Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas Everyone! We stayed in North Carolina for the holidays, and while we didn't miss the traveling, we did miss our families. Here are some photos of our Christmas this year:

Hailey opening presents Christmas morning



Our very first family gingerbread house


Hailey's spread



Lindsay and Hailey on our Christmas day walk in the park (the temperature was pushing 70 degrees, so we just couldn't pass it up!)



Here's a video that will probably only interest Grandparents and other serious Hailey fans (it's just the first few minutes on Christmas morning)

Santa Claws?

A friend of ours told me that one of her sons was afraid of Santa Claus for the longest time; she eventually figured out that he thought his name was Santa Claws, and he was going to come and scratch out the eyes of the naughty children during the night. Maybe this is a common problem...Hailey didn't seem to like out Mr. Claws too much.


(this was attempt number one at the Northgate Mall)


(this is attempt number two at the South Point Mall)


(this is our most recent attempt at the ward party)

33 Weeks and Counting

Due to popular request, (okay mostly just Lindsay's sisters and Camille) I have decided to post a picture of Lindsay showing off her belly. She doesn't want to blab on about how her pregnancy is going...so I'll do it for her. We can't wait for the boy to arrive! We haven't got a clue what we're gonna name the little turkey, but I'm sure we'll come up with something...eventually. Also, Hailey already loves the baby. She's always trying to pull up Lindsay's shirt to give the baby kisses. All in all everything seems to be in order, except that our son keeps pushing and kicking and otherwise making my wife uncomfortable.

This is the only photo I got off of the camera before Lindsay went on a deleting spree:

*this photo has been removed by the author's wife.


Let's just say, she looks somewhere between the 32 and 36 week lady in this picture.

Gobble Gobble and Naughtiness

I forgot to add this to the Thanksgiving post, so here ya go.



Hailey is having a hard time leaving the Christmas decorations alone...especially our miniature tree. Yesterday while Lindsay was picking up the tree and putting all of the ornaments back on the tree, Hailey disappeared. When Lindsay got back to the kitchen, where she had been making cookie dough, this is what she found:


She had pushed a chair up to the counter and was shoveling the dough into her mouth with reckless abandon...I think someone is working her way onto the naughty list.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We had a great Thanksgiving week. We spent a few days in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with some friends. We all rented a house, and cooked our Thanksgiving meal together. Hailey had the time of her life playing all day with one of her very best friends, Amelia. Hopefully we will have some more photos to add to this post very soon, but here are a few.



Playing on the back porch with Amelia


Going for a swim in the neat jetted tub



Some of our friends watched Hailey while we went for a trip to Luray Caverns, pretty eh?

Blasted Afternoon Church!!

We can't wait until next year when our church schedule is changed...right now we leave for church at about 12:30, which is normally the time we try to put Hailey down for a nap...which means that on Sundays, no nap for the baby and by the time church is over at 4pm she is a cranky, tired, hungry little stinker. Today when I got home from church I walked in the kitchen to find this...


Apparently, she had screamed and screamed, until eventually she just curled up on the kitchen rug and went to sleep. Poor thing.

Happy Halloween

"I want my pumpkin to look like this, dad!"


Ward Trunk-or-Treat



Pumpkin Guts



Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Recruiting Trip

Last week I went to the University of Utah and BYU to represent the law school at a couple of law fairs. I graciously offered to take Hailey on the trip with me (so she could play with Lindsay's family, and Lindsay could take a break)...not fully realizing the implications of what I was about to undertake.

The trip took nearly 10 hours each way (including getting through security and a layover in Phoenix), and Hailey refused to sleep on the longest leg of the trip. Despite being stuck in a window seat on a completely full flight, and having to go through the security line twice in Salt Lake (because the snow globe that Lindsay demanded we retrieve from her parents house apparently has "untestable liquids" and looks a little like a bomb), both Hailey and I survived the trip and are even better buddies than when we left.

Trunk-or-Treating with Aunt Hannah and cousin Kamdyn


Uncle Jeff, Aunt Julie, and Aunt Chelsea

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Mills

During Brian's fall break a couple of weeks ago Brian's parents came out and we took a road trip.

We first drove out to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania


Then we went to Philadelphia



And ended the trip in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia

Some Videos

I'm no dummy, I know where my toes are.


My parents never let me take a nap...
so I have to sleep at the dinner table


Can you guess my favorite dairy product?

A little update...

For the final leg of Brian's internship interviews, we all spent a couple of days in Denver. Brian did a couple of interviews and Hailey played with her cousins. Once we got there, we had a lot of fun...the plane ride on the other hand...not so fun.

So much for giving up the pacifier...all bets were off on the plane; Hailey got her binkie, she got to play with the iPod, and one of her all time favorite toys, Daddy's hi-lighters (note the green marker on her cheek)


Some photos since we got home:

Hailey's favorite new game is to close herself inside the cabinet of our entertainment center.


She wants to be just like her mommy and wear big girl shoes (when Hailey says shoes though, it sounds like she's whispering the word "chew").

It's a Boy!!!

I have a feeling, based on the poll results this information has already leaked out! Here are the ultrasound photos of the little guy:





Any suggestions for names? We're struggling to come up with ideas:)

To Dallas and Beyond

It's been a while since our last post, and a lot has happened. We spent 10 days with our friends the Flakes. They let us stay at their house while Brian was doing an internship with a law firm in Dallas. Hailey had a lot of fun playing with their little girl Claire





Finally, we returned to our home sweet home in North Carolina about 2 weeks ago. Brian has been interviewing non-stop (or so it seems) since we got home. He's interviewing with law firms in Dallas and in Denver.

This last Friday, Lindsay finally got to see a doctor...well sort of. She had an ultrasound, and she'll get to see a doctor this next week...yes, we know the sex of the baby, but we're not telling just yet, we'll make the announcement once we get our ultrasound pictures scanned in so we can put them up.

Goodbye Benches!!

We are so grateful for having such amazing family. We all loved staying with Mama and Papa Bench all summer long, especially Hailey. Our favorite memories from this summer:

Happy Birthday Hailey


The Great Escape


Hogle Zoo with Uncle Kyle and Aunt Chelsea


Weekend away in St. George


Rodeo!


View from the Cabin


We love you guys!

Dancing Machine

What a Summer!

With just a few weeks left here in Utah, we've been reflecting on all of the fun we've had. It's been an experience not having a place of our own for the last few months. More than anything though, we're glad that mama and papa Bench were willing to put us up at their house this summer. We had a barbeque for Lindsay's sister's birthday tonight, and the whole family was together. It was pretty great, and we're really going to miss having everyone around. Here are a few of Hailey's favorite things about staying at Grandma's house:

Baths with Kamdyn


Her very own car


Running through the sprinklers


...and sweeping the garage in the buff

A new addition to the Millsies

We've been putting off making this announcement, but we finally couldn't wait any longer. Lindsay is pregnant! We expect the baby will be due at the end of January or beginning of February next year. We should find out if we're having a boy or a girl shortly after we get back to North Carolina at the end of August. Unfortunately, Lindsay has been pretty darn sick, although compared to her last pregnancy this one is a walk in the park (when she was pregnant with Hailey she was kneeling at the porcelain throne multiple times a day, this time it's usually only once or twice a day). We're excited to have another kiddo joining our family, especially if this next one is as amazing as Hailey has been.

Speaking of Hailey being amazing, we went with Lindsay's parents to the Ute Stampede Rodeo on Friday night and stayed the night down at the family cabin. Here's a photo from the Rodeo and a video from the cabin:

Happy 4th of July

For the 4th of July we made the 8-hour drive out to Colorado Springs to visit Brian's family. It was an eventful and fun weekend.

We spent Friday hanging out at Brian's parents' house, Saturday at a water park with the whole Mills clan, and on Sunday, Brian's brother blessed his little boy.

Trip to Boise

Lindsay's great-grandmother passed away this last weekend, and her funeral was in Boise this Wednesday. I've never met Lindsay's mom's family, so we thought we'd better take the chance to go visit them. We were sad to see Nana go, but we were glad we had the chance to see Lindsay's family. Hailey met her great-grandma and great-grandpa Salas, and Lindsay's Uncle Arthur and Aunt Josie for the first time.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Last Saturday was Lindsay's 26th birthday, and we took a weekend away and went to see Les Miserables at an outdoor amphitheater in St. George. It was a blast, even though we did miss our Hailey just a little bit.

We also got to go to the temple

The stage at the theater

And of course when we got home we had a little cake!