Another Mini-Vacation

David has been busy at work, and so the kids and I took another short trip to visit my parents. We left Monday evening and came back before lunch today. We were able to meet up with some friends, the Cohns, that we had not seen in a while- and the kids had a great time playing at the Children's Museum once again. Elise, Jacob, and Emmy really loved the mini-grocery store this time, and of course E had to visit her fav from last time as well- Mr. Rah-zha's (Rogers). I wish I had some pictures. But even with my Mom helping me, keeping track of all three as they go in different directions left me no hands for the camera!

I did grab it just in time for the above video, as Lila was hysterically laughing while splashing in the bathtub (sink!) at Su Su and G's. The condo doesn't have a real tub, so this is where we bathe them when we are there. They love it because it is this perfect size for just 1 and so they each get their own turn! You can see Bennett looking on with anticipation as he eagerly awaits his turn in the tub!! I love how you can hear Elise giggling in the background as well!

Speaking of my little man, he took two steps this morning! Yeah Bennett!! Maybe they'll be walking by the beach after all....I hope so!

When I uploaded this video, I discovered some pictures on the camera that David must have taken when I wasn't around...Looks like he is trying to train the kids to help out with the cleaning around here! This would definitely be much appreciated by me!! Elise is already in to it, but I would love to have two more little helpers to "sweep" the floor...How funny is that?!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Love, Nicole

Special Prayer Request

I would really appreciate if everyone could please include my Aunt Kathleen in their prayers. I learned yesterday evening that she suffered from a heart attack late Friday night. She had a stint put in her heart and she is doing ok. I went to see her last night and considering the circumstances, she looked well. Hopefully she will be out of ICU and into a regular room today. If ya'll read frequently, I am sure you remember this post about her from a few weeks ago. I could go on and on about what a wonderful person she is- I can't tell you how my heart sunk when my Dad called to tell me. But as a woman of great faith, she is handling everything well- as she always does. I just pray that she feels better soon.
We love you Aunt K.
Nicole

Laid Back Saturday

This is one of those weekends where we have absolutely nothing planned...It seems to always happen like that...We either have several things planned (usually a birthday party or two) or we have nothing at all going on....I have to admit it is kind of nice to just all hang out and spend time together without having to get ready to "be" somewhere...
As we were playing this morning, I stepped away to change Lila's diaper, and within seconds could not find Bennett...Well, as I am sure you have figured out by now, I found him nice and happy (and EXTREMELY proud) up on top of the kids' table! I really, really, really, really, cannot leave them unsupervised at all. I have to watch their every move...I also really can't figure out how he got up there so fast? Maybe he has more superpowers than I originally thought?
I guess I told a little fib, because David did have a tennis match this morning...so, technically we did have one thing scheduled...It was at the neighborhood tennis courts, so after L & B's morning nap I loaded all three into the wagon for a walk down there....
Apparently I brought bad luck with me, because David and his partner were "smoking" the competition in the first set, then when we arrived they lost the second set and the tie break. Whoops. Guess it is a good thing I don't make it to many of his matches....



Elise watching her Dad play...She was very proud...



We found the one square foot of shade and parked ourselves in it...It was still extremely hot, but at least the kids weren't baking in the sun!



Elise looks like such a little girl in this picture...I can't get over how big she is getting...3 is a whole new world, I guess....
Needless to say, after all the time outside and a yummy lunch, everyone (including David) was very tired....And, how nice, that about that time it started to rain...Nothing better than a nap on a rainy day....
So, I think I may go join them....

The Birthday continues...

Ameila and Abigail's Mom, who is also a professional photographer and super sweet, was nice enough to bring her camera to the girls' birthday party. She took such great pictures, I couldn't resist putting them up! It was a fun morning!!



Look how sweet...the whole gang!



I love this one! The girls will be in different schools next year and it makes me a little sad...They have been each other's "right hand man" for two years. But, Kimberly and I are hoping that maybe this will make their friendship last even longer, since they won't be with each other quite as much!



Ready to blow out candles...



Precious Ella. She is a mini-Kimberly.



This girls loves some cake!!



Too cute for words...



Look how old I am!

Thanks so much Nikki!! This pictures are priceless and we are so thankful to have them!!

Reverisble Bird Seed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Reverisble Bird Seed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Not too many ducks in our pond lately, but I know that Elise would love to go feed the turtles in this!
Adorable....

I'm a Lover, Not a Fighter

Although I have spent most of my week breaking up fights (I now understand why many twin moms have two of everything!), I have also been lucky enough to witness lots of cute little things, like Lila and Bennett playing peek-a-boo together on their own, and attempting to give each other kisses (so sweet!). I guess Lila is trying to prove that she does have a softer side, and does love her brother- even though she very much enjoys beating him up!! I am working on catching some kisses with my camera, but for now all I can show you is the one above where she is about to give him a "love tap"!

As we were getting ready yesterday, Elise requested a pony-tail and a braid...and you can see below what I came up with. It is tons and tons of fun for me to play with her hair and come up with new ways to fix it- she is like my living doll! I guess we girls are never too old for dolls...
The hairstyle was such a hit she is wearing it this way again today.



Elise and I went grocery shopping together last night and I had forgotten what it is like to just have one child, and to get to spend time with just her! We had such a good time- I never thought I would be saying that about time spent at Wal-Mart!! It was a little confirmation for me that I am doing the right thing by sending the kids to school on alternating days this year. I am so looking forward to having more time to spend one on one with each child...I often feel like I do not give each of them enough of me...



We always talk about how strong Bennett is, but here is a little proof. Yesterday afternoon he was pushing Elise around in the mail cart-- like it was nothing!! He is our little Superman- baby gates and other obstacles are no match for his super human strength!!



Couldn't leave out little Lila...She is getting better and better with her walking...now, if we could just get Bennett motivated...



Happy Friday everyone!
Love, Nicole

**So funny, I had to add (so I can remember this later)...Elise was singing in the car a few minutes ago, and according to her I have the words to Farmer in the Dell all wrong! Her version goes:
"The farmer in the Yell, The farmer in the Yell...
I know the Ariel, the farmer in the Yell"

Bennett Loves Ice Cream

Last night we took a trip to the hospital to visit the Brister family. It was a lot of fun and Elise loved meeting her new friend! He is soooo precious. Suzanne looked awesome and Davis is still beaming!!

Afterwards, we went to a family dinner at Chik Fil-a...Elise's favorite! She was so happy. Anyway, I recently found out that if you trade in your kids' meal prize, you get free ice cream! How awesome is that??? So, of course, Elise was more than willing to turn over the book for ice cream and then we also got some for Lila and Bennett to share...They were so happy! In addition to what I caught on the below video, he was also clapping every time he got a bite. I just never seemed to be able to catch him doing it with my camera! Anyway, it was just a simple little night out, but one I know we will always remember because it is tied to such a special event...

Decided to give Bennett a little air-time since Lila has been dominating the video clips...

Below is our little Bunny Rabbit (she loves to make this face!)...notice her foot on the table as well!! What am I going to do with this one?

Yesterday and today we have also entered into a "new" twin territory--fighting!!! Here and there before now one of them has taken a toy, or inadvertantly bitten the other one while teething, but we have now entered into to full force fighting with intent! I am almost embarassed to say that, at this point, my sweet little lady Lila seems to be the attacker! Bennett was in one of his usual spots today staring out of the bay window and Lila walked (yeah!) right up to him and just started hitting him as hard as she could on the head!! To make it worse, she looked back over her shoulder as she was doing it to see if I was watching! EVEN worse, when she saw that I was she started laughing (which made it VERY hard for me NOT to!)!!!!!!!!!! So, I am thinking that Lila is about to start landing her "booty" in time out! Should be very interesting...

Goodnight Friends.

Love, Nicole

Prayers Answered

Check this out for all of the info and sweet pictures!
Welcome to the world, little man!

Prayer Request

I would love to ask for ya'lls prayers again this week...Our very close friends, and Elise's Godparents, The Bristers, head to the hospital tonight for the birth of their first child. They are a wonderful couple, and the sweet baby that will be joining their family is very blessed. We have really enjoyed seeing their excitment these last few weeks as the end of the pregnancy journey grows near and as they get ready to start their life as a new family with their child!
We can't wait to be introduced to their son or daughter and pray that they have a wonderful experience welcoming he or she into the world! We know God will be watching over them tonight, but extra prayers are always great!!
Of course, I will update as soon as I have news!
Love, Nicole

Su recently came across these pics of when she and Davis drove down (living in Jackson at the time) to meet Elise for the first time!! I can't wait to post some of us holding their little one tomorrow!!

Myrt's Special Day

We were very honored to be invited to join the Mills Family as they had their sweet baby, Myrt, Baptized this morning! It was so sweet to watch, and I have to admit I was fighting back the tears....There is not much more perfect in the world than watching a sweet baby be Baptized!!
I am hoping to steal some pics from Kate later, because in the process of trying to get us all to church on time I forgot my camera!!
It was a great afternoon and we loved catching up with the Mills and England families! Brought back lots of memories from our college days...My, how things have changed!

Happy 3rd Birthday Elise!

Our sweet little lady is three today!!!

We started off her special day by going to breakfast at her favorite bakery. She chose this yummy chocolate sprinkled donut for breakfast! We let her go in her pj's with her special birthday crown on....

After that we headed back home to play and let Lila and Bennett take their nap. Soon after we got home, Emmy and Pop arrived to help us celebrate. Then Su Su and G joined us a little later. We ate some lunch, but all Elise could talk about was the cake!!

The birthday cake is a crown and was a joint effort by David and I...Needless to say I don't think we'll be starting a cake business anytime soon!! But hopefully, one day it will mean something to her that her Mom and Dad made and decorated the cake just for her- with our little princess in mind!

As much as she was looking forward to the cake, she was also very excited about presents!! She had already received the swing set from Su Su and G a few months early, so we had to remind her of that. Emmy and Pop came bearing lots of gifts- souvenirs from St. Barth's, tons and tons of art supplies, and a very special daybed (I'll post a picture later in the post)....

Below you can see Emmy reading Elise her birthday card....(LOOK at Elise's expression and how she is holding her hand- this is serious stuff!!)

Su Su and G hand delivered this awesome art easel for our budding artist from her favorite Aunt Mo!! She wanted to use it right away!! I love all of these presents encouraging her creativity!!

Below is her beautiful antique day bed...it is actually an old crib, but it is very low to the ground and will function (we hope) as a toddler bed for now, and eventually as an extra special place for her to cozy up and read or hang out with a friend! I would imagine her little sister will probably want to spend the night on it in her big sister's room before long! She has had some trouble staying in her big bed, opting most nights to go back into her crib, and we think it may be because the double bed is such a drastic change from the crib...Maybe this will be more like baby steps...

Thanks to both sets of Grandparents for making the day so special- not only with gifts, but with time. She is lucky to have you all!!

I have to admit I am very overwhelmed today as I watch what a little girl my daughter has become. Like most mothers, I know that I underestimated what hard work being a mom is...but more than that I had no idea how completely enriched, overjoyed, and completely filled BEYOND the brim with happiness one little person could make me. Elise is such a blessing in so many ways. On a daily basis she is my little helper and assistant when it comes to her brother and sister. She adjusted to being a big sister more quickly than either of us ever imagined. I feel badly that we underestimated her!! With that being said, I have to tell a quick story which will give you a peek into the sweet and quirky little girl she is growing in to. As I am sure you can imagine, when we do venture out as a family, or in the rare case I go out alone with the three kids- people flock to the see "the twins!". They don't even realize they are doing it, but often they ask me many questions about Lila and Bennett, while not even acknowledging Elise as she is standing there. For the longest time, at the first opportune time, I would make it a point to say, "And this is their wonderful big sis, Elise!"...Just to make sure she did not feel left out. Well, lately, on more than one occasion, our little sassy lady has chirped up without prompting- "They are Lila and Bennett, I am their big sister, Elise, and I will be 3 on July 19!" The first time she did this I was so overwhelmed with pride! In addition to cracking up!

On a daily basis she makes me laugh with the funny things she says. I call my Mom and David at least once a day with a "quote of the day" from Elise...And, as I am sure most Moms feel about their children, I really think she is wise beyond her years...

More than anything, we just love her so much....It has been such an honor and a pleasure to parent her (98% of the time-haha!) and I know I can speak for David when I say how blessed we feel....In so many ways.

Today especially, we are so very thankful to God for the INCREDIBLE GIFT he gave us three years ago today.

We love you Elise.

Happy Birthday, munchkin!

Sweet Pic

David's Mom took this picture last week and just sent it to me...I love it so much I had to post it...

So sweet....

Can't believe our baby will be 3 tomorrow....

Back from "Vacation"

We had a great time on our mini-vacation to New Orleans! It feels good to be home, because we definitely all missed David!

We started off our trip with a visit to the Great Grandparents house.



Below you can see my 90 year old Grandpa down on the floor playing ball with Bennett! Nothing stops him. They had a GREAT time playing together! Grandpa is in agreement that we may have a "lefty" on our hands. You should see how far Bennett can throw the ball....






Bennett LOVES Grandpa and kept crawling up on his lap. I don't think he understands how much he weighs! Poor Grandpa kept trying to hold him!
Lila was much too busy practicing her walking...She has made huge progress in the past few days...She is now officially "toddling"...she walks in between furniture pieces, etc...The funny part is that she does not perform on demand. You can try to get her to walk to you all day and she won't. But, then she'll be holding on to the couch (or whatever she is near) and she'll look over at you with a little smirk, then just take off and walk about 12-15 steps! It has to be HER idea!




After our "great" visit, we were off to lunch with the other Great Grandpa. Elise wanted to see where he worked, so we picked him up in the parking lot and pointed at the building! Ha! No way I was unloading everyone for that!
After lunch Elise took a rest in Su Su's bed with little Rex. This was very exciting for her!



After naps, we walked over to G's work to pick him up...He walks to and from work every day and this again was very fascinating to Elise...
When we got back to the condo we were all so excited because Shelley and Gray had come to see us! It was so nice of them to fight the uptown to downtown traffic to come see us.
Right away Elise convinced Shelley to play Hello Kitty Bingo with her! (Thanks Shel!)



And here is a cute pic of Gray and Bennett....Gray was saying something to me about needing someone to climb up the mast (I hope I am saying this correctly) on their sail boat...he noticed Bennett's extraordinary crawling skills and thinks he may be the "man" for the job!!! I told Gray we were still working on walking at this point and I didn't think he needed to be working on the sail boat just yet!



Later that night before bed G got attacked by babies!!!



Everyone slept great! (Well, except my poor Mom who has a terrible cold- can you believe she still let us come??! I can..that's just how she is...self-less) Anyway, this was very encouraging to us because we have a family beach trip coming up and we were very nervous about how Lila and Bennett would do in pack n plays. They have never really slept anywhere other than their bed. So, luckily, naps and bedtime went relatively smoothly on this "test" run....

The next day we headed over to the Children's Museum! Only recently Elise has started watching Mr. Rogers (or as she says Mr. Razz-zha) and so I knew she would LOVE the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood Exhibit, which she was completely uninterested in last time...I was right! (It happens now and then!)
Below is Elise watching Su Su on t.v., while Su Su is in the King's Castle...



And here she is on Mr. Razz-zha's front porch swing!



Lila and Bennett had lots of fun in the toddler area as well. There were many items to climb on, which they LOVED!



Here is Elise doing a puppet show. I loved that she chose the wise old owl...Reminds me of my good old Chi O days...



We had such a good time...We also got to take a trip to Whole Foods, which Elise agreed was the prettiest grocery store ever! I wish we could feed our family with food only from there! Everything is soooo yummy and pure!! We picked up some fruit and a few snacks to bring home with us....

Overall, it was a very nice "break"...It has been a challenge for me to think of creative ways to entertain 3 under 3 this summer, so we are most often at home...so I think the kids and I both needed a little change in our routine...We did pack a lot into a few days, but it was so nice to visit friends and see the sites in New Orleans- without driving back and forth and back and forth...
Think we may have to do this one more time this summer (Mom and Dad- are you ready???)!!

On another note, Mo is not feeling well at all, so we all wanted to wish her a "FEEL BETTER SOON!" We love you!!
Also, *Happy Birthday Bonnie Kate!*

Hope everyone has a good day!
Love, Nicole

Prayer Request

**UPDATE**

John Emerson Miller
July 16, 2008 @ 3:27 p.m.
7lbs 15 oz.

Theresa and John Emerson are doing well!!
****

My dear friend Theresa and her husband, Jayson, will be heading to the hospital tomorrow for the birth of their first son, John Emerson. Please keep their family in your prayers tonight. I know that God will be watching over the operating room tomorrow.
I can't wait to see his sweet little face!
This is an exciting week for us because we not only have John Emerson Miller arriving tomorrow, but we are also eagerly awaiting the arrival of baby Brister (who should be making an appearance on or around Monday)!!

Me and the kids are on a mini vacation visiting my parents, grandparents, and some friends! I'll post pics soon!

Sunday Fun

Elise played her first board game last night- Candyland!!! We had a lot of fun!
It is little challenging to get an almost 3 year old to wait their turn (patience is not her strongest suit at this point) but, she really enjoyed moving the players around and picking her card.
It was great. Both David and I remember playing this when we were younger, so it was really neat to play with our child!

Yesterday, during naptime, Lila was hanging out with us....She has been very stubborn about naps lately! I guess it is time to get rid of one of them...Anyway, she has started this new thing where when other people laugh, she fake laughs too. It is pretty funny...I caught a little with my camera....

Hope ya'll had a good weekend!!

Love, Nicole

Early Evening Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Early Evening Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

How cute is this super sweet dress??
I have to learn to sew....

Celebrating 3 at the park

We had a small birthday celebration for Elise today at the park. She and her "best friend" Ella are 8 days apart, and were in the same class at school. Since all of the other kids in their class are also born in the summer (thus, our little social butterfly has been at parties every weekend), Kimberly and I thought it would both help us, and the other parents, if we did their party together! The girls seemed to have no problem sharing the spotlight, and it definitely made things easy for Kimberly and I!
It was a very hot day, but the only people that seemed to notice that were the adults (me included)! I needed nap time after the party was over!!!



Above you can see the finished product of all Elise's hard work yesterday! (Thanks actually to my Mom for making them-- this was definitely a very budget friendly party-- but the cupcakes were delicious!!)



Kimberly's Mom found these adorable crowns and Ella was nice enough to share one with Elise! Super cute!!
Don't worry Aunt Mo, we will be pulling out the extra special felt crown next Saturday on her real birthday!



Cutie pie Will!



David catching some video...




Ella and Sydney playing in the sand...




Abigail (how cute is she? and her dress!!)



Jenna raking the sand...



The kids enjoying some PB&J and snacks...



Amelia...beautifully accessorized as always...



Birthday Princess Ella- she is so much fun!!!



Our sweet birthday princess!



Ella feeding Elise some fish!! They are so cute to watch. They really love each other....



Elise and Amelia Kate!

They were so excited to see all of their classmates...The summer is a crazy time, and although we planned on getting all of the kids together this summer it really only happens at birthday parties! So, it was great to see everyone!

Elise has been celebrating her birthday for about 6 weeks now (she started when Bennett and Lila had their party) and so it should be interesting to watch how she handles it when it is really over next weekend! We have let her open presents as they have arrived, thinking that may be better than her being all overwhelmed with so many gifts at once..But, I think we may have created a monster!! Now she is so used to opening presents I think she thinks it is the norm!!
But, I am excited about a lot of the new games and activities that she received, which will hopefully help us survive the rest of the summer!

Special thanks to Suzanne, Davis, and Aimee for sweating it out with us. It was a hot one!

Hope ya'll are having a great weekend!
Love, Nicole