January-February-March, '12

 Welcome to Spring!

  

Compared to previous posts this one will be semi-short & sweet!  While the last three months have been eventful we have actually been pretty low-key.  Calendar hasn't been quite as crowded with events and honestly it has been nice!  We've been able to be home a little more and spend a little more time relaxing and doing things around the house.

Steve's list of things that need fixing & attention is quite long and so we find ourselves trying to be present more so he can have the time he needs to check things off.  It's not happening as quickly as he'd like I'm sure but we'll get there!

First Piggies

  Gracie is still amazing us daily and her little (BIG) personality is blooming.  She is incredibly independent and definitely knows what she wants!  Not a bad thing but it does create some issues when you want to get out of the house and she wants to wear the flip flops but it's 52 degrees out and flip flops will just not do.  She's enjoying school and learning so much!  Her favorite thing as of late has been the planets.



She will name them in order from the sun for you and tell you little facts about each one as well.  Daddy has a Uranus car in case anyone was wondering.  She absolutely loves being outdoors and we try to get out as much as we can.  Another great thing we love about her school is their focus on outdoor play.

They do lots of nature walks and I love getting her home at the end of the day, giving her a great big hug and sucking up that "you've been outside playing all day" smell.  Ahh the little things.




OK - so now that we've kind of caught up a bit - here's what we've been up to since January.
We had a great visit with my sister Pam -

They had a little craft time and we all really enjoyed having her here.  Nice to be able to see her every so often.

Couple weeks later Steve and I took my brother Stephen to the Monster Jam show!  It was fun & we all had a good time.  We did wish there had been more wrecks though - since that's the best part of the show!

February brought just as little snow as January did but we did still manage to have enough to make a snowman...pathetic as he may look - ha.

We were also able to get in a snowboarding trip.  We went for Steve's birthday and while most of it was man-made it did actually snow that day and it was beautiful. My sister Jess was able to come with us and that made it even more fun.
We always have such a good time with Jess!





Couple weeks later we got a visit from my Aunt Sabrina & her husband Greg.  I cannot begin to express how nice it was to have them up.  It's difficult for Steve and I to get down to FL to see everyone as often as we'd like to especially since we started our family but when we get visits from family it's always very special.
Here are a few pictures from their visit:

We made the most of every single day and Gracie had a great time with Aunt Bina and Papa as she called Uncle Greg.  We got a kick out of that.  We think she called him Papa because his beard was white like Papa Maxwell's.  Too cute.  Bina, Greg and I got to spend a day in DC and while we were nonstop we did manage to fit quite a bit in.  

After that came Ms. Jillian's birthday.  She did a bowling party and Gracie got to bowl her first game!  She LOVED it.  She has since asked multiple times to go bowling and she loves pushing the ball down the ramp.

  I think she had a better score than me last time!

March was relatively low key.  Kimmie, Robert, Nene and Gabriel all came up for a visit.  It was so wonderful to see her and spend time with the kiddos.  Again - it is rare that we get to visit them so we really enjoyed the time.  Nene is growing up so fast and has to be one of the sweetest lil ladies we know.  She is so tender hearted and thoughtful and really all around just a good girl.

Gabriel has grown so much since we last saw him too!  Cannot believe he is almost a year old already - yet just another reminder of how quickly the time passes.  His eyes are so bright and his smile lights up the room.  He is a sweetie as well.  Little snuggle-bug.
The visit was far too short but we did enjoy it and can't wait for the next one!

Steve finally had to bid adieu to his truck.  It has served us well over the last ten years but too many things were starting to come up and we decided that with him taking Gracie to and from school most days we needed to ensure he had a reliable vehicle.  Being stuck on the side of 695 with a 2 year old is most definitely not a situation we wanted him to encounter!  After much discussion and test driving we (he) decided on the Subaru Impreza.  He loves it and we love that we don't have to worry about a mechanical disaster!

We'll end this post with our biggest news since our last post: as most of you know, the Miller family is expanding as we are expecting again!

Our new little Lovie is due to arrive towards the end of August and we truly could not be happier.  Here are the latest pics of our little one - who clearly already looks quite a bit like Daddy!



So cool to be able to "see" them in utero and get a picture of that beautiful face.  Can't wait to kiss those lil cheeks and snuggle him/her!  Anyway - that's our latest & greatest!  We hope you all are enjoying the early spring as much as we are and looking forward to an amazing summer.
See ya in June!

Love to all!
Ally, Steve, Gracie, lil Lovie to be & Tabi

Lil Leggies

 

   Here's a few extra pics we thought we'd share...

Hanging with Aunt Jess

Fun with Food

Cooking Class (in her Dora dress...)

Practice...

Practice..Practice

Sunshine!

Silly Faces

Nature Hike

St. Patty's Day Fun!

Snack Break

    

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:

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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!

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

I'm Ready!

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   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.