And thus she becomes a one-year-old

Dear Millie,

What a big year.

So many accomplishments--from learning to breathe to communicating and taking some steps.

I am so proud to have you as a daughter, and eternally grateful that you chose to be part of our family.

I love you, baby girl.

Love, Mom

They grow up so fast!

Millie took her first steps today.

Next thing I know, she'll be off to college.

Meet the Family

These pictures have nothing to do with this post, I just liked them. (Nice work censoring your own photo, Millie!)

Over the past few weeks, we've had all of my siblings with all of their children in town. It was a blast, let me tell ya. Still, it's always kind of a funky experience spending a lot of time with siblings, as an adult.

Anyone agree?

No matter what I've done with my life or who I've become since I left my parents' home, everyone seems to fall back into their birth order when we're together.

Here they are:

"Oldest Brother": Gourmet chef who never went to culinary school; Computer genius; Great father; Dr. Who enthusiast; and don't you dare use cream of anything soup around him. It gives him the willies.

"The Doctor": Despite his many other interests and talents, his degree has become his face. Whenever this brother is in town, any ache or pain that you've ever had will somehow come to rest upon his ears, with pleas for advice. Oh yeah, and we went running together one day. He's really fast.

"Kids' Favorite": Always the entertainer, the kids especially love him; Good White-Elephant present giver; Loves reliving his childhood (Duck tales. Need I say more?); Teaches Psychology at BYU; Gluten free cooking.

Me

"Little Sister": Loves to sew; In the middle of a bunch of projects; Just got engaged; Wants to be individual and unique;

"Like a Nephew": I didn't actually see this brother much over the break. He was usually with the kids. You can't blame him, he is 10 years old.

Thinking that not everyone enjoys the family stereotype, I tried to break out of our mold a bit. I made dinner and used Cream of Mushroom Soup, didn't even mention a body part in "The Doctor's" presence, played games as adults, and...well, my sister was out of town and, like I said, I didn't see the youngest much. I really enjoyed getting to know my siblings better as individuals, and not just as my siblings.

Of Course, maybe the stereotype is more accurate...

A New Year in the Twilight Zone

Happy New Year Everyone. Sorry to be MIA, I'll explain in another post.

I have been living in the Twilight Zone.

NOT kidding.

For two Sundays in a row now, I have woken the baby up from her nap, run around like a banshee trying to get us ready for church, snarfed cereal as we're running out the door, and arrived at the church only to realize that we were early. At least today we were only 40 minutes early. Last week it was over 2 hours.

The Twilight Zone seems different than I pictured it. I still feel like I can trust my judgment, but it turns out that I need to just give up and hire a private secretary, so that I can figure out this life of mine.