all things new.

So many new things are happening so quickly in the life of our little Quinn.  Two new top teeth seem to be making their appearance, crawling has turned into cruising in a matter of days, first little sniffles, growth spurt into some 6 month clothes (still can wear quite a bit of 3 month), and is finally making a peep.  7 months and this little girl was just the peachiest baby you would ever meet who never made so much as a peep.  And she is still that amazing baby, but she is starting to find her voice and her wants.  Right now that want is mama.  And now that she can crawl, it is crawl right behind mama and immediately crawl to mama's lap.   With two top teeth breaking through, it's no wonder she just wants her mama and some arms to hold her.

She is such a good girl at the volleyball games and has completely adjusted to all the loud surprising noises.  She loves to watch everything.  People-watcher for sure. 

After a game last night, we came home and put our tuckered out girl to bed.  As we were watching our video moniter we had one of these moments...  "She can't pull herself up yet right?"  "Nooo, she can't do that yet." swaying back and forth from the stairs deciding whether to go up and grab her...."I don't know babe, look at her!"..cue to the monitor where a little girl is extended up on her knees both hands grabbing the top of the crib and a little head above the railing facing the monitor and smiling.  Almost like she was joining the conversation with a "watch me do it" look.    Needless to say we both headed upstairs where mommy could grab her and daddy could lower the crib again (we just lowered it a few weeks ago).
Now it is at the lowest it goes, I think I almost cried.

This is what we find when we go in to get our sleeping beauty in the morning now...
 

evolution of the crawl.

It's official, she is cruising.
It is amazing how quickly the crawl develops. In just a matter of days she has gone from sliding and scooting to rocking, to army crawl, to seal crawl, to a slow regular crawl, and now she is starting to move quicker.
So, it is official, we are on our toes!
Gone are the days of putting her down and she stays there. :)

Evolution of Quinn's crawl has developed quickly to this...

click here to view the amazing Quinn :)  (a video)
love the smile at the end.

I was able to get together with some of my best friends from teaching last night. I miss them so much. They talked of the regular teacher happenings and that progress reports already went home. I do not miss progress reports, but just for the heck of it, there is a little girl here that deserves one. :)

Quinn, I am SO proud of your hard work. You have so many strengths and I know you will have the most fantastic year. You love school (with mommy), you play with all of your toys, you share with mommy, you eat all of your lunch, you take the best naps (3x a day), and you do every little thing with a great big smile. Such a wonderful little student you are. :) Your crawling is superb and has progressed quickly. We are working on standing while holding onto things, learning sign language, and introducing you to new foods. You are a lover of books. We could read books all day long. You like to turn the pages quicker than I can keep up with, but you LOVE it. Keep up the great work baby girl!

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On another note...
Fall TV Premieres.

I think this was the first year I actually had time to look at the previews of the new upcoming shows and set our DVR to record ones of interest.

Which new shows did I try this season?
New Girl
Up All Night
Unforgettable
Free Agents
Whitney
Secret Circle
Person of Interest

Which ones made the cut to be recorded again next week?
Unforgettable
Whitney
New Girl
Person of Interest
Secret Circle (this one follows Vampire Diaries, the CW is just my major
guilty pleasure.)

My favorite of the new shows - Unforgettable.

Otherwise, my must-see list remains:
Vampire Diaries
Criminal Minds
How I met your mother

Shows I watch, but are okay if they sit on the DVR for a while:
The Office
Bones
Glee
Law & Order SVU
Pawn Stars
One Tree Hill

Todd & I watch The Office, SVU and Pawn Stars together.
(and he won't admit it, but occasionally he gets sucked in if he's home when I'm watching Vampire Diaries. he says he is going to get some work done, but then often ends up staying for the episode. he gets sucked in, it's easy, such an amazing show. love it!)


Quinn is sleeping, Todd is at a tournament, and an attention-deprived kitty is curled in my lap resting her sad little head on my typing hand.

Happy Saturday.

the pressure of a costume.

I've started thinking about how there are only so many years that I get to pick her adorable little Halloween costume, and it's putting on some pressure. :)

Still undecided...38 days to go...we have some time, right?

I need to learn to sew so badly, for the fate of future cute costumes.

This year it will be simple, but it will be cute.

I wanted her to be a fluffy little white owl, but I'm having no luck.

I have found some cute ideas though...

I loved Rainbow Brite, and the fact that I could be Rainbow Brite and she could be little Twink is the best! save for next year :)

oh my cuteness! great for pictures, but we would have to put on a long sleeve shirt and snowpants underneath because that's halloween in chicago. save for two years from now :)


the search continues...

two birthdays and a wedding.

someone just turned thirty and someone else seven months.

We celebrated with a jam-packed weekend of a wedding and lots of family and friends time.
The wedding took place in Iowa, boosting Quinn's official passport to 10 states! 10 states in 7 months...that's pretty impressive for this little traveler!

Congrats to the bride and groom!

Todd's cousin Sarah and her new husband Preston.

our little family.

the full outfit. :)

little dancer.

first dance with daddy.

all tuckered out.

On Sunday we even got to squeeze in some time with Quinn's cousins.

Aidan and Quinn.

A wonderfully crazy weekend.

Last night, I got to spend time with girlfriends (it was so overdue) and I just loved it.  It always goes by too fast and is never enough time.  And I start planning how to get us together again before they even walk out the door.

Lots of love to my family and friends for birthday wishes, and my amazing husband who makes me feel like a birthday princess everyday.  Thank you.

mama moments.

My sweet little girl, you love both your mommy and daddy so much.
but you are definitely going through some mama's girl time right now.

Snuck out to get my hair done the other night, daddy called to say you were looking all over for me and just weren't going to bed as easily.

Such a good girl you were for Great Grandma Ginny the other day, but nothing could come in the way of your incredible squeezes, squeals and HUGE giggles after I got home. It made us laugh and laugh. It was the cutest thing and it just melted my heart. Never seen you like that before...loved it. A good girl while I'm away, doesn't make mama feel bad about leaving; an extra lovey girl to come home to, makes mama feel extra special.

I had a realization the other day. I've always known adorable baby girls clothes could get your mama into trouble, but as you get bigger...shoes. Now that you need shoes as you start to move and as it gets cooler, now I'm really in trouble.

I'm so glad you get as excited as your mama about new clothes. :)

and shoes.

Old Navy had a sale, mama had a 30% off there too, you needed a fall sweater/coat...you got a few more things.
and we had fun checking it all out. you spit up a little on your boot, so we can't take those back. :)

I love your mama moments.

Our first hold the camera out to take a picture moment.

XOXO to my sweet baby girl.
We love you so much.

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In other big news...

let the crawling begin!

She is on the move. I think she was anticipating her 7 month birthday approaching and wanted to pump up her game and really show off her skills. And she wanted her mama to write in her baby book that she was a 6 month old crawler. That wasn't enough for you today though, you also decided to show us how you go from laying down to sitting up all on your own. Crazy to think that this little girl was a preemie.

Our little girl with great determination, big things are in store for you.

ideas galore.

I am in love with pinterest.
I am in dislike with how pinterest accounts work.
A few months ago when I received my invite, I was super excited to set up my account and start pinning.  Low and behold, you must have a facebook or twitter account to be able to have pinterest.  ugh.

I still love pinterest.  I get excited by creativity.  I limit my wandering time to 15 minutes, so I don't end up looking for hours.  I bookmark all of the ideas I love.  It is such a fast way to get so many new ideas, and I have tons of them now.  Some of my folders are starting to overflow. Quinn's 1st birthday folder is building. I just love when people share.

I find photography ideas I crave for.

Craftsman home details that I love.

loaded with tons of chunky white moulding.

Creative Ideas.
Like a make your own Family Guess-Who Game.

Moments that make you really smile.

and things that make you go awwwwww...

I'm definitely not a spokesperson for Pinterest, but it is a good place to go for smiles, and a great place to go for ideas. Every possible kind of idea. Maybe one day they will let you join even without a facebook or twitter account.


In other news...
Todd's volleyball team is doing awesome. Quinn, myself and Grandma Ginny just got home from witnessing a great victory. I'm horrible for not knowing their record thus far, I'll have to get that from Todd. Quinn wasn't too sure about it all, but she did just fine. It's a ton of loud noise and action when you are used to quiet days at home with just mommy and lucy.

Proud of her daddy.