Spring Break part 1 - Gatlinburg (long post)

Spring break was a few weeks ago and we decided to meet Kristin and Neal down at a cabin in Gatlinburg for a few days. The pictures describe just how much fun we had! The cabin was so perfect for all of us and the view was incredible! Couldn't have asked for better (or more beautiful) accommodations. It was especially fun to meet baby Lucy for the first time! She was just such an angel! And so darn cute. And Marshall was a champ! He just tagged along and caught naps whenever he could get the chance. Ivy had a little bit of a hard time when we were at the cabin but when we were out and about, she was great! Anyways, there was only one day that was rainy/snowy but other than that, cool clear skies! We were able to get in some good hikes and sight seeing, and on the day that it rained, we went to our favorite indoor water park and stayed all day long. Thanks Kristin and Neal for driving your whole family out to visit us! We had a blast!

First hike- Laural Falls.. It was beautiful but a bit crowded... Seemed to be a popular tourist spot. Still super cool to see and a perfect hike for little kids:

After lunch we hit up downtown Gatlinburg and the Airtram up to Ober Gatlinburg ski resort:

Next morning, Neal and Sam went for a quick trail run in the park:

 

Wild Bear Falls Water Park! The kids had a blast while the mommy's hung out with the babies. ;)

 

The next day we did a little shopping in Pigeon Forge, then met up in the afternoon for one more beautiful hike in the park.. This one had a wide, flat trail so we decided to take the babies in the stroller. They were so warm and cozy and fell right to sleep within minutes! It was adorable. Marshall seems to like his cousin Lucy, so far. hehe:

Such a gorgeous place! Sam caught some amazing photos that really captured the beauty of our hike.. 

Family fun stuff

These are my three favorite people in the whole world. I love all the fun we have together. Especially when Daddy has days off from school! Sometimes the weeks can seem very long when tests come around but it is always rewarding to have him all to ourselves afterwards. About a month ago, we took just a day trip down to Gatlinburg to visit our favorite indoor waterpark. It was so nice to escape the winter weather we'd been having. Ivy had a blast having her dad all to herself the entire day and I had a relaxing time chilling with little dude. We took him in one of the warmer pools for a few minutes and he was a big fan.

A few weeks later, the weather started to warm up so we decided to take a little hike. Sam has become very familiar with all the different trails around the area so he took us along a shorter one to see some small water falls. Felt so good to be in the sun! And to feel the cool (very cold!) water on our toes. :) Can't wait for the trees to be green again! This will look like a very different hike, here in a couple weeks. 

Ivy Luella, growing up

This girl has done a lot of growing up these past couple months. I'm not sure baby brother rocked her world as much as all the other changes that came afterwards. She really is the most loving and helpful big sister when it comes to Marshall. But this past month or so has been a challenging one with her for a few different reasons...

First came the elimination of the binky. She lost her last one while I was in Birmingham and we had told her it was her last one, so bye bye binky! However, little did we know that also meant bye bye naptime as well, haha. Dangit.

Change number two came a few weeks later- I started toying with the idea of potty training her because both Sam and I were sick of changing diapers on both kids all day long and I knew she was ready. I tried pull-ups for a week or so then one day decided to go cold turkey because she just ended up treating the pull-up like a diaper. So bye bye diapers! It took about a week to really get it down but since then she's pretty much been accident-free! WOO! I think potty training is the worst part of parenting by far. Sooo glad that is behind us now. We still do pull-ups at night because she still can't quite hold it that long but I know she will get there eventually. I'm not too worried.

And finally, because she's been waking up quite a few times at night wanting to use the bathroom, we took the front of her crib off, so she now has a "big girl bed" and the freedom to be able to go on her own. She hasn't quite caught on to this concept yet though, so she usually just ends up screaming for us from her bed/room anyways, lol. But I wanted her to get used to it because we are getting her an actual bed soon so we can switch marshall to the crib.

There have been so many days (and nights!) that I ask myself what happened to my sweet baby girl with her awesome routine, but then I just remember all the changes we've made in her life that could be pretty tough to take in, baby included. Add that to a typical case of an over-emotional two year old girl (who was a pretty anxious child to begin with) and we've got ourselves some pretty darn fun parenting moments these past few weeks. 

I can't help but love her, though. She may drive me nuts sometimes (whenever I say this to her, she always says, "nuts?? mommy, I want some nuts!" haha) but she is so so smart and caring and will not be her crazy 2 year old self forever.. Or so I keep telling myself. ;-) She is after all, going to be 3 in just a couple months!

Marshall at 3 months

Marshall is already 3 months old this month and I can't believe how fast these weeks are just flying by! 

I know from my scale that he is well over 12 lb's already. And getting chunkier by the day! I love it. Breastfeeding is still going great. He still eats every 2-3 hours and I seem to have plenty of milk. He takes a couple cat naps in the morning, then a longer nap in the afternoon, then another cat nap in the evening. Nights aren't that great yet but I've just grown used to it, hoping he starts to go longer than his one 4-5 hour stretch..

He loves to eat his hands all the time these days. He's way more interested in his hands than toys for now. Occasionally he does grab at this toys under his little gym but for the most part, he loves to hold his hands together, roll them about, look at them, and slobber all over them.

He really is one happy kid. This is his face most of the time he's awake. Even when he gets tired, it's not a full blown cry, he just gets a little more noisy and wiggly until I wrap him up, give him his binky, and he relaxes. 

Loves the bumbo and loves to sit up still. I think he's going to be an early sitter from the way he straightens his back and tries to balance when I sit him on the ground. Still doesn't like tummy time but slowly getting better at it. And he can almost roll from back to his tummy; I'm sure it will happen in the next few days.

He really is the biggest snuggle bug. He is happiest and most relaxed when he's being held. Still loves to be rocked to sleep and I really don't mind since it only takes just a few mins to get him to fall asleep. As long as I lay off the caffeine that is, haha..

It's so crazy to me how much he is already a little baby and not a newborn anymore! Many of my friends are having babies right now and I can't believe how much bigger he already is than those tiny newborns! I just love my little man! He really has been so much fun.