Quinn and Friends

I am very blessed to have several friends in the area with babies near Quinn's age, so I love snapping pictures of Quinn with them. We also have been able to visit with some friends and family recently to meet their adorable little ones, so I thought I'd post these pictures and see if my blog can handle all this cuteness in one posting!!

This is Quinn with Clare Essenburg, daughter of our good friends Ben and Erin, who live in St. Louis. These two are only a couple of weeks apart and were super cute together. Please note that Quinn immediately put his arm around her with no help from us. (Check out his very proud-of-himself face!) I think I'm going to be in trouble with my little ladies' man down the road. 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.
Quinn just met Ethan, son of Andy's cousin Kevin and his wife Melinda, today! Ethan turned 2 in May and was soooo sweet to Quinn, who just thought Ethan was the coolest thing in the world. 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!

Here are the bestest of buds, Will and Quinn. I took Q to Will's house so Will's grandma and aunt could babysit with Nan and I did Dinner by Design. What do you know but they were both dressed in striped baby Gap onesies! Of course, we had to take a picture.

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!).

Ribbon Fun

One of the things I love the most about being a mommy is seeing the world through the fresh perspective of my child. Everything is so new and exciting, from feeling the textures of the screen door or coffee table legs to watching the wind blow through leaves on trees. These pics are from the other day when, after finishing lunch, Quinn discovered an amazing treasure in the ribbon he snagged off of the counter. I loved watching him figure out different things to do with it.

P.S. He has two teeth now! They are so little I haven't gotten a pic yet, but I will soon.

Quinn and Oliver

Quinn loves Oliver. He loves to look at him, pet his fur, and watch him play with toys. Oliver, well, he loves Quinn but in his own way. If I go in the nursery, Oliver goes in the nursery. If I'm in the nursery nursing Quinn, Oliver always, no matter where he was in the house, comes and "guards" us by sitting next to the chair or in the doorway. If the door is closed, he sits patiently outside the door until I come out. Oliver isn't so sure about Quinn up close, though, and is learning to stay out of arm's reach. I think they'll be the best of friends someday, and I'm really happy with how easily Oliver handled having a baby around.
Here are some cute pics I snapped the other day when Oliver was feeling particularly generous in allowing Quinn some petting time:

AHHH!! Doggy!
Quinn is grabbing Oliver's harness, not his fur, even though it looks like he's pinching Oliver.
What a patient puppy!

Snoopy pics

I had some fun the other day taking Snoopy-themed pictures of Quinn outside. He looks like such a little boy with his baseball cap on! The Snoopy stuffed animal was a gift from his Aunt Amy the day after we told her we were pregnant when Quinn was about 8 weeks into existence, so it's neat to watch him play with it now.

Hard at Play

These are some pictures I've taken the last few mornings of Quinn working very hard at playing. He is really into toys now, looking at them, banging them together in his hands, putting them in his mouth, etc. Every day he scoots more fluidly and quickly and can reach toys that interest him in no time flat. I love watching him play because I can practically see the wheels turning inside as he notices the colors, textures, sounds, and more. My little peanut absolutely delights me in everything he does. He is pure joy!

An oldie but a goodie--Quinn loves his plastic stacking rings.

He discovered this activity box for the first time today, even though it's been sitting by all of his other toys for a month. Now that he can sit independently, he can really enjoy the different sides of the box and also the beads on top.

I love this picture. Quinn absolutely loves the green "Blah" monster on Baby Einstein's "Baby Mozart". I went back to this part several times in a row to try to catch his smile with my camera, and it tickled him every single time that puppet stuck his tongue out. How darling!

Goofy kid! Who knows what he's doing here, but I'm glad I caught it because this picture cracks me up. Please note the straight-up fuzzy hair. It's currently my favorite feature of Quinn's (if I were forced to choose only one!).

Fun at the Pool

This was a full weekend with my parents coming to visit and with us making a one-day trip up to South Bend for Aunt Amy's shower. I'm glad we were able to relax at the pool on Friday and have some fun with my dad and sister (with my mom watching and taking pictures). Quinn absolutely loves the pool. He could stay in there all day, I think. He loves watching people splash around and especially loves watching little kids play, but since we usually wait to go to the pool until almost 5 (for less harsh sun), there often is no one at the pool but us!
Quinn continues to work on crawling and can scoot on his belly really well to reach toys he wants. He also continues to be our little piggy, devouring any foods I give him and showing no preference whatsoever for anything. He's eaten pears, bananas, applesauce, peaches, sweet potato, squash, and peas. And I can see his two bottom teeth just below the surface of his gums, so I think they might make an appearance very soon!

Poppa and Quinn

Quinn and Grandma in his robe after swimming

Aunt Amy's Bridal Shower

Quinn had so much fun being the only boy at his Aunt Amy's bridal shower yesterday. He wore a custom-made shirt that read "I love the bride" on the front and "She's my aunt" on the back, designed and made by his Aunt Carolyn!

Trip to Michigan

We had a wonderful family getaway to Muskegon, Michigan last weekend. We stayed with our friends Chuck and Traci Hackney and their 15-month-old son Drew. Having not been to Michigan very many times, it was fun for us to see some sights and escape the heat and humidity of Indiana.
Chuck's parents were kind enough to babysit one night so the four of us could go out. We went to Grand Haven to see the sun set over the water. I was really excited to capture such beautiful pictures!
These are our friends Chuck and Traci.

We also were able to have a short but sweet visit with Fred and Marlene Timmer, who Andy has known since he was a kid. The last time we saw them was four years ago when we went to Chuck and Traci's wedding! It was great to catch up and introduce them to our little guy.

A family picture in front of the red geranium wall

Quinn laughs at the thought of being a Michigan State fan like Mr. T. (Go Irish!)
Quinn is mid-motion in jumping on Marlene's lap.
Thanks for a wonderful lunch, Mr. and Mrs. T.!
Quinn and I got to go see Lake Michigan while the guys golfed.
It's so fun to have an addition to my shadow. : )

Thanks to the cooler weather, we could go for some very nice walks.
This is the one of the only pics I could get of Drew and Quinn in the same frame. Drew is an adorable, ACTIVE kid, so this is the best we have. Here he is sharing one of his books with Quinn, who thought Drew was the coolest kid to watch!

Dynamic Duo

I just had to post these super cute pictures of Daddy and Quinn. Thanks, Aunt Carolyn, for designing and making their shirts! And thanks Grandma Mary and Aunt Amy for the plaid shorts Quinn's wearing, which we just got in the mail today!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a really fun day hosting family and friends at our house for a cookout.

The cousins looked especially adorable in their Old Navy flag shirts.

Looking cool and patriotic in his hat, shades, and flag swim trunks.
Quinn loves his cousin Carys . . .

Especially when she feeds him!