Last Days of Summer

Breeden Boys Vegging Out (for any Super Safety Moms: yes, I know there was a recall on the Bumbo seat, and it was only placed on the couch long enough to get this picture)

Think we have a thumb sucker on our hands!

Look, Mom, I'm in the hamper!

4 1/2 months old and cheesing!

Our balcony view of the beach from the condo we stayed in over Labor Day weekend

As summer is winding down to its official end and fall is well on its way, I can reflect on the past month and a half since the last blog update and honestly say we made the most of summer considering our circumstances. Needless to say, life with a 3 year old and 4 month old isn't always glitz and glam, which means I didn't spend many weekends relaxing at the beach or pool. However, I still got to get out and enjoy all that summer has to offer, and that alone is a feat all in itself with Chase and Gabe involved. I guess my point here is that everything you do in life with kids is a huge responsibility and takes a lot of effort. Relaxation time for the adults is replaced with chasing after little ones, changing diapers, incorporating naps and feedings, etc. BUT (and I use all caps for emphasis here), it’s a huge blessing to experience this kind of hectic life; and, even though it makes me a little batty at times, I wouldn’t trade it for the world (at least not on most days, ha, ha).


We got to squeeze in two trips to OBX in August; one with the kids and one without. I’m sure you can guess which one was more relaxing. The not-so-relaxing trip was still lots of fun over Labor Day weekend as Chase got to spend hours on the Kill Devil Hills beach, play in the pool, and be best pals with his cousin Kenden. Although we all had colds (yes, Gabe got his first cold) Labor Day weekend, we still made the most of our last summer hurrah down at the beach.

Chase started K3 at Faith Outreach Education Center the last week in August. He is already well on his way to learning numbers, letters, shapes, colors, Bible stories, and praise songs. He’s had positive remarks from his teacher so far, and we’re so proud of him! He’s also become such a good big brother to Gabriel. He asked me just the other day if I had another baby brother growing—reason being is because he thinks Gabriel came from a freckle on my belly and he saw a freckle on my leg and thought it was another baby brother growing (tell me that isn’t funny).

Gabe had his 4 month check-up on August 24th, which entailed another round of immunizations (not fun). Good news is that he’s a healthy baby, right in the average range for weight and height. He weighed in at 15 pounds, 4 oz last month and has undoubtedly put on several more ounces (maybe even pounds) since then. I’m still nursing him, but I introduced formula and rice cereal to him the past month to better help fulfill his hearty appetite. He’s completely rolling over from his back to stomach now and vice versa. I’m also positive he’s in the early teething phases since he’s drooling like crazy and gnawing on everything in sight. We’ve had a few sleepless nights over the past month due to the cold he had and most likely due to teething as well, but we’re working our way back to a better sleeping pattern from about 8-5 on most nights. At almost 5 months old, Gabe’s favorite thing to do is…well, just to be held. He’s not big on swinging, playing on his playmat, jumping in his Sassy, or doing much of anything for spans longer than 5 minutes. I think we have him just a tad on the spoiled side, but we’ll only have one chance to spoil him at this stage in life.

As for Tim and I, we reached our 11th anniversary on August 25th. We were able to spend one night down in OBX as Tim’s parents watched the boys for us. We enjoyed our one night getaway, but knew we couldn’t stay too long due to the demands of work, obligations at home, and me still nursing Gabriel (it gets a little cumbersome having to pump every few hours when you’re on vacation). Tim still does all he can to help out with Chase even if it means just taking him to the park for a few hours in the afternoon so that I can focus my energy on solely on Gabe. However, I still try to have one-on-one Mommy-time with Chase by putting him to bed on some nights—his favorite thing is for me to do shadow puppets right before he goes to bed. He loves the “hockadile” (crocodile) shadow puppet. We’re excited to “chomp” our way into another month and share more adventures as we all grow.