KC Weekend

Today we are getting our lives back in order. We have been out of town all weekend in Kansas City, Missouri. Friday morning, early, we headed out for our car ride. The reason that we went down was because several months ago, Chris asked David to join the band that he was forming to play a gig in Kansas City the weekend that he was organizing a class reunion. The boys have been practicing what seems like every weekend for the last few months to get ready for the show. David was the lead singer and Chris play electric guitar, and they had 3 other guys in the band. So Friday morning, we loaded the kids up, and off we went. David, Alissa and I rode in the van with Jack, Tessa and Cole, and Chris drove the explorer with the rest of the band, pulling the trailer. I was really worried about how the kids would do on the 8-9 hour drive. Tessa is not known for her tolerance in situations where she is unhappy. The kids really did do a great job. There were a few outbursts of tears once in a while, but we stopped like every 1 1/2-2 hours so they could get out and stretch their legs. I was really impressed with how well they rode.

The trip down took about 9 hours. When we got there, we went straight to Gerald and Linda's house where we were staying the first night. It was really great to see them. They may be Chris's family, but they sure make you feel like part of the family. They are so welcoming and loving and a great couple to spend time with. Friday night, we met the Duewel's for dinner, who are our good friends from Calvary. Pastor David used to the be the music pastor there and we grew up in the youth group with Andy. We had a great time seeing them. The dinner, was far from uneventful though...I had made a reservation to meet them for dinner at Zio's, my favorite Italian restaurant. (There was one in Springfield, MO where we used to live). Our reservation was for 6:30. When we got there with Tessa at 6:30, I told them we had a reservation and they proceeded to tell me that they did not have a reservation for us. I said that I called the day before and made one. They looked in their reservation book and found it there, but no one had put it on the schedule for that night, so it was going to be a little bit but they were going to put our table together as fast as they could. We were still waiting for the Duewel's to get there when they called and asked where we were. We said we were at the restaurant, where were they? They were also at the restaurant, and they had a table. Huh. They weren't there. It was at that point that we realized there were two Zio's restaurants, and they were at the one in Olathe, KS, and we were at the one in Independence, MO. I had no idea there were two of them. They knew, and they tried calling both of them to see where the reservation was, but thanks to someone not writing our reservation down, both restaurants told them they didn't have one in our name. None the less, they decided to leave their Zio's and come to the one we were at. It was about 30 minutes away. No big deal, we were going to have to wait a few minutes for our table anyway. We took a little walk outside so Tessa could keep moving. We walked around, then came back and asked for our table. They said it was still be a while. I questioned it because they told us it would be any minute. That was when they told me they mixed up our reservation with another party of 9 and gave them our table. AHHHH!!! So frustrating. So what seems like an eternity later, we got our table, the Duewel's got there, and we had a great time catching up. We got home late, and Tessa was exhausted, but we made it.

Saturday morning we took it a little easy, playing around the house and having some yummy LeMar's donuts and spending time with good friends. Then we got ready and went downtown Kansas City to the plaza. There, I met my awesome friend Joy who I went to college with and I haven't seen in like 2 or 3 years. We met for coffee and just walked around and talked and caught up. It was so fantastic to see her and spend time with her. I miss her so much!! Then we went to meet some other friends for lunch. We met our friends Erik and Monica (and Monica's sister, Jessica came along) at Jack Stack BBQ for some Kansas City BBQ for lunch. It was so delicious. I had a yummy bbq chicken. Delish!!! After lunch, we walked around with them and did a little shopping. We haven't spent time with both Erik and Monica since we moved from Webb City three years ago, so we really enjoyed the chance to spend time with them.

Saturday afternoon, Tessa laid down for a nap and the boys got stuff ready to go for their big show that night. When the babies woke up, we packed them up, went and picked up Chris's mom and Alissa, Joyce, the kids and I went to Chick-fil-A for dinner. Oh, how I love Chick-fil-A!!! So glad that they are finally building one by us, it should be opening this summer. So we had our dinner, then went back to Joyce's house and put the babies to bed. Then Alissa and I got ourselves ready to go for our night out at the band concert. We went to Clark's Place Bar and Grill for the boys' show that night. We had a great time and the guys did so good! We were out really late and got home really late, then of course slept on an air mattress, so didn't get the best night's sleep.

The next morning, we had breakfast with Joyce and got the kids packed and the van packed and were on our way! It was a whirlwind weekend, but we had a great time and really enjoyed the chance to see our friends and spend time with people that we haven't seen for a long time!! I'm not any too anxious to take another long car trip any time soon!

Karson Race Gibbs

Welcome to the family baby Karson! This morning, at 8:48 am, Karson Race Gibbs was born, 5 weeks early. He was a shocking 7 lb 11oz and 20 in long! We knew he was going to be a big boy but were shocked that he was so big considering that he was 5 weeks early! Everyone is doing fine. There was some concern about his lungs being underdeveloped, and at first, he had to work really hard to breathe, but he is doing much better. Mommy is finally getting some much needed rest as well. Karson, we can't wait to meet you! (We're still waiting to see pictures of you! Which I will post as soon as I have them). Welcome to the family baby boy, you have 2 sisters and a brother who love you and 3 more cousins here in IL that will adore you! Love you Karson Race!

Thinking Back

The other night I took a little stroll down memory lane. Tessa had fallen asleep in her bed and I went into room one last time before I went to bed, just like I do every night. Before I go to sleep, I always go into her room and just watch her sleep for a couple minutes. I usually put my hand on her chest or back because I just love to feel her breathing while she's asleep and so peaceful. It brings me so much joy to stand in her room and watch her sleep. She is my life, my everything. So when I was in there standing, staring, it reminded me of that same behavior, but backed up like 14 months ago. In those last few weeks of my pregnancy, after we had moved into our house and gotten everything decorated, and I had already had my showers and had Tessa's room all ready for her to arrive, I used to do that very thing every night. Before bed, I would walk into her room and just stare. I would soak in the pink walls and feel her soft blankets in her crib just waiting for a baby to snuggle around. I loved to sit in the glider and just dream of the day that I would have a baby to rock in my arms. But it was amazing, as much time as I spent in there, picturing what it would be like when Tessa finally arrived, it never felt real. It didn't make a difference that it looked like I was hiding a watermelon under my shirt, it just felt totally surreal, like I was waiting for a day that would never come. Now here I am, 14 months later, with a 13 month old beautiful, amazing little girl who has changed my life more than I could ever imagine. It feels like this time has flown by, and yet at the same time, it feels like this has been my life forever. I don't remember what life was like before Tessa was a part of it. Now, my experiences in her room are very different. Yes, I still go in there every night, but it's to watch my beautiful, sleeping girl. Then, 10 hours later, I am meeting her back in that same room to greet her with a good morning song and smile. She's always waiting for me in her bed anxious for her day to start!

Tessa's room after just getting it finished - still waiting for her to arrive!

Tessa at 9 month old just playing her crib!

Good morning Tessa! Greeting Mommy and Daddy with a smile on the morning of her birthday!

Big Steps

Today, Tessa took her first steps!!! I am so proud of her. I have been trying to get her to be brave enough to take a couple steps for weeks, but every time I let go of her hands, she chickens out and drops to the floor. Come on baby! Finally, today she was standing in the living room and I let go of her hands and stepped back and told her to come to me and she took two steps to get to me!!!! Yay for Tessa! Alissa, Jack and I all clapped and cheered for her, which of course, she loved, and started clapping for herself. I stood her back up and we tried again and again, she took a couple of steps then plopped on the floor and we clapped for her again and she clapped for herself. After that, it became quite a game. I would stand her up and she would take half a step, sit down, and clap wildly for herself while looking around to see if everyone else was clapping with her. What a little ham, she loves to be center of attention. Hopefully, over the next few days, she'll start taking more and more steps and hopefully she'll be walking before long. Big girl Tessa -- Mommy is so proud of you!

My Little Fishy

Tessa is definitely my little fish. I would have never imagined it a year ago, considering how much she hated taking a bath and being in the water, but man has she changed. Last week, we took a couple of trips to the pool in our subdivision and she absolutely loves the water. The first day we went, it wasn't terribly warm outside and the water was freezing, so I figured she would have a cow and just cry and want to be out of the water, but it was the exact opposite. She loved it. Our subdivision has a little zero-depth kiddie pool so she can walk around in really shallow water and it gets deeper gradually. She just wanted to walk and play and splash. She had so much fun. David and I took turns just being with her in the water. We went back the next day and it was quite a bit warmer out and the water was much nicer and she had even more fun. There is a bit mushroom shaped thing that has water falling off it, like a waterfall, and she really enjoyed it when I held her close to it and she would reach out for it, then pull away fast. She just kept laughing and laughing. She really loves being in the water. I can't wait for her to start walking so that she can get around even better in the water by herself. Now, if we could just get some consistently decent weater around here, I know we could have so many more fun times at the pool with our little fish!

New Play Room

So this weekend, I kinda had a breakdown. I was so tired of feeling like I was sitting in a messy, unorganized pile of junk at my house that I realized I had to do something. David suggested to do this a few weeks ago, but I wasn't sure, then my mom brought it up the other day and I realized that it might be time. We have a large extra bedroom upstairs in our townhouse which really doesn't get used. It has a huge closet and has previously been just a room to put the extra furniture that we don't use other places in the house. We never used the room, except to run on the treadmill. We decided to make it into a new play room/upstairs family room, and I LOVE IT! I can't believe I didn't do this earlier. We cleaned out the closet of a lot of Tessa's baby stuff that we don't use anymore and put it in the garage to store. We also moved the treadmill to the garage. On one side of the garage we put a bunch of carpet squares down so that it's a clean play area out there too. Then we threw out a bunch of stuff that we didn't need and organized what we had left. David, Alissa and I (and the kids) went to IKEA yesterday and I bought a desk with a cubby organizer attached, a separate cubby organizer for all Tessa's toys, a new desk chair and a new lamp. I later found some great decorations and another lamp when I was shopping with my mom. We moved another comfy chair into the room, so there are two, enough for both David and I to sit and relax. We also put the nicer tv that was in our bedroom into the new playroom and moved the old tv that was in there into our bedroom. My dad got a little mini fridge for us so that we can keep drinks and snacks up here and we are all set to go. I absolutely love it. Tessa is having a great time in it too. She can move around and play and I don't have to worry about her getting into stuff that she shouldn't because it's a "Tessa-friendly" room. I know that we're going ot be spending a lot of time up here. Thanks so much to David, Alissa, Mom and Dad for your help!!!! I can't believe it took me so long to get this ball rolling!! I'll try and post some pictures later!

Happy 1st Birthday Tessa!

This post was long time coming. I started working on it the night of her birthday, but I didn't get it finished until today. A little late, I know, but better late than never.

The day finally arrived. Happy Birthday Tessa!!!!!! It was one year ago today that you came into our lives and made everything more fabulous than I ever imagined that my life could be! This year with Tessa has been the best year of my life. I always thought I knew what a mother's love was like, but I realized that I knew nothing about how a mother loves a child until Tessa came into my life. We have had a wonderful day celebrating Tessa's birthday. We started our day out with opening a few presents, including a new tricycle, Sleeping Beauty and the book Go, Dog, Go!. Then we had a birthday breakfast. I made blueberry muffins and we put a candle in one and sang happy birthday to our sweet girl. She tried to reach for the flame, but we pulled her back just in time. I let her go at it and eat her muffin how she wanted. She really loved it!

Then we all got ready and went to Mommy's school for the morning. Mommy promised her students they could have a birthday party with Tessa, and Mommy really wanted to spend as much time with her birthday girl as she could. The kids had so much fun seeing her and singing to her. Tessa enjoyed getting to see all the kids. She even got a special birthday crown with her name on it that all the kids get when they have their birthday at school. She spent a few hours with us, then Daddy took her home to get a nap.

When Mommy got home from school, Tessa was just waking up from her nap. We all loaded up in the car and went to Sonic for lunch. It was such a nice day that we ate outside on the patio. Our carhop came over and told us how cute Tessa was and we mentioned that it was her first birthday. A few minutes later she came out and said her manager would like to give her an ice cream cone for her birthday if it was okay with us. It surely was, so Tessa got a nice vanilla ice cream cone as a special birthday treat. She really enjoyed that. After lunch, we went home and Tessa played some more and just relaxed. She really had fun riding her tricycle outside in the beautiful sunshine. We really had a nice afternoon.

For dinner, we had a special picnic at our favorite park in downtown Oswego. We went there and met Grandma and Grandpa, Alissa, Chris, Jack and Cole, and Amy, Kyleigh, Karissa and Keaton. We ate then we went and played on the playground equipment. Tessa's favorites were the swing, the roller slide and the teeter totter. All the cousins had so much fun playing and spending time together. We haven't seen our Gibbs cousins since Easter! Then we went back to our house for presents and cupcakes. Tessa got so many nice presents. From Mommy and Daddy she got some more books, a swimsuit and a princess couch! Grandma and Grandpa gave her a walk-behind stroller and a baby doll! Aunt Amy, Uncle Kyle, Kyleigh, Karissa and Keaton gave her two dresses and fun phone that she can pull around behind her! Aunt Lissy, Uncle Chris, Jack and Cole gave her two sunsuits and some matching new bows! Then we sang happy birthday to Tessa and passed out her cupcakes. She really enjoyed being able to smash into her cupcake. She was very hesitant at first, not sure if she was really supposed to be doing that or not, but when we didn't stop her, she went to town and really enjoyed her cupcake.

This was the best first birthday for Tessa that I could have possibly asked for. I know she won't remember all that we did today, but I will remember it and treasure it forever. Celebrating her first birthday is our way of celebrating that we made it through the first year. We not only made it, but I feel like we soared through it. We may have had our ups and downs along the way but we more than just survived, it was fantastic! We lived the first year of her life, and we came through it with flying colors! I have loved every minute that I have spent watching my girl grow up to the beautiful toddler that she has become. She amazes me every day with all the things she is learning and doing. She is the light of my life and I can't even imagine (or remember) what life would be like without her. I LOVE YOU TESSA CHARLOTTE! Happy 1st Birthday!

How They Change

I am getting really excited for Tessa's first birthday and the big party that we're going to have. Alissa made gorgeous birthday invitations (which I showed a couple posts ago) and I finally remembered to get a few of them printed out as photos. I wanted one for my fridge and ones for all the grandparents. We didn't mail invites to everyone, just e-mailed, but I wanted a few printed out. I got my invitations picked up and took it home and stuck it right up on the fridge, and that's when it hit me. Where I put it on the fridge is right below her birth announcement which has stayed in it's permanent spot all year. Wow. That hit me hard. I don't know, it was just seeing her birth announcement right next to her 1st birthday invitation; I just feel like we've come full circle. We made it through the first year, and made it through with flying colors. Wow. I can't entirely explain my feelings at that moment, it was just, wow.

"Dut!"

As we are approaching Tessa's first birthday, I am seeing that she is learning and doing so much! The other night when we were at my mom and dad's for my dad's birthday, she shouted "Gampa!" when my dad walked in the room. We have never heard her say it so clearly. Last night, she learned a new word. She was in the bathtub, playing in the bubbles and having a great time. We have a rubber ducky thing that covers the water spout in the tub so she won't bump her head on it, and she noticed it and reached for it to touch it. She has done this before, and I try to tell her "duck" or "ducky" to see if she'll say it, but it always comes out sounding more like what she says when she says, "dad" or "daddy." But then last night, she reached up for it, and I said, "That's a duck, Tessa, duck." She looked up at me with wide open eyes, touched the duck and said, "dut? dut? DUT!" She kept getting louder and louder and more excited. I was so happy for her, I just kept saying, "yes, that's a duck!" She was so proud of herself and I was crying because I was so happy for her that she learned a new word. I can't believe how much she's changing. Yeah for the "duts"!

Almost 1 year...

It is only a couple of weeks until Tessa turns one. I am excited and dreading it at the same time. This weekend, when we were at my mom and dad's, I asked Alissa to take some pictures of her so that we would have a current picture to use for her birthday party invitation. We got a couple of really beautiful ones, then of course, she started to break down and I have a couple of funny ones where she is clearly not happy to be taking pictures. All in all, we got some pictures and Alissa was able to make a beautiful invitation for her 1st birthday party!!!

This is my favorite picture from the whole day!! I think it is gorgeous!!

And here is the invitation to Tessa's 1st Birthday Party!! Alissa did a great job on it, I love it!!!