Dr. Steven Mills

He is official!!! On Thursday Dec 2nd Steven defended his dissertation with his committee of 4 and passed with flying colors to officially become Dr. Steven Mills (that officially makes me Mrs. Dr Steven Mills) The entire committee was pleased with the dissertation and are encouraging him to make it into a book. We could not be more happy. It has felt in the past that this day would never come but here we are at the end of Steven's PHD program looking for jobs all over the country.

I could not be more proud of him. He has worked so hard over all his years. When we were joking yesterday about calling him "doctor" Miranda said that she would call him Dr. Daddy:)

Great job Steve, you are amazing.

Snow!!

This is the only snow that we have had so far but it is funny how kids get so excited about snow no matter how much there is.

Thanksgiving in Kirtland

We had a wonderful thanksgiving visiting Sherri, Kevin and family.

We got to meet Jennie (Aaron's future wife) The kids loved all the attention and just a change in scenery.

In this house they fry the turkey (it is delicious).

On Wednesday Kevin was able to get us all tickets to a Cavs game. It was fun to go and the end of the game was a buzzer beater win so it turned out great.

At the visitor center in Kirtland village they have a nativity display set up and this is the kids room. They had fun because it was the only room they were allowed to touch anything.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Big 3-0

Steven turned 30!! Last night I threw a big birthday party for Steven for his 30th birthday. I hate to say it but I was really bad about taking pictures because i was worrying about other things. It turned out to be a fun night with lots of friends.

The kids and I made a fun book cake for him. If you can't tell we lined the outside of the cake with chocolate to make it look like a book cover. It was a great night and we had fun. Happy Birthday Steve. You are the most wonderful husband and father.

Blessing Day

He's official and officially handsome. Jackson was given a name and a blessing yesterday. I was a great day and he did wonderful.

Miranda took this picture, she did a great job.

Miranda just loves her picture taken

some friends of ours that moved recently came back to be with us for our special day. I didn't get a picture of all of them but here is Miranda with her friend Benjamin.

Halloween 2010

We had lots of fun on Halloween (Saturday really) We went and did the trunk-or treat at the church. Miranda was a beautiful Cinderella and Jacob a caterpillar. His costume is so bright it almost glows in the dark.

Jackson was a cute baseball player that slept through the whole thing

Miranda had fun doing her hair before and discovered the joins (and the pains) or curlers.

Steven and I did out fall back costumes that we already have, Pioneers(at least we dressed up). We had lots of fun and it was so cute to watch Jacob discover that all you have to do is say trick or treat and people will give you candy.

Jacob is 2!!!

Jacob is a pure joy in our home. He loves to have fun, wrestle and play ball. He speaks so well and he cracks us up each day with the cute things that he says. We love him. Happy Birthday Jacob!!!!!

Jacob loves balls. He can dribble a basketball, throw a football with a spiral, and is just drawn to any balls he sees. I experimented with fondant this year and made this basketball cake. I turned out great and we had fun doing it.

We opened a few presents that night. Steven and I got him a golf club set. I don't have pictures of it(only video) but he is darling with it. We still have seconds thoughts about getting a 2 year old golf clubs but no accidents so far. (cross your fingers)

For his party we carved pumpkins as a family. A good friend of ours gave us some pumpkins this week so it turned out great and we had allot of fun.

Kids, you gotta love 'em

You assume that with a big sister one day the boys will be playing dress up. We did not think that is would be so soon with Jackson.

We got a new dishwasher this month, Yeah. . . . . .

The kids were much more excited about the box.

Miranda got invited to a Fancy Nancy party for a friend of hers. It took a a while to figure out what she was going to wear but check the next picture to see what she decided on.

The party was so fun and the girls had a blast. The moms were invited to come and we all dresses up and had a wonderful "tea party". The mother that put it on went all out and it turned out perfect.

It has been an interesting change in the last few months with all of our best friends moving that had boys Miranda's age and then all these new families move in that we have become good friends with that have girls Miranda's age. We are embracing our girlie side to say the least.

Black Eye

Sibling frustration gone wrong

Who knows, maybe it will look worse tomorrow.

One Month Old

That's right, Jackson is one month old. I know most people say time has flown by but I feel like he should be 3 month by now. It just feels like he is a part of our family and we have had him a while. Jackson has been a wonderful baby, sleeping lots and not to fussy. Miranda and Jacob love him. Miranda is always worried about what he is going to wear each day (the day we took this picture was green day at preschool) and Jacob tries to throw him a ball.

Miranda Update

I am a little behind on this but it is better late then never. Miranda started Preschool and she loves it. She and I have been doing school time at home for 2 years and it was time for her to move on.

She goes to preschool every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the morning. She is always so excited to go and always has something fun to tell me. (even if it is how the boy that has a hard time following rules did that day :)

Last Halloween Miranda decided that she wanted to be Cinderella for Halloween this year and she has stuck with it all year. Because I knew this in advance I was able to ask my mom for help on the project while she was here for us and I am so happy how the dress turned out. My mom got it all done and now I don't have to worry about getting a Halloween costume ready for her. Yeah!!

It turned out so beautiful and Miranda loves it. I am sure you will see more pictures from Halloween when she is all dressed up and her crown is on but I had to show it off a little early.

The most fun thing about this dress is my prom dress is sort of a Cinderella dress and is made out of this exact same material. Miraculously my mom had just enough fabric to make this dress for Miranda. (If I am super diligent at working out from now until then maybe I will wear mine for Halloween as well)

Hula Hula!!

Miranda and other kids in our ward took Hula lessons from a sister in our ward so they could perform it our a local festival, Global Fest. This picture is Miranda and one of her best friends Leah. They did a practice once a week for a few weeks before and the big day was the Saturday after Jackson was born. I braved going out because I just couldn't miss this cute dance.

This is the whole group together, they did a wonderful job. I have video of it but I couldn't get to upload at the moment so you only get pictures.

We love you Miranda you are darling!

Jackson's Birth Story

I figure that I should write down Jackson's birth story and some of you want to know the details so here it is.

To start this story you must know that my first two children both came a few days early so I was planning on this baby coming a few days early, my due date was Aug 27th, because of this assumption my mother came into town to be with us Aug 24th and was planning on leaving Sept 1st.

When my mom got here we started all of our projects that we wanted to get done; a quilt for new baby, a Cinderella dress for Miranda's Halloween costume, and a few mending items. We (more like she) finished everything and no baby yet. I was starting to get frantic, by Sunday all I could think about was when I was going to have the baby because my mom was going home on Wednesday. Through this whole thing Steven was great not to ask to often when I was going to have the baby and make me more anxious.

Thankfully my mother was willing and able to stay one more week so it gave me some time. On Tuesday I had been feeling little tiny contractions all throughout the day and I had a Dr's apt that afternoon. I had progressed a little when the Dr checked me but we decided that it would be worth it to stay and strip my membranes. I will tell you that stripping membranes sounds so much worse then it really is. The fact that they use the word stripping makes it sound so painful but ti was nothing, a little pressure was that worst thing to complain about. Anyway after that I had to sit for 45 min on the monitors just to make sure everything was okay. The great thing about that is I could prove to myself that all the little tightening that I was feeling really were little contractions and not just my imagination.

Well that night while sleeping I was awoken three or four times from contractions that were hard enough to wake me up but nothing followed them so I went back to sleep. At around 5:30 in the morning I woke up to some hard contractions and went downstairs to sit on the couch and watch Steven exercise so that he could help me time my contractions. For one full hour they were about 4-6 minutes apart, because of this Steven thought it was time but they were not hard enough so I told him we needed to wait to call the Dr. Right after that they slowed way down and were only about 20 min apart, and so we wait.
During this whole thing we were still planning on going to an orientation for Miranda's preschool that she was scheduled to start the next week. At first they didn't have time in the morning class so we were going to the afternoon class orientation but at 9:15 we got a phone call that said there was room in the morning class if we wanted it and we could go down to the orientation right then if we wanted to with Miranda. We decided to jump and run, thankfully my mom was there to watch Jacob and Steven and I took Miranda and went. Of course during this whole time I am having contractions on and off so while we are sitting there listening to the teachers I would touch Steven's arm each time I had a contraction and he kept track of the time (I was about 7 min apart at this time).
After all this excitement and a busy morning I still didn't feel like it was time so when we got home we got everyone together and went for a walk. We walked to the park, Steven and I went on and walked further and then back to the park where I proceeded to walk around the park in circles to try and get the contractions to come harder and stronger.
Back home after lunch they were still sporadic but I was getting anxious so I paged my Dr. He called me back quickly and I told him what was going on and trying to decide if it was time when he asked em to just come into his office so the he could check me and see if I had progressed.
By this time I felt like it had to be time (I felt like I had been in labor for two days) so off we went with my hospital bag in hand. Thankfully he checked me and said that I was dilating well and fully effaced so we did need to go to the hospital and he would come after he was done at the office and break my water if I hadn't progressed much further by then.
So that was the plan and that is what we did (except we ran home real quick to get one thing Steven wanted and tell my mom and the kids what was going on). The hospital was waiting for us to arrive and we went upstairs to get my IV, draw a little blood, and sign all the paper work. After they were settled I sat in the recliner and tried hard to relax through contractions. I wasn't to long until Dr. Schafer arrived and I moved over to the bed for him to check me and break my water. I was dilated to a 7 by the time he arrived, he broke my water and then the real contractions started. For any of you who know what i am talking about after the water breaks and the baby does not have a cushion around him you really feel the force of the contractions along with each contraction the more water flowing out of you while the baby moves further down. It really is a crazy feeling but it takes intense concentration to not tense up during that time. Thankfully he was ready to come in less then 30 min, the Dr came in, everything was ready to go and two pushes later Jackson arrived into this world. He is beautiful and healthy, of course the first thing the nurse said that took him was he had huge feet and even Steven confirmed to me that they were bigger then my other kids' feet (which they both had huge feet also).
I was so happy with the experience of it all and I wouldn't change a thing. I was so grateful that i went into labor on my own because both Steven and I love the excitement and anticipation of it all and I prefer it that way. I did tear a little bit but 3 stitches later I was just great and Steven I got some time to sit and enjoy our new son together.
Jackson weighed in at 8lbs 14 oz and 21 inches long. He had a beautiful round head, a crooked nose, and long skinny limbs.
We love him and are so grateful that we has come to us and are also grateful that he is happy and healthy.

He Has Arrived!!

Introducing Jackson Robert Mills!!!

Our bundle of joy is here, born Sept 1st at 8lb 14oz 21 inches long

He is such a great baby

Labor seemed to last for days because I was having very small contractions for days. On Wed (when we had induction schedule for Thursday morning) I had contractions on and off all day and finally it was the real thing
We are happy to have him here and labor went as well and you could ask for. I was at the hospital for about 3 hours before I pushed him out.

All of my children have had very big feet but Jackson beats them all. His feet are so long and skinny. We measured them and from heal to big toe his feet are 3 3/4 inches long. If that does not sound long to you go look at it on a ruler. His feet are large.

Miranda and Jacob could not be prouder. They are so cute with him and love to hug and kiss him.

Because Jackson was so much later then we expected the day that he arrived was originally the day that my mother was going to go home. We are so grateful that she was able to extend her stay with us until this upcoming Tuesday. She has been a great help and we are so grateful for all our family and friends support.

When are you due?

YESTERDAY!
I have never made it to my due date before and I hate to sound like I am complaining but it is no fun. I know that there are plenty of women out there that always go over the due date but I am just not a big fan. I feel like everything is just waiting on me and I am holding things up.( I hate being late for anything so I hate the feeling of people waiting for me)
Each morning I wake up hoping that today will be the day only to go to bed at night disappointed. I have come to feel like I will just be eternally pregnant and that I will never have the baby. In the back of my mind somewhere I know this is not true but some times I can't help but feel that way. I am sorry to all those women out there that always go over their due date and I keep hoping that my day will come SOON!

5K

Last weekend Steven decided to run a 5k race. It was a fund raiser for a former professor in his department and he wanted to support. I laughed at him because he had done no training at all but he did amazing.

This is the start of the race and that is Steve in the back waving.

These are some other friends from his department that ran the race also. We had a great time and the kids had so much fun cheering for people coming across the finish line.

Visitors!

This week we had a great visit with my SIL Tiffany and Nephew Ethan. We didn't have them for every long but we loved seeing them. We took them on Thursday morning to Colombian park zoo here in town and here they are sitting in the tube that goes right through the river otters pool.

The kids loved the monkeys, they were nice and active that morning and we had fun making noises with them and watching them swing around.

The wallaby's are always fun. This wallaby had a little baby in his pouch but I couldn't get a good picture.

Ethan, Miranda and Jacob had so much fun together. It was so great to see you Tiffany and Ethan and we hope we get to see you again soon. We love you, thanks for coming!