5 months

our wild man is 5 months today! here's a little recap from the past month...

- he has discovered his feet, which I think is the cutest thing when he plays with them

- he is very determined to crawl... ever since he figured out how to get into the position its all about rocking front to back. sometimes he can hurl himself forward but most the time he scoots backwards. goodbye stationary play time, hello baby proofing.

- watch your face when you hold him... he death grips your face and will study it intensely

- we started solids at 4.5 months. He does not like the rice or oatmeal cereals, he likes sweet potatoes, and is unsure about green beans {I would be too since they are a nice puke green color, yum} 

- will put anything within reach into his mouth, and when he's through it will COVERED in drool

- we are currently working on sitting. he can gorilla sit for a little bit by himself {supported by his hands} and when I hold him in the sitting position he barely needs my help.

- he LOVES his stationary entertainer. he's constantly jumping and banging his toys around. this is why I call him 'wild man'. he's going to be trouble when he's mobile. 
- he is losing all his dark hair and the hair that is growing back keeps getting lighter and lighter.

- he is still very talkative, and now he's even louder. I guess he is finding his Jelovich voice ;) 

things to come...

- Thursday we start our drive cross country back to Washington. he hates his car seat so it should be an interesting adventure. wish us luck. 

xoxo

uh oh...

this week has been all about planks and pushups... and today he figured out how to get into the crawling position and rock back and forth... {he's done it more than a few times so I'm not just being a crazy mom, or maybe I am... either way ;)}. no joke, this kid is going to be a beast... 

xoxo

homemade thank you gifts {in mason jars}

we have the. best. neighbors. ever. they watch our house and take care of our dogs when we're out of town, mow our lawn when Zach is away, give us great hand me down toys and clothes for hunter, offer free babysitting, and are just all around great friends. we will definitely miss them. so to say thank you I made them a few homemade treats.

 

since I usually always have baked goods in the house when they come over I made two 'cookies in a jar' mixes. you can find the recipe here {i made one with nuts and one without} 

I also made a homemade brown sugar body scrub with vitamin e and honey. I love this stuff and will definitely have to make some for myself when I get settled on the west coast. the only thing I will do differently for this is use a smaller jar, to fill a quart size jar it took three of these recipes.

and for their cute little girl Evie, I got a princess coloring book and some giant crayons. 

 

what was really great about this project was that for the most part it was all things we had around the house already. the only things I had to buy were the coloring book and crayons {under $4 for both} and the mason jars since I already packed the ones I had {pack of 12 1-quart jars for $10} I am mason jar obsessed lately so the rest will go to use soon... guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year??? ;)

 

xoxo

 

 

the last week

a week from now Hunter and I will be on the road headed back to the North West. I couldn't be more excited to go back home to family and friends but at the same time there will be plenty I will miss about our time here in NC. 

 things I will miss...

- the coast. by far the best beaches {and beach towns} I've been to. sorry California.

- the woods. the trees may be a little thin but the no underbrush makes up for it.

- fall. when the leaves start changing there's nothing like it.

- storms. I could sit and watch the lightening storms for hours here, and the thunder so loud it can rattle the walls.

- farm land. yes. it's true. I like our little farm community we live in. driving past all the cotton fields and old abandoned barns makes everyday errands scenic. 

- the history. there's so much here that I wish I spent more time exploring.

- the architecture. i swoon driving past all the old southern homes and mansions. give me a wrap around porch any day.  

- the feed store we go to in town. the owner is a nice old Southern man who knows everything about animals, not to mention the boys that work there will never let me carry the dog food out to my car, love Southern gentlemen. oh, and there's a chicken that runs around free inside.

- our first house together. granted it was rented, and not our "style" but it was our first place to make a home together and start our little family in. 

things I WON'T miss...

- the humidity. ugh.

- the drivers. apparently they don't believe in blinkers and the left lane is for pacing the car in the right. 

- no coffee shops. the closest one to us is 15 miles away... {this is far for me... I'm used to one on every corner in the land of coffee ;)}

- our neighborhood. it's nice and new, but it's cookie cutter. they just came through and leveled all the trees and built cheap look alike houses. not our thing. glad we didn't buy one.

- the slow service in restaurants and stores. it definitely took us awhile to be more patient with people here.  

- being so far away from our family and friends.     

of course the biggest thing I will miss in NC will be Zach. it's going to be so hard to be so far from him and possibly not being able to live together again for at least a year {if he gets deployed}. I feel for him though, he will miss so many of Hunter's 'firsts'... I miss the little man just being away from him for a few hours... I can't imagine for months. it will be best for the long run though and is what army life is all about... and hey, hopefully after all this he'll be able to join us back in the evergreen state ;)

see you soon Wa!

xoxo

first attempt

we did it. we attempted "solids". on Monday we got the go ahead from our doctor to start trying out foods with Hunter, so that night we went for it. the exotic meal of choice? oatmeal. he had no trouble taking the spoon since i had been letting him scope it out a week or so before, but the initial shock of a new texture and taste confused him a bit i think. he took a few little spoonfuls but then started to get a little frustrated so we called it good. he ended up being more interested in putting his hands in the oatmeal and trying to eat the bowl. 

I can't believe it's that time to start trying food, time really does go by fast having a kid. we love watching him grow and learn, so excited to see what he does next!

xoxo 

kid, you'll move mountains

caught Zach doing a little story time with the Babe, love these little moments, and love this book. 

then of course we did a little family mirror time photo shoot... Hunter's favorite :)

xoxo

independence

friends, bbq, hot sun, downpour, thunderstorm, kiddie pools, jello shots, sparklers.

happy 4th everyone!

xoxo

and so it begins...

it's official... Hunter, Zev, Lola, and I are moving back to the North West... and SOON, as in by the end of the month soon! Zach has about 4 months {3 different schools} of training to do down at Fort Benning starting at the end of the month, and then he may be deploying early next year so we decided we might as well move back now. Nothing like a last minute move across the country!

the plan is for my Dad to fly here and drive with Hunter and I back to Wa. We'll be moving into my parents basement... a 27 year old with a baby moving back in with the 'rents... woot woot! at least this way we can save money so we can buy a house when Zach gets back, and can you say free babysitting?!

so let the packing begin! we've already got the two rooms upstairs packed so I'd say we're off to a good start. Cheers to another adventure! ;)

xoxo

 

 

bathtime bonding

 i love my boys

xoxo