And she's only 2

Claire is already telling me what she wants to wear, but I'm not ready to give in just yet. I give her two choices if she's insisting on asserting her independence - and she really sits and thinks about which outfit she wants to wear. I am going to be in for it when she's older... as in next year when she turns three! Here she is on a recent shopping trip to Old Navy, studying herself in the mirror.

Welcome Baby Gabe!

My sister had a baby boy on November 2 - Gabriel Merrill. My parent's doubled their grandchildren this year from 3 to 6 - and now Miles has a boy cousin to play with who is practically his same age. I can't wait to meet him - it doesn't seem right that I haven't been able to hold him yet. Soon enough Gabe, we'll be up to see you!

Latest Obsession

Sock puppets. Claire's sock drawer is constantly being raided. It's fun to see her use her imagination. But I am sure tired of picking up socks...

Miles - 3 Months

Miles is such a good little guy - he is very calm, for the most part, but he has his moments. Can't believe he is already 3 months old. It seemed like we had Claire on some sort of schedule by this point, but Miles is still waking up quite a bit at night and not taking long naps. Some of that could be his sister has a squeal that can break glass and scare dogs within a 3 miles radius, and she often wakes him up.

I am trying to think of a nickname for Miles - Matt calls him Toad, or Toader, which I don't love... but Matt's nicknames tend to stick, so we'll see.

I weighed him today with me on our scale, and he weighs 14.5 pounds. He also hadn't pooped for 7 days so that might not be accurate... when you become a parent you talk about poop a lot. It's kind of weird how normal these conversations seem. Anyway, I digress. Here are some pictures of Miles from this week.

October in Photos

A few more photos to sum up what a fun October we had this year - trips to see family, family and friends visiting us, a whole lot of Halloween and more!

Miles' Baby Blessing

Miles was given a name and a blessing today in our church service - Matt gave him a beautiful blessing. I wish I had written down everything he said to record it in Miles' baby book.

It might not be the best comparison, but a baby blessing reminds me of when the three fairies come visit Princess Aurora soon after she is born in the movie Sleeping Beauty. They each think of a wonderful gift to give to the princess. A baby blessing is kind of like that - it is a blessing for all the good things we want and hope for a child. If today is any indication, Miles has a great life ahead of him.

Thank you to all of the friends and family who came for the blessing - we felt very loved today!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

You couldn't stop the cuteness that was the Hiller family this Halloween. We went as our much-loved Wizard of Oz characters - Claire was Dorothy, Miles the Lion, Matt the Tin Man and I was the Scarecrow. We managed to squeeze in three Halloween celebrations so we got the most out of our costumes. We even found another Dorothy and the Wicked Witch along the way.


We crashed a friend's trunk or treat party and Matt almost won their costume contest (down to the final 2) - we bought his costume online and it was one of those one-size fits all deals. And it was a one piece - to see a 6' 4" guy wearing something meant for someone who was maybe 5' 10 " was hysterical. Needless to say the one piece became two, and Matt just used the top portion and the hat. He spray painted his shoes, a pair of socks and some gray shorts with silver paint to wear on the bottom. He should have won - those applause-o-meter votes are never accurate :)



Claire wore make up for the first time as part of her costume (other than my lip gloss that she constantly snags out of my purse) - she had blue eyeshadow and mascara. I would kill for lashes like that - she is so lucky!

My parent's were also in town for Miles' baby blessing, and we spent time at my aunt and uncle's house for a Halloween/Kicking Cancer's Butt celebration for my Uncle Kevin. We hadn't seen them in months since Kevin's immune system was basically non-existent and he couldn't be around kids. All the cousins got to go trick or treating together - it was really fun to have everyone together.