under contract

We are officially under contract to buy this house:

the yard is huge

I'm so excited to have a proper kitchen and not a lame apartment kitchen

If all goes as planned we will close on September 30th. I'm excited for some southern country living! There is even a swing on the front porch!

our first attempt

"i'm not so sure about this"

"yup, i'm pretty sure i don't like this"

"i think this look should tell you how i feel about what you just put in my mouth"

and if those pictures don't tell you enough about how our first attempt went, check out the video. Notice how Asher tries desperately to hurl his body out of the Bumbo so that he can get as far away from the rice cereal as possible.

4 months at 5 months

Asher went to his new pediatrician today for his 4 month check up. We are a month behind with the whole moving business. He passed with flying colors.

Weight: 17 lbs and 7 oz --90th percentile
Height: 26 1/2 inches --92nd percentile

He smiled and laughed with the doctor the whole time. She could hardly help herself and just giggled and flirted back with him the entire appointment. She asked me if he was always like that. I told her yes. He pretty much smiles and laughs all day long. He was a huge hit.

He got a couple of pokes in his legs and off we went.

We cuddled up on the couch when we got home. I got a few "you know that long needle thing they stuck me with? well, that kind of hurt and I need extra attention today" cries, but now he is fast asleep.

I just love this boy!

He is growing up so fast. He grabs at everything now and my hair is definitely paying the price. He is dying to sit up. Bath time is a struggle since he won't relax enough to lay back but also can't quite sit up yet. He pretty much spends his days laughing, smiling, bouncing in his jumparoo and resisting all attempts to get him to nap. I think this week sometime we will introduce him to the wonderful world of solid food.

cameron and the beach

My newly engaged brother (yay! Cameron & Ashley) came into town this weekend for a quick visit. He took the red-eye in Thursday night/Friday morning. We hung out mostly at home Friday because he was pretty much too tired to do anything but we made up for it today. We headed out early this morning to Wrightsville Beach. We spent a couple of hours there soaking up the sun and the waves. Cameron and Quinn played frisbee in the ocean while Asher and I chilled under the umbrella. (These aren't the greatest pics because I forgot my memory card at home and Cameron ran out of disc space so we did camera phone pics.)
Quinn did dip Asher's toes into the sand and water. He liked the sand...the water, not so much.

After the beach we drove into Wilmington to check it out. We passed the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial and thought we would check it out. This battleship served in the Pacific during WWII.

The boys walking towards the ship


Asher holding onto the battleship

We didn't take the tour because we didn't have the time to make it worth the money but we definitely plan on going back.

We then headed back home exhausted. Cameron heads back to Arizona tomorrow but we are so glad Cameron could come to visit even if it was only for a few days.

frugality

I've been wanting to get into the world of coupon shopping for a while now. I've been to many websites but it all sort of seemed overwhelming and I didn't know where to start. Last week I saw a show that talked about this lady and her website The Grocery Game. Basically, she will provide you with a list of the best sales and the best way to use your coupons to maximize those sales for each week for pretty much any grocery store. So I signed up for the 4 week trial (I think it is $10 for a 12 week subscription after that). So I did it. I bought the Sunday paper and clipped away last night. Then I logged on and chose the store I wanted and saw the list of what she recommends buying this week. I made my list, gathered up my coupons and off I went this morning.

Here are the end results:

I bought $72.87 worth of groceries and cleaning supplies for a total cost of $38.09 for a total savings of: $34.78

Not bad for my first time out. And I know the more I clip the more I will be able to save. And I bought two things that I didn't have a coupon for some wheat bread and a soda (because it is ridiculously hot here today and I was dying!)

Also, I'm getting better and navigating the world of getting screaming deals at Walgreens. And now I live by RiteAid so I need to start learning about that too.

lately

Quinn and his mom, Vicky were able to fly back to Dallas last weekend and drive the truck back. I'm so glad and thankful Vicky was able to make the drive with Quinn. And many thanks to our friends Sterling and KC who drove them out to Rockwall where the truck broke down!!

While they were gone Asher got a new toy. We copied his cousin Miley and ended up with the same jumparoo.

This kid loves and needs constant stimulation. So I'm loving this because I can put him in it and get a good 30 minutes out of it before he realizes I'm not paying attention to him. I love to watch him discover all the little things at his fingertips. And just today he finally figured out that the seat turns so he can move from section to section.

Vicky was able to stay for a few days and was a huge help to us when the moving truck arrived with all of our stuff and also on our first day of house hunting.

Quinn also took her for a tour of his office.


Asher loved having his Grandma visit.

Asher and I spent the day at home yesterday working on his sleeping habits. I think we are making progress. We have been doing the same today as well. He has been such a happy and joyful little boy through all the chaos of the last few weeks but it has definitely messed with his sleeping habits. I'm hoping we can get back on track soon.

Tomorrow we go looking at houses again. I liked 3 of the 6 we already looked at so I'm hopeful we will be able to find something we love.