christmas cards

I love love love receiving Christmas cards in the mail. It's so lovely to get a little something that isn't a bill or junk mail. Normally I hand stamp my own cards to send out to our family and friends, but this year I felt I had a pretty good excuse to have someone else make them for me.

Since Quinn was born in November I combined our Christmas cards and his birth announcement into one card. Hooray for being savvy and cheap all at the same time!

I used Shutterfly and am very pleased with how it turned out. Here is this year's card:

life saver

We recently purchased what I deem to be the best baby item to date, My Little Snugabunny Cradle n Swing. It seriously has been a life saver. Quinn likes to be moving, whether swinging, bouncing, or rocking it doesn't matter as long as he's not sitting still. This swing has been perfect.

My Little Snugabunny Cradle n Swing by Fisher-Price

The hubs brought it home and promptly put it together (which only took about 10 minutes) and Quinn has been enjoying it ever since.

While we're on the topic of baby items below are some things that work for us and are Quinn approved.

Avent Soothie Pacifier

I brought a couple of pacifier options to the hospital, but Quinn didn't like any of them. One of the nurses gave him the soothie and bam! we had a winner.

Boppy

I love the Boppy, but not for nursing. Quinn likes to sleep on his side and the Bobby keeps him wedged in the perfect position.

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

This is the pillow I love for actual nursing. It is a stiffer foam and clips around you which means at four in the morning when you're half awake the pillow will stay in place and baby won't roll off. I recommend having a second cover for the brest friend and the bobby so when your little one has a blow out or spits up (both have happened to us multiple times) you'll have a clean cover to put on the pillow right away while the soiled one is in the washer.

Graco SnugRide Platinum Infant Car Seat

We chose this car seat for two reasons. 1) it has wonderful safety reviews and more importantly 2) the hubs' sister had extra car seat bases that she was willing to give us so we didn't have to purchase them.

Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller

We have this stroller in orange. It is seriously the easiest stroller ever. It's light weight design and easy collapse handle are what initially sold me. 

Baby Jogger Car Seat Adapter

Instead of having a travel system, we got this adapter to attach the car seat to our stroller. The travel systems just seemed so heavy and bulky to me. This keeps everything simple.

Itzbeen Baby Care Timer

This little timer has been wonderful. When you are sleep deprived there's no telling when baby's last feeding or dirty diaper was. With this timer, you never have to keep track, just push the button. It also has a little flashlight built in which I've used several times in the middle of the night when I don't want to turn on a light.

Puppy piddle pads

As crazy as it may sound, you'll thank me later. I don't know if it's a little boy thing or a Quinn thing but I can't count how many times we've been in the middle of a diaper change and there's a fountain or a blow out. Instead of having to change the cover over and over, I just throw away the soiled piddle pad and replace it. 

Summer Infant Simply Clear Digital Audio Monitor

We weren't planning on getting a monitor since our house isn't that large. Well Quinn has a very soft cry and it wasn't waking me up in the middle of the night if he wasn't in the room with us. The hubs picked out this monitor and it has been just perfect. It plugs in or can be portable. The blue sides light up when the baby cries if you'd rather use that as an indicator instead of the volume. 

Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump

I highly recommend having a breast pump before your baby arrives. We thought we were being smart by waiting to purchase a pump. What if something happened and I couldn't breastfeed? Then I'd be stuck with a very expensive pump. Unfortunately I ended up getting engorged and Quinn couldn't latch on. I was crying, he was crying, and the hubs was running around town trying to purchase a pump and get back home as quickly as possible. This manual pump has been perfect since I'm still at home but we plan on getting a Medela electric pump for when I go back to work.

So far these are the baby items we've used and loved. I know it's nearly impossible to predict what your baby will like, but hopefully this list will help the frantic soon-to-be mom searching "baby must haves" just like I was a few months ago.

I wasn't compensated for this post. It truly is just about baby items that have worked for us.

auntie shannon meets quinn

Last weekend my best friend was finally able to meet Quinn. Because of busy schedules is was a short visit, but I do believe she enjoyed snuggling with my sweet boy. Saturday we went to Panera for lunch, ran some errands, then Cracker Barrel for dinner. The hubs spent the day hunting so it was just us girls plus Quinn. 

While Shannon snuggled with the baby, the hubs snuggled with the fur-babies

Sunday was the perfect day to spend in jammies. We lounged on the couch until it was time for Shannon to head home. Hopefully the next visit will be a little longer.

Cegelis christmas party

I'm a bit behind, forgive me, but I'm going to play a little catch up.

Two weekends ago was the annual Cegelis Christmas party. Every year our good friends Jessica and Bryan host a wonderful get-together that includes an ornament exchange. This was our third year going and I love each ornament that we have hanging on our tree. Such a wonderful way to capture the memories.

Quinn was the life of the party. Everyone wanted to hold and play with him. He did wonderful and slept through most of the evening except for one feeding.

I don't think I had Quinn out of the carrier completely before Neil asked to hold him

Jessica with Quinn

Kristen was hitting on my sweet boy and left a big kiss on his forehead

Jennifer had her turn with my sweet boy

ornament exchange

we celebrated the December birthdays by singing to Kristen

and Christie

Bryan finally had his turn with the baby

Such a lovely night with wonderful people. Hard to believe that just a few short years ago we were partying with these same people at college. Now here we are as married couples having Christmas get-togethers and babies. Oh how times have changed. We are growing up!

Quinn is one month old!

Dear Quinn,

You are one month old today! I have no idea how this happened. The first month has gone by so quickly! I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing with every month and year that passes. While it certainly has been challenging, I've been trying my best not to wish this time away. I want to enjoy every precious minute with you before I have to go back to work, even if you're crying during part of it.

We have quickly learned that you have a sensitive tummy. I have to be very careful about what I eat so it does not upset you when you nurse. Hopefully you will outgrow this and become a great eater just like your daddy. The foods on the bad list are:

• broccoli
• bell peppers
• onions
• garlic
• tomatoes
• orange juice

As long as your tummy isn't upset you are becoming a great sleeper. You are up to four and sometimes five hours between feedings. You are still a little backwards on your schedule and like to sleep during the day and be awake from 2am-6am. We'll get you turned around soon.

We have really gotten the hang of nursing. You know exactly what to do and it makes mommy so happy! I wonder if you're going through a growth spurt though because after some feedings you are hungry again only an hour later. 

I'm not sure exactly how big you are since your next check up isn't until you are eight weeks old. At your two week check up you were 7lb 15oz and 22.5" long. I'm certain that you've gotten bigger since then. 

You are definitely a long and lean little boy. You have outgrown most of your newborn footies only because you are too tall. When you try to stretch out your legs there isn't enough room. 

We are still using huggies newborn diapers. Your little chicken legs are so skinny that we're afraid of the potential blowouts. Hopefully you'll thicken up just a little so we can switch you to your cloth diapers. Disposables are expensive!

You definitely recognize me and my voice. You turn when I speak to you and try to follow me with your eyes. It makes my heart so happy. You love your daddy. I can see you are starting to recognize him as well. I love seeing you two together.

This picture makes me laugh. You make the funniest faces. I just get so tickled when you go cross-eyed. It's normally when you are trying your hardest to leave me a little present in your diaper. Too cute.

We survived your very first month together. It had its ups and downs but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you so much sweet boy.

Love,

Mommy

lights

It's no secret, I love Christmas lights. One look at our house and you might say I like them a little too much. Lucky for me, the hubs likes them just as much as I do. This past week we went to see the lights on the river at Saluda Shoals and the lights at Riverbanks Zoo.

the lights on the river were fabulous

well worth the price of $10 a car

best part was that they let you go through again if you want

so of course we made the loop a second time

We met up with the Thompson family to walk through the Riverbanks Zoo. The Demay family was supposed to join as well, but unfortunately their little girl Emma had an ear infection. It was a chilly night so I made sure to bundle up Quinn.

first Santa picture

I was happy I didn't spend the money on the Santa picture at the mall because the Santa at the zoo let you snap your own for free!

boys being boys

I'm in so much trouble when Quinn gets older

such a fun night!