Wednesday, June 30, 2010

You'll Never Guess...

Last night we put Brycen down at about 10:30. We were in bed by 11:00. At 5 am I woke up in a panic. I turned to Tyson and asked him if he'd gotten up to feed the baby at all.
He said no.
When he asked me and I said no, we both jumped out of bed in a panic. We went in his room and he wasn't moving at all. He was right where we had left him when we put him to bed.
I poked at him and he still didn't move. Tyson pushed him a little and he still didn't move.
So in a bit of a panic he grabbed Brycen's little shoulders and gave him a little shake.
Sure enough, Brycen woke up with a little cry. He was totally fine.
And then it hit me like a truck full of Florence's chocolates:
Brycen slept through the night!
I couldn't believe it.
And after reading books and asking questions, we hadn't done anything different with the routine we'd been using.
He just did it on his own! We were so happy.
The little guy ended up sleeping till 6:00.
7 1/2 hours! Awesome.
Needless to say, Tyson and I were both worried about Brycen so we didn't get much sleep till after he ate at 6:00.
Anyway, I just wanted to record this milestone in Brycen's life.
And to report that this little guy has begun to sleep through the night! Woo hoo!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Julie's Birthday Party

Tyson's mom's birthday was on June 20, but we celebrated on the 19th with a bowling party!
...

So naturally Erika and I made bowling pin cupcakes.
Julie loves to bowl! Erika had the idea to go bowling and to do these cute bowling pins and a bowling ball for part of the dessert.

The other part of dessert was popcorn cupcakes.
Julie also really likes popcorn!
The picture above shows in the book what they're supposed to look like. We were pretty close on getting them just right!


Lillie and Jack were being so good while we worked on the cupcakes! They are great kids.


Lillie coloring


Here are the cupcakes after they made their debut at the bowling alley. We had other bowlers coming over to admire our work! We were pretty flattered.


And the popcorn cupcakes in their popcorn bowl


Cooper bowling

Easton


Julie the master bowler



Tyson


Brycen had a great time as well!


Erika and I with the cupcakes


Getting ready to blow out the candles


Kate enjoying a bowling pin


Opening presents
We got her a super cute wallet.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Baby Wise?

First, a photo disclaimer:
Pediatricians are recommending parents not put their babies on their stomachs to sleep at night. This picture was taken when I put Brycen down for a nap. I thought it would be good tummy time. So I promise I'm listening to his doctor!

Tyson and I have recently been told about a book called
"On Becoming Baby Wise".
For those who don't know what that is, it's a sleep reference guide that helps regulate your baby's eating schedule allowing them to nap as well as sleep through the night. We've heard a lot of good things about this book and the miracle worker that it is. We've started giving it a try, but we're not sure if it will work for us. It talks about how a 3-month-old baby should be sleeping through the night (which Brycen is not doing by any means.) And if they're not, the best thing to do to get them out of the routine of waking up through the night is to let them cry until they fall back to sleep.
...
We tried this tonight and it didn't work so well. Brycen cried for over an hour before we decided to take him out of his crib and give him a bottle. At this point I'm trying to decide what we should do - if we should keep going with this routine and give it a couple more days, or if it just isn't going to work for Brycen.
...
It is so hard for me to let him cry!
Especially since I swear he calls for me when he starts that tired whimper he has.
His little "wahs" turn into what sounds an awful lot like "ma", "mama", and "mom." It melts my heart when I hear my sweet little baby call for me in his tired or sad state. I told Tyson tonight that I'm pretty sure he's already said his first words by doing this. :)
...
The book also talks about getting the baby on a good eating routine. I feel like Brycen does pretty well with an eating routine. Until we reach the middle of the night, that is. During the day he stays pretty regular. I'm able to watch his cues plus keep him on a relatively good schedule. That is one thing about this book that is good advice that I know works for Brycen.
...
So besides the fact that I hate hearing Brycen cry for me like he does and sound so sad, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I think partially where we've gone wrong is waiting to start him on a routine. The book suggests starting a routine when the baby is born. We didn't start till he was almost 3 months old. I received some good advice and opinions through Facebook about this book, both negative and positive. But I have a lot of friends who check my blog more than view my Facebook status. So I'd really like some more opinions about this! I want Brycen to learn to sleep through the night. For his sake and our sake.
...
What have you done that works well? Has this book been helpful or are there other techniques out there that seem to work?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Brycen's Photoshoot with Joanie

Last week I took Brycen over to my friend Joanie's house for a photoshoot. Tyson and I just love how the pictures turned out!
These are a few of our favorites in some of the different edits she did. I'm a little biased, but I have to say that we have a really cute baby. :)
Thanks again, Joanie! We owe you big time!


In his blessing outfit










Monday, June 21, 2010

Memorial Day

I was looking through my pictures tonight and realized I haven't posted about Memorial Day! We had a bbq with my family that weekend, and we spent Memorial Day with Tyson's family.
We went to the Ucon Cemetary with his family and put flowers on some of the graves.

The first was Tyson's Grandpa Clawson (his mom's dad).


Lillie with an American flag


Kate loves Jack!




Tyson's Grandpa Hill (his dad's step-father).


Easton & Cooper


Brycen was held by his cousins and Grandma when we got back.
The first was Easton.

Then Grandma got to hold him.


And then Cooper!
(The t-shirt Brycen is wearing was picked out by Cooper.)



Brycen is loved by all his cousins!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Brycen's Blessing Day

Brycen was given a name and a blessing on June 6.
It was such a wonderful and neat day! We had both our families there.

Tyson did a great job with the blessing. It was really neat and an emotional experience. It is the best experience being able to bless your own baby. What a great day!



On Sunday morning first thing's first: a bath!

Time to get dressed for church!


I love these little white collared shirts that are onesies. Brilliant idea!
We found this one at the Gap. They're about the only place that has dress clothes for infants right now.


Getting the hair all combed and fancy


The whole outfit

The shirt was from Gap, the tie is Brycen's cousin Jack's (who wore it for his blessing), the pants are from Dustin and Erika, and the shoes were on sale at Old Navy. What a little man!


Brycen Timothy Miller

Eating some food before we left for church


Gotta get those burps out!


Remember the duck cupcakes?

Time to set them out on the cupcake tower!




My favorite table at any party


The cupcake creators
Me, Erika & Amber

Time to eat!

(Thanks again to everybody for bringing food to contribute! We really appreciate it!)


Fruit kabobs made by Erika and Dustin



Lillie really liked the ducks.



Sibs Amy, Britney, Aaron & Adam



Mom & Grandma Murri



Tyson taught Cooper & Easton how to play ring toss.



Tyson & Grandma Hill



Proud Dad



The Tyson Miller family



Mom & son



Easton playing ring toss his way



Dad & Grandpa Murri



Amber & Che'



Erika & Dustin



Kate



The Mike O'Connor family (with Grandma & Grandpa Murri)



The Milan Miller family (with Grandma Clawson)



Grandma Clawson with her great-grandkids



Grandma Clawson & Brycen


Brycen was pretty worn out by the end of the day.


Tyson's sister Tacie & Brycen

(Thanks for the picture, Tace!)