This is NOT A Joke...

......Even if it starts as one.

Question: What do you get when you cross a Bill Miller bag with a baby??

Answer: Only the cutest chef in the world!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Today is my wonderful momma's birthday! When I woke up this morning, I made a simple little sign for Noah to hold for Nana so I could send her a personalized message from her grand baby....

After MANY failed attempts and a ton of overused minutes trying to reason with a 13 month old, here is what I gathered about his thoughts of holding a sign for his Nana.

Step One: Crinkle the sign Mom is forcing me to hold.


Step Two: Throw the sign on the floor because I am so tired of Mom giving it to me and saying "Hold the sign up for Nana"!


Step Three: Find a place to put this sign so Mom will get off my back!

Step Four: Throw it into the tubberware drawer, and walk away!
Even if it is a failed attempt, can I get credit for the adage, "it's the thought that counts"??

I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy...

Happy 5th of July!! I hope your 4th of July weekend was as wonderful and busy as ours!! We spent the entire weekend on the go...From Austin, to Hutto, From Belton back to Killeen, we went everywhere and did everything!

The weekend started in Austin, where we celebrated Parent's weekend. Instead of Mother's Day or Father's Day, we come together and have one celebration for the two of them. We had fun in the sun, BBQ and relay races. We played boys vs. girls and I am almost positive that the boys won in every race!!

We started our 4th of July festivities in Hutto, Texas. Each year we join our college friends and celebrate America's birthday with swimming:
Sand volleyball:
...and usually fireworks. No fire works this year, however!

After a day in Hutto (and many bruises on Cullen), we came back to Killeen for a good night's rest for one of the nation's best hometown 4th of July parades in Belton, Texas with Bedo and Coco!


How more All-American do you get?? A blonde haired, blue-eyed, flag-waving little man!


We recovered from the parade with a nap and spend the rest of the day with friends. It was such a nice, busy, LONG weekend. Couldn't have asked for more!!

You know what we are looking forward to?
A visit from our favorite Runaway Bay cousins this weekend!

What....Is....Happening....To....Me????

I had another episode. It was one of those moments that you wish you were alone so NO ONE could witness your embarrassment. Problem is, it is usually those exact moments that you are NOT alone.

Last night, we had our friends Taylor and Kenny over, after enjoying a wonderful evening at the pool. We made dinner, laughed, caught up, and started making dessert....that is when it happened.

Taylor was helping in the kitchen by turning on the stove. {Side bar, we have a double oven. I ALWAYS use the top oven because it is smaller, using less energy, and higher off the ground for little fingers.} When Taylor turned on the oven, she turned on the lower oven. No big deal. Either one cooks perfectly well. WELL, when I went to put in our caramel infused brownies, guess what I found in the oven.......CUPCAKES FROM NOAH'S BIRTHDAY PARTY. For the record, his birthday party was MAY 15TH! A) Why did we not eat these at his party? and B) How in the world did we not have an ant problem with sweet deliciousness sitting in my oven for the last month and a half?????

WHAT.IS.WRONG.WITH.ME????

On a lighter note...have you ever been SMOTHERED in kisses?? I was attacked by Noah's new found love of kissing this afternoon. It was so sweet. He would giggle, slam his face into mine and kiss all over me. The.Best.
Proof #2:

Bath Time Helper.

Bath time is OFTEN my favorite memory maker with Noah. He LOVES water, and loves playing in water. {Side note: I know so many babies who HATE water. I am more than thankful that my child does not have this aversion!!} Recently, Noah has wanted to "help" during bath time. He wants to turn the water on and off (which is fine, since he can't turn the knob at all),

and shampoo his own hair. We can say, "Time to wash your hair!" and his hands instantly go right to his head...
What a big helper.

And, of course, after we have soaped up, you have to wash off...which he is also great at doing.


Last night, Cullen took a picture of Noah and I after bath time. As usual, we wrapped up, and turned Noah into a bear. When I saw the picture, I couldn't help but notice how much he has grown in the last 6 months. This first picture was taken in September, 2010:

See how in this picture he is well wrapped up, snuggled into his big bear towel.

Now... June, 2011:

Now.....not so much. He doesn't mind being dried off, but certainly doesn't like to be tied down for too long.



Happy Tuesday. On a BRIGHT NOTE, my best friend in the whole wide world is coming to town this weekend. Trips like these make me so.very.happy. It is an over-due reunion. I miss her, love her, and can't wait to wrap my arms around her!!

I HATE Pregnancy Brain...

Prior to ever being pregnant, I was able to multitask with the BEST of them. Prior to being pregnant, I could make a to-do list, AND complete it. Prior to being pregnant, I could go on vacation - and remember to pack everything back INTO my bags.....

Since I had Noah, I CANNOT, let me repeat, CAN NOT remember anything, hear anything, complete a task AND, I can't remember the last time I went somewhere and packed everything back into my bags.



I thought pregnancy brain was supposed to go away when you weren't pregnant any more...

Just this morning, I was cooking dinner for a friend. I was putting noodles on the stove to cook, and guess what I did?? DIDN'T ADD WATER TO THE POT?? Really?? I literally put noodles on the stove to cook....After I smelled something burning, I went into the kitchen to find a pot of steaming uncooked noodles.

Lord, please either give me my abilities back....OR, just keep an extra eye on me. I don't care which.



On a different note - how many thought by the title of the post that it was going to say I was expecting #2?? NO WAY JOSE! This momma can't function with one, much less two. :)

Mini-Me

Since May 12, 2010, everyone, I repeat EVERYONE has taken one look at Noah and said, "Wow. He looks just like a Mills." I didn't see it. It has gone so far as a stranger (to me) stop me in public and ask if Noah was Billy Mills' grand son.

When I looked at my precious baby, I saw just that...a precious baby. I didn't think he looked like me or Cullen. I saw the personality traits: Cullen's calm side - my quirkiness. He flares his nose like I do. He goes with the flow like his daddy. BUT, I definitely didn't think he favored either one of us.

However, the other day, I made time stand still. I took a picture of Noah and saw baby pictures of Cullen flash in my head. It is true. Noah looks just like a Mills. He looks just like his daddy. It's a good thing his Daddy is so cute!

Need A Good Laugh?

Father's Day was this weekend. We spent the whole day just spending time together. We went to church, lunch with friends, and played at the water park!



{Let's go back to lunch......}

We went to lunch with a friend of mine's family. They are a wonderful family - whom I have come to love being a part of our lives. Pause - I am not sure if you know this, but I don't have the best hearing. Often, if you don't have my full attention, including my eyes, I won't hear you... - Unpause.

Noah was sitting between Cullen and I at Old Chicago. Cullen was feeding Noah lunch, while eating his lunch - which is often problematic because Noah eats at warp speed and if you aren't fast enough for him, he will fuss to let you know to speed it up. Well, I take a bite of my food, looking away from Noah, while digging in his bag. I hear him make a fussy noise so I look up and see Cullen's eyes closed at the table.

I knew he told me he was tired, but c'mon.....napping at the lunch table - while with company. How is that possible??? Instantly, I am so embarrassed for him. So, dumbfounded and quickly annoyed, I say loud enough to wake him, "Are you seriously sleeping at the table??" Only for him to look up at me and patiently say, "No, we're praying."

I felt like such a dumb-ass. Yep, I look around and everyone has their heads bowed....

Nice work, Mrs. Mills. Nice work.

Coffee With Dad

There is no doubt I love taking pictures of my family. It is one of my most favorite time-passers. Recently, I went to a wedding of a pledge sister, and while we were at the hotel, Cullen and Noah had an exchange over coffee mugs. It is by far, one of my absolute most favorite sets of pictures. It tells a story; it shows how much fun these two have together.


I am one lucky gal to have these two guys in my life. They feel me with joy and pride - I truly beam for them.

Summer Time, And The Livin's Easy....

I love song lyrics as titles. They just work.

Except, that this summer hasn't quite been easy living...yet. I have managed to stay BUSY with summer training and going here and there. Yesterday, Noah and I had such a fun morning. His Coco and Bedo had been out of town for about a week; so upon their return, Noah spent the afternoon with his Coco.

There is not a ton going on in the world of Cullen and Erin. We are both great; but nothing new to report. Noah on the other hand, changes by the day. In the last month, he:

• Has gone from crawling to walking 100%. While he was taking a few steps here and there before his birthday, he has perfected the art of "Frankenstein Walking". He is practically running.
  
• Communicates. Without words, he can communicate anything he needs. He points specifically. If pointing doesn't work, he will take your finger and DRAAAAAAG you anywhere he needs to go. He will take your hand and place it on something that needs moving, opened or closed. It blows me away that he can know exactly what he wants and is stubborn....persistent about it until he gets his need fulfilled.
• Can say: Mom, Mama, (any morph of mom), Nigh nigh (and only in your face, with a smile when he should be going to bed, but isn't!), thank you, Bye.
  
• he can imitate anything I do. I clap three times, he claps three times, and laughs at the situation...almost to say, "Look at me. I am so awesome."
  

Oh, he fills my heart. I know all moms are extremely partial to their own (rightfully so), but it blows me away how smart, funny and purely special he is to me.