Happy Easter!

Here are some pictures from the day.



Also a little video. As you can see, T.J. was very into "the hunt."

TJ's Spring Training

Check out his form.

"TJ The Prognosticator"

We thought we would post some pictures of T.J.'s first sledding experience. It was up in the Poconos. The first run went well, but of course, Daddy got too ambitious on the second run resulting in a little dump. But T.J. rebounded well, asking to ride again the next day (very resilient little Russian boy).


Pre-Run - Happy




The First Run - "Again"




The Second Run - The Dump





The Aftermath - Sad T.J.



The Aftermath - Happy T.J.

T.J. and his cousin Elizabeth (Bea) really enjoy being together. I created this short video to celebrate their friendship.

Merry Christmas!


Here's a video of T.J. on Christmas morning. It seems as if he was more interested in finishing off the crumbs left by Santa than attacking that big mound of toys.




Also, since I am practicing my blogging skills, below is a slideshow with some highlights.




We hope everyone enjoyed their day, and wish everyone good health, peace and happiness in the coming year.


The Millers of Metuchen

So I thought I would tell everyone how T.J. fills his days.

We have an au pair named Lisa (yes, Lisa, too) from Germany who T.J. adores quite a bit. They have become very good friends and enjoy lots of activities together. Here is a picture of the two of them.




T.J. also goes to Nursery School twice a week. His teachers say he is "chatty" as he likes to talk to everyone and see what they are up to. Here's a picture from his first day of school (the backpack was a gift from Lisa).



T.J. also takes swim lessons at the YMCA. After a slightly disastrous first session (when he cried hysterically and the teachers wouldn't let Lisa come in and save him), he now loves it.






I also just signed T.J. up for soccer lessons. He is so pumped!

Last Thanksgiving we posted a video I made called "Our Story." I thought I would re-post it for those who might like to view it again (since the original link is not active). I also have video from our trip that I never posted and now that we have a MacBook, I will be able to edit it. So I hope to post some clips in the next week. Stay tuned.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

T.J. had a photo shoot!

Check out these glam shots of the stylin' T-man....

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pictures of T.J. the firefighter. We went to Jon's school for Halloween at the High. T.J. was in candy heaven!

Sorry for not posting in a couple of months. Things have been busy but very good. We just submitted our dossier for adoption #2 - yeah! We're hoping to travel to Kazkahstan to bring home a little sister for TJ in the next 8 months. Meanwhile, this weekend was Jon's birthday. I put together a little video to celebrate the special relationship between father and son.

We just got back from TJ's first trip to New England. We started by traveling to Portsmouth, NH where we visited Gino's family. We went to a lobster pound in Kittery, Maine and then drove up the coast to Portland, Maine. The next morning, after a scrumptious breakfast at Becky's Dinner (nothin's finer), we set out to join Jamie, Simone, Catherine and Elizabeth in North Haven, Maine -a small, rustic island oasis north of Boothbay Harbor. After 2 days of boating, crabbing and bike rides, we then traveled across New Hampshire to Burlington, Vermont to visit the Johnsons. In Vermont, TJ got to drive a boat, ride an alpine slide, play in a mountain stream and eat Ben and Jerry's ice cream. On the least leg, we stopped in Saratoga and Albany to visit some of my college friends. His highlight there was driving a firetruck and holding the hose! TJ was lucky, because at every stop he had great playmates. Here are some pics..

At Nubble Lighthouse After Eating Yummy Brown's Ice Cream

TJ, Mommy and a Sunset in North Haven, Maine

Getting Ready for the First Annual Miller Rowboat Race

Cousin Hug

Enjoying the Fountains in the Pool in New Hampshire

Daddy and TJ Beat Mike and Nelly on the Alpine Slide at Stowe

TJ and Nelly at Ben and Jerry's

Daddy and TJ on one of our Ferry Rides

Friday, June 29th was Gotcha Day.

It's been one year since we legally became a family and were able to spring TJ from the baby house. TJ is a happy, healthy child who manages to quickly capture the heart of anyone he meets. It's amazing how many people tell us, after only spending seconds with TJ, that he is a special boy. This we know full well. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have TJ in our lives.

So, to commemorate our first year together, we thought we would list some of TJ's milestones and favorite things....

First word -"cat" - he loves animals and loves his two cats - Cindy and Sydney - affectionately called "Louie" and "Idny." He likes to try to "carry" them and hug them.

First sentence - I want Daddy! (followed by a lot of other I want... sentences)

Favorite sport - Definitely baseball. He'll make a ball and a bat out of anything.

Favorite activity - Watching the trains at the train station

Best friend - Although this is not necessarily reciprocated, TJ loves Dylan the 11-year-old boy who lives across the street. Dylan is always outside playing ball. TJ stands at our screen door and yells "Dylan!" at the top of his lungs. Dylan is very nice to him and they often play together.

Favorite Place to Visit - Nannie at the nursing home. He gets all the bland soup and saltines he can eat and access to a juice machine. Plus he gets to push Nannie in her wheelchair. Life doesn't get much better than that!

Favorite Book - Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Progress on Counting - TJ can count to 14

Progress on the Alphabet - He can sing the song

Most Requested Song For Mommy to Sing - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Favorite TV show - Tie - Blues Clues (with Joe as host) and Thomas the Train

Favorite Color - Green

Favorite Dinner - Pizza

Favorite Lunch - Chicken or Ziti

Favorite Breakfast - Waffle

Favorite Beverage - Milk


So to celebrate the day, we took TJ to a truly American place - Chucky Cheese!

Here are some pics.

TJ Says "Cheese" at Chucky Cheese

TJ and Daddy Eat Pizza

New Found Skill: Air Hockey (he's actually pretty good)

Mommy and TJ have fun with a balloon

This past weekend we were off on another road trip. We went to Arlington, VA to attend Jon's cousin Molly's senior recital. She did a fantastic job. Below are some highlights from the trip.

Sunglass Kid Getting Ready For The Ride

(No, the color coordination of the shorts and sippy cup was not on purpose - but he looks sharp, right? Must take after Pop Pop.)

Watching Cousin Joe's Baseball Game With The Other Sunglass Kid.

(TJ is yelling "hit the ball!" not "are you blind ump, he was safe" as rumor had suggested.)

Having Fun With A Sprinkler At Aunt Mimi's and What-About-Bob's House

(I'm so frustrated by TJ's lack of expression.)

TJ With Molly And His Other Cousins, Lindsay, Catherine and Elizabeth

(This was obviously before the melt down during Act 2.)

Daddy, TJ, Molly and Mommy For A Congratulatory Picture

(Once again, great job Molly!)

Everything is going well in the Miller household. The weather is finally warming up, so TJ has been able to enjoy the outdoors.

This weekend TJ and his cousins, Catherine and Elizabeth got to enjoy Ag Field Day at the Cook campus of Rutgers University. As you can see, TJ had fun attacking Daddy. TJ likes to wear his "hoodie." He requests it often.





This week was also Nannie's 90th birthday! TJ and his 6 cousins got to celebrate the day with her. And TJ helped her blow out the candles on her birthday cake (something he is quite obsessed with:)

Happy Easter everybody!

TJ had a very nice time at church with Gram and Nannie. Then we went to Charlie Brown's for a brunch buffet. TJ was especially fond of the omelet station. We know that's Daddy's favorite place to go after the shrimp moat!

Although we had a nice time, TJ was sorry he couldn't make the annual trek to North Carolina to see Uncle Irv, Aunt Carol, Gramma and Pop Pop. He hopes they had fun!

Here are a couple more pictures from our last day in Florida. It was 81 degrees so TJ got to enjoy the pool in the morning. We went to the zoo in the afternoon to pass time before our flight.

TJ Chillin' in South Beach

In the Pool with Daddy

Petting the Goats

Talking with the Parrots

Checking out the Tortoises

We're home from Disney/Miami and wanted to put up part two of our post. We had a great time, despite the crowds and cold weather. If anyone wants tips on how to navigate Disney, we have plenty of suggestions! Here are some pics of TJ at Epcot and in Miami.


The first picture is of a ball we bought TJ - his eyes went straight to it (not a surprise). TJ and I are pointing to Kazakhstan on the ball - we tell him that is where he was born.




TJ, Mommy and a Troll in Norway after riding the Maelstrom...



TJ liked the drums in Outpost Africa (I think Daddy did too)...




Then we ate dinner in Mexico...



The next day we drove back to Miami for some rays. TJ loved the beach and the hot tub, and people loved his shirt (thanks Kevin and Kel!)