8 Months Old

Someone took my sweet newborn and replaced her with a sweet 8 month old.  I must have blinked.

Everything has gone by so much faster the second time around.  I guess having to divide my attention more means that more has slipped by. 

I still try to write in Kate's calendar most days to record the little things, like "ate grapes and blueberries for the first time" or "waving" or "pulling up on everything" or "slaps on the edge of her crib when she's ready to get up" or "nestles into my chest with her fingers in her mouth when she's ready to go to sleep" or "crawls so fast it's hard to keep up"...

Yeah, those are all recent milestones in this precious girls life.  Boy, oh boy, she's a sweetie pie.  I can't get enough of her.

Yep, that's a new car in our driveway!

The post says it all.  There's a shiny new car in our driveway after a day of car shopping.  Well, actually it's a shiny new USED car, but all the same to us!

While I completely understand the practicalities of a minivan - and they are, in most cases, a better value than an SUV - I wanted to stick with the SUV since it is doable with 2 kids.  BUT, I also wanted the option of being able to haul a friend or family member as well, which just wasn't possible in our little SUV with a backseat filled with 2 carseats.

But car manufacturers are getting smarter.  More and more offer a 2nd row with captain's chairs that make access to the third row actually possible with carseats in.

There's one, in particular, that I've been drooling over for awhile.  I was able to track down a barely used one in a neighboring town - a 2011 with 13,000 miles - that was fully loaded with everything that we wanted.  2 sunroofs.  Rear back-up camera.  DVD.  Leather.

Hubby and I got my mom to watch the girls on Saturday and we made the trek to the out-of-town dealership to see if it was indeed the bargain we were looking for.

Well, as I said, the title gives it away.   And we estimate we got it for at least $10,000 less than a new 2012 of the same model.

Here's a stock picture of my new Chevy Traverse (in this snazzy red color)!  Believe it or not, it has more total cargo room than a Tahoe and is longer than most minivans.

While I've had the car now for about 24 hours, I LOVE it!!!  We took it for a little drive today with both of the girls in their carseats, 2 adults up front, and 2 adults in the 3rd row and there was plenty of space.  Awesome!