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

Crib Time

I can't believe that my sweet baby boy will be 12 weeks old in four short days! I set a goal before he was born to have him sleeping in his crib by 12 weeks. Well, I haven't really been ready to let him sleep farther than a reach away so I gave up on this goal weeks ago. At least until about an hour ago...

I discovered that Lucy had a little fun with the kitty litter today and decided to spread some of it in our bedroom near Quinn's pack 'n play. Gross. I know. Anyway, out of necessity to clean up Lucy's mess I decided to just try and see if Quinn would go to sleep in his crib. I stuck with our nightly routine, but instead of going through the steps in our bedroom I used Quinn's room. Much to my amazement, he went down like it was nothing. I'm freaking out a little, but he seems to be just fine. He's sleeping as peacefully as ever!

So far Lucy has checked on Quinn more than I have. I think she's going to miss him as much as Pat and me... but, it's her own fault!

Pure Amazement!

Every day Quinn continues to amaze me with his new discoveries and milestones. In the past couple of days these changes seem to just be piling up, though!

On Tuesday I noticed Quinn's ability to entertain himself. He was laying on the bed kicking his legs, waving his arms, and just laughing at himself. He's such a cutie! Yesterday, Quinn started using his hands a lot more and he is enjoying his time on the playmat and jumperoo actually interacting with his toys. He has been deliberately touching his toys, and he has a tight grip when handed something. When Pat was home last night Quinn was cooing like crazy at Pat. He was so impressed! Pat excitedly asked, "Has he ever done this before?!?" I had to admit that this was not a first for Quinn.

So, this morning when I called Pat to tell him about Quinn's latest milestone it was bittersweet. Pat was excited for Quinn but feeling a little bummed that he is missing these exciting milestones. So you're probably wondering, what happened this morning?? Quinn rolled over! I couldn't believe it! I had him on his tummy and he slowly rolled to his back. I started screeching with excitement and Quinn looked shocked. I'm not sure if he was shocked that he rolled over or shocked by the crazy noises coming out of me, but it was an exciting morning to say the least! I immediately got out the camera, put him back on his tummy... and of course, nothing! I'll be keeping the camera close and look forward to documenting this new milestone.

Auntie Lolo's Wedding

On August 15, Quinn experienced his first wedding and he did a great job! Lora and Matt had a beautiful wedding at the golf course in Milton-Freewater. Thanks to Lora's amazing organizational skills everything went smoothly and everyone seemed to be fairly stress-free. It was so nice to see so many people come together to celebrate Lora and Matt.

Pat and I left feeling like we did at our own wedding. We just didn't get to spend as much time with all of the different family and friends as we wished we could have, but it was nice to see so many different people! Quinn got to meet a lot of family and received plenty of love from all.

Unfortunately, Pat and I failed miserably at getting any photos to capture this special day. Good thing we have a few from the photographer!

2 months!

Quinn had his two month check-up yesterday with his new Redmond doctor. I went to so much trouble choosing a doctor in the Bay Area and it turned out we only got to see him a couple of times! He was great, but I was very happy with our new Redmond doctor, Dr. Heng. The facility is totally different from what I chose in San Jose. Rather than a small cozy environment, it's a big facility with many different kinds of docs. The great thing is there is a pharmacy right there in the building and Pat and I will be able to access all of Quinn's medical records online as well as email the doctor anytime. So, there are certainly benefits to a larger practice.

Quinn's stats:
Weight: 13 pounds 4 ounces (74% percentile)
Height: 24 1/2 inches (88% percentile)
Head Circumference: 41 cm (65% percentile)

This past month Quinn has been blessing us with many adorable smiles! It seems like he's even being flirtatious at times. He shrugs his shoulders, tilts his head, and gives us beaming smiles! He's getting more and more talkative by the day and, in my opinion, makes the most adorable cooing noises! He absolutely LOVES his bathtime and we're getting his bedtime routine down. He's even sleeping through the night sometimes. I also recently bought Quinn a jumper. It's a little early, but he loves to be standing so much that I thought I'd give it a try. He wasn't too sure at first, but he seems to be getting the hang of it. We also bought a bumbo for Quinn to sit in. He's not a huge fan of that. Like I said, he really prefers to be standing!

I am currently trying to figure out our daily routines. I read The Baby Whisperer which inspired me to implement more routine to our daytimes and it seems to be helping. I'm understanding Quinn's natural schedule more and it enables me to feel less overwhelmed during the day. I'm certainly open to suggestions!

We've settled into our new home and I think that the stability has been good for Quinn. Being closer to family is so nice. In fact, we'll be traveling to Walla Walla for the long weekend. We can't wait to introduce Quinn to more family!

He's getting so much stronger!


...and is still full of facial expressions!


...and is a little flirtatious at times!


...and most of the time he is such a happy baby (especially when Grandma plays with him)!

I love you baby Quinn!