Happy Birthday, Juli!!!

YAY! I actually got a birthday on here on the actual day. It's a miracle!!

Today is the day of birth for the ever wonderful Jules! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JULI!!!

In addition to being a great sister to Kevin and an awesome sister-in-law to me, she's the team leader for our 60-mile walk. She's already raised over $5,000 for breast cancer under her own name and is still going above and beyond to help all of her teammates meet our goals. Unreal!! She is an amazing motivator and I can't wait to walk the big walk this October with her. Not only that, but we'll get to have a long-overdue visit with the entire family in Philly before and after our 60 miles. Needless to say, we can't wait for that!

In honor of Miss Juli, Kevin recorded this wonderful birthday message. You should give it a listen. He's insane. You can find it below.... (you'll have to save it and then open it, but do it. It's worth it.)

KEVIN'S MESSAGE

We love you, Juli and we all know you will celebrate in true party form. ;-)

Cheers!

Return of the BabyLegs!

I love putting Riley in BabyLegs---and they are great now that he's scootin' a boot 'round the house. I can't help but share these adorable pics of our quickly-growing little man. Oh yes, and I'm adding a pic or two of him practicing with his sippy cup.

Happy BELATED B-day, Kevin!!!

So Kevin's birthday was last week...Poor Kevin, he can't even get props on his own blog on his birthday. It seems like this is the year of the non-birthday. Usually, our family celebrates them pretty well, but Kevin's kind of came and went without too much fanfare. We did have a small, impromptu gathering with a couple of his friends while Mr. Jimmy was in town. That was really fun! I hope Kevin wasn't too disappointed with his somewhat boring birthday...

He did get some very fun presents though. I had a blast going through Blue 7 and picking out random fun stuff--like this silly card from Uncookedland:

Other highlights from his wife (ahem--me) & Riley include a Kurt Cobain action figure (I mean, really, who doesn't want that?)

And this totally kick-ass (so I'm told) Universal Miter Saw Stand. He saw it on "Cool Tools" and let me just tell you it was fun hauling it through Lowe's!

The Lopez gang gifted him some super-rad Kleenex boxes with pictures of Riley on the side. Very sweet. He loved them! And his sister sent some awesome Yuengling gear. If only they could send the actual beer... We can't wait to drink some down in October when we arrive for the big 3-day walk. Mmmm. Now that's motivation.

So, those were the highlights, along with some yummy desserts all around... Safe to say, Kevin is loved--birthday or otherwise. I love you, my sweet husband! (And next year, I promise, MUCH festivity--many presents, and fanfare for days.)

Remember the Millers?

Once again, very behind on the updates! What can I say? Life just gets in the way of my devotion to blogging. We've had lots of out-of-towners and things going on so we are just busy enjoying our summer with family and friends. The Miller household has been full of fun and life!

First in a series, here are the official 8-month pics of Mr. Riley. He's getting so big and active. His version of crawling is an army-style arm pull. It seems like a totally exhausting way to get from here to there, but it works for him. I wish he knew how much easier it could be.... He goes in for his 9-month checkup later this month, but when we popped into the doctor's office earlier this month, we found out he is weighing in at 22 lbs. He does seem to be getting a little longer, but I have to say that I'm getting pretty strong lugging his sturdy little body around everywhere!

It's getting kind of tricky getting him to 'pose' with his sign so I'm attempting to prop it up nearby. It begins as nothing but fun.

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And then mom takes away your 'toy.' Sadness ensues...

And although part of the official shoot, here's a nice little peek at some rapidly growing teeth. The latest count is E-I-G-H-T!!! Whoa.

Bedtime fun!

Here a few quick pics of Riley before bedtime earlier tonight. Such a precious little man...

Get motivated!

So, Quinton has been sending funny little motivational posters using pictures of Riley and Kevin and it's been very entertaining--and inspiring.

Here I present, a few motivational posters of my own: (and in case you don't know, Quinton is the "guy" in the next to last poster and the baby pics that aren't Riley are Kevin.) Enjoy!

Is this weird?

I can't decide if it's brilliant or one step away from barcodes on babies.

http://www.tattooswithapurpose.com/

Of course there's always this practical dub-T alternative from parenthacks.com

My favorite follow-up comment to this one came from someone who posted in response. His name was Chris and he said this:

"Can I write other things? 'Warning. His toots smell.' Things like that?"

Now that, I love.

Bang!

Dear Blog,
I've missed you so! I've finally finished my huge editing project and realized I hadn't posted since the 1st. So, that's not really that long, but it felt like forever. Anyhow, it's good to be back.

We had an awesome Fourth of July party once again this year. I love that it's becoming an annual tradition for us. Kevin's mom has kind of let us take it over the past couple of years and it's so great to actually have everyone to OUR house for a change. We finally have something that no one else in the city can top--legal fireworks! It is like a war zone here on Independence Day. I don't even know how to explain the volume of explosives that go off around us. Not to mention the small arsenal that the men ignite in our own backyard. It's awesome and horrifying in the same breath.

Riley usually goes to bed right at 8 o'clock every night, but not on the loudest of holidays! We gave him his bedtime bottle and he fell asleep quickly--and for about 15 minutes. Then, he let his know that sleeping wasn't an option by screaming into his monitor. I went to get him and he promptly rejoined the party! He sat in my lap until around 10:15 when he finally passed out. So adorable in his PJs just watching the loud fireworks like a champ. I couldn't believe he wasn't freaked out by the noise. We were joking that he was thinking 'so this is what happens when I go to bed every night...'

It was a wonderful day/night surrounded by our family. What more can you ask for?

He's a vamp!

Oh yes. A vamp, as in --pire. Mr. R has just sprouted 3 more teeth. And instead of going the traditional route of growing the front two, he has decided he wants the two beside those--as in his fangs! So hilarious. His other is not nearly as exciting. It's lower, next to the two already there. If you're keeping track, that's 5 total. Love it.

I would have a picture, but he's developing a very strong will. One that doesn't want his mom to look in his mouth.