First Mother's Day!

Today was such a great day! I was able to sleep in late, had a great time at church, got some fabulous gifts, and spent a wonderful afternoon with my family. This Mother's Day was truly special!
I owe so much of my joy to my husband. I'm so blessed to have a man who takes the time to make sure that I know that my hard work does not go unnoticed.

Calvin is growing by leaps and bounds! He is well over six months and is trying so hard to crawl. He can do a full push up and launches himself forward to get whatever he has his eye on. He's very stubborn and makes it perfectly clear what he wants! Adventures with solid food are so fun as well. We take it slow and just experiment with different flavors to see what he likes and to expose him to different fruits and veggies. It's not a part of his daily routine and it won't be until he's older. So far, he loves mangoes! He also likes avocado. We tried some organic baby oatmeal mixed with mangoes and he loved that. It's such a fun experience for all of us to see his face as we try new things. I would like to make all his food, but the reality is that I won't always have the time so I've been exploring which products I like. Some brands that I've found are Ella's, Happy Baby, Earth's Best, and Plum. All are affordable and completely natural and preservative/pesticide free. Happy Baby, Ella's and Plum are in convenient pouches, it's great! I love our chunky, cute baby. I had to clean out all his drawers and closet and replace them with 6-9 months clothing. Even so, trying to get some things over his head is a challenge. ;) I tell him that just means he's smart...

I'm so blessed and grateful to have a healthy, happy baby boy. God is so good, and our family has learned so many lessons over the past few months! We recently sold one of our vehicles to down size and save money, and I am so grateful it worked out. I'm learning more and more about how what you think may be the worst thing that could happen to you can turn into a blessing in some form or another. Since my Dad is no longer able or wants to use his Jeep, Elio can use it for his work car. We are able to save a significant amount of money and begin to get to a point where we've wanted to be.

Mother's Day has also brought much reflection on how my life has changed! Not only with having a child, but with marriage and some of the trials we've been through, I've definitely come a long way. This time a couple years ago, I was driving a red sports car that I thought I'd always wanted. Now I'm happy to have my "normal" sedan that saves on gas and is safe for Calvin. I used to drop an embarassing amount of money on clothes and shoes, then Elio got laid off for over a year and I learned what's really important is having a fridge full of food. I'm so grateful for how far we've come and celebrating this day together was the perfect reminder of that.