Seven months old

So dark...I was too lazy to fix it. Oh well!

This was a huge month. As in, boy is growing and there ain't no stoppin'! I'm pretty sure this is by far my favorite baby stage. They're still so cuddly and sweet, curious and mobile. 

This has also been the first month where I have seen such a sweet connection between he and Gabriel. Their love for each other is blossoming as they begin to interact and play with each other.

Stats

Height: 30.2 in.

Weight: 24.5 lb

Diaper size: Size 4-5

Clothing size: 18-24 months

Likes: Learning to eat food on his own, splashing around in the bathtub, army crawling across the floor, grabbing things he's not supposed to

Dislikes: Teething, having his diaper changed, not nursing to sleep, waking up in his own bed

Special notes: Teething majorly set us back in terms of napping. I coddled and snuggled and nursed him through the FIVE teeth he cut this month and frankly, I think he was much happier because of it. Gabriel used to keep us up all night but nope, not little Jonie. He sleeps through the night and tortures us all day (hah!). He's starting to try table foods and I gave him egg yolk for the first time yesterday, which was a big hit with him. He has stayed over with my parents several times and it seems to be getting easier to leave him...sort of. We're working on it as I prepare to leave for Napa next week. He has begun army crawling and rolling across the floor which, in theory is really cute and funny, but I know that ANY DAY he is going to be truly mobile and I'm kind of terrified. 

He's such a little rascal, I can hardly get him to stay still anymore for pictures!

And then he was done...off to find more interesting things than mom's camera.

Happy seventh month, my little Jonie.

Previous posts:

One month old.

Two months old.

Three months old.

Four months old.

Five months old.

Six months old.

Obsessed: what I want to be wearing right now

Love every single thing about this outfit. It's low maintenance, kid-friendly and comfy looking.

I have those boots in black (courtesy of my amazeballs hub) and a purse similar to that one. I could totally recreate this outfit!

Euro Trip by wesche27 featuring a coach perfume

Which means I also want it to be late fall, cool and breezy, and I want a pumpkin spice latte in my hand, stat.

What fall things are you looking forward to? 

Do you have a fall fashion staple?

River Island striped top
$11 - riverisland.com

Rick owens jacket
$2,230 - shopmrsh.com

Etoile Isabel Marant denim skinny jeans
$220 - shopmrsh.com

Steve Madden steve-madden boots
heels.com

Madewell leather shoulder bag
shopbop.com

Tear drop earrings
kohls.com

Astley Clarke stackable ring
astleyclarke.com

Scarve
$70 - eluxe.ca

Coach perfume
$94 - johnlewis.com

Weekend catch-up

I swear this isn't going to become a place where once a week I come and am like, I have been so busy...I don't know what to say...I have writer's block...blah, blah, blah is all you're hearing, right? I have a lot to say and frankly, I really want to talk about it. But how do I explain to you that our lease is ending and we have about 234,239,936 options, yet no direction whatsoever?

It would take 18 posts to describe our confusion and at least 10 cups of coffee for you to be able to last through that one-way drag-on conversation. Here's the gist: in September, we're either homeless or we extend our lease. Stay in the hot, god-forsaken valley or move back to San Diego. Try to buy a house (though realistically we wouldn't be able to afford one in our dream town, we would have to compromise on being farther removed) or rent until we can save enough for a down payment. Over there or here? Adrian commutes an hour or works 10-15 minutes from our home here. I go back to work so we can save money or I stay home with the kids and we continue to rent forever...and the list goes on and on and on.

via

So like I said, herein lies the problem. We have too much to say about every option, we talk and talk and talk and decide on one thing and then talk some more and decide on something else. Convince ourselves we're doing the right thing and then get a taste of life back near our city and we're right back to square one, thinking we should make the move back to SD.

I miss having friends. I miss my family not being an hour and 15 minutes away. I would like to put Gabriel in some extracurricular activities (as of now we can't commit because we're gone every weekend). I miss having things to do on the weekends. I miss not having to spend the majority of the weekend traveling back and forth. I miss our health provider being less than 1.5 hours away. But I remember when my husband commuted 2 hours each way and at the end of the day (literally), it was not pretty. And that was with only one kid!

Hence my distraction. Hence my silence. Breaking the silence means word vomiting my confusion all over you and I am too confused to be clear. Bear with me...we're challenging ourselves and changing and growing and doing stuff and at some point I'm sure a decision will be made and poof! Clarity! Understanding!

Until then...I'll give you a little glimpse into my weekend, since that was the original intention of this post. I spent time with my brother who is finally home from Japan and out of the Navy and never going back, yippee! On Saturday, my mom and I hottified ourselves and went to an old, old friend's wedding. Um, and btw, my mother is seriously aging backwards. She looks like my sister or something and it is kind of ridiculous(ly awesome). Sunday, I made an extremely long drive with an extremely good friend to attend an extremely sweet baby shower. All in all...good weekend.

How was your weekend and please give me good advice...in life...in decision making...something. Kthanks.

PS, check out my guest blogs from other the weekend:

Looking forward to fall

Boredom busters

Science experiment gone...something.

I remember seeing a science experiment somewhere using oil and water, coloring the oil with food coloring and dropping it in water to create blue "bubbles."

So, we pulled out the vegetable oil, water, containers, little toys to put inside and set out to recreate it.

the dirt did NOT work out well.

Now, I fully understand the properties of oil and water and food coloring but...well, I don't know. Maybe our proportions were off.

 
Maybe the project I saw was nothing like this and I misread it.

Oh well, the colors were beautiful, Gabriel enjoyed playing around with the food coloring (a little too much) and it was a great opportunity to explain to Gabriel why oil separates from water.

As you can see, it was very pretty and clearly showed the difference in the different liquids.

What kind of fun stuff have you done with your little ones lately?

Brothers

This is how it started, that picture on the right. The day Gabriel met his brother. As I was resting up after Jonas' birth, waiting for Gabriel to come in and meet him for the first time, I was filled with apprehension. I'm sure every mom-to-a-second-baby feels this way...wonders how her firstborn will adjust to life with someone nipping at their heels. Having to share their parents' love with another.

Gabriel's first reaction, I think, was fear - why was Mommy in bed and what is this weird place we've been at since 5am? And I know he was overwhelmed, I could feel his nerves from my hospital bed. He wasn't ready to hold him, but offered him a Cheezit, sweet boy. He eventually warmed up to him, though he was still unsure.

The next day, when we brought our little snuggly newborn home, I was anxious to see how Gabriel would react to this - the rocking of his whole world. I don't know what I expected, except that I know my boy and that he is a Mama's boy to the core. He likes my whole entire attention always and God-forbid anyone get in the way.

When we arrived home that evening, I realized that I am blessed beyond reason to have my boys. Brothers. I don't know why I doubted Gabriel and his ability to adapt.



His ability to grow his love for our family big enough to include his little towheaded brother, just like Adrian and I had.

When Jonas first came home, he would not sleep in a crib whatsoever. He would fuss and fuss until I snuggled him up in our warm bed to sleep for the night. Every morning, Gabriel would run into our room and ask, "Is my brother still here?"

I didn't expect this bond to occur so soon and am humbled by Gabriel's immediate love for Jonas. It literally makes me tear up just to write about, to recall it in pictures. 

I am in awe everyday of their fierce love for each other and looking back, can't imagine why I doubted Gabriel at all.

The way that Jonas laughs at his brother when he makes funny faces.

When Gabriel tells me, "Mom, I'm going to go play with my brother now." 

How Gabriel cares for him already, his concern for him when he is crying or fussing.

How Jonas' eyes follow Gabriel around the room, watching his big brother.

How Gabriel greets him smiling after a morning away at school.

I was worried that Gabriel would be jealous or maybe hurt. I didn't want him to feel like we loved him any less now that I had a baby to take care of while trying to fulfill Gabriel's need for attention.

But nope, Gabriel has never once lashed out at his brother in anger. He hasn't shown any frustration or acting out towards any of us. He is a 3-year old, still a baby too, really, and has his good days and bad days, but he still shows Jonas nothing but affection.

To see them at the age where they can interact now, that's what is making me so emotional and excited and proud. Enjoying each other's company, taking baths together, making noises and speaking to each other, playing and smiling.

I can't help imagining all of the beautiful things to come...