a spooktacular first.

It's been a busy few days around here.  Daddy's life, always busy.  Mommy and Quinn, not so much. :)  We tend to stick to our usual routines and opt for lots of playtime at home and in our little subdivision.  It's been several days of go, go, go for us lately, and it's been great.  Quinn is a little rockstar with changes in routine, this we have always known though.

Sunday marked Quinn's first ever Halloween Party!
And it was definitely one to start off her memories of Halloween parties.
I fear the day when her "made by grandma" attire will be replaced by sexy kitten, nurse or other. Yikes!  It's there, in the future, and I could probably just embrace that. 
I did see a photo on Pinterest the other day of 3 girls that made minidresses that looked like different Taco Bell hot sauces, and thought "I so would have rocked that".  Well, my days in "those" costumes have passed, I guess embracing that future could be helping to share such ideas with her one day.... one day long long long long from now.

The Halloween Party was hosted by one of my best friend's, Kirsten's, parents.  Being at their home and with all of our children around now, it made me super sentimental about high school, but that is a whole 'nother blog post entirely.
Here is a little scoop from this spooktacular event:

There were crafts for the little kids.

playtime for the babies.

a parade and pictures.

a neighborhood scavenger hunt with a little friendly boys vs. girls competition.

neighbors who were very helpful in trying to help the girls win, not the end result I'm afraid though.

a spooky pirate story of treasure by the fire.

a "Spookwalk" through the Haunted Forest to find the treasure.

and treasure we found.

Treasures for children.  Treasures for a mommy that needs these moments, and is so grateful for close friends when separated from immediate family.  As Quinn continues to grow, it becomes more and more of a thought on my mind thinking ahead to holiday concerts, dance recitals, sporting events, birthdays.  It often makes me want to have more and more children so that we here have that feeling of a big family all the time.  I have my moments, it's still all new, but realizing we may always be separated by distance we forge forward to make the most and very best of our situation and also recognize that the friendships we have and will establish in the future are so very important.

This afternoon we will get to see friends, and celebrate Ashley and Mike as they leave to make a new home in Minneapolis.  And with a regional volleyball game tonight, Quinn will get to spend some time with Aunt Celeste and Uncle Tim so that I can go and be a support for Todd (without a little one wanting to crawl all over).  Another busy day, all great things.

cute and creative.

It has been pretty rare that we have purchased clothes for this little girl.  Shocking right?  We've been so fortunate that we have received so many great gifts of clothes, and this little peanut and her smaller size doesn't grow out of things very fast (as she can still fit into some 3 month things, otherwise mostly 3-6 month and 6 month clothes right now).  Each stage we have been able to make great use out of the clothes for a longer time period than the average baby.  I just packed up a good portion of her 3 month summer wardrobe.  This was harder for me than the newborn packing, her 3 month wardrobe was ADORABLE!  I think it was the stage where she started wearing more outfits.  Anyway, we have been so incredibly fortunate to have so many clothes (benefits of having a girl) and that we have been able to use them for so long. 

I found myself recently at Target pacing back and forth in front of a pink stripe ruffle top with flower embellishment and the cutest little jeggings, yup jeggings!  After several paces, I quick threw it in the cart and moved on before I started feeling guilty about exceeding our grocery budget.  I told myself I would just take something off the grocery list.

And that outfit....

so worth it. :)

(sorry for the bad lighting)

and these boots were daddy's pick a year ago when we had our little shopping trip after our "It's a girl!" ultrasound. :)

On the creative side, finally joined Pinterest not too long ago.
I've put several ideas and about five recipes to use already. There is a link in the sidebar to see my pinboards (underneath our family description).  Just like below.



Pinterest is often my 10 minute break from everything else, during a nap and when I just need a few minutes before tackling my to-do list.

A sweet little girl is sleeping, I put in my ten minutes, time to go get something done before we head over to daddy's volleyball tournament for a bit.

Happy weekend! 

a day in the life.

A precious little girl turned a big eight months yesterday.

A day in the life of a brand new eight month old...

Mornings start about 7:30am, with a super smiley little one waiting in her crib.
We grab a bottle and have snuggle time with mommy for a while in mommy and daddy's bed.

Then we usually have some playtime upstairs before a morning nap.


teasing Lucy with a toy with dangling strings just calling a cat to pounce. 

showing off some teeth.  (two bottom, two top, two more top getting ready to come soon too)

After the morning nap, it's time to explore some books. 
Sometimes mommy reads all of them, sometimes it's just a day to explore them on my own.  Today is a day to explore.  Mommy knows how important that is too.

"Mom, I need a post-it!"  hehe, alright not really, but she seems excited about something she found.

taking time to read the cover.

it's chilly and rainy today so any outdoors exploration will be done from here. 
watching raindrops fall, a first for this little girl.

stacking cups.

knocking cups down.

playtime with mama's phone. sorry to all that she has called. :)  (here she is actually looking at a picture of herself the day she was born with a little purple hat)

time to practice pulling up.  while jamming to some music with mom.

making sure she is exposed to some classics, well songs her mama considers classics.

volleyball time.

trying to grab the camera time.

still trying to grab the camera.

a break.

cozy socks needed on chilly fall days.

aha. success.

we check the mail.  today a package.  Quinn and Lucy explore.

A book!  YEA!

A fall package from Grandma W.  Sweets for mommy and daddy and a sweet book for Quinn.  This occupied Quinn and Lucy for a long time.

Which turned into chase Lucy time.

and more chasing. 
Chase Lucy time is pretty funny, and I give Lucy a ton of credit.  Quinn will go after Lucy as soon as she "tags" her, Lucy walks like 5 or 6 steps and then plops down again, and then Quinn "tags" her again and the cycle continues.  I think Lucy is a great sport for making it a game instead of just running away.

Mommy was pulling out newborn sleepers for new baby girl cousin that is coming soon and found some of Quinn's preemie clothes.  Pictures don't do justice for how tiny this is.  You have to have it in your hands.  We can't believe that our peanut was ever really that tiny.

there is the purple hat from the hospital :)  (the one in the photo on the phone we just looked at)

and doorstops.  always doorstops.

she loves the front door.  not sure why, but she does. 

On top of this, her usual 3 naps a day, meals, bottles, tons of playtime, giggling with mommy, getting chased by mommy and crawling away fast with giggles (cracks me up).  No errands this day.  No places to be.  Today is a day that daddy will be home late, but we will get to see him tomorrow at his game.  Just a typical day at home, with a brand new eight month old. :)



Official eight month post to come soon.

gameday.

a crisp fall day and football, plus an adorable little fan.  doesn't get much better.
go bears!

pink.

Tuesday night the volleyball team hosted a "Volley for the Cure" event to raise money for breast cancer.  Always a great event, but this year even better.  Todd and all of those involved did such a great job organizing for this, and it's amazing to see so many people together of all ages for such a great cause.  The gymnasium was overflowing in a packed pink crowd, pink court lines, pink volleyball, a dj, pom pom's, nervous middle school players getting recognized in their future gym  (including some of my former students totally aging me!), and an exciting match.  Unfortunately, the team lost and is on a bit of a rough streak lately, but there was something more important going on that night....a great opportunity to rise together as a community and help.

Pink attire required...not a problem here.

There was a raffle auction with awesome prizes that evening. Buy raffle tickets and stuff the boxes for the prizes you hope to win. Obviously the more tickets the better your chances. We won a family fun night to dinner and bowling and a salon gift certificate. Even better, all of our ticket purchasing money went straight to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

It was a late night for our peanut, but it was a great night.

Aside from a big fun night out, this little girl is always on the move.
She loves staring out the patio door, playing with the doorstops, and crawling everywhere and anywhere. And she is fast! :) Fortunately, she does not get into anything and her first reaction is not to put things in her mouth.

so much wonder.

This picture cracks me up.  This is my take on what she is thinking as she is even holding up a part of her shirt...
"HEYYY, look at this chunky roll on my thigh.  Mama, I finally got a chunky roll!"

Much love to our peanut, so proud of your new little chunky thighs. :)