Thanksgiving to Christmas is always a whirlwind. Add some traveling in there, and it went by in a blink. As the girls get older, I find it more difficult to take pictures and videos. Bringing out the cell phone means the girls want to play with it, and they now always want to see the pictures after we take them. Since I use my phone much more for work than Colin does, he's been the one taking pictures and videos on his phone so that mine has less chances of being dropped and cracked or broken.
One event in December I always look forward to is the Pullen Park Express. It's a really inexpensive holiday event where the park is only open to ticket holders from 5-9p for about 6-8 days in December. The ticket allows you entry into the park and a train ride around the park. This year, tickets for the event sold out in less than 30 minutes when they went on sale in July. I wasn't getting my hopes up to go, but was checking to see if people were selling theirs on Facebook. I did get lucky to find someone who was selling tickets at face value (instead of the price gouging lots of others were doing), but the unfortunate part was that it was for a day when I was going to be in Asheville for work. Colin ended up taking the girls, and they had a good time despite the freezing cold night (one of the few during the month).
Enjoying bike riding after school
Rose has started practicing riding on her pedal-less Strider (balance bike)
The girls and daddy on the Pullen Park Express train ride
We found lots of holiday events to attend wherever we were. In Cary/Morrisville there was a train ride around the shopping plaza with a light show to Christmas music on the movie theatre. On that trip we enjoyed some hot chocolate. During a trip to Charlotte to meet up with my parents and brother for our Christmas gift exchange, we found another shopping plaza with a train ride, face painting, and reindeer ears.
Enjoying holiday festivities in Charlotte, with a train ride, face painting, and reindeer ears
At school, the girls had some fun events leading up to their big holiday lunch including holiday pajama day and crazy hat day. The only time we tried meeting and getting a picture with Santa was at the neighborhood holiday party where there were no crowds and after we got to hang out for an hour or so in the same room with Santa. Even then, Zoe didn't want to sit with him so mommy had to be in the picture. Since we were going to be traveling for Christmas, we decided to put up our fake tree instead of getting a real one. The girls were engaged for an hour at most and then Colin took them outside to play while I finished putting the branches on. Our tree is fairly large and looks amazing when it's up, but it does take a long time.
Excited about their Holiday gear
Our picture with the Oxxford Hunt Santa
A holiday tradition we started last year includes creating and decorating gingerbread houses. Last year Colin built them all from graham crackers and a frosting recipe he found online. This year we opted for the kits. The kits made the process so much easier and allowed us to spend more time creating with the girls instead of prepping on our own. Our houses came out great and both girls enjoyed eating treats during the process. Rose is our chocolate girl and Zoe likes any of the sugar-sweetened candies.
Building one of our two gingerbread houses
One of our amazing gingerbread creations
Since the girls' school closes for an extended break at Christmas, I decided to take the two days off from work to spend with them before we traveled to New York. During one of the days, we had a lovely outing at the Museum of Life & Sciences in Durham. It's one of our favorite places to go and we always try to see the zoo animals, the wolves, the bears, the lemurs, and ride the train. Lately, the girls have also been into seeing the butterflies. After we have lunch, we usually make our way to the awesome treehouse area so the girls can climb a bit before we go. Most times we have to play a little music, go down a few more slides, and run around in the soundscape exhibit before we can actually leave. Naptime is always late for Zoe when we go!
Enjoying a beautiful late December day at the Museum
Our trip to New York has become routine and the girls are proving to be good travelers. Now that they can both face forward, I can more easily help pass them food, toys, drinks, etc. We still usually have our morning break to stretch our legs and get the girls out of their PJs, and we try to have a longer play time right before or after lunch before finishing the final few hours.
In New York, we didn't realize it, but we have also started a tradition of going to the NY State Museum on Christmas Eve. The carousel there is free and we just made the last ride of the day on our trip this year. Last year it was just the four of us, but this year we brought Aunt Karen along for the excitement.
The girls are posing for Aunt Karen at the NY State Museum
This year was the first time I can remember waking up to a White Christmas. I don't love snow, but there is something special about the anticipation of snow on Christmas morning. The girls were excited to wear their pretty dresses, and they managed to sit through the Christmas morning church service. We haven't made a big deal about Santa, so there wasn't a rush to open presents Christmas morning, but the girls did enjoy opening their presents mid-late morning.
A white Christmas in New York for 2017
Dressed up at church
Opening Christmas presents
The whole week we were in New York it was freezing. It was literally in the negative and single digits in degrees farenheit! That was the major bummer for us Southerners. We had to find museums and indoor activities for the girls for the whole week. We took a trip to the Boston Children's Museum one day, the Saratoga Children's Museum another day, made a couple trips to the YMCA so the girls could go swimming and so we adults could do some exercise, and had moving night at Aunt Karen's. With all the indoor activities, we were waiting for the illnesses and sure enough Zoe spiked a fever two nights before we left, and Rose was screaming with ear pain the night we were planning to drive back. We called the doctor during the drive home and managed to get one of the latest appointments of the day. Zoe's diagnosis was RSV and Rose had a double ear infection.
Consistent morning temperatures all week in New York
Movie night at Aunt Karen's
Serving food at the Saratoga Children's Museum
Colin and I did enjoy a late night out for New Year's Eve, our first in a very long time. The girls did great going to bed for Grandma and we got to celebrate Colin's friend's wedding with his closest friends in Lake George. It was a bummer that the weather was so cold. They had planned a bonfire, which was canceled. We still had a great time and stayed warm indoors and on the dance floor! I'm pretty sure Colin danced the most I have ever seen in our 16 years together.
Celebrating a New Year's wedding in Lake George
Starting off the New Year with celebrations and dancing is always good. It was too bad our girls started off the year sick. Thankfully, they both quickly recovered and we got back to enjoying the outdoors before long.
I have so many pictures and videos on my phone from the past few months that these updates are going to be my photo and video dumps.
On September 9, 2017 Miss Zoe turned 2. In regular Miller fashion, we celebrated on her birthday at the pool with cake, and then again a week later with her grandparents at the pool with cake again, and then a few weeks later in New York with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, with a cupcake. Zoe was a trooper celebrating her big day by going to Rose's soccer game and then mommy's soccer game. She seemed to enjoy herself at both games, and we celebrated by going out to lunch and having cake at the pool after naps.
Happy 2nd Birthday to Miss Zoe!
Rose and Zoe posing on Zoe's 2nd Birthday
Birthday cake at the pool on Zoe's actual birthday
Rose continued with her soccer league. The first week was here shining game of the season. Unfortunately, week 2 she played a team where aggressive boys knocked her down. She did an excellent job participating in the 30 minute practice before the games, but it took most of the season for her to get back to participating in the game. I don't think she scored any more goals, but she and Zoe both enjoyed our Saturday morning routine of going to Rose's soccer game. On a few occasions I would help out if there was only one coach, taking the players who were not in the game to the side to play sharks and minnows.
Arriving at Rose's soccer game
One of the weeks mommy helped coach
Team photo day
This year, September was fairly warm. We managed a beach trip when it didn't interfere with Rose's or my soccer games, enjoyed the Durham Museum, started our Sunday morning walks to the playground, and enjoyed every last little bit of the pool we could. After Labor Day, the pool was only open on weekends, and we made sure to go if the weather cooperated.
Zoe playing in the water at the Durham Museum
Rose climbing the rocks at the Durham Museum
It's difficult to capture videos now that Zoe has entered the age where she wants to hold the phones and becomes obsessed with technology. Rose went through a similar phase and seems to have outgrown it. If you don't know "Zoe-speak" at 20 seconds in, she says "Zoe broke it" referring to the ripped pages.
Our Sunday walks to the park are about a mile each way on a paved greenway and trail. We usually bring both backpack carriers, for the occasional times the girls want to be carried. Here's a snapshot of a typical walk with Zoe wanting to hold Darwin's leash.
Rose resting on a tree stump during our walk
Girls posing on our walk
Being silly for a photo
Our two year old swinging before going down the slide at the playground
August and September were also filled with birthday parties for Rose and Zoe's classmates. We enjoyed spending time with their friend's families, and the girls especially enjoyed Miss Olivia's 4th fairy birthday party. The girls got faces painted by a fairy at the party and enjoyed lots of indoor and outdoor toys while wearing their fairy dresses
Posing with the fairy face-painter
Zoe loved the bubble wand, which ended up all over her dress
Rose is loving her friend's 4th birthday party
You can expect more photo and video dumps for October - January with fall activities transitioning to holiday activities and lots of snow during the start of 2018!!
It seems unbelievable that the summer has come and gone. In reviewing the pictures and videos from June, July and August, I'd have to say that I see such big changes in Zoe. She has fully transformed to a toddler this summer. In looking at some of these pictures and videos from early June, she is so much older and more mature just 3 months later.
Zoe at 21 months
I'll start with a brief recap of June. During the month, the weather was relatively cool for that time of year. We were able to enjoy a lot of time outdoors before the oppressive heat of summer. The pool was delayed a few weeks in opening, so we had to wait until June to start our weekends of swimming. This year, both Rose and Zoe could play in the water with minimal assistance. Without a floatie, Zoe could touch the kiddie area of the pool only near the steps. Thankfully, she would keep her floatie on most of the time.
Thursday nights in June were all about listening to live music at one of the outdoor shopping plazas/movie theater. The area would be blocked off to cars and they would often have a "bounce house," face painting, bubbles, cotton candy, and sometimes popcorn. What more could a kid ask for? On one occasion, a chiropractor advertising his business brought dress-up props. Rose was in her element.
Rose with her face painted and props 3 yrs 4 months
We managed a trip to the beach in June before the pool opened. My favorite part of the day is around dinner, when everyone leaves and you have the beach mostly to yourselves.
With the nice weather, we made our usual day trips to either Pullen Park or the Durham Museum of Life & Sciences. With the Durham museum now open Sunday mornings, it's a great time to go with not many crowds. We've been going about once a month all summer, mainly because I'm obsessed with seeing the 4 wolf pups (born in April) grow. We've been lucky to catch a glimpse of them every time we go, though they aren't the easiest to catch on video or pictures. The museum has hired a biologist to talk about the wolves, and they do an amazing job providing updates on their blog and Facebook page.
Girls swinging at Pullen Park with daddy
To wrap up the month and as part of a visit with my parents, we drove about an hour west of the Raleigh area to check out a berry festival at a farm the last weekend of the month. We picked blackberries and blueberries, got to enjoy some sweet ice cream treats, rode the tractor, and had a nice outing with my parents. It was a very nice wrap up to a month filled with many local activities, and in preparation for a long week of travel to start the month of July.
Family picture at Millstone Creek Orchard
Rose rocking on the porch at Millstone Creek Orchard
April was a busy month in the Miller house. Zoe's seventh month started with a trip to Boone, NC to join mommy (and daddy, Rose and Darwin) for work. We extended the trip an extra day to see the mountains and check out things to do and places to eat in/around the NC mountains. Unfortunately, the trip corresponded with a cold spell, and record low overnight temperatures, so we took our time getting out there and limited the activities we had planned outdoors. Both girls did great (better than Darwin), though they had a very late bedtime the first night. Thankfully, they proved themselves capable of sleeping through the night with lights on and through each other's sleep noises. They did most of their napping in the car, but that was to be expected. Since I had to work one day, Colin was able to manage both girls and Darwin while I was busy.
Except for that one cold weekend in April, most of the month has been very comfortable temperature-wise. There have been several weekends that have called for high chances of rain, but few have been wash outs. We mostly stayed in and around the Triangle, getting to: check out some local farms one weekend with the Piedmont Farm Tour; going strawberry picking another weekend at a Cary, NC farm that also had some kid-friendly activities; visiting the Durham Museum of Life and Sciences (where we have an annual pass); going on train and carousel rides at Pullen Park in Raleigh; listening to music and bouncing in the bounce house at Park West Village in Morrisville; and having picnic dinners with some events at Waverly Place in Cary.
The Miller ladies on the train at the Durham Museum of Life and Sciences
I have lots of pictures to share from many of our adventures and will try to post some over the coming days and weeks. Most of the pictures and videos are of Rose because Zoe often falls asleep while being worn in the baby carrier. She's on a schedule of napping about 3 times a day and could take or leave a pacifier. Sometimes it is used to calm her, but she has no problems falling asleep without it. Her first nap is usually 9 or 10am for an hour or so. The second one is mid-day (1ish) for about 2 hours, and the third is usually around 4 or 5pm. This final one is difficult on school days because I am often picking her up just after she has fallen asleep, or she falls asleep on the 5 minute ride home. Thankfully, she continues to sleep through the night, from about 8pm to 6am (give or take 30 minutes). She wants to eat at 6am, and sometimes goes back to sleep with me (if I nurse her in the bed), or gets up and hangs out with daddy. They sometimes take Darwin for a walk together, and Zoe usually watches daddy make breakfast in the kitchen while I get Rose ready for school. At night, Zoe sleeps all night on her back, but it seems she sleeps on her belly at school and at home during naps. As she becomes more mobile, she has started pulling herself up in her crib. It's almost time to drop the mattress a little farther down.
Getting ready to have breakfast
On the topic of being mobile, Zoe is getting very close to crawling, and is fairly sturdy at pulling herself up to standing. Sometimes she forgets that she can't stand on her own and she'll grab a ball or toy with both hands while standing (and let go of whatever is holding her up). Sometimes she cries at the fall and other times it doesn't bother her. She is able to crawl "backwards" where she gets on all fours and can go in reverse, but hasn't figured out how to coordinate hands and knees to move forward. A few times she has tried crawling forwards with one knee down and pushing herself with her other foot. She often gets from point A to point B through a series of maneuvers, but it is not yet efficient.
A few days after our trip to Boone, Zoe developed a spotty rash all over her belly that did not look like her typical ezcema. When it didn't go away after 3 days, we took her to the doctor, who was baffled by her lack of itching. Since the rash did not spread beyond her belly, she didn't have a fever, and she didn't scratch at it, the doctor assumed it was viral. But, there was a possibility of it being chicken pox, and all we could do was watch it to see what it did at day 5 (when it was suppose to blister, or "pox"). On day 5 Zoe did develop a fever and her appetite was pitiful, but the spots never changed or spread. When they didn't go away after 10 days, we were back at the doctor. He had to bring in a colleague for a second opinion and both doctors thought an antibiotic cream was the best course of action. They believed it still was viral, but it is uncommon for a viral rash to last more than a week. Thankfully, after just a day or two of the antibiotic cream, Zoe's skin cleared up. At the same time Zoe had the rash, Rose was also battling a rash on her bottom. My suspicion is that one of them picked up something on our trip and passed it to the other. We had to keep Zoe out of school for a week (on what would have been her second week of school) but thankfully she has been back since it cleared and hasn't had further problems.
Once we got her past the belly rash, her entire skin has looked much better. It seems the weather is the #1 factor. When the weather turned warmer and more humid (which it has been for most of the second half of April and early May), we noticed the eczema improved. I've even brought dairy and food baked with eggs back into my diet (yay for cheese!!), and she has remained mostly clear. She's even been more smiley (even for the camera).
She's so happy her skin is less dry
For most of her seventh month, Zoe was pooping once a day, except for the week she had her rash. During that week, we went 5 days without a poop, which has been the longest she's ever gone. With her eating a combination of solid foods and breast milk, her poops are smelly, soft and sticky (sorry for the description for those who'd rather not know). We continue to cloth diaper, and this is the phase when a diaper liner works well to provide a barrier between the diaper and the poop. Some people like the diaper sprayer, but we've pretty much given up on that. Zoe wears a disposable diaper at night, and cloth diapers the rest of the time.
The solid foods Zoe now consumes include soups (with onions, carrots, celery, beans and a meat like chicken or sausage), chicken, beef, hummus, carrots, cauliflower, lentils, oatmeal (plain or with fruit like bananas, raisins, or strawberries), sweet potatoes, and avocado. She loves bananas, and does pretty good on her oatmeal, carrots, cauliflower, and beef. We basically blend what we are eating and try to introduce a new food item every few days. At school she broke out in a rash after eating hummus on two separate occasions, but we did not notice it happen at home. Both times, the rash cleared as quickly as it came. In addition to foods, Zoe can also drink from the straw on our camelbak water bottles, drink from a sippy cup, and she can drink from a regular cup (with one of us holding it). A lot of the water lands on her shirt, but it's good for her to learn.
During my work days, Zoe continues to drink more milk than I pump, so I am going through my freezer stash of pumped milk, but not yet stressing on it getting too low. She takes about 3 bottles of 5-7oz each, and sometimes a 4th bottle with 3-4 ounces. I'm hoping we can introduce more solid foods this month and get her to eating fairly well by 10 months so I won't stress when I get close to the end of the frozen milk. Occasionally, I will have an opportunity to pump an extra bottle of milk on the weekends to store for future use, but it isn't enough to make up for the extra bottles she takes during the week. In addition, she still has not cut her first tooth. She rubs her gums all the time, salivates often, and acts like she is teething, but I don't feel any teeth coming through her gums, nor do I see any starting to show.
As Zoe grows and phases out of a the infant stage, her personality continues to present itself. She is a very shy girl and often hides her face in my shoulder when new people greet her. I've started seeing a few glimpses of separation anxiety at school, especially at the start of a new week. She is startled by loud noises and I can tell when she's unsure/afraid of something because she will cling to me. She is extremely tolerant to her sister's roughness, and will protest when someone tries taking away something she wants. Just about every evening at dinner, she tells us she is ready to be done and to get in her pajamas. Once she is changed and ready for bed, she's a happy girl again.
I love this age. Zoe is the chubby baby that can sit up and stand holding on to things. When I nurse her, she fits so perfectly in my arms and feels solid, but squishy. She reacts to us, and knows who we are. She loves laughing with her sister and giving mommy and daddy big smiles. One of her latest favorite things to do is to make bubbles and lip-flapping noises with her mouth. She gets very excited and squeals with delight when she is successful. She likes flipping through books, figuring out how to make noises come from the various toys in the house, banging utensils on the table, and putting everything in her mouth (including sticks and sand). The silicone water bottle mouthpiece is one of her favorite things to chew on. She also loves petting Darwin and grabbing at his paws.
Rose pushing Zoe in a cardboard box
Rose loves taking her picture with Zoe
Rose and Zoe seem to love each other, though I often have to teach Rose to be more gentle. Rose also likes to be the mommy and be the teacher. Sometimes it is helpful, like when she comforts Zoe and plays with her. Many other times, however, she tries to discipline Zoe or take toys away. We try to encourage and praise the positive behaviors. It is really hard to discipline and/or correct the negative behaviors. Rose sometimes gets very jealous of Zoe, especially when I need to care for/nurse for Zoe (which happens often in the evening). We strive to model good behaviors and actions, hoping they are picked up by the girls.
We don't have any new stats for Zoe's growth from the doctor. They didn't do height and weight measurements for her visits this month. Her next checkup will be in June.
Stay tuned for pictures and short recaps of our spring fun adventures and an update on Miss Rose!
Rose had a great time with both mommy and daddy Father's Day weekend. The weather was typical for North Carolina, hot days and warm mornings and evenings. We got out of the house early on Saturday to spend the not-yet-hot morning at Pullen Park. Rose enjoyed her favorite park adventure - riding the train - twice. Once when we arrived and once before we left. She also played on the swings, climbed the playset and went down the slide on her own, rode the teeter horses, and played in the sandbox with the water feature. By lunchtime, we all had our fill of fresh air and sunshine and made it back home before it got too hot.
Getting on the train the first time is always a little scary, but Rose quickly remembers how fun it is
Waving at the people as we pass one of the crossings
Waving and saying "bye bye" - no fear here!
Sunday afternoon we made a trip to Durham. After grabbing some delicious sandwiches at the Old Havana Sandwich shop and enjoying them in a park when Rose woke from her nap, we made our way to the Museum of Life and Science. We braved the mid-day heat first, checking out the playground, visiting with some llamas, alpacas, and a cow in the farmyard, looking for the bears and wolves who were too hot to be outside themselves, taking a ride on the train, and cooling off in the water misting area. Then, we headed inside to the wonderful air conditioning. Rose enjoyed running around the soundspace area (check out the video below), building structures in the "contraptions" room, and exploring the 6 and under "play to learn" room. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did with all the activity! She slept the 30 minutes it took to get home and then continued sleeping another hour and a half. We had to wake her up to have dinner before putting her back to bed. I guess a weekend with so much activity left her exhausted.
