nine months old!

On Thursday, Quin turned NINE months old! I am a little OCD about posting on his actual "birthday", but we were on vacation, so a few days late is ok...this time. Ryan and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary on that day. Special day all around. More on the hubby/anniversary soon.

At 9 months old, you are still doing what I have dubbed as the "wounded soldier". It's an army crawl but only one leg does the work, the other leg just drags...hence the "wounded" soldier. However, you get around fast. The past couple of weeks you'll get up on all 4's and just rock. I have tried to show you how to move your legs/arms in order to crawl, but you'll just plop on your belly and go your way. You have 2 teeth on the bottom, and your smile that shows those little teeth is the most precious thing to see. You love any and all food. Your favorite "people food" is probably donut holes, cinnamon rolls, and as of this morning, french toast! You still have never taken a bottle, and probably never will. You are good with your sippy cup now, so if I ever leave you I'll just put some milk in your cup instead of a bottle. You nurse 3 or 4 times a day. Seems like you never nurse anymore, but that is just because you are too busy eating real food and playing! Lately (KNOCK ON WOOD) you have slept all night long! From about 8-7 or 8. Even on our vacation you did...woohoo!!! You take a good morning and afternoon nap...anywhere from 2-3 hours each. You're very easy to "figure out". When you're tired, you let us know.

You wear size 4 diapers, size 12 month PJ's....and your 9 month onesies are getting pretty snug...so it's time to bring out the 12-18 month clothes bin! Your hair is one of my most favorite things about you. It's getting thick and super wavy. While we were at the beach it would curl like crazy, and it was so cute. You have MUCH more hair than Braidy did at this age...maybe you got momma's hair!

You jabber alot, and say dadadadadada and mamamamamama, and we both love this. You're pincer grasp has gotten much better this month, and I've had to fish lots of "stuff" out of your mouth that you find on my floor!

You smile constantly, and laugh lots. We all act like fools trying to make you laugh, because your laugh is just the sweetest sound to our ears. You are such a blessing to us. We could not imagine our lives without you, Quin Joseph! Hard to believe you've been in our lives as long as you lived in momma's tummy!

B's 3 Year Old Pictures

Again, I do NOT claim to be a photographer in any sort of the word, but I do love taking pictures of my boys! Here are some of Braidy's 3 year old pictures. I have a HUGE amount of respect for photographers, how they get kids of any age (particularly 3 though) to cooperate is beyond me. I am sure they are better for anyone other than mommy though!!!

Trip down South

A couple weekends ago, Braidy, Quin and I, along with Jess and Crockett loaded up and headed to San Antonio to spend a long weekend with Poppa and JJ. Ryan was attending a men's retreat here in town, so we decided to go ahead and go. We went down on Thursday. A car full of 3 boys 3 and under was surprisingly very uneventful! We stopped once on the way down there (twice if you count letting Braidy teetee on the side of the road, huge advantage to having boys!)....but we made it in great time! We got there and headed straight for the pool. The boys had a blast swimming, feeding the deer, going on walks, looking in the "forest", looking for the kitty, playing in the legos, helping JJ cook, and anything else they could get into, they did. Quin LOVED swimming in Poppa's pool. He even got dunked a few times and didn't even cry!

Friday we went to New Braunfel's to ride the CHOO CHOO train! It took us through Landa Park and it was so much fun. We saw tons of squirrels, and the boys loved it. We then picked up some yummy treats at a bakery there, and headed to lunch and then home. Friday night, Aunt Rachy joined us! We were SO excited to see her!!!! Saturday we went into San Antonio for the farmer's market and to ride the boat down the river. It was a little too hot outside, but we still had fun. After a yummy burger at Chris Madrid's it was NAP time. Braidy even fell asleep in my lap at the restaraunt...that never happens, so I knew he was exhausted!

Other than that, we just enjoyed being out in the hill country. We had another "episode" of hives for poor Quin. After a good amount of homemade ice cream, he broke out again. We have come to the conclusion that he is allergic to raw eggs, and NOT strawberries! YAY! We can easily avoid raw eggs, no problem! He discovered his love for whip cream, waffles, and lots of yummy table food! It was gorgeous and hot outside, but the pool sure made it bearable! We had a great time and can't wait to go back! We will let Poppa and JJ recover a while though, I know they were worn out by the time we left!! Lots of Pictures!

H-O-T!

Last weekend, it was HOT. Imagine that. This has been the hottest summer I can remember...in fact, it is usually too hot for us to even venture outside anymore. However, the other day we decided we needed to have some fun instead of watch movies or play inside. Crockett was over, so the 3 big boys stripped down to shorts/undies/the buff and played in the sprinklers. We loaded up the water guns and they went at it. They had a lot of fun, I got sprayed in the face, the little 2 made a mudpit to splash in...it was a good time. Here are some pictures from the "cool" afternoon!

8 months old!

Here we are again, another month has come and gone in the blink of an eye! Craziness. As you can see, I have done away with the signs this month. I just decided it wasn't worth the hassle, only to get eaten!

This month we:
Started MOVING...big time. While he isn't up on all 4's, do not be fooled. Turn your back for 3 seconds and he vanishes. The other day Braidy and Quin were in the living room, I went to the kitchen to do something quick, came back and we were down to one child. I asked Braidy where Quin was and he said, "I don't know?!" I wasn't really worried because obviously he had to be somewhere, but I could NOT find the babe! He had crawled/slithered into John's room and was around his dresser, where you couldn't see him by just looking into his room. Sneaky little thing! This picture was taken when he crawled behind our couch in the living room!

Got his first tooth on 8/16. It's teeny but it is most definitely there, and everyday it gets bigger and bigger! We've already had the talk about NO BITING MOMMA!

His hair has grown a ton I feel like. It's starting to have little "wings" by his ears, and the top will do a little curl after bathtime if I don't brush it. I love the shaggy/pre-haircut look. Just precious!

He will sit up for a while without toppling over! Which also means life gets a little easier in that i can sit him in a high chair instead of hauling in the 50 pound carseat to restaraunts! He really likes it I think, and feels like such a big boy! I still keep him in the carrier sometimes, but the high chair is at least an option now!

He started to eat puffs and he likes them! The first time we tried them, we had a few choking scares, but he's a pro now. We don't quite have the pincher down so I usually have to feed them to him, or else they end up everywhere but his mouth.

He got his first few tastes (or scoops) of ice cream. I told LuLu at Braidy's party he could have "some" ice cream! One scoop later, he wanted more! Safe to say, he loves him some ice cream...vanilla and rocky road! Not to mention, I'm pretty sure LuLu is now his favorite person ever, ha!

We discovered he has a pretty good allergy to strawberries. I gave him one in those mesh things, and not long after he had been chewing on it, he broke out into a huge rash all over his body! I guess no more strawberries for my boy! Here he is, rash and all...and the cutest man boobs I have ever seen!

Wearing 6-12 month clothes, size 4 diapers. Eats an oatmeal for breakfast, and a fruit and veggie for dinner, starting to give him one at lunch too. Nurses 5 or 6 times a day. Is sleeping pretty good lately, going down at about 7:30. Napping twice a day, sometimes 3.

Other than that, he just continues to be a joy. Still growing like a weed and eating like a champ. He loves watching what is going on and does not like to be left out of the action! I just fall more and more in love with this little monkey every single day!

The Party!

I have pretty much decided there will be no more birthday parties at our house, with maybe the exception of Quin's first birthday. It just isn't worth cleaning and stressing only to have everything messed up in a matter of minutes. From now on we will go somewhere for the party, and come home and be done! We did this with Braidy's party and it was the best. Simple and stress-free and I know EVERYONE (especially the birthday boy) enjoyed it 10x more!

We met at the fire station. One of my best friends from high school is a fireman, and he was so wonderful to let us invade his station for a little bit. The kids just explored and played in the trucks. They tried on helmets, headsets, "drove", climbed up the ladder, looked at the giant tires, and even got to see the truck in action. About 1/2 through the party, they got a call, so a few of the firemen left on the call. The kids all loved hearing the sirens and seeing it all in action. They were back in about 10 minutes, but it was still exciting! Fireman Justin even let us get into the 'basket" and go about 110 feet up in the air! Braidy LOVED it and thought it was the greatest thing ever. He is still talking about "going way up high in the sky on the firetruck!" We had a great time and we are so thankful for Justin for doing this for Braidy. He will always remember his 3rd birthday party!













After the fire station we headed to Holly Hop's Ice Cream Shoppe where the kids got to pick out their ice cream cones or sundaes. We ate ice cream, danced to some juke box music, opened presents, ate cupcakes, and ran around and had a ball! The kids were all so sweet and really enjoyed themselves. We were the only ones in the ice cream shoppe, so it was great....and the ice cream was YUMMMMY!