Aaaack...has it REALLY been almost FOUR years?!?

Well, I think the last time I checked in here after a LONG hiatus that I started out with the promise of doing better.  I'm not going to make that mistake again, because it's quite obvious I failed MISERABLY the last time I made that promise.  :(

But, I will say that I will try harder to NOT wait until 2019 to post again.  I mean, I'll {almost} have a TEENAGER if I wait until then.  Eeek!!

I have at least updated the header photo, the kid's sidebar images and their bios.  :)  You can read there for a quick update.

I'm not really even sure I can summarize the last four years, but let's try!

Tyler graduated preschool and started at Gravely Elementary School.  He is now a second grader and fills his time with school, friends, Baseball and Lacrosse, both of which he really LOVES...and we love watching him.  For Tyler this past year has been a year of tremendous growth (physically and athletically!)  The fact that he nearly comes to my shoulders already and some nights eats like he is already a teenager makes me scared of what's to come!

Lucas started (AND graduated preschool) at Haymarket Baptist.  He then began at Gravely Elementary School and is now a first grader.  He has the same first grade teacher that Tyler did last year and we LOVE her.  Such a blessing for this shy and anxious child to walk into the first grade of school to be welcome by a teacher who he already knew and had so much love for!  He's still our little guy, but daddy and Pap keep reminding me that his growth spurt is coming.  ;)  He also plays baseball, but is showing signs of loving running (like momma) so we may try a local running club for kids this spring/summer.

Katelyn started preschool and will be graduating from their Pre-K program in three two weeks!  :(  I cannot believe that I have registered my last baby for preschool, paid my last tuition check and will be watching the last Pre-K graduation in a few short weeks just 10 days! She will join her brothers next year and is so excited to ride the bus with them each day!

****side-note**** I'm getting up to have some lunch, let's see if I actually finish this.  ;)

Hey...I'm back.  About a week later, so I did have to edit a few of Kate's details, but here I am.  Last week my mother and I attended the Mother's Day tea at Kate's preschool...they do such a great job with this tea.

They have been using the same backdrop for at least 4 years.  Check out Tyler's tea...

And apparently I have the same taste for my "tea" dress.  haha!

Well, I am going to go ahead and post this, so that it DOES get posted and I DON'T forget.  :)

Where We've Been

OK - so as I look at my blog my pathetic attempt at a blog, I realize I'm LONG overdue for a post.  I may go back and fill in some of our summer, but for now here is a summer highlight post.

The summer started with Tyler's birthday (yes, I'm being lazy and directing you to the post I wrote on my photography business blog about his bithday...but this is SO far dated that my new website is up now - www.withlovestudio.com/blog).  You see, that is what kept me so busy this summer...launching WITH LOVE STUDIO - Photography & Design by Kerri Gibbs.  I've been doing the design work for a while now, but decided this summer I was gonna test the waters with my photography business.  I've done sessions for friends in the past, but wanted to see if I could make this business - my dream (you see, I said it long ago and posted it right there in my profile) a reality.  Well...it has taken off better than I could have hoped and I am SO excited to pursue this opportunity God has blessed me with.  It is such a wonderful experience to meet so many wonderful people and capture such great memories - while also getting to be at home with my babies each and every day - capturing all of their wonderful memories!

OK...back to the summer.  After Tyler's birthday we took a trip to Salisbury, Md and Rehobeth Beach, De with my parents.  It was a fun trip...except for losing Kiki (Tyler's special blanket that he has had since he was a newborn.  I'm not sure if it is he or I, who is more upset that it was never returned to us, despite numerous phone calls to and promises from the hotel we stayed at).

Fourth of July quickly came (and went, it seems) and the summer was halfway over. 

Katelyn celebrated her first birthday (yep, you guess it...that's the link to the post over on my OLD blog!  haha)

And we geared up for Mr. Tyler's first day as a Kindergartener.  Hopefully I will be able to get my act together and share that with you all.  :)

Monday Musing | More Photography Fun

This was kind of a laid back weekend for us.  We got a lot of work done in the garage and can almost fit both of our cars in the garage.  This will mark the first time since moving back to Va that we can both park our cars in the garage.  Yippee!!  Now if we can just KEEP it clean and de-cluttered...well, that's another story.  :)

I also had my second mentoring session with Beryl, from Be Young Photography.  While she is a fantastic photographer, she is also a wonderful teacher and I learned SO much from her and am so happy to have stumbled across her Momtography 101 Class.  When I ended up not being able to take that class, due to a scheduling, she offered the option of a one-on-one mentoring session.  While this was a bigger financial investment on my part, I am so happy that I went for it, b/c I think than it will turn out to be an in-valuable opportunity.

For the second half of our mentoring session, Beryl came to our house and we did a mock photo shoot.
I'm so excited with how these images turned out.  We started in the front yard, but quickly moved around back to the play set, when the boys started to get restless...it was fun for them to play, and I got cute shots....of Tyler and Kate at least.  Luke just wasn't interested this time!

Working with Beryl was amazing and I'm so excited to be on my way to making my photography dream a reality!

Monday Musing | More Photography Fun

This was kind of a laid back weekend for us.  We got a lot of work done in the garage and can almost fit both of our cars in the garage.  This will mark the first time since moving back to Va that we can both park our cars in the garage.  Yippee!!  Now if we can just KEEP it clean and de-cluttered...well, that's another story.  :)

I also had my second mentoring session with Beryl, from Be Young Photography.  While she is a fantastic photographer, she is also a wonderful teacher and I learned SO much from her and am so happy to have stumbled across her Momtography 101 Class.  When I ended up not being able to take that class, due to a scheduling, she offered the option of a one-on-one mentoring session.  While this was a bigger financial investment on my part, I am so happy that I went for it, b/c I think than it will turn out to be an in-valuable opportunity.

For the second half of our mentoring session, Beryl came to our house and we did a mock photo shoot.
I'm so excited with how these images turned out.  We started in the front yard, but quickly moved around back to the play set, when the boys started to get restless...it was fun for them to play, and I got cute shots.  Beryl is a FANTASTIC teacher.  I can't speak highly enough about her.  Not only is she a great teacher, she's a wonderful lady and photographer, too.  ;)

Mothers Day 2011 | Blessed

My little boy is growing up.  I can barely believe this is my 5th Mother's Day.  Wait, is that right?  2007 (Tyler - 11 months) 2008 (Tyler - 23 months & Lucas - 1 month), 2009 (Tyler - almost 3, Lucas 1), 2010 (Tyler - almost 4, Lucas 2, pregnant with Kate), 2011 (Tyler - almost 5, Lucas - 3, Kate - 9 months).  Yep...5th Mother's Day and three kiddos.  Wow - I'm so blessed.  :) 

This year Mother's Day was extra special for several reasons.  One being the Mother's Day Tea that preschool class hosted.  Beautiful places settings with handmade goodies...

 tea served from a tea pot, delicious tea sandwiches and pastries and adorable 4 and 5 year olds singing songs to their mommies.

It was so incredibly precious.  I hope I NEVER forget that moment.  I can't believe my little man is almost 5.  He's growing so fast.  The second thing that made this mother's day a little bit more special was having had a daughter this past year.  As much as I tried to convince myself that having had a third boy would have been okay, I can't get over how much I LOVE having a daughter.  This is absolutely NOT to say that I'm not so grateful for having my boys -- I definitely am.  But I'm so glad I have the opportunity to be a mom to  sons and a daughter.  I'm so happy that I get to experience both, because I am SURE there will be moments shared and memories made with Kate that would just NOT happen as a mom to only sons.  Moments such as celebrating Mother's Day with her, as I have with my own mom the past few years, when we have gone to have a girls day out with mani/pedi's.  I'm so excited for the year when we take Kate with us for the first time.  

Monday Musing | Tyler's T-ball Debut

This past week our family became an official baseball family, with Tyler playing his first t-ball games.  They were fun...kind of long...but still so fun to watch these little 4 and 5  year olds get their introduction to baseball. 

Tyler's first game was so cute.  He did very well hitting the ball...

but needs a little more focus when base running.  Haha, we'll get there though.

 

We also had our first t-ball pictures taken.  I was pleasant surprised at how well nine 4, 5 and 6 year olds did with their team photo...not too shabby!  :)

Katelyn | Milestones

Birthdate - July 26, 2010
Weight - 7 lb., 11 oz.

Length - 21.5 inches

1 month old:
Weight -
Length -
milk protein allergy diagnosed

First Smile - September 4, 2010 (6 weeks old)

Slept 8 hours - September 4, 2010 (6 weeks old)


2 months old:
Weight -

Length -

4 months old:
Weight -

Length -
constipation issue recognized, saw surgeon to "widen" opening

Rolled from front to back - November 27, 2010 (4 months old)

Rolled from back to front - November 28, 2010 (4 months old...but doesn't do it often, b/c she can't be on her tummy very long or will spit up).

Sitting with hands (for brief moment) - December 20, 2010 (almost five months)

Sitting unassisted - January 19, 2011 (almost six months)

Bottom two middle teeth (came in together) - January 19, 2011 (almost six months)

6 months old:
Weight - 15 lb., 10 oz
Length - 26 inches
Notes - reaching for and grabbing everything, showing interest in food or drinks, trying to push up on knees, sleeping 13+ hours each night, tolerating milk proteins more, still having some constipation issues - probably will re-visit surgeon this month.

 

Says First Word:  "Hi" on March 17

Rocks Forward onto Tummy:  April 24

9 months old:

Weight:  17 lb, 4 oz

Length:  

Notes:  Sits unsupported for as long as you let her, and will rock herself forward to her belly.  But, b/c she doesn't like being on her belly, her smiles promptly turn to wails.  She does however, like to stand so we've been giving her lots of "standing time" rather than "tummy time".  She may be one of those babies that skips crawling and goes right now walking.  Not sure I am ready for that, though.  :(  She is getting much more hair...so her bow's don't look as ridiculous.  ;)   Has been babbling for awhile, but we now hear "hi" and "bye-bye" frequently.  One of Lucas' favorite things to do with Kate is sit beside her saying "bye, bye, bye, bye" until she repeats it to him.  It's adorable.  We have also heard "ma-ma" and "da-da" come out a couple of times.  Could be coincidental, but they were appropriately used.  Her digestion issues have eased up considerably, and we were able to avoid another trip to the surgeon.  Perhaps this is due to the HIGH fiber breakfast concoction I made for her, consisting of a mixture of pear, strawberries and oatmeal cereal!  She is quite regular now.  LOL

Top Left Tooth Came in:  April 30, 2011 

Lucas is 2!!

OK...so this is a VERY long overdue post, especially consider Luke is going to be three in less than two weeks.  Oops...such a bad mommy, blogger, mommy-blogger!  Man, sometimes life just gets in the way of blogging.  But, I'd much rather be living life than just watching it pass me by, so if I have to "catch-up" on some blogs here and there (a lot more "here" recently, I will admit), that's fine with me.  This blog is more of a memory book for me anyway!  :)  I am going to back date this though, so it fits into the time correctly.  Hehe  Oh my goodness, doesn't he look like such a little baby still?!?  I think when I took this picture I thought he looked like such a big boy, but now...not so much.

So...on to Luke's 2nd birthday.  Of course it was a train party.  As is customary, we had a party at our house and invited all of the boys little friends, and several of mommy and daddy's too.  Because let's be honestly...at this age, the parties are really for Mommy and Daddy, right?  I don't think Lucas really even knew it was his birthday, except for the fact that we sat him in front of a cake and sang Happy Birthday to him.  :)

Four Month Darling

Dear Father Time,

Can you please slow down...just a little?  I can't believe how quickly my little girl is growing and I will admit, it's making me just a little bit sad.  I know that this is likely the last little baby in our home, so I'm trying hard to cherish and savor every little moment with Kate, but with our crazy, fun life...that is sometimes hard.  It seems like each time I look away and turn back she is growing, changing discovering something new.  I love watching all of these changes and discoveries, but at the same time, it reminds me of the fact that this is likely the last time I will watch a child of my own go through these moments.

So...if you could slow down...just a little, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mommy to Katelyn (and Tyler and Lucas, too, b/c they are growing just as fast!)

This month Kate grew so much, physically and developmentally.  She is near the 70th percentile in all categories for her growth and is progressing wonderfully in her development.  She is SO close to rolling over (she has done it once on her own, but I think maybe we had put her down in the perfect position to make it easy for her to flip herself.  Now she just needs to figure out what to do with her shoulder) and is trying to sit on her own, too.  She enjoys being in the bumbo and is always trying to sit forward in her swing.  She smiles frequently and her laugh is SO cute.  With these chubby little cheeks smiling at you, what could ever be wrong?

She is sleeping through the night (mostly, unless mommy has been careless about what she eats) and her tummy issues seem to be easing up some.  She is tolerating milk products in small doses (although I still haven't tried to eat ice cream or drink a glass of milk) and we're still avoiding too many constipating foods, to try and keep her regular.

In other exciting news...WE'RE MOVING.

Yes - again...I know, we're crazy.  Not only are we moving with two small boys and a newborn, we're doing it during Christmas.  But...the opportunity fell into our laps and we decided to put our house on the  market, to see if we'd get any interest.  Well...not only did we get interest, we got a contract in one week!  So, we decided to bite the bullet and make the move.  We are super excited about the new house, as it is the perfect place for us to raise our family.  We had always hoped to move into our "forever home" when the kids were younger, so they could make most of their childhood memories in one place and with this home, we can do that.  Ironically, with this move, we will continue the pattern of our children being born in one home and celebrating their first birthdays in another.  For now though, we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in our new home. 

Merry Christmas to you all, if I don't post again before!

3 months of bliss

This is the best way I can explain these past three months.  Katelyn is such a joy and having a daughter is such a blessing to me.  I love my boys DEARLY, but there is something about having a daughter that is special for a mom...at least this mom.  :)

Kate continues to grow fabulously and is sleeping like a champ.  After a rough go of some acid reflux, we've finally gotten that under control, as well as determining that she has a milk protein allergy.  This is more of a problem for mom, as what I eat is what affects her most.  So, no ice cream, milk, or cheese (among many other dairy products) for this momma.  :(

She is starting to "talk" to us and is spending more and more time awake during the day "playing'.  She really likes her play gym and enjoys watching the boys, play too.  They continue to be so great with her.  I love watching their relationships develop.

Happy three month birthday baby girl...we love you SO very much!