lost in the moment

I know I mention it with every monthly post, but time is rushing past me. My sweet little baby is changing before my very eyes and I don't want to miss a moment. It feels so unfair that I have to give up any time with him, but such is life.

We've all settled into a pretty good routine around here. Once we get home from work and daycare I feed my little guppy some solids and then head back to a quiet room to nurse him. We sit in complete silence with a dim light on so Quinn doesn't become distracted.

Lately he has been falling asleep after this nursing session {I assume from all the fun at daycare} and I can't help but just soak in the moment. I sit there with him fast asleep across my lap and memorize every little thing I can.

I don't want to forget.

I don't want to forget the color of his beautiful red hair that changes from strawberry blonde to auburn and everything in-between depending on the light; how he already has a cowlick that swoops to the left above his left eye.

Or the way his perfectly pink lips pucker every so slightly with his bottom lip protruding just a bit more than his top and his wonderfully chubby cheeks that he gets from me.

I don't want to forget how soft his pale pink skin feels or how his toes curl just a bit.

I sit there watching the rise and fall of his chest, his complete relaxation, and I can't stop myself from holding his tiny hands in mine.

I truly become lost in the moment. The mile long list of to-dos completely escapes from my mind and I just enjoy the now. When he's grown I want to be able to always remember.

Before I even realize how much time has passed, Quinn stirs and flashes a big smile up at me. The moment has passed and we continue on with our evening cooking dinner, folding laundry, and playing some flying baby.

30 before 30

{I've been working on this post since February. Who knew it was so hard to think of thirty things I wanted to do?}

1. Have 2nd baby.
2. Get current with scrapbooking. I'm working on 2010 right now {and by working I mean that's where I stopped right before I had Quinn...}.
3. Get 2nd holes pierced in my ears. I want to be able to wear the diamond studs the hubs gave me everyday.
4. Establish a workout routine.
5. No credit card debt.
6. Visit five new places.
7. Read the Bible.
8. Own a beach house or have an awesome rental.
9. Join Junior League.
10. Maintain a size 8 figure {almost there already!}.
11. Sew ten projects for me.
12. Create the perfect craft room {I feel like this will be an always ongoing project..}.
13. Host a fancy dinner party using our wedding china.
14. Read 30 books.
15. Find a church we love.
16. Visit my great-grandfather's grave at Arlington.
17. Go out on the Sky Walk at the Grande Canyon.
18. Start a college savings account for Quinn.
19. Have a family portrait taken every year {we already have a session scheduled for this year with my fav girl, Erica!}.
20. Create five family traditions that we repeat yearly.
21. Start a prayer journal.
22. Start a vegetable garden.
23. Visit Yellow Stone.
24. Establish a yearly party {4th of July maybe?}.
25. Bake a cake from scratch.
26. Get my concealed weapons permit.
27. Catalog our Christmas ornaments.
28. Learn how to can the vegetables from our garden.
29. Learn how to crochet.
30. Find my signature drink.

What's on your list?

five friday confessions

• I am entirely too worried about picking wall colors for the new house. I think about it all! the! time! and I'm about to make specific boards on pinterest just to indulge in the obsession a bit more.
• Along the same lines, I'm also becoming obsessed with making the new house the most organized house ever. Closet space is limited and I must make use of every square inch! 
• I want my life mantra to be "Life is short. Buy the shoes." but I'm too responsible to follow through with it.
• Sleep deprivation makes me think angry thoughts when my child wakes up for the second {third?} time in the middle of the night. Seriously, why must you wake up again??!
• I replay conversations in my head and beat myself up for the way I say things. Just last night I determined I didn't like the way I said goodnight to the hubs {I was a bit cranky} so I went back out into the living room for an I-love-you do over. 

friday confessions

• Lately, I'm having the hardest time shopping for myself. I'm so indecisive and end up getting easily discouraged. If I can't find something that suits my fancy quickly I end up abandoning the entire shopping trip altogether.
• I used to be obsessed with always wearing make-up if I was leaving the house and now I rarely put it on. I don't want to become a mom who has let herself go!
• I cannot stop picking at my cuticles. Such a nasty habit and the hubs fusses at me all the time, but if I see a hangnail I just have to pull at it!
• Even though I'm smaller than I was pre-pregnancy, I absolutely dread the thought of putting on a bathing suit. 
• I judge people by their shoes. If you are wearing dirty, foam flip flops I assume you're whole life is a mess. 
• Bloody noses embarrass me and I get them all the time. I got one at work the other day right before a meeting with my new boss and I could have crawled into a hole and died right then.
• I want to go bake in the sun on the beach all day even though I know it's bad for me. I'm just so glow in the dark white right now!!

Quinn is seven months

Dear Quinn,

Another month has flown by all too quickly. You have been our world for seven months and I have loved every second of it {even when I'm sleep deprived and feeling a little loopy}. You certainly are my everything!

This month has been full of new adventures! We've introduced you to a whole slew of new foods. You've now had cantaloupe, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. We also tried bananas again, this time blending them so they were smooth, and you couldn't gobble them down fast enough! Looks like you're a texture baby {just like your mama}. You eat a couple of ounces at noon and a couple of ounces at 5:30 along with your normal bottles. 

You've also started using a sippy cup! Half the time you just try to gnaw on the end but the other half you actually pull water out and swallow {slash dribble it down your chin ha!}. Mama and daddy have to still hold it up for you, but you're learning. 

You have made the jump to 9 month footie pajamas. It always amazes me how one night something fits and the very next night I can't snap it up! You are still fitting into your 6 month jumpers and john johns, but I'm sure it won't be for much longer!

You're still happy with an 8 o'clock bedtime and sleep until 6:30-7 the next morning. I love that you've settled into a good sleeping pattern while we're all staying in one room. It was tough on mama and daddy when you kept waking up in the middle of the night. Now if only mama would go to bed earlier too then she wouldn't be so sleepy!

You are doing wonderfully at your new daycare. Miss Sue just can't say enough good things about you! She just loves how happy and easy going you are. I'm so glad that you have adjusted well and are enjoying your time at daycare. Everyday when I pick you up, I'm greeted with the biggest smile and giggles. Melts my heart!

Playing with the other babies at daycare has taught you things as well. You now roll from your tummy onto your back and you have started to army crawl towards your toys if they are just out of reach. You're also doing so well sitting up on your own! There are still some tumbles when you get excited or whip around too quickly, but you just giggle when you fall over and try and sit back up. 

Another habit you have picked up from daycare would be your passy! You see the other babies with passys and have decided you want one too. To think just a couple of months ago you would absolutely melt down if I tried to give you a pacifier and now you suck on it like it's the greatest thing in the world. Too funny.

You are still very much all boy. You love when your daddy throws you up in the air and bounces you around. We play "flying baby" all the time with you and you just giggle and giggle. You have also figured out how to swing your legs back and forth while you're in your carseat to make it rock like a rocking horse. Always moving! Also can't forget all of the "boy noises". You love to make raspberries and toot! Ha!

Your daddy and I like to call you our little faker. You can be boohooing up a storm but just as soon as someone looks at you and gives you attention those crocodile tears disappear and a smile spreads across your face. You certainly love attention. You've even figured out how to fake cough to get someone to look at you. Smart boy!

No little teeth have popped through just yet, but I know they are coming. You love to chew on just about anything {including mama's fingers!} and the drooling is just out of control. I keep a bib on you at all times and enjoy making them match your little outfits. It's about as close as I can get to "playing dress up" with you hehe.

Your daddy and I love you to the moon and back. This weekend will be your first boat ride and some swimming in the lake. Can't wait to make more memories with you!

Love,

Mama

welcome to the upstate

As you can imagine, things have been a little (let's face it, a lot) crazy around here. June 6th was my last day at my very first "big girl" job. It was a weird feeling knowing that after four years I would no longer be coming back to the crazy and chaos, but I was definitely ready for my next adventure.

June 11th was my first day at my new job. If you look at the calendar, that gave us four days to finish packing what we needed and move everything to the upstate. Lucky for us, we have an amazing friend who generously opened up her house and is letting us stay with her in Boiling Springs until we can close on our new house. It definitely took a bit of stress off of us since we no longer had to look for a temporary apartment to move into for six weeks.

My parents (also amazing) agreed to take the dogs for us during this temporary living situation. I'm fairly certain they don't miss us at all. Shiloh and Ella have my parents' two dogs to play with, a fenced-in back yard to romp around, and a lake to swim in. They frequently accompany my parents out on boat rides and get plenty of attention from everyone. In fact, can I go live there?

So the hubs, Quinn, the two cats, and I have been making it work as one happy family in one bedroom. It's been interesting to say the least. While I love my baby boy and hubs, I'm ready for a little space. Thankfully Quinn is a fairly heavy sleeper. I try my best to get everything done before he goes to bed at eight, but it's nearly impossible!

The past two weekends we have gone back to the old house to work on packing it up and getting it ready to rent. We're getting close but at the same time it feels like there is still so much to do. We'll be headed back again this weekend and hopefully we'll finish up the packing portion. Then it will just be a matter of cleaning, touching up paint, and putting the yard back together.

After we move into the new house (July 20th!!), I hope to be posting more about my organization and decorating efforts. Let's just say I have been on Pinterest and Houzz waaayyyyy too much ha!

Quinn is six months

Dear Quinn,

You are another month older and filled with so much personality. You can tell in your monthly pictures that you just can't sit still. You are filled with curiosity! I couldn't get you to look at the camera at all this time around. All you wanted to do was stare at your ceiling.

You are now quite content with 5 oz bottles every 3 hours. You still eat at 6, 9, 12, and 3 but we've tweaked your last couple of feedings to 5:30 and 8. You are also eating solids! You have tried bananas, rice cereal, oatmeal, and apple sauce and get a couple ounces at 5:30 followed up by a nursing session.

We had your six month check up with the doctor and you are definitely a growing boy. You now are 26.5" long (60th percentile), weigh 14.6 pounds (5th percentile), and have a head circumference of 17" (40th percentile). We talked with the doctor about you spitting up a lot and she thinks you have some reflux from adjusting to the solid foods. Nothing a little Mylanta can't fix though!

You are still in six month footies, but just barely. Mama has been putting off buying you new ones, but I believe I won't be able to put it off much longer. Your other clothes without feet fit you just fine though.

We tried to push your bedtime earlier to 7:30 but I think it's just a bit too soon. You started waking up in the middle of the night and mama was becoming quite tired. You're happy with an 8 o'clock bedtime most of the time and will sleep until 6 the next morning.

You have become much more consistent in the nap department (hooray!). After your noon feeding you nap for a couple of hours. You wake up such a happy boy and ready to play!

Speaking of playing, you are so much fun now! You really interact with your daddy and me. You love to bounce and play flying baby. You will dance around with mama and have the biggest smile on your face. It's so much fun to hear you giggle when daddy tickles you.

You roll from your back to your tummy like a champ, but it seems you have forgotten how to get yourself back to your back. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon though. You are getting closer and closer to being able to sit up. Right now you are still a little wobbly, but you love to try anyway.

It's very exciting to see you reach all these new milestones, but it makes us realize how quickly time is flying by. Your daddy and I love you so very much!

Hugs and kisses,
Mommy