Trace's Dedication

Trevor, Trace, and Keri

Trace in his little suit and tie



We dedicated Trace to the Lord today. It was a good service and most of our family was able to attend, which was nice. Trace wore a suit and tie, that some good friends of ours gave us, so he was looking pretty stylish. Afterwards, our family came back to our house for lunch.  It was the first full course meal I have made since Trace was born.

Trace is 2 Months Old Today!!!

Our little man

Trace "talking"
Buddy smiling...

Our little guy is growing up. It seems like his personality is starting to develop, as he is really starting to smile and "talk" whenever anyone looks his way. He has a great big smile and the cutest little voice. Trace has begun moving his arms and legs a lot lately. He loves lying underneath his play gym and loves smiling at all his little toys hanging above him. His smile can light up a room. We sure love our "little man".

Trace is doing really great with his routine. He wakes up around 6:30-7:00 AM and eats every 3 hours. His last feeding of the day is at 10:00 PM and then he sleeps all night. Occasionally he will wake up a little earlier (5:40 AM), but that is rare these days. He eats 6-7 times/day. After Trace eats, he plays, and after he plays then he takes a nap until his next feeding. He is eating about 4 oz per feeding when given a bottle. He takes the bottle really great. The girls love giving Trace a bottle every now and then. We are so blessed by our little guy!!!

I'll leave you with a couple funny comments: 

I took Kaylee and Kianna to the St. Patrick's Day parade on Tuesday with some friends of ours. The weather was in the mid 70's, which was amazing for around here! Anyway, the day before the parade, Kaylee was talking about the parade and said "Mom, parades are where you try and get candy before the kids next to you, right!?" I couldn't deny it, although I never would have described it that way in the past. In fact, they were pretty chinsey on the candy, so her comment proved to be very true!!!!

We frequently call Trace "Buddy". For example, we'll say "Hey Buddy, how you doing?", etc. Well Kianna has picked up on this and has starting saying things like "Mom, Buddy spitting up" or "Buddy so cute".  It is adorable hearing things from a child's perspectives!

Trace is sleeping through the night!!!

Just wanted to share some exciting news...

Trace has slept through the night the past two nights. I am so excited to say the least. His last feeding is at 10:00 PM and then he has made it until 6:20 and 6:30 AM respectively the past two nights. Way to go Trace!!! We swear by the book Babywise, as Kaylee slept through the night at 4 weeks and Kianna and Trace at 7 weeks. The book recommends getting your child into a routine of eating, playing, and then sleeping in that order. The idea is that if you nurse your child to sleep then in the middle of the night if they wake up they will want to eat to go back to sleep. However, if they have awake time AFTER eating then if they wake up they are able to soothe themselves back to sleep. Babywise basically just teaches good sleep habits along with some other tips and I LOVE IT!!!

Theological discussions with a 2 and 4 year old...

Our Growing Family

Trace smiling- 6 weeks old (Notice the nice wet spot on his shirt, proof that he continues to have reflux issues.)
Trace wearing his first sweater and blue jeans. How cute is that...
First cousin picture with our newest addition (Kaylee, Kianna, Bryker, and Trace)

We have had a rough few weeks. It began with both girls having bad colds, followed by Kianna's turning into an ear infection and Kaylee's into a sinus infection. Then while still recovering, Kaylee ended up getting a VERY BAD case of the stomach flu which lasted for FIVE days and of course Kianna ended up getting the stomach flu as well for FOUR days. Thankfully, Trace and I never got the stomach flu and Trevor only had a mild ONE day version of it. I'm proud to say we survived all the vomit and diarrhea and are all currently healthy...knock on wood!!!

Trace is doing great! He is beginning to smile and coo more and more. He has also begun stretching out his night time feeding from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM lately.  I'm anxious for him to sleep through the night and am hoping it will happen in the next few weeks. Oh to sleep again without waking in the middle of the night...ahhhhh

Well today was a pretty exciting day at our house. This morning we had playgroup at Chuck-E-Cheese. The girls had a blast playing with their friends and Mommy had fun visiting with hers. We came home for nap time and afterwards played outside in the 60 degree Iowa weather! Yea!!! We are all so ready for Spring. Once Daddy came home from work, we all went over to Trevor's sister's house for Bryker's 1st Birthday Party. Bryker succeeded in getting his chocolate b-day cake all over his face and hair to the point of needing a bath afterwards. It was a fun party. It is hard to believe he is already one!!!!

On the way home from Bryker's party, Kianna randomly began talking about how she wants her doggy. We weren't quite sure what she was talking about, but she just kept saying it over and over, as only a 2 year old can. I finally asked her if she was talking about Allie, our dog that died last spring, and she said yes. I told her Allie was in heaven and that we all want her to come back, but that once someone is in heaven they can't come back. She proceeded to talk about how she wanted her back anyway. Kaylee began talking about how "everyone" goes to heaven. I took the opportunity to ask her "who" goes to heaven and she said she wasn't sure. I told her that people go to heaven only if they have asked Jesus to forgive them for their sins and ask Him to come into their heart. Kaylee said "I asked God into my belly, or stomach, or wherever he is supposed to be". Trevor and I tried hard not to laugh at her precious statement. Kianna, our stubborn one, said "Jesus is not in my heart". Trevor told her that Jesus IS in her heart because she is still so little and can't ask Him to come into her heart herself. She again said "Jesus IS NOT in my heart". We couldn't see her, as it was dark outside, but I'm sure she was looking at her "heart" trying to find Jesus and not finding him...

Trace is 1 Month Old Today!!!

Trace continues to be a very content "little man", who really only cries when he is hungry. I have recently begun noticing a few changes in him. He is beginning to really focus on faces and objects and is in the beginning stages of tracking movement with his eyes. He is also beginning to smile more and more, which is always fun. He is also beginning to have more awake time during the day. He is on a pretty good schedule eating every 3 hours during the day. His last feeding of the night is at 10:30 PM and then I let him go as long as he can during the night. He typically wakes up to eat between 2:30-4:00 AM and then again at 6:00 AM. I would prefer his first feeding of the day be between 7-8:00 AM, but he typically doesn't make it that long, although he made it to 7:00 AM this morning, which made Mommy very happy!

He has now rolled over a total of 3x from his tummy to his back, which continues to amaze me! He is starting to move his arms and legs more now and is just beginning to make some cooing noises. It is fun watching him "come alive".  

He got his first cold this month. I guess it was somewhat inevitable considering the girls were both sick with fevers and bad coughs last week. I took him to the doctor on Monday to make sure it wasn't RSV and was encouraged by the negative nasal swap. He has kind of had a rough month with lots of medications. He was on Nystatin for 2 weeks due to he and I passing thrush back and forth via breastfeeding. That regiment finally ended on Tuesday thankfully. He is also on a generic form of zyrtec for acid reflux. The medicine seems to be helping a little, but he continues to spit up excessively. I also just started putting in some antibiotic eye drops due to his left eye having excess matter in it throughout the day. Hopefully that will clear up quickly. Although he has been on multiple medications over the past month, thankfully they have all been for minor ailments. He is growing quite well and his face is really beginning to fill out. He weighed 10 lb 3 oz at his doctor's appointment on Monday, January 16th. 

Kianna's New Haircut

Kianna's Cute New HaircutGirls with their bears dressed in their new Hawkeye and Tinkerbell Outfits

My sweet little "Nana Bear" as we like to call Kianna is back! She must have really been feeling miserable last week because she was a totally different little girl. I'm so thankful she is back to herself. I took her yesterday to get her haircut and thought I would share a picture of how cute she looks. It was her 2nd haircut, but her first major haircut. The first haircut took off about an 1/2" and this time we took off 2-3". She was a little timid at first, until I told her she would get a sucker if she was good. The moment she was finished she asked for her sucker, so she definitely was thinking of that sucker the whole time. It was cute because she told the stylist that she needed to get a treat for "Kiki Bear" (AKA: Kaylee) too. Kaylee was in preschool at the time and Kianna was so excited to give Kaylee her treat that she actually unwrapped it for her and the moment she saw Kaylee she attempted to shove it into Kaylee's mouth. It was very sweet! 

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne are on their way back to Arizona right now. We really enjoyed their stay and all of their help. I am on my own for the first time in 4 weeks and so far today has gone really well. There have been so many distractions over the past month that it is kind of nice getting back into our own routine. We had a relaxing morning spent with reading books, playing with dolls, and of course feeding Trace. 

And he rolls...

Our little valentines...

Trace with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne

Okay, so I have always been skeptical when people have told me that their newborn rolled over. I have always thought it was a fluke and "not for real". Well I stand corrected. Yesterday, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne had Trace on his belly doing some "tummy time" when to their surprise he rolled over. I was in the shower at the time and when they told me he rolled over I admit I didn't believe them. So, I put Trace in the middle of the blanket on his tummy and to my surprise HE ROLLED OVER AGAIN! I couldn't believe my eyes! Of course once I ran for the video camera to document this momentous feat he got camera shy or a little tired, after all he had already done it TWO times at the ripe age of 3 weeks old!

Trevor surprised me by flying Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne here from Arizona. It has been great having them here to visit and help out. They have enjoyed meeting Trace Curtis who was named after my dad, Wayne Curtis Gaskill. I am so thankful that they have been here helping me this week, as it has a been a hectic week. Kianna has been sick since Sunday with a fever and not the easiest to deal with. We took her to the doctor yesterday and she has an ear infection. The antibiotics seem to be helping her be more herself again, so that is good. Unfortunately, she has also been having more potty accidents this past week, which has been a little discouraging. In addition, I think Kaylee is starting to get sick now, as she has had a low fever this afternoon. I don't know what I would do without my dad and Sue here with me. Trevor has also been a tremendous help to me in the evenings. The late night feedings have been catching up with me and so this week Trevor has been giving Trace his last feeding of the day so I can go to bed a little earlier. That has been such a blessing! Thank you honey for all you do for me!!! 

My dad and Sue are here until the 18th and then the real test begins when I have to prove to myself that I can handle 3 kids ages 4 and under "all by myself". It is challenging trying to give each of the kids the attention they need and deserve, especially the girls. Pray for me as I strive to be the best Mommy I can be.