happy 1 year maverick!

maverick veryl... one year ago today we received one of the best christmas presents your daddy and i could ever ask for. not only were you born just in time to come home and enjoy christmas with us but we also didn't know which "color" of gift we would recieve! would it be PINK or BLUE!?! you were the first baby that we decided to wait until the birth to know what we were going to receive. that was so much fun.... VERY hard the whole 9 months as i never felt like i could get to KNOW you since i didn't know boy or girl .. although i knew you were crazy from the second i started feeling your kicks! on the day you were born you can imagine how excited i was to finally find out if i was going to get to dress you up in girly clothes and wrap you in a fuzzy pink blanket or in some of the adorable boy clothes that it seemed you brother was JUST wearing!

   you finally entered the world and the doctor and daddy were so concerned that you were okay that they didn't even look to see what you were. finally i asked... "so, is it a boy or a girl?!?!" they took a peek and announced "it's a boy!" i was overjoyed! i would have been overjoyed either way but your great grandpa had passed away in the same hopital you were born just a couple weeks before you were born. the same nurse that took care of him, was even helping with your birth. we had decided that if you were a boy, you would take his first name as your middle name. so to be able to carry on the name of a man that we held so dear to our hearts was such a blessing. you smile all the time like him too so i'm sure that is grandpa (veryl) delford showing up in your sweet spirit!

 maverick means 'an independant man that avoids conformilty' that is our hope for you mav.  that you would not conform to the ways of this world but would instead be a light for Christ in a world that so desperately needs it!

 you have been a JOY! i can't say it enough! i love how God knows exactly what your family needs and when they need it! i have said so many times over the past year "i'm so glad he is in our family!" you just add such a fun dynamic to our crew! you are just a ball of energy, you are on the move every second you are awake!  

 

 you are starting to play more with your brother. this morning you were laughing so hard you could hardly breathe because of him being silly with you.  i actually thought jed was being too rough but i had to remind myself that you guys are boys and you aren't really a baby anymore and you thought it was hilarious... so i needed to just quietly observe and let you have fun!   your sis has been there for you from the start. she has wanted to hold you, and love on you the second we brought you home from the hospital. now you are outgrowing this a bit and don't want to be

held down!    

 

we love you so much mav!  you are teaching me so much about joy.  i'm thankful for the opportunity to be your mommy!  happy 1 year little man!

the verse the we have chosen for you is this: "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  romans 12.2

miss elliana... you're gonna be 4 today!

elliana grace...

tonight at 9:41 p.m. you will officially turn 4. i don't know how this happened so quickly. i remember so vividly after a long day of waiting and waiting some more and pain and pushing you finally arrived and my first words were "she's so tiny!" all 6 pounds 11 ounces of you. you were precious... and still are. actually you are still tiny too! :) you made me a mommy for the first time and you had your daddy's heart immediately and have had it ever since.

you are the perfect little lady for our family and have taken on the big task of being a big sis to two crazy brothers beautifully. you are the perfect mix of big sissy who tries to keep things "under control" and the fun sis who keeps things lively.

whenever you are given something and jed happens to not be there you ask for "one for jedders too" i love how you look out for your brothers and are always thinking about them. you love your family and love for us to all be together. the very very VERY random times i am able to sneak away you make sure to tell me "i was missing you" i'm thankful for that... i love that you love us all with every ounce of who you are and you WANT to be with your family. i know way to quickly time will pass and i will be "missin you too!"

you LOVE people. any opportunity to spend time with others is a treat! you kind of live in a world of boys with 2 brothers and the 3 fun neighbor boys and you love every second of it. your favorites include the sand pile, digging in the dirt, farming up a storm with the guys. you also love to dress up, play with your babies and sneak some of mommy's lip gloss every once and awhile too! ;)

 

you love to work at the table on crafts. coloring, watercolors and play dough are your specialties. you appreciate a good project as long as it isn't too hard. what we have learned is that you aren't a big fan of "preschool" and if mom tries to "teach" you, you are onto me and don't really care to have anything to do with it. we need to work on that. ;)

you LOVE chocolate milk, your Lily, giving kisses to Mav, jumping off of things with Jed, hair "pretties", the farm kitties, going to Target, and eating rice and beans at Mexican restaurants.

this year at thanksgiving we talked about what we were thankful for. the first thing you said you were thankful for was jesus. i know you aren't old enough to fully grasp why you are so thankful for him but we pray that with each birthday as you grow that your understanding and love and gratefulness for who Christ is will also grow!

you are a bright spot in our family and we could not be more blessed to have you as our little girl! we love you so very much!  

 

here are a few of your "favorites" when you were 4....

1. What is your favorite color? pink
2. What is your favorite toy? go outside and play in the sandbox
3. What is your favorite fruit? apple
4. What is your favorite tv show? Dora
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? cheeseburger
6. What is your favorite outfit? to wear pink
7. What is your favorite game? dinosaur puzzles (i don't think we have one of these!)
8. What is your favorite snack? m & ms
9. What is your favorite animal? dinosaur

10. What is your favorite song? B-I-B-L-E
11. What is your favorite book? dinosaur book (what's with the dinosaurs??) 12. Who is your best friend? Jace
13. What is your favorite cereal? cheerios with milk on it
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play in the sandbox
15. What is your favorite drink? orange juice and chocolate milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? water in my sippy cup and my Lily
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cereal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? some cheeseburgers

20. What is your favorite restaurant? for beans (mexican restaurant)

rollin' rollin' rollin'

maverick started rolling over consistantly around 5 months.  it is so fun to see him reach new milestones.  he is getting to be more and more fun and the other two are enjoying him more and more as he interacts with them and isn't as "fragile"!

and sissy couldn't resist from loving on him any longer!

elliana {first pedicure}

my sister came to visit so we decided to plan a girls night (with maverick)!  we went to get pedicure's, a trip to target and supper!  i had planned to let elli get her toes done as well but she wasn't too thrilled with the idea of strangers touching her feet so aunt tessa painted her toes at home that evening!

jedidiah {surgery day}

on may 15 jed had his tonsils and adnoids removed and had tubes put in his ears.  it was a big day for him (and mommy and daddy)!  he was a champ the day of the surgery and everything went well!  recovery wasn't so fun... but we are thankful we had it done! 

reading a little sports illustrated with daddy in the waiting room.. early early in the morning!

all gowned up and ready to go!

after surgery.  we thought he was doing so well and thought we could just go home.  we didn't realize he was feeling good because he was still under anesthesia!  he was running around the room and we can to chase him so he didn't pull out his iv's!

watching the construction that was going on outside our hospital room!  this was the best entertainment for BOTH of the boys!  jed doesn't care for cartoons but he could sit for HOURS and watch heavy equipment!

he wouldn't sleep or rest in his hospital bed so we made him a little "nest" by the window so he could supervise out the window!

mav liked the hospital bed though... and the stylish yellow hospital booties!

recovery is so much better with your brother beside you!

maverick {eating for the first time}

i don't try to rush the solid foods with my kiddos but maverick was showing signs that he was ready.  daddy was busy with planting and wasn't home during the kids waking hours so we had to improvise and have big sister give maverick his first bites of food so mommy could take pictures!  we want some of mav's first milestones to be caught on camera even though he is the third child!!  here is how is went:

first bite

that was icky!

mom... he spit! that's disgusting!

we will try it again!

still don't like it!

we will try again another day!

easter {2012}

superman... to save the day!!

 my brother was asked to be superman for the lincoln children's museum for super hero day!  i was receiving text messages and saw pictures on facebook as proof that uncle chase was indeed superman for the day!  it killed me that we didn't live closer and couldn't pop in to see superman but the next best thing was to dress up like superman just like uncle chase!

cause sometimes you just feel like a dino

it seems like life these days is just... well... random.  i love it because it keeps me laughing! so when your little guy (who is pretty serious most of the time) gets the urge to stuff himself into a dinosaur costume and go about his everyday business, you just roll with it! 

mills family pics {new years}

happy valentines day {2012}

we love because he first loved us! 1 john 4:19

looking back

 
every once and awhile i catch a glimpse of one of my kids and think "i have seen that look, smile, etc. before but it wasn't you"  all of our children have similar features but none of them look identical.  i see more similarities between elli and mav than i do between jed and mav.  i also experience those moments where i feel like i have lived that moment before and here it is again.  i try to snap a picture at those moments because, well, they are precious! 
the first pic was taken after the first night we brought elliana home from the hospital.  what a nerve racking night!  your first kid, you worry they are going to stop breathing... that is when they are actually sleeping!  i remember we didn't really go to sleep until 7 a.m. and we got up at 10 a.m.!  clearly it made an impression on me because i still remember it!  i thought it was so precious jon and his baby girl snuggled up after a loooong night!  the other pic is of mav and jon.. this was just a sunday afternoon rest!  but it just happened to be one of those moments that i stopped to think "where has time gone?!?!"

mav {bathtime}

this was taken after one of mavericks first baths.  maverick got all of his baths during his first few months in the bathroom sink.  our bathroom sink is not large by any means but i scrunched him in there as long as i could until he literally filled the whole thing up!  i didn't feel like i should attempt bathtime with the other 2 crazies until he could somewhat hold his own! 

don't worry... he didn't get special treatment for long! ;)  here he is, in the mix with the rest of 'em! pretty sure he loves it!