Chubby Cheeks

Some of our favorite people moved to Connecticut a couple of years ago. We miss them so much. Since they left, they have added a new bundle of joy to their life. We finally got to meet sweet Caroline Grace! She is so stinkin cute. She was so much fun and it was great to see Sharon too!

She was all about loving on Shane. A certain little girl was not too big on Caroline Grace being her mommy's lap. At least Daddy got some snuggles in.

Visiting Joe Bill & Mamaw Jeannie

One Saturday Hannah Claire and I were having a mommy/daughter day. We ventured over to visit my grandparents. Hannah Claire had a blast visiting with Joe Bill and Mamaw Jeannie. She practiced her piano skills (I remember doing the same thing when I was a wee little one).

Joe Bill showed her a few tricks and Hannah Claire was eating it up.

She also got her loving (and tickling) from Mamaw Jeannie.

It was a great day for mommy & daughter.

Chuy's

I just found some pictures on our little camera from earlier this summer. We met some friends at Chuy's one night for some yummy dinner. Hannah Claire always has fun seeing Ansley. After dinner we went outside so the kiddos could see each other some. They had fun playing together. Hannah Claire shared her gummies with Ansley. Now if you know HC you know she doesn't share her gummies with just anyone. Sadly, Ansley does not share the same love for the gummies that HC has.

Then the girls played keep away. Well, Ansley would keep the crayon away from HC and giggle. Hannah Claire thought it was hilarious.

Ever since dinner that night, Hannah Claire asks to see Ansley's picture on Facebook every morning. Sweet girls!

6 Years of Wedded Bliss

August 28, 2004 - The day we started our life together as husband and wife. They say if it rains on your wedding day it is good luck. I'm not sure about all of that but just in case we are covered. We were suppose to get married outside under this beautiful arbor at the Botanical Gardens in Huntsville. We ended up moving the ceremony inside to the Arbor Room. It was beautiful and perfect despite the change of plans. We have not been back to the Botanical Gardens since. We started a new tradition this year for our anniversary. We are going to alternate years planning what we do. I planned our weekend trip this year. It was a surprise where we were going (although Shane guessed it I never admitted it to him). We left Friday and headed up to Huntsville where we met Nana & Pappy so that Hannah Claire could spend the weekend with them. We had a great weekend spending time together and focusing on the next six years. Shane even got a surprise trip to the primer of "Game Changer". What we didn't know was that the producers would be watching the premier with us. It was lots of fun.

On Saturday morning we headed over to the Botanical Gardens. It was great visiting where it all happened. Although we couldn't get into the Arbor Room at first because of the reptile show. No thank you!!!! So we ventured around the gardens. We even stopped to take pictures where we had them made six years ago. Cheesy but fun. This picture is the one that hangs over our mantel. Love it!

Of course we got married the weekend before football season starts, like all good southern football fans. Even the Botanical Gardens got in on the action. Roll Tide!

Honey, we shrunk ourselves. HA! HA!

After our tour we tried the Arbor Room again. This time they were setting up for a cooking class. One of the guys took a picture of where we actually got married at. It is blurry, which makes me sad, but it is better than reptiles. :)

I am so thankful for the man God has sent for me to spend my life with. Shane is the best husband and dad a girl could ask for. I love him more and more everyday. Thank you Shane for being the spiritual leader of our house. That means the world to me and Hannah Claire. I look forward to many many more years together!

What a Busy Month

August has been a big month for the Miller home. We started working real hard on potty training. Hannah Claire has been talking about potting all the time and even gone some but nothing consistent. Finally we spent a pretty intense weekend working on it. We kicked off Saturday morning with a new chart for stickers and some big girl panties (Dora and Minnie) that she picked out. Every time she went potty she got a sticker and some M&M's. She did an awesome job the whole weekend.

Monday when I picked Hannah Claire up from school she had not gone at all in the potty. I had a talk with her teacher and we decided to send HC in her big girl panties the next day. She did AWESOME! She had one accident but her teachers told us they forgot to take her on time. She did great the rest of the week and only had one other accident. I am so proud of her and she just keeps getting better everyday. She even has stopped going when she has on a pull-up. Here is Hannah Claire's potty chart when we first started. It is now covered in stickers and we have stopped using it because she prefers to put stickers on every piece of furniture we own and the floor.

Our other project for this past month was moving up to a big girl bed. We tried earlier but the toddler rail screws were too big for the hole in the crib. After lots of calls and emails to the manufacturer they finally sent out a "furniture medic" to fix the hole so that it will convert safely back to a crib. Crazy! Poor Hannah Claire would ask everyday for over a week about her big girl bed (since she had to step over it in the kitchen). Finally she was able to see her new bed with her absolute favorites, nummies (gummies)!

"Big Girl Bed!!!"

Of course HC had to try it out.

She was fired up for bedtime.

We are so blessed by such a smart girl. She did great at transitioning to her big girl bed. We went for about a week of getting up around midnight and coming to Daddy & Mommy's room. We would lead her back to her room and she would go back to bed. We told her about the "big girl secret" that only kids who sleep in big girl beds know. You all know what I'm talking about, where you have to wait on Mommy or Daddy to come and get you out of bed. She is really good at keeping the secret and will now yell "Daddy, Daddy". August was a big month and we could not have asked for it to go more smoothly. We love you so much Hannah Claire!

Bling Bling

We made a trip to visit Mawmaw & Pawpaw a couple of weekends ago. We had a great time and ate some yummy food. Hannah Claire got to play with some of Mawmaw's jewelry. She was in hog heaven. She admired the beautiful rings.

She danced around.

She is just plain silly.

All of the excitement wears a girl out. It's tough being so glamourous.

New Class & 27 Months

Everyday Hannah Claire is doing or saying something new. She is a pure delight to be with. She is such a ham, always trying to make people laugh. She went through a shy spell but that is most often a thing of the past. August 9th was a big day for Miss Hannah Claire. Not only did she turn 27 months but she moved up to the 2 year old class at school. We took some pictures before she left for school. I just love that sweet face and those beautiful blue eyes!

HC was fired up to get started in her new class. All of her classmates moved up and they also added some kids from the older toddler class. She also got to keep Mrs. Karen as a teacher and add Mrs. Wendy. Plus her new class is huge with all new toys!

After school Hannah Claire got some red chair pictures. She really looks like a little girl now.

One of her favorite games these days is peekaboo, although it sounds more like "buckaloo".

We also measured her height on the growth chart. Wow, we have grown a lot in the last three months.