{7 Months - Whoa!}

OLIVER CASH IS . . . wait for it . . . . wait for it. . . . . 7 MONTHS OLD!!!!!! WHAT!!!? I KNOW! CRAZY, right?!! Crazy.

This last month flew by way-too-fast. Oliver is such a good baby and is growing and changing everyday. We have been having so much fun. He doesn't have a Dr. appt this month, so I am not sure of his measurements, but he definitely feels heavier and is getting too long for his pants ;) so he is definitely a growing healthy guy.

He is finally starting to get used to eating.  His favorite so far is the Apple Vanilla Mixed Grain.

He actually opened his mouth for it several times rather than clenching his jaw and turning his head away from the spoon. I was such a proud mama!

And he also drank water for the first time, and from a cup. He grabbed for it, so I gave it to him and he loved it :)

We started attending a "Mom's Group" (that my sister-in-law is teaching) and Oliver was the best baby! He was content on the floor and played with toys practically the entire time without fussing.

We had a play-date with one of our best friends Elianna (her mom is my friend Elizabeth, from college).

They are so fun to watch together. They are only one day apart and are growing and changing so much all of the time. We have so much fun playing with them.

Oliver has been having fun hanging out with us at home....

 and out and about....

and he has been really good at entertaining himself too....

I have had fun picking out cool stuff for him to wear like this fun shirt ;) .....

We have been working on getting Oliver to nap better (and longer). He always sleeps so well on me (& on the boppy) after he breast feeds...

...but I have been trying to make naps last longer AND be more productive for me, so I have been trying to get him to sleep on his own. He finally (once) fell asleep on his own in his crib when he was awake and playing just before, and he only whined for a few minutes prior to falling asleep...

 

The nap only lasted 15 minutes, but it is a great start to hopefully good (long) napping in the future.

He still hasn't cut any teeth yet, and lately has been resisting bottles for some reason. He is stubborn like his mom and dad - lol!  In general, Oliver is SUCH a happy baby and really warms the hearts of everyone around him, especially mine! He smiles ALL day long and talks and babbles and giggles all day everyday. He has such an adorable happy face!!

Here are a few more pictures from today, his actual 7 month birthday :). I love his more serious faces just as much as his smiles.....

...and some with Mr. Gnome.....

Of course he is trying to eat the Gnome (along with everything else in sight always - lol) & do you notice the drool mark down his shirt? He drools all-day-long!

And on the home decorating front......the new bedding is finally on....

Ooooh....Ahhhhh! I love it!

All in all, again, it's been a great month! I hope it's been great for you all too :)

Have a great week!

-L

{Brand New Ride}

I am a "Jeep" girl. I have owned 3 Jeep brand cars so far, and I have loved each one. My most recent Jeep was a 2006 Jeep Commander. After being in a very scary car accident in December of 2009 and totaling my dark green Jeep Grand Cherokee (I got t-boned by a police car while turning left at an intersection and my car flipped onto it's side. I came out with barely a scratch. I am so lucky), I was on the hunt for my next dream Jeep - the Jeep Commander. My best B.I.L Josh (Ali's hubby) searched high and low for a long time with me and we finally found my dream Commander. I was one happy girl.

Here she is the day after I got her...all shiny and new (to me)...

3rd row seat, leather interior, 3 moon roofs (one main one and one over each second row seat), steering wheel controls for the radio, heated seats....I was on top of the world.

I was living down in San Diego (Del Mar) when I got the Commander, and shortly after (2 months) I moved up to Orange County and in with my future husband, but continued to commute down to Carlsbad for work for an entire year. I put 100 miles on my car everyday. It was nutso. Don't get me wrong, I was super happy to commute in a car that I loved to drive, but it defintiely took a toll on the car.

Fast forward to today. I am now a stay at home mom, and I am driving around and running errands with my little man quite often, but am not going very far distances anymore. My jeep has remained in great shape all of this time, but being that it is 6 yrs old, and was pushing 80,000 miles, it was starting to have some major issues that we were worried about (both for safety and for the expense). My husband really wanted Oliver and I to be in a safe and reliable car (with a warranty) while we were out and about, so the hunt began for a new "mommy car" for me.

After looking into all of our options, we decided on a Mazda CX9 Touring SUV. It is a beautiful car.....

It has leather interior, moon roof and bose speakers, a third row seat, back-up camera, sirius radio, etc., etc., etc. and is rated the #1 Safety SUV for 2012. I am so lucky!! I love it so much! I was feeling nostalgic and was a little sad to say goodbye to my Commander, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Here she is sort of used and abused (sorry Jeep)...

I love my new car so so so much! Thank you husband. I am one lucky girl!

Ollie is excited too, of course....

Happy Tuesday everyone!
 :)
-L