other people say about her....How can I teach her that if I am constantly living in FEAR? I can't. It is not possible.

So I have to choose NOT to live in fear. I have to realize that I can't be there by her side at every moment. I can't keep her from getting called "four eyes." I can't keep her from feeling lost on the first day of middle school. I can't keep her from being devastated when she realizes that girl she thought was her bestfriend really was talking bad about her to everyone at school. I can't keep her from getting her heart broken. I can't control everything. I can't protect her from disappointment and hurt and pain forever. And that is so, so scary to me right now.

But this is what I do know....I can love her. I can love her with a love that is so strong that it will help her feel safe and secure. I can teach her that she is strong and beautiful and that being different is ok. I can teach her that she is perfect just the way she is and that God made her that way. She is perfectly imperfect. My precious little baby girl. I realize that in order to teach her these things, I have to be strong. I can't let fear rule my life....so I will not let it. I will tell her everyday how gorgeous she is. How kind and beautiful and intelligent she is. And no, I will not be there the first time someone calls her "four eyes" and as my husband so matter-of-factly points out "It WILL happen, Carissa." But my love will be there with her when it happens. And when she comes home from that day at school, my arms will be open wide to her. And at the end of the day, I pray that is enough. That is all that I can do. Pray. And not live a life full of fear.

So tell me....who else out there struggles with fear in motherhood or am I the only psycho? If you do deal with it, how do you overcome it?

Getting Artistic....

2010-01-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

The kids are absolutely loving coloring and painting lately. Easton actually wants to paint, draw, or color for hours at a time. NO complaints from this mom. Although I have no idea as to the coloring abilities of other 4 year-olds, I have to say that this mom thinks he is pretty darn good! Emmy Grace has been getting in on the action as well. She likes to paint "My Little Pony" coloring Pages and Easton colors, what else...."STAR WARS."

Littlest brother has to get in on the action....which consists of stealing markers and crawling off with them as fast as he can. Here he is with a stolen marker trying to provoke the dog. Yes, my door is that dirty. Please don't look at it. I have given up on cleaning the glass because no matter how much I clean it, Nash gets it dirty.

Easton hard at work.

Notice the open mouth. He narrates the entire time he is drawing. It is freaking hilarious. For example, if he is coloring a picture of Obi-Wan-Kenobi...."Obi Wan...defender of the galaxy. He will save everyone from the evil General Grievous. Obi Wan jumps in his X-wing speeder and flys off at hydrospeed." Not really sure what hydrospeed is but when I asked him, he says it is on the "movie with three eyes." That is how he refers to the movies....I think it has something to do with the picture on the front of the DVD. Again, not really sure. It definitely makes sense to him though.

A Gardener I am NOT.

2010-01-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

So my mom sent me an amaryllis bulb for Christmas.

My initial reaction: "Oh crap. I am going to kill it and crush my mom's hopes of her daughter ever becoming a master gardener like herself." Sorry mom....just keepin' it real.

The truth: I am a horrible gardener. In fact, I kill pretty much everything I plant. I am one of three sisters and apparently I am the only one who did NOT inherit my mom's "green thumb."

The facts:

Number of times this plant was knocked off it's window sill where it has been living for the past month: at least 20

Number of times we found the plant being eaten by the dog: 10 times

Number of times we found the plant being eaten by the 10 month old: 5 times (don't worry, we stopped him before there was any threat of danger.)

CONCLUSION: A gardener I am not. I thought I was for a second when I walked in and saw a beautiful bloom beginning to sprout on my mistreated and abused little amaryllis. I thought....FINALLY! I have grown something. I have succeeded in NOT killing a plant just this once. Perhaps I do have a chance at inheriting the green thumb!!!!

Then I googled amaryllis bulbs and this is the first thing I saw....

"Amaryllis-One of a Kind: Of all flowering bulbs, amaryllis are the easiest to bring to bloom."

My dreams were crushed. Nope. A Gardener I am not. My mom just knew me too well. The facts are: this is the only plant that I had a chance with since it is apparently indestructible....so that is the one she sent me. Thanks MOM! See my beautiful blooms??? Aren't you proud?!?!

Baby Reese - 6 months {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

I don't really have anything to say other than this....PRECIOUS!!! This is one beautiful little baby girl. S & K - thank you for letting me take her pictures. Can't wait to do some more as she grows. I am so happy for you guys that God blessed you with such an amazing little girl. Can't wait to watch her grow! Love you guys.

Baby Gabe {Sneak Peek}

2010-01-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

I had the most amazing time taking pictures of this little guy today. Sorry A that I started crying in the middle of the session. I am sure you thought I was a total freak!! OK, well maybe I am sometimes. I admit it. Your little guy is just so amazingly beautiful...what a gift from God! And I feel so totally blessed to be able to do something that I love so much...capturing the gift that God has given you using photography. Guess I was just overcome by that in the moment! Anyways...he seriously is one of the most beautiful newborns I have ever seen. Oh...and yes, I can totally see the red in his hair in these pictures! J and A, thank you so much for letting me take pictures of your precious little baby boy. Hope you like them.

P.S. - The "baby cocoon" you see below and in some of the other pictures was made by my amazing cousin. I found them on etsy but the cheapest one was $50 which I thought was high! Anyways, my cousin is making them now for much cheaper than that so if you would like her to make you one, email me and I will give you her contact info. They are so amazing! I actually think they are awesome to use even when you aren't taking pictures. As you can tell, babies love them because they are so cozy!

When big brother is as handsome as this little guy, he has to get some camera time as well! Oh and just one more picture....here is Gabe in his mommy's tummy a few months ago. Now he is finally here. What a blessing!

He could...GO.....ALL....THE....WAY!!!

2010-01-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

CoCo was at my parents last night. They taught him to climb the stairs. They thought it was so cute! Thanks mom and dad (slight hint of sarcasm here).

Princess Party with Grammy J

2010-01-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

Grammy J came over for a few hours today to hang with Emmy Grace. Believe me when I say....NOBODY does a Princess Party like Grammy J. When I pulled in the garage and saw my sweetheart run out to me dressed to the nines in a princess dress, high heels, tiara, and pony tail with her fingernails painted hot pink...I gave her a big hug....and then went straight to my camera.

New Year's Resolution 2010

2010-01-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

So I could write a big list of things I want to accomplish in 2010 but I am not going to. Because there is really only one thing that is of total importance and that is to be happy in 2010...for our family to have HAPPINESS. I bought my sister a birthday card today and this is what it read,

"HAPPINESS IS...
Reminiscing about yesterday,
looking forward to tomorrow,
and enjoying today completely."

It struck me like a ton of bricks. Because on the first day of 2010 rather than writing New Year's resolutions and being excited about the future, I found myself thinking, "If we can just get through this year. If we can just make it through this year....next year will be better." WARNING FLAG PEOPLE: NOT a good way to start off a year.  It is time for a big attitude adjustment. Here is the problem, I think.....

2009 was not what I consider a "happy" year. To be honest, it was one of the hardest years of my life thus far. We had one of the biggest blessings....Cohen Crosby's birth, but also experienced our biggest loss...the loss of Michael's dad, our beloved D-Dad. He was diagnosed with cancer two weeks after I had my precious baby boy and nine months later, we said goodbye to him forever. Just two weeks after his death we found ourselves ringing in a New Year where one is suppose to make "New Year's Resolutions" and be so excited about all that is to come in the "New Year!!" Yeah Right.

Life is crazy right now. There is a reason that my blog is entitled, "Miller Party of Five....Sun & Rain, Fire & Ice, A little crazy but it's nice." Those are the words to a Garth Brooks song entitled "She's Every Woman."  Michael burned me a cd when we were in high school (what a romantic!!!) and it was the very first song on the cd. I had never heard it so I looked at him and said "What song is this? Why did you put a song I've never heard before on the cd?" I know....really nice, huh. I have a problem with saying whatever I think sometimes. Sorry.  He simply replied, "Listen to the words."

"She's sun and rain, she's fire and ice. A little crazy but it's nice.
And when she gets mad, you best leave her alone.
'Cause she'll rage just like a river
Then she'll beg you to forgive her
Oh, she's every woman that I've ever known."

That song has always had a special place in my heart after that. And yes, I am a little bit crazy as those of you who know me well can atest to.....but I like to tell myself that it's a "nice" kind of crazy. Anyways....all that to say....that is also how I would describe our family life. "A little crazy but it's nice." We have 3 kids that are 4 years apart. We are pretty much on the go constantly. We always are tackling some new project...remodeling a fire damaged house and flipping it, building a new house, starting a new business, coaching t-ball, going to a party, birthday party, shower, wedding, or any other type of party, etc...To be quite honest, we like our lives a little bit busy...."A little crazy, but it's nice." But I find myself looking into the New Year at all we have going on and thinking that this year it is not going to be a "nice" kind of crazy but a hectic, frustrating, pull your hair out, mental breakdown kind of crazy.  That is why I was not looking forward to 2010.

OK..all that to say. I've been praying. I've been adjusting my attitude. I've been praying and adjusting my attitude and thinking for about 4 days now and finally, I am ready to write this post. So here is my New Year's Resolution.   TO JUST BE HAPPY. Which means to "reminisce about the past (we love you and miss you D-dad), but look forward to tomorrow, and ENJOY TODAY COMPLETELY." Slow down. Spend time with my babies. Love them. Hug them. Kiss on them. Spend time with my husband. ENJOY TODAY COMPLETELY.

That is my New Year's Resolution. Short and sweet. And now I can honestly say....BRING IT ON 2010. I am excited to see what you hold in store for the Miller family because I know that we are promised this...

"No test comes your way that is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)

A Day on the Job Site with Grandpa Crosby

2009-12-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Crosby invited the kids over last week to his jobsite. They had the tractor out digging some footings so he thought the kids might like to come check it out. Of course they did! Here are some pictures of their fun day.

Helping Grandpa dig.

It's hard work....see that look of determination on her face.

My good friend Trina and her kiddos were in the neighborhood checking on their house that dad is building for them right now, so they stopped by to say hello.

The girls takin' a stroll. Nothing like a girl in leopard print on a dirty jobsite, riding a tractor. That's our girls...right Trina?? Not afraid to get dirty and work hard....but still rockin' their leopard print while doing it.

Miller Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009. Here are some things I learned...

DON'T.

1. Go Christmas shopping and then accidentally leave all the bags in the back of the car so that when your 4 year-old son gets in the car and sees a bag full of Star Wars presents he freaks out and start saying, "WHO ARE THOSE FOR?!?! WHO ARE THOSE FOR?!?!"
2. Give your kids Hot Cocoa. No matter how much they ask for it. Do not do it. Even if you put ice cubes in it and pour cold milk in it to cool it down to luke warm, they will still spit it all over your couch and Pottery Barn rug as soon as it touches their mouth.
3. Eat so much sugar that you feel like you are going to throw up.
4. Leave sweets setting out within reaching distance of your 3 year old daughter because she will eat enough sweets to make herself throw up.
5. Wait until Christmas Eve to have your kids write their letter to Santa. You must have them write it EARLY. That way, when they see millions of commercials for a talking, walking doll, or Malibu Barbie, or freaking Star Wars the Clone Wars light sabers, and start saying, "OH NO! I want THAT from Santa now." You can tell them, "Tough luck. You already wrote your letter to Santa and it is TOO late." Santa is not going shopping anymore...if you know what I mean.
6. Forget to eat the cookies that your kid's left out for Santa leaving them in a state of frustration and confusion as to why Santa didn't like their special cookies they made for him...OOPS!
7. Wait until the last minute to buy snow boots when there is 6 inches of snow projected to hit on Christmas Eve so that the only thing left in your son's size is a pair of black boots with glittered fur at the top and pink and purple hearts embroidered all over them. Yes he will kill me when he grows up and sees the photos.
8. Hide your husband's present in the back of his closet assuming that he will never clean his disaster zone of a closet except he does for the first time in two years and finds his present....awesome.
9. Tell your mom to get your daughter a Leapster game that she wants to go with her Leapster that Santa will be bringing her, then let her open the gift from your mom on Christmas Eve when she has not yet received the Leapster so that when she opens the gift she exclaims, "OH NO! IT'S NOT A LEAPSTER!!!" So embarrassing! Just say THANK YOU, Emmy Grace!

DO.
1. Make family traditions and do them EVERY year! On Christmas Eve, we eat an early meal with family and then go to look at Christmas lights together afterwards (except this year there was a blizzard so we didn't do Christmas lights). After Christmas lights, we go home and open two presents....our Christmas pj's and a special ornament for each of the kids. They each get a special Old World Christmas ornament to put on the tree that tells something about them at that age (i.e. Emmy got a dance slipper because she started dance this year and loves it). After that, we all curl up on the couch together and watch Polar Express before the kids go to bed.
2. Teach your kids about the true meaning of Christmas. We read the Christmas story every morning throughout December while we are eating breakfast and talk about Jesus' birth as being the real reason for celebrating Christmas.
3. Find a fun way to countdown the days til Christmas. We have a little snowman that they move a candy cane up on each morning from 25 to 1 to countdown how many days until Christmas.
4. Some type of Christmas project with your kids. I like to cook so I usually like to have my kids help me with baking and putting together Christmas goodie bags.
5. Get your kids their own little tree to go in their room. My sister and my friend Trina do this and I LOVE it. Meant to do it this year but didn't quite get to with all that we had happen this December. Also...this works nicely because you can let them put all the ~~ugly~~ beautiful little handmade treasures that they bring home as ornaments to put on the tree on THEIR special tree rather than YOUR tree. You get what I'm sayin' girls.
6. Find a way to teach your kids that it is more important to GIVE than it is to RECEIVE. For me, I want to make a tradition of having the kids go through their toys in December and choosing things to give away to a family in need or an organization that gives to families in need. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know. I will be doing this a little late this year. Didn't quite get around to it yet for obvious reasons. It is NEVER too late to give though so I am still planning on seeing this one through. Oh, we also like to get an Angel Tree and do that together as a family, letting the kids pick out toys for the kids on the Angel Tree.

What did you learn this Christmas and what will you DO and NOT DO again next year???

Easton and my mom with his favorite present....the DK Ultimate Star Wars Dictionary. For those of you who don't know about DK Publishers, they are amazing! Their Children's Visual Dictionaries are awesome! You can check them out at http://us.dk.com/.

Letters to Santa. These crack me up. I love how Easton tells him "I have been a good boy and have gotten good reports at school in Decmeber." Backstory: he did get a bad report at school the week before Thanksgiving Break. Much to our dismay, he got another bad report the next day. Michael and I were pretty upset about it and Michael told me that he was going to tell Easton that he was on Santa's naughty list so he'd better shape it up. I completely disagreed with this "Naughty list" style of parenting and told him to please not tell Easton that. The next thing I know, I hear him telling Easton that even though I asked him not to and I could not believe it! So here is the truth....although I still do not support this type of parenting because I find it manipulative and not truthful...I have to admit that it was the single most effective parenting move EVER. After Michael told Easton that, he got GLOWING reports at school every day since then. Still don't agree with it, but it DID work. I hate being wrong.

Kids in Christmas pj's. Poor Cohen. He is so tired and just wants to be left alone so he can go to bed.

Cohen's first Christmas. He LOVED opening his first Christmas present!

Baby Knox {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

I had a newborn session this morning with this precious little guy. Actually he is almost 6 weeks old now so I am not sure if he technically qualifies as a newborn now! He was as sweet as could be though and was just wide awake the entire session. We tried our hardest to get him to sleep so that we could "pose" him but this little guys just wasn't having it! We were still able to get some cute pictures though. Melissa, thanks for asking me to photograph your little guy. Congratulations! He is precious.

Miller Party of Five Does.....SLEDDING!

2009-12-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

The gang...ready to do some sledding!

We weren't sure what she was going to do but she was FEARLESS. That's my girl.

Waiting for another turn while sister went with daddy.

Have you guys seen Tommy Boy...."fat guy in a little coat." That is all I have to say. OK so maybe just a bit more like this..."fat guy in a big coat and five other layers of clothing stuffed into a carseat that is too small for him."

Not a big fan of waiting her turn. This is the FRONT VIEW of her screaming everytime Easton and daddy went down the hill without her. It went a little something like this, "Daddy! Brudder!! (aka brother) NOOOOOOO!!!! Don't leave me!!! COME BACK. COME BACK." (In a complete bossy and sassy tone. Don't know where she gets it from.)

This is the back view. Notice the yelling with authority stance....hands on hips. Definitely don't know where she gets that from either. Not at all.

We finally let him out of his cage.

Seirously....that is just stinkin' cute.

That is one happy boy. At least for a few minutes. Before he got tired of carrying around 10 pounds of extra weight because we had him so bundled up in layers of clothes. He crawled around laughing and playing then literally just collapsed and stuck his head in the snow. Poory Guy.

We had a great time. Don't think we will be doing it tomorrow though. The total amount of time that it takes to put on 5 layers of clothes per kid, coats, gloves, two pairs of sock per each kid, and hats then load the car while the kids are sweating, yelling they are hot, and trying to rip of their clothes is twice the amount of time you actually spend sledding. What does that mean? It was fun. I am glad we did it. However, I am glad I live in Oklahoma and now I am ready for the snow to GO AWAY. Oh, and I am ready for Spring and Summer. Swimming is alot easier than Sledding. It requires alot less clothing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MILLER'S

2009-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours....

To a joyful present
and a well remembered past.
Best wishes for Happy holidays
and a magnificent New Year.

And may we all remember and give thanks for the most important gift ever given...
"She shall bring forth a son,
and thou shall call His name Jesus;
for He shall save His people from their sins."
~ Matthew 1:21

Christmas Goodie Bags and a Christmas Recipe....

2009-12-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

So this Christmas has definitely been out of the ordinary. As most of you already know, Michael's dad lost his battle with cancer on December 14th. It has been pretty hard to get in the Holiday Spirit when we are dealing with the loss of someone so dear to us. I have been pretty down in the dumps to be honest. I have also been very hard on myself about not being able to accomplish everything I normally do around the Holidays. I had so many things that I wanted to do with the kids. I wanted to teach them daily about the true meaning of Christmas. I wanted to do so many things to instill in them the importance of GIVING and not just receiving. I wanted to do an Angel Tree together as a family. I wanted to go through our toys and make donations to kids in need. Of course NONE of it got accomplished and I have just been feely crummy about it. Another Holiday tradition that I love is making goodie baskets for people. Now those of you who know me know that I love to cook. More than just that though....cooking is a way that I show love to others. I was really bummed and down on myself about not being able to uphold all of our family traditions this year so yesterday morning I just stuck all the kids in the car and went to the grocery store. I was determined to do SOMETHING that we normally do....even if it was only one little thing. We got everything we needed to make our Christmas treats, came back home, and got busy. In no way does it make up for all the things we weren't able to do this Christmas, but it did make me feel a little bit better to do something fun with the kids and also show them the spirit of giving. After we made all the goodies and packaged them, they drove around with us as we passed some out around the Jenks area. So here are some pictures from our baking day and I also am going to share one of my favorite Christmas recipes with you. They are what most of my friends refer to as "those yummy peanut butter balls." They are actually called:

OHIO BUCKEYE CANDIES

CANDY:

1 stick softened butter OR margarine
1 3/4 cups (18 oz jar) creamy peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
About 1 lb. confectioners' sugar

CHOCOLATE COATING:
1 pk. (12 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 T. vegetable shortening
Cream butter, peanut butter and vanilla together adding confectioners' sugar until proper consistency is reached.
Roll candy into 1" balls and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet.
Melt chips & shortening together in top of double boiler.
Keep chocolate mixture in double boiler over low heat while you dip each candy.
Using a toothpick, dip each ball covering about 3/4 of candy. (Peanut butter needs to show for an authentic buckeye.)
Return candy to sheet to cool.
Yield: 8 dozen buckeyes

The final result...Christmas goodies all packaged up and ready to be given.

My little helpers

Emmy enjoyed playing peekaboo with the cookie cutters for some reason

And of course Easton had to find some way to use the rolling pin as a Light Saber....

2009-12-22T17:36:00.000-08:00

This picture cracks me up. This is what happens when using "Reverse Psychology" on kids. About 5 months ago I took my first photography class. I quickly became obsessed and starting practicing daily on my own kids. At this point, my children are so sick of having their picture taken that they run screaming and kicking in the opposite direciton everytime I pull my camera out. I have had several sessions lately at the house and before each session, I asked Easton if he would come in the dining room (where I take the pictures) and let me take pictures of him to get my camera all set and ready to go for when my clients arrive. Of course it was INSTANT attitude. Then, when we got in the dining room he starts covering his face, hiding from the camera, and giving me complete grief about every single thing I ask him to do....eye rolling, annoyed sighs, groaning, etc...So the last time it happened I decided to use that handy little trick that moms call "Reverse Pyschology." As soon as he started giving me the attitude, I called Nash in the room and said, "OK Easton, I don't want to take YOUR picture anymore. Nash is my helper and I want to take his picture so could you please leave the room." IMMEDIATE ATTITUDE CHANGE. Suddenly, he was begging for me to take his picture. Of course I refused and told him that Nash was the star of the show and he needed to leave. The picture above is the result and it absolutely cracks me up. After I envoked the mom's "Reverse Psychology" principle, Easton was doing anything and everything to try to get in the picture. Kids...you gotta love em. And you definitely gotta love Reverse Psychology.

Dear Dr. Phil

2009-12-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

So I have been meaning for quite some time to blog about my feelings on potty training. I have several friends who are potty training right now and when they ask my advice, I simply say, "Go get yourself a bottle of wine. You are going to need it." After the past few weeks this family has had, I have decided that it is time for a good laugh. So....here goes. Carissa Miller's feelings on potty training....

I feel that it is my calling in life to expose those heretics and false prophets out there who would lead you to believe that there is such a thing as "Potty Training Your Child in One Day." Now I know that some people will tell you that they potty trained their child in one day. I choose not to believe them. I put them in a nice little category with those women who also tell you that they left the hospital in their pre-pregnancy jeans. This is a category called "You make me feel like crap about myself so I am going to act like you don't exist."

The most blatant heretic who would have you believe that you can potty train your child in one day is....DR. PHIL. When I was potty training Emmy, he aired a show on potty training that was all about how you could potty train your child in one day using his fail-safe plan. YEAH RIGHT. Let me just point out the problems with Dr. Phil's little plan and tell you mom's out there the truth about potty training: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS POTTY TRAINING IN ONE DAY.

1. Step 1: Buy A Special Potty Training Doll - Have you guys ever seen Father of the Bride? I love that part where Steve Martin (the father of the bride) has a complete meltdown in the grocery store the night before the wedding about hot dog buns. It is one of my favorite scenes ever in a movie. He is mad about the fact that they sell hot dogs in packages of 8 but the hot dog buns come in packages of twelve. He starts ripping apart the packages of hot dog buns screaming, "Someone over at the hot dog factory got together with someone over at the hot dog bun factory and they decided to RIP US OFF!!!!" You summed it up Steve. That is how I feel about the potty training doll. Dr. Phil got together with the people over at Mattel Toys and decided to RIP US OFF. Don't waste your money on the pretty little EXPENSIVE potty training doll people. News Flash: IT DOESN'T WORK!!! The only thing it will successfully do is drive you crazy when you find puddles of "pee" all over your house becuase your daughter has taken the diaper off and is constantly feeding it bottle after bottle after bottle. So annoying!

2. Step 2: Throw A Special Party for Your Kid - The second step to Dr. Phil's little plan involves throwing a big party for your kids once they pee pee in the potty. MAJOR PROBLEM HERE PEOPLE....first of all, that requires actually getting them to go peepee in the potty which we all know, can NOT be forced. Dr. Phil's show simply states that once you get the kid to go in the potty (which is apparently SOOOO easy), you just give their favorite character a call on the phone and get "Mickey Mouse" (aka grandma or grandpa) to tell them how proud they are of him/her and that they get to have a party. First of all...the kid isn't stupid, Dr. Phil. They know that person's voice on the phone is not Mickey Mouse, or Thomas the Train, or freakin' Sponge Bob Squarepants. It's grandma, Dr. Phil, and they know it. Second of all, I don't care who you get on the phone and how big of a party you throw for them, that does NOT mean that they are going to miraculously starting peeing and pooping on the potty.

3. STEP 3: Get Rid of the Diapers. Yeah right. That is all I have to say about that. Dr. Phil....are you going to be the one in the McDonald's bathroom scooping poop out of panties and trying to hose your child down with paper towels and wipes while your other two children are screaming and crawling around the disgusting, germ-infested McDonald's bathroom floor? I didn't think so. Enough said.

A CHALLENGE TO DR. PHIL:

Dear Dr. Phil,

My favorite part of your potty training show is where you so confidently walk into that woman's house with your team of producers, assistant producers, assistant to your assistant producers, child psychologists, and God knows who else to show us how your potty training method works and successfully potty train that little boy in a day. Here's the problem Dr. Phil....I believe the adult to child ratio in that scenario is about 50 to 1 in favor of the adults. At my house, when I am potty training....the adult to child ratio is 3 to 1 in favor of the KIDS. So Dr. Phil, I issue this challenge. In about a year and a half, I will be potty traning my third child. I challenge you to come to my house, by yourself, watch all three of my kids, and then see if you can potty train my kid in a day. I challenge you to potty traing a two year old while simultaneously breastfeeding a 6 month old, which I did. I challenge you to try the "no pull-up method" and scoop poop out of panties with your bare hands and wash out the panties in the toilet. I challenge you to do all of this without a mental breakdown (which I did NOT do.). The gauntlet has been thrown down Dr. Phil. Are you man enough to rise to the occasion????

P.S. - To all you moms and future moms out there....THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS POTTY TRAINING IN ONE DAY.

Pendergrass Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

I had a session with the Pendergrass Family last weekend. They are a beautiful family and their two kids are absolutely adorable. Bless their hearts....they were freezing cold while we were taking these pictures but they still did a great job! Tiffany, thank you for understanding about it taking a little longer than usual to get these edited. I hope you like them!

P.S. - This was the last family session I had scheduled and will not be doing anymore families until the Spring. I am scheduling newborns, babies, and maternity pictures right now. I will post a sign up for spring/summer family pictures in March.

CANCER SUCKS

2009-12-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

Have you guys seen those car stickers that say CANCER SUCKS? I love them. I want one. I think it pretty much sums it up. CANCER SUCKS. It takes away mothers, sisters, friends, brothers, children, grandmothers, fathers, and Grandads. It took away our D-Dad.

Tomorrow we will have a service to celebrate his amazing life. As I laid in bed with my three year-old daughter tonight, she asked me why everyone was so sad and why everyone was crying so much. I told her that it was because we missed D-Dad. She quickly answered, "Mommy!! Let me pray. Dear Jesus: Please let us go over to Grammy J's tomorrow and say 'D-Dad! D-Dad! We are here!!!' And let D-dad be there to give us lovin's." Yes...I pretty much lost it. How can I explain to her that he won't be there anymore? How can I make this sweet little 3 year old girl understand that she won't see him again? I can't. So that is why I say, "CANCER SUCKS."

If you agree....if you or someone you know has been effected by cancer, leave me a comment and let me know that I am not the only one who thinks CANCER SUCKS.

We Love You D-Dad.

2009-12-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

Last night we lost our beloved father, husband, brother, friend, and grandfather. He is gone from this earth but will remain here with us always in our hearts. I want to honor him but am at a loss for words. How can I put into words how amazing this man was and how blessed I feel to have had him as a part of my life for the past twelve years? He was a man of few words and didn't like to make a big fuss out of things....so because of that I want to keep this simple.

Don Miller was the most selfless, giving, and generous person I have ever known. He loved his family with a love that can not be quantified with words. He called his wife "Baby." He called his son "Partner." He loved his grandbabies. He taught my son to wave bye-bye. He taught my daughter she was the princess and taught her to say, "I love the diamonds." He loved taking Easton to Toys R Us. He loved to give rather than to receive. He was wise. He worked hard his whole life, only so that he could give to his family and others. He wanted nothing for himself other than his family's love.

I miss him already. We will mis him every day for the rest of our lives. I miss the look on his face when his grandbabies ran to his arms. I miss hearing his voice. I miss his hugs. I miss Easton calling out his D-Dad's name. I miss hearing him say, "I love you Partner" to Michael. I miss how he would quietly hug me and tell me, "Carissa Dawn. Thank you for my babies." I miss his laugh. I will miss him when Easton hits his first home run. I will miss him when Emmy walks down the aisle in her white dress, looking like the princess he always told her she was. I will miss him when Cohen asks me who his D-dad was and asks me to tell him about him.

But I will tell Cohen about him....everyday. I will tell his grandbabies about the incredible man who was their grandfather. Most of all, I will tell them about the unsurmountable love that he had for them and that they were the light of his life. I will tell them that although we miss him, our hearts our broken, and our lives will never be the same....we must go on. We must live our lives to the fullest and find joy in every moment. Because that is what he would want. So that is what we will do.

We love you D-Dad. "All the way to the moon and back." We will see you soon and we will miss you everyday until then.

Cohen Crosby Miller - 9 months

2009-12-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

Cohen Crosby Miller turned 9 months old a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to do an official photo shoot but I just realized that it's not going to happen. Life is a little bit crazy right now and to be honest, I am just in survival mode right now. These are a few shots that I snapped the other day and I realized that they show what this little guy's life is like right now better than anything. So here it is....Cohen Crosby at 9 months.

Brother and sister were playing dress up and Cohen was the Cowboy. Poor guy...they kept putting his hat on crooked.

Luke Skywalker Cowboy. In this one, Cohen is thinking, "THANK GOD. I FINALLY caught big brother with his guard down and I get to play with the light saber. It will only be a matter of seconds at this point before big brother discovers that little brother has confiscated his most prized possession and he will race over and rip it out of his hands which will result in a meltdown and lead to.....

Cowboy with a Pretty Pink Princess Phone. If he can't have brother's light saber, then sister's Princess phone will do as a nice substitute until big sister realizes that he has confiscated her most prized posession and runs over to rip it out of his hands which will lead to....

Cute little drooling cowboy with NO toys. How does the song go, "It's A Hard Knock Life."

Good thing he has a mommy who is absolutely obsessed with him and also completely empathizes with him about what a rough life it is to be the baby of the family. He is the sweetest baby ever. Easy going and laid back for the most part but has a bit of a temper to him as well......he pretty much smiles and laughs constantly UNTIL someone takes something away from him and then he goes into what I like to call "freak baby mode." If he has something in his hand that he wants and you take it away from him, his face suddenly goes crazy and he just screams and starts shaking in anger. It is actually pretty hilarious. He has his daddy and his Granddad's baby blue eyes, the sweetest smile I have ever seen, and when I walk into the room, he squeals in excitement and crawls to me as fast as he can. I love it. I love him. I am so blessed.

A few facts about Cohen at this age:

-Length is 30 inches, 95th percentile

-Weight is 23 lbs and 3 oz, 90th percentile

-Head is 18 inches, 70th percentile

-Started crawling at 8 months and you are into everything.

-Started saying and signing all done and bye-bye.

-Started really leaning and reaching for momma which I love of course! :)

-Started pulling up and standing on furniture and in his crib. This is really fun because once he stands up in his crib he doesn't know how to get back down right now so he just screams and screams. I have to go in twenty times and lay him back down.

-Taking a 3 to 4 hour nap in the afternoon. THANK GOD!

-Eating solid foods: cooked peas, mixed veggies, carrots, cheese, yogurt, bananas, meat, waffles, pancakes, all kinds of stuff!

-Drooling NON STOP. Still no teeth!

Baby Zoe {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

So I was pretty much in tears the entire time I edited this session. Mainly because I was just overwhelmed with gratitude to be a part of something so special. These parents were so in love with their brand new baby girl....you could just feel it. It was such a blessing to be a part of capturing that love. Baby Zoe was my first official newborn to photograph. I have done plenty of babies, yes, but Zoe was literally days old. I can say with confidence that I have found a new love and that is photographing newborns. WOW! What an amazing experience. Jon & Katie, I hope that you like these pictures as much as I do. I hope you will give me the honor of photographing her again as she grows up. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such an amazing experience.

Little Miss Bryce.

2009-12-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Our friends Brian and Mandy came to visit this past weekend with their ridiculously cute daughter, Bryce. Mandy and I go WAY back. We sat through many a baseball game together in high school as baseball girlfriends, then again in college watching our future husbands play baseball at OSU. I have so many fun memories with this girl and miss her like crazy since they moved away to Florida. We are so happy for them that Brian got his dream job in Florida but of course we are secretly hoping they will be able to move back to Oklahoma some day! :) Of course we had to take a few pics while they were here. Their little daughter is just TOO CUTE and I couldn't resist.

Seriously?!?! It might be against the law for a baby to be this cute. I'm just sayin'....

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU D-DAD!!!

2009-12-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

I have been in big trouble from Michael's dad (D-Dad as my kids call him) for not posting enough pictures of his grandbabies on the blog lately. He says that ever since I started taking pictures for OTHER people, there aren't enough pictures of HIS babies anymore. So....this one is for you D-Dad! Here are a few pics I took of Cohen Crosby yesterday morning while we had a lazy day. That translates to "It is too freakin' cold to try to get three kids out so we are all going to lay around in our pj's all day." Cohen turned 9 months old on Saturday and I will be doing his "official" 9 month post soon...hopefully. We have to go to the doctor this week and get his height and weight check and I need to take a few more pictures of him first!

Super happy face. This is the face he makes when his big brother is making him laugh.

Look at that sweet profile. I am so in love with this little boy.

Parker Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we braved the wind, rain, and 30 degree weather all in the name of a BIG family picture. These were two sisters and their families wanting to get together and surprise their mom with a family photo. Wouldn't you know that after all the trouble to get the two families together, it rained and was freezing cold all day. Normally I would have cancelled the session but since they had gone to so much trouble I told them that we could try to take a few pictures under a big bridge in my parent's neighborhood. We improvised and although it wasn't the ideal situation, we were still able to get some good pictures. I can't really post pictures of 11 people and a dog on the blog so these are some of the more candid shots that I took. Kim, thanks for asking me to take your pictures and I'm sorry the weather didn't cooperate. Let's try again in the Spring and hope for no rain!

Tipton Mini Session {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

How handsome is this little guy! Check out those amazing blue eyes. His mom contacted me a few weeks ago and wanted to get together to get a few shots of her handsome little boy before Christmas. We were able to meet up for a "mini-session" which translates to "It is WAY too stinkin' cold to be outside for more than 15 or 20 minutes so we just did what we could!" I think we were still able to get some great pictures despite our limited time. Poor guy! He was such a good sport even though he was probably freezing. Good thing he had his handsome red vest on. Melissa, hope you like the pics!

Too cute! He was holding out his hand to mommy and daddy for more M&M's.

The Embry Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

My daughter and this beautiful little girl went to preschool together last year and now they are in dance together. I was so excited when her mommy asked me to take some family pics for them. Little Miss Ella was not too excited about having her pictures taken but we still were able to get some good ones, I think! Melissa, thank you so much for asking me to take your pictures. Hope you like them....

Probably my favorite picture of the day. Yes, I know her head is missing. Yes it was on purpose. YES it is a freaking cute picture so you are just going to have to get over it!

Love this one. It definitely captures Ella. Her mom kept telling her to take her finger out of her mouth but I caught her doing it and snapped a quick shot. I think it is so cute!

The Akins Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-12-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

I was SO excited when Margi contacted me about taking pictures for them. We met in downtown Tulsa on Saturday and we could not have had a more perfect setting. It was one of those sessions where everything was just working...the weather, the setting, the people! I was so excited to get home and start editing this session and I have to say that I am absolutely in love with their pictures. My friend Holly, who taught the photography class that I took (check her out at Jenks Community Education), always had some of her favorite pictures from settings blown up all around her house. Now that I am taking pictures, I totally get that because I find myself wanting to blow up pictures of OTHER people sometimes because I just love the picture so much! Margi and Adam, hope we found some framers for your new house...if you don't blow some of these up, I think I will have to! Can't wait until we are neighbors (almost)! :) Thanks again for letting me take your pictures.

McKellip's Girls {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-29T14:58:00.000-08:00

My bf from high school, Keri, was in town for Thanksgiving so she brought over her adorable daughter for a photo shoot. Her sister and niece came along as well. It was so much fun and I think we were able to get some great pics of both these adorable little girls and their beautiful moms! Keri and Linds, thanks for coming over and asking me to take pictures for you! Can't wait til next time....

Akin's Family....Just A Quick Preview

2009-11-29T06:34:00.000-08:00

So normally I dont' do this but I just couldn't help myself. This picture is from a session I had yesterday and although I haven't had a chance to edit the entire session, when I saw this picture I just HAD to edit it and go ahead and put it up on the blog. My friend Trina gave me this idea to have some parents hold a frame around their baby for a picture. I wasn't sure how it would look but we gave it a try and I think it is absolutely precious! Of course it doesn't hurt that this baby girl is probably the most precious thing you have ever seen. And look at those BLUE eyes! There will be many more pics to come from this session later and believe me, this is only the tip of the iceberg! Adam and Margi...can't wait to finish editing your session. Oh, and be sure to double click on the picture so you can see it in large form....the smaller version on the blog doesn't give it justice!!!

Trip to McAlester

2009-11-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

The Miller crew headed down to McAlester last weekend to spend some time with some very special friends of ours....The Jackson's. I was raised in McAlester and lived there for the first 16 years of my life before moving to Tulsa. The Jackson's lived right around the corner from us, went to church with us, our parents were best friends, and I pretty much don't have single childhood memory that doesn't include this family. They are more than friends to us....they are our family. We left our house at 8 am (no small feat with three young kids) and made it to McAlester in time to go to church at Lakewood Christian Church...the church I grew up in and where my dad preached for 16 years. After that we headed back to the Jackson's for lunch and to hang out with friends. My friend Joy and her family were able to come join us as well....SO FUN! Of course I had to snap a few pics of their families! Here are some of my favorites....

The Unibrow

2009-11-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

Emmy got into my makeup and here was the result....She drew herself a lovely unibrow. Don't worry honey....if you look like that when you grow up mommy will definitely be taking you to wax that baby!

Ruefer Kids {Mini Session}

2009-11-25T05:29:00.000-08:00

A few months ago when all this photography stuff was just getting started, I took family pictures for my friend Jamie. She wanted to go to the hayfield but it was rainy so we ended up taking some fall pictures under some beautiful trees. The pics turned out great but she still wanted some of the kids at the hayfield so of course we had to get some. I met her and the kids out there the other day and we snapped a few pics. She said she wanted candid and artistic so that is exactly what we did. By the way....the first picture of the kids holding hands absolutely melts my heart! Hope we got what you were looking for Jamie. If not, we'll try again! :) P.S. - Easton was watching me do this post and started asking for his buddy. Let's get them together next week. He can come to our house!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!!!!

2009-11-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the best dad and husband we could ever ask for. We love you!!!!!!!!!

The Burton Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

I was able to take pictures for a beautiful family that I had never met before this past weekend. Jodi stumbled across my blog after a friend told her about it and she contacted me to do their family pictures. She is an extremely brave mom...daring to do family pictures on the same day as her daughter's birthday party! All you moms out there know how difficult that must be! Jodi...thank you for asking me to take your pictures. Here is your Sneak Peek....

A Day in the Life of: Cold Weather + Kids = DISASTER.

2009-11-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yes they are cute in the coats and hats but NO it is definitely not worth it. This momma is NOT excited about the change to cold weather because three small kids + cold weather = DISASTER. Last week was our first day to get out all the coats. By the time I loaded the car to get Easton to school, I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel for the day. That is never a good sign at 9:00 in the morning. My poor friend Kenna...by the time I made it to the mall to meet her for lunch, I was pretty much in complete meltdown mode. She got an earful about the coat situation. Thanks for letting me vent Kenna! So let me just give you an idea of what it is like to go somewhere with the kids while trying to do the "coat thing."

When it is time to load up, I have to make sure all three kids have coats, hats and gloves. Now that doesn't sound that difficult but believe me it is. There is most definitely some kind of meltdown that will be involved. Emmy didn't want THAT coat, she wanted the other one and Easton didn't want that hat, he wanted the blue one...UGH! By the time we get everyone's coats, hats, and gloves, and actually get to the car, the next dilemma starts. We will call this the "HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO STUFF MY KIDS INTO THEIR CAR SEATS WITH THEIR HUGE PUFFY COATS ON????" dilemma. Now with Easton and Emmy I always put them in their carseats with their coats. No it was not easy. You have to yank the carseat straps out as far as they will go, stuff your kid into the carseat, yank their arms through the holes, and basically use all the strength you can muster to actually get the straps buckled. That was hard enough but what I have to do with Cohen is even harder. Apparently there is now some rule against putting your kids in their carseats WITH their coats on. Maybe that rule was in place a few years ago but I didn't know so therefore it does NOT count and I am not a horrible mother for doing it. So now since I do know, I have the new dilemma which we will call the "OH GREAT. NOW I HAVE TO GET OUT IN THE FREAKING COLD, ICY, FRIGID WEATHER AND GET MY 8 MONTH OLD OUT OF HIS CAR SEAT AND STUFF HIM IN HIS JACKET, HAT, AND GLOVES EVERYTIME I GET IN AND OUT OF THE CAR" dilemma. I actually think I hate this one even more then the aforementioned dilemma.

So here is what it actually looks like everytime I want to run into the grocery store, to Target, to the Post Office, to the Mall, etc...:

1. Stop the car. Get out. Walk around to Emmy's side and undo her belt. Tell her to get her coat and hat on.

2. Emmy freaks out because she wants me to help her get her coat and hat on. I tell her she is a big girl and she needs to do it herself.

3. Close the door. Walk around to Cohen's side while I am freezing my butt off.

4. Take Cohen out of his straps. Stuff him in his coat. Put his hat on. Set him back in his seat. He starts freaking out.

5. Walk around to Emmy's side because she is still freaking out and she needs my help putting her coat on. Still freezing my butt off. Get her coat and hat on. Get her and Easton out of the car.

6. Walk back around to Cohen's side and get him out of the car.

7. Get all 3 kids around to the back of the car and get the stroller out. Get 3 kids in the stroller (Side Note: usually there will be some type of argument about who gets to sit or stand where).

8. Happily take my freezing self into whatever store we will be blessing our presence with at that time.

9. Take all three kids coats, hats, and gloves off and wonder now where the heck I am going to store all that gear and still have room to put groceries.

10. Remind myself that it is NOT worth it and I should just stay home until the Spring.

So there it is. Cold Weather errand-running with kids. Gotta love it. I hope all my friends read this so they can understand why I might be running late for the next oh, FIVE or SIX months!

Cargal Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

I did my first photo shoot downtown with the Cargal family and it was SO MUCH FUN! Believe it or not, it was totally raining when we headed downtown but Kristen and I decided we would go ahead and give it a shot. I am glad we did because the rain went away and it ended up being a perfect morning for pictures! Kristen and Larry, thanks for asking me to take your pictures. You guys were so much fun and I hope we got a framer for you! :)

So Maybe I Need Braces or Something.....

2009-11-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

The above picture is Easton's portrait of his mommy. I am trying not to have a complex but he was making a HUGE deal out of my mouth when he was drawing me. He kept saying, "Mommy, I'm going to draw your big, beautiful mouth with your BIG teeth. Look mom, I'm drawing your BIG teeth." What is up with that?!?! Apparently my son thinks I need braces or something!

Luelf Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

I got to photograph this cute little guy for his one year birthday pics and we also threw in some family pics as well. I think we were able to get some great pics even though baby boy was fighting an ear infection and had been at the doctor that morning. Kelly, thanks for asking me to take your pictures.

Looking for Prince Charming....

2009-11-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Emmy Grace is totally into pretending princess and dressing up right now. In fact, if you come to our house there is a 99% chance that she will be dressed as either Cinderella, Snow White, or Belle (from Beauty and the Beast). She got a set of princess shoes from my mom for her birthday and now she has matching shoes for every one of her princess dresses. It cracks me up that EVERY time she puts a dress on, she picks out the corresponding shoes. I have yet to see her with a Cinderella dress but snow white shoes....she is always matching! So Easton had his buddy Ethan over yesterday and they were playing Star Wars on the wii. Emmy comes down the stairs dressed to impress in her Cinderella dress and shoes. She starts prancing in front of Ethan saying, "Ethan, do you want to get married? Ethan do you want to dance with me and get married?" Of course the boys were just annoyed and kept saying, "Emmy, WE CAN'T SEE THE Wii! Can you please scoot over?!?!" She would not be deterred. She probably asked Ethan twenty times to marry her. Of course I wanted to be psycho mom and ask Ethan to please stop playing the wii and pretend marry my adorable cute daughter in her Cinderella dress....but I didn't. I showed restraint. I don't know how I'm even going to handle it when she gets old enough to start dating. Fortunately for now, it is just all dress up and pretend. I better enjoy it while it lasts.

Wilson Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

I have been telling my friend Molly since I met her that I couldn't wait to take pictures of her girls. Then I met her nephew, Sam, and I becane obsessed with taking his pictures too! It's not hard to see why once you see these pictures. These two sisters have some seriously cute blonde-headed kids! Molly and Amy, hope you like the pics. Thanks for finally letting me take your adorable kids pictures....FINALLY!

Legg pictures {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled when I got a call from Katina asking me to take pictures for her family. Katina was one of my older sister's friends in high school and it has probably been 15 years since I have seen her. She was just as beautiful as I remember and her daughter has grown up to be gorgeous just like her mother. Katina, congratulations on your engagement. I hope you like your pictures....

Input Please

2009-11-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

So if you have a second leave me a comment and give me some feedback. I am trying to decide what people prefer in editing. The pictures below are from a session I had this weekend (more pictures to come). I loved this picture and wanted to try some different finishes. Do you prefer it in plain color (first picture) or with a vintage finish and a texture on top (second picture). Let me know! I appreciate your feedback.

Seefeldt Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

One thing I am loving about taking pictures is reconnecting with people from the past. Katy and I were lifeguards together and Southern Hills Country Club ages ago and it was so fun to see her and her sweet family this weekend. Her girls are PRECIOUS as you will see from the pitcures. Katy and Greg, hope you like the pictures!

Keeler Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

My friend from high school, Jennifer, asked me to take some pictures of her family. We headed out to the hayfield in Jenks and it ended up being a perfect evening for pictures. Her three little kiddos are so precious and they did a great job during the pictures. MJ, you did a great job too....didn't wnat to leave you out! :) Here are some of my favorites.....hope you like what we got.

Baby Ives {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that I love photographing babies! This little girl was absolutely precious as you can tell from the pictures. She was so sweet and I don't think I heard her cry one time during the session. Mandy and Bart, thanks for letting me take pics of your beautiful baby girl. I hope you like what we got.....

Ferguson Family {Mini Session}

2009-11-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

I met my friend Trina and her precious family at a neighborhood by my house to snap a few pictures for them. These were a few of my favorites. By the way...their little girl, Ava, is Easton's future wife (at least if their moms have their way!). I am already planning the wedding. :)

Jackson R. {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Lauren and Jackson stopped by this afternoon for a little photo shoot. Here are some of my favorites. He is so darn cute!!

I love this picture. It actually made me tear up when I saw it. This is just life as a mother. Lauren had no intentions of being in pictures so she just stopped by in her baseball cap with no make-up on...typical "mom attire." But I think she looks more beautiful than ever holding her precious baby boy and you can just feel the love between them. It reminds me of the countless hours I spent praying for them and for this specific baby boy, even though we did not know him at the time. Jackson, you are a gift from God and C.C. loves you! Lauren, thanks for letting me take his pics.

Gotta Love You Some Target

2009-11-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for some extra seating for our living room since we moved in so let's see, that has been um....almost TWO YEARS. And patience pays off because I finally found IT. Those perfect chairs that I have been wanting. Guess where I found them....TARGET of course! You gotta love you some Target. You can find just about anything there and pay next to nothing for it. So here are my new chairs. I love them. Be looking for their appearances in pictures. I have a little lady coming over tomorrow for 6 month pictures and I'm thinkin' red dress, sitting on this chair = TOO CUTE! Here are some more pics. Did I mention that I love Target???

I AM OBSESSED WITH.....

2009-11-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

This baby boy.

And those blue eyes.....

And that drool-filled little grin.

So I know it is not ok to have favorites. I love all my kids with the same unbelievable love...that kind of love that actually hurts when you look at them because you love them SO much. That indescribable kind of love. It is absolutely ok though to have FAVORITE AGES. There is a big distinction between favorites and favorite ages. For example, age two is not my favorite age due to potty training and whining issues. Age 8 months, however, is my favorite age. I loved this stage with all of my kids and I am definitely loving me some CoCo right now (yes we call my son CoCo and you are just going to have to get over it....sometimes someone says a nickname and it just sticks, no matter how crazy it sounds.) I love this age because everytime I look at him, he smiles. I love his curiousity about the world. I love how he gasps in air and giggles with delight when his brother or sister, or even the dog plays with him. I love his grin. I love to hold him in my arms and rock him before he falls asleep at night. I love how he grabs my face while I am rocking him and just looks up at me with so much love. Did I say that I love him? It makes me sad that I will have no more babies. Yes, we have decided that we won't have any more babies (at least biological babies...). I am quite sure that if I could skip the pregnancy, pregnancy weight gain, post-pregnant fat issues (for about a year which is what it takes me to lose my baby weight) and breastfeeding (no I do not enjoy breastfeeding and although I did it for all of my kids, the thought of doing it again is about to make me have an anxiety attack), I would have another baby. Or maybe two more babies. Especially if they were handed to me at 8 months. Because as you can tell, I am pretty much obsessed with this age.

P.S. - I would also like to say that my child takes a 4 plus hour nap everyday and that probably also contributes to my feelings of being obsessed with him. I'm just sayin'....it probably helps. ALOT.

Oh...and Cohen is crawling by the way. And here is what happens to your 8 month old crawling baby when they have a poop explosion and while you are changing the said poop explosion, you look up to see your 3 year old literally falling cartwheel-style down the stairs. You have to leave the naked crawling 8 month old to go to the aid of the screaming, freaked out 3 year old and the next thing you know, the naked 8 month old is wedged underneath the entertainment center, has probably peed on the carpet, and has definitely smeared some poop all over your Pottery Barn rug. That's my life...."A Little Crazy but It's Nice."

The Croucher Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

Which Miller Boy Is It?

2009-11-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

So I just had to show the side by side comparison of my two boys in their first Halloween costumes. They both wore the same lion costume for their first Halloween and were both exactly 8 months old. Can you tell which Miller boy is Easton and which one is Cohen? (OK, I know this will be obvious for some of you but even if it is, you can't deny how much they look alike!)

November Picture Dates

2009-11-08T06:43:00.001-08:00

Just wanted everyone to know that I am booked for family pictures through November except for one date....Saturday evening, Nov. 28th. If you have been wanting pictures, you can email me and I will put you down for that spot. First come, first serve! I have more availability for baby and kid pictures because I can do those during the week.

Alford Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-07T21:16:00.001-08:00

I headed out to Woodward park this evening with the Alford family to get some family pictures. The weather was gorgeous and despite a few mishaps (i.e. losing/getting my camera bag stolen AND losing a diamond earring while at the park) we were able to get some great pictures. As you can see, they are a gorgeous family and they made my job pretty easy! Lori, thanks for asking me to take your pictures. I hope we got what you were looking for. And thanks for wading through millions of leaves with me to look for my lost items....sorry for all the craziness! :)

Baby Cash {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

My friend Kassidy asked me to take 3 month pictures of her son, Cash. He is absolutely adorable as you will see from the pictures. Don't you just want to pinch those chubby cheeks? He may only be three months old but he is definitely a BIG boy! He was so good during our photo shoot and I think we got some really good shots! I love these two pictures of him with his momma...she is such an amazingly beautiful person and I thank God for her friendship. Kassidy...hope you like the pictures! Thanks for letting me photograph your little man.

Happy Birthday Emmy Grace

2009-11-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

My baby girl turned three this past weekend. I can hardly believe that it has already been three years ago that she came into this world. What a blessing she has been to our lives. I was one of those moms who never thought they wanted or needed a little girl. Give me sports, fights, and dirtiness anyday over drama, dress-up, and PMS'ing. That's the way I thought. I always said I wanted four boys....NO girls. I was a tomboy....I never played with dolls. I climbed trees, played in the woods, and had a scab collection with my bestfriend Lauri growing up (Yes, we saved ALL of our scabs and believe me, there were plenty of them). When I found out I was having a girl, I was actually disappointed. Now I look at my beautiful, precious daughter and realize what a gift from God she is. Even though I didn't think I wanted a girl, He gave me the most amazing, sweet, and beautiful little girl. Now I realize that my life would not have been complete without her.

Emmy Grace,

I love you with a love that is unfathomable. You will never begin to understand the love that I have for you until you hold your beautiful daughter in your arms one day. I love your voice...how it is the perfect blend of Southern Belle with just a tad bit of nasality. It literally makes every single thing that comes out of your mouth absolutely adorable. I love how you say "Sanks mom" instead of thanks, "Everysing" instead of everything, and "peet" for feet. I love how when you wake up you crawl in bed with me and curl your body up next to mine so tightly. I love how every morning you tell me, "Mommy, I can't see so well without my glasses." I love how when I put them on your face you scrunch your nose up and push your glasses up on your face then you look up at me like you are seeing me for the first time ever and say, "Sanks Mom." I love how you are so easygoing and content. You love playing whatever your brother wants you to play and are content to be ANY character that he ever wants you to be while playing pretend Star Wars with him...even if it's Yoda or some other ugly creature. I love when you sing. I love how sensitive you are. I love how when you get upset you say, "That makes me angry" or "That makes me so, so sad." I love your curls. More specifically, I love the one little ringlet that frames your face just perfectly. I love everything about you, baby girl. You are and always will be my "Little Momma."

Here are some facts about you at this age:
Favorite Movie: Little Mermaid
Favorite Song: Little Mermaid songs
Favorite tv show: Dora the Explorer
Favorite toys: anything animal (My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, stuffed animals), also baby dolls, and you loved to read books
Favorite activity: Going to the zoo
Clothes size: 3T
Height: 38 1/2 inches (80th percentile)
Weight: 35 pounds (90th percentile)
You aren't going to school right now...you did last year but this year you are staying at home with momma. You started dance and absolutely LOVE it. You are so kind and thoughtful and every week you pick a flower to take to your dance teacher, Mrs. Jennifer at Jenks Dance Academy.

The Fritts Family {Sneak Peek}

2009-11-01T19:07:00.000-08:00