Mommy's 1st Night Away.

SPOILER ALERT:

One of the cutest videos ever can be found in the middle of this post. If you don't care to read my ramblings, scroll on down to the video. You won't be disappointed.

Two weekends ago (i know, i'm still behind...), I spent my first-ever night away from the Stinker Man. No, not Phil. I'm talking about Luke this time. I went to the women's retreat with my church from Friday to Saturday. Phil was busy with Assessment Center for work that whole weekend, so my wonderful parents came up from Tampa to take care of Luke. I had to twist their arms.....riiiiiiiiight.... They were pumped not only to get to come visit their one and only (and most favoritest) grandchild, but to get to have him ALL TO THEMSELVES for a little over 24 hours. Luke was a champ and did great. I was so proud! Flipper and Pops (my parents) did a great job, too, and from what I can tell, they didn't even keep him up playing all night or feed him cookies and ice cream all day in an attempt to earn their spots as favorite grandparents. I really wasn't too worried, though. I turned out perfectly, so they obviously know what they are doing (my bro and sis are rolling their eyes and gagging right now...) Anyway, Flipper and Pops stayed for a nice 5 day visit, and we all had a great time together. We hadn't seen each other since Christmas, so we were ready for some Miller time......as in Rick and Flip Miller, not the beer, thankyouverymuch. As an added bonus, Luke took his first solo-step the day they arrived (note to self for the baby book: March 10th), and added to it every day, so they got to witness his first 5 days of walking on his own!

Here are some pics of our family fun and the Mommy-less sleepover.

What???!!! You're leaving me?

Luke and I picked Flipper and Pops up at the airport. What must that have been like for Luke? We got in the car, just like we always do. We drove and drove, listening to music and Mommy singing along. The car slowed down, pulled over to the side of the curb, and suddenly...Flipper's in the backseat and Pops is looking in through the door!!


Flipper? Is that you?


Say what? You're staying for 5 whole days?


That's AWESOME!

It wasn't long before the grandparents started the spoiling of the grandchild. Pops (and Daddy, too) took Luke outside and let him run up and down the driveway in his walker (and his socks!!). Luke was in heaven doing 2 of his favorite things: hanging out outside and going as fast as he can in his walker. Daddy and Pops played goal keeper, keeping Luke from flying into the street.


Strutting his stuff.


Is that grass over there? Maybe I can add some grass stains to the dirt on my socks.


"I was running...."


Daddy catches the Stinker before he sails into the street.


Ummm...Pops, why are you getting in my way? I'm trying to reverse here, dude.


Luke discovers that he brought a refrigerator magnet with him.


Making silly faces for Flipper.

My mom and I left the boys and went shopping. Yay! We got a cute little summer outfit for Luke, and it came with a hat. We should not have been surprised that it didn't even come close to fitting. You can't tell so much in the picture, but it was super small and just sat on the top of Luke's head. We couldn't pull it down around his head at all.


Grandson of huge-headed Rick Miller. Nephew of huge-headed Ben Miller. Son of huge-headed Phil Tatum. He was doomed.


Happy boy ready to eat...


...until he tastes his new berry yogurt bites. They were a little too tart for his delicate palette.
(And yes, I said yogurt. His lactose intolerance is getting better!!)


Fun times with the g-parents:


Playing football.


Pointing out every single knot in the wood paneling in the family room to Pops.


Reading and LAUGHING with Pops.


Seriously. This book is hilarious....to Luke.


...and Luke is hilarious to us!

And before we knew it, it was time to take Flipper and Pops back to the airport. Luckily we got to have a yummy lunch with them before they headed off.

Chubby man post-lunch, chillin' in the stroller.


One last laugh with Pops.


The only pic with both the g-parents. We were too busy having fun to pose for pics. (Apparently Pops was too sad about leaving to give us a real smile...)

Thanks, Flipper and Pops, for coming up and taking care of Lukie Lu. You did a great job.
Luke is still talking about how much fun he had!