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Quinn Six Month Update

Tuesday, November 17, 2015
I can't tell you how many drafts of a Quinn update I have in my folder right now. I've been trying to update for the past two months but having two kids brings life to a whole new level of busy. Unfortunately these past few weeks, three out of the four of us have been fighting the uphill battle of cold & flu season (and why not throw in a case of croup while we're at it).


Our Quinny girl is 6 months old! She has become an expert at sitting and catching some pretty impressive tumbles. She loves to talk. For now, it's a lot of 'mamama' 'lalalala' 'bababa', but it's the cutest. I love watching her mouth form different sounds. I think she is starting to try to figure out crawling and her favorite thing to do is to double fist hair (especially the long locks that belong to her sis & mama) and pull as hard as her body will allow her. She also loves to squeeze her tiny hands. Especially when those hands have a hold of the apples of my cheeks or the soft delicate skin right under your eyes. Although, I'm sure it helps with the bags under them each morning after already being up a few times to rock or feed her back to sleep. Some of her other baby work outs include holding on to my hands and bringing herself into a standing position and baby bridging all over the changing table. 




She thinks that everyone else is second best when it comes to Parker. The moment she walks into a room, Quinn's smile gets wider and her eyes double in size. The other day I placed Quinn on Parker's bed while I was getting ready for work and heard Parker saying something about a ghost. I walked into the room just in time to see Parker tipping Quinn over with a blanket over her head. When I went over to check to see if she was okay, I lifted the blanket only to find Quinn exhilarated and ready for more. We have an inclination that she is going to be our wild one. 


This poor girl's hair! We love it, but she is rocking a serious mohawk. When she was born she had a lot of soft dark hair and it's all seemed to fall out aside from the little patch on the very top of her head. It's always a tough call when it's time to brush it after her bath. Do we go comb over or embrace it and just comb to the front? Parker's hair came in around 7-8 months so we think Quinn's should be sprouting back soon. 




The sleep schedule is still a work in progress. She still sleeps on her side which is adorable but also terrible because if she rolls over onto her back she wakes up crying. She is waking up around 1-2 times a night but falls right back to sleep after she eats. Last month she was going to sleep around 730, but this month we get her down more around 8-830. I'm so glad for the extra hour because when she was going to bed earlier, I would barely have time to hang out with her between coming home from work, making dinner and getting the girls ready for bed. 


Around 4 months we had the go ahead from our pediatrician to start introducing solids. Quinn is off the charts for height but her weight percentile dropped from 75% at three months to 50% at 4 months. I am still nursing her but give her purees mixed with cereal at lunch and dinner time. Her favorites so far are vegetables (especially green beans). For the first couple weeks she would gag when I would try to give her anything sweet. What kind of baby doesn't like sweet potatoes? However now she is getting used to the different flavors and loves the banana & blueberry purees. I on the other hand, am not loving her diapers. Holy mother. 

We really do feel like we've been blessed with such great girls. Quinn is easy going and loves life. She thinks everything is great and will smile at anyone who is smiling at her. She's our homebody and snuggler, and just makes life that much sweeter. 



Quinn's Nursery Tour

Sunday, October 4, 2015
This post has been way overdue! Life continues to be crazy busy while we get the hang of juggling a baby and a thee year old so finding time to take pictures of a clean nursery has been challenging. Once we found out we were having a girl, I was so excited to get to designing the nursery! We moved Parker into her new big girl room and got to flipping the nursery almost immediately. We ripped up the carpet and laid down hardwood and traded in the black and white stripes for a very subtle pink.

My favorite part of the nursery are her wooden letters (which were actually the inspiration for the overall feel of the room) and the hand painted buffalo and donut painting, painted and gifted to me from my lovely cousin Nicole.


I have loved this glider! We first had it with Parker and it's stayed in such great condition and I'm so happy we were able to use it in this nursery as well. 








There are so many sweet (and not so sweet ;)) memories in this room that it will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Parker's (Very Early) Third Birthday Party

Saturday, September 26, 2015
One, two, three! I remember when Parker was a baby, I kept thinking to myself that I couldn't see myself being a mother of a three year old. Yet, here we are a week away! That went by so incredibly fast. One of Parker's all time favorite books is Flora and the Flamingo. I think I posted about it before, but I love it just as much as she does. It doesn't have any words so the story changes each time we 'read' it and the illustrations are just so good. So good that we decided to honor her favorite book and celebrate the big three, flamingo style. Fla-mingling, if you will. ;)

We kind of went all out with this party with a bounce castle and the most amazing gourmet hot dog truck, but at the end of the day it was so worth it. I talked Parker into going down the slide with me maybe ten times. It was also sissy's first birthday party so I'm sure she has pretty high expectations come May when she turns one. Parker had the best day ever running around bare foot, jumping for four straight hours and eating an octopus dog, a pb&j dog AND two cupcakes with all those who she loves.



























For now, I'm soaking up every last minute of my sweet two year old. Happy early birthday, Parker Lulu!

Newborn - Three Month Favorites

Friday, August 21, 2015
I'm now at the age where it seems like everyone I know is having babies. Quinn in three months old and I still think it's weird that I'm a mom of two. The other day during dinner, I kept repeating that over and over and Matt was looking at me like I had gone insane. Now that my friends are having babies, it's even weirder thinking of them as mothers because they are the same girls I've always known. When I was younger I guess I thought that mothers were supposed to fit into this mold where they were completely different people than they were before. In reality they just get more awesome because they have little sidekicks who essentially grow up to be the best parts of them. (Sorry for the rambling, it's just one of those things that the more you think about it, the more it freaks you out).

With all of the pregnancies and new arrivals around me, I thought it might be helpful if I did a round up of all of my favorite newborn - three month essentials. Some of these items I used with both babies, and others I wish I had found the first time around.



Solly Baby Wrap
This has been one of my biggest life savers, especially since I am constantly on the move chasing after an always active toddler. 'Parker, hands away from the dog's butt', 'Parker, don't climb the changing table', 'Parker, stop stealing toothpicks from the pantry.' Wearing Quinn which keeps her calm all while keeping tabs on her sister and being hands free, has saved my sanity. We used the K'Tan and Ergo carrier with Parker which worked for the colder months, but since Quinn was our summer baby, I knew I wanted a carrier that was soft, lightweight and breathable. The Solly Baby Wrap was just that and more. It comes it so many beautiful colors (I went with the grey and white stripe), and it's extremely stretchy and easy to wear. I throw it on when I go to the grocery store or when I take the girls out for walks (we're procrastinating with getting a double stroller), and Quinn falls asleep almost instantly. I always recommend this wrap whenever I can, I wish I could carry Quinn around in it forever ;).



Aden + Anais Security Blankets
We received these when we were pregnant with Parker, but since she didn't take to them right away we stored them away. When I saw my friend's baby take to his and calm right down whenever he held it, I knew I had to give them another go with Quinn. I would give her the blankets each time when she fussed or when she went down for a nap and after a few goes, I noticed that they would calm her down and she would be at ease. She always holds them up to her face and sometimes chews on them, but they are so lightweight and breathable that I don't have to worry about suffocation. Regardless, they keep her happy, so we're keeping them around!


Aden + Anais Zip Muslin One-piece
There's no denying that I am on an Aden + Anais full on bender. They just introduced their clothing line and I had to grab up a couple of their long sleeve muslin one-pieces. I love that the fabric is similar to the security blanket just a tad bit more dense and with a little stretch. It seems to keep Quinn at a comfortable temperature all night regardless if she has a blanket over her or not.

Old Navy Zip Cotton One-piece
Notice a theme here? It seems like we had a good 2 month stretch where Quinn needed a new diaper every 10 minutes so the zipper on these things were extremely necessary. There are countless options for the snap closure one-pieces, but I found that the zipper ones were hard to come by. That's why when I found these on Old Navy's website, I picked up a few different colors. These are also a good budget friendly alternative to the Aden + Anais one pieces. The fabric is so soft and they come in so many pretty colors! Quinn lived in these when I was on maternity leave and I plan on getting more to accommodate her growing self.


Honest Company Lotion
I love using this lotion on the girls! It leaves their skin softer than any other lotion I've used and afterwards they smell like creamsicles.

Puj Tub
We have two full bathrooms in our house, both of which are on the smaller size. We don't have a lot of space to use (or store) a full blown baby bathtub. The Puj tub has been great so far. We used it with Parker when she was a baby too! The tub is made out of a soft foam that folds to create a little cradle, which you then place in the sink and lay the babe in. It has tiny holes in it so you can keep the water running during the back (huge plus since this allows the water to stay warm and fresh). After your done, the tub unfolds flat and we hang it on the back of our door so it stays off the floor and takes up virtually no room what so ever.

throwback Parker picture ;)


Dreft Scent Boosters
My friend Kellie turned me onto these and I am obsessed! You know how warm baby clothes smell fresh out of the dryer? Amplify that scent by 10,000 and you have the Dreft scent boosters! I've been using these with each wash (probably a little excessive) of the girls clothes and people always comment on how good they smell. There's nothing better than a delicious smelling baby!

Little Crane Headbands
If your a baby headband fanatic (like myself), you will love Little Crane headbands. They are so simple which allows them to be more versatile. Also, the elastic is extremely flexible so it won't fit too tight on your babies head.

I hope some of my mommy friends (and even friends without babies) found this helpful. All of these items would make excellent shower gifts, I am always excited to put together little gifts and include some of my favorite items in them.
 
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