We're a Nielsen Family!

Wait? You thought our name was Miller? Ha! Seriously though, a few weeks ago we got a phone call from the people at Neilsen asking us if we would be a part of their ratings collection process. Uh, duh! I only love TV more than any one person should. If there was a way to volunteer myself to let the networks know the shows which I adore, I would have been first in line. Turns out, my devotion must be legendary. I mean really, they sought ME out. ;-)

Wait--in case you don't what Neilsen is, they are only the oldest and best known media research company in the history of the boob tube. Doy.
(Learn about Neilsen by clicking this awesome line.)

Um, where were we. Okay, so, this week I received our family packet. It has diaries for every TV in the house and all you have to do is write down what you watch on each TV for 8 days and our time starts May 1st. La, la, la. I can't wait. There's even a way to write down what you watch on your DVR versus just actually channel surfing. I am already mapping out my 8 days so that all of my favorite shows get their worthy props in the eyes of the TV gods.

Know what else the packet had? $30! In cash, no less. Yes, I get to watch TV until my eyes bleed, someone actually cares that I'm watching The Hills, and I'm paid to do it.

This must be what heaven is like....

5 months already!

Our little man is 5 months old today. As it turns out, today was a doctor's visit and he ended up a total fuss-pot afterwards....so, his 'official' 5 month shot will be a little late.

He is changing so much everyday and is so much fun now! His favorite things to do are be tickled, laugh, play in his exersaucer, and chew and drool on everything in sight.

• Officially, he can roll both ways, but he doesn't know it. I've only seem him roll back to belly once and so far he can't repeat it. He's so close though. It's just that 90th percentile head holding him back.
• He has a tooth and a half! I hear this is really early for teeth, but he has them and they are sharp! It's also quite adorable.
• He is sleeping unswaddled!! This is a big one. We are on night three of the unswaddled adventure and so far he goes from 8pm-8am without a peep. I call that success. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about him rolling over while still mummified in that thing.
• He was weighed at the doctor's today and he officially is at 18lbs, 13 oz. If you're keeping track that means he's gained almost 2lbs in a month. Whoa. Length is the same so that means we're expanding to the sides. Ha!

Also, we found a new doctor who is willing to compromise on our vaccines a little. He said we weren't total nutcases because we actually do want to vaccinate so he didn't mind if we spread it out a little more--as long as we ended up with all the shots. Yes, he actually said we weren't total nutcases. That means we are kind of nutcases. But we already knew that, right?

Here's an unofficial 5-month shot of our drool baby, along with one of his bigger tooth. If you look at the big version of the pic, you can definitely see it.

Oh, sweet progress!

We've been soooo hard at work on landscaping lately. If you can remember almost a year ago when we moved in, our landscaping was ZERO--totally blank. And as a huge pregnant woman, it was the least of my worries. This year, I've become kind of obsessed with it. Maybe gardening can be my "thing" ....

Here are some updates of the latest progress, including the awesome shutters that my rockin' husband made! We hung them up today. He is oh-so-talented. We're still planning on installing window boxes, switching out some trees, and adding rock borders to coordinate with the stone on the house, but I think we're off to a good start. Now we just need everything to grow and fill in.

In case you forgot, here's what it looked like last July.

And here it is now!

Speaking of last July... Here's the view from our house a year ago:

And here's our current view:

Who does Riley look like?

I think he's a pretty good combination of both us.

Baby Kevin

(almost exactly Riley's age in #1)

Baby Andrea

Our family likes food.

And poor Riley will spend his life with his mouth wide open.

Where's the ark?

Holy crap, it's raining cats and dogs. Seriously, I think we're going to float away. Here's some pics of our backyard this afternoon.

In other Miller news...

Riley has his first tooth! It's pretty adorable and razor sharp. I love trying to get into his little mouth to look at it. Our former pediatrician tried to tell us that he probably wasn't teething, but we knew he was and a week later, here's the tooth! He's also started his journey into solid foods....if you count rice cereal as "solid." I have all kinds of fun baby food for him when that time comes. It's messy, but so fun.

And here he is with his new favorite thing to do...the activity center! And that's pretty much where his hand is all day long--in his mouth.

Happy Birthday, Jack!!!

I can't believe Jack is 5 years old!! It seems like only yesterday I was holding him for the first time. That being the first time I met him. He was so little then. And now, he's such a big boy!! Here's to a super happy birthday. Jack is one of the coolest kids ever --amazingly smart and always super entertaining. We love him so much!!


Here's a pic that Jules sent Kevin of Jack at Opening Day in Philly. I'm stealing it because it's the most recent one we have.

Riley on a roll!

He rolled back to belly today! He's been trying hard for a couple of weeks now and finally got it. Now he can officially roll both ways. I'll try to get it on video soon. Yay, Riley!