a big girl carseat

James installed Ella's new carseat this weekend and so far she likes it so much better than her infant seat. She has always disliked being put in her carseat, but lately was REALLY fighting it most of the time. We had a great coupon and some store credit that we needed to use before the beginning of October, so we bought her seat and thought we would go ahead and put it in and see if she liked it better.

So far it has been success! She seems to like sitting up straight more and it nice and soft, too! Picking a carseat was definitely something we researched A TON and talked with other moms we know to see what has worked well for them. We decided on the Britax Pavilion, which is the Boulevard with Click and Safe on the straps. We did not really think that you had to have the Click and Safe, but BuyBuy Baby only had solid black left in the Boulevard and I saw this cute fabric on the Pavilion and was sold! For about $16 more we didn't have to wait for them to order the Boulevard and it is the same carseat just with the click and safe which I don't mind.

I know there are a lot of people who also really love the Marathon and we were definitely between the two of those, but when we put Ella in them she seemed to do better and just fit better in the Pavilion. There were also some reviews that said the Boulevard/Pavilion made it difficult for their baby to see out the window because of the extra side protection foam. We have not had a problem with this at all. We are in a SUV and Ella seems to be able to see out the window just fine. Plus, we really like the extra protection that the side impact foam provides.

Just like any baby decision or purchase you definitely have to do what works best for your family. There are pros and cons to all baby items and you just have to find the one that matches the pros you love and the cons you can deal with.

Here is our sweet girl in her new carseat. She is also cutting her top 2 teeth. We can feel the left one already through her gums and the right one is pushing through....AH! BIG girl!!!

Happy Monday!

8 months

Our sweet Ella is changing so much every month! This month she has been a moving machine. She is army crawling and up on her hands and knees like crazy! She has also gone from laying down to sitting up on her own. This might be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. She is literally laying down and walks her arms back into the full splits to get to sitting up. Every time I take her to the nursery at Watermark or anytime anyone sees this they always call her the little gymnast. It is hilarious!

Also now that she can sit up from laying down, she likes to sit up in her crib, which is a whole new world. She even looks straight into the camera and says, "Mama." She also says baba, dada, and other babbling, but I will just enjoy believing she is calling me by name...haha! I really have loved her learning to say mama though...it has been really sweet. She is a talking machine and loves to talk most when we are driving around.

She is still feeding 4 times a day and eating solids 3 times a day. We have started pulling her highchair up to the table without the tray so she can eat with us as a family. James can't get enough of this and thinks it the cutest thing ever. She loves just about anything we give her and is doing great with picking up all of her finger foods! She gets frustrated grabbing avocados and bananas but finds creative ways to get them!

We are so grateful for our sweet girl! She bring us so much joy! Here are some pictures from her 8 month photos....

Her monthly photo shoots definitely get harder every month...but definitely funnier! 

Our First Family Trip

A couple of weekends ago we took our first family trip to San Antonio to visit the Hyatt Wild Oaks Ranch. My sweet friend Leah and her family told us about this place and we had such a wonderful time. This was my birthday present from James and it could not have been more perfect!

We left early Saturday morning and Ella slept in the car. We had to stop several times to let her get out and move. Partially because she needed to and mostly because we felt guilty keeping her strapped in. She did SO great except on the way there and back she cried the ENTIRE way through Austin. The moment we left Austin she stopped crying and James thought that was the best thing ever....a future Aggie...maybe? 

When we got there we spent most of our time in the pool, lazy river, eating yummy mexican food, and relaxing. Ella thought all of the pool time was like the world's largest bath and couldn't get enough. They had a splash park at the resort and she loved that too! 

Also, on Sunday afternoon James sent me to the Hyatt Hill Country Spa as my present from Ella. It was heaven! Literally, I left my phone with James and relaxed there for almost 3 hours, got a pedicure, had tea and snacks and decided he can send me to the spa whenever he wants :)

Overall, it was a great getaway. We know traveling with a baby is different every time and every stage is different. We were so grateful Ella did great the whole weekend. We pushed nap times and bed times and definitely were on no schedule whatsoever and it was really nice! 

Also, I would recommend going after "summer" once school starts because we got an amazing deal, since it is a family resort and most kids were back to school. 

Oh, and next time we will try to take more pics with all 3 of us that include both of our faces haha!

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is looking forward to Fall as much as I am!