Happy Father's Day!

I have been a busy little bee lately. It has been about 3 weeks since my last post...I think? I have officially lost count of how many weeks Cashman is now. I suppose I could look at my last post, but I'm too lazy. In an effort to make my posts more interesting an less informative (boring), I'm just going to write off the top of my head. I will still record the important things, but its redundant to say that he's eating the same things from week to week, and still sleeps in our room. Blah, blah, blah. :)

Its Father's Day today! I'm so thankful to have a wonderful father, and a wonderful husband, who is a wonderful father. Wonderful! :) We went to Outback this afternoon after church to celebrate. Colt and I aren't big of gift giving, so I just got him a card. In Colt's Father's Day card, I wrote about how a woman never really knows what kind of father her husband will be until they have a child. You may think that your husband will make a great father one day, which I always did, but I have been so blessed to see Colt play such a hands on role with Cash. Having Cash has made him even more patient, loving and kind. He loves watching Cash reach his milestones. He takes pride in Cash's sweet and happy demeanor. He truly is everything I could have wished for a father to be to my children.

In less mushy, and more self-centered, "Aubree" related news, as I said, I've been a busy bee. I've had a few photo shoots in the last few weeks, which I always look forward too. I'm always excited for clients to see the photos I've taken, and choose their selections so I can start the editing process. It sounds weird, but I love that I love photography. Its an interest that I've only really delved into in the last few years, but I enjoy it so much. Not only taking pictures, but looking at other people's pictures, amateurs and professionals alike! Not only have I been busy with photography, but I've also started writing articles for Associated Content. Most of them are baby related...obviously. Its not a ton of extra money, but the website does pay for the articles. Its at least a dinner out here and there! I've always considered myself to have pretty good grammar, but after writing these articles, I've realized that I've forgotten so many rules. Great...now you're probably checking this post for all of my my mistakes. You guys can overlook my grammatical errors but Associated Content will not, so I have to proofread a few times. I will include a link to my latest article at the bottom of this post.

This week we had Matthew and Meredith Evans over for dinner. As I'm not used to cooking for more than just the two of us, I made spaghetti which is fairly foolproof. We had a great time talking and comparing interests. Colt played at their wedding in December. We also had a visit from my cousin Jason, who has just returned from Iraq. We are so thankful that he returned home safely. He brought Cash the cutest little Rays t-shirt and onesie with a Rays bib. I can't wait for the next home game so Cash can rock his t-shirt. He also brought a very special gift from my Aunt Val, his mother. She made Cash a beautiful blanket that has a big sun, and a sand bucket in the bottom corner. The top of the sand bucket is made out of three neckties, one from Colt's father, one from my father, Cole, who passed away when I was two, and one from my father now. I love it so much. I have it hanging on Cash's crib. I will cherish that blanket forever.

In baby related news, Cash is saying, "DaDa" now! He started saying it this weekend, which is ironically Father's Day weekend. He rolls over from back to front like a mad man, but has only rolled over belly to back on three occasions, and they were all pretty much flukes. Still breastfeeding and eating his baby food. He is getting pretty good at using his sippy cup and he's really into holding things now. He loves to hold our cell phones and tries to grab everything off the table when we eat dinner at a restaurant. The days of him sitting quietly in his carrier are gone, but I don't plan on giving up our dinners out. I'm just going to have to teach him how to behave at a restaurant. It will be easier when he can sit up completely on his own and we can put him in a high chair. He is still drooling and biting everything which makes me think that a tooth is on its way, but still no sign of it yet from what I can feel. I'm not sure how much he weighs or how long he is. He's wearing 6-9 month clothes and can even fit into some 12 month shirts!

I guess my pregnancy hormones must be wearing off because my hair is falling out like crazy! I heard this would happen, but I kind of hoped I'd be the person that this awful plague would magically skip over. Nope! Along with the hair loss, my skin is breaking out like crazy! I guess its hormones, because I've never broken out on my cheeks and that seems to be where its the worst. I'm normally a t-zone breaker outer. Ha! I was laughing about these horrid hormones today in the car. I told Colt that I was going to be bald and have acne! HAHAHA! Colt said, "Its ok, I'll just introduce you to people as James Carville...This is my wife, the ragin' cajun!" HAHAHAHA! Thankfully I have a good sense of humor.

Well I think that's it for now. Cash is stirring around in his bed. Time to eat! I'm working on another "I Just Want You To Know" post. No I haven't forgotten. Just trying to think of what I want to say. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading!

Here is a link to my article for Associated Content: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5477034/a_guide_to_baby_products_mothers_dont.html?cat=25

20 Weeks: The Family Man

Cash is 20 weeks old! I'm not sure at what point you stop counting the weeks and start going by the month. I will say that I had to count the weeks on a calendar to remember that it was 20. Maybe that's a sign that I should just say he's about 4 1/2 months old.

Over the last few weeks his personality has EXPLODED. He is Mr. Personality! Lets just jump right in...

Physical: I'm not sure how much he weighs or how long he is right now. Everyone is telling me that he looks bigger than he did a few weeks ago, so maybe he's gone through another growth spurt?!? The teething process has definitely become more of an issue for him. He has developed a little bit of the "teething cough" and a warm forehead (although I'm not sure he's had any kind of fever). He is chewing on EVERYTHING! He has never been a fussy baby, but over the last few days, his teeth have really been bothering him. One good thing about Cash is that if he's fussy, you know there is a problem, because he never fusses for no reason. Baby Oragel does the trick. We discovered another little birth mark this week. I was changing his diaper and I noticed there was a little, light brown spot on the back of his leg. I don't know why I never noticed it before. It is really light, so maybe that's why. He's grabbing everything now, and is able to take out his pacifier with his hand. The thrush has been gone for a while now. The baby form of Diflucan has done its job!

Sleeping Habits: He's still sleeping with us and we're still loving it. Colt and I were talking about how sad it will be when he has to go in his crib because of another sibling or some other reason. We will miss him being in here with us. We returned the cradle to its home in Ohio this week. It had been in our room awaiting Cash's arrival for many weeks before he was born, and he has slept in it, or with me since he's been born. It was sort of sad to see it go, even though I'm well aware that it is an inanimate object and doesn't have feelings. That was the cradle that my grandmother, Jan, used for her baby boys (four of them). My father, Brian, slept in it when he was Cash's age. My Uncle Kevin and Aunt Katie are about to have their first baby, so now they'll use it for their sweet baby girl. I love family traditions and heirlooms! The pack-n-play is now at my bedside, just in case Cash ever decides he wants to sleep in it. Haha! I usually put him in it a few hours before we wake up. He has been sleeping about 7 to 9 hours a night when he's sleeping beside me. I try to put him in the pack-n-play but he wakes up and babbles or starts to fuss until I put him beside me in bed. At that point he smiles, turns on his side (he prefers to sleep on his side or back) and grabs my face to get comfortable. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Eating Habits: Cash is still breastfeeding, and taking a formula or breast milk bottle about once every one or two weeks. We are still giving him rice cereal or some type of fruit or vegetable. Also, he loves ice cream. Yes, I'm "that kind of mom". Ha!

Milestones: On 5/29 Cash rolled over from back to front for the first time. We're still working on rolling from front to back. He doesn't mind being on his back, because he's recently discovered that he can grab his toes. He's still not a fan of "tummy time" although he'll lay there for a few minutes without fussing. He's saying "Mama" a lot more now. Colt finally heard him say it, and so did my Aunt Heather. Its usually when he's fussing. Last night (6/2) Cash reached for Colt for the first time. Colt was playing a game with him on our bed while I was washing my face, and he said, "LOOK! He's reaching!" I watched it all unfold through the bathroom mirror. SO CUTE! He LOVES to stand on his legs now with our help of course and takes a few steps at a time. He can sit up with the help of his arms as an anchor, but he can't sit up by himself. We're almost there!

This Week (or last few weeks): My brother, Brian Jr., graduated from high school this week. We are all so proud of him and can't wait for him to be at FC next year. Cash did great through the lengthy graduation ceremony. I got up once because he started to "talk" and I didn't want any of the proud parents to be upset that my child was talking through the ceremony. I went to the back and he fell asleep so I walked back up to my seat in the front. Of course, about 5 minutes after I sat down, everyone started clapping for one of the speakers, so Cash woke up, but he was good. I got to see my brother walk across the stage before Cash and I went to the back for the end of the 2 1/2 hour ceremony. Another benefit of my brother's graduation was that it brought in all of the family. Cash got to meet my Pam Pam and Grandpa Tom, the Touchton clan, my Grandpa Shipp and Aunt Dee, and he got to see my Grandma Jan, Grandpa Tony and Zeke again! Of course we love getting to see all of our local family as well. We took about a million pictures! Cash got to see Clearwater Beach for the first time this week. He loved the sand and feeling the water on his feet. These last few weeks have been REALLY busy! We've been back and forth between Clearwater and Temple Terrace everyday this week. My Aunt Heather took some really cool family pictures for Colt, Cash and I this week. I will post a preview, but I'm still in the process of editing them. She always does such a good job.

I think that's about it for now. I'm sure there are a million things I'm forgetting. This is the first post I'm writing without the help of an email filled with info to include. Notice how much shorter it is. Haha! Stay tuned for some topical posts to come! Thanks for reading!!!