Four Months

It's hard to believe that another month has already come and gone. This past month Pat had a couple of 60+ hour work weeks and so Quinn and I spent one of those weeks in Walla Walla. It was nice to have some extra time at home with Grandma and Grandpa. They spoiled both of us. In addition, this past month Quinn's littly buddy Maxton James was born! We get to meet him in a few days and are so excited about that.

4 Month Stats:
Height: 2' 2'' (82% percentile)
Weight: 16 lb 2oz (71% percentile)
Head Circumference: 42.8 cm (61% percentile)

Quinn continues to grow and change each day. Some of Quinn's new habits and behaviors include:
• Holding toys
• Transfering toys from hand to hand
• Toys in mouth (everything in mouth!)
• Loud “talking”: He is exploring the use of his voice and is learning how to make all kinds of different sounds. I don't notice the variety of his sounds so much, but when he talks on the phone to Grandma she is amazed by the changes that she hears!
• “Shy” behavior: This is the cutest thing. He'll be flirtatious with the people who interact with him as I hold him. He'll give the biggest grins and giggles and will then quickly bury his head in my shoulder and pretend to be shy.
• Open mouth kisses: I am very excited for real kisses from Quinn, but for now I am perfectly happy with him opening his mouth at me as I go to kiss him.
• Games with Mommy:
1. "Bounce, bounce, bounce, boogie, boogie, boogie, PUSH!" This has been one of Quinn's favorite games this month. As he lays on the floor I bounce him vertically several times and then help him "booogie" by shaking his hips. Then he pushes off of my hands across his playmat (or floor... causing a little rugburn, whoops!). We'll have to get a video of this one because it's difficult to explain. Quinn loves it though! Trust me. :)
2. "Never shake a baby!" Quinn also loves it when I shake him above my head. I'm gentle, I promise! However, this doesn't make me feel any less ridiculous, knowing full-well how dangerous (violently) shaking a baby is.
3. Dipping!
• Mirrors/Books with baby faces: Quinn loves to look at babies. It doesn't matter if he's looking into the mirror at himself or at a book with babies, he grins and giggles (nearly) every time!
• Grabbing his feet: Quinn's favorite toys this month have undoutedly been his hands and most recently, his feet. He loves to grab and play with his feet which ultimately led to...
• Rolling over from back to tummy: As Quinn plays with his feet he rocks from side to side. He got up enough momentum one day last week that he rolled over from his back to his tummy. His rolling over slowed down a lot this past month and so I was thrilled to see him explore this new skill. He's been doing it quite often and even did it in his sleep one night, because when Pat went to grab him for his morning feeding he was on his tummy.
• Entertaining himself: For my sanity, this has been a remarkable milestone. I can lay Quinn on his playmat and he can entertain himself long enough for me to eat a bowl of cereal or straighten up a bit. It's also fun to just watch him play.
• Happy! Most importanty, Quinn continues to be such a happy baby (well, most of the time)!

As Quinn continues to grow, he is becoming less interested in lengthy naps. Lately, he's probably been averaging about 45 minutes per nap. Luckily, he tends to have about four of these each day. His pediatrician assured me that this was fine and that he's just got too much world to explore to sleep! I must admit he's been doing a pretty great job most nights. He's managed to sleep for 9-10 hours straight most nights for the past couple of weeks. I am prepared for this to change as he goes through teething!

Quinn continues to be such a joy in our lives. He is the center of our world, and as you can see, the littliest things that he does each day seem like monumetal achievements to Pat and me.





We love you Quinn and look forward to watching you continue to learn and grow!

Pumpkin Patch

Pat, Quinn, Will, and I ventured off to a nearby pumpkin patch last weekend to pick the best pumpkins around. It was a rainy weekend and so we literally jumped in the car the second the rain stopped in hopes that we could quickly find some pumpkins and get back home. However, before we arrived to the pumpkin patch there was another downpour. We decided to stall by shopping around the buzzing Woodinville metropolis and eating a juicy burger for a late lunch/early dinner. Luckily, the rain did let up again and we were able to pick out our pumpkins. We did our best to dodge the mud (rather unsuccessfully), but had fun nonetheless. Note to self, buy rainboots!

Arriving to the South 47 Farm, our local pumpkin patch.


Searching for the perfect pumpkin... or perfect photo?



Gillette Family


Typical shocked Quinn face!


We are so in love with you, Quinn!


Daddy bought the pumpkins...

...while we played.

He also loves to be dipped. His smiles melt me every time!

Goodbye farm.

Northwest Living

The biggest reason that Pat and I decided to relocate to Washington was so we would be closer to all of our family. Family is so important to us, and we want Quinn to know his grandparents, aunties, and uncles. However, I never imagined we would have the opportunity to see family as much as we have! As I reflect on the 12 weeks that we have been in Washington, 8 of those weekends have been spent with family.


Even though Uncle Ryan is finishing up grad school in Indiana, he's already seen Quinn on 3 different occasions...


...because he comes around to visit his girlfriend, Megan. We love getting to see both of them!


Auntie Lolo


Uncle Matt


Auntie Mariah


Grandpa George


Grandma Cathy


Grandma and Grandpa


Great Nana


Great Grandma

We've been lucky enough to introduce Quinn to some friends as well!


Kyle


Kate


Rhiannon and Juliette


Will (he's smitten)


Di

This blog post has caused me to realize how HORRIBLE we've been at taking pictures! We've loved being close to Heather as well, but have no pictures to prove it. We'll have to work on that!

We sure do miss the Lincolns though and CAN'T WAIT to meet baby Max! Roughly two more weeks!

One Year Ago Today...

I found out that I was pregnant!

One year ago tomorrow...

Zach passed away.



This was such a bittersweet time for us last year. We can't help but reminisce. We were elated to learn of my pregnancy, but devastated to lose Zach. My hope for our Quinn Zachary is that he will have the same vivacious attitude toward life that Zach had. He was kind-hearted, creative, adventurous, and he truly lived his life to the fullest.



We miss you Zach, and we love you Quinn.



P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!

3 Months Old!

Time flies when you’re having fun! I can’t believe that my sweet baby boy is already 3 months old. Quinn has met some fun milestones this month.

The most exciting is probably his rolling over! He does not roll over consistently, but he has rolled from his tummy to his back a dozen times or so. I’ve been trying desperately to catch him in action on film, but haven’t had any luck yet!

Quinn is also getting better with his hand-eye coordination. He can grab at his toys while on his playmat and in his jumperoo. He even pulled a toy off of his playmat last week.

When on the floor he shakes his arms and legs like crazy, and he is learning how to scoot himself around using his legs. He continues to love standing with support. It’s exciting/scary to think about how little time I have left with an immobile baby. I’m sure I’ll be chasing him around before I know it!

Bibs are becoming a daily necessity. In fact, he goes through several bibs a day. His salivary glands are definitely functioning!

Most recently, Quinn has been discovering his fist and fingers. He loves to try and fit his whole fist into his mouth, but when that doesn’t work he’ll settle for a few (3-4) fingers! So far, we do not have a thumbsucker around here. He’s trying to follow in mama’s footsteps by sucking his fingers instead!

Quinn is such a blessing in our lives. He has the biggest grins and cutest giggles. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to watch him learn and grow each day. We love you Quinn!


They're buddies, and Lucy's telling him secrets!


He loves his daddy!


Notice the drool!


Finger sucking