Friday, November 25, 2011

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!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

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!


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

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

Monday, November 21, 2011

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. 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

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!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

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!

Family Trip to Michigan

On Cash's 5 month birthday, we flew to Michigan to visit our families and have Cash meet everyone.  We were only in town for 5 days and boy, did we pack a lot into those 5 days!  We did our best to see everyone and were able to have a few large get togethers as well.  Our first day in town, we met Jeff's Aunt Rene for some family photos (those will be posted later).  A few of my high school girlfriends were able to stop by that evening to meet Cash for the first time.  We had planned on taking Cash to the zoo with my dad and stepmom, but we had a change of plans due to the weather and visited Henry Ford Musuem instead.  Cash loved looking at all the cool stuff there and got to spend the day with Papa, Gabby, Aunt Jenny, cousins Jake and Eric and Uncle Steve.  We were also planning on a big group trip to the Cider Mill, but due to windy weather and one tired baby, we weren't able to make it.  Maybe next year!  Jeff's Aunt Rene offered to have his mom's side of the family over for a get together at her house and we were able to relax and visit and get some pictures of the newest members to the Ouellette side...Mia, Cash and Joshua.  While we were all glad to get home and back into our routine, we had a great visit and loved spending time with family and friends.  We hope that we will be able to do it again soon, but flying with a baby sure is a lot of work!



Posse Ladies...Monica, Hayley and her son Roman, Cash and I, and Sara


Roman really likes Cash!



Eric and Jake hanging out with Cash

Grandma Sue loved having some extra time with Cash

Aunt MeLynda and cousin Emily Elizabeth

Papa David and Grandma Sandy

Cash really liked Uncle Dave!
Cash and Great Aunt Ann

Papa Gordie and Cash

Steve and Jeff

Our handsome nephew, Nicklas

Uncle Jimmy and Cash

Nicky giving Cash a kiss goodbye...it was the sweetest thing!
3 Generations

3 Generations and Great Great Grandpa Earl

Great Great Grandpa Earl and Cash

Cash and Grandma Michelle

Cash loving on his cousin Mia.  Mia is 10 days older than Cash and it was so cute to see them interact together
Looks like trouble to me!

Mom and her girls...Jenny, Momma Sue and Shell

Siblings...Jenny, Steve and I

Grandma and her boys:Jake, Nicklas, Grandma, Cash and Eric