This is How We Roll...

Faith Ann rolled over all by herself today, totally unassisted! She was on her tummy while we were at my cousins house, and she just rolled over to her back like a champ! I was so excited for the random milestone! My cousin, Lacey, was like "wait, that was her first time?" She rolled with such grace- it looked like she has been doing it for months! My aunt, Lauran, was also there to witness. Milestones are always so special! Hunter cheered, it was a fun moment!

We just got back from Scott's family reunion in Marble Falls, Tx. His uncle, Tom, has a beautiful lake house there. We filled the house with aunts, uncles, cousins, and Scott's wonderful grandmother Mimi! There were 6 kids under 4. The house is a 3 story house, so I got my exercise for the next year! I went up and down those stairs a million times with a kid on each floor needing this and that!

The house is on the lake with beautiful views. They have their boat, jet skis, kayaks, and other toys set out in the water ready for us to hop on. So, we were busy all weekend. Lots of boat rides and swimming. The boys had a blast on the jet skis! I did a few fast 'donuts' and Trent LOVED when the water would water splash over the hood. Hunter and Trent both knee-boarded for the first time, it was adorable to watch! They were so brave and proud of themselves. The boys were each others sidekicks all weekend. Scott spent most of the weekend playing with the boys while I was running up and down the stairs tending to Faith Ann!

Faith Ann slept great...thank goodness because all 5 of us were in one room! The room had a huge walk in closet- so I set up her bassinet and a fan in there. Our room was called the "white room" because it is filled with beautiful white bedding, pillows, accents...ummm, I was a nervous wreck! Yall, I am not kidding- BOTH of the boys got hit with the stomach bug in the white room! I didn't sleep for 3 days...not because of my children, but because of the damn white room! I jumped at every coughing noise! Thankfully, they took turns! Hunter threw up Friday night and Trent threw up Saturday night! Each one only threw up a couple times and strangely enough, they were fine the next day!! When morning came, it was like nothing happened...eating and playing just fine! So, it didn't slow down our trip- but I didn't sleep a wink with all the white around me! And not one drop of throw up got in that room thanks to my alertness!

That was our last summer vacation, and we had a blast. Summer is now over and we will be in our new routine of school soon. Faith Ann is continuing to go with the flow. Her smile will stop you in your tracks! Scott's family couldn't believe how calming and content she is. Even Scott's high school cousin commented on "how cool Faith Ann is!" She is just so easy, so loving, so peaceful, and we are so in love! 

Just an Update

Not much to say this week, so I will post all the adorable pictures that have filled our week! There is one piece of big news...I have officially stopped the 10pm 'top off' feeding! Faith Ann is sleeping the entire night 7:30-7:30!! I really dislike that 10:00 feeding at night- I don't know why?? I think because it's just another thing I have to do before bed, so it started to feel like a task!

I was waking her up at 10:00 to feed her, and I was wondering if it was necessary to wake her anymore? So, I stopped doing the 'top off' feeding, and she had one night of waking up at 4am. I thought that she may not be ready yet. However, I continued to skip that feeding just to see what would happen. Well, she quickly adapted and as of August 16- she has gone all 12 hours without waking. I am excited to be free of that routine and super excited that Faith Ann is getting a great nights sleep!

Faith Ann's Baptism

My sweet girl got baptized this past weekend on August 10, 2014. She wore the same dress that I was baptized in as a baby. My mom took such great care of all my dresses, and I am especially thankful that she handled this special dress with TLC. It is a beautiful dress with lace, smocking, and embroidery details. She got baptized by our wonderful Pastor Daniel Irving at Memorial Drive Untied Methodist Church. We go to the contemporary service at The Well, and we just LOVE our church! Daniel has baptized all 3 of our children.

Her Godparents are my brother, Chad and my sister-in-law, Kate (wife of brother Beau.) Kate and my brother, Beau, started dating when I was like 6 years old- so she and I have grown up together like sisters. And my brother, Chad, is a kid magnet and just loves the charm of little girls. Chad spoiled me when I was little- he carried me and always made me feel important. Kate and her family live down the street from us and Chad's family lives close by too- Faith Ann will see lots of her Godparents throughout her life! I couldn't have picked better Godparents for our sweet Faith Ann.

She was extra sweet during her baptism. She smiled at Pastor Daniel. She was calm and was truly angelic during the entire service...she is such a blessing to us! Hunter and Trent did good too. They were watching closely as water was being placed on Faith Ann's head. I had tears of joy in my eyes as  I stood up there with my family. I always dreamed of moments like this with my children and husband! I am so grateful for all that God has given me!! I also got a little teary thinking that this could be our last baptism. I pray that we guide Faith Ann to follow God and trust His plan for her! We had a great baptism, and I am one proud momma!

3 Months

Faith Ann is really developing her personality now, and she is adorable. She has a deep voice, which cracks me up! She has a deep belly laugh and snorts when she laughs! Man, she is one of a kind. She is THE. MOST. PEACEFUL baby on Earth! She is a form of meditation for whoever is holding her. My cousin was holding her the other day and said, "she is the most relaxing thing I have ever experienced!" So true. She is so still, graceful, gentle and with the nerdiest laugh you will ever hear! Love her!

• She sleeps from 7:00-7:30 in her crib (I am starting to take away that 10:00pm night time feeding)
• Morning nap 8:30-10:30 (sometimes in her crib, sometimes in the car or stroller)
• She catnaps in the car throughout the day
• Takes a very long nap in afternoon in her crib- like 4 hours! 1:00-5:00
• Breastfeeds every 3ish hours during the day
• Size 2 diapers and 3-6 months clothes
• Has the most beautiful blue eyes
• Starting to talk with lots of coo's and spitting noises
• Loves bath time
• Dislikes being sleepy! 
• Likes her doorway swing and bumbo
• I swaddle her in a blanket, then put her in swaddle sack and she sleeps like a rock
• She prefers to sleep on her side, but does fine on her back
• She doesn't mind tummy time, but I need to do more with her!
• She adores her brothers and is already forming individual relationships with each
• Gives Hunter lots of laughs and smiles
• She doesn't care that much about her pacifier, but likes to fall asleep with it
• I put her in the child care room for the first time last week at the gym, she did great

She's just an easy, loving, cuddly bundle of peaceful baby! I look forward to the coming months as I learn more of her personality and get to know her even better! My children are all so wonderful in their own way. I nailed it on the head when I told Scott that Hunter is my joyful spirit, Trent is my gentle soul, and Faith Ann is my peaceful heart! They are my everything!!

1st Vacation

Faith Ann had a wonderful first vacation. We go to Leakey, Tx on the Frio River every year for my family reunion. We call it camping, but we are not in tents. My family rents out the same cabins every year. They are very basic with concrete walls/floors and a tiny window cooling unit. I remember taking Hunter for the first time, and I was nervous that the conditions would be hard for a baby to adjust to. Haha, fast forward a couple years, and I tossed her bassinet and bumbo seat in the car and took off!

It's a trip based around "nothing to do!!" We sit around camp fires, skip rocks in the river, float the Frio, play yard games, look for bugs, etc...we simply hang out and it is wonderful! The cousins have a blast running, inventing games, swimming and eating all their meals outside. Faith Ann is such a champ! She went with the flow...slept wonderful, almost too much! My cousins wanted to hold her more so I had to keep waking her up! Faith Ann even took a nap in a camp chair! Don't worry, I enclosed the chair with other chairs so she was safe!

 It's about a 5 hour car ride, which actually wasn't bad!! We only made one stop for feeding Faith Ann and letting Bentley out to go to the bathroom. Of course, Bentley joins us because she loves to run and swim in the hill country! Faith Ann didn't make a peep in the car. I kept asking Hunter, "what is she doing now?" He kept giving me updates, such a wonderful brother!

I didn't even try to put Faith Ann in the Frio River. It is way too cold, and she would not be happy! From our campground, we get in the river and cross to get to the rocks. This is where the kids play and the adults lounge in the sun. I didn't want to miss all that bonding...so I walked across the river with Faith Ann over my head so she wouldn't get wet!

She spent her time in someones arms, in the stroller, in the carrier on my chest or sleeping in the bassinet. She was not put down for one second while she was awake! She also looked adorable the entire trip. Lots of fashion at the Frio River this year for little miss Faith Ann! We went to Garner State Park to enjoy some country dancing...that was always my favorite part when I was little! And now, I'm 'that mom' that chases her kids around with a camera while they dance!

It was a needed vacation. There was a lot of alone time for the adults as the kids were playing. Scott and I enjoyed sitting on the swing and visiting without a million interruptions! We also really enjoyed watching our boys act like "big boys" and play until they dropped...literally, they stayed awake past 10:00 every night!

My cousin just had a baby (4 weeks younger than Faith Ann.) So, the two baby girls sat side by side for many photo sessions! Faith Ann was just so perfect this vacation. Sounds cheesy, but no other way to put it! Her peaceful little smile and presence warmed everyone's heart! She slept through all the nights, so everyone was happy to avoid the midnight wake up cries!! I'm always a little nervous that my kids will keep everyone awake, but they all did great! Once again, thank you to my niece Ally for helping out so much! She helped get the boys dressed, rocked Faith Ann, retrieved pacifiers and diapers, etc. She is such a helper!

Good vacation, and I can only hope that Faith Ann continues to be so easy going! There is something just so simple about this sweet girl, and I love everything about her!! Bye Leakey...see ya next year with a 1 year old girl! Now, that vacation may be a different story, ha!

Circus and Milestone

We went to the Circus last week. It was great, except for the fact that I could not use a stroller! WHAT? 3 kids (one being like 10 weeks old and a barely 2 year old) with NO stroller- in Reliant Stadium!? So, I put Faith Ann in the carrier and tried to hold Trent's hand while Hunter held hands with his friends in front of us. Overall, it worked out good. Trent would get distracted and want to stop every few seconds, which made for a long walk!! The biggest challenge was walking up and down ALL those stadium stairs. Let's just say that I was sore for a couple days! I held Trent with Faith Ann in the carrier...workout!

The actual Circus was very cool! The boys were facsinated with all that was going on. The boys were wonderful and so focused on the show the first half. The second half was a little harder because they didn't want to sit in their seats and getting ansty. I also had to breastfeed Faith Ann while watching the show, which goes down as the most adveturous place I have breastfed!

Faith Ann was a doll the entire show. She slept in the carrier on my chest, then ate, then sat on my lap bright eyed watching all the lights! The boys favorite part was the tigers and the popcorn! Hunter was TERRIFIED of the clowns! Overall, it was a great day and they all took long naps!

And for the record- Faith Ann has been sleeping in her own room since July 16th. After our anniversary date- I decided not to wake her up and do the 'top off feeding.' She was sound asleep and I had a few mojitos, so I really didn't want to feed her since my milk was probably not the best quality at that moment! Since she was peacefully sleeping- I just thought I would let it ride and see what happened. Well, she slept great and we officially no longer have our sweet baby in our room! I sometimes do the top off feeding, sometimes not! If I feed her at 10:30, she will go all the way to 7:00. If I skip that 10:30 feeding, she wakes between 5:00-6:30. I can't complain, but I do kind of miss seeing her sweet face in the midnight hours!