1/3 Gluten-Free!

Sausage Potato Bake & Parenthood on Hulu for dinner the other night :)
(Recipe link below)

I remember on our first date Andrew told me he had Celiac's disease (meaning his body can't process gluten) as we tried to figure out where to eat dinner. I'd never heard of Celiac's and spent the our first year of marriage in a crash course learning what that meant and how the heck to cook without gluten. It has definitely helped that the gluten-free diet trend has exploded lately, making resources, grocery stores, and restaurants much more Buckle-friendly. I remember in the airport on our way back from our honeymoon seeing someone reading Wheat Belly in the customs line and still not knowing what I was getting into. I spent HOURS on Google, Pinterest, reading label after label at the grocery store, trying desperately not to poison my husband while still managing something tasty to eat for dinner.

Weekly baking: Banana Chocolate Chip Bread/ Muffins & Homemade Granola Bars
(Recipe links below)

FAQ's:

• Am I gluten-free since Andrew is?
• I say I'm 1/3 gluten-free since I eat my normal stuff for breakfast and lunch (gluten-filled cereal and sandwiches on wheat bread). We eat dinner together, so it's always gluten-free.
• Do I feel better since eating less gluten?
• I honestly can't tell a difference, but since I'm only 1/3 gluten-free, I probably don't have a valid answer. But since stuff like sweets are so much more work--I can't just pour brownie mix into a pan and pop it into the oven; everything has to be made from scratch basically-- I usually decide it's not worth the trouble. :) So I probably am way healthier since I'm a lazy cook!
• What are your favorite gluten-free resources?
• Google. Pinterest. 
• Vitacost.com... They sell gluten-free products for way cheaper than the grocery store, plus free shipping if you spend enough!
• Will Graham have Celiac's disease?
• We won't know until he starts eating solid foods. We will feed him normal stuff until he acts sick, and then that will be the first thing my doctor will check for. I really hope our kids don't have it, but it is hereditary, so there's a good chance they will. Luckily, this disease is easily kept under control simply by eating zero gluten. 
• What are your favorite gluten-free recipes?
• 
  



Zucchini Lasagna!! Yum!
(Link below)



• Crockpot Cream Cheese Taco Soup
• Sausage Potato Bake
• Crockpot Tuscan Chicken
• Zucchini Lasagna
• Black Bean Soup
• Chicken & Cheese Lasagna Roll-ups (just use GF noodles)
• Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki 
• Roasted Squash & Zucchini
• Banana Bread/ Muffins (we add chocolate chips)
• Granola Bars:
• 3 cups GF oats
• 1.5 cups Rice Krispies
• 3/4 cup of melted peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• Mix it all together and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes! Delish!
• For dessert, we usually do things that are naturally GF, like ice cream, Puppy Chow, or Rice Krispie treats. But I do have some yummy recipes for brownies, cookies, cakes, etc. if you're interested! Let me know. :)

I am still navigating this GF world, but after a year, I feel like it is totally doable!! I'd love to hear your favorite recipes if you're GF!!

What I'm Reading...

I read What To Expect religiously throughout my pregnancy to figure out what the heck was happening to my body and to know how little Grahammers was developing too, so it seemed natural to continue in the series in referencing What To Expect- The First Year each month. BabyWise is also something I'm continually looking back at, to make sure we're moving in the right direction of Graham's schedule of eating/ waking/ sleeping to be right for his age.

Check out that worn cover of BabyWise!
Okay, okay, it is from a yard sale, but I am CONSTANTLY referencing it. :)

Besides the practical things of keeping our baby nourished, safe, and well-rested, I wanted to start reading some parenting books too, more on the spiritual/ philosophical level. Andrew and I really want our parenting to be gospel-based and grace-driven. There are tons of good books out there, and I have a list of recommendations I'm still going to work through. I started with Shepherding a Child's Heart, mainly because I already had it. :) When I worked in college ministry full-time, we read certain chapters of it one semester as we tried to disciple students by focusing on the heart instead of outward actions. This is how we want to raise little Graham too- getting to the heart-level with him so he can see his need for Jesus and be drawn closer to Him. I desperately want my sweet baby to know His Savior at a young age and grow into a man who worships the Lord...

And I am continually reminded that I need to be experiencing Jesus more in my heart to be able to overflow into Grahammers' life. So I am also reading A Praying Life and Kisses from Katie for my own growth. I read A Praying Life when Andrew and I were dating, and I remember talking to him about it. Now I am re-reading it with our community group from church. We just started, but I am so excited to renew my thoughts about coming to my Father as a needy child in prayer. I know tons of my Memphis friends read Kisses from Katie a few years ago, but I never got a copy of it until now. I basically just wanted a book to read through without really studying it, and randomly grabbed it to give me something to do while nursing. Let me just say, it is AWESOME. It's the true story of a teenage girl from Brentwood, TN, who graduates high school and moves to Uganda to work with children. She ends up adopting 14 little girls and starting a ministry there to provide people basic needs, health care, and to share the love of Christ. I'm not even halfway done with the book yet, but am already becoming increasingly disgusted by my selfish and materialistic heart and increasingly enamored by the love of Christ. I'm serious, this book is good stuff.

Other parenting books that have been recommended to me, and I hope to get around to reading at some point... (This is more for me so I don't have to keep up with my paper list anymore!):

1. Growing Grateful Kids
2. Bringing Up Boys- Dobson
3. Loving the Little Years- Jankovic
4. Give Them Grace- Fitzpatrick
5. Grace- Based Parenting
6. The Mission of Motherhood- Clarkson
7. Love and Logic, The Early Years
8. Everyday Talk- Younts
9. Gospel-Centered Family- Chester
10. Teach Them Diligently- Priolo
11. Discipleship in the Home- Friedeman
12. Treasuring God in our Traditions- Piper
13. Family-Driven Faith- Baucham
14. Say Goodbye to Whining- Turansky/ Miller
15. Future Men- Wilson
16. Don't Make Me Count to 3- Plowman
17. Disciplines of Godly Families- Hughes
18. Duties of Parents- Ryle
19. Wise Words for Moms- Plowman
20. The Shaping of a Christian Family- Elliot
21. A Mother's Heart- Fleming
22. The Strong-Willed Child

This list mainly came from people's recommendations on a Facebook poll I took, so pass on your suggestions if your favorite book didn't make the list! 

Typical Day with Grahammers

Learning to smile for the camera!

Can't believe I get to hang out with this little dude every day!!

Can I just start by saying how much I LOVE staying home with my sweet baby? I never thought in a million years it would be so enjoyable, but it truly is. I love being a mom to little Grahammers, especially now that I'm getting some sleep at night. :) The first 6 weeks of his life are a little bit of a blur because of the lack of sleep, but around that time I really started wanting to get on a schedule. Graham was already on one, but I wanted one for myself. I am an ESFJ after all. :) So for the last few weeks, this has been a typical weekday for me:

7am ish- Rise and shine to Graham's screams for breakfast. Feed Graham, change diaper, put him in a cute new outfit for the day (or most likely for just a few hours before he spits up all over it), practice smiling. He is just learning this new trick! Put Graham on the elephant activity mat  to kick and squirm and bat at the animals hanging over him while I eat breakfast and watch a little of the Today Show. Andrew usually gets back from working out around this time, and we all have a little morning snuggle time.

8:15am- Put Graham baby down for a nap in his Rock 'n Play. Andrew heads to work at some point here. I spend some time with Jesus, in the Psalms lately, trying to let God's promises penetrate my heart. If there is laundry piling up, I'll throw in a load. Then I pump for a rainy day, followed by a short at-home workout. I've been loving GR Dance Fitness with Mandy on YouTube lately. I want to start running again in the spring when the roads aren't covered with ice, but until then, Zumba-type workouts have been good for me to start getting back into shape. 

10am- Feed Graham, change diaper, play time. I usually spend time reading/ singing to him, having a mini photo shoot, Skyping with Nonnie, doing tummy time, etc. 

11:15am- Put Graham down for a nap. Jump in the shower, eat lunch, fold laundry, do dishes. I might sneak in an episode of The Bachelor or Parenthood while eating and doing chores. :) If I'm smart, I'll throw something in the crockpot for dinner. One of my staples is Cream Cheese Chicken Chili. 

1pm- Feed Graham, change diaper. This is when we usually get out of the house. Running errands or playdates is typically the plan. We love hanging out with our neighborhood friends! So many babies on the block!

Graham and Cooper :)

Chapman was born just a few days ago!!
Chapman, Charlotte, Graham

4pm- Feed Graham, change diaper. Put him in the Baby B'jorn to help me cook dinner if I forgot about the crockpot.  He usually falls asleep on me right around the time Andrew gets home from work.

5:15pm- Put Graham down for a nap. Finish cooking and eat with the hubs. I say I'm 1/3 gluten free because my husband has Celiac's disease... so all of our dinners are gluten free. More on that another day.

7pm- Feed Graham, let Andrew change diaper. :) Daddy- Graham time. LOVE seeing Andrew love on our little boy!! He's a natural dad.

My boys ready for the New Year!

8:15pm- Put Graham down for his last nap. Relax with the hubs.

10pm- Feed Graham while Andrew reads the Jesus Storybook Bible to him, let Andrew change his diaper and get him ready for bed. Kiss our sweet baby goodnight and climb into bed ourselves, praying for a good night's sleep.

Whew. Some days I just chuck the schedule and do what I want when Graham's sleeping, but this has helped bring some kind of order into my life. I like it. 

The Grahaminator at 2 months

Weight: 10 lbs, 1 oz. 

Height: 22 and 1/4 inches

Clothing size: Moved from Newborn to 0-3/ 3 months a few days ago. Sad to pack away the NB clothes, but so fun that he gets a new wardrobe every couple of months! I'm pretty jealous.

Diaper size: 1 (We switched to size 1 at about 6-7 weeks. We had planned on starting cloth diapers at 1 month, but we had so many disposable diapers given to us that we're still making our way through them. I'm not complaining since it makes my life way easier. :))

Yawning through Christmas morning.

I love our little family.

Feeding: Nursing did not come naturally for me. I'd heard it was hard, but I was not expecting the pain of a little biter or for it to feel like a full-time job.  I realized that it takes about 30 hours a week to feed this baby! Crazy. But I'm convinced it's the best thing for little Grahammers, so we're plugging along. Any moms out there have suggestions for what to do while nursing? I've been playing on Facebook and Pinterest but am getting bored out of my mind! And I meant to put this in the last post, but I couldn't live without and am still using a shield for my little pirana, and for the first month I constantly wore gel pads. These both were LIFE SAVERS. I've also been trying to get used to pumping so Graham baby can get used to the bottle. The first bottle attempt (at about 3 weeks) was a complete failure, with the milk coming out so fast he looked like he was choking and drowning. A friend gave us the Medela Special Needs Bottle which lets you adjust the speed of the milk flow and has been AMAZING! He's still eating well every 3 hours.

Sleeping: His first night in the crib was awesome, but every night since then has not been so awesome... There doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason to if he'll have a good night or not. Flip a coin. Most nights this month I got up to feed him around 3am, with random crying before and after that. He's just not a fan of the crib. But... HE SLEPT THROUGH HIS FIRST NIGHT LAST NIGHT!!! Yesssssssss! Hoping this continues... He has also been taking awesome naps in his Rock 'n Play during the day.

Milestones: Better head control. Focusing on our faces, sometimes. First real smiles (I think in response to us, not just gas or randomness)!!! Baby zits clearing up! New year! Sleeping through the night!!!! 

Likes: Snuggling! His elephant activity mat. Tummy time. Riding in his carseat.

Christmas morning snuggles.

Love seeing these two snuggle. :)

Dislikes: Baths. His crib.

He sure knows how to communicate his dislikes. :)

Adventures: Starting Christmas traditions with Mommy and Daddy. Lots of family visiting around Christmas. Lots of playdates with friends. First practical joke- Magi Bombing. Surviving Blizzard 2012 (we just hibernated). New Year's Eve party.

Magi bombed!!

What we couldn't live with out: Daddy being at home the first month (I was seriously spoiled!). Our awesome video monitor (thanks Uma!). BabyWise.. We don't follow it exactly, but definitely for the most part. It has been sooo helpful learning how to schedule his eating, waking, and sleeping schedule. 

Newborn Pic's

I have been dying to post these pictures, but wanted to wait until we'd given them all out as Christmas presents to our family. :) Graham's newborn pictures turned out even better than I could have imagined. We ended up having two sessions when he was about 1.5 weeks old. First, our good friends the Lurkers hauled all their photography equipment over to our house and worked their magic with little Graham. They braved the space heaters (to keep little Grahammers asleep) and being peed on (during the naked shots) to take picture after picture in different sweet poses with different cool props... not to mention all the special lenses and other photography stuff that was going on behind the scenes that I had no idea about.  I am in LOVE with these pictures, and we are so grateful to Amy and Drew for doing this for us!! They did the session as a favor to us, but join me in convincing them to go into newborn photography. :) I could post a million, but here are just a few of our favorites.

Then we heard that the photographer who did an awesome job on one of one of our other friend's newborn pictures was looking for a newborn baby boy model for a free mini session. I emailed her, she picked Graham, and we headed downtown to her really cool studio. Elisabeth Smith was equally talented at photography and being sweet to our little baby as she patiently posed him again and again through his waking up and crying. The pictures turned out amazing! If you're in the Indy area and looking for a newborn photographer, I'd highly recommend her. Look her up on Facebook (Elisabeth Smith Lifestyle Photography). Check out these sweet pics.