Quin's Newborn Pictures

Our sweet friend Christiane Wheatley took Quin's newborn pictures last week at 12 days old, and they turned out SO sweet. I seriously could look at them all day long and just oooh and ahhh. Here are a few of my favorites...although really all 200+ of them are my favorites =)

Three in One!

Post number 1.
Thanksgiving Fiasco! Or should I say Sicksgiving. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. You get to spend it with all of your family, you get a big fancy meal that is unbeatable, and it's just like Christmas minus the stresses of buying gifts and all that. You get the best of everything at Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving will go down in the books as one of the craziest Thanksgivings we have had....ever. No one's fault, just how it happened. My sweet nephew was sick. We all thought it was just congestion mixed with lots of "car snacks" on the drive, mixed with lots of juice that made his tummy upset. As we all sat down to eat, Crockett was getting sick. We were all so sad for him and his parents. Then as we are eating, Rach gets up from the table (I thought she was going to watch a movie with Braidy in LuLu and Papaw's room) but she had left to go get sick as well. 2 down in a matter of 30 minutes. I was starting to freak out just a tad, because I had a one week old who I did not want to get sick. We finished eating and headed home to stay away from the germs.




The next day we went over to LuLus to play a little bit because Crockett was feeling much better and hadn't gotten sick in 24 hours. The boys played and I noticed Braidy was feeling hot. He had a 100.3 fever, but thankfully no throwing up. I started giving him Tylenol and Motrin but his fever would not go away. Friday night everyone went to mom's for a bbq dinner (which was amazing)! My aunt, uncle and cousin from Oklahoma was there, and Marlo and Jake were too. Poor Crockett started getting sick again, so the Stone's headed home. On the way there, both Chris and Jess started getting sick. That night Lulu and Rach both got sick as well. Little Jake got sick when they went home on Saturday, and my aunt also caught it when they got home. Praise the good Lord, no one got it at our house. Miracle. I guess we weren't around enough or for long enough, and for that I am thankful. I would have loved to spend LOTS of time with my family, but with a brand new baby, I just couldn't test it. So, moral of the story....hopefully next year no one is sick. That's just how things go with kiddos sometimes. I did take Braidy to the doctor on Saturday evening, and he had a really bad throat infection that was highly contagious. (fab!) But Quin has still stayed healthy (amazingly) and Braidy is finally starting to feel better. What a wild Thanksgiving!!!


Post number 2:
We live in an old neighborhood with TONS of trees. We love the huge trees everywhere, and they are expecially pretty as fall hit and they began to change colors. And then...all the leaves fell. Our backyard was one giant pile of leaves. I could sweep and vacuum one day, and not 10 minutes later, you couldn't tell. Leaves were taking over. Ryan and his dad tackled that project last weekend, and what a project it was. Braidy and John helped, and they really had fun once there was a giant pile for them to jump in! Here are some pictures of the fun, fall day!




Post number 3:
Quin went to his 2 week check yesterday. He weighed 9lbs 14oz and was 21.6 inches long. That put him in the 95th % for weight, the 97th % for height, and the 85th % for head circumference. He is definitely going to be my BIG baby! Goodbye Newborn diapers and most newborn outfits. He gains about 3 ounces a day. This kid is a good eater! He still is just the perfect little baby. I hope this doesn't change. He does seem to stay awake a little more throughout the day. But he just looks around, taking it all in. God truly blessed us by entrusting us with little Quin!

My first week!

Quin turned one week old on Thanksgiving Day! We have had the most wonderful time
getting to know our little man's personality more and more everyday. Here are some "getting to know you" facts about Quin that he wants you to know! (and of course lots of pictures too!)

Hi! I'm Quin. My first week here has been great. My family loves me a whole lot. I have 2 big brothers that cannot get enough of me. Braidy kisses me CONSTANTLY and John likes to hold me pretty often. My momma just stares at me all day long, and my daddy gets me in the most perfect cuddling positions ever. I am a pretty scheduled guy by nature. I sleep ALL day long. The only time I cry is when my diaper is getting changed, I don't like it one bit. Other than that, I don't make a peep and I am 100% happy. At night I sleep great and wake up every 3 hours to eat. My mommy keeps saying she gets more rest now than when I was in her tummy. I change everyday, although I think I have my brother Braidy's nose, ears, and mouth, and daddy's eyes. I love to be swaddled in my miracle blanket...they don't call it the "Miracle Blanket" for nothin! I am usually awake for about an hour in the evenings, and I just look around and make funny faces. At my one week check (which was when I was really only 4 days old) I weighed 8lbs 1oz, and everything looked great. My mommy and LuLu gave me my first bath, and I really didn't like it. I prefer to have warm clothes on my little body! I love to ride in the car, it instantly puts me to sleep. Basically, I am SUPER easy going and I have been nothing but a complete joy to have around. My mommy and daddy say they're going to keep me!

Quin's Birth Story

I'm starting Quin's birth story before he's born.

Monday, November 8th:
Ryan, Braidy and I went to see the doctor at 2:20. I saw a different doctor than "my" OB, but I'd seen this one twice before. My doctor would be out of town from the 10th to the 14th. The heartbeat was nice and strong, I measured right on, and she informed me that I was dilated to a 4 or 5! Holy cow! The Thursday before I was still at a ONE! She said she could bring me in that night to be induced, but my heart wasn't ready quite yet. (Looking back, I might should have said OK!) She says it could be that day, it could be a week. We leave thinking this baby could be here any minute!

Monday - Friday, November 12th:
Pretty much everyday, we think "This might be the day!" Jess and Crockett come into town on Tuesday. Poppa comes into town on Tuesday also. Needless to say, they get to wait and wait and wait. Every night my contractions pick up some and are usually about 6 or 7 minutes apart for a while, then I fall asleep thinking I will wake up if it's the "real thing". Every morning when I wake up, I'm still pregnant! I got a wonderful massage on Thursday and Erin really worked on my ankles, but the contractions didn't really come like I thought they would. I'm getting impatient to say the least...although I know he'll come eventually, right?!

Saturday, November 13th:
Everyone leaves to head back home. Thinking maybe Quin was just waiting for everyone to get home before he decided to come. Not so much. Still waiting rather impatiently!

Thursday, November 18th:
Today is our doctor's appointment, I thought it might never come! I am dilated to a 4 (seems the other doc must have been a bit off, oh well) and Dr. Phillips gives me the option of "wanna go now?" I jump at the chance. I call Ryan and tell him to head home because we are going to go have a baby! Braidy went to LuLu's during my appointment, so I call them too. On my way out of the office I have a slight (ok, maybe major) meltdown. I am so ready to meet my little man, but at the same time I'm feeling all kinds of guilt. I really don't expect anyone to really understand unless you've had more than one baby. I felt like I needed to go say "bye" to Braidy and kiss him one last time. Looking back, it was kind of silly but wow, I was completely overcome with emotions on "losing" my first baby boy. I got to my mom's and he really made the situation better because he could have cared less about me leaving, he just wanted to watch Mickey Mouse. He was wondering why I was crying, but that was about it. I really wasn't sure I could love another baby as much as my first, but God has an amazing way of allowing your heart the ability of loving the new baby just as much. It's an instant and intense love that is just there.

Anyways, back to the BABY! Ryan and I pack the car up and head to UMC. We get there around 11:30, get checked in, changed into my HOT gown, and the IV's start, the monitoring starts and everything gets going. I see Dr. Phillips pretty quickly and she checks me and breaks my water. OUCH. Last time, I had my epidural before anything so I didn't feel anything. Oh well.


The anesthesiologist comes not much later and gives me my epidural (OUCH) and we are on our way. It takes a bit to kick in, but I'm feeling good very shortly after. Ryan was really upset that my legs never became fully numb, because his favorite thing to do is lift my feet up and drop them, where I Can't control them. He just gets a kick out of that! =) So, the epidural worked, but not completely. What felt like an hour later (really was about 3 hours later, at 4:00) Dr. Phillips came in and checked me and said "We're ready!"

I push for about an hour, and yes, I could feel pretty much everything. Again, last time I felt nothing, and I had a little baby...it was a cakewalk. This time was different and I felt like that lady on the movie who was screaming. Towards the end, I did. However, at 5:16 PM the sweetest little man came into the world weighing 8 pounds and 12 ounces. Daddy cut the umbilical cord and I heard everyone laugh/gasp as they weighed him. I would have never guessed I would be birthing an almost-9-pound baby! WOW! He was healthy as could be, and it was love at first sight.




He stayed in our room the whole time until we went to post-partum. I got to nurse right away (he did SO good!) and I just loved having him next to us for everything...his tests, his bath (daddy gave his first bath), they don't take him to the nursery for anything which I loved.


LuLu, Papaw, Braidy and John arrived soon after he was born and the boys were really excited. They met Baby Quin and got to open thier presents from him. They were excited to officially be big brothers!!




All in all, it was one of the best days of my life. We are completely in love with this new little man. He is just adorable and has a ton of dark hair. When he wears a hat it comes out of the bottom, already a little frat daddy =) He definitely resembles his big brother Braidy, although he outweighed him by 2 1/2 pounds. He's just the perfect addition to our family. Thank you God for another perfect miracle. Our hearts are overflowing!

Pregnancy Ramblings and Nursery Pictures!

I'm 38.5 Weeks...any day now!


Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 38.5 Weeks
Size of baby: Quin is big. That's all I know.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 18 lbs...exact same as with Braidy
Maternity Clothes: growing OUT of maternity shirts...PROBLEM!
Gender: It's a boy!!! Quin Joseph Curry
Movement: Tons of movement...all over the place. I think he's going to weigh 15 lbs and be 30 inches long...he's everywhere...high, low, I even feel kicks almost in my back!
Sleep: Not much, but I know God is preparing me...although I am ready to be up all night with a precious, sweet baby than just to go potty all night long!
What I miss: Walking without hurting, sitting without hurting, laying without hurting, that's about it!
Cravings: Candy and anything really bad for me. I just snack these days because full blown meals are not appetizing. ALthough, I've eaten my body weight in candy (candy corn, peppermint taffy, marshmallows) here lately.
Symptons: being tired all the time, back hurting...but I can't complain.
Best Moment this week: Getting his nursery DONE! Daddy worked SO hard last weekend painting and getting everything ready. It turned out SO cute...I love it!

So I haven't posted much on this pregnancy probably because so much is going on in addition to being pregnant. But I love this little survey I've seen, and I want to be able to look back and see what was going on. I've been going to the doctor weekly for about 4 weeks now, and each time I've been dilated one cm. A little frustrating, but at the same time I know he'll come at the perfect time. Up until now we really were NOT ready for him to come, our house has been a war zone. After last weekend it's much more "ready" or at least ready enough!

I LOVED being pregnant last time, this time I am just MUCH bigger (really, I am!) and much more uncomfortable. I think last time I could have played a game of basketball on the day I delivered. Nothing really hurt, I wasn't very big, I just loved being pregnant...what was there not to love? This time I'm just your typical big, tired, uncomfortable pregnant lady! ALthough I am still trying to cherish everyday I have left of the pokes and prods of the little man growing in my tummy.

I am also trying to soak up every minute of Braidy being my "baby" and being able to spend everyday at home with him, just the 2 of us. I am trying to enjoy the simple things...playing with blocks that get thrown all over the house, watching him paint, reading books. I'm trying to prepare him, the best I know how, of all the "cool" things big brothers get to do! I know he's going to be a fabulous big brother, but his role is about to change. He'll always be my baby though....I can't wait to watch him and John fall in love with thier baby brother. Lots of different emotions going on right now: joy, anxiety, guilt, wonder, nervousness, excitement...I could go on and on. Really, I'm just ready to begin life with little Quin as a part of our family!

Before I get too sentimental, here are pictures of baby Quin's nursery. I love love love how it turned out.




A blank wall...not sure what to do here...may just wait for some newborn pictures. Any other ideas?

My super talented friend, Emilie, made these...aren't they precious!

To Infinity...and Beyond!

What a fun Halloween we had! Buzz (aka Braidy) had a blast trick or treating. LuLu came with us and so did our friends, the Gwinns. We walked and walked and walked some more, and although he got pretty tired, he had a ball. He loved saying "Trick or Treat" and "thank you" after he got his candy. Most of the time he'd stick his hand in the basket and help himself to as much as he wanted. We'll work on manners for next year! At one house he picked up the watering can that was sitting on the porch...he was going to help water her plants! At another house there was a couple sitting in their driveway and the man had on a very scary mask. Braidy stood there, I think in shock, until we pulled him away. He couldn't decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry. He saw a few dogs that he fell in love with and he even got to pet some. Daddy had to go up to some of the houses with him and he got to carry him a good part of the way!

He was definitely the cutest Buzz there is. His Nena found the costume for him and he wore it very proudly! We practiced saying "To Infinity and Beyond" all week, and he finally got it down! I think he's eaten more candy in the last 24 hours than he has in his whole life, but it sure was worth watching him have as much fun as he did! Here are a couple pictures from our outing in the neighborhood!


And, although John was not with us this Halloween, we still got some awesome pictures of the Tech football player himself! Here is he is....#10, John Curry!