No Kitty!

We got a kitten this summer, a little orange tabby we named O'lantern. He was a fun kitty who was chuck full of spunk. Unfortunatly some neighbor kids thought he was a "stray" because he played in the weeds around our lot...... anyways Jack was very sad about the loss of your kitty and was constantly looking outside the glass doors to see if kitty was there. sad. Anyhow we frequented the shelter to see if he was there... no luck. So we decided to adopt anothe cat. I took jack to the shelter again in hopes of finding a good replacement.. There were lots of cats and they were pretty good, but when I took out a small orange tabby kitten that looked like our old one Jack was in love all over again, and jumping for joy and say "kittykittykittykitty" and doing that funny hand thing he does when he really wants something. Jack loves his kitty and he loves to play and chase her around with his plastic golf clubs. But what he loves very best about kitty is that he gets to boss her around with no consequences.... so if kitty sniffs his tractor she gets a firm "no keee no!" Its great now that mom isnt hoggin all the bossin. So fast forward to today. This is the conversation we kept having today:

"Jack do you want a fruit snack?"

"No KKeeee No"

"Jack do you want to go night night?"
"No KEEEEE No"

As I go to see what he is doing in the pantry arount the corner, he stands up and pushes me back to the living room saying "no keee no!"

Apparently Mom has suddenly become KittyKitty.

More Family Pix

I think i would really love this one:
If my eyes werent like this:

Here is the other option:

I love how this one turned out:
And this one turned out pretty good.

Family Pix

A few weekends ago we went to get the Martin family pictures done. The photographer Marcie Jessee posted some sneak peaks on her blog at http://www.jesseephotography.com/ here is Jack's portrait pic. she asked if i wanted to try a different one but I really like the GQ look of this:Here is the grandkid pic, i really love this one. When we were setting up for it we originally going to have my dad hold baby Avery and mom hold Jack and Oaklee...... then my dad gets suddenly panicked at the thought of holding a little tiny baby and hastily volunteers to hold oaklee. Dont you think it would be easier to hold the sleeping infant?? Funny dad.


Hopefully the our little family pic will turn out.....

so close to the TERRIBLE two's

Yesterday was a day.... boy was it a DAY. Jack has apparently cooped up all his micheviousness for one day..... YESTERDAY. Here are all of our tales from the crib:

1. Jack unplugged the computer and decided I would love it if he scratched up the walls with the metal prongs.

2. Jack had a mouthful of cheezits and spat it out and smeared it all over glass doors.

3. Jack was napping and woke up too soon so I let him cry. Then he started to SCREAM. So I went in to tell him to go night night. I walk in.... He has no pants on..... he has no diaper on... everything is saturated in urine.... he is crying ma ma ma..... and he is trying to hand me his little deer poops..... nap time is over i guess.... time for a tubby.

4. Jack has a purple crayon and draws all over the walls and glass doors......


Thank the high heavens there is no #5, or he might be living with aunt kara or aunt sina. I was sooooo incredibly grateful to get to go to enrichment that night and have some alone time.

Zoo with Grandpa and Grandma

I've noticed lately that I NEVER post pictures of Jack with Grandma and Grandpa Miller.... why is that.... Do I not love them???? No that cant be it. It must be the opposite that we love them just so much we love to go out and visit as much as we can, and its such a normal thing to go play with Grandma and Grandpa that I ALWAYS forget my camera.... thankfully grandma saves us and sends the pictures she takes.

Let me count the ways Jack loves Grandma and Grandpa Miller....

Jack loves his Grandpa. When he is having a bad day and doesn't want to get in the car all I have to say is... Jack lets go see grandpa.... not a second thought he jumps right in. He loves to go on walks with grandpa and to sit on his lap. Grandpa is very clearly the greatest.
Grandpa and Grandma even love us when we pick our nose. Its not okay to pick grandpas nose however. Any good tricks on how to get the child to stop picking his nose???Grandma and Grandpa know just what Jack loves best... cleaning. I know they love him so much that is why they left out their shoes so he could pile ALL of them in the trashcan... then do a little sweeping. Grandma knows Jack best. They are so good to him. Grandma even knows what Jack likes to eat best.. cookies. I need to get a picture with Jack and Grandma. And don't fret tractor pictures will come.

Dan Sleeping with Another Girl....

Got your attention didn't it?? The other day I got an email from my brother in law Eric. This is what it said:

Tiana,

Thought you might want to take a look at this. Then start humming the theme
to Winnie the Pooh. Guaranteed to make Dan smile.

Eric

When Dan was about 14 or so he went to live for the summer with Eric and Amy and work on the farm that Eric worked at. They got up early in the morning and worked till it was too hot in the day (in Arizona) then Dan said he would come home and take a nap with his niece Briauna. Apparently they also watched copious amounts of winnie the pooh. Seriously to this day Dan still quotes winnie the pooh.... Happy Windsday Rabbit....thats his favorite.

Beautiful plants

You know all those BEAUTIFUL plant starts that I grew for me garden.... read their fate:
1. Jalapeno peppers: put out in the sun on a hot day too long and burned to death.
2. Egg Plant: put out in the sun outside the garage... forgot they were their and got ran over.
3. Habanero peppers and sweet peppers: out in the sun yesterday, forgot about them, snow inches last night.. all froze to death.

Its rough being a plant at the miller home.

In other news...

Jack put up the toilet seat and started splashing in the water... super gross.

Meditation on the Sacrament

Love this poem from the April Ensign:

How small a sip of water,
How tiny a crust of bread,
yet in these emblems we are lifted,
in them we are fed.

As we think of Jesus
and the sacrifice he gave,
we feel His constant mercy,
His loving power to save.

~Stevens W. Anderson

Also appreciated this:

A person who sins is like a tree that bends easily in the wind. On a windy and rainy day, the tree bends so deeply against the ground that the leaves become soiled with mud, like sin. If we focus only on cleaning the leaves, the weakness in the tree that allowed it to bend and soil its leaves may remain. Similarly, a person who is merely sorry to be soiled by sin will sin again in the next high wind. The susceptibility to repetition continues until the tree has been strengthened.

It seems so hard sometimes to do the things we ought to be doing. Ill work to focus. I feel the need to better myself.

I've been feeling a little blue about my callings lately. Family History is very important but how can I get that message across to those around me? I'm struggling to find ideas. And nursery has been a little crazy. I love those little children, buts its been hard having 12 little ones to manage. Any help with fun games and activities would be awesome. Ive tried searching online like at sugardoodle and similar sites, but most activities are really hard with too many. I feel like I need a pick me up so I can be a better teacher.

Caught up at last!

Finally Im all up to date. Hope to keep it that way. Ive been posting a lot about Jack. Yes I do realize that. So may be wondering what Dan and I have been up to. Dan we can sum up pretty quickly... tax season. Two words. That was pretty fast. He has been busy busy the last couple of months but the great news it that in 3 days taxes will be over and Jack and I can get to know who Daddy is again. Also Dan recently became the Elders Quorum President, lol, yeah he was pretty overwhelmed at first by the thought of it all, he was totally sick to his stomach the day we went to see the stake president for a "get to know you interview." Ya dont ever fall for that line. We knew something had to be up when our highcouncilman came to our house for a "get to know you visit" then we got called in a couple weeks later for a "get to know you interview." Dan is so patient and kind and smart I know he will do a great job and I know he really strives to follow the spirit and I hope I can be a help to him. He is a wonderful man and I love him. Thank you Charles and Diane for raising your children the way you did. (Im sure Cammie, Kim, Amy, Torrie, Aaron and Josh will agree). So what have I been up to? A little of this...
Growing starts for me garden this year. Im really wanting to gear up for the summer. Major cabin fever going on here. I've been reading a bit, my awesome sil Torrie invited me to her book club and I LOVE it, its so nice to have and intellectualy stimulating conversation sometimes. I've been busy with nursery I currently have 12 little hoodlems that I really enjoy. Kids really say the darndest things, I love being Iter Miller (as opposed to sister). I've also been working on some genealogy. Mostly indexing right now but I really need to hop back on the New Family Search bandwagon. Our Stake President asked our stake to index 1 million names. I was pretty blown away by that when he said it but our stake and ward have been working so hard and we are well on our way to 1 million. I know we will be blessed for doing this. Its a great way to serve others. Ive also been doing some babysitting here and there. I had a great birthday with family. Kara even made me a cake. It was great. I've also been trying to start up the piano again and do some couponing. Basically that is what I do when Im not taking care of Jack (so basically after 7 pm) and cleaning. Im thinking about going to the Idaho Falls Library book club to, anyone do that as well or hear anything about it? And I was wanting to take Jack to the toddler story time at the library, anyone know about that? Kara was also kind enough to teach me how to make strawberry jam, we made 34 containers of freezer jam, we started at 6pm and ended at 9pm, WHAT WERE WE THINKING? We also celebrated passover this year with friends again. We mixed it up a bit and did a nephite passover with tortillas instead of matzah and cilantro instead of parsly, it is always a really fun time and a great way to prepare for easter and to think about the events that led up to the crucifixion and resurrection. It really helps me focus on Christ and not so much the Easter Bunny, I hope as my children grow it will also help them. Im sure more has been happening but thats a good little jot right now.

Easter

Easter was great. I love that it was on conference and that my Bday was the day before. Made for a pretty great weekend. To me conference really seemed to focus on service and parenting. The two really go hand in hand. Dont you think? But there is no better subject than selfless service on Easter. It could not be more fitting. The Savior who loved us all so much and served us in the greatest way possible. I hope to be better at serving others and to be better at being a mother while I serve my child and try to teach him what is right by what I say and what I do. I love my family, my parents are wonderful as are my inlaws. Dan and I could not be more blessed. I hope you had a great easter as well.



Jack enjoyed Easter, He is a silly boy and really into cleaning up things lately. And as you can tell he is a boy through and through. A boy is a boy is a boy is a boy. Honestly that whole nature vs nurture debate, I can tell you a boy is simply born ALL boy. On a side note I was driving to rigby today and Jack noticed some tractors out on a farm, he freaked out repeating OO OOO OOO OOO and pointing. He was so excited.

My Little Prodigy

I am SSSOOOO not the artsy fartsy type. I wish I was. But alas the talent in that area is pretty mute. But Jack he might have a glimmer of hope...

Look He can color too. Isn't he amazing?Although he is quick to applaud himself. Still working on the humility thing.Whew! Its tough work being an 18 month old prodigy. {Jack please contain the drool.. the piano is electric and your going to send it into a fritz.}

Am I a Bad Mother?

Am I? We were practicing drinking from a cup. I swear I would only put in 2 cm of water each time. And EVERY time he took a drink he was completly suprised there was water in the cup. You would think he would anticipate that sort of thing after awhile right? Nope. Obviously he didn't because by the time I videoed him he was already sopping wet.

Daredevil? or just terribly confused?

I think we can all be glad he wont be driving for a few more years. But with a little guidance from mom it might work out in the end.....

Utah man... again.

"I don't like Utah," Hall said after the game. "In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, I hate their fans, I hate everything." ~Says BYU quarterback Max Hall.

Really Max? Now come on, how can you say you hate this face? And how can you hate the drool bomb dripping down his chin? Really?

Snow Days and Summer Hays?

We finally let Jack discover the snow. Pictures speak louder than words.
{I'm running on ice. This is awesome.... but not so much with a scratched up forehead I got later that day after my first triple axel double lutze (or should it be clutz).}
{Now this is exciting I can actually wade through here.}
{Ah nuts. Now I'm really stuck.}
{And in other news, while the world is cover in flakes we thought we would do some indoor training with a little mowing.... down the stairs.}

How to make a mess and clean it up too....

Alright ya'll heres the very first guide to "how to make a proper mess of things for dummies." And volume II "How to clean it up II."

• First you must know the proper way of folding laundry. Quite simple.

• Next you need to eat a healthy portion and massage it thoroughly in your hair.
• Yes very good. Your really starting to get the hang of it.
• Onto baking. This one can be a bit tricky. First you have to find the right material, pry open the container, and scatter it in nice even swishing movements with your arms.
• Great Smile! I can tell you are really enjoying yourself.
  

Moving onto how to clean it up too..

• First things first. To become a janitor you need to work on the art of creating the perfect plumbers bum. So scratch your back and push down your unders while you get that itch and forget to pull them back up.
• There we go. PERFECT.
• Now find you mop and hold your back and stick out your gut and figure out what this thing does.
• Yes thats right. You've got it now. Strike a pose. Super Janitor here to save the day.
• 
  

Congrats you have just completed your first crash course on making a mess and cleaning it up too. Hope this will help in your endeavors.

On a side note, my son is totally obsessed with cleaning. He loves the mop, broom, and mostly the vacuum. He likes to dust as well. Or as we call it "wipe wipe." But what really gets me is his affinity toward cleaners. Seriously I cannot clean around this child. For example when I dust off the table and wipe it quickly he will then come and lick the table and suck on it. Another example when i clean the glass doors... I have to spray and wipe as fast as I can... and yet, he will lick the door. If you leave a wipe laying around he will grab it and try to suck all of the "juice" out of it. He is a sick and twisted little child. He is the pickiest eater in the world but OH OH dust stuff tastes great. What was I thinking?

Aunt Kim

Jack LOVES and ADORES his aunts. Seriously whenever they are around Mommy is pretty much chopped liver. Whenever Aunt Kim is close by Jack loves to be with her. I just dont know what it is about Aunties but Jack loves them tenderly. Do you think he's smart enough to do math? Aunties + Jack= Much needed sugar. I think he might.You can be the judge....

Oh Holy Night...

I love Christmas. Anyone that knows me at all know this. It was so much fun this year to enjoy Jack terrorizing the tree. We are so lucky to have our Savior whom we can celebrate and remember.
Gram and Papa came to Idaho to make sure we had our christmas tree up and that Jack was making a sufficient disaster of the tree. And he was! They brought him his first puppy dog. And I am so glad that skippy is hypoallergenic. But what really lit up Jack's eyes was the 5, yes thats right 5, need to read it again 5, 5, 5 pound bar of herseys chocolate that Papa picked out for Jack. You would not believe how giant that things was. To say the least I did not feed him all five pounds :) but we did melt it down and with 4 pounds of pretzles we had treats for many neighbors. Gram and Papa got back from South Africa and brought back dad and awesome club mom over the head weapon used by Zulu warriors.
I bet you can finish the ending of that story.
We had a fun time staying with Josh and Suzie and going to see temple square and the lights. Here we are pictured under the temple square UTE tree.
It was pretty chilly.
I honestly think the temple has the most slendor during Christmas. And I bet most people would agree.
And this is our failed attempt at a christmas picture. Notice Jack is plugging his ears. He has some jealousy issues when it comes to Oaklee so whenever she was near, or even aunt patty, he would plug his ears like they were some huge nusance. Since then he has gotten a bit better about her. Altough recently when she was resting peacefully in her bouncy he did try to rocket launch her into space. But I think that might just be a facade... he has been know to shower her with sweet kisses.

Christmas morning with Daddy. It was a blast. We had Dan's parents come over for finnan haddie breakfast and it was delicious. Christmas is even more magical when you can share it with the ones you love and watch your children enjoy.

Legends of the Fall

Here we are in the fall time. Just some random happenings...
Jack is still a guru of chocolate.

Jack has a real love for bears. Not animals. Bears. You can give him a stuffed moose or horse and sure they are acceptable. But if you give him a bear the horse is swiftly thrown to the side and left in the gutter forgotten. And the bear in all his bear glory is received by ample hugs and loves and pets and plenty slobbery kisses.

I just love hooded towls.

We have been busy growing teeth. We are now up to 8 in the front with 2 molars finally coming in!

And here is Mommy's little buckaroo.

Kids dont develop issues from drinking excessive amounts of bath water.. right? I mean we all turned out ok? right?
And of course this past fall Jack mastered the art of walking...no walking backwards... no wait.... running. Run for the hills.. (thats for you suz).