9 Whole Months!!!

Oh my sweet, funny girl!  You are a mover and a shaker that is for sure!  You have some wild and crazy hair and it fits you to a T!!!  Here is what Quinn has been up too...

Quinn vs Kellen at 9 months!!!

• She is pretty much in 12 month clothing with a few 9 months thrown in as long as they are not a one piece.  She is even wearing some 18 months...SLOW down Quinn!  At her 9 month check up she was weighing in at 22.7 lbs and is 29.5 inches tall.  The Dr said she is perfect!  I know that, but it is always nice to hear it from a professional!  Ha!  Her feet hit another growth spurt and she is now wearing size 3 shoes.  I had to restrain myself and only buy 2 pairs, but I am still on the look out for a cute pair of boots and sneakers.  Oh her hair...I love it, but it does have a mind of its own.  It pretty much looks like she just woke up with bed head about 95% of the day.  I have really just taken to the practice of sticking a clip in it and readjusting it a million times!  :o)

• I have changed up her feeding schedule a little this month.  She is getting 4-6 oz bottles and three meals a day with some snacks.  She is pretty much eating all table food with just a little bit of jarred food in the mix.  She wanted whatever was on my plate so we went for it!  She is doing pretty good and really has not, not liked anything.  She is getting better with a sippy although she really likes to drink out of a glass...I may have to think about skipping the sippy all together.

• She is crawling like a crazy women.  She is pulling up and starting to walk with a walker and along furniture & cabinets.  Little Miss Q is starting to stand on her own.  She also has started to push our kitchen chairs like a walker!  I don't think it will be long!  She loves the bath and splashing in the water.  I think she would live in the bath if I would let her.  She is really starting to talk.  I mean she jabbers ALL day long.  She is such a girl!  :o) She is saying mama, dada
  and baba.  Along with a whole lot of other words that sound a little like she is speaking Chinese!  She is such a good baby...she loves to sit and play, but also she loves to be on the go!  She HATES the car seat.  We switched her to a bigger car seat (still rear facing), but it is worse than her infant seat!  I can't wait till we turn her around and I am hoping that she will enjoy the car a little bit better.  She LOVES electrical outlets.  Kellen never touched them, but She loves anything.  I think she is going to be a hands on girl...she loves textures and touching everything.

• She is still a little uncertain about new people, but as soon as she warms up and can come to you on her terms then all is good!  She is getting a little better about going to Wumba land.  I think she has realized she can get some snack while she is there!  ha!  

• This month has been a little difficult with the night sleeping.  We keep thinking that some teeth are going to poke through and that is attributing to her nights, but so far nothing!  She is still taking 2 naps at 10 and 2.  She is getting really good at going with the flow with Kellen's baseball schedule.  His games seem to hit right at nap time!  :o)  we still head up stairs around 6:30ish for bath time and then we have some snuggle time with a bottle and she is off to bed.  She usually goes down around 7ish.

• Still just 2 bottom teeth!  Those top teeth don't seem to want to come through.  She is chewing on everything and anything!  The amount of drool that comes out of her is ridiculous!  We have all been drool bombed! :o)

• We are still doing music class and it is amazing to see how much Quinn is growing in the class.  She is starting to actually shake the instruments instead of just chew on them.  She is warming up and crawling around the class to visit with everyone.  She is starting to clap all the time and it is SO cute!  You can tell that we say "Yay" and clap a lot in our house"!!!

• Kellen and Quinn are two peas in a pod.  One day Quinn crawled over to Kellen (who was laying on the floor) and gave him a kiss, it was SO cute and sweet...then she smacked him in the face!  I'm going to say that is the definition of brother/sister love!  Then one day in carpool line Kellen says to me....Mommy I love you, but I love Quinn the most.  I almost cried!  Not because he loves Quinn more than his mommy, but because of how rough of start when she was born, with Kellen not feeling special and feeling like he was replaced by this new baby shows up in his life and now she is the person he loves the most in the world! 

Take Me Out To the Ball Game...

I officially feel like we live at the Baseball Park!  Matt says I ain't seen nothing yet!!!  We thought that Kellen had one more season of T-ball, but we were wrong.  He moved up to machine pitch...he gets 4 tries andif you can't hit it then 1 try on the Tee.  There are outs this time around, but still no score is kept!  He had to go through a skills test as the coaches watched to see what league and what team he would be on.  I have to say that Matt was not very thrilled about the fact it was raining when Kellen had to go and they did not cancel it until Matt had been waiting for Kellen's turn for an hour or so and then they called it, but said anyone currently in line could finish!  Kellen (well Matt, because he volunteered to me an assistant coach ) ended up being drafted to the Toledo MudHens!  Coach Jason is great with the kiddos and Kellen enjoys hanging with boys on his team!

It is a little crazy though...they have 2 games a week (for the most part) and 2 practices a week!  I have to say I am lucky in the fact that since Matt is helping with the coaching he takes Kellen to practice and Quinn and I will stay at home!  Quinn and I enjoy watching Kellen during the games though!

I think Kellen enjoys it!  He has a hard time focusing the whole time and it is normal to hear Coach Jason yelling "Kellen watch the Ball"  "Kellen Baseball Ready"  "Kellen where is the batter"  He enjoys playing, but I really think he could take it or leave it.  Some of the boys eat, sleep, and breathe baseball!  Kellen just seems to be in is own world!  He has got several hits off the machine and made some great plays!  He got the game ball for a great hit off the machine.

Here are a few pictures from the season so far!

Doesn't it like she is yelling "RUN KELLEN RUN"!!!

Rise Up!!!

Kellen enjoyed going to his first Falcons game today!  Maybe he is their good luck charm...Falcons beat the Rams 31-24!  Kellen said his favorite part of the experience was the Dirty Bird song.  Matt said he did really good and made it to the 3rd quarter in his seat.  Then they visited Uncle Andy for a bit in his seats!  I think that it was a check off Matt's bucket list to take Kellen to the Falcon's and enjoy this special day!

My (not so) Little Boy

I can hardly believe I am going to say this, but Kellen is in PreK...yes I said it, PreK.  What does this mean???  It means he will start kindergarten next year!!!  That can't be right???  It was just the other day that I was holding him and he was a tiny (well not so tiny) baby.  And wasn't it just yesterday that I watched him take his first steps, try his first foods, and say his first words.

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and we were talking about how some days seem like they are SO long, but then you can blink and a week or a month is gone.  This is how I feel about my time with Kellen.  He is growing so fast and he is turning into a very sweet, God loving, energetic, funny, and sensitive little boy.  Yes we have our days and our struggles, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.  He is strong willed and thinks he knows it all, at the old age of 4 (can't wait to see what 13 is like), but at the same time he is sensitive and loving. He has the biggest heart and loves everyone (those are his words)!!! He keeps me laughing daily.

We have the best conversations in the car!!!  I wish that I could record them all...I have so many voice memos from him on my phone and find myself listening to them over and over.  I want to freeze him in time, but at the same time I am enjoying watching him grow into this very special little man.  His wife is going to be one lucky lady in this mama's opinion.  We hear almost daily that when he grows up he wants to be a Daddy (We have explained that he must finish college first, then fall in love, get married and then he can have babies)!!!

He loves to dance ALL the time...I ask him to stop dancing one day and he looked at me and said, "mommy I just gotta dance"!  Who can argue with that???  He loves to sing and can pick up the words to most songs (or choruses) the first time he hears it.  One day on the way to school he told me he wants to hear himself on my radio...we'll baby if you want to, this mama knows you will do it!!!

I find myself watching him a lot more just so I can try and remember everything!  While I sit there and watch him, I often have tears running down my face!  They are not sad tears...but tears of joy and happiness. How did I get so lucky to be chosen to be this sweet boys mommy?

And while he is growing way to fast for my liking, I know that time will not slow down.  In reality it will probably speed up as we go along living our daily lives.  But I pray each night that I can slow down long enough to not miss those moments and to remember everything about each moment.  I know that remembering everything is not possible...especially when my mind is so awful (I really would forget my head some days if it were not attached to my body).  That is why I REALLY want to blog more often...even if it is just a picture or just something funny that Kellen says.  I want my blog to be full of my memories when I have forgotten!  I want it to be my reminder to stop and smell the roses when life is crazy and busy.  I want to be able to look back on hard days and remember all of this joy and happiness that fills my heart and even though I may be passing through a storm that a rainbow is just around the corner!

I love you my sweet, sweet boy!  Keep on smiling and making this mama laugh!

8 (yes I said 8) Months...

Time is flying this time around.  I think it is because we are busy with all of Kellen's activities.  I'm loving this age.  She is giggling more and more (especially at her brother).  Her smile can melt my heart and turn me to much!  I think she is already learning that she can get anything if she just flashes you a smile!  :o)  What has she been up too???

 Quinn vs Kellen at 8 months!

• She is still wearing 9 months, but just barely, she is so tall so any one piece outfit we have had to move to 12 months.  She is still wearing a size 2 shoe, but I think her feet are making up for lost time and will soon be in a 3!  She is wearing a size 4 diaper.  I am waiting for some cooler weather so I can go shopping for some fall clothes!  I can't wait!  Her hair is out of control!  I have given up and just stick a clip in it!  Ha!  I love it!  People stop us all the time and comment on her hair!  

• She is pretty much on the same feeding schedule.  She is having 4 - 7 oz bottles of mommy milk (for the most part).  I have had to supplement a little bit, but I am still proud that I have made it this long!  She is now eating three meals a day.  I think we will be moving on from jarred food soon.  She wants to eat what we have on our plate.  I think her favorite meal is still Spinach & Potato  We changed up the sippy to a different one and she is doing great!  I am hoping that she will become a water drinker unlike her brother and her mommy!  

 She is ready to go!!!

• She keeps me on my toes.  She is crawling now on all fours....and if she sees a gate open she will go for it and not very slow.  She started pulling up not very long after we got home from the beach.  Nothing is safe in our house. Even though she is an on the go girl, she will also sit for a bit and play with some toys....as long as I am sitting with her.  She also gave her first kiss away and I am sad to say it was not to me!  :) We were at one of her little friends Birthday's and she kissed Miss Natalie (her friend that is exactly 10 days older than her).  So far we have not got anymore kisses from her!  :)

• We started back going to Church again and she is having a little separation anxiety when we drop her off in Wumba land.  It is a little better when Matt hands her off and if the person taking her has a BIG chunky necklace on to distract her when we walk away!  But she seems to be happy by the time we pick her up.   It has gotten a little better the more we go, but hopefully it will go away completely soon.  This was something we never had to deal with, with Kellen.  He never seemed to mind other people.  Quinn takes a couple minutes to warm up to certain people!  

• Not much has changed in the sleep/nap schedule department.  She still naps twice a day at 10 & 2.  She is getting a little more flexible about it though.  Then at night she will go to sleep around 7ish.  Between 6:30 -7 we go up for bath time.  She LOVES bath time and splashing in the water.  She HATES to get out and get dressed!  I have learned to have her bottle ready to go so I can get her dressed while she eats!  I am sure that when we go to wean that the night bottle will be the toughest.  

• She now has both bottom teeth.  She is still extra drooly so I am wondering if the top are going to follow soon!  She really is like having a bulldog around!  The amount of drool that comes of her is insane!

• We started at The Music Class this month and so far Quinn seems to love it!  I didn't realize that it would be such a work out for me!  Ha!  It is a lot of up and down and such a work out for me holding this chunky monkey!  There are 4 of us from the neighborhood that are doing it and it is a lot of fun to get to know some of the other moms and their kiddos!  :o)

• Kellen and Quinn are so much fun to watch together.  He can do no wrong except when he is not willing to share!  Then she will let him know that she is not happy!  He can make her giggle so easy and she is always ready to hand out smiles to him!  He is so good with her!  I feel so blessed when I see them together!  

Showing off her yogo moves