We were all so excited to meet her and I was especially happy to see how sweet Kelton was with her.
I had a horrible cold, hence the face mask. There was no way I was going to wait to get my snuggles in!! I also can't help but notice how young Eric and I looked before 2 food allergic non-sleeping babies aged us about 20 yrs. ;)
We had a little party for her on Saturday. The weather wasn't exactly cooperative, but luckily the bounce house we rented fit perfectly inside the garage! It was Little Einstein's Rocketship.
Konny chilled and enjoyed all the fun wearing this cute outfit that belonged to Kelton. Most boy clothes are pretty timeless, huh?
Kelton
After plenty of bouncing, we had Strawberry Shortcake cake.
We all had a great time and we were really glad to get to have a fun party for Layla! And we definitely think we'll be renting that bounce house again!!
Oh my goodness, I love love love the fall! In October the days aren't 100 degrees anymore and the nights are actually cool! As much as I enjoyed using my crockpot all summer, I've been super excited to start using it this fall for all the yummy soups, stews and roasts that are just the best for this kind of weather!
Also the best for this kind of weather? Super cute outfits like this one!
One of the first things I had to have was mulled wine....
sutter home cabernet sauvignon cranberry apple juice cinnamon sticks whole cloves orange rinds S Martinelli's mulling spices
We've also had ham and beans, chicken taco soup, greenbeans and potatoes, and a roast with veggies. This weekend we did two crockpots full of pear butter, made a pear pie and put 3 gallon sz bags of pears in the freezer. Katie helped peel and core them.
I really liked babylegs when Katie was a baby and now that she's older she has even more pairs and loves wearing them. I love how easy it is to change a diaper (or help Bugs to the potty) without taking them off.
Konnor
Katie
Since I had some gymbucks to spend awhile back, I got Layla and Konnor some peace gymmies to match Katie and Kelton's. There is nothing more fun than matching jammies!
Of course I'm still out shopping for bargains when I get the chance. In order to keep up with Katie's wipe habit (she's constantly cleaning everything in the house with wipes, including Konnor - although he doesn't appreciate it much), I hit every wipes deal I see. These were from Target for only $10.98.
I do a large majority of my shopping at Dillons because they double coupons. I got picked up this last night for $19.79. I've recently fallen in love with Athenos spicy 3 pepper hummus. How could I resist stocking up when they're a super great deal?!?
How lucky we were to be given the homework of building an animal habitat diorama. I picked up supplies at Dollar Tree (the kids think that place is fabulous) and it didn't take Daddy and Moose long to whip it out....
Only one more week until Halloween! We need to break out the skeleton jammies and boo the neighbors! Can't wait!!
Some of our best friends recently found out that they're having a girl. I'd been saving some of my very favorites from Katie's clothes, just in case.
I'm so excited for them and will be happy to see these super cute outfits on another special lady in our lives, but I couldn't help but get a little sniffly when I was packing them up. They're just beginning this exciting phase in life, yet it's a phase we're ending. This time, every first (smile, tooth, word) is our last.
While I do sell some of our gymbo on ebay, handing down clothes is one of my favorite things to do! I have delighted in dressing Buggy since she was born and I love seeing her clothes on other little princesses!
Some goes across the street to the neighbors, including these matching jammies..
I've also sent a couple boxes to Eric's cousin in OH. I can't wait to see their gorgeous daughter as a ladybug at halloween..
I'm putting together another box to send up soon with some of these favorites...
Some of Konnor's clothes have gone to a church friend who had her first boy this year and a bunch more of them to a life long friend who's in labor with her very first baby right now!! It's really important to me to always pay it forward and this is just one of the ways we're able to do that!
Has it really been 3 wks since I blogged last? We've had lots going on, so I'm going to try to wrap it all up here at once......
I've been eager to show off the custom necklace from BAW Stamped Designs I ordered for Yvette's bday. The necklace says Nana and has all the K-Kids birthstones dangling in the middle. Unfortunately the it got lost in the mail and didn't make it in time for her surprise bday party, but the seller made another which ended up arriving the same day as the first! She had awesome communication and the necklace is gorgeous! I will definitely be a repeat customer!
Katie has started a little dance class specifically for very young girls. She's a little timid still, but loves getting dressed up to go.
Kelton started Boy Scouts this year! He's really excited to get his uniform and start earning badges!
Homemade watermelon kiwi fruit roll ups, anyone? Tasty, but not really worth the effort.
One of the biggest changes lately is that Layla staying with us for a few wks. She'll probably be with us another couple months and we love having her!!
I found the kids some gel window clings at Target's Dollar Spot. So much fun for only $1 each!
Another big thing is Konnor starting solids!! YEA! He's had carrots and pears! He opens up like an eager little birdie. It's super cute!
On a less super cute level, we've discovered Konnor has FPIES (Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome). This presented itself when E gave him a bottle of soy formula and he vomited for hours and hours until he was literally too weak to move. He'd had a bottle one other time with the same rxn, but we mistakenly thought it was a tummy virus. Talk about confirming my belief that my babies absolutely DO NOT need formula. I'm relieved this will no longer even be up for discussion. I immediately removed soy from my diet in addition to any bits of dairy I was still consuming. We'll also be moving slower with solids as there are lots of common FPIES triggers and many of them are first foods.
Prayers would be appreciated that we don't discover anything else that causes a rxn as it's very frightening and can be quite dangerous. We're scheduled with the allergist mid month and maybe consulting with the GI as well, especially since we've recently started on a reflux med.
Upsetting and stressful, but isn't he cute? I cannot get enough of this man! He's still working on sitting and has some left side weakness. Hopefully we'll be done with PT by the end of the year!
Must be God's way of taking my mind off all the stress we've had lately, because I've have a streak of luck again and won some more blog giveaways! It's fun waiting for them to arrive in the mail.
And CleanWell sent me a full sz hand sanitizer plus a bunch of coupons from a facebook promotion they had over the summer.
The fall is our favorite time of year and camping in the backyard is always part of that!!
This year in order to maximize our giving potential around the holiday season, I had decided to give up coffee shops during the months of Oct and Nov. Since I can no longer have soy or dairy, that idea is kind of out the window. We'll still be saving money because I literally CAN'T have lattes, but I feel like it's not really a sacrifice anymore because it's out of my hands. I really want my children to learn about generosity and how important it is to live compassionately for everyone and everything in life.
God has blessed me with a pretty wonderful life.
I work part time as a dental hygienist and the rest of the week, I'm at home with 2 yr old baby Konnor and 4 yr old Katie while my big boy Kelton attends 3rd grade! I really enjoy my job and love my family to pieces. I have an absolutely wonderful husband, Eric, who is the love of my life and my best friend. We try to make the most of every day and couldn't be enjoying our little family more!
I orginally started this blog as a way to cope with Katie's colic, reflux and food issues. While she's still totally gluten free (but successfully eating dairy), over time, she's slowly gotten better and the blog morphed into all the fun times of our growing family.
In addition to Katie's gluten intolerance, we manage Kelton's tree nut allergy and Konnor's soy and dairy FPIES and peanut allergy. It'd be too easy for them all to be allergic to the same stuff, huh? Thankfully, I'm an genius in the kitchen. ;)
