Lucas :: 7 Months

LUCAS NEAL

SEVEN MONTHS

written Monday, July 14th. Warning: photo overload. Also, Ash, if you're reading this, I still have your camera. And I am sorta figuring out how to use it, FINALLY! I need to get that back to you soon :)

Closer to age 1 than your birth. This time with you has both flown by, and at the same time it seems as if you've been with us forever. You have kept us on our feet this month as you are SO close to crawling! You roll and roll to your heart's desire and are especially interested in, well everything. You are very busy checking out all that this world has to offer.

Schedule?! Who needs a schedule in the summertime anywho? You've switched it up on us and are NOT sleeping through the night anymore. Wah wah. Also, totally not consistent in when you wake up in the night, either. I thought maybe you were teething, nope. I also thought you might be going through a little growth spurt. I do think you look and definitely FEEL bigger this week.

Weight: You shocked me last month and didn't gain much weight. You were 19lbs and *only* in the 70ish percentile. I'm guessing you've passed 20 by now.

Length:  29 inches.

Diaper Size: 4's.

Clothes Size: You're starting to grow out of most 6 month clothes, but 12 month is still a tad big.

Hair Color: Dirty blonde.

Eye color: Blue.

Health:

Lots of prunes. 'Nuff said.

Eating:

You eat anything and everything we offer you, although you are a tad picky on the temperature. Nice and warm is best. We've been feeding your 2-3 times each day. New foods this month include peaches, bananas, apples, avocado, garbanzo beans and prunes. Wiping you off at the end your meal is your absolute LEAST favorite thing, but you are just so messy, man!

Milestones:

Like I said before, you are SO close to crawling. You are up on all fours constantly, and will rock back and forth. You lunge forward and face-plant quite often. Talking is also getting more entertaing; you can say "oooo" and "baaaa" and "maaaa" and lots of "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!".

Your favorite toy:

You like to play with most anything, but you're especially enjoying toys that make noise. You also love to listen to us sing songs and read books.

Firsts:

-I can't think of anything "new", although I'm sure there were lots!

We love, love, love, love, love ya, Lucas-son. The days are so much sweeter when spent with you.

New Closet Additions :: June

This month was all about prepping for my cousin's wedding and rehearsal dinner.  I searched and searched for the perfect dress and after buying and returning a frew, ended up finding one the weekend before the wedding at JCrew Factory. You're shocked, I'm sure.  I didn't even try it on.  I think it's safe to say my it's my go-to store!

1. JCrew Factory Shift Dress. $30
2. JCrew Factory Denim Jacket. $42
3. Piperlime Shift Dress (bought in green). $59
4. JCPenney Sandals. $16
5. JCrew Factory Earrings. $5
6 and 9. Old Navy Shorts. $5 each
7 and 8. Old Navy Tanks. $5 each

Total: $172

A little "life" update...

2014 is already proving to be another exciting year in this household!  For memories sake, I figured I should document some of this stuff before I forget how it all went down.

(1) We moved!  After selling our old house (it sat on the market in 2011-2012 for 9 months), we moved to a rental house for a year.  Not to say we weren't blessed to have a roof over our heads, but needless to say, we were SO happy to be getting out of that place! Between vines growing in the walls (no, really) and the FREEZING winter and HOT summer, we were more than ready to move.  Now, I've moved nearly every. single. year. since I graduated high school.  That's ten years, y'all.  (Which is a whole other WHOA).

After the struggle selling our first home, we weren't so sure about jumping into another purchase.  We weighed all of the options and eventually decided that we were ready to settle.  The search began!  Looking at house is so fun, but it's also so overwhelming!  The market in February/March in this area was insane.  We literally watched houses fly off the market the day they went up for sale... in a snowstorm.  We saw probably 10 houses and found what I thought was THE. ONE.  With some hesitation, we made an offer.  So did another couple... and they got it.  I was so bummed.  It would have put us moving during spring break, and it seemed just perfect.  Luckily, my husband had a much better attitude it about and was able to get me out of my crazy bummed-out state.

About a month later, after touring another 10-20 houses, we found our new place!  Driving up, walking in, we both knew.  We called to make an offer right then and there (this was day 1 on the market BTW).  Our realtor informed us that this would be the 5th offer, and they had others possibly in the works.  WHAT!@?!?! To say I was on pins and needles for the next 24 hours was an understatement, although I managed to keep myself together.  We ended up writing a letter to the sellers explaining how grateful we would be to live in their house.  I was just so shocked-- We were begging them to sell us their house?? Why couldn't we have had people doing that for us just 15 months before? ;) Oh how times change.

You can see how this ends, we got the house!  We moved in mid-April and have been so, so happy making it our home.  We've gotten to know a few neighbors, spent a few afternoons at the neighborhood pool, and already have projects in mind for the next few years.  If I've learned anything in the past ten years, it is that you cannot predict the future, but I hope we have a good future ahead of us in this home.  We are so, so grateful to be settled.

(2) J got a new job! Somewhat out of the blue, he was contacted by a consulting firm for an interview.  A friend of his had passed along his name and recommended him to this company.  It happened quickly, and in the midst of closing on the new house, but he is very happy with the change.

(3) I got a new job! (Well, sort of.)  During the last week of school this year, another 7th grade math position opened up at a different school in our same district.  Again weighing all of the options, I decided to apply for a transfer.  Not only will this school be closer to home, but it will be within 5 minutes of the daycare we have chosen.  I have yet to move my classroom, and have hardly let this sink in, but I'm excited for this opportunity.