Seven months old!

Dear Elizabeth,

You are seven months old today!  Your dad and I cannot believe how fast you are growing and how much you have changed in one month. 

You are seven months old!

You have gotten your first tooth, had your first cold (last night/today you got it), you sit up by yourself, and you have traveled on a plane to Texas (again!).

You now eat phase 2 baby food at lunch and dinner.  You still get four bottles (7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm and about 7pm).  You don't like to go 4 hours between your snack and dinner for some reason...

You still take two really good naps each day.  Usually one in the morning about 2 hours after you wake up and one in the afternoon about an hour after your lunch.

You have started drinking water and love to sip it out of a real cup.  We have not found any sippy cup yet that you like so we just take the lid off and let you sip out of the cup.

You still wear a size 2 diaper (although you are almost too long) and you wear 6-9 month clothes and 9 month onsies and sleepers.

We do not have your statics but I am guessing you weight almost 16 pounds and are probably 27 inches long.  You don't go back to the doctor until 9 months so we won't have an accurate number until then (we just know you are really, really tall).

Summer is over and I have gone back to work.  You go to Laura's house everyday and play with Sam and Alice.  I know you love going there because you are always so happy to see your friends and such a happy little girl when I see you in the afternoons.

You still love to take froggy everywhere and I make sure you have it everyday when you go play with Sam and Alice.

You got to watch your first football games this month and you love to cheer for the Gamecocks!  Sometimes I let you cheer for Pitt and the Steelers too.

Here are some pictures from your adventures this past month:

 

 (someone did not sit still for her 7 month photo op)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super Doubles!

Today I picked up some items at Harris Teeter for their super doubles coupons.  I didn't know yesterday when I went to Giant that super doubles were going on, otherwise Teeter would have gotten all my business. :)

So... today we got:

Eggs:  97 cents
Bacon:  $1.97
CPK Pizza:  $1.33
Kraft Fresh Take topping:  50 cents
(2) boxes of Cheerios:  79 cents
Ken's Teriayki marinade FREE
Pete's Hot sauce FREE
4 pack refrigerated jello snacks FREE

Total = $5.56

I''m not sure of the total saved or total before savings because as I paid, the power went out.  So...my receipt was only partially printed.  I know that my before coupons total was around $22 so we will just go with that number ($22) and I saved $16.44!!!

If you read my blog from yesterday you know we are trying a new budget technique this week.  I still have money left over from today to get any last minute essentials for the weekend.  Yay!

Catching up and a challenge!

I don't know what it is, but since school got out in June I have not felt like blogging much.  I thought maybe it was the summer "chill-out" and I was focused on hanging out with Elizabeth and relaxing. 

Well school is back in and the "chill-out" has not worn off.  So, now I feel like I am forcing myself to write again, but maybe if I force myself I will start to enjoy it again.??.  Kinda like going to the gym... (maybe?)

I also do not care for my new laptop.  I know that sounds really bad to say write, but I just miss the old one (I hate change).  The keys are soft, it doesn't have the numbers on the right side of the key board, and it I feel like the wrist rest (is that what it's called?) doesn't feel totally comfortable.  I know, I'm still adjusting.

This past week my Uncle Pat passed away (my Grandmother's brother-in-law, for about 65 years) and we flew to Texas to attend the funeral and see family.

 

I took this picture on the way to Texas.  I love them snuggling together and napping.  So cute!

 

 

It was really good to see a lot of family that we have not seen in a long time.  We had not seen several people since our wedding and Ben and Elizabeth even got to meet my other Grandmother on this trip.  The trip to Tahoka was long and sad, but I am really glad we went to support Bryan and Sharon.  After we drove back to the DFW area from Tahoka we got to see my sister and my other Grandmother.  We stayed with my mom and Grandmother until Saturday and then flew back to DC. 


Today we just relaxed, I tried Zumba for the first time and went to the grocery store. 

We also started a new way of doing our weekly budget this week.  I got the idea from a few different places and we shall see how it goes.
I have taken our weekly budget and gotten the cash out of an ATM.  I then divided up the cash into envelopes for the alloted amounts for the week.
The categories are: My gas, Ben's gas, groceries, baby food/diapers/wipes, and misc.
I will let you know next week if we were able to stay in the budget.  I still have $19 from the grocery budget after the grocery store today, so I can spend it later in the week or add it to another budget.  Adam and Brigette are coming to visit this weekend, so I'm guessing I will be going back to the grocery store to get some goodies.  :)


Has anyone ever tried to budget this way?  Only using the cash in your pocket (or envelope?).  I'm interested to see how we do.  We usually use our debit cards for everything and never have cash.  So...this is going to be a challenge.  Wish us luck!

Six months old

Dear Elizabeth,

Six months!

You are six months old!  We are so excited you have reached this milestone... you can now wear sunscreen, eat baby food twice a day, safely sleep on your stomach (although I still don't like it and I don't let you), and you are getting bigger and smarter everyday!

We can hardly believe that 6 months ago (ok, 6 1/2 months) you were born and changed our lives forever.  It's funny, but we hardly remember what life was like before you.  I do recall a little more sleep, and a little less worrying.  :)

This month you weigh 15.3 pounds (30th percentile) and are 26.5 inches (80th percentile).  The doctor says you look great and developmentally you are advanced.

You wear a size 2 diaper but we may switch you to size 3 soon because you are so long/tall.  You take 4 bottles a day (between 6-8 ounces each) and you now eat a veggie or fruit a lunch and dinner.  You eat about half of the container each time.

You love to take your froggy pacifier with you every where you go.  You love to grab you at Dad's face (especially his glasses) and you love to rub his beard.  You love, love, love to grab our fingers and eat them.  Sometimes you enjoy eating your fingers, but for some reason, ours taste better.

You wake up happy every day and lay in bed and talk to yourself until we come to get you.  You wake up between 6:30-6:45am and like to play until breakfast which is anywhere from 7-7:30am. 

You go to bed between 7-7:30pm most nights and sleep through the night.  Occasionally you will wake up because either a) you have a wet diaper or b) you have rolled onto your stomach and don't feel like rolling back and cry because you want us to roll you back over.  You do love to sleep on your side, curled up.  It is super cute!

You have done a lot of traveling in your 6 months.  This month you went to a few new places.  We went to Philadelphia for Dad's birthday and to get there we drove through Delaware.  While we were in Philly, we drove over to New Jersey and took you to the Aquarium.  You really loved all of the colorful fish.  Your mom and dad liked touching the stingrays and sharks.  While in Philly, we visited with Dad's friend Dan.  Dan really enjoyed meeting you and showing you around Philly.  Dan said you are a great baby, and a very good traveller.

We also had brunch with Greg, Charlene, Rosie, and Atticus in Washington, DC (surprisingly, her first trip to DC).  One weekend we met our friends Jen, Debbie, Cathy, and Jill for lunch.  Jen and Jill were super happy you meet you.  And, Debbie and Cathy were happy to hang out with you.

In July, we went to Greensburg for Shelley and Adam's wedding.  You stayed with Nana and Pap Pap overnight by yourself while Dad and I went to the wedding and stayed at a hotel.  You were so good and had such a nice time with your grandparents.

You also watched your first Olympics this past month.  You loved cheering with us every night for the USA!  You dressed in very patriotic outfits and yelled at the US to win!

Just to recap all of the places you have been in your six months:
Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and DC.
We are so happy that you love to travel (just like you parents) and we enjoy showing you new places!

Here are some pictures of your adventures from this month:

Hanging out with Dad

Six months!

Before Church

Playing with my favorite toy

Eating green beans

Go USA!!!

Walking around Philly

(notice froggy)

Having a lazy day on the couch

Elizabeth- we love you so very much and have enjoyed every minute of the last six months.  We can hardly wait to see how you change over the next six months (just not too quickly).

We love you,

Mom & Dad

Update on the no updating

So... my computer died on Monday and I have not been able to blog/send pictures/print coupons/etc.

I am using my work laptop to update that I will probably not be updating until my new computer arrives.

I cannot do not want to upload pictures onto my work laptop and most of my blogging has lots of pictures.  So I am saving up all of my posts (and pictures) until I get my new computer.

Until then, please know that life is good (great) and my little baby will be 6 months old on Saturday!
Where has the time gone???


Have a great couple of weeks!

Weekend with Friends

So... Ben and I have been sick for over a week but we have previously made plans with friends before we got sick.  So, we rested up and pulled ourselves together and got together with some wonderful people that we don't get to see very often.

On Saturday, we meet Jen, Jill, Cathy, and Debbie for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Jen moved to Florida a couple of years ago but makes it up to DC several times a year.  She had never met Elizabeth, so we were excited for them to meet.

Left to Right:

Cathy, me, Elizabeth, Ben, Jen, Jill, and Debbie

Jen and Elizabeth

Debbie and Elizabeth

Elizabeth and Cathy

On Sunday, we drove to DC and had brunch at Greg and Charlene's house with their two adorable kids- Rosie and Atticus!  We forgot to take pictures but we had so much fun.  Atticus is almost 2 and Rosie is almost 5.  It was fun seeing them interact and how much they have grown since we last saw them.

We are hoping to feel better soon.  Until then, we shall keep resting (and drinking lots of orange juice).

Ben is 30 + 1

Ben turned 31 yesterday and to celebrate, Elizabeth and I took him to Philadelphia for the weekend as a birthday surprise.  We had a ton of fun in Philly, we hung out with Dan, went around the city, drove over to New Jersey and went to the Aquarium, and even had cheese steaks at Jim's (the best cheese steak place around).  Here are some pictures from our long weekend away.  Happy Birthday Ben!

Philadelphia (from the Jersey side)

The organ at Macy's

(This Macy's is super fabulous.  It has the largest organ in the world and is a historic landmark)

First stop at the aquarium...

These Penguins are from Africa

Ben showing Elizabeth the Stingrays

Stingray!

Looking at Sharks!

Big Shark!

Hippos!

Showing Elizabeth the fish

Jellyfish

Ben in front of a large ship

Dan and Elizabeth

Ben and his presents

Elizabeth helping Dad open his presents

Go Pens!

New suit

Yummy cake!

Happy Birthday Ben!

I love you!