George Elliott Millard

Starting today, George's new postings are only available at this new location. Please bookmark it and go there for news. I have moved most of the old entries over, and hope to finish the transition soon.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Today is George’s first day without his enclosed playpen. He now has the run of the entire living room and kitchen. So far, so good!

Sunday, March 5, 2006

We went for a long walk around Town Lake today, and it turned out that the 78th Annual Zilker Kite Festival was going on. So the three of us went and looked at the kites. What fun! (Although George was really more interested in his Cheerios.)

After we got back home, the little guy was flat out exhausted:

We're looking forward to next year's Kite Festival: Allison has already picked out a pirate ship kite for George.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

George continues to master standing. Here's a good picture:

Here's what we look like together these days:

This is for the "but is it art?" category:

George will be 14 months old in two days!

Friday, February 24, 2006

George has learned how to make "h" sounds, and now laughs with us when we laugh.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

George can now stand unassisted for short periods of time:

PLUS he took his first step this weekend, just one step, to cut a corner in his play yard. Wow! We didn’t get a picture of that, but here’s one of his royal cuteness:

Monday, February 6, 2006

George can now take off his diaper.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

George is thirteen months old today, and suffering from his first cold. He seems to be handling it well so far. I suppose we’re lucky to have made it this far before his first cold.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

George has mastered crawling quickly on all fours. The cats are not happy.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

No matter how hard you try, you cannot pick up a shadow.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

George said “Mama” for the first time today! :-)

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

George saw Dr. Caldwell for his one-year checkup. George is now 28 1/4 inches tall, and weighs 21 pounds 7 ounces.

His standing balance is getting really good, and he's beginning to understand the benefits of crawling on all fours (vs. army-man style). George takes his playtime very seriously, and gives himself quite a workout.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

We'd like to say "thank you" to everyone who has supported and loved us through this year. What a year it has been!

George had a wonderful first Christmas and birthday.

No, these presents are not all for George. :-)

Sunday, December 18, 2005

For the past two weeks George has been obsessed with standing. At practically every waking moment he's pulling up on whatever he can reach. He has quickly progressed from the "two-handed holding on for dear life" stage to the "confident one-handed swing" stage. We've even seen a few moments were he forgot to hold on, and stood on his own. Amazing!

What you don't see here is two parents just off camera, ready to catch him since his crib rail is down. :-)

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

George has been a bit grumpy this week. We’ve attributed that to his first top tooth coming in. Turns out he has four top teeth coming in at once. Yow!

Monday, November 28, 2005

George is 11 months old today!

Thursday, November 24, 2005

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, including our wonderful family and friends.

George had a great first Thanksgiving. Carly brought over a feast. Here he is right before his first taste of baby-food turkey and rice:

George can now crawl forward, army-man style. We had to lower the mattress in his crib, since now he can pull himself up from a sitting position to a standing position. His favorite toys these days are… our hands: he’s in a real hand-studying phase. He’s also getting his first upper tooth. We are very excited. He is a little cranky. Poor pumpkin.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

It was a year ago today that we lost Grace Elizabeth, George’s twin. We sure do miss her. She will always be in our hearts.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Today Allison showed me one of George's rules: rings are not allowed to stay on the Rock-a-Stack. I was curious, so I tested him. Sure enough, it doesn't matter how many times you put the rings on the stack, or where his attention is at the time, he immediately rolls over to the stack, and removes the rings.

Here is a demonstration:

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

George got his second set of Synagis shots yesterday at Dr. Scalo's office.

George is now 45 weeks old, weighs 19.5 pounds, and is 27 inches tall.

Oh, and he can put his toes in his mouth.

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Yesterday George, Allison, and I went to the Arboretum for a picnic. It was a beautiful day.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

George visited Dr. Lockhart yesterday for an eye exam. This was a general exam to test his eyesight. Dr. Lockhart says George has very good vision. This is excellent news, considering the retinopathy of prematurity George had.

Monday, October 31, 2005

Hapbee Halloween!

Friday, October 28, 2005

George is 10 months old today! If you look real close, you can see his two teeth.

Monday, October 24, 2005

George is starting to get his second tooth in. No pictures yet.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

What is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)? And why does George get Synagis shots this season?

Sunday, October 9, 2005

George's first tooth is coming in! We weren't sure yesterday, but today it is certain.

Saturday, October 8, 2005

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Happy nine-month birthday! George saw Dr. Caldwell today for a check-up. Here are the numbers:

Weight: 18 pounds 10.5 ounces
Height: 26.5 inches

Yes folks, that's a gain of 17 pounds and 14 inches in nine months! We're very proud of the fact that George's height and weight are on the growth chart for his actual age (nine months) and not just his adjusted age (six months).

Saturday, September 24, 2005

I can almost crawl!

Monday, September 19, 2005

If you sit me up I can keep my balance for a long time.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

George continues to thrive, and we are overjoyed.

Recent accomplishments:

He's much more comfortable rolling over, and with tummy time. He's thinking hard about crawling although his arm strength has yet to catch up with his leg strength.

When put in a sitting position, he can remain upright on his own for about 10 seconds.

He has really become adept at grabbing things and putting them in his mouth, to better learn about the world.

He's grabbing things (my shirt collar, the edge of the table) in order to better keep his balance.

He eats his rice cereal aggressively, quite a change from a month ago.

He loves to make sounds with you, call-and-response style.

As you can see, we've been having a great time!

Sunday, August 28, 2005

George is eight months old today!
Plus, he can give Carly a high five.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

George waved at me today for the first time. I've been waving hello/goodbye to him for a couple of weeks. :-)

Saturday, August 21, 2005

Big milestone today - George has now been home as long as he had been at the NICU. Wow!

George grabbed his toes for the first time today:

He also got his first taste of bananas. He wasn't really sure what to think about that:

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Last weekend George got to meet his one and only first cousin, Xander, who came all the way from Albuquerque. They had a great time.

Here's a picture of them resting after a busy day:

And here they are with the happiest great-grandfather:

Saturday, August 6, 2005

George had his first taste of solid food today. He was a very good sport about it.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

George is seven months old today (adjusted age: 15 weeks)! His weight is 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Happy anniversary George! He was conceived one year ago today via IVF, thanks to the assistance of Dr. Kaylen Silverberg and the wonderful people at Texas Fertility Center (TFC).

Here's George at three days development, basking in his womb-temperature petri dish:

...and here he is now, one year later:

My how he has grown!

George is doing wonderfully these days. We have wrapped up almost all of our recurring doctor appointments. We see Dr. Zweiner (gastroenterologist) next week, and that's it until George's 9-month birthday when we see Dr. Caldwell on September 28.

George is getting really good at assisted standing, and bouncing in his Jumperoo. He has almost started reaching for things: we can tell he's thinking hard about it.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Tonight at 11:00 p.m. George rolled over all by himself. Then he did it again. Then he did it a third time!

Also, he is now laughing in complete sentences (that is to say, not just single laugh sounds).

Thursday, July 7, 2005

Age: 27 weeks
Weight: 14 pounds 14 ounces
Adjusted age: 12 weeks

Dr. Kaylen Silverberg was our IVF doctor. We worked with him for two years and three attempts at in-vitro fertilization. George is our wonderful result.

Yesterday, George and Dr. Silverberg finally met! It was a great visit. They seemed quite taken with each other:

The staff at Texas Fertility Clinic had a fun time cooing over George. We look forward to the annual IVF reunion in October.

George continues to laugh and smile more each day.

More pictures from this week: