Bald Boys...

Well, although I didn't know at the time, these were the last ponytails that my boys would be wearing for a LONG time.

Yesterday morning started out like any other day, we woke up excited to enjoy a fun day with daddy. Well, our day was memorable but not too much fun. I had noticed that Quinn's head had been itching that past few days but figured it was from swimming, the heat, playing outside and rolling in the grass, he wasn't complaining about it and it was not enough itching to concern me. Well, after breakfast he was sitting on Dan's lap and Dan noticed that there were little bugs crawling around.... Yes, one of my worst fears, LICE! So after talking to several people, shedding a few tears in the pharmacy at Target from being overwhelmed (and 38 weeks pregnant) we decided that the move was to take their beautiful locks and go from this...And this....To this...And from this...To this...

You might think it was extreme but it was the quickest, easiest, cheapest option. I was already bummed about some other things so the tears came easily, especially with all the hormones while cutting their hair. Rex' hair wasn't quite as sad but Quinn's gorgeous hair brought me to tears as I shaved it off. We started at a level three and after naps went even shorter to a level one (the shortest before a smooth head) after finding some eggs still in their hair. So now, NOTHING can live in their hair. It's so short that no bugs, no eggs, can live on their hair. We did treatments on all our kids. Found nothing on Myla but her and I did 2 different treatments throughout the day. And found nothing on Dan. So yesterday was full of an UNBELIEVABLE amount of laundry, cleaning, spraying EVERYTHING in sight with the lice killing spray. We even had our neighbors doing laundry for us because there was just so much to do. It's crazy all the things that you would not think of washing and spraying, car seats, all bedding, all the towels and rugs and shower curtains, carpet, couches, mattresses, hair bows, pillows, curtains (my kids hid under them), stuffed animals, baby blankets that they play with, the list goes on and on. I am fairly certain that we are a lice free house. My boys are clean, Myla is clean and now we are just in the waiting period to make sure that no other bugs pop up around here. I feel pretty confident that we are in the clear.

Well it is a good thing that we have some REALLY cute kids because they don't even need hair to look extremely handsome. I'm pretty sure that it doesn't get much sweet than these three wee ones. I was totally impressed with how my kids just went with the flow with yesterday's events. The boys were very brave not making a big deal about getting their hair cut off and Myla has been fabulous at letting us dig through her hair. They are tremendous kids

Ohh I'm so in love with these three!

Dan is so wonderful in situations like this. Although, far from the ideal way we wanted to spend out Tuesday, he always keeps things in perspective. Dan is very good at reminding me that it is just lice, it is just hair, it will be over soon and there are far worse things, but also giving me a hug while I cut off their hair! I was very thankful that we got to bare through the bugs together and I am very thankful that Dan maintains such clear thinking through bumps in the road.

Quinn is by far the best big brother!

A sweet moment between my oldest two.

It makes me a little sad to look at these pictures of their long hair but it will grow back!!! And now I won't have to worry about cutting their hair for a long time with our new baby coming!

We enjoyed a day with Hannah and Josiah the other day.
Popsicles are a must in the summer!
We are so blessed by such fabulous friends!My sweet girl. She loves Josiah. She is going to be a fabulous helper when this baby comes (it's starting to feel like he will never come though). Myla is by far the most excited about talking about the baby and any time we do she puts her hands out to hold him. It's going to be a blast with another little guy around.She continues to be delightful and such a blessing to her Daddy and I.On the curls..... :( We are going to have to work towards curls for the girls again!So, after a rough day yesterday, today looks brighter. Most things are washed and clean and put away. This baby can come any day now because everything is SOOO clean! We are excited to meet our little new guy and now there's a chance that he will have more hair than his brothers and finally Myla has the most hair of all our kids! We continue to be very blessed, and very thankful and through all the bumps in the road we learn a lot!

Mice

There are 3 reasons why mice might like my house...

Reason #1

Reason #2Reason #3

One, Two, Three really cute reasons why mice might enjoy our house. I clean our floors and vacuum twice a week and yet still I'm sure a whole family of mice could be well fed in our house!

Last Wednesday I got home around 9pm with the kids just in time to see a mouse run across my kitchen floor. I probably could have gone into labor I was so freaked out. I HATE MICE SOOO MUCH! We have since set traps every night and been outsmarted every night! Last night I went up to give the kids a bath around 8 and when I went back downstairs their was a chip laying on my kitchen floor. SOOO GROSS! I guess I should be thankful that I have a house that they can get into and a WONDERFUL husband so that I don't have to touch a single thing having to do with the mice.

This is breakfast this morning. Despite always cleaning up well I'm sure that there are Kix and raspberries around for the mice to eat later. Check out all those Rex is storing in his bib! Hoping to report a dead mouse SOON!! Let me know if you have any mouse killing tips!

36 Weeks!!

So tomorrow we will be 36 weeks along with our little guy!

We are thrilled and so proud of my strong uterus! I feel like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief having made it this far because at any stage now they will allow Wee #4 to be born which means NO bedrest! Now we just continue to pray that there will be no NICU for our little guy. I always appreciate my husband. He has such unwavering faith and trust in the Lord and encouraged me throughout this whole pregnancy to NOT WORRY about going on bedrest or the NICU and that the Lord is good and loving regardless if things go as we planned.

Pregnancy is such an amazing thing because it forces you to lean totally and completely on the Lord. The growth and safety of our baby is not in our hands but the Lord's hands and the best thing that I can do is put my faith and trust in Him.

I thought that it would only be fitting to wear the same dress as I wore in my previous two progress pictures. It is an Old Navy cotton dress from high school that will only look good during pregnancy these days. I love hanging onto things and making them work later in life!

Here is the belly progress through pregnancy #4So stay tuned, the next picture you see of me might be with a baby in my arms instead of in my belly! We cannot wait to meet our little boy!

Holiday Weekend!

We enjoyed a lot of Daddy time this last weekend starting Sunday after church. I was thrilled that the 4th fell on a Monday because it meant that we got 2.5 full days with Dan

We had a great 4th of July but all were exhausted by the end of the day. We went to a parade in the morning. Thanks to some friends who went really early we got a nice spot on the parade route, LOTS of candy and enjoyed our friends I'm pretty sure that my children never stopped putting candy into their mouths. We left after an hour and twenty minutes and the parade was still going strong. We came home and enjoyed a delicious lunch on the deck and all took naps! Woke up and headed to the church camp for some volleyball and some grilling then off to a friends house for fireworks. My children enjoyed the fireworks but were worn out by 10:45 at night. Myla kept saying "pretty" and Rex kept saying "boom boom" and Quinn was just exhausted! Overall a fabulous family day enjoyed by everyone!

My only picture at the parade... I was busy keeping my eyes on my kids and opening candy wrappers!Tuesday morning we went to a park. We picked one with baseball fields which are always a hit for my kids. There is something special in their minds about actually playing baseball on a baseball field versus just on the grass. They all three enjoy baseball and they all three enjoy watching Daddy play baseball!

Quinn is getting to become quite the ball player. He has a great throw and continues to get better at hitting. Plus what a cool Twins hat!Myla just likes to be involved in things. She usually ends up running after the balls because she doesn't care too much about batting. She is a fabulous sport and has quite a good arm on her.

My sweet boys... It's crazy thinking about another little Rude boy running around here soon!

Isn't she lovely?

Rex is addicted to ANYTHING with balls

Check out that grin on Quinn's face. He loves baseball!

Rex being a goof

Here is the Coach!
Dan LOVES baseball. It was his best sport and he thoroughly enjoys teaching our kids and playing ball with them!

Quinn likes pitching to Daddy

Rex and Myla like chasing the balls and they are all amazed at how far he can hit them!

Daddy and QuinnQuinn being a goofDaddy and his sweet potato.

Dan comes up with funny names for our kids all the time!

There is no man this little girl loves more than her DaddyRexy

I enjoyed playing with my camera on this overcast day which apparently is the best for taking pictures. It was still bright but no sun so no squinting and no big shadows.
How did I do?

She is going to be so sweet to our new little guy!

The best oldest brother ever!

I'm pretty sure that spontaneous running through the hose with their clothes on is one of my children's favorite things to do these days. I think it happens practically every other day. Whenever I take the time to get their suits on and put swim diapers on no one wants to swim so instead we just go with the flow!

Once again, Daddy is the most fun!The kids enjoy taking turns holding the hose

Rex is always brave with his Daddy

My youngest for a few more days!

Too precious

I am constantly in awe of my family and how wonderful they all are. Quinn, Rex and Myla are going to do amazing when Wee #4 comes. Quinn is always trying to solve problems and take care of Rex and Myla. He is sweet when he grabs their face very gently with both his hands to try and explain something to them. As crazy as having 4 under three and a half is going to be I have full confidence that my children will handle our new Wee one amazingly. I continue to be thankful every day that I am still pregnant because it means that my little man is still growing inside of me. Although I am super excited to meet him and I think that I will probably get more sleep at night once he is here despite having to get up to feed him than I am getting now. This big belly and small bladder have a way of waking me up 6-7 times a night. I am truly thankful, very blessed and loving my life!

Nana & Papa!

Our favorite out of town visitors came this week!

We enjoyed two fun filled (but short) days with Nana and Papa. They arrived for dinner Monday night and left Thursday morning so we packed a lot of fun into Tuesday and Wednesday!

We went to the big pool and with a few extra hands I was able to take a few pictures. My children loved it once again and enjoyed lots of jumping and swimming. Myla was a kicking machine as she practiced swimming and my boys loved it too. I'm so glad that they love the water although Myla tends to be a bit too brave. The girl has NO FEAR of the water!

Myla and Nana

Papa and Myla

Myla jumping to Nana

Myla jumping to Papa

My boys enjoyed jumping to their fun loving Daddy. Quinn loves to do "BIG jumps." Meaning that Dan stands as far away as possible and Quinn jumps to him.

Quinn and Daddy

Rex loved swimming with Daddy.
Rexy loves doing anything with his Daddy!

My brave little girl

Rex getting ready to be thrown into the air!

Everyone took some good naps after the pool and then we headed out to dinner. We like picking a restaurant out at Jordan Creek because their is the pond to walk around, fish and ducks to feed, rocks to climb and jump off of and frogs to look for. So much to entertain us. We ate outside at Champs, a totally beautiful night, and then walked around the pond and had fun.

Quinn and Nana getting ready to feed the fish

Papa and the wee ones feeding the fish

Dan adores all our children but I can attest that their is something very special about a father daughter relationship. I have an amazing relationship with my dad and I have NO DOUBT that these two will have a very special bond. It doesn't get much cuter than this!

Dan, Papa and the kids

The gang doing some rock climbing while looking for frogs

There was a "race track" with different levels that my fun loving kids enjoying climbing on and racing around.

She has NO problem keeping up with the boys

The cheer leaders

Wednesday we enjoyed a Caribou (a Miller Family tradition) and then off to the park. The extra hands are ALWAYS wonderful because the all love being pushed on the swings, climbing the high slide and running all around. I once again enjoyed taking some pictures while Nana was at the top of the high slide and Papa caught them at the bottom. Fun was had by all!

Rex being his sweet self!

My children are fearless

Myla getting ready to slide, Quinn jumping from the slide.

Myla getting a ride from Papa

Quinn at the bottom of the big slide!

We ALWAYS enjoy when Nana and Papa visit.
I thoroughly enjoyed the extra hands. These days my body will take all the help it can get. My parents are tremendous grandparents. I always feel like my kids learn so much and have many adventures when they are around. We loved our packed and fun filled days with them. The next time we see them Wee #4 will be here and ready for some Nana and Papa fun too. Crazy to think about!!