You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry...

Ahhh...children's first visits to Santa!  Will they cry? Will they scream?  Will they smile?  We weren't sure how Cash would react to Santa at all!  Earlier in the month, we started with the "Ho Ho Ho" to see how he would react...and he cried!  We kept saying it to see if his reaction would change, and in the last couple weeks, he has smiled and laughed when we did it, so we figured now would be a good time to go see Santa!  We decided to take Cash to Fisherman's Village in downtown Punta Gorda for a number of reasons, the biggest being that you bring your own camera to take pictures.  Awesome, since you don't know what kind of reaction and pictures you will get.  So we took Cash down there on Saturday after a nice long nap and some lunch in the hopes that we wouldn't have the screaming baby!  What a pleasant surprise when Cash just checked Santa out and didn't make a peep!  He of course decided to take a handful of hair and beard...thank goodness it was all real!  Looks like we will have to go back next year...I have a feeling it will be a different reaction! 

Here is Cash already checking out Santa...he doesn't look too sure!

I am talking to him and saying that Santa is a nice guy...and that he will bring him presents if he goes and sits on his lap!

Santa was great with Cash!  As you can see, Cash is not 100% on what is going on.  But he does have a handful of Santa's beard just in case something shady goes down!

I LOVE this pic because it looks like Cash is saying, "I got you figured out old man!"

No smiles from Cash, but at least he wasn't screaming!

Happy 7 Months Cash!

Again, I am a little late on posting Cash's monthly pictures...I blame it on the craziness of the holidays!  I know that I say it every month, but we cannot believe just how fast Cash is growing!  It just seems like yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting Cash's arrival and now he is 7 months old!  Earlier this month we had Cash's 6 month appointment.  He weighed in at 18 pounds, 5 ounces and is 28 inches long!  He is definitely our little precocious little boy! He has to examine everything and is becoming quite the little "explorer" now that he is mobile.  It's amazing just how fast he has gotten crawling and he sure does wear us out!  Here are Cash's 7 month pictures...he is such a handsome little boy!

Big boy sitting up!

Man, MORE pictures????

These pictures are getting harder to take since Cash doesn't like to stay in one place for too long!

He is getting stronger!  Only a matter of time before he is pulling himself up and trying to walk!  God help us then!

Bath Time Fun!

Jeff and I had to share this video with you all...Cash absolutely LOVES his bath time!  Cash gets excited when we take him into the bathroom and he sees the tub ready for him.  He goes crazy in the water and we have a feeling that we will have a little fish next summer!  Here is Cash enjoying his bath!

And We Have a Crawler!!!

Cash's sixth month has been filled with many new things and he has mastered yet another one...crawling!  Jeff and I were both here to witness his big crawling debut and it was so exciting!  We had been working with Cash on his "scooting" for a couple weeks now.  We knew that it was only a matter of time before he really figured it out and at the end of November, he did!  Jeff and I set Cash down on his blanket to play and all of a sudden, he was on the move!  We both watched him make his way across the living room and were so excited!  Here is a video right after Cash's first crawl across the room...we are so thankful for technology and the fact that we are able to share these firsts with all of you!

Now the REAL fun has begun...in the two weeks since Cash showed off his new moves, he can now move across the room in a flash!  His belly is still on the ground, so we know once he lifts it up, we are REALLY in trouble!!!

So Much To Be Thankful For...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I know that I am a day late with this post, but after all the delicious food consumed yesterday, I was in a food coma last night and decided to wait a day to post!  We hope that everyone had a wonderful day yesterday and that you were all able to celebrate it with those that you love, whether it was with family or friends.  Jeff and I had a pretty low key day.  We had dinner here at home and invited our friends, Barb and Top over to celebrate.  I cooked the turkey (grandma Millie would have been proud) and some sides, and Barb and Top brought some sides and we had a fantastic meal together.  We have really been blessed to have Barb and Top in our life as they have become a big part of our Florida family.  We don't know what we are going to do when they retire and start on the next part of their life and start traveling around the country.  We do know that we will miss them dearly and I am so thankful that we were able to share this Thanksgiving with them.  This year, Jeff and I have so much to be thankful for.  At this time last year, Cash was just a little turkey "cooking" in my belly...this year, he is here eating the turkey!!!  Yes, I put some turkey in the baby food maker and blended it up so Cash could join us at dinner!  Here he is taking his first taste of turkey!

 As you can see, he wasn't too sure about it all, but he had a few more bites and seemed to like it!  As I was saying, I couldn't be more thankful this year.  After a somewhat eventful pregnancy, Cash was born a healthy little boy.  I am so thankful that we are all healthy this year, as many family and friends have been dealing with health issues.  It really makes you step back and realize just how lucky you are if you don't have to worry about health issues daily.  I continue to be thankful for that every single day.  Jeff and I are thankful that we have a roof over our head, food in our bellies, friends and family that love us and that we love.  We really are blessed beyond measure.  Our biggest blessing this year would of course be Cash.  He has made us smile every single day!  Here is our little turkey celebrating his first Thanksgiving!

 How can we not all be thankful for this sweet little boy????

I am also thankful that I get to spend every day with Cash.  Being a stay at home mom is the best job there is...I get paid with sweet smiles, slobbery kisses and giggles...and that is priceless!   I get to watch Cash grow and learn and explore...I am blessed that I have been able to watch all of this as you can never get this time back and it goes by far too quickly.  Here I am with my sweet baby boy!

Of course, I am thankful for the first love of my life, Jeff.  From the moment Cash was born, the title of "dad" fit him perfectly.  He has taken on this role with ease and I fall more in love with him when I see him with our son.  I am thankful that my husband is so hardworking and supportive...he has provided so much for our family and I know that he will continue to do so.  Cash is lucky to have such a wonderful role model in his life and I hope that his parents are extremely proud of the man that he has become.  Here are my boys...Cash just lights up whenever his daddy comes home and it makes me smile every single time!

Finally, here is a video of our little Indian...this is Cash's new favorite thing to do and it just cracks us up when he starts to do it!  We hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season, as it is just beginning.  We love and miss you all!

Trip to the Zoo-Part 2

How could I forget that Cash got to pick out a new buddy at the zoo???  Here he is with his new friend, Raffi the giraffe!  Sophie may have some competition now!

Trip to the Zoo

Jeff and I have been trying to find things to do with Cash that A) aren't too expensive, B) are child appropriate, and C) aren't too far from home.  When we went to Michigan in October, we were going to take Cash on his first visit to the zoo, but the weather had other ideas that day.  On Friday, we took a little "adventure" and went to the Naples Zoo.  It is about an hour away, but we timed the drive so Cash could nap on the way there.  The Naples Zoo was very nice...not too big and it was easy to find.  We spent the day walking around the zoo and showing all the animals to Cash.  The highlight was seeing the giraffes...you can actually feed them!  While we didn't feed them ourselves, we did get to see other people feed them so Cash got to see the real live Sophies up close!  It was a really nice family day and Jeff and I know that we will be taking Cash back once he is a little bigger.  Here are some pictures from our day.

Ready to roll and see the animals!

The monkeys were hilarious...they were swinging all over and running around

The lion

Having a good time!

Mommy and Cash at the Giraffe exhibit...it was pretty awesome!

Lunch time!

Cash had so much fun it wore him out!  Naptime!

Sleepy boy

Happy 6 Months Cash!!!

Jeff and I cannot believe that Cash is 6 months old!  We honestly don't know where all the time has gone and we cannot believe that our little boy is getting so big!  Cash continues to make us smile every single day with his humor and sweet smiles.  I honestly don't really remember my life before Cash's arrival...everything is just a million times better with him here!  I am loving being a stay at home mom and am so thankful that I get to spend my days watching Cash grow and change and become the little man that he is.  So far this month (sorry, I am a little late with the post), Cash has been working on sitting up like a big boy.  He is still a little wobbly, but he is doing a lot better than this time last month.  He is also getting a taste of new foods.  I have made Cash all of his baby food so far and he has been loving every bite he gets!  So far he has had apples, bananas, peaches, green beans, squash and sweet potatoes.  Jeff and I have a feeling that there isn't going to be too much that he doesn't like!  We go for Cash's 6 month check up the first week of December, so I will have to give you his stats then, but he is definitely growing like a weed!  Here are Cash's 6 month pictures!

6 months old!

Here he is showing off his new trick!

Big smiles!

Soooo big!

Celebrating Veteran's Day

One of the things that Jeff and I love about Punta Gorda is that there is always something going on Downtown on the weekends.  There is usually something going on in Laishley Park, which is on the Harbor, and every weekend, we go down to the Farmer's Market and get fresh fruits and veges.  This year, the Punta Gorda Chamber held the Veteran's Day Parade the weekend before Veteran's Day.  We really wanted to get down there for this to not only honor all the Veteran's, but to also honor Jeff.  Jeff didn't know it, but Cash and I made sure that he had a special outfit to wear that day...it was a secret just between Cash and I!  The parade was a little less than an hour, but we were able to see the whole thing.  Cash really liked looking at all the people...he even didn't mind the marching bands and the motorcycles!  Here are some pictures from the parade.

Cash and Daddy...everyone that walked by commented on how cute Cash was and how he was even wearing camo!

Our little Cashew!

Here is Daddy's surprise...I of course helped Cash out with getting it ready!

Cash sure is proud of his daddy!

My boys <3

Momma and Cash

 

We also celebrated on Veteran's Day too...Cash wore his special onesie for Daddy and we went out to dinner to one of the many restaurants that were offering free meals for Veteran's.  Even though Cash is still too young to understand what an important day Veteran's Day is, he has Jeff and I here to teach him the importance of it and to tell him how special it is to be a part of the Armed Forces.  I know that Cash will be so proud of his dad one day...just like I am proud to be Jeff's wife. 

Happy Halloween!

Another big first for Cash this month was his first Halloween. We did get Cash a Tiger costume to wear for some pictures, but Cash didn't go trick or treating this year.  Our neighborhood doesn't have paved walk ways on the streets so kids don't usually go trick or treating here.  The downtown Punta Gorda historic district (think downtown Plymouth) has trick or treating every year and it's pretty crazy...lots of people and most of the houses really go all out with decorations.  We decided not to take Cash this year since he is so small and we would have had to carry him the whole way or use the stroller which would have been close to impossible in the crowd.  We will definitely take Cash next year and we know that it will be exciting for all of us!  We did take some pictures of Cash in his costume and carved a pumpkin for him.  Here are pictures of our Halloween festivities this year!

Our little Tiger!

He had to give the pumpkin a taste...since he couldn't put it in his mouth, he brought his mouth to it!

ROAR!!!

Hiding out

Such a cutie!

Pretty good pics for doing them myself!

Cash checking out the pumpkin...Jeff and I love this picture for some reason!

Feeling the guts...wasn't too impressed

He's having fun!

Cash and momma

We were surprised that he didn't try to eat the guts

Jeff did a great job carving the pumpkin for Cash!

We thought this would be a good idea...

until Cash tried to lean forward and almost topple the pumpkin!

And he is done!

October-A Month of Firsts

October was definitely a big month in our house.  Cash has continued to grow and change so much and he is hitting so many milestones!  On his 5 month birthday, he took his first plane ride to Michigan.  While there, he met many family members for the first time.  On October 20th (which is also Grandma Sue's birthday), Cash woke up with his first tooth!  I couldn't believe it!  He had been acting a little different when we returned home, but we thought he may either be coming down with something or that he was just trying to get back into his routine at home.  But that morning, Cash had his bottle and proceeded to put my finger in his mouth...no big deal since this was a daily occurrence.  But that morning when Cash bit down, there was a tooth in there!  Imagine my surprise upon feeling that tooth!  On October 29th, tooth #2 made it's debut and Cash is now sporting his two front teeth on the bottom!  At the end of the month, we also started Cash on cereal to get him ready for real food.  He wasn't too sure of it at first as you can see from the pictures, but he has grown to love it and is like a little birdie when he sees the bowl and spoon!  We can't believe how much he has changed in just one month! 

Cash's first taste of cereal...not too sure about it

Day 2 of cereal...REALLY not feeling it at all!

I had to put this one on here because of the Elvis lip...too cute!

Now Cash knows what is going on when he sits in his high chair...here he is ready for daddy to feed him!

Here is a picture of Cash's first tooth!

Cash also got his first mustache this month...best 25 cents I've spent in a long time!