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!

celebrating jed

 

great grandpa kaliff holding mav for the first time

  

great grandpa helping jed get to his john deere equipment





  

for jed's 2nd birthday we had nothing planned.  maverick was 3 weeks old, seems like we were just winding down from christmas and attempting to settle down into some sort of a routine so we just planned to be low key and then on his birthday my mom called to see if it would work for them to come and bring my grandpa! perfect! an instant party i didn't have to plan for!  nana and papa came to and jed was able to celebrate with lots of special people!  we are blessed!



grandma & nana loving on elli grace & mav







ready to blow those candles out and dig in!





 

entertaining the crowd















maverick {brand new}

for mavericks newborn pictures we went to the train depot in holdrege.  a tough thing about having all of your kiddos in the winter is that you are kind of forced to do indoor pictures which i am not a huge fan of.  natural light is so much more appealing.  but... i think i'm destined to give birth in the dead of winter so indoor newbie pics it is!  kim was gracious enough to snap these of our new 3 year old, almost 2 year old and brand new boy!  i loved them so much and will always treasure these first photos of our new family!



family memories

goodness... time keeps flying by!  we keep moving on, living each day, every once and awhile i click a picture here or there... and then it sits. usually on my camera.  and i just think about the fact that i have a 3 year old, 2 year old and a 5 1/2 month old that are changing right before my eyes and i desperately WANT to document it all.. but... i just don't do it.  so in effort to document our lives so i don't get to december and wish i had a scrapbook done that contains memories of the past year i'm going to back track and have a blog-a-thon to catch up from the past several months so i have our memories stored somewhere so i can just click PRINT in december and have our memories printed in book form.  BAM! easy enough right?? anyone have any other ideas? how do you store pictures, stories, etc.  do you keep them all together or have something for each individual child?  a journal?  i'm up for any ideas! i also think i will try this for a year but must check my perfectionism at the door.  i know it isn't possible to do everything the same EVERY year like i think it should be done. so with that... i'm off to dig pictures up from january! yikes!