Family Fun Day!

Thanks to a gift from PaB and Grandma on their last visit, we took advantage of spring break and went to the Children's Musuem in San Jose yesterday.  We were able to bring the Pfeiffer girls with us and they all had a total blast exploring and playing together.  Brian and I had our hands full with 5 kiddos to keep track of, but they all did a really great job and truly just enjoyed be there and soaked in everything they had to offer.  No complaints until the bitter end when all were wiped... and then the musuem closed... great timing!  The adults only complaint... no coffee in the joint and we desperately needed it by 3pm!!! 

Rainy Days

It has been so gloomy here the past I don't know how many days...
I'm sure glad my kids keep me going and laughing or I'd be huddled up in bed barely able to function right about now. 
So a few pictures to brighten my days, and hopefully yours, too!

Grandma and PaB came up for a surprise visit a couple weekends ago. 
It was great to have them here, and they got LOTS of kiddo time--
which is why they came anyway!!!
(I was at our church's women's retreat and Brian was
entering his beer in a home brewers competition)

We are going to be taking pictures with our MOPS fundraiser next weekend and I'm trying to figure out what I should put the kids in to be all 'coordinated.' 
We just got this super cute dress from Nana Peggy and I'm thinking this could be a good start. 
I asked Emmy to 'model' for me to do a couple test pictures...
and this was the first 'pose' she gave me. 
Oh, did she have fun! 
I have some pretty funny shots, but I was playing around with my camera settings... and with no sun shining through my windows, my 'no flash' photograpy produced lots of blur.  So much more to learn about that camera!

I LOVE this!!!! 
Brian is building a fence for our backyard and he got some extra help today. 
Amazing, I know, but this little two and a half year old didn't get a lick of stain on him, was incredibly patient and had a great time painting with Daddy!

Canvas People Freebie

canvaspeople.com 


Thanks to a blog I follow (C.R.A.F.T.), I found a great freebie going on for the month of March for a free 8x10 canvas wrap.  You have to pay shipping and handling ($14.95), but it's still a really great deal.  I've been loving the image posted on the header of my blog of the kiddos at the beach, so that's the image that I used for this.  It'll go in my beach-themed bathroom... or upstairs in the playroom... or...  I love finding great deals on super easy things to make my house more homey!!!  I'll post a picture when I get it so you can see the results! =)

Just sayin'...

Ethan's latest (at not quite 2 1/2 years yet)
--Adding words like a maniac and starting to put them together for a sentence!  Today's new ones were help, treat, head, ears, and "hello, daddy."  Of course, we are probably the only one who understands these... but still!
--On & off again interest in potty training.  We're allowing & encouraging him to do it, but definitely not ready to gear up and go for it 100%.  Neither is he.  I think we'll try to tackle that after my semester is over and I can be home full time to be consistent with it.
--Bedtime battles: I will win the war of course, but the battles are exhausting!  He's been awesome sleeping in his big boy bed until last week.  Now it's like he's discovered he can get out and about on his own.  He's been switching off between not going to sleep until 10pm or waking up at 3, 4, 5am and coming down to our room.  We usually just put him right back up in bed, but man... I'm tired!!!  Tonight is a 10pm night... actually, it's currently 10:18pm and he's still fighting it...
--Still loves balls and anything that moves, shoots, whacks, and the like.  He calls swords 'hi-yas' and guns 'beaus' because of the sounds we make when we play with them... so cute.  I hope it takes him a while to learn the real words for these!
--Copies absolutely everything.  He catches on so quickly and is so observant.  Anything his older siblings are doing, he wants to be a part of and he actually does a good job keeping up. 
--Had the worst stubbed toe I've ever seen this week.  He was refusing to keep shoes on his feet after playing on the trampoline outside, though he had moved onto shooting baskets.  He fell and tore about 5 layers of skin off his big toe.  It bled and bled, and for 2 days was quite painful for him.  Watching an active toddler limp around saying 'owie' over and over is not my idea of fun.  Thankfully, it seemed to be better today, so I think we're on the mend.

Where is Ethan?

Emmy came downstairs a few minutes ago and informed me that Ethan had removed his clothes and diaper and was running a-muck upstairs.  When I went up to investigate (with the video camera running), this is what I found...

Apparently, it's going to be an entertaining day in the Miller household!

Emmy Fashionista?

Sometimes it's just not worth arguing with a girl who's got her own style.  This is how Emmy dressed herself for preschool today...

Celebrating Eric's 9th Birthday!

Our nephew, Eric, turned 9 this week!  I can't believe it!  We had fun with the family in Fresno celebrating yesterday at his Football party!



You can click on the image to make it bigger.



Emmy's ready for school!

We registered Emmy for kindergarten yesterday!  She was so excited and loved doing all the assessment 'tests'--it made her feel like a very big girl.  What was the most hard for her is that she still has to wait until August to start... she is soooo ready!!!