The Beach...

Is good for my soul. Maybe not as good as when I only had to worry about carrying one chair and wondering what book I was going to get lost in...but it's still good :) These days, the beach means packing everything up except the kitchen sink (literally--see above), figuring out a way to carry it between 2 adults, and hoping your toddler won't have a meltdown when it's time to come inside. It is a BIG effort to set ourselves up to play for a few hours but I must say that it is worth it to see my boy in his own heaven, playing with sand and diggers until his heart is content. We've had amazing weather this week and I'm so thankful for Gigi's help!

Maybe one day I'll read again...for now, I'll just build sandcastles.

First trip to the beach!

Favorite place to be~in someone's arms... Cousin Meredith doesn't seem to mind :)

Hadley Weekly!

~14 weeks~

Hadley is sleeping better and better...she sleeps through the night with a feeding around 11 pm. She's still taking 3 naps and a 4th cat nap before dinner.

She's still sucking on her knuckle/hand a lot...I've wondered this week if she might be teething with all the drool!

She still loves to be held and doesn't mind a crowd if it means new people to hold her :)

She's still not wanting a bottle at all so we're going to keep reintroducing it once a week and hopefully she will have a change of heart soon :)

As for the diet update, I quit eating corn since I felt like it was bothering her. After another week, I added in dairy for just a few days but I noticed some affects on her poop (frequency mainly) and I think I've decided to continue eating without these 4 allergens (dairy, soy, corn, and wheat) for another month or so before adding anything back in. It's definitely challenging for me but Hadley is SO much better with such a raw diet so I'll try to stick with it for a little while longer. I'm hoping her stomach is just taking a little longer to develop...

Hadley had her first trip to the beach this week...she's had a few naps out there and seems to be pretty content with the breeze blowing in her hair :)

Easter!

Happy Easter from these two cuties!

We celebrated at the beach with Gigi...the kids woke up to Easter baskets, we went to an Easter egg hunt, ate a delicious Easter brunch, and spent a great day with family.

her first babydoll

diggers...of course :)

cute Easter bunnies! Tucker was not a fan though...

Thankful for Jesus being alive!

Papa

Hadley met her Papa for the first time this weekend... She is great-grandchild #6!

We love our Papa!

Easter Egg Hunt-Round 1

We got invited to "Grandma Pat's" (the Gibbs boys' grandma) annual Easter Egg Hunt and we were excited for him to hunt for eggs for the first time! It didn't take long for him to learn how to hunt for eggs...

Showing Taylor his eggs...

Playing in the bubble machine bubbles!

Sweet Hadley hanging out in the sling...the cheeks are in full effect here :)

Who can scowl the most?

Love all the green...so thankful for this time of year!

Hadley Weekly!

Hadley is 13 weeks old and wow, 12 weeks was good to us! Hadley continued to sleep through the "colic time" almost every night. She will still fuss during that time here and there but never to the point that we have to take her out of the crib. We have our nights back--YAY!

She has starting consistently sucking on her knuckle...yes, your heard that right--her knuckle! It's the same one every time and it officially has a callous on it now :) She rolled over twice today in her bed too...if only she could figure out how to roll back over...

At the end of last week, I introduced corn back into my diet. Unfortunately, I think it does bother Hadley. She was struggling to poop and doing it much less like before. UGH--corn is in everything! I'll definitely plan to reintroduce it in a month or so but for not, I'll continue to eliminate it. I'm going to wait a few days to introduce dairy...we'll see how that goes!

It really feels like we're turning the corner around here and we are so, so thankful... here's to the 3rd month!

3 months old!

3 months old!

Look how she's grown...

Riggins...Landry...Coach Taylor...

Friday Night Lights! Season 5 starts tonight!

We've been watching all the previous seasons on DVD these last few months and well, we LOVE it! I think Season 5 aired in the Fall on demand or something, so a lot of you have already seen the last season... We're excited to see how it unfolds! If you've never watched, DVR this season and watch Seasons 1-4 first!

Hadley Weekly!

Hadley is 12 weeks old! And just like a "normal" 12 week old, she slept through her "colicky" time last night--sleeping from 7:30-10:30 and through the rest of the night! It was amazing and hard for us to relax actually...wondering if she would wake up at any moment! Unfortunately, she didn't do the same tonight, but it does give us hope that maybe more nights like last night are around the corner!

Today, during her afternoon nap, Hadley was crying....I went to look on the video monitor and she had flipped over for the first time(from front to back)!!! I couldn't believe it!

Hadley really is a happy girl most of the day...smiling, cooing, watching her brother, and sleeping a lot! She loves her bath, her play mat, and even her bouncer seat these days. We've enjoyed the nice weather outside too! The general consensus seems to think she looks like her Daddy!

Check out those chins!

Mesmerized by the singing, lit up star on her play mat!

Hanging with Daddy!

CUTE!

2 days...

Until I can have this!

Corn, that is. Corn tortilla chips that is. And let's be honest, chips and salsa is like a food group for me. I can't believe I'm coming close to the end of a full month of elimination... It has been really hard but possible and I'm so thankful to see the light at the end of the tunnel! At the end of the week, I'll start adding each allergen back in, one at a time, for about 5 days at a time. I'll do corn first because it is in everything, so if I were to find out it's not corn, I could add several foods to my current short list. I'll be watching for changes in Hadley and hoping and praying there are none!

I'll keep you posted...while I'm enjoying my chips and salsa!

Tucker Monthly - 2 1 /2 years old!

I can't believe we have a 2 1/2 year old! This age seems to be 90% fun and full of "all the cute things they say" and 10% full of really hard, challenging, discipline moments-- a lot of saying "no", "why are you doing that", and repeating yourself 3 times before they seem to hear you. Aah! It is tiring and energizing all at the same time!

Tucker amazes us right now with his vocabulary, the way his mind works, and his memory. NOTHING gets past this kid so you better watch what you say! He is so curious about new things, asking "why" often :) His wheels always seem to be turning and he's not content until he gets an explanation.

He says "not yet" and "I'm fine" often.... He's into the "order" of things and is always saying, "Let me do "x" first... He has started calling us "Mom" and "Dad" and we hate it! :) He sings songs, getting most of the words correct... A few other funny things we've heard lately...

"Mom, you're cute"

Brad: Tucker, who do you want to pray for tonight?

Tucker: "Daddy, Hadley, Grey, Gigi.....but not Mommy doh."

He LOVES all things construction! He still likes tractors but most of the time his excitement is surrounding diggers, excavators, bobcats, cement trucks, and "worker guys". I know where every construction situation is around town and Tucker will usually remind me. He will literally cry when we get home because he can't see anymore diggers on the road. He is constantly entertained by the new construction on our street and he loves to wave at the worker guys. He's all of a sudden interested in bugs on the ground...I have a feeling that will be a new craze. He almost only watches Curious George but has just started requesting Veggie Tales more and more. In general, he's a one-track mind and will literally play with the same toy all day long--it amazes us! He loves to be outside and we've recently been thankful for the leave-the-door-open-screened-in-porch-weather! I'm so grateful for the ways Tucker plays independently, especially these last few months!

Every Saturday morning, Brad and Tucker go do something together. A few weeks ago, Brad took him to Waffle House and told Tucker it was "man's breakfast"...so now, he's of course said "man's breakfast" several times :)

He loves to clean up and wants everything in it's place.....thanks to his Daddy! He throws fits often, says "no" passionately :), and frequents time out. He loves to give "a hug and a kiss" and if he forgets to do that before someone leaves, he ends up crying until we convince him the person is really gone. He loves squeeze yogurt and peanut butter and jelly. When we go on walks after dinner, he'll "jog" almost the entire time--never getting tired!

He loves Gigi and we were so thankful to have her come help us again! She gave him this wheelbarrow for helping Daddy in the garden and he LOVES it!

Here's to 2 1/2...I have a feeling these next several months will NEVER be dull...

Hadley Weekly!

Week 11 definitely seemed like a turning point for Hadley! She started sleeping through the night (from 10:30-7ish) consistently-- which of course made me feel like a new woman! She still has had her "colicky" time from 8ish-10ish every night which is still wearing on us, but the full night's sleep definitely helps.

It really seems like the diet has been helping. The major change has been her poop (sorry folks--this is probably TMI)... it went from dark green (a typical symptom of allergy/intolerance) to being completely yellow and normal now. Before, she also was struggling to poop, only going every few days and always very gassy. Now, she goes almost every feeding...like most breastfed babies and I rarely notice gas. Our hope is that it is an intolerance that she will grow out of as opposed to an allergy, but only time will tell. I have been doing the full elimination diet for 3 weeks now. After the 4 week mark, I will start adding one allergen back in, one at a time, for about 5 days at a time. So, it will take about a full 2 months to figure out what the culprit is and honestly at this point, it's kind of feeling like a game that I can't wait to figure out :) The diet has definitely been challenging but I'm also very amazed that I've been able to do it!

Hadley is becoming more and more interactive. She still only stays awake for about 45 minutes at a time, taking 3 naps plus a little cat nap around dinner time. She blows raspberries, she has the BEST smile, and she follows people with her eyes now.

Hadley got to meet one of my favorites this week, Amy. It's so fun that we both have a little girl!