Debt Free Journey

Well, our family has finally accomplished a goal that we set out for a few years ago, to be debt free, expect our mortgages. We've had a few setbacks, but we finally made it and that is what has made it possible for me to stay at home with Hunter.

Four years ago, looked a lot different than today does. We had two auto loans, a few credit cards, and six student loans between the two of us. I'm going to guess our debt load was 60-70K between all those things. The first thing we paid of were the credit cards and started paying them off every month and never went back to carrying balances on them. Then we tackled the five smaller student loans on by one. We got both our cars paid off at one point and were left with only my one student loan. Then there was are setbacks... we wanted newer vehicles. We did not need them, but we did it anyways :(

I don't fully regret buying Jesse a new truck and me the SUV I had wanted forever. It means that we love our vehicles and we truly do not want or need to trade them in for a very long time. We did finance about half of each of them because we had our other vehicles paid of and we traded them in.

So our next steps were paying off his truck, my SUV, and then, just this week we paid off my final student loan. Woo-hoo! It feels so good to know that everything we own (besides our two houses) are completed paid for and we can live on a lot less income.

Why did we do it? I think the driving force really came after Hunter was born. I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be a stay at home mom, but I did know that I wanted to have that option if I wanted it. I also knew that we Jesse being in the military, we could have to move at anytime, which meant that I would be jobless for at least a period of time. It was more long term planning for the what-ifs.

We still have an emergency fund in savings, which for my sanity I need (can you tell I'm a planner? Even for the unexpected?). I'm so happy that we went down this path. I would never of dreamed that would could live on one income, much less comfortably, but here we are! I feel much more free and less stressed out and am SO blessed to be able to stay at home with Hunter and grow another little baby. I think the key is to stick with it even if you don't make all the "right" decisions along the way, it'll happen eventually!

I love to hear about other people's journey to be debt free, so feel free to share! Or if have any questions, leave me a comment or e-mail me!

Hunter's 2nd Birthday!

Last Saturday was Hunter's 2nd birthday! Jesse's mom came out from Washington D.C. for the weekend to celebrate with us. It ended up being a great couple of days. We had Hunter's birthday party at Jumpin' Jack and Jill in Sumner. It turned out good, the kids had fun and the adults got to chat with each other. What more can you ask for? :)

There were bouncy slides, cupcakes, cake pops, crayon wallets, balloons and most of all great family and friends.

18 Months!

Hunter had his half birthday last Friday! I can't believe how fast time has gone by and how grown up my baby is getting!

The most noticeable change in Hunter in the last month is his vocabulary. He has literally doubled the number of words he says in a matter of weeks. I'm going to try to list some of the words he is now saying that we wasn't a month ago.

Here we go: Elmo, Steph! (he repeats Jesse when he's calling me), cheese, cracker, cookie, baseball, Costco (we are so proud! Haha), juice, boot, sock, shoe, up, down, please, fish, hop, lemon, baby, bath, choo choo, all aboard... hmmm, I'm sure there are more, but this is all that is coming to mind right now. Oh yeah, he's also starting to understand that "Hunter" is his name. When I say "Hunter" he says "Mom" back to be and we continue to do this back and forth sometimes while in the car.

He's still wearing 18-24 month clothes and some of the 2T stuff I've gotten him for Spring/Summer, size 4 diapers, and eating really well. He loves apples, dried fruit, ice cream, and chicken nuggets.

We went to his doctor appointment and it was confirmed that he's growing like a weed. He's 29lbs and 34.25 inches and is in the 90th percentile for both.

We fall more and more in love with our little man each and everyday. :)

17 Months

Hunter just reached the 17 month mark yesterday. Just like everyone else with kids, I wonder where the time went. I think back and realized that he’s almost been walking for half of his little life already! That just seems nuts to me!

The day was just like most days, but as I posted on my Facebook, I was determined to make it a great day, and I did accomplish that! I went to work for my normal 7am-4:30pm day and headed to my parents house. Jesse had a night flight, so Hunter and I decided to hang out with Grandpa Ed and Grandma Kim for a little while. My mom and I took Hunter over the Centennial Park in Snoqualmie so that I could start up Week 2, Day 1 of my Couch to 5k program. My mom ended up walking the loop with Hunter a few times while I ran. It was so relaxing and motivating to run after work. Hunter LOVES going for walks in his jogger stroller.

We then headed to the grocery store, grabbed some dinner and groceries, and headed back to my parents to eat dinner and make a breakfast casserole for the breakfast potluck that my work is having today. I need to post that recipe because it’s soooo good!
We got home by 8pm, I put Hunter to bed right away, and I think he fell asleep before I even left the room! And I have to admit, I fell asleep not too far into watching the Biggest Loser, we were tired!

What is Hunter up to at 17 months?

He is really talking a lot these days! The words he uses are: Mom, Daddy, Bo, Oscar, milk, ball, dog, car, apple, more, truck, snack, duck… hmmm, those are the ones that are coming to me, but there are probably more.

He’s wearing mostly 18-24 month clothes, size 4 diapers, weighs about 28lbs and last time I checked he was 34.5”. In the last week or so, he’s become much less picky about food and has even started to eat meat!!! That is unheard of for Hunter. Yay!

The Better To Eat You With

I don't know if I am imagining it, but Hunter's teeth have seemed to double in size the last week! He has not gotten any new teeth since the week of his birthday, so he has 4 top, 4 bottom, and 4 molars... but they are growing at a rapid pace.

Here are a couple of pictures I've taken in the last couple days that show his huge teeth clearly.

We've got teeth!

Hunter finally got his first teeth! My Dad called me at work last week and wanted to know if I already knew that Hunter had a bottom tooth. Sure enough, when I went to spend my lunch break with Hunter there was a tooth! Within a few days he had another tooth right beside it. I can't believe how fast Hunter is growing up.