Notes from the Mills Symphony

Sam's Bedtime Routine

2011-09-30T14:19:00.003-06:00

Lately Sam has been leaving his room at bedtime and walking into the Living room to grab a puzzle and then go to his room and play with it for a little while. He'll then go back to the Living room and grab another puzzle and will repeat this over and over. It's so funny! I just laughed so hard when I saw him doing this.

Now to the reason I posted this picture. Last night instead of doing his usual ritual, he decided to read some books on the couch. When Mike came out to lay his clothes on the couch for the next day he noticed his door was open and there was no Samuel in his room. He then went looking for him. He could not find him for a little bit. Finally upon closer inspection of the couch he noticed Sam sleeping sitting up with books in his lap! He comes running into the room laughing and he tells me where Sam is at. I then go out and couldn't see him at first. Now you have to realize he's wearing blue jammies and sitting on a blue couch and it was pretty dark. No lights. So he sure blended in. I thought Mike was just joking, but of course when I looked closer sure enough there he was sleeping.

Sam we love you and all the laughs you bring to us!

Laughing Fun With Evelyn

2011-09-30T13:39:00.003-06:00

It's so funny what babies will laugh at. Always the most random things.

And yes, Mike does burp half way through. Ev looks confused... :)

Fun time with Cousins

2011-09-03T20:29:00.005-06:00

We are all so grateful to have had so many family visits lately. Kerrie and her boys were here for about a month and then Adam, Tezsia, and their boys were here for a few days. Sam had a blast with all of his cousins.

Sam and his cousin, Cam

Once Cam was done with their game, Sam discovered a way to continue. It was so much fun, Kanyen decided to join in.

Sam and Kanyen, had a grand ol' time popping bubbles together. Oh so cute!

San Diego Family!

2011-09-03T20:04:00.004-06:00

I wanted to make sure I put the most important pictures on. Good family time. Grandma, Grandpa and cousins. I can't believe how big Bryce and Brian are. Brian was so good with Sam when they were swimming in Grandpa's pool. Melissa is still just as gorgeous and it was good seeing all the family. Grandma looks amazing! Had a little bout there where she wasn't so great, but she got what she needed and was back on track. I love my family and I'm so grateful again for Liz letting us tag along with her to go visit everyone there. Oh and if you haven't noticed they're not the best. But they're perfect to me. It shows how we really are day to day. And Sam wouldn't smile of course. :)

San Diego Fun!

2011-09-03T19:08:00.007-06:00

SEA WORLD!

I can drink out of a bottle. :)

Shamu show was really cool!

I got to sit with mommy all day. I mainly slept, but I finally took a peek. I'm so happy!

SAN DIEGO ZOO!

Sam sure does not like smiling. But Liz's girls sure know how to ham it up!

The Panda's were everyone's favorites. They're so cute!

NEW CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!

I was going to sit in my seat, but I threw a big enough fit that mommy held me most of the time. I'm so smart. :)

Sam loved the big chalkboard! He could have been there all day....

...Until he found this treasure!

THE BEACH

I'm sleeping...

I'm chowing!

... Not for long though! ;)

Again I do not smile mom! Stop making me. :)

California was a great vacation. Mike was missed though. He had to stay home and get things ready for school and still work at Discover card. Thank you Liz for making this possible. It was a good break from all the monotonous. Sam had a blast! Loved spending time with his aunt and cousins. And Ev, she slept a lot, but she had fun too.

4 Months and Beyond!

2011-08-15T12:22:00.003-06:00

Evelyn is now 4 months old and she is quite the chunker. She's getting so big. She rolls over every once and awhile, but prefers her back and just moving around on her back. Making circles or just ending up in a completely different spot. She's way interested in toys now and reaching out for them. She's getting to be so big and is a very happy, smily, laughy baby!

Sam is talking so good now. He puts at least 3 or more words together now. And you can pretty much understand most everything he says. It makes it very nice. He's very helpful with Evelyn. Always giving her hugs and kisses and giving her her binky to calm her down. He's such a good big brother. He's very considerate and is always helping mommy and daddy out. So big!

Mike is starting his school orientations this week and is getting really excited to start teaching choir! He went on retreat with his ovation choir and he had a blast and you can just tell he's way excited for it. He started one of the songs there and he just felt at home. He can't wait for more time with them and just doing what he loves.

As for me I'm just doing the same old stuff. Being a mom. Doing the laundry, cleaning the house, and most importantly and the best, taking care of my beautiful children. There's really nothing new with me. I'll have to start getting things ready to start moving. That is a daunting task. One I look forward to, but also don't look forward to. If you know what I mean. ;)

Life is great in the mills' home and we're a happy bunch. Hope life is good for all of you!

Changes!

2011-05-30T18:47:00.003-06:00

First off, Mike has accepted an offer to teach the high school and middle school choirs in Morgan!! We are so excited and cannot wait for him to embark on this new adventure!

Morgan is an hour away and Northeast from here. So that means we are going to be moving. We are excited to move to this small town and we already feel very welcome because everyone has asked if we need any help. Got to love small towns. :) So our house is on the market and here's to hoping that it sells really fast.

We had been searching for so long and now that we know this is where we're going it all feels right and good. We know this is what we were waiting for. It's amazing how things will always fall into place when they need to. We also feel like it's the place we need to raise our family. We know it's not the best time to sell, but we know it's right and we'll be taken care of as long as we trust in our Heavenly Father. He will do and give what we need.

So here's to our new adventure! Wish us luck!

Just a little FUN!

2011-05-10T20:28:00.008-06:00

Mike had the day off and so I decided to take some pictures. We were just having fun and laughing. I will always cherish days like these. :)

I wonder what Sam is thinking?

Help! My dad is torturing me with love!

Okay I love my daddy! And I love this photo!

I think my son just might be trying to strangle me? And I'm happy about it?

I had to hold him there, but he thought it was so funny!

So in return he had to hold me still. :)

Just some fun on Mom and Dad's bed!

I really am trying to smile mom. Really!

Didn't make it to bed yet again. Or maybe he meant to since he's using Elephant as a pillow. Also notice his shirt. He has attempted putting his shirt on fully this time.

Oh, I guess he didn't quite make it. :) One arm through the head hole. hehe.

And backwards. He's so cute!

So content!

Oops! Spoke too soon.

Or perhaps not. That was quickly passed over. Just gas! ;)

And finally PROOF that my little girl smiles in response to your smile. Isn't it just adorable!

One Month

2011-05-07T20:22:00.002-06:00

Can you believe Evelyn is one month old now? She is getting so big! Time has absolutely flown by. I just wanted to post on here her stats.

Weight: 9.9 lbs

Length: 22 3/4 in.

She's gained two pounds since birth and grown 2 3/4 inches. She's been having so many growth spurts. She sleeps really good for us and last night she made her first 5 hour stretch. Yay! She also is doing really well with holding her head up and she already smiles in response to your smile. She has an absolutely adorable smile. I still have yet to get it on camera because you never have your camera when you really need it right? But life is great and Evelyn is a joy to have.

Graduation!

2011-05-07T20:01:00.002-06:00

As most of you know Mike graduated in December from the University of Utah in Choral Music Education. Yesterday he walked and it was absolutely amazing to see him accomplish this wonderful goal. We're all so proud of him! So a little funny joke... Mike has a BM and his tassle is brown, so if you put two and two together BM stands for Bowel Movement and well we all know bowels are brown. So it seemed to fit right together. We all had a good laugh about that when we were at the little get together at mom's. We want to thank everyone who has helped Mike attain this goal and thank you to all that shared in his moment of joy yesterday. We love you all.

Easter!

2011-05-05T18:52:00.007-06:00

EGG COLORING!!

Sam loved coloring the eggs!

Finished eggs. Mike had to get a Cubs egg in there.

EASTER HUNT!!

He had so much fun looking for the eggs and he actually somewhat understood it.

EASTER OUTFITS!!

ATTEMPTED SIBLING PHOTOS :)

Easter was really great this year. Evelyn brought so much joy to our family and Sam had so much fun. Every holiday is getting more and more enjoyable. He loves his book about Jesus that he got. We hope we can teach him the true meaning of Easter so that he'll know and really appreciate its meaning. Easter was a joy!

Evelyn & Samuel

2011-05-04T13:14:00.006-06:00

I thought I'd put a few pictures of Evelyn and Samuel on here so you can see how big they're getting.

I'm 2!

He still finds these odd places to fall asleep. :)

Yes, that's his diaper and the shorts are on backwards. My son the low rider. Apparently it's too hard to pull pants up over his diaper.

Yet again. :)

I love to smile!

Hmm... I'm thinking...

I'm so cute!

What up yo?

Comfortable?

2011-05-04T13:08:00.003-06:00

So Evelyn is always caught in this neck breaking very uncomfortable position. Well at least to me it is, but for her it's heaven. The moment you straighten her head she'll wake up or just immediately go back to that position. :)

Crazy? Hectic? Nah!!

2011-04-23T10:47:00.005-06:00

Being a mother of two children is definitely much more different than just taking care of one. Obviously right? Learning to let one cry so you can take care of the other and then once they're good, taking care of the other has been quite a lesson. But I must say things have been going really well. Sam is still in love with his sister and he's a big help. I feel really blessed to have him as my son. Don't get me wrong he has his days. He is a two year old, but he still is just the best son I could have ever asked for. Evelyn is adjusting to life outside the womb quite well. She's not a curler just like Sam. She spreads all out. And she's really starting to become her own person. She's absolutely beautiful.

We had check-ups this week. Here are the stats.

Samuel: 29 lbs. & 34.75 in.

Evelyn: 7 lbs 13 oz & 21.5 in.

Evelyn is basically back up to birth weight. She lost a lot of weight in the hospital because she wouldn't eat, but what baby that was just born eats every 2 hours? Nothing to worry about. She's completely healthy and definitely an eater now. :)

Samuel is getting so big. I can't believe he weighs that much! I kept thinking he was huge and well he is! He's my healthy boy and good to go.

I just still can't believe Samuel is 2 years old and Evelyn is just over 2 weeks old. Time sure does fly by.

Evelyn Marie Mills

2011-04-13T15:04:00.003-06:00

Our sweet baby girl arrived 2 weeks early on April 7th. She weighed about a pound less than Sam being 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. She also came late in the night, well actually very early in the morning at 12:38. She is beautiful! Enjoy the pics.

Sam has taken very well to Evelyn so far. He loves giving her hugs and kisses. Enjoy the video!

One, Two, Three...

2011-04-01T08:33:00.002-06:00

Sam has discovered a love of counting to three. Not only will he do it verbally, but he has also developed some hand signs to go with it. Enjoy!

Sam's Laughable Game

2011-03-30T13:00:00.006-06:00

Sam started this new game with Grandma awhile back and we finally got it on video this time. As you watch he'll do a big clap and after that Grandma will jump back and be scared and Sam thinks it's the most hilarious thing. Sam sure knows how to scare Grandma and doesn't seem to tire of it.

I Guess I Really Was Tired Take #2!

2011-03-28T16:54:00.004-06:00

So as I posted earlier Sam will fall asleep in the most random places. Well this time he was in his bedroom, but again as I've said earlier he likes to take all his clothes out of his drawers before going to bed. And every once and awhile he'll put shirt upon shirt on. That's what happened this time and I guess as he was putting his shirts on he realized how tired he was and passed out in front of his dresser. :)

ACDA Performance

2011-03-23T09:45:00.003-06:00

Here is the performance of my piece, "Crossing the Bar" from the ACDA National Conference. The choir is the Millikin University Choir under the direction of Brad Holmes.

Since I can't just add the audio, I had to make it into a movie, so I added pictures from my trip to Israel. Enjoy!

I Guess I Really Was Tired!

2011-03-19T16:02:00.005-06:00

Sam likes to think he doesn't need a nap, but from this picture you can tell that he is quite wrong.

We were pretty busy today cleaning up the house. So his nap time just kind of came and went, so I guess you could say it was partly my fault as well. :) I went in his room to rearrange his blankets so I could see which ones I can use for our little girl while he was reading his books. I could hear him reading them, but all of a sudden it got really quiet. I thought nothing of it until I was all done and walked into the living room to find a passed out Sam. I couldn't help but laugh and take pictures.

The best part is that he brought the rug from the front door over to lay on.

Now I just wonder if he fell asleep reading or just decided to lay down and fall asleep. :)

Lovable Sam

2011-03-14T16:23:00.002-06:00

Saturday night was really bumpy for Sam. I think he was finally to the point of wanting daddy home. He woke up about 3 different times during the night and the first thing that would come out of his mouth was, "Papa." I would then have to calm him down and assure him that we would see him tomorrow. He didn't really like that answer, but he would eventually fall back asleep. I felt so bad for him. He was done with not seeing him. He wanted his daddy home.

It finally comes time to where we can wake up and get ready for church. I was able to keep him busy enough to not think about daddy too much. Mike was to arrive during Stake Conference so I took my phone with me so he could text me when he got there. The moment I received the text I ran out the door with Sam. The second Sam saw his daddy he ran as fast as he could while smiling and laughing to him. Once there, he gave him this huge hug and it lasted literally 5 minutes! He was smiling and laughing and just held on tight. He would not let go!! (I think someone was a little excited?) Once we finally sat back down and after the hug he just sat on his lap for about 15 minutes just staring at him with an occasional hug and kiss and laugh. It was absolutely adorable! My favorite part was when I asked if I could have a hug and he said no. He did not want to leave his daddy for one minute. Daddy was all his and that was that.

To say the least Sam loves his "papa" and missed him quite a lot!

Poop!

2011-03-09T20:28:00.002-07:00

Sam has actually been really good about taking naps this week. Hallelujah! I just hope it lasts. He still takes about 30 minutes to go down and during that time will usually pull out a lot of the clothes from the dresser. I used to hate it and now I just figure oh well. Cause at least he helps me put them away and I've noticed it's a stress reliever for me to fold clothes. Odd, but definitely a plus. :)

Today during nap time he progressed to pull out almost all of his jammies, but then he must have gotten sidetracked in the middle. When I went in to check on him I thought to myself, "Man! This room smells just like poop!!" I look over at our diaper genie, which holds all the diapers, and sure enough one of the diapers is out and undone and poopy. Now anyone that knows what a diaper genie is, knows that once the diaper goes in, you really can't get it out unless you are taking the bag out. Sam can only open the lid and I guess somehow he reached his hand in there, grabbed a diaper and pulled it out all the while not getting caught on anything! How can kids be so smart. And also what do you want to play with a dirty diaper for, especially one with poop in it? When I was folding it back up, I noticed that he had ripped the velcro off and so I just had to throw it in there half folded.... Ewww! My next thought, "Please, I hope you didn't touch or eat any of it!" He was fast asleep and as most mothers know when they're finally asleep you just don't bother them.

Luckily when he woke up there were no traces of poo on him or his bed or even around his room. I think when he finally achieved success in opening the diaper, he ran away from the stench. ;) Cause I know I sure wanted to when walking in and checking on him. It's just too funny what kids do and through it all you just have to laugh and have fun.

I love you Sam!

March!

2011-03-01T12:25:00.002-07:00

It's the first day of March and now we can finally say next month she'll be here! :)

Ultrasound

2011-02-22T10:44:00.004-07:00

I get the privilege of going into the doctor weekly. If you would call that a privilege. I don't mind though. It doesn't make it any longer of a process for me, if anything it helps reassure me. :)

I've been lucky this time around to get a few extra ultrasounds. Today was one of those days. Again she is measuring right where she needs to be if not a little ahead. Her head is measuring 33 weeks 1 day. That's 1 1/2 weeks further along than I am. Which means I'll have another big headed baby. That was a fun delivery! ;)

We actually got to see her profile this time. She wasn't hiding her face. Looks like she'll have a cute nose and quite the full lips just like her brother. We tried getting a good 4D picture of her face, but she's quite snug in there and the doc says she's really low. No wonder why it's so uncomfortable to be in a sitting position. We did get a picture of her yawning. That was absolutely adorable!

I hope you can see from this picture. Her mouth is labeled and right above her lips you can see her nose.

As for the rest of the ultrasound it was funny because she was so active, so when he would make a picture still to get the measurements and then go back she'd already be in another position. So that was fun to watch her move around. :)

I cannot wait to hold this bundle of joy in my arms! It is such a miracle that women can create life. And now seeing different stages of growth just makes me so amazed! I feel so blessed! :)

The Wheels on the Bus

2011-02-21T19:27:00.003-07:00

Sam's favorite song is, "The Wheels on the Bus" which he wants to sing over and over again. His recent development is singing to himself. I still have yet to get it on video because of course the moment the recorder comes out, the moment he stops. But he'll sing and put his random words in, but will say, "round and round, sh!, wah!, beep, back, swish, up." Of course that translates to the wheels going round and round, mommies go sh sh sh, babies go wah wah wah, horn goes beep beep beep, driver says move on back, wipers go swish swish swish, and people go up and down.

Last night when I put him down for bed time he normally goes straight to sleep, but this time he sang this song a couple of times to himself before finally going to sleep. It was hilarious! He's always got me laughing.

By far my favorite part of this song that we added is what the grandpas do on the bus. We decided that they fall asleep. And Sam will close his eyes and roll his head like he's really on a bus and it's a bumpy ride. I can't help but smile every time he gets to that part.

Nap? What's that mom?

2011-02-11T10:20:00.003-07:00

Nap time rolls around and he knows the routine. We have lunch, clean up, grab his animals then get into bed. I tuck him in and he smiles and as I'm walking out he cries and will walk over to the door and open it. Luckily I'm smart and have put a gate up so he can't get out. He'll usually keep the door open for a minute or less. Then he'll close it and on those lucky days he'll get back in bed, pull the covers up and go to sleep. But mind you this is once in a blue moon I tell ya.

His new joy of nap time is also my nightmare. He will pull absolutely everything out of his drawers. Clothes, diapers, socks, hats, you name it. Everything!! Refolding everything and putting it all back is not my idea of fun or joy! Luckily this has only happened twice now all because I wanted to get some rest. I had gone into my bedroom and can't really hear him opening things. I can hear him laughing and crying, but that's about it. But now I know if he gives his mischievous grin then I know there will be no luck with nap time. I usually wait to go into my room if I want to take a nap and will sit on the couch and just listen. The moment I hear the drawer open I know it's all over and nap time has now become play time with the clothes.

He actually has quite fun with his clothes. With his shirts he'll just keep putting them on. Funny part is he only puts them over his head. So it's like he's got a bunch of scarves around his neck. I always wonder how he's able to breathe, but he thinks it's the coolest thing. I must say though, he makes it easy on me. He puts everything in one big pile. So it's not like I have to gather everything from all around his room. And he'll even help me put things away. He'll hand me an item, I fold and either one of us will put it in the drawer. It's quite the system.

All I know is Sam is quite defiant in what he wants. If he doesn't want to nap then he's not going to nap. Ah well I guess. At least it's still a hit and miss and not completely out of the question. :)

Baby Update

2011-01-26T16:49:00.003-07:00

So, here we are, nearly 28 weeks into this pregnancy. We visited the doc today and he was kind enough to indulge us in an ultrasound. It's pretty hard to see things now that she is getting so big. Regardless, we did get a few shots and some measurements. The above photo of our little girl's hand holding her foot is by far the favorite. Overall, she is measuring to be 29 weeks rather than 28, while her legs measure at 30 weeks 2 days. In other words, she's got long legs (back off boys!). As of right now, she weighs 2 lbs, 12 oz and is projected to be just as big as her brother was when he was born... Sorry, Amanda.

Piano & Kazoo!

2011-01-05T15:26:00.002-07:00

Oh how I love what Sam can always come up with. :)

EMOTIONS!

2011-01-04T15:34:00.003-07:00

So Mike and I have had a whirlwind of emotions for about a week now. I don't really want to mention what it's about, but my thoughts, as are Mike's, I'm sure, are continually drawn to this amazing possibility! Every time I think about it my heart beats faster, my stomach is all fluttery, and no it's not my little girl, and I just get absolutely excited!

I have wrote my feelings in my personal journal, but I feel like writing them here as well. This is how emotional I am. And I know I'm not overly emotional because of my pregnancy. There is a difference. I can feel the difference. I feel as if I have grown miles and miles in my testimony for my Savior. He is absolutely amazing! Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much and always have what's best for us. When I ponder about such a big decision I'm always excited first, but then I can think too much and get scared. Always in the end though, I feel more excited than any other feeling. I know something is going to happen. We're still not quite sure, but something will happen and He is preparing this way for us. He is telling us as one what we need to know, where we need to go, and eventually how it will all play out. His love for us is infinite. He loves each of us individually. He knows our wants and our needs and He knows what road we need to go down. I know it doesn't always seem the best to us, but our Heavenly Father knows everything. He will not lead us down an unhappy road, but will always lead us to a safe harbor. I've felt this more and more this past week. I try so hard to go on with my day and just lose my thoughts in what I'm doing, but it's at these moments, when Sam is napping, that it constantly enters my mind. And when that happens I feel such love and such peace. I then turn my thoughts to how thankful I am to have a loving Father in Heaven. I feel so blessed!

Of course, what happens when days keep going by and you just keep thinking about it? First thought, doubt. Second thought, even more doubt. Today that was happening to me. I was beginning to think have I been playing this whole thing up? Have I been feeling what I want to feel and in turn thinking it was the Spirit testifying it to me? Many other thoughts have crept their way in, but I started reading this book called "The Peacegiver." Again those warm, peaceful, excited feelings came right back to the surface. I thought that immediately I would again doubt, but how could I? This is truly coming from Him. He wants me to know. He wants me to be prepared. I have to wait and just keep trusting. How easy it is to doubt. How easy it is to succomb to such thoughts, but always in the end if our hearts are in the right place then we will know.

I truly trust in my Savior and Father in Heaven that They are guiding me and my little family to what is best for us. It will be scary and it will be hard, but it will be so worth it as well. We will be joyful and will grow closer together as a family. I'm very grateful for this past week with how much I've grown spiritually and with how much already our family is growing together. Even if we don't get what we want in the end, I know that our Father in Heaven will always give and lead us to what we truly need and in turn will help us realize it was what we always wanted.

It's Over!

2010-12-18T07:48:00.002-07:00

After 5 1/2 years, 11 semesters, 71 classes, and 143.5 credits, I am finally finished with my undergrad! Although I don't walk until May, I turned in my last assignments on December 6th and am now a free man! It's a fantastic feeling, but someone anti-climatic. My printer didn't even sing the hallelujah chorus when it printed my last assignment. ;) On to the next phase of life!

New Baby!

2010-12-03T12:20:00.002-07:00

So wow it's been a long long time since we've wrote on here. :) Ah well.

This August I had to get surgery again for my endometriosis. First, because we were having no luck getting pregnant (so we thought) and second, I was in a lot of pain again. So here rolls around my surgery date. Everything went great. He got rid of more endometriosis and then flushed my tubes to help with the pregnancy part. ;) About a week after my surgery I was completely sick. Morning, day and night. I was alway nautious and we just had no idea why. Finally, 3 weeks after the surgery I gave up and bought a pregnancy test. Things just seemed to be going in that direction. Could that surgery really have helped that quick? Well I took the test and immediately 2 pink lines! Oh my gosh!!!! We're actually pregnant. YAY! But wait I would only technically be 3 weeks along. This can't be right. I remember taking the test with Sam at about 5 weeks and the 2 pinks lines were barely visible and took awhile to show up. These lines were as bright as can be and were pretty much immediate!! Hmm.... To say the least I was really happy, but also a little confused. I called the doctor's office to let them know I was pregnant and we set the appointment up for about 6 weeks out. Man! I have to wait so long.

Well 3 weeks later some things started happening. I was still absolutely sick, but now my heart is pounding randomly, it's racing, and I'm even having heart palpitations. They told me to come in and of course I'm more than happy to come in. They were going to do an ultrasound and my doctor says, "We'll probably not even be able to see the baby. It's only 6 weeks along." I was thinking the same thing, but I needed some answers to why things didn't match up with this pregnancy and also why my heart is doing all this stuff. So we start the ultrasound and immediately finds the baby and it's no 6 week baby. It's not even the 9 week baby I remember seeing Sam at our first appointment with him. This baby had arms and legs! What??? Come to find out I'm 6 weeks further along. I'm 12 weeks. YAY! But then that brings a whole load of questions. How could this be? I had surgery while I was pregnant and he flushed my tubes!! We just sat there staring at this little baby, well huge to me, and wondered. We were both floored. We looked into every question and well this baby was just meant to be here at this time. We have no idea on some answers, but we know the baby is healthy and happy. We could see the baby moving all over the place. :)

It's funny now to think back on that day. I remember thinking I knew exactly how far along I was. I thought it so odd that I could already feel little movements. I was so so so sick!! And now I can just laugh about it and think to myself how happy I am that I just skipped 6 weeks. That's every pregnant woman's dream I would think.

Well on to other matters this pregnancy has been very different from Sam. I was only sick in the morning with him and then it was gone by my second trimester. Everything was pretty much simple with him. Well with this little baby I am sick constantly! Nautious, but never to the point of throwing up. I can never get relief. :( I have a somewhat overactive thyroid. The tests have all been so different. That's been awesome!! I already mentioned about my heart, but then when I went in to see the endocrinologist for my thyroid he then tells me I have a heart murmur. Wow little one what are you doing to my body? I am just now not worrying about everything and taking it as it is. I just can't wait to finally get some good news and find out what we're having.

My 20 week appointment finally arrives! I progress to tell my OB about the heart murmur and guess what? I now get to go to a cardiologist! How many doctors can I get sent to? He thinks that everything will be just fine, but he just wants to be sure. He doesn't want me going into heart failure on him. Well that was not the news I wanted. Let's get to the ultrasound. I want my good news!!! I feel pretty lucky though because they had a brand new machine and it's got some pretty neat things it can do. Well the ultrasound tech checks everything. The baby is healthy!! YAY! It's got all of it's organs and everything seems to be working great. So then since this was a brand new machine they had the expert do all the fun stuff. Like the 4D. It was amazing! They decided to do the head shot first and this baby already looks absolutely beautiful! The baby kept trying to hide. It would keep putting its arms in front of its face. So we watched the arms moving up and down. We even watched the baby roll around. So fun! We then went down to the legs. This baby has some long legs!! It was kicking its legs back and forth and just having a blast. I knew this baby was a mover. I can feel it all the time and this ultrasound just confirmed how active this little one is. :) Anyway now to get to the big news. We're having a GIRL!!! We're so excited!!! We kept telling Sam that he was going to have a sister. He seemed to enjoy watching the ultrasound at first, but then he got bored of watching the same thing over and over again, but I sure didn't!!! It's a girl and we're way happy. Now on to my favorite part. :)

We kept thinking about how we would tell Cherie, Mike's mom, cause we knew she would be so excited considering the first girl was born 8 years ago. After that came 7 boys. So, Mike kept throwing ideas around. We finally went with this. We walked in the house after making her wait all day which she told us she was getting a little impatient. :) I could just see her itching to know. She saw me holding the pictures and you could just see her wanting to rip them out of my hands. So Mike finally says, "Strike another one for the baseball team!" Mom then is quite happy and gives Mike a high five. Little does she know there's more to what Mike is going to say. After the high five he says, "Let's just hope they let girls on the team!" That got such a loud squeal out of mom! You could tell she was so excited. That then produced hugs all around. She couldn't stop smiling the entire time we were over. That was one of my favorite moments of the day. Mike and I talked about it the whole way home. We just kept thinking too bad we couldn't have taped that moment. We would watch it constantly! :) But at least we have a good memory.

So again we're having a GIRL! I just can't stop saying it and I definitely cannot stop smiling. We're really excited! YAY!!!

Halloween Firsts

2009-11-02T15:23:00.006-07:00

Sam was a cute little pumpkin for his first halloween. He had so much fun! We went to our wards trunk or treat and we all had a blast. There were a ton of people there. It must be a whole neighborhood thing. Sam was having a lot of fun seeing all the kids in their costumes. He was laughing and smiling the whole time. He was so cute!

We then went to go visit Grandma and Grandpa so they could see Sam. He was showing off his rolling skills and had Grandma laughing at him. Then when Grandpa was holding him, Sam decided he really liked Grandpa and gave him 5 kisses in a row. It was adorable. Grandpa sure appreciated that. Sam also showed a new trick of his. He has learned the concept of crawling. He still prefers rolling, but he'll show you he can do it. :)

After Grandmas and Grandpas we went to Taco Bell for their Black Jack Taco and that was delicious. Then off to home and the moment we got home and sat Mike was out like a light. I guess he was tired from our fun Halloween day. So overall Halloween was fun for us and we had a lot of firsts.

Gut Splittin' Laugh and Other Life Updates

2009-10-21T21:48:00.008-06:00

So, the other night Sam was refusing to go to bed (what's new) and was making some funny noises. I decided to mimic him and he thought it was hilarious. It was probably the hardest I have ever heard him laugh.

The next night I was making the same noise to him and he still thought it was funny. I started adding other sounds in and he just laughed twice as hard. We ended up getting a video of it, but I guess it's too big to post on here. We ended up posting it on Facebook instead so please run on over there and watch it. How can you not laugh when watching that video?

In other news, life is as busy as ever. I'm back in school being busy, busy and Amanda is still working (not as much) and loves spending so much time with Sam. He's growing soooo fast. It's strange to look back at photos even from the summer because he looks so much younger. His personality is really coming out. He's a fun-loving boy that enjoys spending time with his parents. I love coming home from school cause when he sees me, he gets the biggest grin.

His newest development is transportation. No, he can't crawl, but he'll roll with the best of 'em. We'll put him on the ground and the next thing we know, he's rolling across the floor trying to get something he sees on the other side of the room. Wow!

Finding Wii Controllers

Getting comfy & cozy

Sleeping in random areas

We also had our first bout with illness. A couple of weeks ago, Sam came down with croup. Talk about scary! It's never fun to wake up in the middle of the night and find your child struggling to breath. He ended up getting it twice, but he's now healthy again. Thank goodness!

Another piece of exciting news is that I'm for sure going to Israel with my choir next May! Wow, what an opportunity. I'm excited for the musical experience that it will be, but even more than that, excited to be able to spend some time in the land where Christ lived, where His miracles were performed, and where he wrought the atoning sacrifice for us. I've heard so many good things about that area and can't wait to experience it for myself.

Among everything that is going on right now and the many amazing things that are to come everything still seems the same. Although it does change everyday with having a child. We feel very grateful for everything we have, and just want to say thank you to all those who have helped us in our recent times of need.

Some Pictures

2009-08-07T19:37:00.004-06:00

Here's the family on the morning that Sam was blessed. Isn't he adorable?

We caught a picture of him while he was sitting up. He's slowly mastering that skill as well.

Sam enjoying some 4th of July fun. He was sooooo happy that day!

ROLL-OVER

2009-08-07T19:20:00.003-06:00

So about a week and a half ago Sam finally decided to roll over. It was actually pretty funny because when I went to get Sam out of his crib he was just lying on his stomach. I thought, "Well how'd he get there? I didn't put him there did I?" So I just thought nothing of it and just went on with the morning. But then later when he was just hanging out on the floor he rolled over. I was so excited that I put him back on his back to see if he'd do it again and sure enough he did. He ended up doing it two more times after that and on the last one ended up getting his arm from underneath him.

Today he has pretty much mastered this skill. I was at work today and I had him on his blanket and he kept rolling over and eventually was off the blanket and he would get all dirty because of course it's really hard to keep that floor clean. Anyway he just loves rolling over now and he can really get around. Not very far, but small distances with rolling and kind of scooting. He'll push his upper body up and then tuck his legs in and let go and voila he's moved a little bit.

It's so exciting to see him learn everyday. He's just so big and I'm loving every minute of being a mother. Hopefully I can keep everyone up to date more often. I've just been so busy. Being a mother keeps you very occupied. So mom, I want to say thank you for all those years you were occupied with me and for still being occupied with me. I LOVE YOU!!! I'm forever greatful for you. :)

Laughter

2009-06-29T15:07:00.003-06:00

So, I must say that this was one of the greatest Father's day gifts I could have ever received: hearing my son truly laugh for the first time. I hope everyone finds just as much joy in this video as Amanda and I do!

Updates!

2009-05-21T22:35:00.004-06:00

WOW! It's been awhile since being on here. I was just reading the singers blog and it seems like they are having a lot of fun. Oh how I miss Mike. At least I know he's having fun and is still alive. :) Not that I have anything to worry about.

Samuel continues to amaze me everyday. He loves to smile and he's starting to make noises and even kind of giggles. Oh it's so fun! I'm so glad I decided to have him now in my life. I'm glad I didn't wait. The past 6 weeks have been unbelievable. He is getting so big and he's just my joy!

Mike is in Europe and having the time of his life. He's had many concerts and MANY rehearsals so they can be ready for the competition. He's seen many great places and taken a lot of pictures. I can't wait to see them and hear the stories. I guess they are being received well though. Lots of people go to their concerts and they have many encores because people keep clapping and clapping. I'm glad he has this opportunity, but boy do I miss him.

As for me and what I'm doing. I'm just working and trying to stay on top of that, taking care of my beautiful boy, and spending lots and lots of time with my family. I absolutely love them so much. They have been such a support to me not only now, but have always been. I want to give a special thank you to Cherie for calling everyday and making sure I'm taken care of, doing good, and have a meal for dinner. I love you! Also to my mom for always hanging out with me and making sure I've got the things I need to keep Sam and I going. Thanks for the little play gym. He loves it! I love you mom.

So now I just get to wait everyday to talk to Mike over webcam and then anxiously await his arrival home. JUNE 3rd seems so far away, but it will come. At least it's less than 2 weeks. YAY!!! And when he gets home we get to have a birthday party for me and then we get to bless our little man on Sunday. It will be a great week and I can't wait!

Again thank you everyone for helping me out through this time. It means so much to me! :)

Samuel Joseph Mills

2009-04-13T17:13:00.004-06:00

This is our new addition to our family. He entered this world on April 10th at 11:18 PM. He weighs 8 lbs 11 oz and is 20 inches long. I'm so happy he's finally here. :)

hmmm

2009-04-07T11:10:00.003-06:00

So I'm just sitting here at the U waiting for Mike to be done with class. I'm at a loss of what to do. Since I've stopped working I've tried to keep myself busy. I've cleaned, read, played sudoku, surfed the internet, gone to Liz's house, and sometimes have just sat and stared at the walls. I think I've come to a standstill of what I can do now.

I've finished the series I was reading. I've run through all my sudoku books (plus I got tired of it), I'm sick of cleaning, you can only surf the internet so much, and staring at the walls, well you know how boring that can be. Going to Liz's hasn't exhausted its limits yet luckily.

But I guess that's why I tried coming up to the U today to have a change of scenery. Granted I'm still just sitting around waiting, but at least here I can watch people and make fun of them in my head. ;) Too bad Mike isn't here to join in the laughter. :) It's pretty hilarious what some people will do when they think no one is watching.

Anyway it's kind of ironic when you sit down and think about how much waiting we do in life. Not only am I waiting for my little Samuel to finally make his GRAND entrance into this world, which I'm sure that's what he's waiting for, but I wait for my doctor appointments to arrive, and then you wait in the waiting room, in the grocery line, in traffic, for a new movie or book to come out, for an event to start and last of all I always wait for yet another contraction to come on. In the midst of all this waiting we find things to entertain ourselves with. You've already read my list of what I've done, and yet we still get to wait and we always get through it. That waiting period always ends sometime for that certain thing, but then it starts all over again with something else. So since I've been waiting all my life with many things, then of course I'm going to be able to wait for my beautiful baby boy to be in my arms.

Oh how I LOVE these waiting games.

Update

2009-04-01T15:33:00.009-06:00

I was just thinking about putting a picture up of what I look like. I was going through my pictures and just laughing at my progression. I used to be so SMALL!!! That ain't the case anymore, but it's all for a good cause. I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

The Waiting Game

2009-03-30T17:41:00.003-06:00

So I've been getting contractions every once and awhile since Friday the 27th. My due date isn't till April 9th, I went to the doctor today and everything looks really good. He says, "Well, you could have him tonight or even in two weeks." Boy is that encouraging and discouraging. I wish I could just walk in there and say, "Take him now!" No, I'm not really that way, but I just get so anxious to finally hold him in my arms. I feel so close and yet, I have no idea when he will decide to come.

So I sit here playing the waiting game. Waiting to hold him, waiting to kiss his nose, waiting to hold his little hands, waiting to look at his face, and of course waiting for the contractions to get closer and closer and obviously more and more painful.

So, since I have no choice, I'll just sit here and continue playing my waiting game of seeing my son.

Will This Ever End?

2009-02-11T16:14:00.011-07:00

I keep getting bigger and bigger everyday, but alas my little one is still not here. I still have 2 more months of growing bigger and bigger. I guarantee I probably wont fit through the hospital doors, which means I wont even fit in my own car, which then means I guess I'm having my baby at home! :) nah, just kidding. I'm not that big, but man I feel so big. I don't remember Liz ever being this big with Ansley. And Erin? Yea right. She was a little twig the entire time!

I was just thinking about it today because my dad walked by me and said, "WOW! You're looking really pregnant!" Well duh Dad, that would be because maybe just maybe I am. So then he goes on to say, "I'm glad it's you and not me." Well I think I'm glad it's me and not him either. I don't know if he could handle it. He wouldn't be able to run, or travel a whole bunch, and it would honestly be weird to see him with mood swings. haha :)

Anyway I just wanted to write out some of my feelings about my pregnancy. I have loved every minute of being pregnant, other than the times I've been in the hospital, but still I love the fact that I'm pregnant and I'm going to be a mommy soon. I love feeling him move around, which he does nonstop, and I'm beginning to think I've been feeling his foot and elbow a lot lately. He likes to play games with me. You've heard about some of them in previous blogs. He will punch away, and I'm sure he's doing it just to get my attention, because once I put my hand on my belly he'll stop and be content. He just wants to know I'm always thinking of him. ;)

The things I will not miss though would be:

1. The bathroom breaks about every hour.

2. Back pain.

3. Restless Legs.

4. Not sleeping (feeling tired).

5. All day sickness (1st 4 months).

6. Feeling a little queasy in the mornings.

But you know honestly those things aren't that bad when you know they're just temporary and so these things will not keep me from wanting more kids. Yes, I said it. I want more kids. I don't want just one child.

So, I anxiously await April 9th, that is if he comes then, so that I can finally hold my baby boy in my arms. I love my little guy!

Baby Rhythmic Dictation 101

2009-01-23T16:14:00.002-07:00

As Amanda and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little Samuel, we have discovered a way of "interacting" with him. A few months back, Amanda was really excited to tell me that, as she was laying in bed, she poked her belly and Samuel kicked in response. She tried again and received the same result.
Well, this morning I was in the living room working for a few hours before taking off to school. I then heard a little giggle from the bedroom and shouted back to Amanda to find out what was going on. A few seconds later, she came out to where I was with a big grin on her face and proceeded to tell me the source of the giggling. She was playing her little game with Samuel and got an idea. Rather than just poking once, she tried poking twice. Surprisingly, he kicked twice in response! She then poked again 4 times in a rhythmic pattern and, once again, he responded in the same pattern.
What can I say? Gotta start that musical training early!

Some Rambling Thoughts

2008-12-26T13:07:00.003-07:00

So, we were looking here and realized that we haven't posted anything for over a month. Samuel is continuing to grow and he's as active as ever. Amanda feels him moving all the time and I try to feel it every so often as well. Not only that, she's been able to see the movements as well. She's loving this time that she gets with Samuel, but can't wait for the time that she can actually hold him and see his face.
Another bit of exciting news for the Mills family is that a piece of music that I arranged a couple of years ago is going to be published in the coming months. It's a violin solo with piano accompaniment of the primary song "I feel my Savior's love" and the hymn "Our Savior's Love." I feel so blessed to be given such a talent and now to be able to share that with other people! Hopefully this will bring many more opportunities in the future.
Oh, and Samuel says hi! :)

Naming of the baby

2008-11-08T20:23:00.003-07:00

So I forgot to write in his name last time I wrote, but we've definitely decided to name our little baby boy Samuel Michael Mills. I don't know where it came from, but it just popped up in conversation awhile back and it just stuck. And Michael loves his name so much that he just had to pass it down to his firstborn son. Figures!

We're so excited and again just can't wait for our bundle of joy to come! :)

Baby Boy

2008-11-07T12:42:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we went in for an ultrasound and we were wanting to find out what we were having. She started and right away there it was. He definitely wasn't shy, and really wanted us to know. It was so awesome to see how big he is and to finally have a name. I don't know how people can wait a whole 9 months to find out. It was hard enough waiting 18 weeks.

Anyway the baby is healthy and I guess he weighs about 8 oz. From his head measurements I'm a week further along, and I'm thinking, "Oh no! His head better stop growing or I don't think he'll be able to make it out." Obviously that's not true, but we'll see when that time comes in April. I'm just a little scared for that moment, but once he's here I know it'll all be worth it.

The night before the ultrasound I was complaining that I hadn't felt the baby yet, and I just really wanted to know there was a baby in there somewhere. So of course Michael says let me have a talk with our baby. He says, "Baby, you've got to let mommy feel you. She wants to know you're in there." And no sooner than 2 seconds later did I feel movement. It was amazing! And then he just wouldn't stop moving. I finally asked Mike to put his hand on my belly to see if he could feel him and sure enough he felt him kick, punch, or move once. Then Michael says after a little while, "At least we know our child is obedient." And I thought, "Yea, maybe when you speak, but he didn't listen to me at all...." I just thought it was so funny.

We're so excited for our little baby boy and can't wait for his arrival!

That picture above is his profile. I just love this one! He's already a cutie! :)