Ethan Thomas Miller

Born August 26, 2010 at 7:36PM

7 lbs 10 ounces 20.5 inches long

the waiting game

The time of birthing is at hand and Bret and I are becoming a little antsy to have our baby boy around. Technically, I'm not due until next week but we both felt (and I certainly look) like it would happen sooner than later. It'll be just my luck to go a week over or something.

Now that we've gotten mostly everything we need and things are set up for his temporary room here in Utah, all we have left to do is wait. Despite my discomfort, I think Bret is even more eager than I am to get things going - I wouldn't be surprised if he starts slipping chilli powder or castor oil in my drink soon. He's been so excited putting baby's room and all the gear together and I often find him moving the baby carrier from the car, to the stroller and all round the house. He's devoured every baby care book we have, memorized all our safety manuals and drills young parents about their methods of establishing the best sleep routine. He even found an old cabbage patch doll that he used as proxy to practice swaddling and strapping into the car seat; I wouldn't be surprised if he expresses a desire to take the empty stroller for a walk soon... oh wait, he did.

He'll certainly be a great dad!

Last week a good friend of mine took some pictures of us to document this time of anticipation. I was a little hesitant to photograph my body in this condition, but they turned out pretty cute (at least the ones I've seen so far) despite my apparent swollen-ness and I'm glad we did it. Thanks again Miss Giddens!

Maybe I'll put them up once we get them all back but here's a little glimpse:

P.S. Tonight is a full moon..... fingers crossed that the legends prove true!

shower power

We've been very lucky recently to have had a few baby showers thrown for us by some very generous friends. They were all beautifully done with an abundance of good food and good company!

Shower with the Danville girls given by Meriel Frandsen and Megan Scott.

Frozen grape skewers. Mmmm....

Another elephant for baby boy. Meriel made this herself... amazing.

Chi Omega shower given by Natalie DeMill. See more here.

Belly buddies. Tiffany and I are due one day apart!

Can't wait to put baby in all these cute little clothes!

High school friends shower given by Melissa Long, Danielle Curtis, Rachel Rigby and Allie Turville. See more here.

I'm huge, by the way.

That fruit looks so good right now.

(please notice B's stache above)

A big thanks to everyone who came and put these showers together, we feel so spoiled!

last week was awesome

Yes, last week was indeed fantastic. For one, my sister and her family were in town from California which is always so fun. There was a lot of this happening....

I'm sure the neighborhood is so confused; first assuming the lone pregnant girl roaming the streets must be a single teen mom to now perhaps believing we're polygamists, what with my brother-in-law pushing a kid in a stroller around with two pregnant ladies in stride.

It's the down-hill stretch for the both of us!

Last week was also great because I had this little girl for a buddy which means lots of watching Finding Nemo and a few Dora songs stuck in my head.

My family rules.

I've also had some wonderful baby showers thrown for me recently so I'll have to post about those soon.

But perhaps the best part of last week, no, the entire summer, was when this dapper young man walked back into my life.

Yes, Bret is home! He surprised me on Tuesday by coming home a whole week early. It has been absolutely amazing to have him around again. I even let him keep the stache for a couple of days as a reward. NEVER will we be separated for that long again.

Now all that's left is for this baby to come. I can't believe I've only got about two and half weeks left of this pregnancy (although my body is certainly feeling it), and that I'm basically a ticking time bomb. We sure can't wait to meet our little guy!!

flashback: london 2006

So I know I already mentioned my study abroad to London in my Wimbledon flashback (and I certainly talk about it enough already) but I felt like I should give that experience and the people I shared it with a proper shout out now that it's been four years. So please, indulge me.

To sum it up all I can really say is that I had the time of my life that summer. I know so many of you have had similar experiences that have enriched your lives and what more can we say than that? It's hard to put it into any other words but I'll try: I met some absolutely amazing people - including our professors and their families - some of which I still consider close (lifelong?) friends, learned a lot and saw a whole bunch of stuff. Was that vague enough? It makes sense that so much of my heritage comes from England because it sure feels like home to me there. I could go on about it but in the interest of not boring you, I'll let these pictures speak for themselves (with help from a caption or two).

Note: I did not perm my hair, it just took on a life of its own that humid summer.

Meeting the cast of the 2nd Pirates movie at the London premiere.

With Ben and the bobbies.

Molly and I groovin' on the bus. We also did such things as make up songs and raps that annoyed everyone else.

Hyde Park

Bones.

London LDS Temple.

We also spent a fabulous week in Ireland.

I admit this next picture is cheesy. I like it though because it reminds me of the Chinese tourists who thought it was photo worthy enough to take some of us with their cameras, too.

Studying for finals.

Some of my best pals.

Still in touch at Molly's wedding a couple months ago.

My London adventures will forever be one of the most amazing experiences of my life but I also am very grateful for what it led me to. If I hadn't done that program I wouldn't have thought or wanted to go to BYU for a semester and therefore would have never me Bret. Sometimes we play the always thought provoking "what if" game and the question of "what if I never went to London?" always seems to me the most profound. Not only would I have missed out on a lifetime opportunity but also the love of my life - a thought sometimes too scary to consider.

To all my London friends: Thanks for the memories and I hope life is treating you well! Are we still up for the 2012 reunion in London for the Olympics? Count us in.