Where does the time go?

You always here the saying from other, more mature parents, "Enjoy this time, because it goes by so quickly." Wow, does it ever! I feel like it was just yesterday that I woke up and secretly took a pregnant test (little did I know there were two bundles of joy in there!). I didn't really think that it was going to come back positive, but much to my surprise, I needed to quickly come up with a fun way to tell Chase and Miles there was a baby on the way. It was exactly a year ago that I took the test and looking back, it has been a fun, crazy, and fast year!

Chase and I enjoy looking back at pictures and seeing how much Miles and the girls have grown. It was funny to open up our July 2008 file and find the pregnancy picture, plus a much younger, toothless, chubby little man. Wow, has he grown! I feel like every day we wake up and I look at Miles and think, okay buddy, what new and exciting thing are you going to do today. The kid truly amazes me. I am not going to say he's a genius or super advanced, he just amazes me in how he behaves and treats others. Oh how I wish, I knew what on in that little head of his! Yesterday he decided he wanted to have "tummy time" with the girls. Little did we know that it was going to turn into giggle fest at our house. He could not stop making the girls laugh. It was priceless to watch! Yes, there are times that he is jealous of his little babies, but for the most part, all he wants to do is love on them, giving them kisses from head to toe and make them smile. The neat thing is, I really think they already love him too. They will strain their necks to see what their big brother is doing. They look at him and immediate smiles appear on both of their faces. It is really special to watch! It excites me to think of what the future holds for them three of them. I know there will be disagreements and tears over toys not being shared, but I know they are going to be best buddies and I love that for all three of them. A year ago, I did not know what was in store for us, and I still don't know what the future holds, but I can guarantee there will be lots of laughter and kisses to go around at our house.

My very sleepy, but happy boys

Happy little buddy, July 2008

My little buddy is growing up


Tummy time with Miles

Love those Smiles!

Marley laughing at Daddy at dinner

Happy Mags

Miles enjoying a pop ice after dinner. Such a boy!

Marley still laughing...

Cheese!

Maggie helping Mommy with the dishes.

I love my Fridays!

My kids amaze me every day! Fridays seem to be my favorite days of the week lately. No school, no Bible study, no help, just me and my three favorite little buddies. It would seem that would be opposite, and yes, there are Fridays that I wish I had help, but really, for the most part, they are the best days. Somehow they know we don't have to go anywhere, so they sleep in (til 8 maybe-I'm not talking 9 or anything) and then it's just a slow, laid back morning where, at times we don't even take our PJs off.
Maggie is still not feeling well, so luckily Marley took a champ of a nap this morning. Miles decided to play cars for an hour or so and talk to the "big cars" that drove by the house. He loves to play by himself. There are times I go in to try and play with him and he busts out with his favorite new sentence these days, "No mommy." He loves to do things by himself- at times good, other times, not so good. It was awesome to just have some me and the Magsters time. She smiled, cooed, giggled, and just snuggled with me. I was able to sit quietly and pray over her and thank the Lord for the amazing gift of my two girls. It gave me a great opportunity to just have time with her. After she fell asleep, Miles and I played cars for a little bit longer and then he took on my helper role and helped me fold laundry. Who knew someone could have so much fun with laundry, but he sure does enjoy it. I am sure it's more the fact that it's just time for the two of us to hang out, but he sure is a trooper in helping me. At one point, I just sat back watching him and was in aww. Where did my little buddy go? He is growing up so quickly and I need to take moments like the ones today and realize that soon he will be at school all five days and we won't have opportunities for all day PJ days. Once I got Miles down for a nap, Maggie was still dozing, which gave me some quality time with Marley. She is truly a different child than she was a month ago. She has really mellowed out and just loves to lay on her tummy time mat, laughing at me and looking at herself in the mirror. She is a super happy little baby that loves to be held, but it's not a must anymore, which makes the times we are holding her, even more enjoyable. She has that great smile that looks like she is laughing when she is smiling. It goes from ear to ear with her mouth open and her eyes sparkle that sparkle that makes you know that she could not be any happier. It melts my heart!
I had about a 15 minute window today where all three of them were asleep, and believe it or not, I wanted one of them to wake up so I could have quality time with another one of them. I know, crazy that I would say that out loud because usually I am racing around to get laundry finished or a shower taken or just to take a deep breath, but for some reason today, I was reminded that each moment with my children individually is precious. I look at my life and remember the Lord has blessed me in so many ways, especially with three beautiful children, that at times, require a lot, but gosh, SO WORTH every minute of it. I could not be more blessed!!!! Lord, thank you for a wonderful day of reflection and some quiet time with each of my children today. It was a perfect day!

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July at the lake is kind of a tradition with the Nienhueser family. I grew up every summer going to the lake, looking forward to lots of swimming and fireworks all weekend long. So, when we decided to go this year for the long weekend, I could not wait to introduce Miles to some of my favorite 4th activities.

The fireworks usually start around 9, so Chase and I were a little concerned that Miles might not want to stay up that long, or if he did, he would be really cranky. How could we doubt our little man? He was such a champ! After we put the girls to bed, we walked down to the dock to watch the big show. Miles is only 2, so loud noises like fireworks, could really scare him, but we were not sure. Again, how could we doubt him? What a big boy he was! There were about 6 shows going on at home time. Miles started counting for the fireworks to go off and it went a little something like this- he would say "1, 2, 3, boom!" Then the firework would go off and Miles would reply, "I did it! I did it!" He truly thought he was the one controling the fireworks! We definitely do not have to worry about this child having a low self esteem!

As we were walking back up to the house after the show was over, I turned around to see the most precious picture. Miles was holding Daddy's hand and talking to him all about what he had just seen. They both had the biggest smiles on their faces, having just enjoyed probably the best fireworks show of all times. It was not the actual fireworks that made the show the best, but the company of a two year old that helped us 32 year olds to see things again like a child. It was awesome!

Miles and Chase swimming together in the lake. Miles was not sure at first, but ended up loving it!

He was so proud of himself, waving at all the boats that were driving by.

Marley was not so sure about the bows, but Maggie sure did think they were fun. They had matching outfits that they wore, but did not get any pics of them with them on.

Attempting a picture taken by me, but did not turn out so great. We sure did have fun though!

I love this picture because it captures the excitement that Miles had the whole time watching the fireworks.

Watching the fireworks go off at the beginning. He kept saying, "oooh, ahhh!"

I was a little too excited, I think, but had to include my sweet boy!