Goings - Ons

The second half of the summer has certainly gotten away from me when it comes to blogging. We have been having so much fun traveling, swimming, playing, and enjoying life that I have neglected to blog about it (yet again!). I don't write FB status' often, or at least not as often as some people I know who update what seems like every couple hours sometimes. No problems with that, I just don't have a "smart" phone, my phone is pretty dumb actually, and when I think about posting something, usually the moment is fleeting and on to the next thing. However, there have been some things here lately that I definitely wanted to jot down and "journal" or at least take note of. So here we go...

Brian is doing awesome, working a lot as usual, but so thankful for him and all he does for our family and we definitely cherish the time we get to spend with him. Most people that know him know that he is so quiet and humble and really just rolls with life. Even so, we are so proud of him, so proud of how he protects and takes care of not only his family, his precious girls, but our community as well. He risks his life every time he walks out the door and we certainly do not take that for granted. Praying God's protection and peace over him every day!!! He just celebrated his 1 year mark with the department and we are ever so thankful for a small raise in pay and more seniority. He would never admit it, but I know that he is one of the best they have and I am sure that those that need to see it, do. :)

Sierra - Our spunky little 4 year old is as precocious as they come, I am sure. She sure does give me a run for my money most days. She (at four) has everything figured out and you better not get in her way. Certainly this does not fair well when obedience and self-control are needed and not given, but it is hard not to just love her and all her spunk. My mother says she is just like me when I was little, although, I was not the first born child, so I do not remember being so bossy and expressive. She is however very aggressive and argumentative and those qualities can (sadly) claim from when I was young. We are working (continuously) on self-control and talking a lot about how our words speak either life or death into others; to build up or to tear down. Sierra is oh so smart and you might think it is a little crazy to talk about "speaking life or death into the lives or others" with a 4 year old. The fact of the matter is, she totally gets it and fully understands what that stuff means and often will even say to me, "Mama, I want to speak life into that person." However, she lacks the maturity and responsibility that comes with age and therefore, even though knowing full and well what is correct, her 4 year old tendencies do not follow through. :) Her imagination is amazing. Just today as we were driving home, we spent the whole car ride looking at the clouds and talking about what we saw. Some of the things she saw included a panda bear, a worm on a tree, a baby with praying hands, a flying horse, a hot dog, and a plate of spaghetti. Amazing imagination this girl has. She LOVES her dolls right now, and can honestly be having a conversation with me and in 30 seconds flat, can turn on her imagination and start narrating her dolls. I LOVE listening to her narrations and the stories she tells...not too long ago, I over heard her say to one doll, "No! Don't do that! He is my cousin!" LOL! She is very protective over those cousins! :) We have had some regression here lately with her pottying. It makes me sad because I don't know the cause or trigger, but she has been having a lot of daily accidents and it is frustrating for both of us. I think most of the time it is just stubbornness and the fact that she is "too busy" doing something else to get up and go. Been praying about it and hoping that she turns a corner soon.

Chyler - Our cutie little 2 year old with "flair", as I like to call her. I always tell her she's got flair, more like a firecracker sometimes (haha), but fun none-the-less. She is getting so big it just doesn't seem fair. I honestly can't believe she is 2 years old and 5 months already. Where did the time go with that one? She is a little chatter-box these days, it is truly unreal. Some of the things that come out of her mouth, I honestly have to look at her and say, "you are just two, you can't talk like that already!" Don't get me wrong, it is nothing bad, just sentences, phrases, and words that sound like she is 5 instead of 2. Someone once told me not to worry if Chyler didn't talk like Sierra did (because Sierra was SO verbal at a young age), saying that most of the time the bigger siblings do the talking for the little ones. Well, that could not have been more wrong for this kid. She honestly can carry on a full conversation with you and you will walk away understanding at least 80% of it. Just the other day, when Sierra was rejoicing in the wrongdoing of her sister, something we are learning a lot about around here lately, Chyler (out of the blue) said, "Sierra, you worry about Sierra!" In the midst of my correction efforts, I couldn't help but chuckle. She just says that funniest things and the cutest things, she is so darn cute it is hard not to just want to love on her all day! But, as I mentioned, she certainly has A LOT of flair too. My little firecracker! We have been working on her screaming tendencies a lot lately. It seems the 2nd child gets so easily frustrated that they only way they know how to respond is to scream. This is very frustrating for both of us and certainly a work in progress! Again, self-control is such a hard thing to learn, even for me and I am in my 30's. We pray for one another around here - OFTEN! :) Just like Sierra though at this same exact age, Chyler is showing signs of potty training readiness. Isn't it ironic how they were both the same exact age? Chyler has been going pee-pee and poo-poo on the potty about a dozen times in the past two weeks and I am at a point now where I just need to break down and train her. We did a modified version of "The Three Day Potty Training Method" with Sierra, and I am probably going to do that again. I just need to break down and put her in some panties and get rid of the diapers and let her train; it took Sierra about 1 week to fully get it and 2 weeks to have no accidents, so here's hoping Chyler does just as well. She has been telling me quite often now when she has to go and she gets so excited about 1 m&m for going pee and 2 m&m's for going poop (our little chocolate lover). :) I think having her in cloth diapers the past few months have really helped too. I am not sure why, she just seems to "feel" it more in the cloth. She gets so excited after going in the potty too and has to tell everyone, saying, "I put my pee-pee in the potty!!!!" in the most high-pitched, excited voice! :) We are so excited for this newest milestone for her and it is hard to believe that just one year ago she had just started walking. :( Again I ask, where does the time go? :)

Ariella - Our precious little 9 month old cutie! Oh how I dearly love this baby! She certainly has a special place in my heart, just like her sisters. Just speaking her name makes my heart burst with love and joy. What a precious gift God gave to us! She definitely was our "surprise" baby and I will never forget the night I took that pregnancy test. I was in shock and pacing the floors up and down our hallway trying to catch my breath and figure out HOW I was going to tell Brian. Then through 8 weeks of continuous bleeding, I wasn't sure God was going to even let us keep her. What a tumultuous time for Brain and I. After that, we went through 2 months of just about every one we know speaking "little boy" over my womb and then boom, girl #3!!!! Only God would really know the true joy that this precious babe would bring to our lives. It is crazy to think that in just 3 months time we will be celebrating 1 year of precious life. How is she 9 months old already? Time she does fly when they are little. Her 9 month chubby little self is so adorable though. She is "talking" constantly and learning how to wave & clap and she says, "ba-ba" for "bye-bye", "Ma-Ma", "Da-Da", and babbling gibberish all the time. She is learning some signs right now and I am hoping she will pick up on them soon. Chyler & Sierra are great little teachers and are constantly signing with her around the house. I love that! She also loves playing peek-a-boo and being sung too. Her greatest joy comes from watching her big sisters play and rocking at night before bed with Mama (that never gets old). She is sleeping like a champ, goes to bed around 7:30pm and sleeps until about 8am, wakes to nurse, and then goes right back down until about 11am. She then takes a nap some time around 2pm (depending on our daily activities) and is up around 4:30pm or 5pm. She is eating like a champ, nursing about 4 times per day and eating food at lunch time and dinner time. She LOVES avocado and yogurt; but doesn't really like bananas. Bananas are the only things that she doesn't really have a taste for so far. She is a pro at eating "puffs" and puts whole fist-fulls into her mouth now, from her snack trap. About a month ago, she didn't have her pincer-grip down yet and was struggling, but when food is involved, clearly it didn't take her long to learn. :) She has two teeth on the bottom and is currently working on two top teeth to add to the mix. They are almost both through the gums. Her amber teething necklace is AMAZING and she has NO drool and shows very minimal signs of discomfort. I honestly would never believe it if I wasn't witnessing it for myself. Even at the grocery store the other day, the cashier commented on her teeth breaking through the gums and then said, "And she is so happy and not fussy with those teeth breaking through." I just smiled and said, "I know." But I firmly believe it is the natural oils in the amber stone of that necklace that are helping, same with Chyler, and also the little girl I used to baby sit for, Ella. It's awesome. In perfect "Miller girl" fashion, Ariella is not yet crawling. She has plenty of ways to get herself around whether it be scooting, pulling, rolling, etc. but no crawling or pulling up yet. Sierra was 10 months old, Chyler was 12 months old, and honestly, I am in NO hurry. I am already constantly telling Sierra to be careful of all her little doll pieces and toys, I can't imagine having a crawling baby around here right now too. In due time.

Well, that just about sums up how things are going on around here and how our precious 3 babes are growing and changing. Time seems to be flying by and we are soaking up these last few days/weeks of summer; pool and beach play dates and time with friends before school starts back and the leaves start to fall. Thanks for keeping up with us, praying for us, and reading all our goings - ons! :) We are certainly blessed beyond measure and we pray that each of you reading this will be as well!