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| All American Baby |
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| Love this picture of both boys smiling (courtesy of Tim's camera phone) |
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| Whenever I try to get a picture with both boys and me, this is how it turns out. |
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| Gabriel was enjoying his playmat until his brother joined in...and Chase with his mischievous grin. |
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| Chase's first time "holding" Gabriel....Gabe was a little uneasy about the whole experience of "big brother" holding him. |
July is quite the birthday month in our home. I just turned 31 years old on July 20th. We headed out to one of our favorite restaurants, Captain Chuckamuck’s, for my birthday with my parents. Chase loves going there just to stand on the pier and throw rocks in the water. Tim turns 33 on the 25th (tomorrow). And, last but not least, Gabriel just hit his 3 month old birthday on the 21st. The best way I can describe my life right now would be Kenny Chesney’s song, “Don’t Blink;” time is going by entirely too fast. However, getting older isn’t necessarily a bad thing even though our society puts such a negative connotation on the aging process. Not that I was ever a shallow person when it came to physical attributes, but I used to think I wasn’t looking my best if my hair wasn’t kept platinum blond; if I didn’t have the perfect tan; if I didn’t weigh around 120 pounds (although I have to admit I was thrilled to get back in the 120’s this month since I had been in the 130’s post-Gabriel); etc. And, Tim can certainly attest to the fact that I was insecure if there was another attractive woman within viewing distance. The platinum hair is long gone as is the golden tan—I’m embracing a healthier, more natural look; but more importantly, I’m comfortable with the woman God has molded me to be at age 31. Sure, I still have the occasional insecure moment (all women do—if they say they don’t, they’re lying!); and, I still like to pamper myself every now and then; but, I’m trying to be more focused on what matters more in life from a godly perspective. All things beautiful from a worldly view will eventually pass; “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.” –Isaiah 40:8. This whole blog has been about what’s really important to me: God and family. Sadly enough, I don’t always express this point enough around my family when I get so wrapped up in the daily stresses of life. With that said, I’m trying to do better at appreciating the inner beauty God has instilled in me and to allow that glow to radiate to others regardless of what challenges I may be facing. I’m praying I can make the most of my 30’s as my family grows.
The month of July has been a busy one. We kicked it off by celebrating Independence Day with fireworks in downtown Smithfield on July 3rd; Tim let off some of our own fireworks in our backyard on the 4th; Chase was apprehensive at first, but he ended up loving the fireworks. We’ve had several visits to the Smithfield Swim Club pool that we became members of this summer. Chase is still far from being a swimmer, but Tim is diligently working with him. Tim also had a part in coaching the Smithfield Swim Club’s Dolphins at the tail end of their swim season. Tim has always been a phenomenal swimmer and it’s exciting to see him coach little ones, especially when it will be our own two boys getting involved in these kinds of activities in just a few years.
Chase has been a little testy at times, but he’s full of personality and always coming up with things to crack us up. It’s always funny how Chase is high energy and into every toy in the house, but when it comes time to clean up his toys we usually get a response like, “I (I’m) too tired to clean up toys.” On my birthday morning I asked him if he wanted to sing “Happy Birthday” to me and he said he was too tired then as well. Just the other night I was reading him a few stories from his children’s Bible before bedtime. He was still wound up even after me reading him stories and he wouldn’t stop talking. I kept telling him it was time to be quiet and go to sleep. His response: “Jesus wants me to talk.” What a stinker!
Gabriel’s little personality is also starting to show. This past month has been a huge milestone with him smiling more and fussing less. He still battles gas and acid reflux, but the Zantac seems to be helping. Dr. Baust was very happy with the progress he’s made between month 2 and 3. He seems to be a much happier baby after feedings and he weighed in at a whopping (drum roll, please) 13 pounds, 14 oz on Monday—that’s just a few ounces shy of a 2 pound weight gain in just a month’s time. I’m so thankful to see my little man growing! That little gummy smile surrounded by dimples can melt anyone’s heart! He’s cooing and discovering all his voice can do right now—music to a mother’s ears. He’s also making good eye contact and recognizing faces. He’s (thankfully) getting in a good sleep routine: we wrap up the evening with a bath around 7 (he still loves bath-time). I nurse him to sleep around 8 and put him in his crib (yes, he’s in his crib now!). He wakes up for a nighttime feeding somewhere around 2 or 3 on most nights. I nurse him back to sleep and then we wake up for good around 6 on the weekdays. Well, I’m actually up at 5 to get myself ready for the day, but I wake Gabe and Chase up around 6. Weekends are a treat when I don’t have to wake up at 5!
Chase has done great as a potty trained little boy. We still keep pull-ups on him over night to prevent me from changing sheets frequently (even though he’s made it without accidents in the middle of the night before), but he’s done well in big boy underwear during the day. Gabriel, on the other hand, has graduated to size 2 diapers and is busting out of some of his 3-month clothing. It won’t be long until I’ll be digging out his 6 month outfits. His appetite has increased to taking in 4-5 oz with each feeding, whereas before he was only drinking around 3-4 oz at a time. My grandmother is enjoying watching Gabriel during the day; her face lights up every morning when I drop him off on the way to work. Chase is still going to the summer preschool activities once or twice a week. He’ll start K3 at the end of August.
Tim and I will also reach our 11th anniversary at the end of August. We actually had a rare date night this month as Tim’s parents came to our house for a few hours to watch the boys so that we could grab dinner at Japan Samurai and walk the mall together. It was a much needed date night and we hope to have more of those between now and the next blog posting. Happy 33rd Birthday to Tim! None of the content of this blog would be possible without him. If you’re reading this, Tim, I love you! (This is a true test to see if you actually read the blog, ha, ha!)
