November

So, I've been a very bad blogger lately, but we've had a busy month. Mike and I took the last week of November off, and we took Miller on his first trip to Austin for his first Longhorn football game. The first of MANY in his future, of course.

We drove down to Austin the morning of the game, and Miller decided not to nap the entire drive. When we got to Austin just in time for kick-off around 2, he hadn't slept a wink all day. We were so worried that he'd be miserable and fussy at the game, but he did great.

He was his usual happy self, flirting with the girls in our section, reading books and munching his raisins.

The next day we went to Zilker park with Ryan and his girls, and Miller had so much fun with them. He LOVED Aoife and Keara, and he's still talking about them.

He also played with a football for the first time, and loved chasing it around and throwing it to us. He's a natural.

The first few times we took him to the park, he wasn't sure if he really liked the swings. As you can tell, even though this picture is a little blurry, he has decided that he LOVES them now.

After our trip to Austin, we spent a few days in Granbury with my mom, Chuck, Jana, Chuck's brother bill, Chuck's daughter Sarah and her husband Shawn. Here's Miller enjoying the yummy Thanksgiving spread.

My plate. As you can tell, I was very excited about the sweet potatoes and stuffing. Yum.

The night after Thanksgiving was the annual Granbury Christmas parade. This was the most elaborate float in the parade, so that should give you an idea of the experience.

This could possible be the worst family picture ever. We couldn't get Miller to look at the camera (because he was staring at the lights in the parade) and Mike looks crazy.

He was a little more cooperative in this picture with MiMi and Chuckpaw.

But back to staring at the parade for the picture with Nana.

Miller Names Animals

Miller loves this placemat that has pictures of animals A - Z. I think he's going to be a zoo keeper or something when he grows up!

Halloween Baby

We had a very fun Halloween in the Brant house. My mom made Miller the cutest Sheriff Woody costume ever, and he was ready to hit the mean streets of Bryan Parkway to trick-or-treat.

After trick-or-treating, Sheriff Woody got a little upset that mommy and daddy wouldn't let him have more candy. That resulted in this awesome photo op.

Once we were home, he was happy to kick back with a book after a long day on the ranch.

18 Months Old

Miller just went in for his 18-month check-up with Dr. D last week, and he's weighing a little over 30 lbs! He's still 75% for height and 95% for head size. His 30 lbs puts him up to 90% for weight, but I think a lot of that is due to his huge noggin'.

Miller has turned into a total dare-devil, unlike his mom. He loves going down the slide at the park, doing somersaults, getting thrown up in the air - anything that is an adventure.

He even liked the crazy pool slide that my mom got for her pool. He looks like he's freaked out here, but he LOVED it. He would get mad when it was over if we didn't send him down again immediately.

He also met a horse a few weeks back in Granbury. He was a little scared at first, but definitely interested in checking it out. He was fascinated by the horses big eyes and was saying "eye" even in the car after we left. Pretty funny.

He continues to be the sweetest boy in the world, and we are so lucky. He makes us both laugh every day!

Cooking Blog

Can't remember if I ever gave anyone this link, but I started another blog to put my favorite recipes out there for others to try. I put a GREAT one up today for cornbread casserole (sounds weird, but is amazingly good), so I thought it would be a good time to put it out there.

http://robinmadeit.blogspot.com/

Ha! I win.

Finally, proof that Miller isn't a complete Mike clone!

My mom brought over one of my baby pictures (notice the awesomely 70s decor), and I definitely recognized that smile and curly (who knew?) blonde hair.

Miller's School Picture

How funny is Miller's school picture? My favorite part about it is that he's in a beach scene, but for some reason he's holding a dinosaur.

Smart Baby

The first time I asked Miller a question and he actually answered me, it about knocked me to the floor. He's growing up into such a smart little boy. He's practically a Veterinarian already.

This Baby Was Made For Walking

Whoa. Apparently Miller has finally decided that he's ready to walk. We are in trouble!

Memorial Day Weekend

Mike, Miller and I (and Vince and Sadie too), had an awesome Memorial Day weekend hanging out at my mom's lake house while mom and Chuck vacationed in Southwest Texas. Jen and Tom came and joined us for a night (and Raj for a couple of hours on Sunday), and it was great to be able to spend time with them.

Here's Miller after eating a delicious cupcake that his Ninny brought him. He's a little tired from having too much fun playing in the pool.

Here's Lili snuggling Jen, who she fell in love with over the couple of days Jen was at the lake house.

Puppies playing poolside.

The boys hanging in the pool.

Classy picture of me drinking a beer and playing with Miller.

Miller having fun splashing in the water.

Happy baby in the pool.

The last night of the trip, we took Miller for his first visit to eat at Babe's Chicken House, home of the yummiest fried chicken (and creamed corn, and chicken-fried steak, and mashed potatoes...) ever.

Miller was not a fan, but we had a great time anyway.

Easter

We lost the battery charger to our camera, so before this weekend, it had been dead since Easter. Here are a couple of pictures of Miller pondering an egg at my mom's house in Granbury.

Mommy, would you like an egg? Nevermind, I think I'll try to fit it in my mouth instead.

Swim Champ Lili

Lili put Vince and Sadie to shame this weekend in the lake!

Staring Contest

This is Miller's staring contest face. It says, "My mom may have made me wear this stupid hat, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Playing Catch

The kid needs to work on his fielding, but he's got a pretty good arm already.

Peek-a-boo - Best game ever?

Fun in the bath

Miller has recently decided that taking a bath is the funnest thing ever. Here he is geeking out this morning...

Classy Move

This is Miller's new trick, where he drops food in his bib, then just tips it back and dumps it in his mouth. He then proceeds to laugh at himself, because he is so amused.

I love it.

Cruising Boy

Miller made it all the way down the hallway with just a little help from his lion friend. Next up...walking!

Baby Bruise Head

So, we got Miller's first birthday portraits done this last weekend, and as you can see, he has a huge bruise on his head in all of them, courtesy of a spill he took at daycare. I guess that just means we will always remember how BUSY he was at a year old!

He loved playing with these - and sticking them in his mouth, of course.

It's a baby in a box.

This is what Miller looked like when we put his Easter outfit on. Not pleased.

First B-Day Stats

This is Miller on his way home from his very traumatic first b-day check-up. He had to have five shots, and he did not enjoy any of them. But he totally passed out when he was done fussing like a mad man.

At this check-up, he was 24 lbs and 30 1/4 inches long, 75% for both. And apparently he has inherited the huge Miller noggin, because his head is in the 95%! I guess that just means he's going to be a brainiac.

Can't wait for all of the milestones the next year will hold!

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today, Miller Brant made his world debut in an operating room at Medical City Dallas. He was about a month early and just a little over six pounds.

When Mike brought him over to meet me, I couldn't believe he was really ours. He was so tiny and sweet, I just couldn't wait to hold him.

Once we found out he had some fairly serious lung problems, things got a little scary for awhile, and it delayed our first snuggle session. But I always knew that things were going to be okay, and that even though it was going to be hard for now, it was just a temporary situation.


And once we finally got to hold him, all that was forgotten.

And once he started eating, he really started to grow.

It's hard to believe that little tiny baby turned into this big, busy, funny, happy and mischievous little boy in just a year!

Happy birthday, Miller! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Baby Cake Face

Okay, I will blog more about Miller's first b-day later, but I couldn't wait to put this up. How cute is this cake-face baby?

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Okay, that's probably a little strong, but giving up Starbucks for Lent has REALLY shown me how addicted I am to caffeine.

The mornings haven't been too bad, because I always make coffee at home anyway, but I sure do miss my 2:30/3 o'clock trip to the Starbucks at JCPenney (right down the hall from me) when I start to drag in the afternoon. I have broken down and had a coke a few times, but I am hoping I can just break my afternoon caffeine habit for good.

Oh the weather outside was frightful...

...and the power going out was less than delightful. But since we had no place to go, we let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

I still can't believe it snowed this much in Dallas. We had a freakin' foot! I almost blew a gasket when our power went out, since our old, drafty house would have gotten arctic in no time. After some frantic calls to Megan, who lives very close and still had power, we packed ourselves up and piled in the car to go have a slumber party at the Gaines house. No sooner than we were pulling out of the driveway did Megan call and tell us that THEIR power had gone out too! Yikes!

So we resolved to just stick it out at home, and thank goodness the power came back on right as we were going to bed. We were able to remove the hat and extra fleece we had put on Miller over his jammies. I wish I had taken a picture, because he looked like he was in for a night of dog sledding in Alaska or something.

Happy Valentine's Day

So I'm a little late, but here are a few pictures of the big guy in his Valentine's Day shirt. In case you can't read it, it says, "Cupid is my homeboy".

As you can see, he is all over the place, pulling up on everything and just generally causing trouble. He is a SUPER busy guy these days.

And he still looks exactly like his daddy.