Beautiful Lengths :)

For the past year I've debated whether or not to cut my hair...and I finally received the confirmation I needed last week to chop it!  I discovered Pantene's Beautiful Length program...basically they take color free, gray free hair at a minimal length of 8 inches.  They create wigs for women battling cancer and give them to the women for free!  I knew as soon as I read about the program that it was exactly where I wanted to donate my hair.  We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Nashville so I had plenty of sitters while I ventured to the salon!  We measured about 10 inches and made the cut!  

For those of you who are "working" stay stay at home moms...you will probably be able to relate...but I was just so excited to have an opportunity to bless someone in need.  I don't have really any spare minutes in my day during this season of life...and not tons to give away.  But, I knew as soon as I read about this program that it was something tangible that I was certainly capable of doing for someone in need.  I pray that my hair will be a beautiful blessing to a special lady battling the awful disease of cancer.  I pray the Lord uses my hair to lift the chin on a precious lady and bring a smile to her face.  And maybe just maybe I can grow out my hair and give one more donation before the gray hair sets in!! :)

4 months!

Our sweet boy is 4 months old!  This little nugget is as precious as ever!  He has just come out of his shell this past month!  He is a happy little guy...and his eyes seem to always be on me (his mommy).  He will follow me with his eyes as I walk all over the house...then as soon as I make eye contact with him his face lights up with the biggest grin!  He discovered his hands and legs this month.  He loves sucking on his hands as well as looking at his long slender fingers.  He kicks his legs and does leg lifts too!  He loves his play may gym...his favorite toy is the mirror.  He can even roll all the way to his sides...I have a feeling he will be flipping over this next month.  He's still a little thing...I met with a lactation consultant and she discovered he had a slight tongue tie.  So we had a procedure to clip his frenulum.  His dr was slightly concerned about his weight gain (although he's gaining about 10-12oz a month just like Bella).  So, I've been nursing every 2.5 hours and pumping to supplement an oz after each feed.  He seems so happy and content most the day so my motherly instinct says he's just following in his sisters growth pattern!  He does great in the nursery and charms all the ladies.  My favorite time with him is at night when it's just he and I awake...we have the sweetest pillow talk.  He just coos and babbles up a storm with me. :)

He continues to be such a treasure to our family...we are blessed beyond measure to have him.  

His stats:

Head 16.75 in. 75%

Height 25.25  15%

Weight  11lb 2 oz

A Birthday Surprise...

Jeremy surprised me with a ticket for Tucker and I to go spend 4 days with my parents in Nashville.  We flew in on Tuesday night and complete surprised them both!  We sat little Tucker on the doorstep and rang the door bell.....sweetest little surprise!

Tucky helped Papa catch up on the news each morning...

My sister drove up from Huntsville and we surprised my parents with a sweet visit with just the sisters and nursing babies...and Houston. :)

We enjoyed a family day Thursday to downtown Franklin...a fun toy store & lunch at Frothy Monkey!  

Mimi with her youngest boys :)

I sure love this beautiful, sweet, Godly mother...I pray I can be just 1/2 the mother she has been to me.  Blessed beyond measure...

And do I not have the cutest nephews in the world??? Love me some Huey! Or as Jackson calls him "Hoochie" :)

These boys got some extra Papa cuddles :)

A Frozen Halloween!

This year we had no other option but to dress as Frozen characters!  Jeremy's mom offered to sew Bella an Elsa costume and I whipped up the Olaf and Snowflake costumes.  It was so much fun and the kids enjoyed every minute of living their dream...

We had Jeremy's brother's family up for tHalloween night and had yummy Chili then we were off to trick or treat!  You can't ever have too many Elsa's or Olafs...right!?!

The beautiful Elsa...

The funny Olaf...

And the cute little snowflake...

Road Trip

I'm We loaded up and made our first road trip...first stop Atlanta!

We made our annual weekend visit to see my 3 best friends from childhood!  It's always such a sweet time together and it's so much fun to see all our kiddos together now!  Between the four of us wi have 11 kids!

We stayed at Em'a house and my kids loved her girls...soany new dress up clothes and outdoor adventures!

Little Blythe and Bella look like they could be sisters...sweet baby girls...

Em, Bets and Katie...I met these dear friends when my family moved to Atlanta and I was just 10. Over the years, our friendships deepened and deepened and grew stronger and stronger.  We just pick up where we left off...love them and treasure each one of them.  They are my prayer warriors and my iron sharpens iron friends! :)

After Atlanta, we headed up to Chattanooga where we cheered for Papa in his 10th Ironman!  It was so fun being with all the cousins!!

Then, I took my kiddos back to Nashville where we enjoyed spending the week with Papa and Mimi!  Lots of sweet times and treasured memories together...

3 months!

Can not believe our little bundle is already 3 months!  He is an absolute joy...smiles all the time now and even gives us a little giggle!  He's a little guy...long and lean!  He's got his daddy's long legs, long fingers and long toes for sure. :)  He continues to love being outside...one of his favorite things to do is to be rocked on the warm back porch while brother & sister play in the yard.  Such a perfect place for a nice warm fall nap!  He went to the church nursery for the first time and charmed all the sweet ladies!  He doesn't sit in his carrier long before he is snatched up and snuggled tight!  I put him in during the middle hour and then he comes with me to service.  I love that sweet alone time with him...nothing in the world as sweet as worshipping and snuggling a new baby! :)  his little routine has pretty much stayed the same.  He's getting more into an easy rythym...eat, awake, sleep and repeats every 2.5 - 3 hours.  At the first peep of a tired cry, we Swaddle him and stick in the swim and he's konked!

He is still a little fella...so our pediatrician suggested meeting with the lactation specialist.  She actually found that he has been slightly tongue tied.  He's been nursing and doing fine but she said he's probat not been as efficient as possible. So, we made an ENT appointment and had the tissue clipped.  He did great...he was sore and wanted extra TalC for a day but after that he was fine.  I'm still nursing every 2.5-3 hours but I'm also pumping after each daytime feed and offering him an additional ounce in the bottle.  We are trying to get his weight up...

Funny tho cause I checked back to Bella's blog entries and their growth patterns are identical...slow gain but always gaining.  

So, I'm being persistent and diligent with doing all I can to give him as much milk as possible!  And we are praying the tongue clipping along with extra calories will give him the boost he needs!

Stats:

Head: 60%

Weight: 10lb 4oz 1%

Height: 23.5 in 20%

Pumpkins!

One cool, fall Friday morning we headed up north about 20 miles to a Pumpkin Farm!  We had a blast!

The kids loved exploring the farm...

Our first stop was the big corn put!  It was so fun to jump and roll in...needless to say we found corn kernels on us and in our clothes/diapers throughout the day! :)

Then, we had a little game of pumpkin bowling!  

Of course we had to find our way through the big corn maze...thanks to Bella's navigation skills, we all found our way out...

We loved the hay ride that took us on a tour of the farm! We saw pigs and goats...bee hives and honey...corn fields and strawberry fields and learned all about how a farm produces crops!

We chose our favorite pumpkins then took one more dive back into the corn pit!

2 months

Tucker continues to be such a sweet addition to our family.  His little personality is barely just starting to show itself...we get glimpses of his smile if we are really lucky.  He smiled for the first time right around 7 weeks...and shows us he likes us every so often. :). He's adapting very well to our full, noisy house!  As long as he's fed every 2-3 hours, changed and swaddled tight for naps then he's a happy camper!  We started going for walks together which he loves!  The outdoor noises usually put him right to sleep...and he loves the sun's warmth.  He continues to enjoy church with me...no nursery yet!  His little routine begins around 8 with nursing then he basically eats, "plays", sleeps and does it again!  His "play time" is swinging, cuddlin with brother or sister, rocking...or maybe tummy time.  But, he's not too fond of it yet.  He loves park dates...he loves relaxing in the stroller in the warm sun while brother & sister play.  He's even been to story time already!  He's just along for the ride!

His stats:

Height 22.5 20%

Head 50%

Weight 9lb 8oz 5%