I'm back...

Hannah on Gabe's first day of school!

Our little man looking not so little!

Gabe started PK3 and he goes Tues/Thurs mornings, it's only been a few weeks but so far he seems to enjoy it. He's also in soccer now, it started up a couple weeks ago unfortunately poor little man had some nasty virus that had him down and out for almost 10 days, he's had his share of illnesses and none have affected him like this one did so I'm glad to see that it is finally out the door. We should be starting back up with his speech in the next few weeks so he will be a busy little man! We are praying that he will continue to make progress...we've noticed over the past few months that he seems to act self-conscious around other kids and we think he may realize that he's not talking as well which breaks my heart, as a mom you never want to see your child struggle with things and this has definitely been one for him. It's been weighing heavy on my heart as well....I keep wondering if I'm doing something wrong and trying to figure out ways that I can help him through this.

Hannah had croup around the same time Gabe came down with his virus so we had two little sick ones but she recovered pretty quickly. Her little personality has really started to come out especially since she has either EJ or myself all to herself while Gabe is in school Tues/Thurs. She is feisty and stubborn and loves to laugh (which quite often sounds like a cackle) She is getting 2 front molars right now which has affected her sleep but hopefully it won't be too long before she is back on schedule! Although she doesn't eat a lot she is probably one of the healthiest eaters I have ever met...her favorites right now are carrots, ALL fruit, beans, peas, zucchini, tomoatoes.

Week 2, 3 and 4

Wow since I am so far behind in my blogging I'm going to sum up the rest of our summer trip to NY in one post (mostly pictures since it's been so long I don't even remember everything)

We went blueberry picking several times which the kids thoroughly enjoyed...I had a hard time getting Hannah to eat while we were there but she never turned down a blueberry, I swear most of the time we were there her main source of nutrition was nursing and blueberries.





My mom and I did some canning which was fun, I remember my mom doing this when I was younger but I hadn't done too much of it myself. We made jam (blueberry, peach and blackberry), salsa and pickles. I have to say the salsa was by far the best salsa I have ever had, EJ loves the salsa at certain mexican restaurants and he thought it was just as good if not better! We brought back 3 jars and we already went through 2 of them.

Delicious blueberry jam!

With Uncle Eric on his birthday!!

Other things we did:

• Family reunion for my Dad's side of the family (I believe those pictures are on my brother's camera)

• Uncle Eric's Birthday

• Cousins graduation party

• Sew (more like my mom sewed and I tried to keep the kids away)

Roasting marshmallows with Mommy at his first bonfire!

Week 1

We had a busy first week in NY getting ready for Gabe and Hannah's birthday party which was on the 17th. Gabe had a lot of fun playing with his 2nd cousins, Hannah was too overwhelmed with all the people to leave Mommy's hip! The next day Uncle Eric and my soon to be sister-in-law went with myself and the kids to Sylvan Beach, my favorite maid of honor went with us and Gabe had a great time hanging out with Zach, they couldn't get enough of all the rides!

Hannah was having a hard time adjusting to say the least, she started waking up several times a night and one of those times would be for a couple hours. I honestly felt like I was getting ready to lose my mind, I was running on very little sleep and because she was not getting enough sleep she was cranky during the day and only Mommy could hold her! She's very lucky she's so darn cute!!

The pictures from the Birthday Party are on Uncle Erics camera so I don't have many from our first week

Our little baby turns 1!

To our baby girl

I can hardly believe you turn one today! And rest assured, I will be saying this for every birthday you and your brother have for the rest of your life.

You are a gift, a jewel, a precious girl. I pray you will be good and kind to others and bring joy to others. Serve HIM with all your heart and love HIM above all else. Know you can talk to me. I will listen. I will pray. There is nothing you could tell me that would change my love for you. I pray for you and your brother every day. I'm even praying for your future husband. Save yourself for him. Many boys will come along, but don't be clouded by their words...there is only one who is truly yours. Wait for him. Smile. Be Polite. Say hello. Be gracious. Be the light God created you to be. I love you and I'm so proud to be your mommy.

And she walks.....

She took her first step a few days after turning 11 months and then on June 13th was able to take 4 steps at a time. Still not doing it 100% of the time but I'd say we are about 80/20. I think watching a baby learn to walk, their arms out to the side trying to keep balance is sooo adorable!! I've been trying to upload video for months but for some reason can't so hopefully I can get it working soon!

Happy Fathers Day!

We love you!!!

3 Years Ago Today....

I gave birth to this precious boy...

And here he is today!

To our Sweet Little Man,

Your Daddy and I can not believe you are 3 today! It seems like just yesterday when I surprised Daddy with the news that we were expecting, we were overcome with such excitement and although we had some struggles and bumps in the road prior, we knew God was in control. Every day I am amazed by you, from the moment you entered my life you have made me better. From the sporadic hugs and kisses that you sprinkle throughout every day to the excitement you show in the little things, I am charmed by you! You are such a great big brother to Hannah, you've already taken on the role of her little protector. It just melts my heart watching the relationship between the two of you blossom. Although it's hard for me to admit you are a Daddy's boy, the two of you have such a great time together, you have a wonderful Daddy! God has truly blessed us with you as our son and words cannot express how much we love you!!

Gabe at 3:

• Is starting to try and imitate more words..he had his verbal evaluation with Mrs Rachel (his speech therapist) where he had to repeat 75 words or so (I can't remember the exact amount just know it was a lot) he completely shut down but then in the weeks to follow it seems like he has attempted to copy words we say more!!!
• Tested high in receptive (he finished off at the 6/7 yr old level)
• Sometimes Hannah does not like to ride in the car so she'll cry/scream and Gabe says Boo (his nickname for her) top (aka stop) and covers his ears
• Loves cuddling up with Mommy or Daddy for his bedtime story
• Rambunctious high energy boy who apparently doesn't need much sleep (Very rarely naps..which started shortly after turning 2)
• Loves to be Mommy/Daddy's little helper
• Likes cars, trucks, Curious George, Pooh, trains and is all into "fixing things" even if that means he has to take it apart first
  

11 months

These next four weeks will probably be the last time I refer to Hannah's age in months..she will soon be a 1 yr old! Exciting but yet oh so sad for Mommy, at the end of the day when I'm putting the kids to bed after they are asleep I watch them for a little bit and just wonder where the time has gone and then the tears start filling up in my eyes. I love being a Mom and although there are definitely days where I'm so exhausted that I don't think I can make it through the day..there really is nothing I'd rather be.

Hannah at 11 months:

• still just moving along furniture and using her push walker, she can go from sitting to standing without holding on to anything and will stand for several minutes thinking about taking the plunge but then decides to get on all fours and crawl to her destination!
• In the process of sleep training which is definitely taking a lot longer than it did with Gabe but Gabe loved his paci and Hannah not so much
• Is learning to hold her own with Gabe....she never used to care when Gabe would take a toy away, now she will grab his arm and take it back from him which 8 times out of 10 turns into somewhat of a sibling battle (it sure does start early)
• Nursing about 6 times and eating 3 meals a day
  

• 

The Beach House!!

Last week we were able to go to St George Plantation to the beach house with some friends for a couple days..the kids had a wonderful time and so did we!! It was very relaxing and the beach house was really nice (which definitely helps!) Gabe loved hanging out with Ally, Nicholas and Jonathan but he couldn't get enough of Ally and she was so helpful with him!

Gabe and Ally playing in the water

Gabe loves the beach, Hannah however preferred the pool!

Hannah was able to catch up on her reading

It was only fitting to have Gabe take his picture next to this sign since we have the hardest time keeping clothes on him sometimes!!

10 months

Still in shock that in 2 short months she will be 1 already and this time last year when we were awaiting the arrival of this little girl 2 months seemed like so long...funny how that works.

Hannah at 10 months:

• Says Dada, down and when she points to things it sounds like she is saying dis (this)
• Really good at pushing around her walker
  
• Can stand by herself without holding on to anything for long period of time but has not taking any steps yet....she still seems unsure
• She is going to be one tough cookie...Gabe has been getting pretty rough with her, he usually ends up in time out because he's too rough
• Does not get much one on one time with Mommy or Daddy but when she does she loves it!
• Much like her brother has been challenging me with solid foods...she started off so well but has regressed
• Still waking up several times a night
• Has 4 teeth and is working on 3 more
• Several times a day she will just crawl over to me and lay her head on me to snuggle..it's really cute!
  

We just started sleep training so hopefully Mommy will start to get more sleep!!

She loves the swing!

Just like Mommy she is going to blind someone with those legs!! :-)

NY Trip

A couple weeks ago we drove up to NY to spend some time with my parents and extended family! The drive up went okay, I had to sit in the back in between the kids most of the way otherwise Hannah wasn't very happy. Unfortunately for me it made me feel a bit carsick which is no fun on a long car ride.
We did stop at EJ's dads house in VA which helped break up the drive and it gave them some time to hang out with the kids. Gabe couldn't get enough of the 4 wheeler!
There wasn't much down time once we got to NY, but we had a great time. I was able to spend some quality time with family and EJ and I had a date night and Gabe loved spending time his Nana and Papa. I was really bad about taking pictures but here are a couple from the zoo. The penguins were definitely Gabe's favorite!

Hannah enjoying the beautiful weather

And this is what EJ did when the kids started fussing in the car (listening to pandora on his phone)!! Can't blame him, I'm not a big fan of driving long distances but I have to say when I was sitting between 2 little ones that were over the car ride I was wishing I was driving!!

9 months!

This beautiful little girl turned 9 months on 4/7/10, she is so precious and such a blessing to our family!
What is little Miss Hannah up to:

• Has figured out how to climb up the 4 steps that we have in the house
• Can stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds
• Is back to being little miss talkative
• Favorite food is bananas
• LOVES Mommy as in I usually can't leave the room love, but there may will come a time when she won't want me around so I'm enjoying this time while I can
• I'm absolutely amazed at how little she really sleeps and is still waking up 3 times (minimum) a night

NY trip update coming soon.....

Easter

I just realized yesterday how far behind I am with my blogging and since I pretty much consider this a baby book I have some catching up to do!

We had a very relaxing Easter weekend, Saturday was the Wildwood Easter Egg Hunt, the weather was beautiful and it was a good opportunity to hang out with some great friends and celebrate Jesus!

After church on Sunday, the kids played in the pool and then we headed to our neighbors for some desert (before dinner) My whole easter dinner went out the window when woke up and realized I forgot to take the ham out of the freezer...oops! Well at least we weren't having company for dinner, we settled for some hamburgers and I made the ham the next night!

Hannah isn't looking and Gabe doesn't look very happy but at least EJ and I do!

The boys patiently waiting for the egg hunt


And they're off!

Pony Ride

And this was our photographer :-) !! Such a handsome little man!

Family Pics!

So these are a couple months old but I keep forgetting to put them up! My Lauren was gracious enough to take the pictures for us, which we are so thankful for (professional ones are just not in the budget right now, besides hers look professional enough for me!) I think she has done pretty much all of our family ones thus far so why stop :-) Thanks again Lauren you are truly like a sister to me and I'm so blessed with your friendship!!!