Christmas Eve Fun followed by an Early Christmas Morning

Good morning and Merry Christmas from the Miller family!

As you may, or may not know, we are spending Christmas in Atlanta this year. Yesterday was the first day everyone was here. I asked Nathan how he would describe Mac with all the attention she has been getting and he answered with "off the hook." She seems to thrive off all the chaos and will do anything to get a laugh. We went to the Christmas Eve church service and left Mackenzie in childcare. She was fine when I left, but in absolute tears when I got there. I could hear her crying as I walked up to the door. I imagine she became upset when she stopped playing, looked around the room and realized she didn't know anyone. Poor thing, I need to leave her daycare more often.

Couch surfing with Uncle Andy!

After church we came home and geared up for a night of games. Boys vs. Girl and let me tell you, this never ends well. The game was a name game and difficult to explain, so I will spare you the details. The girls never seem to win and I would give anything to beat my husband, just once. He's so obnoxious about winning. The girls lost, twice. Maybe next time?

Typical Miller behavior.

Carrie and Mandy

Dinner took an extra 2 hours to cook, so we ended up eating around 9:30. My husband tried and tried to get Carrie or Andy to eat this lovely piece of chicken skin. And in case you're wondering, yes, I am married to a 10 year old.

We also celebrated Mandy's birthday, she turned the big 2-5!

Mackenzie must have been excited about Santa coming because she woke up at 5:30! I put her in bed with us and she proceeded to roll around for a good hour, but then decided it would be more fun to actually go downstairs to play.

She was back in bed by 9:00 for a morning nap.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Self Control?

Long story short, we made Christmas cookies and I cannot stop eating them! I have no self control when it comes to sweet things. Nathan, sadly, missed out on the cookie making this year. He was flying back to Cherry Point to pick up the car and check out our new house. I got a call a few weeks back letting me know that our renovated house will be ready on Dec. 24th (today!). I wanted Nathan to check things out before agreeing to take that particular house. The pros; close to the park, all new appliances, big kitchen, garden tub. The cons; still renovating the house right next door to us, muddy backyard. Looks like we'll take it! I can't wait to get back there and see it for myself.

Here are a few pics of the cookie making process!

Creepy Santa and Florida in December

Last year, I opted not to take Mackenzie to see Santa, she wasn't exactly a laid back baby and I didn't care to wait in line for some old guy to hold my crying kid. This year I thought it might be worth while, unfortunately, I was wrong. Nathan kept telling me that she would probably be scared of him, but I didn't believe it, Mackenzie isn't that clingy kind of kid. When we entered the little cottage, she turned right around and almost escaped out the door. Anytime she got close to Santa she would cringe and make a whiny sound. Santa observed all of this, smiled, and said it is very normal. He then went on to suggest, "Mom could always sit on my lap." I pretended not to hear it the first time. Santa then went on to make the same suggestion 5 or 6 more times. Needless to say, I did not sit on Santa's lap, nor did my daughter.

Is this normal? Do "good" mothers sit on creepy Santa's lap for their kids? It was too awkward, I just couldn't do it. I kept thinking about all of the steps leading up to sitting on his lap. I would have to approach him and try to figure out which leg to sit on. Then I would try to, graciously, not apply all of my weight on him. So, it would kind of be like squatting to use a public restroom, only I would be getting ready to have my picture taken, while holding my daughter. With images like that running through my head, there was no way creepy Santa was getting that wish granted. Better luck next time, old man!

Mackenzie and I are currently staying with Nathan in Pensacola, FL. It's strange being somewhere so warm this close to the holidays. We made the trip down here because Nathan was suppose to have his wisdom teeth taken out on Monday. I was being a good wife and thought I should help take care of my husband. Monday arrived and Nathan called the office to confirm that he should have been fasting. The guy told him he didn't need to fast since he was only having his molar taken out. Um, what? Turns out there was a miscommunication somewhere (imagine that!). They suggested having the surgery when he gets back to Cherry Point.

Birthday Antics

I've noticed over the past couple of weeks how difficult it is to do certain things with Mackenzie anymore. Outings that requires a stroller or sitting in a high chair ends up in a power struggle between mother and daughter. On Wednesday my family and I went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. We had the kiddo with us and things started out smoothly. Mac colored, ate her snacks, drank her juice, looked at a book, you get the idea. I know things are heading south when she starts throwing items on the floor. This usually leads to her standing up in the high chair. Yes, she will stand up in it and attempt to crawl onto the table, but not before doing a little, "I'm so cute" dance. I have been very surprised to learn how many restaurants have broken straps on their high chairs. Surely, my child is not the only one that attempts this...right?

Now I must make a decision.

Option #1-Assuming the strap is broken; sit her back down in the high chair and listen to her whine. Sit her back down, again, in the high chair and listen to her whine. Sit her back down, again, in the high chair, listen to her cry and ask the waitress to box up my food because this will go on ALL NIGHT.

Option #2-Let her out of the high chair, knowing the grandparents will help keep an eye on her.

Option #3-This isn't really an option, but I will include it since my witty husband would surely point it out. Ask the waitress for another chair that has a working strap. Now, I will tell you why this isn't really an option at all. I would be required to take Mac out of the chair, and to a 15 month old, this clearly means they are about to be set free. Putting her in another chair AND strapping her in would not end well for anyone. Can you tell our child is a little on the temperamental side?

If I let her out, does she win? Or do I win, because now I can eat and enjoy my glass of wine?

So, which option did I choose?

Duh.....option #2. However, I did draw the line when she attempted to take off her shoes and socks. And since I was a teacher, I must reflect on this situation, to learn what worked and what I would do differently next time. Next time, I will make sure the high chair has a working strap before placing my kid in it.

This video was taken a few months ago, but it shows off Mackenzie's dancing skills she pulled out on my b-day.

Nail Polish and Snow

Has anyone stopped laughing at that picture of Nathan yet? Me either! I am a little nervous though because he vowed revenge on me.

In my last post I mentioned that Mac has some sneaky moments, well, this is what I found her doing this morning.....

Look at that face! It says, "I know I shouldn't be doing this."

Mackenzie had her first real snow experience on Sunday. She loved eating the snow until her hands froze up. The whole thing lasted a total of 5 minutes. Next time we'll be ready with mittens.

That mom

Before I had Mac, and even during my pregnancy, I vowed to myself that I wasn't going to turn into that mom that went out in public looking like she just weathered a tornado. I remember telling Nathan, "I don't understand these women, having a kid doesn't mean you can't put on a matching outfit and still get your hair cut every now and then." Little did I know that having a baby/toddler changes EVERYTHING! It's not that I'm just now realizing this, but as Mackenzie enters the next phase of her life, she is getting to be a sneaky little thing. I certainly don't have time to try on 3 different outfits before leaving the house, nor do I have the time to make sure the back of my hair is straightened just right. And makeup, well, that's for special occasions now.

Last week I had the chance to go to the mall without Mackenzie, and I practically ran out of the house, excited to be alone for a couple hours. It was great, I walked around, enjoyed the holiday decorations, took my time trying on clothes. Not until I was getting ready to leave did I realize that I had macaroni and cheese stuck to the front of my sweatshirt. WHAT?? Had I walked around the entire mall wearing mac n' cheese noodles? Yep, I sure did.



Have I turned into THAT mom?


Oh well, if I'm going to be THAT mom, looks like Nathan can be THAT dad!

Happy Anniversary!

November 18th, 2006, Nathan and I were married

November 18th, 2007, Nathan and I celebrated our anniversary and decided he would apply for Officer Candidate School.

Today, I am celebrating alone with a glass of wine and the flowers my hubby sent.

I am actually okay with the situation, I need to get my feet wet as a military wife and it almost feels like a right of passage. The military has completely changed my perspective on relationships. I can't get hung up on things like a missed anniversary or missed birthday. What's the point? I value the time we do get to spend together, the moments between a father and daughter, the moments that make us a family.

I have selected a few of my favorite pictures from our wedding day.

On a separate note, I checked my hotmail account today and found a newsletter from milblogging.com. I actually found several of them, but was drawn to one in particular. There is a military family in need of prayer and support. While serving in Afghanistan, Captain Rob Yllescas was severely injured by an IED. This family is in the beginning stages of a very long journey. His wife has started a blog to keep family and friends updated. Take a look if you have a chance. http://yllescasfamily.blogspot.com

A New Look

I've spent the past hour trying to update the look of our blog, it takes me a while to make decisions. It's not completely how I want it, but I have a feeling Mac will be waking up from her nap soon so I'm going to stop while I am ahead.

We dropped Nathan and his friend off at the airport this morning. It wasn't as emotional as I thought it would be since we're going to see each other in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. It seemed like every time I was about to cry Mackenzie was running away from us, climbing on something, yelling at the giant stuffed bear, or just being silly. Gotta love that girl. When Nathan entered the security line I told Mackenzie to wave good-bye to dad and she looked up at the 10 foot bear standing to the left of us and started to wave at it. Oh well, I tried.

One of Mackenzie's new tricks is going completely limp when she doesn't want to do something I want her to do. I noticed her doing this a few other times before today, but was hoping it was just a fluke....I was wrong. Give this girl a wide open space, like an airport, and she's off to explore. Whenever I tried to gently guide her back to our seats she would fall to the ground like a wet noodle. Thankfully she wasn't kicking and screaming, I'm sure she's saving that for later when we're in a really crowded mall.

The pictures were taken yesterday at the beach near our house. Cappy is a pretty lazy dog and will sleep about 95% of the day, but something gets into her at the beach and she's ready to play. She even wandered into the water a few times, tried to take a drink, and realized it was salty.

A day at the beach

I think Mackenzie's face shows exactly how I was feeling last Wednesday. We found out that Nathan was to check-in to ATC school on November 18th. Yikes! Not only is that our two year anniversary, it is about 2 months earlier than I was expecting. I'm trying not to be one of those "oh, poor me" kind of girls, so encouraging words are warmly accepted at this point. I knew he would be leaving again (and again, and again, and again) but I thought we would have a little time to meet people and familiarize ourselves with the area. Guess I'll be flying solo on this one.

Here are my observations of the base so far; not as many children as I expected, the playgrounds are usually empty, NO cell phone reception at our house, close to the beach, pretty laid back atmosphere, not a lot of places to shop other than the Super Wal-Mart. Oh, and the restaurant selection is limited, unless you like Bojangles' (famous for their Chicken 'n Biscuits). I think the base will grow on me as I meet more people and become involved with the programs here.

Despite the challenges our family faces, I am thankful for this life and the path we have taken. I feel myself changing, growing. I often have to remind myself that with great challenge, comes great reward. I believe this to be true and have already seen those rewards through relationships and new experiences. So, while the months ahead will be different than I had planned, I know we will be alright.

The pictures below were taken today. It's November and we went to the beach. That's crazy to me, can you tell we're from Indiana?

Here we go again...another move!

Wow, it's almost been two months since my last post. Things have been very hectic around here and since I am short on time I will update you with a few pictures. Nathan and I leave Atlanta this morning and head to Cherry Point. I'll get back to posting once things settle down. Hope everyone is doing well!

Mackenzie waiting for our private tour of The White House.

Still waiting....with a hot, cranky, baby.

Some of Nathan's fellow classmates from TBS that took the tour with us.


Leaving The White House, thanks for the tour Amber!

Mackenzie and I went home to Fort Wayne for a two week visit. I drove past our rental house and found this....over grown ivy, bushes, and weeds. I am happy to say that with a few calls to the property manager things were cleaned up.

We went to the lake for a few days and enjoyed the quiet cottage. Mackenzie wasn't too sure about the sand, as you can tell by her face.

Mackenzie got a new tutu from her Aunt Joyce and....

...she wore it on the golf course. What else do you do with a tutu?

We had the chance to spend some quality time with friends and family. Mackenzie spent most of her evenings running around on the golf course with grandma and grandpa, the neighbors loved us!

Mackenzie and I made the 10 hour trip back to Virginia without any problems. Nathan was glad to have his girls back. We spent the next few weekends sightseeing in DC. Some of our favorites were the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, aka the DC zoo, WWII Memorial, Washington Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial.

"I love this place."


Mac trying to climb into the WWII Memorial.




Mackenzie in Nathan's barracks room.


Nathan and Mac on Warrior Day. Warrior Day was the day before graduation that allowed families to come see what their Marines have been doing at TBS for the past 6 months.

Mac in an amphibious assault vehicle. She looks right at home.

Me with a M249 SAW.


Mackenzie familiarizing herself with a M240 G.

Lt. Richardson and his family. Little Alan and Mackenzie had quite a few dates at the local McDonald's.


Nathan finally graduates from TBS. Congrats!




After graduation we drove down to Cherry Point to check out the base and find a house. This is what we ended up with, who's jealous? We will move again in Feb. to a renovated house.


We moved out of our apartment at the end of October and headed south to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Miller.


"I hate pumpkins."


"Not really, I just hate having my picture taken."

"Meow" says the kitty with high waters on.

Happy Halloween!