Quin Can Stand in His Crib!

Well, we have exciting news! Quin can now stand in his crib and pull himself up on things. I just can't believe it. He's so proud of himself. It's so funny because just a few weeks ago, Quin still couldn't sit-up right on his own very well. Now, he can sit up, crawl, and stand. Brock and I were getting ready for church, and I went to get Quin from his crib. When I went to get him, I found him standing up. I know he had to do it himself!!

Look at my Big Boy!


I have to admit, I'm a little sad. Quin is growing so fast! I know, I know, he's still a baby. But, I remember when he was just a little tiny thing when he had to eat every 2 - 3 hours, we had to support his head, and we were thrilled if he opened his eyes.
Quinten in the first week of his life

It is really amazing how quickly a baby changes, just in 9 months! I know coming to his 1st birthday will be wonderful but also a little emotional too. He's changed our lives so dramatically. A good friend of mine named Shari said after your baby is born, it's hard to picture how life was before he was born. I thought yeah right, I'll always remember. But, it's true. He has brought so much joy and purpose to my life, and I already think it's going too quickly. I know I must sound really strange and naive to moms out there sending their kids to college, but I can't help what I feel. Quin is so awesome, and I wouldn't trade him for the world. Here are a couple pictures of him we took this weekend.

I absolutely love these pajamas. The pants have a little waist band that says "Joe Boxer" on them. He looks like such a big boy! The last one is of Quin asleep on my shoulder. It's moments like this that I will always cherish!!

Ben & Carrie's Wedding

This past weekend, one of our good friends from high school got married! I say "our friend from high school" because Brock and I went to the same high school and started dating the 2nd semester of our senior year. It's really nice to have that in common, especially when we want to reminisce about things. We both know what the other is talking about.

Anyway, Ben got married to a wonderful woman named Carrie. They met a couple of years after they graduated from college, and we couldn't be happier for them. They asked us to be the DJ's at their wedding, and we were so humbled to be asked. Not only did we play music at the reception, but we also did at the ceremony. I have to admit it, I was a little nervous right before we arrived at the wedding. I didn't want to mess anything up! I mean, if the music is bad, people will remember. It went very smoothly. What's amazing to me is Ben put all the ceremony music on his iPhone. I just followed the right playlists and plugged the phone into a jack in the sound system. Those iPhones are SO user-friendly, and now I really want one! The ceremony was beautiful. The colors were light yellow and pink, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

The night before, we attended the Rehearsal Dinner. We brought Quin with us since he wasn't going to the wedding. It would have been a long day for the little guy. One thing I really love is watching my friends with Quinten. Jeff was the best man at the wedding, and he just went crazy for Quin. Then again, his wife, Kara, did too. Jeff also went to our high school and was the best man at our wedding. Brock and Jeff have been friends for a long time, and we're so happy he found such a wonderful wife in Kara! The first pic is of Quin, Brock, and Jeff. The next is of Jeff and Kara at the wedding.

The beautiful newlyweds!

We had such a wonderful time! Here's a picture of us at the reception.

The groomsmen and Brock! Jason on the right also went to our high school. In fact, I've known Jason since elementary school. It was great to catch-up.

Ben and Carrie, we pray you have a wonderful marriage. Thank you for including us in your special day. Your wedding was beautiful, and we're so glad we got to be there. Congratulations, and God Bless You!

4th of July & Quin 9 Months!

I need to do a little catch up!! I first wanted to tell you about something we discovered Quinten absolutely loves. To swing! He loves going on outdoor swings in the park or at church. We put him on one for the first time during Father's Day weekend, and he loved it. We have a great playground at church complete with baby swings. One evening, Brock had a meeting at church. Quin and I tagged along for dinner, and then we played on the swings. He giggled at first, and eventually, he fell asleep! Check out the collage below. The pictures on the left are of Quin falling asleep.

 

So, we had a wonderful 4th of July and went to our friends, the Jacobs, house. We have been fortunate that every year for the past few we've gotten together. It just wouldn't feel like the 4th without their annual party! We had to stay indoors due to the rain, but we had good food and played fun games. One of the best parts of the evening was Quin playing with Kara. She got one of her stuffed dogs and kept wagging it in his face. He was cracking up! The next is Rachael holding Quin. The girls just love on him all the time; it's great!

































Here is a picture of Quin in his 4th of July outfit. I feel so stupid because I had the onesie he's wearing for a while and bought a special new shirt for him to wear. I just totally forgot about it! Oh well, he still looked adorable.

The night before, we went to symphony on the prairie. Here is a great pic of Quin and his daddy.

Quin is just so fun and cute!! Here are some pictures of us just doing normal things around the house. The first is of Quin after a bath with a mohawk! The second is of Quin in his bath towel, big eyes! The last one is of him sleeping on me. I love that he still does this and hope he will for a long time!!!

My baby is 9-months-old today. It's just hard to believe! He's been alive almost longer than I carried him inside me. I really love being a mom, and it's better than I ever imagined. Quin has started crawling! He did it about 3 weeks ago, and now he wants to go everywhere. Here are some exciting updates on what Quin is doing.

Developments and Likes:
-Quin you're crawling! We were with our good friends the Youngs when it happened. Here's a picture of Quin and Charlie the same weekend of his big milestone.
-You are still a great eater, but peas are definitely now on your not likes list. You actually gag when we try and feed them to you. You now eat puffs! They're great because you can grab them yourself and put them in your mouth after we lay them on your high chair tray for you. We shake the container to let you know you'll be eating puffs, and you get so excited. You're very hungry right now!

-You attended your first symphony on the prairie and did wonderfully. You saw fireworks for the first time after the concert, and you were FASCINATED. You lay in my arms with a big blanket wrapped around you. It was a moment I've always dreamed of, holding my baby watching the sky. Daddy was very excited because you weren't scared of the loud fireworks and watched the whole show quietly with your pacifier in your mouth. The moment it was over, you looked at me and fell asleep.

-As mentioned before, you love swings.

-You love playing with the animals, and they're so good with you. You laugh when they walk by, and you excitedly crawl over to their pillow bed. We can have tons of toys on the floor for you, but you go straight for Sampson's ball, gross! It is fun to watch you with the pets.

-We have to be very careful when we put you on our bed because you like to crawl and roll all over it.

-Swim lessons are awesome! You're such a big boy, and you love being in the water. I'm so happy because I was/am a huge water baby. We take a parent & me class, and we put you underwater. You don't stay under long at all, and as soon as you come back up, you wipe your eyes. The instructor said that's a good sign, and you're not afraid of the water.

-You like to stand on the side of the couch, at the coffee table, or outside of the bathtub. You need us to help you, but you love to stand. You sometimes bounce.

-When you play, you love things that make sound or talk to you. You have a little radio, and when you push it, it tells you about the weather. You love having the button pushed for you.

-When you smile, you still scrunch up your nose, which is SO cute. You have an AMAZING laugh, and when you really get going, you laugh really hard and fast.

-You sometimes will show your teeth, but you won't show them if I try to open your mouth. I want to show off your teeth, but you won't let me. You currently only have 2 teeth on the bottom. Here's a picture of you as you're reaching for your puffs, and you can see those adorable teeth.

We love you so much and are so happy you're here! You're a miracle baby, and it's hard to believe you'll be 1 in only 3 short months!!