For the past three weeks Jeremy and I have been trying to do a vegetarian diet. His cholesterol numbers were a little high at his last two checkups, so the doctor wanted to see if it was from diet or just unfortunate genes. (I have a feeling it's the genes since he runs all the time and we eat pretty healthy anyway.)
Anyway, it has been kind of fun to get creative with dinners and try new things. Some of it has been kind of boring and we just eat for the sake of eating, but a lot of it has been yummy! It's also been good for the whole "lose baby weight" adventure. The only thing we have to watch out for is cheese and carbs. A lot of recipes have pasta and lots of cheesy yumminess! But, I have been careful to keep it mostly veggies, and quinoa is my new best friend.
Here are some of the recipes I've made so far that have been really good!
*Jeremy actually made this one. He didn't think it turned out so great, but I thought they were good. I do think they would be better sort of "fried" in a pan w/ olive oil rather than baked.
*This is sort of a staple of Jeremy's diet especially at lunch. It's easy to throw together and thanks to the huge pecan tree that was in my Mom and Dennis' backyard in Odessa, we have enough pecans to last through 2015.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Proverbs 31:28
Happy Mother's Day! It felt weird to be celebrated as a Mother, but it was wonderful! Jeremy and Q did a great job at making me feel special all weekend.
Friday, Quinn came home from school with the sweetest Mother's Day craft! Her hilarious face is the center of a flower and her footprints are the petals! I love it and I will cherish that craft forever. I know she will probably make a jillion crafts throughout her education, but that one will be special since it's from my first Mother's Day! Anyway, Friday evening we had a nice dinner outside at Torchy's where Quinn ate her cereal and then chewed on her spoon while we ate our tacos.
Hilarious face!
Spoons can provide hours of entertainment!
Saturday, we attempted Quinn's 6-month photos. Major fail. I'll be surprised if we get a couple of good shots from the whole thing. Poor Q has had a cold and she got her shots last Thursday so she was just a grumpy head the whole time. She didn't really fuss and cry or anything, she just wasn't her normal happy self. Ugh...oh well.
After that, we hung out at home and then we went to the Watson's annual crawfish boil. We had so much fun, and Quinn was in heaven since everyone wanted to hold her and she got to play with her new favorite thing...balls! She loved sitting in the inflatable pool chewing on balls and just chilling out. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to some of our best friends at the crawfish boil. Jill and Noah are moving back to Minnesota and we basically had a cry fest for about 30 minutes telling them goodbye. We are going to miss them so much, but they are honestly the type of friends that I can see us visiting 20 years from now. We love them dearly!
Q will miss her Auntie Jill!
Just chillin' out in the "ball pit."
"Are you kidding me w/ this hat, Mama!?"
Q loves the balls!
Sunday was such a special day for me. My new favorite thing is to sleep late (and by late I mean 7a.m.) and have Jeremy and Quinn wake me up by getting in bed with me. There's nothing like waking up to a sweet, happy baby and a husband who has already changed a poopy diaper! :) On Mother's Day, Quinn came in to wake me up holding a box and a card. She was actually chewing on the box, but what do you do. She got me the sweetest necklace with her name, birthday and birthstone! I love it! Poor Q doesn't exactly have the prettiest birthstone (November is a yellowish topaz), but I will wear it proudly!
My Mother's Day gift from Q.
Church was great! Jeremy actually taught our Sunday school lesson in Couple Vision and it was basically a celebration of women in general. (Not all the women in our class are moms yet.) He did a great job and of course, made all the women in the class cry. I am so blessed to have such a sweet, wise, spiritual leader as a husband!
My Dad actually came in town for church and it was nice to see him. Quinn loves her Pawpaw and I'm so glad he lives close to us now! After church we all went to Moonshine for brunch and OMG, it was amazing! I think I might have had three plates of food. If you are ever in town on a Sunday, that's the place to hit up for brunch!
I am so blessed to have had such awesome, Godly women in my life to celebrate on Mother's Day and to show me what it means to be a great Mother.
Happy Mother's Day everyone!
Waiting for a table doesn't bother Q!
Quinn loves her Papwaw...she especially loves grabbing his beard!
Jeremy and his Little Mini-Me
Yep, still giving big, open-mouth, slobbery kisses!
How in the world are you already six months old!? It seems like yesterday we were bringing you home, struggling with breastfeeding, praying for more sleep and dealing with Mama's crazy hormones. Now look at you! You sit up by yourself, you know exactly what to do when it's time to breastfeed and Mama's not a crazy person crying all the time anymore (just sometimes). :)
Here are some of my favorite things that have happened in the last month:
*Before I start, I just want to note how crazy it is that I have been nursing/pumping for six months. I remember driving to see a lactation consultant when you were not even a week old and having a conversation with Daddy about how it was just too hard and we should switch to formula (which would have been fine, but I'm glad I stuck with it). I remember once we got it down, I told my friends "I don't know if I will do this for a year or even six months!" It was just so painful and pumping was such a chore. Well, I am so glad I persevered. You do so well and I am so glad you are getting my immune system and all the other great things that come w/ my breastmilk. I never would have thought six months ago that I would be pumping enough to donate to the Milk Bank. God is good and I am so grateful I got to have the breastfeeding experience with you! Here's to another six months of pumping four times a day...I can do it!
Stats
We went to the doctor today and got your stats.
Veggies Are Our Friends
You mastered the art of eating cereal (oatmeal, rice and mixed grain which is your favorite) so we decided to try some other yummy food. Mama made you some green beans the first week and then we tried peas. You did pretty well! I think the consistency was a little hard to handle at first because there was a lot of gagging, but luckily, Miss Belkis at school knows all the tricks. She said to add a little cereal and breastmilk and magically you ate it right up! I think I will try carrots next and hold off on all the yummy sweet stuff. I actually tried a little baby led weaning and gave you a carrot, but I don't know if I will do that anymore because I was paranoid the whole time that you would choke. Mother of the Year, I know.
Yummy!
Or not.
The slimy carrot kept slipping out of your hand!
Sitting Up Like a Big Girl!
You've got it! You can sit up like a champ and you love doing it. I rarely put you on the floor laying down anymore. You would much rather be up and see the world. I think since you mastered this so quickly, you aren't much of a roller. I see a lot of other babies rolling all over the floor, but you don't seem interested. You like to be sitting up and you lunge forward for toys a lot which tells me you might try to crawl soon. You actually have been scooting on your booty a little which makes me wonder if you will be a scooter like your Uncle J was!
Sitting up on your changing table like a big girl!
Quinn the Muppet
You are hilarious most of the time! Daddy and I laugh at you a lot! The funniest thing you are doing lately is this funky grunt. It's like you do it and hear yourself and you love the sound so you just get louder and louder. It's not a grunt like you are leaving us a "blessing", as Miss Belkis calls it, in your diaper. It's just a little baby grunt. It reminds me a of a Muppet! Don't worry, you are way cuter than a Muppet and one day Mama will let you watch old Muppet movies.
Clothes
Luckily, your family and friends keep buying you clothes because you are growing out of things really quickly. You can still squeeze into 6-month clothes, but we are about to have to move up to 9-month. I probably should have already switched you, but I think I am in denial. You are just at such a fun age and I don't want you to get bigger!
Touchy Feely
You are SO curious right now. I put you down somewhere, and you immediately start looking for something to grab. You love anything that is not your own toys. It's pretty funny how uninterested you act when you have the choice between your toy or something random like a burp cloth or Mama's purse straps. I love the way you move your hands and touch things with your little fingers. Even when we breastfeed, you have a hard time focusing because you want to look around and touch everything in site. Your feet are also very busy all the time. You move your sweet little foot in a circle a lot...even when we feed you bottles or breastfeed.
Open Mouth Kissing
You love to give us open mouth kisses on the cheek, shoulder, hand or just about anywhere. I think you mostly just want to eat anything in sight, but it's so fun when you attack us with your mouth! You are still teething on the bottom, so there is a lot of drool with your kisses. Yum!
Love you Daddy!
Outside is the Best
You absolutely LOVE being outside. I planted some flowers in the front bed a few weeks ago, and I just sat you on a blanket in the yard while I planted. You were perfectly content just hanging out for about an hour or so. You love the feel of the grass and you like the sounds and especially the wind blowing.
Happy as can be!
Playing with Daddy outside.
Best News All Month!
Nannie Mae and Papa D are moving to Austin!! YAY! Mama can't wait to have her Mama around to play with you, love on you, teach you about Jesus, sing to you, bake for you, read to you, shop with you and generally spoil you rotten. I was lucky enough to grow up around both of my grandmothers and I am so glad you will have grandparents in Austin.
Nannie Mae and Papa D can't wait to be close to you!
I live in Austin with my wonderful husband Jeremy, my beautiful baby girls, Quinn and Noelle, and my sweet (spastic) puggle,Ella. I'm a marketing and PR consultant and WAHM. We love our family, friends, church (Riverbend Church) and our life here in the ATX!
