Summertime Portraits 2015

My sister Jordan snapped some quick pics of us in June. 

I still need to get some of these framed. She did a great job! It was so hot and humid. I remember the kids kept getting close to bees. Asher wanted to run off and play. But we got some good ones. Thankfully Jordan is a patient Aunt. :) 

Violet is 8! I loved this dress on her. 

Zander is 4.5! My little handsome.

Asher is 2! This little guy has got his Mama's curly hair. 

What's New?!

We have been enjoying summer! 

A couple weeks ago we took a family vacation to Destin, FL. That place is so beautiful! It was our second time to go there. It was just our little family of 5 that went this time. I'll post more about Destin later.

I ordered our curriculum for the upcoming school year. Violet will be a third grader. Zander will be Prek and Asher will be following along.

I've been consistently working out.  It's so hard to stick with it. Some days I'm at the gym for a class or it's lifting weights at home. The kids love to walk with me & go on bike rides. Matt got us all bikes & a bike trailer for the boys to ride along. We love family bike rides!

This past week I signed up to be a BeachBody coach. The company is so positive & has built a huge support group. I was excited to start drinking Shakeology since it's hard to find a yummy dairy free protein shake. The vegan chocolate & strawberry flavors are delicious! And the shakes are packed with superfoods. 

I will be posting more on my blog to share my health & fitness journey! 

Texas Bluebonnets

   We have been blessed to get see lots of beautiful bluebonnets this spring. 

There were so many on our weekend trip to Austin recently & a bunch close to our home.

 I had to take the kids for some pictures! 

(Austin, TX)

Violet

Zander

Asher

Asher's Second Birthday

Our baby turned 2 on April 15, 2015. That was a Wednesday so we took him out to eat for lunch. Then we had his Birthday Party on Sunday. We had planned to have it at Trinity Park to have a picnic at the playground and ride the miniature train. Well, there was an event on the same street as the park. We were in traffic for at least an hour. All of our family was calling me to say they closed the park for the day. So, we found a picnic area by the Zoo which happens to be right next to the other entrance to the train :) 

Turned out to be a super fun day! We played kickball, had a picnic & rode the train. It was Asher's first time on a train. He loved the "Choo-Choo". Both sides of our family came to celebrate. 

We gave Asher some presents to open at home. He loves Hot Wheels just like big brother! He also likes Robots, Planes, Dinosaurs & Daniel Tiger.

Opening presents!

So glad everyone rode the train with us. Lots of fun! 

Sweet Boy

Asher still has a dairy allergy. We have to be so careful with his food. I made him a chocolate chip cake with Oreo Buttercream frosting. Tasted great with dairy free substitutes!

Violet & Zander couldn't wait to get some cake.

We love you, ASHER MATTHEW! 

Zander Turned 4

Zander Paul turned FOUR on November 23 

We celebrated his birthday at our house. It was a Monster Truck them because he loves to watch Blaze and The Monster Machines. He got lots of fun toys at his party. 

I made a chocolate, dairy free cake with homemade marshmallow fondant. I had never used fondant of any kind before so that was a learning experience! But it was fun & Matt surprised me by helping out. He cut out the letters for his name & rolled out the fondant. Matt knows how to cook 2 things. Brats on the grill & smoked sausage in the skillet, lol. So it was fun to create the cake together. Funny story, I had a bag of food coloring gels that I borrowed from Jaley. I grabbed the navy blue & dumped it into the white fondant. It turned Magenta! The lids had been swapped. I almost cried and I pretty much threw a big, toddler fit. Then Matt added blue and we got purple. 

Zander loved his cake! He kept asking to peek in the fridge at it. There's something special about a homemade birthday cake. :)

Zander got a little shy while we sang "Happy Birthday". 

He had a great time being with his friends & family. It was a great day! 

I took him to the park for pictures a few days before his party. He got a fresh haircut too! Gosh, he looks so much bigger. He's very energetic & always making us laugh. A few nights ago, he was laying down with me and he cupped my check and said, "Mommy, I wub you & I fink I should take this off." Um, he was talking about a pimple. 

He loves counting and is very good at making patterns. I don't ever force him to do school work but sometimes he wants to join in with big sister. He surprised us & wrote "A B C D" all on his own. 

Oh, and his C's sound like "T". So, it's chocolate chip tookies, Santa Taus & Merry Tristmas! He's amazing and we love him very much.

Happy 4th, Zander!

Second Grade Curriculum 2014

We chose an all-in-one curriculum from Timberdoodle this year. Violet is in second grade and is 7 years old. Timberdoodle has chosen their favorite books for each subject from all different companies to make a ready to use kit for each grade. You should visit their site, so many awesome educational toys! 


We had to add in our own Science and History. I chose Story of the World: Ancient Times. We have the chapter book and workbook. 

For History we are using Apologia: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. There is a workbook that can go with this but Violet is journaling along with the chapters for now. 

I ordered Story of the World and the Apologia book through Rainbow Resource. They have a nice selection of learning material. That is also where I found that nifty MagnaTab for Zander. (He loves it!) 

We are a month into the new school year. I like how Timberdoodle encourages your child to learn independently. Violet's favorites are A Reason For Handwriting (lessons include Bible verses), Daily Geography and Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. The boys also love to browse her Science book. Story of the World is a nice textbook as well. We read one chapter at a time and it keeps her attention. She also enjoys the coloring worksheets and maps in the workbook. Some cons for Timberdoodle. I'm not crazy about having 3 math related books to teach from. Some days we only choose worksheets from one book. The books are Building Thinking Skills, Jump At Home and Mathematical Reasoning C.  

I think I'll do an update on her curriculum close to Christmas. 

Back To School Pictures

It's that time again!

We started our third year of homeschool a month ago.Violet is a second grader. Zander is doing preschool activities when he is up for it. He'd much rather be playing with Hot Wheels or outside. And Asher spends a lot of time exploring and climbing. 

We took school pics in front of our chalkboard wall in the hallway. The kiddos had fun telling me their favorite things. 

We are excited for the new school year! 

Goodbye First Grade

First Grade Was Fantastic!

We are preparing for our third year of homeschooling. Violet will be a Second Grader! I have a few more supplies to buy & things to organize before we start. We are excited!

We used My Father's World for our first grade curriculum. This was our second year to use this company. I first discovered them at a homeschool book fair back when I was researching what to do for kindergarten. Their easy to follow lesson plans & biblical approach was appealing to me. I also liked that it's an all-in-one curriculum. 

Violet also went to a christian co-op once a week. I would drop her off at 9 and pick up at 2:20. That was a lot of fun for her. Her favorite part was lunch & recess! They also had a lot of holiday parties & themed dress up days. 

First Grade was a little more challenging since our youngest learned to walk this year. That brings up another thing I need to get ready.....busy bags. I've been looking up ideas on Pinterest to keep Asher & Zander entertained during school. I picked up a few workbooks for Zander this year. He's starting to be interested in schoolwork. Some days Zander would join in & listen while Violet did her work. That was nice! 

I'm proud of our girl! Homeschool brings a lot of joy to our family.

Violet, Fall 2013

Violet, May 2014

End Of The Year Questions for Violet

1. I love learning about....Butterflies, Plants & Turtles.
2. What's your favorite lunch? Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich.
3. What was your favorite book you read? A Perfect Time For Pandas (Magic Treehouse)
4. What are you good at? Drawing and Singing.
5. What's your favorite show? My Little Pony.
6. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Kid Doctor.

Mama, Let's Snuggle

Zander is our wild child. 

Most days in our home you will hear a lot of this...

"stop pulling Asher's ears" 

"get off the kitchen counters" 

"Bring back Daddy's keys" 

"stop scratching Violet"

"where are your clothes?!" 

"Don't color the walls"

But then he has these moments where he just melts me. Today he smiled big & said, "let's snuggle Mama." So, we laid down for a few minutes together. I told him he's such a good boy & I liked seeing him act so kind. Then he kissed both of my cheeks like he usually does. 

I'll never say no to snuggle time with my cute babies! 

Asher's Eczema Update

The left was the day we visited the allergist. 

On the right was 4 weeks later.

 These pictures are about 8 weeks since his first Allergist visit. Doesn't he look amazing?! 

I would cry & pray for his skin not to hurt. It was so hard not knowing what was causing his skin to flare up into hives. He was always itchy. We followed the doctor's orders & used hydrocortisone on his face & steroid cream on his legs for about a week. By then he looked drastically better. Also, removing the foods that he was highly sensitive to greatly helped. He's allergic to dairy, eggs & peanuts. Now we know why he had such a bad flare up while I was on Whole30. I was eating eggs daily. Side note, the Allergist mentioned more than once that there is no way to know how much of what I'm eating is getting through my milk to effect him. The allergist kept saying this might just be how his skin is. But I think these results show that what mom eats effects baby! I mean, Asher was never eating eggs and his face still broke out. I am truly grateful for the doctor's help. So relieved that we know what foods to avoid & Asher will most likely outgrow these allergies. 

Now we take care of his skin through diet & I moisturize his skin at least twice a day. I don't like using steroid cream on him. It's been weeks since we've used it. I've been using Vanicream the past 2 months. It comes in a 1 pound tub & is affordable. I also give him detox baths with epsom salts & essential oils a couple times a week. 

At his 1 month check up to the Allergist, they said, "he looks like a completely different kid!" That made me feel good. For months I had been stressing over what was causing his eczema. Also, changing the way I eat has been hard too. But it was all worth it to help my boy! Asher still has very sensitive skin. There are spots on his legs that still get dry. Just recently he tried a sesame cracker and he got hives right away. I'm seeing this is a learn as you go thing. For now I'm doing my best & praying God will guide me to make good decisions. 

Easter 2014

Our little family on Easter morning. 

I bought the boys matching outfits to wear. Then couldn't find Asher's right before church. I think I cried because I couldn't find it. Then Matt found it hanging in Zander's closet. (oops!) But we made it to church. Then we had both sides of our family come to our house for lunch. It was a great day! 

As you can see, Asher is always on the move!

Happy First Birthday, Asher!

Asher is ONE!

Our baby turned one on April 15. 

We had a circus/carnival party at our house. 

Gigi (my mom) made Asher's adorable party t-shirt. 

He looked so cute! Since Asher is allergic to dairy & eggs that made it a little challenging for me to make him a cake. But I wanted him to have something special & I think cake smashing makes for some precious pictures. 

This is the recipe I used~ 

Decadent Chocolate Cake. Our guest said it was good & "fudgey". 

Asher pretty much just played in it & licked his fingers. :)

We also had corn dogs, fries, animal crackers, popcorn & moon pies. 

Everyone had fun posing with circus props. 

Asher walked all over the place trying out his new toys. 

(He picked up walking quick,btw!)

Happy Birthday, baby boy! 

We love you so much. 

You bring so much joy & happiness to our family. 

I am so thankful for you. 

Love & Lots of Kisses, Mama

Asher

 My sweet baby Asher. He's now 10 months old. We have been struggling with eczema since he was 4 weeks old. This has been a hard & frustrating journey. On his "good skin days" his face looks smooth like the above & below. So beautiful! Gosh, I love this boy.

 When he was 4 weeks he broke out all over in a prickly rash. We thought it was from the heat since it was mid May. He's always been hot natured. Our Pediatrician told us to try different laundry detergents. She also said to use no soap in the bath. Just a rinse, pat dry & to use pure vitamin E oil. We had been using All Free & Clear. We tried Dreft next. But it was scented & that wasn't good for him. We now use Ecos Free & Clear. Kind of pricey but it's very gentle. The rash started to fade & he seemed back to normal.

 The rashy spots would come & go. Usually on his face & back of legs. When he hit 4 months he started scratching his face & scalp. It was bad. There would be blood on the sheets. I tried keeping socks on his hands. It was absolutely heartbreaking. I never wanted to put any chemicals on his skin so I tried pure coconut oil & olive oil. It didn't help. The Pedi then told me to stop eating all dairy since he was breastfed. His face started to improve within a week of doing that. The below pics document from the day he went to the Dr. to a few days later. 

 Asher's eczema stayed on the back of his legs. I haven't seen his legs clear since he was about 3 months old. At 5 months old we took him to a pediatric dermatologist. The Dermatologist didn't spend much time with us. Blamed the rashes on his carseat & gave us a steroid cream (Fluticasone). I knew that was not the problem but we did what his said. We would lay a towel over the spot his legs would sit. The eczema on his face & legs didn't go away. The steroid cream seemed to burn his skin after the first use. It was awful! I had patted the smallest amount on the sides of his face. His eyes went bloodshot & he was screaming. I almost drove him to the ER. I washed his face before we left.  Then he started looking better. We stopped using Fluticasone & went back to coconut oil. 

Asher has since outgrown the infant seat & moved into a convertible car seat. The leg rashes have stayed. The spots on his face kept coming back. 

Some of the creams we tried were Aveeno eczema cream, Aquaphor, Shea Moisture baby ointment, Cetaphil, CeraVae, California Baby Calendula cream, Cetaphil Restoraderm, Metaderm, hydrocortisone ....I'm sure I'm forgetting some. We did find that pure shea butter relieved the dryness. 

When he was 9 months I started the Whole30 diet. I wanted to figure out what I was eating that was hurting him. Whole30 is 30 days of no grains, no soy, no legumes, no sugar, no dairy & no alcohol. I got to week 3 & his face was the most flared up it's been since he was 4 months. I thought this diet would for sure help him. I was only eating meat, eggs, vegetables & fruits. 

We took him to an Allergist a few days ago.  This picture was from waiting at the Dr. visit. Asher was incredibly itchy & uncomfortable. The baby skin panel test was done on his back. It took just a few seconds. I was able to nurse him & calm him down. 

Then we waited 15 min. to see what he reacted to. 

Asher is allergic to milk, eggs & peanut. I'm glad that I stopped eating dairy 7 months ago. During Whole30 I started eating eggs every morning. That seemed to trigger this flare up. The Allergist said most babies react to peanut during a skin test & he will most likely outgrow it. The Dr. was very helpful. Gave me lots of ideas on how to relieve the itch. 

Asher now gets 2 baths a day. We have to put an antibiotic cream on his legs, then a more mild steroid cream. For his face we use 1% hydrocortisone. Followed up with Vanicream all over his body.  We will do this for 5 days & then have a follow up appt. with the Doctor. 

I'm relieved to know for sure what foods were triggering his eczema. We had been guessing since he was 4 weeks old. Asher has started eating solids so this news is very helpful to us. I'm praying we can get his eczema stable & relieved soon. I never wanted to stop breastfeeding. For me, giving him soy formula was not an option. I'll post an update on Asher's progress soon.

Life is pretty Sweet

My family is sound asleep & I have a rare quiet moment. Feeling really happy and content. 

Thankful for God's love and blessings. 

Look at this scrumptious little cutie! Asher's first time to "sit with the pumpkins".  

Those big, brown eyes melt my heart. 

 Violet is now a first grader. This is our second year of homeschooling. We love it! 

So grateful for this season in our life.

 Zander will be 3 next month! Feels like his baby phase went by too fast. 

He wants a Jake & The Neverland Pirates birthday :)

 Violet & Zander decided to pull out a box of old clothes. They said it was a bubble bath. 

Of course, Asher needed to join them! 

Matt, Asher & I on our date a few weeks ago ;)