For Peep's Sake

The kids at Mia and Quinn's daycare all have an Easter hat parade on the way to chapel the week before Easter each year.  The kids make the hats at home with their families.  I was stressing about it because I had forgotten about it until a couple of days before.  Thankfully, a trip to Target got us the supplies we needed to complete the hat.  I manned the hot glue gun, and Mia stuck the plastic eggs on.  She finished it off with a bunch of foam stickers.  I thought it looked pretty cute, and she loved it.  Last Sunday, I took some Easter pictures of M & Q.  It was the most fun I've had taking pictures of the two of them together.  To watch them interact and actually get some of that on camera was priceless.

Quinn with a golden egg just like the one Mia opened last year filled with blue jelly beans.  She was excited last Easter to find out she was going to have a brother!  Now, just look at him.  :)

In Bloom

Wes and I took the kids to the Arboretum a couple of weeks ago.  Dallas Blooms is going on now, and the flowers were at their peak.  We knew it would be busy on a Saturday, so we got there early.  In addition to seeing all of the gorgeous flowers, I wanted to take Mia's four year old pictures as well as Quinn's 6 month old pics.  I don't know much about lighting or adjusting the settings on my new camera, so I wanted to play around with it a bit.  Mia was a good subject to take photos of because she liked to pose.  Quinn is setting up really well, so I wanted to get some cute pictures of him.  However, there was too much going on I guess because he kept getting distracted and didn't look at me much.  I got some good ones, though, and I'm pleased with them.  Hopefully, my pictures will improve as I learn how to use my camera.  My friend, Julie, is a photographer.  She said some weekend we'll go take some photos around Oak Cliff, and she'll show me how to use it.  I need to figure out how to edit them as well.  I might have to play around with PhotoShop to figure it out.

Mr. Clean

Our tall baby boy has outgrown the baby bathtub.  His Nana bought him a Sesame Street blow up tub for the bathtub.  On Tuesday, we decided to try it out since Quinn's feet were dangling off the side of the baby tub in the kitchen sink.  He is sitting up really well by himself, and he enjoyed his "big boy" bath.  He wasn't too keen on having water dumped on his head, though.

Quinn has so many nicknames.  I guess that most babies do.  I've always called Mia "Punkin" or "Goose".  Punkin is pretty self explanatory (Pumpkin).  When she was a baby, I didn't want to give her a complex by calling her Silly Goose, so I shortened it to just Goose.  It stuck.  Quinn gets called anything we can put a Q in front of.  Most of the time we just call him Q.  Somehow we got started called him Quinnie although I keep telling myself to stop doing that.  Also, he gets called Quinnie Boo, Qbert, or Q-dog.  Pretty much since the day he was born, I've been calling him Smiley.  He's such a happy baby that I can't help it.  I've taken to calling him Blondie lately too.  I have dark brown (almost black) hair and hazel eyes.  Same for my hubby.  Who would've thought we'd have a blond haired, blue eyed baby?  Genetics.  I don't get it.  I'm sure his hair will get darker as he gets older.  He's cute as can be and the sweetest little thing ever.

First big boy bath

Southern Maid breakfast...Yum!

Quinn at 28 weeks old

Yummy in My Tummy

I started Quinn on solid foods last week.  We skipped rice cereal and started with oatmeal.  He ate it okay but didn't seem too impressed.  I'm making his baby food just like I did with Mia.  It's so super easy (and way cheaper than jarred baby food).  Wesley baked a couple of sweet potatoes, and then I peeled them, cut them up, and mixed them up with my hand mixer with a bit of formula to thin them out.  To store it, you just spoon the sweet potatoes into ice cube trays, and pop them into freezer bags after they're frozen.  Quinn loved them, and we couldn't shovel them into his mouth fast enough.  Mia wanted to take a turn feeding him too, and did a great job at it.  Let me just say that this kid is one messy eater.  He had sweet potatoes all. over. himself. to the point that I just had to give him a bath immediately after dinner for three days in a row.  Haha!  I think he's getting the hang of it now.  I've given him mashed bananas the last few nights, and he actually didn't get it in his hair or his ears.  He wants to eat it so fast, though.  If you don't immediately have the next bite ready, he shrieks at you.  Haha!  I'm a little sad that we had to start supplementing with one bottle of formula at daycare this week.  I have nothing against formula, but I was just trying to exclusively give him breastmilk for as long as possible since it's good for him.  However, no matter what I do, my supply has decreased and won't go back up enough to cover three bottles a day for daycare.  It's hard to breastfeed when you work full time.  It's only one bottle of formula a day, though, and the other two are still breastmilk.  I hope he doesn't give the daycare ladies a hard time about it.  :)

Mia has been all about green things this month.  She wanted to wear green on Friday to show and tell.  She and her classmates all brought green toys for show and tell.  Mia took a green bowling pin.  I feel certain she is the only kid who brought that random toy, but it was that or a stuffed frog.  I figured that surely someone else would bring a frog anyway.  Mia was signed up to bring a green dessert for her class's St. Patrick's Day party.  I frequently just pick something up at the store for these parties, but once in awhile, I try to actually make something (that's simple).  I decided to have Mia help me make rice krispy treats.  We added a little vanilla to them which made them even yummier.  Once mixed up, I added some green food coloring.  Bam!  St. Patty's Day treat for the kiddos.  Mia said that her friends loved them!

 First bites of oatmeal

 The first food I made for Quinn is the same as it was for Mia: sweet potatoes

 Mia wanted to help feed him.

Quinn at 27 weeks old.  He was covered!

 Don't pinch us!  We've got our green!

 

Six Month Milestone

Quinn Marcus is six months old now!  He's halfway to his first birthday, and the time is going by so fast.  He's almost sitting up unassisted.  He can do it for a couple of seconds, but then he tips over.  Very soon he won't need any help sitting up.  He reaches for toys, and everything is going right to his mouth.  We've had to start telling Mia to be aware of her little toys and keep them away from him.  She does a good job with it but still needs some reminders.  She's so sweet with him.  Sometimes she stops what she's doing just to go give him a hug or kiss.  She does dances and makes silly faces at him when he's upset because she just wants to see him smile all of the time.  The only time he seems to bother her is if he's being loud when she's watching tv.  This morning she kept exclaiming, "Quiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn!!!!  I can't hear my show!"  She did this a few times and then hopped off the couch to go over to him in his walker.  She said in a soft voice, "What's wrong baby?  Do you want your paci?" and proceeded to plop it gently in his mouth.  They adore each other, and it makes my heart happy.

I took Q to his 6 month appointment last week.  His head circumference was in the 100%.  Wes said that's because he's smart, and he has a big brain.  He was in the 93rd percentile for his height (28cm) and weighed 16lb 8 oz (28%).  Dr. C said that his weight is more like about the 50th percentile based on the patients he sees.  He also said that if his growth pattern continues this way, he'll easily be 6 feet tall when he's grown.

Although he hasn't quite mastered sitting up yet, he's a pro at rolling over.  I've had to retire the playmat.  He rolls to the edge and was frequently getting his legs tangled up.  Now, I just put him on a blanket on the rug.  I have to keep an eye on him, though, because in just a few seconds he can roll to the edge of the rug and onto the hardwoods.  Another funny thing he's doing is shrieking just to hear himself.  He'll squeal really loud and then look pleased with himself.  :)

Quinn at 26 weeks old

 The playmat kept getting in his way.

 Tired baby fell asleep in his jumper.