Wow! Where has August gone?! I know August is one of the months that flies by the fastest, but silly me thought that since I wasn't returning to teaching, this August would be just a bit less crazy. Nope! Between Amy's wedding; my sister's, niece's, mom's, and my birthdays; plus all the activities that keep summer the best but busiest time of year, this month has gotten away from me. Of course, having an 8 month old who becomes more and more mobile, curious, and cute every day makes the days speed by as well! Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks.
(P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom!)
My 28th birthday was on August 24th. My sister Carolyn and her boyfriend babysat so Andy and I could go downtown to celebrate with a wonderful dinner. It was a particularly meaningful birthday for me as I looked back over a year that changed me more than any previous year. It is an amazing blessing to look at my life and realize I am living the life I've always dreamed of having.
Quinn was really excited about Mommy's presents!
We have loved going to the pool as often as possible this summer. I just can't get over how cute my little guy is in his swim trunks.
This is one of my new favorite pictures. This absolutely captures Quinn's curious, happy personality. My sister Emily and I attempted to take the three cousins (and Oliver) for a walk, using her double stroller for the babies. Quinn thought it was so neat, and he kept peeking his head around to see what was going on. Of course, he also thought it was really neat to touch, pat, kiss, and eventually grab Fiona's head, who was directly in front of him. Fiona, bless her heart, tried to be patient but too tired to tolerate it, so our walk lasted for about 8 minutes.
And who doesn't love baby bath pictures? Here are some recent fun ones.
Today Quinn was super tired but didn't feel like falling asleep. He cried for several minutes when I put him down for his nap. Once he got quiet, I gave him a few more minutes then went in to check on him. What I found was him asleep in the sitting up position, resting his head on the bumper!! It was absolutely hilarious! I took some pictures and then gently moved him into a more comfortable position.
The following four pictures are of Quinn's new "OOH!" face. He does it whenever something is new, startling, interesting, loud, etc. , which means he makes this face quite often. It never fails to crack us up.
And this one is a great one too. Quinn continues to be my little piggy, barely noticing the difference between any foods we've ever given him. The one thing that he'll make a face at is cold food from the refrigerator. He'll make this face on the first couple bites, and then he'll be fine. (The spots on his face in a couple of these pics are from the roseola he had this week. He looked like he had chicken pox! It didn't bother him, but it sure looked bad.)
Thanks to my amazing sister Carolyn for driving all the way up and back in one day to watch Quinn for us!! She was able to get him to sleep for awhile at the reception.
A handsome group of Albert guys
Quinn's Aunt Amy, Uncle Johnny, and (practically) Aunt Nikki
This is Quinn with Carter Mertens, who is almost 3 months older than Q and is the son of my good friend Tammy from Bible study. Sadly, the Mertens are moving to Milwaukee, but we'll be able to visit them when we're up there visiting my extended family.
I wish I could have captured Rees's adorable smile in this picture. Rees is 4 months younger than Quinn and is the son of my friend Heather from school. He has a smile that lights up the room!
And here are the sweetest set of baby cousins this side of the Mississippi: Quinn and Fiona. As they both learn to do more and more, they are interacting and enjoying each other's company more. Fiona is the calm and still to Quinn's non-stop movement and energy. I think they'll balance each other out very well (and don't forget the world's best big cousin Carys!). 
