Home Sweet Home

This is what we came home to...

The garden is in full bloom!

{pictures from our Missouri trip coming soon}

More Beach Days

One night we took dinner to the beach and played until bedtime...loved this time of day out there!

Tucker had some good cousin time as usual...

Loving the sand...

And the water...

Hadley was just as content as she is in her bath

We lived in the "pools"

We had some good family time...

My cousin Anna is expecting a little boy in October!

Tucker had his first trip to the Aquarium...

I'll leave you with this sweet picture of Hadley and Gigi!

Beach buddies!

A few weeks ago, our friends Ashley and Carter and Lauren and Kit came to the beach with us for a a few days. It was so much fun for Tucker to have "his size" people to play with on the beach and we all had a blast. It was busy with 4 adults and 4 kiddos--but a blast :)

The perfect after beach treat:: Bath and show time

Bath time...and Carter is all his glory :)

The only time they sat still all weekend...

Hadley was all smiles

Carter's first lollipop!

Our princess for the weekend

And I'll leave you with this...

PS...I promise there was adult supervision..we just don't have pictures to prove it--sad!

Pray for Amy

Will you pray for my friend Amy today? She has had an abnormal week in light of her cancer journey and she needs prayer as she waits, hopes, and stands up against her fears.

Read her recent blogpost for an update.

Follow her caring bridge for an update:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amypatwa

Hadley Weekly!

Hadley is 24 weeks old today and just past the 5 month mark! In the midst of a few challenging weeks with her, the great news is that she started taking a bottle!!!!! Yay!!!!! Mama is happy :) And Daddy is too...Brad is happy to have some Daddy-Hadley bottle time before bed and we're just so thankful that we have more flexibility now. She's drinking anywhere from 6-8 ounces! She's already trying to hold the bottle on her own (which Tucker didn't do until 14 months-was he lazy or what? :). If you're wondering what made her finally like the bottle, I got nothin for ya--she just all of a sudden decided to take it!

The rolling over during sleep has been out of control. Almost every nap is interrupted and nighttime sleep is usually interrupted at least once in the night. We're having to hold her down and rub her back until she falls asleep, or she rolls over. It feels like we're creating a monster but we have simply been doing whatever it takes to get her to sleep. We are working with her on learning how to roll back over on her own since that seems like the only solution.

Of course with her seeming so interested in moving, we have wondered if she is uncomfortable. It's all a guessing game, as it always has been, but it's hard not to wonder if something's going on with her tummy. I've been pretty discouraged that things don't seem better than this, as my diet is so limited. I talked with the doctor about some possible allergy testing this past week so we'll keep you posted on what we decide to do. This mama is just ready to be a little more sure of what's going on with her baby!

In other news, she loves her exersacuer and her bath. She still takes 2 longer naps and a short catnap around dinner. She wants something in her mouth ALL the time but we still don't see any teeth actually coming through. She started crying real tears this week :( She's started "reaching" for me, which I love. She loves watching her brother and laughs at him more than anything else around.

every picture of Tucker right now seems to catch him in the middle of saying whatever it is I've asked him to say to try to get him to look at the camera {cheese}... cute huh? :)

We love you Hadley girl!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Brad! I'm thankful for you being right beside me in the craziness of parenthood and that so many of Tucker and Hadley's first memories will be full of you. You are patient, consistent, fun, thorough, a teacher, playful, a listener, and a good snuggler :) I love you more as I watch you be Daddy to Tucker and Hadley. Today we celebrate you!

5 months old!

5 months old!

Jennie

Jennie...my sweet friend Jennie. Jennie that I met in the first few months of living in Huntersville. Jennie who I met with in Bible Study, over prayer, and mostly over conversation with. Jennie who is the mom I want to call when I have a question about my child's fever, potty training, or other "what do I do now" mommy questions. Jennie who's at Target almost every time I call her. :) Jennie who is the easiest conversation. Jennie who strives for perfection just like I do--and we've grown in that a lot--together. Jennie who is a class act and an amazing hostess. Jennie who has been a fixture in my life the entire time I've been married and had children. Jennie who has left a mark on my life and so many others as she moves onto this new season of life in Richmond. Jennie who I will miss dearly...but won't stop calling, won't stop praying for, and won't stop remembering all the ways she has been an incredible friend to me during this critical season of my life.

Love you friend!

Hadley Weekly!

Hadley is 21 weeks old and just shy of 5 months old!

These days she's drooling a ton (no actual teeth coming through yet) and putting everything in her mouth (her butterfly above is her favorite!). She's happy and never meets a stranger--she's content to be held by anyone and is all smiles when anyone is interacting with her. She's loving her exersaucer and is most happy when brother Tucker plays with her while she's in it.

She's been rolling over (stomach to back) too many times to count...everyday...almost every nap... it's very frustrating since she can't roll back over and she won't fall asleep on her back. It has been very bad this week but I'm confident it is connected to gluten. Although I thought she was handling the gluten okay when I first started eating it, I am sure now that it it bothering her. We had a few really hard days this week with her sleeping at night and for the amount of moving she does to get comfortable, it seems very consistent with how she reacted to dairy and soy. She also went almost 2 days without pooping--the other obvious sign. So, I'll say goodbye to sandwiches and pasta and continue the crazy diet. It is challenging but NOT worth how uncomfortable/fussy she gets!

Hadley loves the water and has had fun at the beach this weekend! We're looking forward to a week of fun in the sun with Gigi...more pictures to come!

Tucker Monthly

Tucker is 32 months old!

Things he loves at this age...

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, his deedee, snuggling, playing in the mulch with his diggers, the pool and the beach, Madagascar and "I like to move it move it", squeeze yogurt, going on walks with Daddy and Grey, all things construction, "Find the object in the picture" books, hanging out with his little friends, and his "baby sister" (he's recently started calling her that)!

watching "diggers" a few lots over...hours of entertainment :)

He is a crazy good eater! This past week it seems like he's been in a growth spurt because of the amount he's been eating at meals. Sometimes it seems like I'm already feeding a high school football player!

His vocabulary continues to increase and he says hilarious things all the time. The funniest are when things are out of context. Recently, he added "it's my fault" to his phrases but he doesn't understand what it means--he adds it in during random conversations :)

He loves his friends and he seems to finally be at the age where they play and interact together instead of just playing in the same room apart from each other. This is so fun to watch and it makes me really excited for him to go to preschool in the Fall.

Tucker and Kit

Tucker loves our time at night when we read a story from his bible. His favorite story is about Joseph. He calls it "Jesus and his coat" :)

He is very affectionate and wants to give everyone a "kiss and a hug". He says "I wuv you Mommy, I wuv you", often and he loves "post wake up" snuggles. I don't ever want this to end!

Tucker and Brad have had a lot of "outings"... It's nice to get Tucker out of the house since we're at home more these days because of Hadley. They have they're regular Saturday morning routine and also have gone out several nights to do fun stuff together...he loves Daddy time and I love watching these two together!

This age is ACTIVE, ACTIVE, and more ACTIVE and Tucker is keeping us busy! Here's to a fun summer! We love you buddy!

First Round

Tucker played his first round of putt-putt last night (with Daddy's help)...along with his friend Kit! Our Young Life area put on a "mini golf" tournament for the Spring fundraiser and we were happy to to participate...not as happy as Tucker, of course :) He was his usual serious self, very concentrated on the ball and raising his hands in victory whenever he got it in the hole. He was a crying mess when it was over. Thankfully there were Tenders, snowcones, and a Young Life club to lift his spirits! I have a feeling we'll be frequenting LKN Mini Golf more this summer!

Content on the course...

Kit and Lauren

If we could only get him to hold it the right way...

Is this exciting or what?!?

Hadley Weekly!

Hadley is 20 weeks old! This week has felt like the type of "marker" week I'll remember because of 2 things...

One, I dropped Hadley's late night feeding so she's officially sleeping 12 hours all on her own! Can I get an Amen? In the world of nursing, dropping a feeding feels so freeing, not to mention being able to go to bed earlier. So proud of my girl :)

Two, the elimination process has come to an end. Thankfully, I reintroduced gluten this past week and it seemed to agree with her! So, out of corn, dairy, soy, and gluten, Hadley CANNOT handle dairy and soy. This is still going to be a challenge and a sacrifice no doubt, but it feels a little less overwhelming that it is only 2 of the allergens. It's also just such a relief to know what's bothered her. I'll probably do another post on the elimination as a whole, but all in all, I am so thankful that it worked--that I can really say with confidence what makes Hadley uncomfortable.

Otherwise, Hadley just seems so happy right now! This is such a fun stage of lots of smiles,laughing, and pure contentment most of the time. She still takes 4 naps a day--3 (2-hours)--or that's the hope at least :) and a shorter cat nap around dinner. She goes to bed around 7:15-7:30 and sleeps until 7:30-7:45. She's still moving a lot in the crib--the sleep positioner helps but she can still get out of it if she wants to.

She started sitting in her exersaucer (or exersauce as Tucker says) this week! Her feet don't quite touch the bottom (welcome to my world Hadley) and she leans forward a good bit, but she seems to enjoy being upright with all the fun toys. She still loves her playmat and is content to sit in the bumpo with a few toys as well! She loves to have something in her mouth and the drooling has officially begun.

We love you Hadley girl!