Cell phones and driving do NOT mix!!!

Donovan and I were in a car accident today. WE ARE BOTH OK. I was very shaken for a few hours after though.

I was driving down the road and a car (guy on his cell) swerved into my lane. I reacted without looking and slammed the side of my car into one of those yellow concrete parking lot poles (WHAT is the purpose of those dumbass things?!?!!?)

The front passengers side door needs to be replaced (it can't even open) and the back passenger door will need to be banged out and repainted. I am hoping they don't tell us we can't use Donovan's car seat anymore although, luckily, it's the infant carrier which is about to be retired for him.

One nice thing is that we have awesome insurance. I am taking the car to a Progressive Conseirge Service Center on Monday. I'll drive my car in, they'll assess the damage, repair it and my rental will even be waiting for me! They'll be giving me a rental that is the same car I already drive - which is awesome. When the car is done they'll call and tell me to come get it and I leave the rental there with them. Hooray! I am all about the one stop shopping, repair, etc as that is SO MUCH EASIER with Donovan in tow. 

My poor car :-(

   

Playdate with the "Girlfriend"

Yesterday, Donovan had a playdate with Remy, his little girlfriend. He met Remy through Gymboree and she is about a month older than he is. They squeal when they see each other and hold hands, play and steal binkies from each other. We had a lot of fun... Melissa and I went out to lunch first and then we took the kiddos to the park (well, we had to find a park but the one we found was pretty awesome!)

Once there I took a lot of photos of them. Not only for us to have but to work on promoting my new photography business (http://www.wix.com/aoportraits/AnneeOlden). Thanks to them and for my great gift idea:

I already have FOUR booking for my services!! I am so excited and really feel like this business venture could actually take off and grow into something. Mom and Dad... happy I am using that photography degree you paid for??? :-)

Here are some of the photos from the playdate, look in our Picasa album to see them all!

          

Sippy Cups and Such

OK so... we've been trying to master the sippy cup. It's not working as well as we'd like. Donovan prefers to chew on it and has not yet figured out he needs to suck on it. So he looks like this while he tries to drink:

 

At least he looks happy! We'll keep trying but who knows what will happen and how long it'll take. We've tried every trainer sippy we could find so far! I figure it's a skill he'll just pick up at some point. That's how he figured out how to mash food with his gums... I mean, I didn't show him how to do that... one day he just did it! Now he is a gerber puffy and biscuit fool. As soon as he sees the containers for those things his little legs start going crazy and he gets all excited. Since he has figured out the mashing, I have also given him some small banana pieces to try as well... he loves that too! I am nervous about choking though and wonder how small I should make the pieces... pea sized right? Here he is after enjoying some puffs and a biscuit:

Clean up these days is tons of fun... I think we'll be needing more frequent baths!! He'll love that as he LOVES bathtime. Especially now that he figured out he can splash Mommy and Daddy in the process! :)

As for Stephen and I... we're doing well. Stephen lets me sleep in every weekend which is awesome and  I have been trying to get the house clean and get dinner made as many nights as possible. Things are starting to get easier now that Donovan has a routine and I feel more rested. We've been talking about another baby and perhaps we'll start trying again soon - who knows :)

Brooke is good - she'll be 2 in July and has apparently entered her annoying phase of puppydom. is she even still a puppy? She's gotten more needy and more of an attention hog but that may be due to the increased attention paid to Donovan as he is doing so much more these days. she's jealous. However... she LOVES to play with Donovan and he loves her to pieces. He laughs and laughs when they play. Here are some pictures of them playing:

   

Not too much going on here. I have started a Mommy Video Blog so feel free to check that out here: http://themommyvideos.blogspot.com/  Not sure why... just seemed like fun.
I also started a photography business and you can see that here: http://www.wix.com/aoportraits/AnneeOlden I am hoping to build up a good local business with this and already have a few bookings for my services!

The last photo I'll leave you with tonight is on Donovan in his new big boy pajamas... he is just too cute in them!

Our New Favorite Skill

Things have been busy here in the Olden household. Donovan is crawling (well... backwards) and he has learned to pull himself up to a standing position and now, that's all he wants to do! He wants to stand so often that in Gymboree he had no interest in any of the activities... he just wanted to stand. We are so proud of him and he looks so proud of himself when he's doing it.

     

We've been outside in the nice weather quite a bit and Donovan loves sitting outside to play. He has also been to the National Aquarium in DC (was a disappointment to Mommy!) and been to the National Mall to see the Cherry Blossoms. He has tried a lot of new foods and enjoys chewing on Gerber Biscuits. He has also tried chicken (which he likes) and lamb (which he's not too sure about yet). We can't believe he's already 7 months old (I know - we say this every month) he just keeps surprising us, and making us smile, everyday. He is now officially closer to 1 than to a newborn which is both exciting and a little sad - he's growing so fast!!!