Why Gluten Free?

We are going on 1 month of gluten free living and I couldn’t be happier with the results! I never talked much about the struggles we would encounter in our day with little Miss K.Bear. Not because I was trying to “hide” anything but simply put it was our “normal”. K.Bear has always been our spunky, ‘spirited’, strong willed, and just ‘more’ everything child. She is super bright, cute, funny, and a “little mommy” at heart. K.Bear has never “really” slept through the night (yes, she will be 4 in August) that means very little sleep for Mommy! She always seemed to “fly off the handle” at the blink of an eye and I truly couldn’t do anything right at times! She nearly potty trained herself at just over a year old…normal? She has been my tiny little ball of ‘spunk’ for years!

None the less, I am her mother and God blessed us with this beautiful baby girl….we trudge along…what is a mother to do? Things were getting worse by the day and I was quickly reaching a breaking point.  “Night waking” and “night tantrums” 2-3 times a week at 1:00/2:00 in the morning for nearly a year has been the norm. I would literally get up at that time out of “routine” and pray she would sleep through “it” tonight. Taking her to the van (yes, in the cold) to “shock” her out of “it” (while, this was certainly not a cure it did help a little). Exhausting, draining, emotional, and confusing…I was riding a K.Bear roller coaster!!

The bottom fell out; it was Saturday night (tantrum…hit 1:00AM lasting 30-45 minutes…in a freezing van) back to bed for some sleep…normal?!?

Sunday…a tired, exhausted child is never fun to deal with….the day seemed to be going “as usual” a cranky moment here, some play, and some more whining… nothing really out of the ordinary for a Sunday afternoon. K.bear requested a snack before dinner (animal crackers) so I proceeded to give her some while I prepped dinner. The initial requested immediately turned into I want more (mind you she hadn’t even eaten one yet!) …rolling on the floor because I only have her 2 more in the bowl (it is dinner time after all)…and I quickly watched my child “lose it”…for 2 1/2 hours!! She never recovered….

and there began our gluten free journey!

I share our story with you in hopes of helping others in a similar situation. This is just a ‘glimpse’ of the puzzle I began to piece together…and look forward to sharing so much more with you in the near future!

My Little Man “8” Months Old

I have not done an update on my little man “Mr. Smiles” in sometime and as I have said before this blog and our school blog…both serve as my “memory” at times. He is 8 months already!! I can not believe it!! Seems like only yesterday, I was cuddling on the couch with my blue eyed baby (yep, they are still blue!) and NOW…we are off!!

He is crawling EVERYWHERE…he is speedy quick, and has no problem keeping up with big sisters. He even stood up for the first time Tuesday, February, 15th. The best part was we all got to see it…he has not done it since, but it is coming! He will by far be my earliest walker. Pumpkin did not walk until she was 19 months old…Im hoping Mr. Smiles makes it to 9 mo (Mommy is not ready)!!

 He is has two bottom teeth and is working on more!

 He is ALL boy…he loves balls, trains, cars, and anything that has wheels, rolls, and is loud!! He growls like a lion, makes fish lips, has great fine motor skills, and loves to dance. This boy is a blast..I just want to bottle him up! We think the little man has some food allergies but other than that he is easy peasy!!

Big Hugs and Kisses!! From Mr. Smiles 🙂