Latest pics of Brody

I know this blog is about the Miller family but right now Brody is the easiest to take pictures of and lets admit it, he looks the cutest in the pictures.

Brody all bundled up and ready to go on a walk

Brody is hanging out with his friends on a big boy chair

Brody is like his mom when he smiles or laughs hard - he squints his eyes - so in these pictures it almost looks like his eyes are closed but they aren't, he is just laughing really hard.

Brody hanging out on a Saturday night with some popcorn and his sippy cup.

Disclaimer: Now some paranoid parents might frown at this one but I am sorry Brody loves popcorn. No one should worry too much he is always supervised when eating popcorn and he takes one at a time.

Brody just being himself and cute as ever!

Brody in Blue

My awesome sister-in-law and friend Sarah is brilliant with her camera and she took these great pictures last week.

My girl Brooke on American Idol!

I am not really an American Idol fan but tonight I was because one of my oldest and best friends was on as a contestant. She wasn't the crazy star wars chick (which if you didn't catch that you should see if there is a clip of her crazy on You Tube). Brooke was the last contestant. She sang beautifully. She sounded nervous and I am sure it is tough knowing you are being watched by three big names in the music industry plus millions of TV watchers. I wish Brooke would have mentioned that she has experience in music and that brings a lot to the table other than a great voice. Brooke has been trying to "make it" in the music industry for the past 4 years. She writes her own music and she has worked with a band. Oh and she plays the piano and guitar. She has performing experience in front of an audience too. Brooke has previously tried releasing a CD so she has experience recording as well as working with back up singers. So what I am trying to say is Brooke is talented and I just hope that, if she makes it to the point when "America" votes, America doesn't screw it up and vote for someone else!

Not great news but honest news

My friend Amber posted on her blog the other day about how its seems like when you look at other people's blogs they always make sure only nice and perfect things are written. That fact is probably true and its a sad one. If the point of a blog is really to share everyday occurrences and whats happening in life it can't always be wonderful and happy because life isn't like that all the time. I am not wanting to go off on depressing or unhappy subjects and I feel like I am because my previous post was about my family's dog dying. But I want my blog to be honest and be a true reflection of my family and our lives and what is going on even if it isn't always pleasant and wonderful.

Now some of my family already know what I am about to say so you don't need to read this post but for those of you who don't, feel free to read on. I wanted to give a disclaimer because I just hate being that person who repeats things all the time!

A couple weeks ago I took Brody into his pediatrician's office because he had an ear infection and I mentioned how he hasn't talked yet (not one word). I had been thinking about it just the past month or 2 because he has other cousins that are younger than him that can already say things like, "daddy, hi, bye" etc. I mentioned it just casually, I was actually thinking she would say that 18 months isn't too old for him to not be talking. But she actually said she would have someone from Arizona Early Intervention call me to set up an appointment for an evaluation. Well the evaluation was on Wednesday January 2nd. We were hoping that it was just a precaution and that they would tell us he would start talking any day now. The way the two ladies evaluated Brody were through observation, interaction with him and asking Jake and I questions. Both of them wrote things down and tallied points in a standardized test. Brody tested that he had a 50% delay in two areas, communication and social skills. He also tested 25% delay in in two other areas but a 25% delay isn't enough to merit any therapy. But since he tested a 50% delay in two areas Brody qualifies to get speech therapy (we aren't quite sure what help or therapy is given for the social delay). There is still some paper work that needs to be pushed through but they will be contacting us soon to help us get Brody started with the speech therapist.

The outcome of the evaluation of course has gotten Jake and I down a bit. It is never easy knowing that your child needs help to develop and he doesn't develop in all areas naturally. But Jake and I have prayed and fasted about the situation. We are trying to be grateful that we are finding this out now and taking the right steps to help him so that he doesn't fall behind further in those areas of development. We are very lucky that the State of Arizona have great programs like Early Intervention. The therapy Brody will get is 100% paid for by the state. Also my sisters Jada and Kinsey are very familiar with working with this system and with children experiencing problems like this because of their jobs. So I have received a lot of comfort and support from my family so far. Jake and I very much know things could be much worse and we are trying to stay optimistic.

Like I said at the beginning of this post I know this isn't an extremely positive or funny post but this is a big deal in our family right now and I wanted to share it with the people who look at this blog - family and friends we love.

Sad news

Suki died yesterday Tuesday January 8th 2008

She was 14 years old (in human years)

My family (the Lewis family) got a dog about 11 years ago. Her name was Suki - we didn't pick the name the previous owners did and with 8 people in the family wanting 8 different names a new one never stuck. Suki was a wonderful dog. She was three when we got her so the hassle of dealing with a puppy and training it was already done for us by the time we got her. Suki could stay inside up to 8 hours without having to go out to the bathroom. She was a very fun dog to play with. Suki was amazing at knowing when she needed to be more gentle because she was playing with a young child and she knew to step it up and be more rough when playing with adults. There are so many memories relating to Suki. There were times when certain people in my family would try to put a t-shirt on her or as you can see from the photo above we would have her lay in our beds and we would put our blanket on her (not very sanitary but we were young). She had so much personality for dog. Suki could show so much of her attitude or how she felt by her facial expression. I know that sounds crazy because she was a dog but it was true. I always thought she was a beautiful looking dog as well, She was half Pit bull and half black Labrador.

Now I know that some people out there don't like animals, especially household ones like cats and dogs. But personally I LOVE animals and I very much love dogs. I thought Suki was an awesome pet, even after I moved out I loved coming over to my parent's house and seeing her. I know it might be silly to some people to be so sad at the loss of a pet but my family had her for so long and we loved her as part of the family that I just cried when my Dad called last night and told me. Me and my sister Jericho kept saying to each other that we feel such a loss that we need to have some type of tribute. I guess one of the few ways I feel like I can make a tribute to Suki was to include the sad news on my blog.

Kickin' back and lookin' cute!

Brody is hanging out watching Sesame Street on Mom and Dad's bed!

Potty time!

I realize Brody is pretty young for potty training so don't look at these pictures thinking I am crazy. The other day Jake and I thought that it couldn't hurt to start having Brody getting used to sitting on the toilet. He doesn't understand what he is doing sitting up so high or that its a toilet or even what a toilet is. But Brody is having fun while I sing songs to him and he plays with his bath toys.