Gman Starting Solids/Sitting Up and Almost Crawling!

We had planned to delay solids until 7 months. But after multiple days in a row of a grumpy baby dude and we could not explain the issues we decided to go ahead and offer some baby food. Only 1 week earlier than planned anyways... so no big deal!

We offered bananas first and he took them like a champ! Bananas are delicious.. so no real surprise. After he had his first meal he fell asleep and it was seriously the deepest sleep I have seen him have in weeks! So I am glad that he is getting some rest with a full belly! We will see how dinner goes.

Here are some photos of our fun day -o- first solids!

We Looooove Bananas! 

He is also sitting up like a champ! While Bastian was sitting by 5 months, Gabriel has shown no real interest... until now! By 6 months he was sitting by still using his hands to support his body. But then one day he decided that he had figured it out! And he has never looked back. We do still have the occasional topple, but he is doing great!

Sitting up like a champ! 6.5 months!

Gman also has his little heart set on mobility! We are not sure if we are excited or scared about this! He has crawling basics down.. but it is more the coordination of everything that seems to be the problem. I'm sure he'll figure it out sooner than later. And I will figure out how high things need to be and how I need to vacuum more often! That much I could live without!

He is super close to crawling as well!

Bastian loves to help where he can!

Bastian has been the best big brother ever! We were seriously worried when we were pregnant, let's face it... Bastian is not the calmest of children. But he has blown us away! He loves to give Gman toys and try to calm him down when he is upset.  We have had a few "Why is he crying?" " Because I poked his eye!" Moments and for that we are grateful! 

More to come on the Well Visits of Both Little Men. 

Belle Isle

It seems like every week we are finding something else that is super fun for our family! Our recent find was Belle Isle. An island that was used during the civil war as a prison. It has awesome hiking trails and we totally love it!

On the bridge to the island!

Bastian on the trails.

Bastian pretending to fish.

Bastian and his walking stick.

We had a ton of fun and we can't wait to find more exciting places!

Team Whitehead goes on Vacation!

We recently took a 12 day tour to see pretty much all of our Friends and Family that we  don't see often... This is what our trip looked like;

Hance and Bastian at our first stop!

Stop 1- Ashland KY- To see  Tony's Cousin Hance and his wife Stacy and their little lady Hider (who is 1 month younger than Bastian)





Stop 2- Bluffton, IN - To see Papa Ken and Grandma Brenda. We also got to see Uncle Steve and Uncle Richie

Stop 3- Niles, MI - To see our friends Stella & Austin

Stop 4 - Battle Creek, MI - To see military friends
 Bob & Lori and family and Jason & Nikki and family

Stop 5 - Auburn Hills, MI - To see our friends Steve & Kristina and Matt & Beth  and their babies of course!

Stop 6 - Ovid, MI - To see Tony's Family

Stop 7 - Mt. Morris, MI - To see my family

5 Generations!

Stop 8 - Grand Blanc, MI to see more friends

Stop 9 - Franklin, OH To see Jamey, Steph,
Cameron and Joey

Stop 10 - HOME!

Our trip was sooo much fun. All the parts that we were worried about were awesome and the entire trip was a blast! We learned that Thanks to a manual pump and a very mellow G-man that we can go on long trips with very little hassle. We even got to stop at the Newport Aquarium on the way home. That was a surprise from Tone Tone... I was super pumped!

It was great to see everyone. It was great to get out of our house for a while and recharge... but after all of that it was great to get home!

Here are a few more exciting shots from our trip!

Bastian and Gma Lou

Bastian & Great Great Grandma Mott

Bastian & Gma Beth in the pool!

Gman learning cards from Heat

#1 Turns 3!

Bastian's Pirate Party was a huge success!

We had a ton of fun planning( for months!) and setting up. Luckily my mom and Bill were in town so that made things quite a bit easier to tackle.

We had a huge table set up outside for the cake. And for Tony to show off his sweet swords!

We had a bunch of our friends and their little ones over... due to the crazy heat we stayed inside except for the cake part of the party of course!

This was how our kitchen island looks for the party. We had Eye Patches & Dip (Blue Corn Chips), Pieces of Eight (Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies), Cannon Balls (Whoppers), A Fruity Pirate Ship- To prevent scurvy( Watermelon) We also had Davey Jones Burgers and Salty Dogs on the grill!

The Whole Cake Table Set Up.

Of Course we had to decorate the chalkboard for Bastian's sweet bash! I'm not the best artist... but I learned that when having a pirate party... when in doubt add more skulls and crossbones.

We had a ton of fun and we are still working on those Thank You Cards!

3 Weeks Old!!

Bastian is adjusting amazingly! We are not having any more crazy temper tantrums! Which is such a blessing! We are already getting a routine in place! That is amazing! As of now our day looks like this.

Wake up

Bastian Bath/ Nurse Gabriel

Breakfast/Kitchen Clean up/Devotional Time (Gabriel watches all thee action from his bouncy seat on the island!)

Playtime/Puzzles with Mommy/Nurse Gabriel

Gabriel Naps/ Mommy and Bas Clean up/ Play

Bas lunch time/Nurse Gabriel

Bas nap time/Mommy and Gabriel Nap/ Nurse Gabriel

Prepare dinner

Bastian wakes/ Playtime

Dinner

Clean up/ Nurse Gabriel

Story time

Bed Time for Bas/ Nurse Gabriel

I am interested to see how much this routine changes over the next couple months...

Here is Bastian enjoying some yogurt on his yogurt mat! He misunderstood what we said... and decided that it was a great place for a snack!
One of our rare awake photos!

Another shot of our awake newest little man!

Other than that we are doing great! We are pretty certain Gabriel is going through a growth spurt, since today we have pretty much been nursing all day long!

Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
--1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, NLT

More of the Newbie and the family.

Bastian and Gabriel! It was only a couple of days of torture and then our sweet little Bastian started becoming sweet again! Now he loves to love on his baby brother! Sometimes he is still a little rough, but I'm not sure that's going to stop any time soon...

Gabriel tucked in tight in the Moby Wrap. We LOVE this thing! It is by far the best way to carry a baby.

Catching some adorable ZZZ's
Bastian meeting Gabriel for the first time. We was very sweet!
Tony holding Gabriel in the hospital.

All is well! Breastfeeding is going MUCH better. Gabriel is not looking jaundiced anymore and he is finally putting weight back on. He was not back to his birth weight by 2 weeks, which is ideal.. but the doctors are not concerned.

We are looking forward to our nonstop stream of visitors that will be here through February and March!

Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.

--Titus 3:14, NLT

The Newbie!

Grandpa Bill and Gabriel.

Cute baby dude all snuggled up...

The First Photo of Mommy Daddy and Gabriel! He was jut minutes old!