Miller-Times

Welcome to 2012! Happy New Year to you!

It's time again for the Miller update. And believe me there is lots to report on! We (as usual) have been quite busy over the last three months. And of course having a ball all the while. October was busy with outdoor play and parties galore.

October began with one helluva party. The wedding of my high school friend Robby and his amazing wife Sara. We had an absolute blast!

After that we were headed to the great outdoors! Camping. The weather was wonderful and Gracie of course was in the thick of it all and wanted to help every step of the way. SO - she did. Tabi did too.

Steve has really set off on his running career and decided to take part in the Baltimore Running Festival this year. He did a half marathon! Well - sort of. He and three other people took part in the half marathon relay race. Ultimately that means that he ran a total of 7.3 miles. Dad did really well and we were super proud of him. We even managed to find him in the SEA of people that were running this race:

After that we decided it was high time for a Mom/Dad solo trip. We were headed to NY for a long weekend full of great wine, great food and adventures! At the last minute Grandma hurt her back and was unable to cover Gracie. So we took her with us! We made the most of it and all had a really great time. This included checking out a lot of new places including the Central Park Zoo and taking Gracie to FAO Schwartz for the first time! Daddy also treated Gracie and I to a pedicure before we left town. It was Gracie's first and she loved every second of it! While we would have enjoyed our weekend away - we have a lot of wonderful memories as a result of having her with us and I don't think Steve or I would trade that for anything. Here are a few snapshots from our weekend there.

Central Park Stroll

First steps into FAO Schwartz

Peek a Boo Bunny

Playing at the Central Park Zoo

Hanging out in the Irish Pub

Peek a Boo Mom!

Lil' Tootsies

First Pedicure!

As you may or may not know, Theresa our incredible neighbor who has been watching Gracie since she was about 4 months old let us know that she would be needed to take care of her Mother come the New Year. As a result we needed to find a preschool for Gracie. We had looked at many places before we found Theresa and the thought of revisiting them and placing her in a "center" was not appealing at all. So I decided to do another search. I came across a place called Hunt Valley Country Day. Their emphasis on outdoor play and the environment appealed to me so we set up a meeting with the Director and fell in love. Gracie started "school" on the 31st of October and has come home with a huge smile on her face everyday since then. We started her off at 3 days a week until the start of the New Year and now she is full time. She LOVES her teachers and brings us lots of pretty pictures and wonderful stories. We couldn't be happier with our choice and the smile she wears home from school reassures us that we made the right choice. Can't say enough about the school & their staff, etc. Anyway - here are some pictures and a very cute video of Gracie's first day of school - which just so happened to be Halloween! Party day!

Trick or Treat!

Add caption

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

I'm Ready!

Add caption

My sister Pamela got married in November. It was again one helluva party! We all had a really, really great time. Aunt Jess was a huge help since both Steve and I were in the wedding. Gracie did really well considering what a long day it was and she danced circles around most of the people there - literally!

Now it was time for us to plan Gracie's 2nd Birthday. We blinked and suddenly two years have passed. It's really unbelievable how quickly time has gone by since our little lady arrived. We have really tried to enjoy every second with her since then and those who keep up with us know just how busy we are. It's been a ton of fun though and this would be no different. Gracie, lucky gal that she is - was able to have two birthday's! My Mom & Step dad were up for the wedding and spent the following week with us. She got to have birthday cake a few days early and practice her candle blowing skills out beforehand. She did great! For this birthday - we were lucky enough to have Steve's parents up from Florida - both sets of them! They were all a huge help and we definitely could not have pulled it all off without them. Here are some pics from her special day:

We had Steve's parents with us the week following her Birthday. We did quite a bit while they were in town and Gracie loved every second of it. Most of you know by now that Gracie is REALLY into Thomas the Tank Engine. That being said - since we live quite close to Strasburg Railroad we decided it would be fun to take her to SEE Thomas. Strasburg Railroad has a pretty neat set up there. You can ride on the train and then they have of course lots of shops, etc. We had a really great time and she LIT up when she saw Thomas. Well worth hour & a half drive for the ten minute train ride.

Where are we Grandpa?

She didn't even cry when the Conductor took her ticket! Great day.

After the train adventure we made our way down to the National Harbor to see Madagascar in ICE! What an incredible display! We were so impressed with the carvings and enjoyed seeing Gracie in her big blue parka! She was hysterical walking around in that thing. She looked like the kid from the Christmas Story all bundled up. I guess I shouldn't poke too much fun - because we all sort of looked like that! She was just much cuter.

They even had slides made from ice. That was Gracie's favorite part - even if she got stuck halfway down!

After all the ice sliding we had a really nice dinner on the Harbor. Gracie decided to make friends with the bartender...Grandpa and Daddy had to talk her away after he finally had to cut her off.

Next up was Thanksgiving. Steve and I were able to get up & head out for the Turkey Day Gobble Cobble 5k since Grandpa & Grandma were still in town & able to watch Gracie. It was a great start to a great day. We had lots of family there to share the meal with and what a meal it was! Special thanks again to you Mom for coming up & cooking for everyone. Really had a lot of fun "hosting" Thanksgiving at our place.

After Thanksgiving Steve and I were ready to dive into the Christmas holiday! We tried to make sure we did it all! We did carols, cookies, decorated, made Christmas crafts and much, much more!

It was a very busy time for us but we made the most of it as we usually do and had a fun filled December.

Getting Crafty

Enjoying the finished product!

In the midst of all the Holiday prep we decided to venture back up to NY to visit with Uncle Roc & Family and of course Grandpa & Jane. We had a lovely time as we usually do and have already begun planning our Spring trip.

Hi!

And then came Christmas before we knew it. We did a small Christmas at home and then headed down to Virginia to Mom & Dads. We were able to relax a bit and just hung out for a couple of days. Gracie had a blast opening up the presents and enjoying all things Christmas (cookies, cakes, pies...) She enjoyed it so much that when she woke up the next day and came downstairs she turned to me and asked - "Where's Christmas?" I have a feeling it may very well be her favorite holiday. We'll end this update with pics from Christmas. Once again a very Happy New Year to you!

Love to all - Ally, Steve, Gracie & Tabi