Grandparents Rock!

So I'm sure that when I invited my dad over for a nice Sunday dinner, that he had in mind more of a quiet, sit down dinner, and not what my children had in store for him tonight. My mom was gone for a long girls' weekend at the lake, so I thought it would be a fun time for him to come and play with the kiddos. Well, as he walked in, I have a feeling he might have wanted to turn around and walk right back out. Two crying babies and a young toddler running crazily around the house- what more could you want? Well, he was a trooper and stayed. The girls finally quieted down after he and I both fed one and Chase entertained Miles with playing cars. We finally sat down to eat, that is, of course, after Miles played musical chairs trying to decide where he wanted to sit. We were all holding hands to play, when Marley decided she needed to be held immediately and Maggie didn't like that she was not at the table with the rest of the family. Once everyone was situated, prayers said, we finally were able to eat, before it was bathtime. Chase took Miles and Dad and I made a joint effort to bathe and hold, the still screaming babies. How we love the witching hours at our house. My dad rocked, hushed, got spit up on more times than I can count, all with the biggest smile on his face. As he left the house tonight, he leaned down to kiss the top of my head and said, "Thank you for a wonderful evening." The fun thing was, he meant it!

I tell you all of this because after he left, I was reminded of how lucky Chaes and I are to have our parents living here in Dallas. What he and I might see as mass chaos and stressful, the four of them see as a fun opportunity to get to be with their three grandchildren. Chase and I talk oftehn about the memories we have of our grandparents growing up, and it makes us both very happy to know that our kids will have those same great memories with their grandparents. Whether it be fun outings to the zoo, catching their first fish, or just playing at their house, those are the memories that they will never forget. So Grandma, Diddy, Granddaddy, and Papa, thank you for the wonderful memories that have already been made and the exciting ones that are to come. We are so blessed to have the four of you helping raise our children!

Granddaddy (Chase's Dad) with Marley and Maggie on Father's Day

Grandma (Chase's mom) with her little buddy, Miles, on her birthday.



Diddy (my mom) with Maggie and Marley.




Miles with Papa (my Dad) about to go catch his first fish.

Happy Blogging!

Miles enjoying some pool time on the porch.

Precious girls, Maggie and Marley

The Leavell Family

Okay, here goes nothing... A friend of mine, from what I can tell, a master blogger, has inspired me to try this. She says that it's a great way to record everything to then print out and give to my kids to make up for the fact that there will be no baby books.

It's funny how with your first child, you record everything- first smile, first bath, first word. Miles' baby book has everything from the first year recorded perfectly. Not only the things written down, but the pictures. Oh my goodness, the pictures! In May of 2007, I kid you not, when I say that we took over 1000 pictures of our beautiful baby boy. Can you say obsessive?? And then, once a month, I would send out pictures to everyone that did and did not want to see recent pictures of him. Who doesn't like to look at a cute baby?



Now, I am lucky if we get a picture taken just for important holidays. Not only is it different with your second (and third in our case) but try posing two newborns with a crazy toddler running around. Our Christmas card will be interesting this year, to say the least.



The girls have started to smile. Recorded! And they are pretty adorable smiles if I do say myself. You know those smiles when it lights up your whole face- that is what both of their smiles are like. No words or steps yet though and good thing, because they would not be recoreded. But, if I keep this up, then all three of my children will have everything written down for them to look at when they get older. Because, you know, knowing the exact date of when you said "Mommy" is very important when you are older- ha!