So, it's been awhile, as usual...

Hello! Here is your not-so-scheduled baby update! We have spent the last few months fighting colds & ear infections, but for now, everyone is healthy. May brought the babies' first birthday. We had a birthday fiesta, complete with tacos & a piñata. Matthew & Rachel weren't sure what to think, but everyone else had fun. We got lots of baby dolls & blocks, plus some cool water toys. I think the favorite gifts, though, are the wagon from Nana and the water table from Grandma & Grandpa R.

After the birthday, Kris & I barely had time to recuperate--it was back to school for finals, etc., and then we packed for our cruise. We missed the babies a LOT, but we finally got to relax. Nana was kind enough to stay with the babies for the week. While we were gone, she convince Rachel that crawling is for sissies, and when we got back, our baby girl walked up to us. More than one of us shed a tear. So, Rachel has been walking since the first week of June. She can say Blue (the cartoon character--she has no idea it's also a color), Mama, Dada, Papa, Mamama (Grandma), Matt, Cat, ball, baba (for any beverage, not just a bottle), and she can make the sounds of a cow, dog, cat & monkey. She can also pick out those animals plus a few others from the magnets on the fridge. She has great receptive language skills--in other words, she follows commands really well (for now...) She loves to play with her baby dolls & to rearrange the toys in the living room. She will also kiss anything she wants to, including books (which she also daintily turns the pages in as if she's really reading), stuffed animals, and her brother.

Matthew just decided maybe he'd start walking this past week. He still kind of stumbles with his arms out for balance, but it's really cute to see him following Rachel around trying to keep up. He loves to play with blocks, and the tupperware cabinet, and his shape sorter. He can fit all of the shapes into the right holes...and when he does, he claps for himself. It's really cute. He doesn't have a lot of words yet, but he loves to make crazy sounds--by holding a cup up to his mouth & "singing" or by just repeating random syllables over and over and over until someone says "I see, Matthew" in just the right tone of voice. He can do the animal sounds like Rachel, but other words are still hard for him. He's gotten even better at throwing balls, and he's figured out how to swing himself in the swing outside. He loves it!

In another few weeks, Kris & I will be back to school. This year will bring more changes, since the babies will start at a regular daycare 3 days a week, while St. Aunt Jan watches them 2 days a week. They ADORE their Aunt Jan. Also, Kris will start working at Francis Howell Central with me. It will be weird to be in the same building as him, but the savings in time & gas will be amazing. (He was driving an hour each way to Pacific, and FHC is about 7 minutes from our house.) He will be a part-counselor, part-A+ coordinator. A+ is a state sponsored scholarship program, for lack of a better short description for it. ALL kids who meet simple grade, attendance & behavioral requirements get the first two years of community college paid for. It's a great deal, but it takes a lot of tracking & paperwork, which is where Kris comes in.

So, that is the Miller life story in a nutshell. I hope everyone else out there is as happy as we are!