9 weeks of suffering

John and I are wrapping up our third week of crazy workouts. We have promised ourselves to complete the 9 week Insanity Program alongside the 9 week Couch to 5k Program to get our personal best 5K times. So far I am pretty impressed with our commitment. We have held each other accountable and it is paying off!

Week 1 Summary:
It was certainly difficult to complete the Insanity workouts. I felt myself huffing and puffing through each workout and trying my hardest to come up with an excuse for why I couldn't work out that night. John would not let me.... The running program was pretty easy. Honestly I looked forward to the running. At least it wasn't Insanity!

Week 2 Summary:
I can actually see the scale moving in the RIGHT direction! I am really looking forward to the fit test and measurements/weigh-in at the end of the week! I am still huffing and puffing, but at least I wait until after the warm-up! :) Running is still going really good. Saturday I ran my PR 5K with John. I puked at the end. It was awesome. I have to shave 5 minutes of my time in the next 7 weeks.

Week 3 Summary:
Amazing results! I lost "offically" 6.5 pounds (8 pounds if you let me use my morning weight). And many many inches off my body. I don't just hate Insanity anymore. In fact it's not too shabby. I like it more now that my clothes fit better. Running is picking up in intensity, but I still really enjoy it! We are traveling this weekend so it should be interesting to get our work-outs in. I bet we can do it though!

Dear Gatlin Reid,

Some days you make me want to pull my hair out... You refuse to let me do anything but hold you. You cry if I sit you down. You cry if I feed you, then once you realize you actually like what I am feeding you, you cry when I stop feeding you. Then nap time rolls around you get angry if I am trying to get you comfortable sleeping in your pack-n-play for our weekend trip....

Then I walk in and see your sweet little self peacefully sleeping in said pack-n-play and I smile. It's ok if I end up bald, because truly you are the cutest baby in the world!

XOXOXO

Mommy

Learning to use your camera that way it was intended: #1 Getting to know your camera

I know many of you are like I used to be. I had this really nice camera, and I always ended up just using it on the fully auto green box. Then I took a class that changed my life. I learned how to use my camera the way it was intended to be used. I want to do a series of lessons to encourage you to learn your camera. Once you do, I promise it will change your life!!! Well at least it will vastly improve the quality of your photos!

First things first. Let's get to know your camera. I have a Canon 7D. Most cameras have the same basic settings. I have a dial on top of mine with the choices: C3, C2, C1, B, M, Av, Tv, P, CA, and the Fully Auto Green box.

Just so we are all on the same page, let's go over what these mean. There will be terms in here you may not be familiar with, but just hang with me and we will get there! I promise!!!

C3, C2, C1: These are custom settings that can be set to your liking. For example if shooting a wedding and you need one setting for the front of the room and one for the back, this saves you time without having to adjust in a hurry.

B: Bulb: The shutter stays open as long as you hold down the button. Useful for night photos, fireworks, other creative shots. I really recommend using a tripod or other stable surface as well as a remote controller.

M: Manual (I stay here most of the time). You tell the camera exactly what setting you want.

Av: Aperture Priority: This allows you to set the aperture you want and the camera chooses the best shutter speed. (Great for weddings)

Tv: Shutter Priority: This allows you to set the shutter speed and the camera chooses the best aperture setting. (Great for sports)

P: Program: This works similarly to Auto, except it keeps it metered (will explain soon!) for you. You can change shutter speed, aperture, and iso and it makes necessary adjustments for you. This is great to see how all the different changes go hand in hand.

CA: This is a mix between Fully Auto and Program. It allows you to blur the background, make the picture brighter, etc. without having to know exactly what each means. (not all SLR cameras are equipped with this function)

Green Box: Fully Auto (The camera does what it thinks needs to be done, I only use if I am in an extra rush)

In the next lesson I will go over exactly what aperture, ISO, and shutter speed mean and how they affect metering.

What did you do today?

5 a.m.: Gatlin yells for me from his crib and is hungry. I search for my glasses in the dark, knock them off the bedside table and under the bed. I roll out of the bed and crawl on the ground nearly smashing my glasses in the process. I hurdle over the baby gate that we keep in our doorway to keep the dog in our room at night and stumble into the nursery. I pick Gatlin up from his crib and hurdle back over the baby gate and back into our room. I stub my pinky toe on the blasted dog ramp at the foot of the bed that we have for our elderly dog so she can get up in the middle of the night without waking up the whole house. I cover my mouth and breath deep so not to wake up the snoring husband since he only has a few more minutes of sleep. The baby monitor screams from the nursery. I forgot to turn it off again. So much for not waking John up. Back over the dog gate. I nudge the dog and the husband over and nurse Gatlin back to sleep... asleep I realize... on my arm... which is now falling asleep as well... hoping to catch a few more minutes of rest, I decide a numb arm is worth the sacrifice of ten more minutes of sleep.

Just as I drift off to sleep with my precious angel snuggled in close, John's alarm screams at him from across the room. He snoozes... once... twice... I kick him, begging him to let the baby sleep. He obliges and turns off the alarm. He gets up and walks to the bathroom. BAM, the lights from the bathroom shine brightly into my eyes. I try to shield it from my sleeping beauty's eyes. I hear the shower running and think, "I will sleep until John gets out of the shower." What seems like thirty seconds later, John goes through the closet looking for his golf polo of choice, and asks, "What's for breakfast babe? I need to leave in five minutes." I ever so gently ease Gatlin out of our bed and back into his crib.

I walk blindly into the kitchen, realizing halfway there that I forgot my glasses, gathering dirty laundry from the house as I go. I toss the laundry into the sunroom, promising to sort later. I stand at the fridge... breakfast...? I go to the pantry.... breakfast? I decide on oatmeal. It's quick, easy, and somewhat healthy. I pack the oatmeal and a few snacks into John's lunch pail and set it by the door. John comes out of the bedroom dressed and going through his morning checklist: Keys, cellphone, wallet, name badge.  

       "Honey do you know where my wallet is?"

       "Where are the pants you wore yesterday?"

       "I took them off in the living room."

       "Grrr..."

I go out to the sun room and find the pants from the previous day. I find the wallet and send John on his happy way to work. I get a bit excited. I have exactly thirty minutes until my nephew gets here for the day. I snuggle back under the covers and I hear a knock on the door. There stands John, "I forgot my cellphone." We find the phone and I send him out the door once again. I decide no sleep is better than just 10 minutes of sleep so I get dressed for the day. Workout clothes and tennis shoes. Because I tell myself while the babies sleep I will hop on the treadmill for a few minutes.

I hear the car door shut and see my brother-in-law walking up the drive with Lincoln. I meet them outside since I have discovered that the dog won't bark if I meet them outside. I bring Lincoln inside and unpack his bag for the day. I only have a few more minutes before Gatlin wakes up, so Lincoln and I make his bottles for the day.

Gatlin hollers from his room. I settle Lincoln into the swing and get Gatlin up. I sit him on the floor and realize I forgot his diaper in the nursery. He fusses since he is not quite awake yet. Clean diaper and snuggles. Then Lincoln fusses because his paci has fallen out. I reinsert the peacemaker and get Gatlin some toys out of the basket. I alternate between fussing boys for the next hour. Then it's time for the morning nap. I sing the abbreviated version of Jesus Loves Me to Gatlin. Lay him down and gather Lincoln. Diaper change and swaying before turning on Mr. Turtle to sing him into a blissful sleep.

I decide to start breakfast for myself. I hear Lincoln from the monitor. The paci fell out. I go back in and soothe him and then realize my scrambled eggs are still on the stove. Ruined, I toss them in the sink and grab a cereal bar. I start a load of laundry... well it's technically still in the washer from yesterday, but it now stinks and must be rewashed. I unload the dishes and hear the trash truck at the house behind us. Trash!!! I forgot to take the dumpster to the curb. I quickly gather the trash from the bathrooms, careful not to wake Lincoln who is asleep in a pack n play in our room. I get the trash to the curb as they pull past our house. Thankfully, they backup and ask if I forgot again...

I go back in and load the dishes from breakfast and dinner from the night before. I wipe down the counters and sweep the kitchen. The dog stares at me and then her bowl and then back at me. If we didn't have a dog that reminded me to feed her, she would probably starve to death. I apologize and feed and water her. I go through the mail from the day before and find another bill from the hospital from when Gatlin was born. I open it and realize they still have his insurance incorrect. I call for the 6th time since he was born. I wait on hold for 5... 10... 15 minutes. The gentleman assures me he will make the corrections on his account. I snicker.

Gatlin wakes up. Diaper change and snuggle, then I nurse him. I put him the highchair and spend 30 minutes trying to convince him that yogurt and apples are not gross. I clean him and the highchair and lay him on is tummy and strategically place toys just out of reach to encourage him to crawl. Lincoln is awake. I rush to the kitchen and start his bottle before he gets mad. Diaper change. BAD diaper change. Soy milk poop is the worst. I feed and burp Lincoln and Gatlin gets jealous. I do my best, "Ah getcha goo goo, who's a good baby? Peek-a-boo" talk to Gatlin to entertain him while I finish feeding Lincoln.

John calls and asks, "What time is lunch?" We agree on noon and I put Lincoln down beside Gatlin and get him a toy. Gatlin proceeds to try to resuscitate Lincoln and I separate them for Lincoln's protection.  I switch over the laundry and pile the clean clothes from the dryer onto the couch. I think to myself I will do that during the afternoon nap.


I prepare lunch with Gatlin in the high chair and Lincoln in the bumbo. Both watching intently as I do my best to play chef in the last few minutes before John walks in for lunch. He gets home, washes his hands and I feed Gatlin and entertain Lincoln while John eats. The thirty minutes he is home goes by too quickly and then he rushes back to work. I clean up Gatlin (wow, learning to feed yourself is very messy!) and change his diaper. Sing the entire song of Jesus loves me this time and down he goes for his afternoon nap. Another bottle for Lincoln and then he plays on the kick mat while I clean up the kitchen for the second time today. Lincoln gets bored and I do my best to entertain him before his nap. We fight for an hour after I put him down for a nap, he keeps rolling onto his tummy and getting mad, then I roll him back over. He falls asleep and I sit in the kitchen and enjoy my lunch.

All five minutes of it before Gatlin is up and ready to play!  We work on learning to walk and crawl. I catch of whiff of myself and can't remember if I showered yesterday. I put Gatlin in his bouncer and turn on Veggietales. I sneak into our bedroom and into the master bath. I shower. I find my clothes in the dark and proceed half-naked into the hall to get dressed. My phone rings. I run, still half-naked, past the four open windows in our living room and answer it. Stupid credit card survey. I remember specifically telling them to PLEASE QUIT CALLING ME!!! I get dressed and Gatlin is bored. I take him out of the bouncer and turn off the tv.  


We get online to check the double digit bank account balance and then set up bills to be paid for when John's paycheck goes in tonight. Gatlin plays with the tv remote and I hear Lincoln stirring in the bedroom. I make his bottle. I lay him in the boppy pillow next to Gatlin and feed him. Gatlin keeps trying to take Lincoln's bottle from him. So I assume he is wanting a snack. I nurse him while I bottle feed Lincoln. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you have bottle fed and breastfed at the same time.


I remember that I needed to return something to Lowes. I got the wrong something or another again for our latest home renovation. I am ever thankful for my car's remote start. I start the car to let it cool down before I carry Lincoln, Gatlin and their two diaper bags out to the car. I snap Lincoln's carseat into its base and then strap Gatlin into his carseat. Drive to Lowe's and park next to the cart return. I fight with Gatlin's shopping seat cover and then strap him into the cart. I then put Lincoln, still in his carseat, into the cart of the basket. We return our item and search for the correct item. All the while shielding stares and questions from people. No one can ever quite figure out if they are weird sized twins or if I just couldn't figure out the whole birth control thing. We make our purchase and then back home we go. I pull onto our street and realize that both boys are sleeping. I'm not stupid. I don't wake sleeping babies. So I drive to Sonic and treat myself to a lemon water. The best 35 cents you can spend during happy hour.


We return home about 10 minutes before John gets off work. Both boys are awake and wanting to play. They suck on each other's hands and toes and I laugh and take pictures. John gets home and asks, "What are we doing about dinner? I have a (insert church league sport here) game at 6." Gatlin and daddy wrestle while Lincoln and I decide dinner. I start dinner about the time Lincoln's mommy comes and gets him. I pack up his things and tell him,  "See you bright and early tomorrow!" John offers to let me go run while dinner is cooking and I jump at the opportunity.


When my feet hit the pavement, I smile. I seriously have the best job in the world.

Wedding Dash!

 

This past weekend we made a mad dash to St. Louis for this lovely couple's wedding!  John's cousin Bryanne got married on Saturday.  I was honored to be their photographer for the day as well! We left Friday morning and returned Sunday night. It's a long haul for the little guy, but he had a lot of fun. Saturday was pretty much non-stop for me between the salon, church, and reception. Gatlin and John had some quality time for just the two of them while I was taking pictures.

The men had all three of the babies from our family in the balcony during the wedding. It was pretty funny to hear them laughing and screaming during the ceremony. They tried hard, but it's hard to be quiet when you are having so much fun!

Gatlin was so well behaved all day, but by the time the reception rolled around he was done. I love this picture. It was taken not long after John realized Gatlin had peed on both of them. Ha! I think Gatlin was saying, "Mom, dad forgot to change me again! Help!"

 Gatlin is so lucky to have four of his great grandparents and one great-great grandmother still living. John's grandfather is such a sweet sweet man. Gatlin was very interested in patting his PawPaw on the head while he was holding Lincoln. I think Gatlin was getting a little jealous! 

My mother in law mentioned there probably wasn't a single picture taken of me all night. So this was our awkward faces pictures. Not sure what was going on... it was getting late. :)  

I love traveling, but there really is no place like home!

Laundry Day

I could probably get this pile of laundry folded and put away if...

 

This little guy wasn't so cute and fun to play with!

 

 

Oh mom, daddy's socks are so much!

What's for dinner?

Gatlin what are you doing???

Enjoying some yummy food??? 

Did you know mommy made that just for you???

Shocking I know!!!

I really enjoy cooking. I have had my share of "Oh my gosh, this is gross" dinner disasters, but I really enjoy being in the kitchen. When we had Gatlin I knew that I really wanted to make his food. I have issues with some of the ingredients listed on the back of the commercial baby foods. Equally troublesome is the color of some of the green foods, that aren't exactly green anymore. Anywho, I had a lot to learn as far as preparing baby food. It has really been a fun learning experience. Making Gatlin's food has introduced John and I to some new foods as well.

The process has been pretty simple and affordable. I make a month's worth of food at a time. I use ice cube trays to freeze the food, and then transfer them to ziploc baggies. (TIP: Run water over the sides of the ice tray to help the food slide out of the tray easily)

Here is a list of things we have made so far:

Avocados and Bananas 

We started Gatlin on these two foods at around 5 1/2 months. They are the easiest to prepare and you can mash them up without having to use a food processor. You simply peel the banana and mash with a fork. (TIP: Don't use a food processor or you will end up with banana soup!) The same goes for the avocados, you cut around the pit and them just mash the "meat" with a fork. (TIP: Make sure the avocado is ripe enough, if not it will be difficult to mash)

Apples and Pears

You are basically making applesauce. You wash and peel the fruit and then add about an inch of water in a pot.  Boil/steam the fruit until fork tender. Then just pulse a few times in a food processor. This past week I made baked apples. You wash and core the apple (leave the peel intact) , cut in half and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake face down in deep pan with an inch of water until tender, then pulse in processor or mash. This is one of Gatlin's favorites!

Carrots

I buy the baby carrots already washed and peeled so you just dump them in a steamer basket (I use our rice cooker) until fork tender, then pulse a few times in a processor or mash.

Plums

This may be be Gatlin's overall favorite so far! You slice in half and pit, then steam in steamer basket. Then peel the skin and pulse in a processor or mash.

Sweet potatoes

Puncture the skin of the potato and bake the whole potato at 350 degrees until the skin separates from the potato. Then just peel the skin and mash.

Peas and Green Beans

Since it was the middle of winter when we started this, I purchased frozen bags of these veggies. You cook according to the directions then pulse in processor.

Butternut Squash 

One butternut squash goes a long, long way! You cut in half and scrape out the gunk. Then just place face down in one inch of water and bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until tender. Then just scrape from the skin and mash.

Quinoa

Over the last few weeks we started adding quinoa to Gatlin's meals. It is a great source of protein, iron and fiber. I make it in the rice cooker with double the water to the quinoa. I make enough for a week's time and just heat up for each meal.

Yogurt

Gatlin is really not sure about yogurt yet... I am not sure if it is a texture or flavor issue, but we buy plain natural yogurt in a 32 ounce tub. He doesn't mind it if it is mixed with fruit, so I have been sneaking it in that way. (Be sure to check with your doctor about when to introduce dairy) 

A typical lunch or dinner meal for Gatlin is one cube of a vegetable, one cube of a fruit, a tablespoon of yogurt, and a tablespoon of quinoa. I typically end up mixing the vegetable with the quinoa and the yogurt with the fruit.

For breakfast Gatlin usually has either baked apples or fruit and yogurt. Sometimes if he gets fussy in the afternoon I will give him a cube of banana in his snack holder thing. (Not sure what it is called but it is basically a little net with a handle that teaches him to feed himself)

So far introducing solids has not been very challenging as far as what Gatlin will eat. My biggest challenge is getting Gatlin to pay attention to me... not the dog during meal time!

Trimming the Fat

I mentioned before that I want to share our strategies for how I am able to stay home. I feel that if a mom has the desire to stay with her children she should be able to. I understand it is not always possible for every family, but I think it should be noted that it doesn't come without sacrifice and a dedication to a common goal. 

The major way I have made staying at home even a possibility is by cutting down our monthly bills. Over the last 6 months this is where we were able to trim some fat from our monthly bills.

Cable/Satellitte: -$75
We don't have it! It saved me $75 per month by canceling. We use Netflix and Hulu for our tv watching needs.

Cell Phones: -40
Because of the nature of John's job, an iPhone is almost a necessity. Otherwise, I am pretty certain he may go insane from boredom without music, sermons, and sports radio. So for me I knew that asking him to get rid of his data plan was just plain mean! So I cancelled my iPhone. Because I will be staying at home, most everything I need I will be able to access on our home computers. I was not eligible for an upgrade, so buying a phone was a challenge. I really wanted to keep the ability to take pictures/video, and wanted a touch screen with a full qwerty keyboard. Another feature that was important was bluetooth since my car is bluetooth compatible. I ended up purchasing an AT&T Go Phone. It was $99 and had all the features I wanted, minus the $25 per month data plan (which is really more like $40 per month after taxes). I simply put my sim card into the new phone. It is an LG Prime and so far I have been very happy with my purchase.

Auto Insurance: -$25
Since we had paid off the Dodge with the selling of the Focus I was able to drop our coverage to liability. This saved me $25 per month. John drives the Dodge to and from work and really not much further, so the coverage is cheap.

Credit Cards: +$0
We finally have paid off and kept our credit cards paid off! This was probably one of our first victories. In the past we had used our credit cards for either major life events (owing taxes, hospital bills, etc) or for frivolous things (ski trip, phones, birthday gifts). Now we still have one credit card, but it is only used for hotel reservations or emergencies.

Gas/Electric Bill: -$100
This may not be a possibility for everyone to see immediate savings, but it has helped us! Over the past year we purchased a new heating/air conditioning unit and had our 1950s house re-insulated. The  total cost was a little over $5000, but the savings are awesome. Our first month our electric bill went down $100! We probably would not have made this big investment if our heater had not kicked the bucket, however, now that is done I am very glad we made the investment!

Internet: -$20
When we first canceled our cable we upped our internet. We felt that we needed a faster speed so that John and I could simultaneously be online. Since then we have come to our senses! We can save $20 per month if we are online together (i.e. watching shows together)  or one of us can do something unrelated to media while the other is online (i.e. sewing, cleaning, playing with our son). It was pretty much a no brainer! These days the slowest high speed internet is plenty fast for us!

Student Loans: -$250
This is very exciting for us! Most of my college was paid for with scholarships, so paying mine off was not really that big of a feat. However, John's scholarships only helped pay for his first year. The rest was on him. So he had a pretty hefty student loan. When we decided that I was going to stay home with Gatlin, we starting using any extra money we had from my pay check to pay off bills. With the help of our tax refund we are happy to report that John's student loan is gone! Again some people go to more expensive colleges than we did, so this may be more of a challenge, however, we never made just the minimum payment. We always rounded up to the next hundred dollars for the entire duration of the loans.

We had to purchase a new car right before the birth of Gatlin in July. We had sold our Ford Focus in March and had been sharing our Dodge Caliber ever since. Thus we had eliminated our monthly car payment. We were planning to save enough cash to eventually purchase a new vehicle. Then the transmission in our Dodge threatened to go out and I refused to pay $4500 for a transmission in a car worth $5000! So we decided would drive it until she died. Also, since there was the threat of the car dying, I refused to be driving a car  that could die at anytime while 9 months pregnant. We bit the bullet and purchased a Chevy Malibu after several LONG weeks of car shopping. Thus we now have a car payment and two cars since the Dodge is still kicking! Our goal is to have the Malibu paid for by the end of 2013.

Learning to live not just within our means, but below our means has not been an overnight process. It has taken prayer and self evaluation to decide how God wants us to spend the money he gives us. However, it is a great feeling to know that we are very close to being debt free and we are prepared for emergencies with adequate savings.

Picnic with Daddy!

John works not too far from a little park so we met up with him for lunch this week! It was beautiful outside and a great chance for both of my men to get some sunshine!

Couponing

I have had many people ask how I was able to quit my good paying job to be able to stay home with Gatlin. I want to share as much as possible with people, because I remember thinking I would never be able to afford to stay home. I had some great friends that were encouraging me to really evaluate our lifestyle and see where we could trim any extra. One way we have saved $100-$200 a month is with couponing. 

Honestly, the idea of couponing had never crossed my mind until about a year ago. I started hearing more and more of my Facebook friends talking about how they had saved 60% or more on their grocery bills. I had always been of the school of thought that grocery shopping was more or less a free for all. If it sounded good, looked good, and would fit into the cart, you bought it. Then when you ran out of room in the basket you paid and went home. I had never planned a meal, made a list, or clipped a coupon in my entire life. I am still fairly new to couponing, but I seem to be catching on quickly.

As of now here is what I do.

1. I purchase 3 copies of the Sunday paper (well... purchase 2 and steal my parent's copy)
2. I get coupons from family that don't use them. 
3. I clip all coupons that I might possibly use and file them into my notebook. 
4. I go to coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com, and couponnetwork.com. Here I print as many as will let me (usually 2 of each) from both my laptop and desktop. 
5. Then I get the sale ads for Walgreens, Homeland, and Walmart. (You can sign up to receive the Homeland ad in the mail a few days before their new sales start) I match the coupons that I have with what is on sale.  If I don't have time to coupon match myself I go to Moneysavingqueen.com and just go off of their matchups.
6. I only buy what I need! Say it with me now, "I will save money, not hoard!!!" I only allow myself to have a certain amount of "extras" in stock. For instance, I will only have 5 extra deodorants, 4 packages of paper towels, and 3 tubes of toothpaste at any given time. I do not want my house overrun with stuff! 
7. Occasionally, I will purchase coupons from couponsthingsbydede.com if I am running low on a certain item and really need to stock up. Or if it is a sale I cannot resist. 

Routinely I am saving 30-50% on my grocery bill. I know could save more, but I try to limit the amount of processed food that comes into our house, and it is difficult to save on fresh food. That is one of my goals for next Spring: Gardening... eek! 


Any advise or suggestions would gladly be accepted!

We went park-ing

Since it has been so weirdly beautiful around here, some other moms and I took the little ones to the park! 

Mrs. Eden and Nora flew a kite.

 

Gatlin was content with watching them fly a kite. 

 
 Mrs. Ally and Larkin came too! Larkin was a bit obsessed with the swings!

 

Sweet Hannah kept running laps around the playground while her mom Mrs. Maggie chased her around!

 

 Gatlin and Cordie were so sweet to share their toys with one another.

I can't say that I am minding this weather! We have had the windows open everyday and getting outside as much as possible! My only concern is if it is already this warm, what does summer hold for us??? Eek. At least I won't be 9 months pregnant... but Gatlin's poor Aunt Sissy will be! 

Pi day!

Since John and I both have math degrees, it is only fitting that we would celebrate Pi Day! Also, because no one wants to celebrate anything by calculating circumferences, we got these pies! 

Yummo!

7.5 Month Randoms

  

Gatlin and I are enjoying our days together. We have been very blessed to have our good buddy and cousin Lincoln spend the days with us as well. Although they seem a little bored with me in this picture, we do have lots of fun together!

 

Gatlin, being the good big cousin that he is, loves to read to Lincoln.

 
 

And he loves to give baby Lincoln lots of lovin!

 

Gatlin is also standing.

 

And sitting too! 

 

Also debuting this month were two little teeth! With all the fussing these little boogers caused, I think the whole family was glad to see them.

 

Gatlin is eating two meals a day. I have been making his food and freezing a month's worth at a time. He eats squash, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, avocados, bananas, apple sauce, plums, quinoa, and yogurt. He's a little eating machine! He can also hold his own sippie cup. He still has 4 feedings of breast milk a day.

Bath time is one of our favorite times. He would splash and play all night if I would let him!

Gatlin has been battling croup this last week. It is rough on this little guy. He slept more at 8 weeks than he is right now. We go to sleep and then a coughing attack comes and wakes up the whole house, and we repeat until dawn.

 

I am so blessed that I get to spend my days with this little man. I have not regretted quitting my job a single day. Thank you Jesus for making this dream a reality.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

 

This year I was so excited for Gatlin's first Christmas! I wanted to bottle up every minute of the season and just film/photograph every detail! It just had to be perfect. You don't get to redo a first Christmas! Ha!

Christmas Eve morning John's siblings and dad came over to our house for Christmas brunch. I have to say I hope this tradition sticks! I loved it! We weren't rushed to be anywhere else and we go to enjoy each other!

There were three very cute babies!

 

Gatlin was a little tired after opening all the presents!

Before we went to the Candlelight Service at our church, we baked some cookies for the sweet nurses that we had the week before at Muskogee Community Hospital. They were so good to us and we wanted to let them know how much we appreciated them. (We saved a few for Santa ;) ) 

Getting good family pictures is hard! ha! 

After Candlelight we went to my grandparents house to see my dad's side of the family. Then it was time to come home and get ready for Santa! We debated back and forth on whether we would tell Gatlin about Santa. We decided that we would first tell Gatlin about Jesus' birth and explain that Santa brings presents to celebrate His birth. But also that mom and dad give gifts to celebrate Jesus' birthday too! We tried to get Gatlin's reindeer jammies on but the little monkey has a little bit of a bigger head (his dad's fault!) we had to laugh because he is just so darn cute!

Then we read the Christmas story from Luke followed by the Night before Christmas as narrated by Pappy.  

Christmas morning I mad a very "nutritious" breakfast and we opened presents just the 3 of us. 

Then we went to my parent's house in our pajamas and opened presents with them.

Doesn't Gat make a pretty girl?!?

I love the fact that both sides of my family (mom's and dad's sides plus John's dad) come over to my parent's house for Christmas day lunch. I am blessed to have them all together in one place. After we ate lunch and rested for a few hours we went to John's sister Shannon's house for Christmas with Mike and Linda. We also got a family picture with the ENTIRE family!!!  

Papa Mike and Mia got Gatlin the cutest rocking horse that moves and neighs! (Never mind it is for ages 3 and up! ha!) Gatlin liked it until Mia insisted that the cousins share the new toy.  

I just love this picture!!! This is MY horse Kyle!!! I can only imagine how crazy it will be when Gatlin, Lincoln, and Kyle are all sharing toys! 

It was a wonderful Christmas. We are truly blessed for our family. We often complain that we have so many places to be during a short period, but even with a 4 month old it was a blessing to have to many places that we get to go!