The Leavells

8 months later...

2011-01-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

So, it's been way too long since I have posted anything. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind in the Leavell household this past year. I can honestly say, I am happy to start 2011! Here is a short summary of what has occured since June 1st. In June, my older brother, David, married Jessica Hammer. It was a small family wedding at our family's lakehouse. It was a perfect setting for a perfect couple. Miles was their ring bearer, and he was pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself. Jessica brings out the best in David. They are a beautiful couple inside and out! We are so thankful that the Lord brought Jessica, not only into David's life, but into our's! She is an amazing, caring person and I feel so lucky to call her a sister and an aunt to my three kiddos! In July, Maggie had eye surgery. God is so good! We were a little scared about the surgery, with the cutting of the eye muscles and all, but she came out of it, just as we knew she would. Maggie is such a fighter! Since day 1, she has amazed me! Going straight to the NICU due to not breathing, she showed those doctors who was boss! She is our sweet spirited, little fighter that never surprises us! So, why would we doubt that she wouldn't bounce back from a silly eye surgery? Well, she showed us! By the time she got home, she was running around with her Bubba and Sissy, laughing as she always does. She is the happiest little girl, especially now that she can see! Our surgeon did an amazing job fixing our little one!
Miles started pre school in August. He was so excited to meet new friends and be in school. That kid is one little sponge! He remembers everything, which makes mommy have to be very careful about what she says around him! He loves his teacher, Mrs Marino, and has such sweet classmates. Miles is a great kid. Always wants to help me, loves his little sisters, and has the most tender heart of any three year old I know. He loves to read, play dinosaurs, and has such creativity. It's like a new adventure everyday, waiting to see what he comes up for us to do. Boys are so much fun!
In October, Marley got glasses. She is pretty stylish in them! She loves wearing them and I can tell she feels pretty sassy in them. Marley, being our middle child, 1 minute older than her sister, is a ball full of fun! She wakes up every morning with a huge smile on her face, ready to play, play, play! She makes friends with everyone, wherever we go, she is giving high fives, hugs, and smiles to whomever she meets (I have not clue where she get this :)) She is in go mode all day, except for when it's nap and bedtime. That girl loves her sleep, which I think has a lot to do with when she is awake, she never stops! I love that the kids have each other to play with and are so close in age. I know there will be hard days when they get older, but right now, it's like a 24 play date in our house!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday with our families, surrounded with the people that we love! It was such a wonderful time for Chase and me to look back at the year and thank the Lord for how blessed we truly are.
I have months of pictures that I could share, but I think this post has turned out to be a little longer than I had planned, so I will keep the pictures for the next post. I promise it won't be 8 months again before I post. You all know me- I have too much to say to wait 8 more months :)

Sprinklers are my friend

2010-06-01T20:10:00.001-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it is already June. Where has the time gone? I can already tell it is going to be a very hot summer, so I am trying to come up with some fun activities for the kids to do where we do not all get heat exhaustion. Plus, not sure if you have noticed but I have a very fair bleach blonde little girl, that just the sight of the sun gets her some rosey cheeks. I guess if they are ever casting for a baby for the Twilight series, Maggie might at the top of the list for the role!

We loved having Daddy home for three fun filled days filled with the spray park, pool time at my parents, and lots of popsicles. There were three sad little kiddos today when Daddy had to go back to work. I guess being at home with them all day, there is not too much excitement when I walk through a door, but with Daddy, well that's a different story. Chase walked in the back door this afternoon and the looks on the three kids face was pure happiness. I think he could probably have the worst day, but it all goes away when he walks in the door because of all the smiles, clapping, and hugs he receives when he gets home. I love watching it!

Our backyard has seen some sad days with this horrible heat, which means that the sprinklers need to run as much as legally possible. Now we are law abiding citizens, usually :), but when the idea of turning the sprinklers on a little early today came up, we jumped at the idea for some sprinkler fun! The girls aren't ready to run, even though sometimes they think they are, so they stayed in the kitchen to help me cook dinner while their big brother ran non stop for 12 minutes through the sprinklers. He was exhausted by the end, but had the BEST time! So, if you ever drive by our house during the day and our sprinklers are on, please don't call the city- it's for the sake of our children!

Marley and Maggie enjoying some fruit. They can not get enough watermelon! I finally learned to take their shirts off when they eat it because we have ruined many a white shirt already!

Miles running...

Taking a little breather...

Spray Park Fun

2010-05-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially started! We headed to the spray park today, which is one of Miles' favorite summer things to do. The girls were a little skeptical at first, but after a few minutes, they were loving it! Miles was running around with the big kids, while Marley and Maggie stayed in the shaded area trying to figure out where the water was coming from. Oh, to know what was going on in those little heads of theirs! We did have one casualty, but Miles took it like a champ. He and a 10 year old little boy collided with one another and the funny thing was Miles was still standing, but the big kid was the one that fell to the ground. Maybe a potential lineman in the future ?!?!

Marley and Maggie

Marley loved it by the end!

Miles kept his hat on for maybe 5 minutes. At least I tried!

Maggie is all smiles

Marley at the beginning not so sure about this

Team Leavell is back!

2010-05-28T11:52:00.001-07:00

I know that it has been forever since I have written anything about anything, but can I just say, life with three mobile kids is crazy! Where did the days of the bouncy seats and exersaucers go? This past year has flown by! Chase and I were just talking the other day about the day we got the phone call from the NICU saying that we could finally bring Maggie home. It was one of the best days of our lives! She was so small and fragile- wow, how things have changed.
Miles turned 3 at the beginning of May and has the most amazing imagination. I have no clue where he comes up with these things! At night, he loves for one of us to tell him a story, which he ends up constantly interrupting to put his spin on the story. He really should be the one telling the story!
The girls turned 1 at the end of February. They are saying a few words that we understand, but they sure do have lots to say to one another. Our pediatrician said that if we had a linguist come in and study the two of them, he would tell us that they really are communicating with one another. Amazing! Maggie is walking now and Marley is RUNNING! She spends most of her day chasing Miles around the house, which is hilarious!
So much has gone on these past few months, I am not really sure what to tell and what not to tell, but the most important and wonderful thing is that we are healthy, happy, and truly blessed!

Miles cruisin' on his new plasma car

Birthday cake!

Marley

Happy Maggie

Sweet Sisters!

The End of 2009

2010-01-13T12:22:00.001-08:00

So, I know that many of you think that I forgot that we had a family blog, but it has been a crazy past few months and I just finally downloaded pictures from Halloween. I know, you ask, what have the Leavells been up to? Well, here is a short recap... packed up and moved out of our first house in September, moved to Lake Athens, TX for a month, where Chase commuted to and from work every day, moved into our new house on November 9th, enjoyed our first Thanksgiving in our new house, and then Christmas arrived. Here are a few pics from those couple of months. Next blog I'll get to the good stuff- the holidays!

Life at the Lake

2009-11-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Well, our time at Lake Athens is almost over. It's really kind of bittersweet when I think about it. I can't wait to move into our new house, but living here has been fun in a different way. Doing dishes while watching the water go by, watching shooting stars at night, no traffic, people waving when you drive by- life in a small time sure is nice. My favorite part of the time that we have had here is watching Miles and his experiences. There are no fences here. We "go down lake" every day(many days 3 times) and watch the fish swim or feed the ducks. Watching his eyes and his expressions while all of this is going on are memories I will not forget.
The girls have enjoyed the lake as well. Both have started to crawl and Marley is ALL over the place! Maggie will move a little, roll over, grab and toy, and then be content. Marley will be just like her mommy- on the go! Maggie got her first tooth while we were here and both girls have truly found their voices. They are talking back in forth to one another and even though I have no clue what is being communicated, I have a feeling they know what is being said to one another.
I have had a lot of "think time" while being in Athens. There have definitely been days when I wanted to scream and throw my hands up in the air and tell the kids that their screaming won that day. Then, I would walk away, take a deep breath, look back at the three of them, and tell myself I was crazy. Why would I give up ever on being their mom? I have three beautiful, healthy, amazing children that I love with all of my heart. No matter how many tears or how loud the crying gets, I would rather have all of that then no tears or crying at all. I have had a lot of time to reflect on how generous God has been in trusting these three kiddos in Chase and I's hands. We are truly blessed.
Life in Dallas will begin again on Monday, and even though I am really excited to start our life in our new house, I will miss the small town life. It has been good to us city folk.

Pajama Day

2009-09-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Fall has finally arrived in Dallas (at least for a couple of days) and so I thought what a great way to spend a cool cloudy day than by staying in our PJs all day. We had the best time. Miles was wearing his favorite "aminal" PJs which made it even more of a bonus. We watched a movie- Lion King, of course, baked muffins, colored, built a fort out of blankets, and just had an all around perfect day! The girls had a great time too! No car seats, all their toys, and attention from their big brother, which they LOVE! It was a tiring day for me, but so worth it, just to see the smiles on all three of their faces. Enjoy the pics...

Maggie putting any and everything in her mouth.

Miles decided it would be fun to hang out with Marley in the bouncy seats.

Crib time

Baking muffins

The girls assisting in the kitchen.

Marley

Cheese!!

Happy Maggie

Popsicle time

Solid Foods

2009-09-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Starting the girls on solids was a hard decision for me. Not really sure why, because with Miles, I could not wait for him to start eating solids. Maybe because he was the first and I don't want the babies to grow up too quickly, I'm not sure why, but I kept holding off. While we were at the lake for our "staycation" I finally decided to give in and try out rice cereal. It was hilarious! They were not fans of the spoon, but what was even funnier was Miles wanting to be fed like a baby and not knowing what he was getting himself into. He could not spit that rice cereal out fast enough and then dramatically yell, "gross!"

Gross!

Feeding all three.

Marley getting used to a spoon.

The Magsters is loving it!

Marley waiting for her next bite.

Miles the Landscaper

2009-09-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

We think Miles has officially found his calling in life. For awhile we thought he would be a chef, but now we are positive he is going to be a gardener. We put our house on the market a couple of weeks ago (reason why I did not write one thing on this blog the whole month of August) and one of the first things we needed to do was plant some flowers and add color to some flower pots. Not sure if it was an excuse for him to play with dirt, but he did a great job!

Notice all the dirt on the ground- that was not there before we started!

He moved dirt from the pot to the ground. It was a big help!

So proud of himself! He really did help a lot!

Not that you can really see the flowers, but here is what you see when you drive up.

Where does the time go?

2009-07-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-06T04:23:00.000-07:00

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!

Grandparents Rock!

2009-06-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

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!