Daddy & Gibson

Gibson's 1st Birthday Party!

I decided it would be fun to have a theme for Gibson's 1st Birthday (we didn't do a theme for Harper's 1st)...and I couldn't think of anything cuter or boyish then dinosaurs!!! Luckily, I have a very talented friend that helped me out with the decorations...she made a fabulous banner, door sign and cupcakes toppers for me and they turned out perfect! Balloons (always a hit with the toddlers), a picture collage of Gibson and a candy-filled mason jar completed the decorations. We served brunch so we had muffins, donut hole skewers, mini quiche, sausage, fruit salad, bagels and cream cheese and your standard kiddo food. We also had some tasty adult beverages, Bloody Mary's and Mimosas which are very important to have at a kid's birthday party (or at least one that you attend at our house). Oh, and of course we had cupcakes with really sugary and colorful frosting!! We had fun celebrating with a lot of our friends but the highlight was definitely when Gibson ate his cupcake, priceless! Here's to a year that has already gone by, we had some rough times but I barely remember those now...can't wait to see what he has in store for us next!

Harper vs. Gibson @ 12 months

Gibson is 12 months old! `

Gibson:
-is eating A LOT
-still has milk 4 times a day & acts like it's the last drink he will ever have
-wants to walk really bad but after a few quick steps still falls to the ground
-claps when he likes something (usually music related)
-never strays too far from his mama
-weighs 18 pounds (exactly what Harper weighed at 1 yr)
-has the cutest giggle when he is tickled
-knows how to climb up on the couch in the play room
-is such a sweet boy and has the best smile

Happy One Year Gibson Ryder, we love you more then words can express!!!

Gibson vs. Harper @ 11 months

Gibson is 11 months old!

He...
-has 5 teeth
-loves to stick out his tongue (see picture)
-thinks rolling over on the changing table is a sport
-just learned how to clap
-likes to read stories with mommy
-eats only solids now
-finally gets up at a respectable hour in the morning (6-6:30am)
-likes to play guitar with daddy

Can't believe in a month you will be 1 year old, we love you little man!

He's already rockin!!!

Queso!

Gibson had his first taste of queso tonight at dinner...he was definitely a fan! He is on his way to becoming a true Texan, BBQ is next! :)

Father's Day

Grandma & Grandpa Lucas were visiting this weekend so we just hung out at the house and grilled for Father's Day. Earlier in the week though we colored in a card for daddy and Harper also answered some questions about daddy, see below.
Harper and Gibson have the best daddy...Harper runs and Gibson crawls to him when he gets home from work every day, they can't wait to see him! Thanks hubby for being such a wonderful man and loving daddy, we are very lucky to have you!

Fire Station Tour

I took Harper and Gibson to a tour of a local fire station on Friday with a group of Harper's friends, what a fun time we had! When we arrived they had the fire truck pulled out of the garage and they showed the kiddos their gear, then they opened up the fire truck for the kiddos to explore...and of course us mamas were taking tons of pictures! It was a really good time, I think we all enjoyed it!

Dance Class!

Harper is taking an 8 week dance class this summer...ballet and tap. She had her first class this week, she arrived in her leotard, tutu and tights ready to dance! She is taking class with 3 of her good buddies- Aria, Ellie & Nico...Ellie & Harper had lots of fun during class pretty much not leaving each other's side, it was adorable! Watching Harper through the window into the classroom she really listened to the teacher and followed instruction very well! I can't wait to see what each new class brings!

Gibson's 1st boat ride!

Memorial Day weekend we ventured out to the lake for the first time this season and hung out on the boat...we have our boat at a marina this year that gets our boat ready for us when we call ahead of time, so when we get there we just have to jump in and go, it's fabulous! On the down side, it's a 40 minute drive to the marina...which isn't a problem for Harper but that's a lot of drive time for Gibson, not including time on the water...so we will have to see what the summer brings but Gibson and I might be sending Harper and Daddy to the lake most of the time this season and we will just go occasionally (next year he will be older and it will be much easier). Gibson was a little unsure of this whole boat thing but he had fun crawling around and exploring the boat while everyone else was in the water!

Here are a few pics:

Splash Pad!

Gibson visited the splash pad for the first time this morning...he loved playing in the baby fountains with his friend Preston :)

Gibson is 10 months old!

My little stinker is 10 months old today!

Gibson is:

-eating lots of fingers foods now
-occasionally stands all by himself
-is STILL waking me up at 5:30 every morning!
-likes doing everything his sister is doing
-still only has 4 teeth
-likes to say mama & dada over and over again

He is a bundle of joy and we love him so much!

Harper vs. Gibson @ 10 months old

Preschool Graduation 2012

Last week Harper graduated from her first year (well technically half year) of preschool! She has made so many memories this year, made new friends, learned lots of new things and has adored her teachers...we can't wait to go back next year!

Here come the graduates!

Hmmmmm, I wonder what I should do with the rest of my life? ;)

Getting her diploma from her teacher Ms. Kari.

Playing Together

The kids having been playing together a lot lately...this is both good and bad...when they are getting along it's great...but unfortunately right now Gibson wants to get right in the middle of everything Harper is doing and she needs her space sometimes! Regardless, they are super cute and it's so much fun seeing them interact as brother and sister!

Mother's Day!

Breakdown of my Mother's Day-

Early wake-up call with Gibson...so took him on a run with me, beautiful morning, loved it!

Go with the fam and have brunch, yum!

Hang around the house and spend time with the kiddos!

Grill for dinner and make chalk pictures with Harper on the porch after dinner :)

Being a mom is the most rewarding, challenging and fulfilling thing I do...I wouldn't trade it for the world, I love being a mom!

Do you need a "wake up call??"

I think this is a very important article that every parent should read. It served as a "wake up call" of sorts for me because I am guilty of some of these things. Our children deserve our love and attention every day and the last thing that should get in the way of that is our Smart Phones!

An impromptu visit to the splash pad this morning turned into a lot of fun for the kiddos...Harper reported that the playground was too hot (she was right, no shade) so we stumbled upon this little dolphin friend and played with him instead! Summer has officially begun!

It's me!

I know I post plenty of pics of the kiddos on my blog so I thought I would throw in a pic of me that I took today! I am having fun with this 30 day picture sharing "snap hunt" that my photographer friend is doing...today we had to post a pic of a self portrait...this is me after a run with the kiddos...I was very hot but somehow I don't look terribly bad!

Harper vs. Gibson~ 9 months old

Happy 9 months Gibson! My little guy has 3 teeth and is getting ready to cut another one, he is crawling all over the place and wants to pull up on everything...he has also already started to cruise, I think I may have an early walker on my hands!!! He is eating lots of solids and getting familiar with finger foods. And he is doing much better at entertaining himself these days which helps mommy out a lot!

Operation Increase Milk Supply

I am a Stay At Home Mom, my "9-5" is my kids...so my latest adventure in motherhood is researching and implementing ways to increase my milk production, I know, exciting stuff right?!?! Gibson will be 9 months old on May 3rd, and I have been exclusively pumping milk for him since he was about 2 weeks old. I planned on breastfeeding him like I did with my daughter, but he had other plans. Pumping is quite time consuming but I decided I would keep doing it for as long as possible, breast milk is what is best for him so I will do what I can to make sure he gets it. Fast forward to the present, my milk supply isn't what it used to be so it has become apparent that if I don't make some changes quickly I won't have enough milk for him. I think I forgot to mention my goal is to make it a year, a year of only breast milk. This is what I have been doing, I have noticed a slight increase in production but I am hoping for a more significant increase soon, I am not going down with out a fight!!

-eat a bowl of oatmeal every day
-drink lots of water
-drink a cup of Mother's Milk Tea morning and night
-pump more often and for a longer period of time
-take Fenugreek tablets 3 times a day

Something else I am keeping in my back pocket, a little gem called Lactation Cookies...they look oh so delicious, but I think I will try other avenues before I start incorporating daily cookie eating into my diet ;)

So there you go folks, if anyone has any lactating questions, please feel free to ask...this is my life right now, would love to help another mama out if I can!

Howdy!

Walk & Play

I loaded up the kids today and headed to Town Lake for a walk to the Zilker Playground to play and walk back. We just took off the car seat attachment on the stroller so Gibson is a big boy now sitting right next to his sister and he loves it! The kids did great on the walk, I am just bummed that pretty soon it will get too hot for me to do that, unless I head out early in the morning...which is difficult to do with 2 little ones! On a side note, Harper is requesting her sunglasses on a regular basis now, whenever it's sunny she says "oh mommy, it's sunny, I need my sunglasses". I don't know what I am going to do with that girl.

Easter Fun 2012

Our Easter weekend was packed with lots of fun this year! It started for Harper earlier in the week when she had a fun Easter Party at school and went on an Easter Egg Hunt with her friends!! On Saturday morning we met up with friends at another Easter Egg Hunt, Harper was more into it this year but only for a short amount of time...then the playground was much more interesting! On Easter morning Harper had fun looking for eggs in the house that the Easter Bunny left and the kids opened their Easter baskets...after that we celebrated Easter with friends, we had brunch and hung out in their beautiful backyard and enjoyed the gorgeous weather! Gibson also had a fun first Easter and was full of smiles all weekend long! We also enjoyed a yummy ham, potato casserole and broccoli for dinner at our casa. Happy Easter y'all!