Back from Sac Part 2...

So like Father, like Son...my Grandpa & Uncle Steve hanging out on the swing together (this is where they go to smoke their pipes)...and Aunt Marsha was inspiring my single cousins with some reenactment of Liza Minelli singing about saying yes to guys who ask for dates!

On Sunday, we followed Aunt Cathy home to Monte Rio in the Sonoma Valley. This town was hosting the 7th annual Mermaid festival (that is a larger than life mermaid on the stage behind the local bands)...Mateo liked rocking out to the music with Matt. Aunt Cathy and her partner Dawn live less than 10 miles from the ocean, and they were with us for Mateo's first ever visit to the sea. The beach was incredible and very much reminded us of the Oregon Coast with big huge rocks not far from shore.

Dawn is an excellent cook and she kept us well fed duringour short stay in Monte Rio...her Port Chocolate Balls are phenomenal, and Matt just finished the last of them last night.

Mateo was a champ on the plane trip home...it is amazing how accustomed he has become to traveling. Perhaps that has something to do with the 6 plane flights he has been on in the first month we have had him home (October 20th actually marked a month since we returned from Guatemala). How fast time flies...and how grateful we are that the next trip isn't scheduled for almost a month from now (Boise Book Club in November).

I have been getting back into work slowly. The part-time schedule has been good for both Matt and me...trying to figure out a routine is exhausting! But we are getting the hang of it. And having MamaNona so close has been really nice...she has been able to spend some afternoons here keeping Mateo entertained so that Matt can get some work done outside while it's still nice here.

That's all for now. We will try to post more pictures more often...but at least once a week.

Hugs to you all. Sarah, Matt & Mateo

Back from Sac...

So it has been a whirlwind tour recently...we spent four days in Boise what seems like ages ago...we had a great time and got to spend some quality time with Aunt Rachel, Uncle John and Cousins Lukas & Nathan. We also had a great open house at my friend Shannon Barnes new house. We had so much fun and I reminisced about how much I loved living in Boise.

Then last weekend, we were off to California to introduce Mateo to my dad's side of the family! We flew into Sacramento (Mateo has become a regular pro at flying)...however, Mom & Dad have not yet become pros at packing. We flew with a family of four (3 mo old baby & 4 year old & mom & dad) who picked up one large checked bag and a car seat. Made us a bit embarrassed to pick up four checked bags and a car seat. You have to take SO MUCH STUFF when you travel with kids...or at least that's what we believe to be true. My parent friends tell me I will learn with time.

We stayed at my Aunt Marsha's ranch in Arbuckle (north of Sacramento). She and her husband Klaus rented an RV for us to stay in. Her daughters, Kalie & Lindy & Lindy's husband, Brett were great with Mateo...and played a mean game of croquet with Matt.

My aunt Julie, AKA Sister Julie Ann, was home from the Poor Clare's Monastery in Minneapolis for a visit for the first time in 3 years. It was great to see Aunt Julie and get to tell her thanks in person for all the hours of prayer that she and the other sisters said on our behalf.

My Uncle Steve and two of his daughters, Lauren and Alexa were there for the party on Saturday for my Grandpa Don who turned 77. Mateo was particularly fond of chewing on Uncle Steve's PDA wallet. My Aunt Cathy fell in love with Mateo...that's her giving him a bear hug. And Aunt Julie & Aunt Cathy hugging him on the couch.

Everyone said that my cousin Kalie was a natural with Mateo...that's her on the floor playing with him. And then of course, Mateo fell in love with Uncle Klaus's addition to the pool...the fish fountain was a big hit.

I'll attach some more pictures in the next one.

Love, Sarah

More photos...

We finally have Internet again at our house...and so we are able to share these great pictures that Tom & Jeff DeSantis took onMateo's baptism day.

The first is Jeff holding Mateo, who is sporting the baptism outfit that we brought home from Guatemala. We picked it especially because Mateo's godfather, Josiah, has a fond term for the color..."Ressurrection Blue."

The photo of the two little girls features two future girlfriends, Lucy Fronza (on the right) and CeCe Petrik (on the left). And then there is his beautiful godsister Lily hamming it up for the camera.

Finally, we have godcousin, Kate Fronza, riding on babysitter (whose schedule is too booked to include us) Meghan Sprauer's back next to the other godsister, Maggie Kelley, riding on the other over-booked babysitter Brittany Brown. Good thing Miss Lauren DeSantis can squeeze us into her schedule!!

We also had our first trip to see the peditrician this week for a sick kid. Mateo got a snotty nose and a cough just after the baptism, and ten days later it was settling into his chest...so we now have antibiotics and an inhaler to help him breathe better. Turns out, sort of like the pre-school phenomenon, Mateo is being exposed to new kinds oh germs here and so he will likely have upper respiratory infections a couple of times in the next few months. We just have to learn how to handle the no sleeo nights a bit better as parents!

We're off to Boise today to meet Rachel's new baby so the cousins have time to hang out...Matt was talking to Papa yesterday who had been talking with Lukas. Papa told Lukas not to put his finger in Mateo's mouth or it might get bitten off...and Lukas replied, "if Mateo bites me, I'll bite him back!" We will see how this goes!

Love, Sarah

Papa & Grammy come to visit

We had a GREAT time with Papa & Grammy who came last weekend to share in our baptism festivities. My father, as a present to Mateo, helped Matt to frame the deck in front of our house. And Grammy taught me that Mateo could tolerate way more than I imagined in the way of foods. He likes peeled grapes (cut in half) the best so far!

We picked them up on Friday morning early...here's the first lesson we learned--we had to borrow Matt's mom's mini-van because neither of our cars could fit four adults and a car seat!! Thanks to camo pajamas from Robin Renaldo in St. Maries, we were easy to spot at Portland International Airport.

After a breakfast at Shari's near the airport to avoid Friday morning traffic, we were off to Silverton to check out the new sites. Dad's first surprise was the new paint job on our house...it's a deep red, with chocolate brown accents, that people either love (this includes Matt & Sarah) or haven't warmed up to (this includes Matt's mom & some of our friends!)

First came the initial consult on plans, and the two pictures of the men in my life show who was really running the show. Mateo is teething and so Papa got some first hand experience with the power of those teeth.

The boys worked diligently and by early Saturday afternoon, they had it framed up. The building inspecter has to come and we have ordered the decking & railing to finish it...but Papa promises to come back next spring to help with the stair project--I believe Mateo has more to do with the visit, but we will take all the help we can get.

Friday night, we feasted at MamaNona's house--in grand Itailian style. Then on Saturday, we had a BBQ with our parents, Mateo's God family, Sarah's friends Melissa & Ryan, and Sarah's cousin on her mom's side-Ann & Steve Carter from Seattle. It was a great time to mix & mingle while passing the baby around!

The picture of the three ladies is Sarah's mom Cathy, Matt's Mom Louise, and Sarah's cousin Ann - Courtesy of fledgling photographer and "God-sister" Maggie.

The story of the shirts that Matt & Mateo are wearing is for computer geeks--v1.0 (version 1.0 is the original of an application-the one with all the bugs in it!!) v2.0 is the next generation upgraded version. These were a birthday present from our friends the Fronza's...the dad of which is a bigger MAC Computer geek than Matt!

And Mateo loves to fly--that's the position Matt has him in...if you are lucky enough to have hands big enough to get around his thighs!

The final picture is us with my parents...our steps make a decent setting for family pictures...if we could only get Mateo to look at the camera with Dad sitting next to him!

Anyway, we had a great time with Grammy & Papa and we miss them already. Lucky for us that we will get to spend Christmas with them...it will be a good thing for the three grandsons to be together in St. Maries.

Guess that's enough for now. All our love...The Millers

10 days without Internet

So I know that many of you are still checking the blog on a regular basis, because I have gotten calls about why there are not new pictures up yet...well as strange as this may seem given that we don't live in a developing world country, we have been without internet at our house for 10 days and the internet gods from Charter aren't due to come until next Tuesday to assess the situation. Amazing!!

But enough bad news, we are settling in perfectly! Mateo is adjusting wonderfully to his new surroundings. We were able to baptize him last Sunday (as per the original schedule) and he got passed around to all our friends and even without a nap, he did not result to melt-down mode. One of our friends commented about how bonded he was to us, because he was happy being passed around--but whenever he saw Matt or I--he would hold out his arms to us. It is amazing to feel that kind of love.

The pictures attached to this entry include my best friend from high school--Melissa Chilson and her beau Ryan holding Mateo at the pre-baptism dinner the night before. Then we have Mateo's Godfather, Josiah Kelley anointing him with the sign of the cross just as Mass was beginning on Sunday. The next picture is his "God-Family", aptly named by soon to be five year old "god-sister" Maggie Kelley, along with "god-sister" Lily Kelley, and "god-mom" Shannon Kelley (sporting "god-sibling to be named in late November--aka K3"). There is a picture of our priest, Fr. William, doing the actual baptising with water...Mateo had been sleeping until that very moment, and he didn't even scream to be awakened by cold water. That's certainly a god moment in our books. And finally, in our parish, we close mass with a blessing on the priest...this time, he invited us up, and the parish blessed us in our new family. To feel such a part of a community, and so surrounded by the love of God and family and friends...is a day I will never forget!

My parents came from North Idaho for a visit, but that gets an entry of its own, so we can show off more pictures...I'm typing that one next.

Hope all is well...love from Oregon!! Sarah & Matt & Mateo