Brock's 1st Father's Day & 8 Month-Old

What a joy it is to have a little boy! Quin is so much fun right now, and we are loving watching him explore new things. We had a really nice Father's Day this year, and the weather was perfect. I asked Brock what he wanted to do for Father's Day, and that evolved into a picnic. Then, that evolved into a picnic with his family, including 3 of his 4 brothers! We went to our hometown and to a park we both remember playing in as children. We were so happy to take Quin on his first picnic in a place where we first played, and we even put Quin on his first baby swing in a park! I made potato salad, cowboy caviar (veggie salsa - YUM), deviled eggs, and M&M brownies. Brock grilled the perfect chicken Saturday morning. Quin and I went to our Parent & Me swim lessons, and then we hit the road!

Quin with his grandparents and talking to Uncle Jay B & Uncle Kurt

Quin ready to party at the Father's Day Picnic

Brock with his brothers, dad, and son (Uncle Kurt is holding Quin)

One of the definite highlights of the picnic in the park was putting Quin in a baby swing for the first time. He loved it! We had to be careful because he wanted to chew on the swing, gross! His reaction on the swing was perfect; he just laughed and giggled. We LOVED watching him!

Look at this happy swinging baby!

Daddy just had to take his son down a slide. Quin liked it ok, but he really loved the swings. You gotta love his hat!

On actual Father's Day, we kicked back. Quin didn't get his naps on Saturday, so he was exhausted on Sunday! He took a 3 hour nap, so Brock and I took a 2 hour nap! We were a little productive and set-up a bouncy seat for Quin, which sets-up onto a door jam. I couldn't ask for a better father for my child. He is so attentive, so loving, and so happy to be a daddy. Brock you're a TERRIFIC father!

Hard to believe, but Quin is 8-months-old. He's got 2 bottom teeth, and I think more are coming in. He just chews on everything he can! He has bit my finger, and gosh it hurts!! Quin, here are some of the wonderful things you are doing and some of things you just don't like...

Quin Likes/Developments
-You're a really good eater, and you really like to try new things.
-You love your spoon and playing with it! You try to grab it and put it in your mouth. We have to be careful when you do that because you sometimes gag yourself!
-You scrunch your nose up like Mommy when you smile, and it is too funny.
-You still use your pacifier and have mastered taking it in and out of your mouth.
-You like to go for rides in cars. Most babies fall asleep, but you like to look around out the windows to see what's going on.
-Daddy got out a play keyboard for you, and you really like it! You also really like your bouncy seat and going on a baby swing.
-You love sitting in your stroller and taking walks with Mommy & Daddy.
-You move around the room, even though you're not crawling. You roll over from your back to tummy and vice versa to move around.
-You like playing in your playpen while Mommy & Daddy do work in the house.
-You laugh when you see the pets.
-Still absolutely love having your picture taken.

Quin Dislikes
-Taking naps when you're home on the weekends. You want to play with your parents.
-When you're really tired, you want to be held for a while before you go to sleep. You don't like just being put down.
-You're "not too keen on rice cereal" as Daddy says.

You are such a good baby, and we love you very much. Slow down growing!

Pennsylvania Trip - Memorial Day

Brock, Quin and I went to Pennsylvania to see my wonderful Aunt Carol and her family. We had a great time, and Quin did a great job in the 10 hour car ride! She doesn't live too far away from Washington DC, and my grandfather is buried in Arlington National Cemetary for his service in World War II. I was very close to my grandpa, and I still miss him everyday. It was wonderful to go to his grave and do it with my son and extended family. My brother also came out from Chicago, which was really special.

Here's a pic of Brock feeding Quin on a pit-stop in Ohio.

We spent the night on our way out there, and here is a picture of Quin in his first hotel room!

Sleeping baby on our way. Those wings really helped his head not bob while he slept!

Brock loves going to breweries, and my Uncle Hugh took him to a brewery the last time we went to Pennsylvania. Here is a picture of Brock, Quin, and my Uncle Hugh at Victory Brewery, which is near my aunt's home. The meal was delicious!

Here are some wonderful pictures of us with my Aunt Carol, cousin Jennifer, and my family. My aunt's other daughter, Gayle, is currently deployed in Iraq as an Army Nurse. She called us on Memorial Day, which was awesome! We love you, Gayle!





Here are some pictures from Arlington National Cemetary. You can see the Washington Monument from the road that leads to my grandfather's grave. It was awesome to have a picture there with my brother and cousin, and it was phenomenal to have a picture taken there while holding my son. I'm so grateful to my aunt and uncle for taking us there to DC!!

With my brother, Joseph, and cousin, Jennifer

My family

You can put rocks on the gravestones at Arlington. It shows that someone was there and visited a grave. We also saw my cousin, Michael's, grave. He died in a helicopter in Iraq, and he's not too far away from my grandfather.


Thank you Aunt Carol & Uncle Hugh for a great trip and Quin's first vacation! We did so much! We went to Victory Brewery. My aunt and I made a wonderful Memorial Day feast, including yummy Cowboy Caviar. We played one of the best games ever, Catchphrase. We talked, told stories, and just really enjoyed being with each other.

Brock's Graduation Party

Sorry for the delay in posting!! We had a great time on Brock's graduation weekend, and we wanted to continue the celebration. Here are some great photos from Brock's Graduation Beer Tasting Party in May! We have to thank our friends who came and brought micro-brews for Brock to try. To top it off, I had a yummy cake in the shape of a beer bottle for Brock. It even said Brock's Brew on it. :-) Here's to good friends!

Brock and Sarah. She was so sweet, she actually put little graduation caps on the beer bottle lids!

Brock showing off his bottles


Quin, Brock, and I with his yummy cake!

Charlie Young came over, so Quin had someone to play with. Everyone loved seeing the babies together.

Great time, good food, good brew, good friends

 

Brock's Graduation, FINALLY!

I'm so proud to say my husband finished his MBA from Butler University! We knew this day would come, but we're so glad it finally did. Brock did an excellent job and learned so much from his time at Butler.

Brock with his degree


I've just discovered Picasa, and it's an awesome way to organize and edit pictures! Here is a cool collage from the ceremony. Quin did pretty well, but he definitely got a little fussy and tired. He slept some... I guess the excitement of Daddy getting his MBA was too much for him. Brock's parents, David & Carolyn, my brother, Joseph, my mom, Linda, and Quin and I all got to see Brock get his degree.

 

Congratulations, Brock! You go wherever your dreams take you. Do what makes you happy, and your family will always love and support you. We're so proud of him, so afterwords, we went to a delicious tapas bar downtown to celebrate. What's really cool about this is when Brock and I received our bachelor degrees, we went to a Spanish restaurant in Northwest Indiana. So, I thought I'd continue the tradition. Everyone who went to dinner for graduation 2004 was there for Brock's MBA graduation. Well, minus my grandmother and plus my son! We had a great time and got to try lots of good food. Since Brock studied abroad in Spain, we let him order for us. And of course, we had delicious sangria to toast us. What's even better, we had a private dining room, and they played Star Trek, Brock's favorite, on the tv! I didn't plan that, but I wish I could take credit for it. Here are some pics from a wonderful lunch. Thanks Mom and Brock's parents!

Enjoying being together


The restaurant was beautiful inside, and we had great service. The food was awesome; you can't get much better than that! Brock also thought the tapas were very authentic, even better!

 

Congratulations, Brock! You did it!!!

Mother's Day 2009

I celebrated my first Mother's Day! It was wonderful. Mom was in town from Montana, and it was also the weekend of Brock's MBA graudation from Butler, more on that in other post. My brother, Joseph, also came down from Chicago, and we had a great weekend. It just went too fast! I received a beautiful card from Brock, and a sweet card from Quin. I also got a cozy blanket from my mom with a very nice card. Brock even got us a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, my personal favorite! To top it off, my brother treated us all for a very nice brunch at a Hilton Hotel. It was a great kick-off to many Mother's Days to come. Here are some highlights:

Yummy ice cream cake


At yummy Mother's Day Brunch



With Quin & Mom


Check-out Quin's onesie. I just couldn't resist.


Great pic of Mom and Joseph


One of the definite highlights from Mom's visit was the Saturday before Mother's Day. My mom is an excellent cook, and we totally use that when we get together! Anyway, we had a delicious meal of pork tenderloin, salad, and garlic mashed potatoes. Mom just couldn't resist and convinced me to let Quin try some mashed potatoes. He LOVED them! What can I say? He's his mother's son because Mom's mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods and should be in their own food group. I just gave him tiny bites, and you can see a little mashed potatoe residue on his chin. It was too much fun, and we had a great laugh.

Quin eating mashed potatoes


To finish off the wonderful day, we all went on a walk throughout my neighborhood. It was really nice, and Quin did great in his stroller. Thank God the sun was shining and it was gorgeous out. It really finally felt like spring!

Race for the Cure & 6 Months!

This past weekend, we all walked the Race for the Cure 5K (3 miles). We had an absolute blast and got to walk with our friends, the Youngs. Quin and Charlie did wonderfully, and Quin didn't even cry once! The weather was perfect, and we couldn't have asked for a better day to be outside and walking around. The walk was downtown Indianapolis, and we walked with a bunch of people from my office. There were nearly 40,000 people doing the walk! Check out these great action shots:

Charlie did wonderfully in his carrier and actually fell asleep! Quin fell asleep in his stroller after the 5K started.


Here's a great group shot with our friends, the Youngs. Surprisingly, this is the first picture we've had taken of the 6 of us!


Here are the boys in full action during the walk


Two Proud Mommies pushing their strollers


Here is a great shot of Quin and I in front of the State Capitol Building. You got to love his sun fisherman's hat!


Quin is 6-months-old and getting into solid foods. I'm very grateful that Quin is such a good nursing baby, and he is doing really well with solid foods too. It's so fun to watch him eat. We just have to be careful to keep his hands away from the spoon and food jar! He'll put his hands in the food and wipe it all over his face and clothes! Here's a great picture of Quin, anticipating his bite.

He's eating green beans


We also had our own little cook-out the Friday before the race. We were so happy to sit outside with the baby. This is a sign of things to come for this summer!


What we've learned about our wonderful son the past 6-months:

Quinten Likes:
-Playing with his feet and putting them in his mouth
-Laughing when Mommy kisses his feet, kisses his cheek, and tosses him in the air
-Sweet potatoes and green beans
-Looking around, especially in new surroundings
-Putting remote controls in his mouth
-Fascinated with cell phones, sometimes laughs at them
-Looking at Chewy, the cat
-When you change his clothes, he now cracks up when you take off his onesie (which is great because he used to cry!)
-Having his picture taken
-When Mommy & Daddy sing to him
-Going shopping with his carseat in a cart. If you tickle him or kiss his him, he laughs. Brock gets him laughing really hard with Peek-A-Boo, and you can hear Quin laughing throughout the store! People just walk by and smile at our little boy.

Quinten Dislikes:
-Peas... well, he's not quite sure. But, after he eats them, his little face grimaces. He still swallows like a champ.
-Going to sleep. He still fights it and cries when he's really tired

Quinten Behavior Traits:
-Wants to be the center of attention
-Loves to talk, laugh, and makes a high squeal at the end
-He is currently putting everything in his mouth. Our favorite is during bath time. We use a cup to pour water over him. He wants to grab the cup and drink the water.
-He grabs at things with both his hands.
-He's getting better at tummy time and has rolled over from stomach to back. He can almost do it the other way too!
-Sometimes he just wants to be held and cuddled. Other times he wants to just lie there. We're thankful to have figured out his cries to discern what he really wants.
-He doesn't mind being passed around for people to hold him. This is especially important for church.

Quin, you are generally a very happy baby, and we're so blessed to have you in our lives. It's hard to picture how life was without you. When you laugh and smile, you light up the room and make all my stress go away. Your grandparents adore you, and your Gammie gets here from Montana every chance she gets. You're loved by so many people from church, our close friends, and extended family. We love to watch you, and you look at things like you're actually studying them. I'm excited to see you hit milestones, but I'm also really enjoying our time together now. You smile at us when you wake up in the morning and have been sleeping through the night since Mommy went back to work. We love you and are so excited to keep getting to know you.

Thank you, God, for blessing me with the most beautiful and wonderful thing I've ever known.

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful day!! Thank God for some spring weather!! Quin celebrated his first Easter, and it was a busy day for sure. We went to church on Thursday to celebrate Maundy Thursday, the day of the Last Supper. Then, Good Friday was after that, the day of Jesus' crucifixion. Then... Easter Sunday! What a beautiful day it was. We participated in a Sunrise Service at 7:30, below is a picture of Brock & Quin after Quin's 1st morning nap.


After a beautiful service, we went to a church wide breakfast, YUMMY! Here I am with Quin.

Next, we went on Quin's first Easter egg hunt. It was a little chilly, so we hurried. Daddy helped Quin find an egg. The next picture is of us at home, and Quin is putting the egg in his mouth. :-)

Here I am with good friends Shari and Joanne


Then, we attended a beautiful traditional service, complete with choir and brass instruments. Check out Quin's reaction! (Well, he was in the nursery, but he looks so happy! He was laughing when his picture was taken with Liz & his buddy Charlie.)

We couldn't have asked for a better Easter day. Brock's parents came over for dinner, and the Easter Bunny even brought Quin a little singing lamby! It was a very good day, and we're really looking forward to spring. Happy Easter everyone!



With his lamby