Constant Beginnings

I am already falling behind on updates and it has only been 3 months. I am sorry Gavin. You have had a great month. I feel like Daddy and I are finally figuring you out. We know that you don't love being swaddled, cry the moment your diaper is wet, love to hold hands or have us touch your face and love to be held vs. riding in the stroller or carrier. Life has become much quieter and happier around our house. You are growing well. You wear a size 2 diaper, 3-6 month clothing and eat 5-6 oz per feeding. Your eyes are still blue and your hair seems to vary between blonde and brown depending on the day ;) We are battling some ferocious cradle cap. It is a pain. You are finally beginning to enjoy the swing again and your excersaucer thing. You really love to stand and are very strong. You have excellent head control and are interested in all that is happening. Gavin, you are a drooling little guy. I know it is a tad too early for teeth, but they are coming! We had your 3 month...

Today marks the last day that Chris will put on his "blues", military issued black patent shoes and dawn his cap with the old familiar Captain's bars on it. Such an exciting day for him, for us, for our family. So even though his official retirement isn't until August 1st, it feels that today is somewhat more of an end than that date will be. The military is all he's ever known, joining at the age of 17, heading off to boot camp a month after graduating from High School. Our paths crossed a couple of years later when he was still a lowly A1C. It is hard to believe I've been along side him for almost this entire journey through the military. We've survived countless PT tests, EPR's, promotions through each stripe as an enlisted member, OPR's, ROTC, college graduation, pinning LT bars, pinning Capt. bars, 3 moves across 3 different continents, 2 deployments, completion of graduate school, and countless exercises and training hours dedicated to the p...

This post is sponsored by Cottonelle, but my love for their fresh care flushable cleansing cloths on-the-go soft packs is all my own! Our life is one big adventure. We are constantly on the go! From ballet, to swimming lessons, to playgrounds to weekend trips, we do it all. With three small children in tow. This summer we are embarking on our first transatlantic adventure with three little ones as we take our first TransAtlantic vacation. That's a day of airport restrooms, airplane restrooms, and much, much togetherness for 12 LONNNNGGG hours. Thankfully, I 've become a pro of sorts at surviving these outings and it all comes down to being prepared--hand sanitizer and bum wipes . Cottonelle is joining us on this adventure with their Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths On the Go Soft Packs. Fortunately, our kiddos are independent most of the time, BUT occasionally need the help of Mom or Dad to clean those hard to reach places :) Well, I am happy to say full independence ...

So I called it. Dr. Kara. Plantar fascitis. After hobbling around for 3 months, plus much of my pregnancy, I finally broke down and went to the doctor. I had been doing stretches, rest, bought inserts for my shoes, but nothing seemed to do the trick for any length of time. With a fantastic summer of fun ahead and the uncertainty of our health care in light of Chris' looming retirement, I knew I had to act quickly. Thankfully, I was seen that same day! The best part is that I was able to see my previous PCM (primary care manager, aka "my doctor") whom I really loved, but was promoted and had to cut her caseload in 1/2. Anyway, she heard my concerns, confirmed my diagnosis of plantar fascitis, prescribed me some Ibuprofen, told me to ice my foot and prescribed me a splint for the night. We discussed "next steps" being a trial of steriods either oral or injections with a "last resort" and one she is very much against--surgery. She likened the fascitis t...

Mid June marked the last day of 1st grade for Claire. She had an exceptional year. Most of that due to her amazing teacher, Ms. Garcia, who knew how to develop her weaknesses while continuing to encourage and reinforce her strengths. She was such a positive influence in our little girl's life. We thank God for such a great year filled with beautiful friends who love to have fun and learn together. In celebration of her summer birthday, we brought breakfast for her class on the last day. Chris made the pancakes, while I put together fruit, juice, bought donuts too per Claire's request. It was a hit as our little princess finally had her chance to wear the birthday crown. She was in heaven!

Claire--1st Grade w/Ms. Garcia Mya--Pre-K w/Ms. Alvarez

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Our kids take swimming lessons year round. It is our one nonnegotiable activity. Consequently, Claire has one more level to go before she is totally finished and yes, she isn't even 7 yet. Pretty amazing. I remember taking one session of lessons each summer, which took me until 7th grade to finish all the levels. We like our kids to be fish. We want them to feel safe around the water, to look to water as a means to exercise and maintain good health and to turn to water for all the fun there is to be had. More of that to come this summer. We cannot wait! In order for all this to happen, we expose them as early as possible. Gavin's first swim was last week at 2.5 months old. He didn't cry, just kind of chilled out. Perhaps, he is a fish in the making.

One annual adventure is our trip to the strawberry patch. This tradition began in Massachusetts, was missed during our time in Korea, but resumed when we arrived in Germany in 2012. We love it. We returned to our favorite patch in Landstuhl yesterday. It was bloody hot, somewhere in the 80s. Gavin was not a fan, so Chris and I took turns tending to him while the other picked with the girls. We did well--4 quarts are frozen for shakes and 1 container is in the fridge waiting for some cake. Claire flat out asked when I was making the angel food cake, so I guess I best get that done!

And we are back! It was a whirlwind trip combined with hustle, bustle, and relaxation. Quite a good mix of all. We flew into Pisa courtesy of Ryan Air. Our tickets were only about $50 per person--quite a steal. It was our first time of not reserving a seat, but still priority qued and it worked out splendidly. We arrived early, hopped in line and found seats just one row behind our usuals. We landed in Pisa around 9:30 or so, retrieved our rental car and meandered our way to our rental apartment. It was a lovely place, but not very private even though there were doors separating bedrooms, etc. The loft was actually two of the bedrooms, which adjoined the master bedroom via a large glass panel. Needless to say, every one could hear every thing. The seven of us also shared one bathroom, which was not ideal. Day 1: We drove to Levanto and hopped on a train to Monterroso. It was about 30 Euro for a family of 4. When we arrived in Monterroso, we immediately found the beach, let...

This whole weight loss thing is tough! Throw in a new baby, two other little ones, a career and plantar fascitis, and we have an uphill battle. Yeah, the plantar fascitis may be self diagnosed, but I am 99% certain I have it. I actually went for my post partum check up a couple of weeks ago where I unloaded all my aches and pains. I am sure she thinks I am a nut job, but seriously, I thought the road to losing my pregnancy pounds would bring my physical age back down from 90 to a 30 something person. I apparently was wrong. My right foot hurts so badly. In fact, there have been days were I don't even feel comfortable carrying Gavin down the stairs for fear I will drop him. I'm on a mission to lose weight, which I hope will remove the stress on my poor feet. I am guessing the stress is there due to the shift in my weight from pregnancy to now. Who knows, but from what I've read, there is little that can be done medically. I'll give this my best shot, then go the medica...

I documented most of the information on your 8 week post, so I'll only add a few things here.  -You are beginning to enjoy baths a bit more. I found a Puji tub super cheap and it has been awesome! Wish I had had one for when Claire and Mya were babies too. - You smile often. You have a huge smile that lights up your whole face. It truly melts my heart.  - You are happiest right when you wake. You are all smiles regardless of the time. We start our mornings off right! -You are better about letting us set you down. You sit in the bouncer, occasionally in the bumbo or swing.  -You've discovered your hand and are doing your best to grab a taste whenever you can. -For about 2 weeks, we had been giving you a bottle of formula one time per day. It was when I was grasping for anything to figure out why you were having such tummy troubles. We've since stopped and you are exclusively breast fed again. It hasn't been an easy journey in the least, but things have got...

Since my memory fades more and more everyday, I thought I'd post pictures of the gifts we gave teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. We started the week off with a flower/plant with a little stick that said, "Thanks for helping me GROW." The others were copied or modified from pinterest. Super cute and pretty easy too! 

Gavin is 8 weeks old! Time has flown by, though many moments have crept past at a snail's pace. This little guy has the biggest smiles. Each and every one melt my heart. He offers them just when we need them most. For example, after a night filled with tossing and turning, he'll throw one at us. Suddenly that smile makes everything lovely again and gives me the energy I didn't think I'd have. We still haven't figured out if the zantac is truly helpful. He seems to have less issues with gas, and being uncomfortable, but he continues to spit up quite a lot. I guess the guessing game will continue for awhile. I hate to say this, but Gavin is high maintenance. I thought we had already done our time with one high maintenance child, but apparently we survived her, so God decided to throw another our way. He loves to be held. We are trying everything and anything we can to buy ourselves some moments of not needing to hold him, but the crying is ear piercing. Our poor g...

I came across this while cleaning up the mounds of paperwork the kids managed to gather. I laughed so hard. It is totally adorable! We got the girls cameras when Gavin was born, so they frequently take random pictures. Finally, they are putting them to good use. Claire is often writing scripts or creating something. This time is is a newspaper, complete with pictures. I LOVE IT! So funny! On a side note, Claire's spelling words at school as of late have been "photosynthesis," "evaporation," & "science," but quite obviously, she needs to work on "serious" and "cliff," you know, the essentials ;)

Claire's been waiting patiently for these teeth to fall out. They've been loose for sometime, but seemed all too comfortable where they were. Finally, the one was pulled out last night and what remained was less than beautiful, being called, Snaggletooth. Claire wiggled, wiggled and wiggled it some more until it was finally out as well. That makes two teeth in two days. Poor tooth fairy has been busy spreading her fairy dust and leaving notes with money behind.