Quinn at 2.5

How is it even possible that Quinn is two and a half?
She definitely acts it with her 'tude sometimes, but I still can't believe it. Time freakin' flies. I think the last time I posted an update about her was about a year ago... oops.

I am loving this stage that Quinn is in. Well, I kinda take that back... Most days I LOVE it, because she is so fun, communicative and interactive. When she is crabby though... watch out! She can be a terror like no other. Having said that, on most days, she is a joy to be with.

Cheesin' during Thanksgiving

Quinn has endless energy (takes after her dad!) and talks so much. She literally doesn't stop moving or talking, which is a blessing and a curse for mommy and daddy, haha! She's so smart and amazes us every day with the stuff she knows! She is also hilarious. She makes us laugh so hard at some of the things that come out of her mouth. Her two year old logic is the funniest.

She absolutely adores her little sister. When Grace was born, I was fully anticipating a lot of jealousy from Quinn, but she has always adjusted to change well, and having a new sister was no different. She tells Grace everyday how much she loves her and "Gooey, you awe my pwecious wittle baby". So cute. Lately, she is all about hugging and kissing her sister all the time... which is also why Grace caught the cold that Quinn had and then they both had ear infections last week... awesome. She also thinks it's so fun to "woll Gooey ober" (roll Grace over (we call Grace "Gooey", if you didn't know..)), Yesterday, Quinn was trying to pick a booger out of Grace's nose when neither Rick nor I were watching, and Grace started eating the kleenex... oops. I must say that she is always very helpful and gets me burpcloths, pacis, diapers and wipes for Grace all the time.



We started potty training Quinn at the end of November and ugh... I don't know if the "training" portion will ever be over at this point. She has good days and bad days... This may be TMI, but she never ever poops in her undies anymore, thank goodness. Peeing is a different story. She'll go a "wittle bit" and then tell us she needs to use the toilet... it is so frustrating. I just don't know how to get her to stop what she's doing and make it to the toilet before she starts to go. I've tried reminding her, forcing her to go sit on the toilet, etc. Anyway... can't wait to do this again when it's Grace's turn... NOT!

Picking out our Christmas tree at the end of November

Lately, Quinn has been really good at using manners. Sometimes she needs reminders, but she is getting so good at saying please and thank you. Makes me proud. My favorite is when she "double pleases" and says "Mommy can I pwease have _____ in my bowl, pretty pwease?" When she says thank you, it is always "fanks you". She has been so caring lately too. We went to the doctor when she got diagnosed with an ear infection, and as we were driving home in the car, she said to me, "Oh no momma! I fowgot to tell the doctor fanks you for makin' me feew better!" Just the cutest! Last night was funny. We went to Target and she asked the cashier for a sticker at the checkout "Hey yady! Can I pwease hab a sticker, pwetty pwease?" Haha, I guess we haven't worked on saying "maam" or "sir" instead of "hey lady!"

Some things that Quinn loves lately are:
-Helping mommy cook anything (aka eating the ingredients as I attempt to make dinner)
-Paw Patrol
-101 Dalmations
-Seahorses (she has 3 stuffed seahorses (1 is actually Grace's) that she carries around everywhere. She covers them up and puts them to bed, feeds them fake food from her kitchen, and even takes pictures of them with her fake cell phone!)
-Dora the Explorer books that read themselves (I kinda love these too!)
-Going to Meijer to get a cookie
-Hummus
-Eating carrots "yike a weindeer"
-Stickers
-"Edamommy" (Edamame)
-Going outside, especially to the "paak" (park- she says it with a new yorker accent...)

Some things that Quinn doesn't love:
-Any actual meal I cook... never eats more than two bites of her dinner...I guess she's too full already from eating the ingredients while it's being made...
- Being woken up. She's just like me. She has to wake up on her own, if we wake her up she is soo cranky. I totally get it.

All dressed up at Christmas time

Seahorse Obsession

Discovering Playdough

Quinn, we just love you more than words. You are so full of joy and bring us so much too!!

Grace Olivia- 4 Months Old!

I have obviously had NO time to write any sort of update about anything lately! Two kids has been kicking my butt. I feel like I'm finally becoming myself again, although postpartum mood swings are still in full-force some days.

Anyway, enough about that. Grace is already 4 MONTHS OLD! How did this even happen? I thought Quinn's "babyhood" went by fast, but this one has gone by exponentially faster. In some ways, it's a good thing... Grace wasn't the happiest baby for months 1.5 to 3. She was a lot needier than I remember Quinn being as a baby, and it was frustrating because I was having a really hard time juggling both kids. I said to my husband on more than one occasion "why did we have another baby?" Makes me so sad to think of those words even coming out of my mouth! Luckily, he is awesome and is always willing to give me a break, and now things have gotten a lot better. Grace really completes our family. Although some days I feel like I might lose my mind (as I'm sure all moms do!), both of those little girls bring me more joy than I could ever put into words.

Grace is getting so big now! I'm not sure how much she weighs (I'm guessing like 12ish lbs), but she is getting chubbier and chubbier! I love chubby babies, the chubbier the better. She is quickly growing out of three month clothes, and size 1 diapers are pretty tight... I have one more sleeve of them though, and I'm not letting them go to waste.
She drinks anywhere from 4-6 ounces of formula at a time and she has tried oatmeal cereal a few times as well. I don't think she enjoys it though, she makes a real grossed-out face when the spoon reaches her mouth. She rarely burps after a feeding, but when she does it is LOUD... like grown man loud. It's hilarious. Grace loves to be naked, and the only time she ever laughs is when we tickle her bare chest. She is very smiley (unless she's hungry or tired), and still loves to be swaddled super tight during naps and night time. She is a great sleeper (HOORAY!) and has been consistently taking two naps a day in her crib and mostly sleeping through the night. I'm such a heavy sleeper that I don't hear her fuss at night, but Ricky will sometimes wake up a few times to put her paci back in (did I mention my husband is awesome?). Grace loves taking baths. She smiles and kicks the entire time. Sometimes she kicks so hard that I'm nervous she's gonna fall out of her little tub! She is starting to grab toys and my hair (ouch) and loves to stand up on my lap. She can roll from her belly to her back, but not from her back to her belly yet. She's not too fond of being on her belly at all, actually! Grace has basically lost all of her hair, except for a small tuft at the base of her neck... kinda like a baby mullet. The tiny hairs that she does have are pretty blonde, and her eyes, of course, are blue like all the rest of ours.

Quinn is obsessed with Grace. She tells me all the time "Gooey (Grace's nickname) is the super cutest baby, she's a stinker!" Grace will give her the biggest smiles and Quinn will say "Mom! Gracie smiled at me and it was BOO-tiful!" Before Grace was born I really thought Quinn would have a hard time once she arrived, but she loves her baby sister and has been more than awesome with such a huge change!

It is so interesting to compare Grace with how Quinn was when she was a baby. Grace has had a lot more tummy troubles than Quinn did, although Quinn spit up all the time and Grace rarely does. Grace is very smiley at this stage, but Quinn used to laugh all the time and Grace has only real-laughed once or twice thus far. Grace is a drooler (especially now that she is teething) and Quinn never really drooled. Quinn was always content in her car seat, while Grace would rather be worn in the baby wrap. I could go on and on... I just love how I can already tell that Grace has a whole different personality from her sister. I can't wait to see more of it!

I know I'm missing things that I want to remember, but it's late. 

I need to change this blog's heading, since there are four of us now... and I NEED to do a separate post about Quinn, because she has grown up SO much in the past few months. I will try to get around to it soon!

Let Me Introduce You To...

Grace Olivia

Born September 8, 2015 at 8:46 a.m.

weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 19.5 in. long 

We are so in love with our sweet girl!! I cannot believe she is already going to be one month old on THURSDAY! A month with her has FLOWN by and we can't get enough of her baby-ness!

Welcome to the world, Grace!