A Hubby's Shopping List

I have to preface this post by saying I have an amazing husband. He tries to do everything he can to make our lives easier and my days less stressful. He understands that there is a lot of pressure on a full-time working, overachieving Mom. He knows me way too well. 

Anyway, one of the things he takes off my plate every now and then is the grocery shopping. I actually enjoy going to the grocery store and going up and down every aisle, but I just don't have that kind of time anymore. Letting Jeremy go after work sometimes is just better for everyone. 

I've found that making a list for myself and making a list for Jeremy is quite different. Obviously, I know what I'm talking about and I can use shorthand, but I forget the grocery store is sort of foreign territory for a lot of men. I'm pretty sure before we got married, Jeremy was acquainted with the meat, cereal, dairy, produce and personal care aisles, but when I throw random things like minced ginger or tempura at him, it gets a little confusing. 

Example from this week: I asked him to get grated parmesan. In my mind I was picturing the bag of parmesan you get on the cheese aisle. Well, he got grated parmesan, but it was the grated, powdery kind. I guess I should have said "shredded" which is what the bag says. Lost in translation. 

One more example: I asked him to get clementine oranges. He picked up a bag of what anyone would think is clementine oranges since the label said "Clem and Tina". Well, unfortunately I turned the label over and they were mandarins which I don't like. I know they look similar so I usually check for that when I buy clementines, but I didn't mention it to Jeremy. Oops. 

Again, I have to say, I know I am SO VERY lucky to have a hubby who will go to the store for us. It's just funny to see the difference in my shopping list and a shopping list for the hubs. 

The Everlasting Onesie

When Quinn was born, our friend Meghan came over to visit and she brought a gift that included some super cute finger puppets and two polka dot onesies: a pink one and a mint green one.

The labels say 6-9 months, but when Quinn started wearing 6-month clothes, I realized these onesies were a little big. I let her wear them regardless and just rolled the sleeves up. I thought they were too cute and what little girl doesn't look cute in pastel polka dots.

As time went by and Quinn outgrew some of her precious little outfits (that she wore once or twice) these polka dot onesies just stuck around. It was like they grew in the washing machine. Every time I would pull one out, I would think "surely this is too small now". Nope. They are like the Everlasting Gobstopper except they don't change colors like the candy...they change sizes.

Well, now that Quinn is over 14-months old, I think it's time to retire the 6-9 month polka dot onesies. Oddly enough, they would still fit around her if she weren't growing taller.

So, thank you Meghan for the gift that kept on giving. Literally, for about a year. Who knew!!?

The evolution of the everlasting onesie:

August

 

September

 

 October

November

January

 

14 Month Blurb

Here's a quick blurb about 14-month Quinn:

• She understands us when we tell her things. I told her to get her Snow White Little Person figure (one of 12) and put it in a box she'd found in recycle. She actually did it and I was so shocked and proud!

• She is starting to do a little whiny fit if she doesn't get her way or if we are doing something she doesn't like. She also has become a pro at shaking her head  "no" but isn't saying it quite yet. She hates when we wipe her face or nose, getting something taken away, getting in the car seat, driving in the car for more than 15 minutes and not getting picked up when she wants to be held.

• Changing diapers is one of my least favorite things now that she is like wrestling an alligator. I try to find a new toy or book to entertain her every time I put her on the changing table.

• Quinn is a dancing queen and the "cabbage patch" is her favorite move. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba.

• She is so grown up now and she likes to carry a purse. She grabs it and says "bye bye" while she carries it on her arm.

• She's started singing with us. She likes "Twinkle Twinkle", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". 

• She's getting a little pickier about food and she isn't shy about showing us she doesn't like things.

• Her bed squeaks when she moves and the funniest sound in the world is when she's holding on to the side of the crib jumping up and down in the bed. Oh dear.

• Little. Miss. Independent. That's all I can say.

• She points to things and knows what they are called. Unfortunately, most things right now are "dada". Wedding photos of Jeremy and myself include "dada and dada". Photos of other people (unless it's Pawpaw or Papa D) are dada. She says mama when she's whining, so that's awesome. She has started trying to say Allison when she sees a random photo of Allison, Jill and me on the fridge.

• Quinn is finally getting hair and I can sort of put it in a pony tail!

• She's tall and skinny and weighed 24lbs. at the doctor last week.

• God bless Jeremy for living with two hormonal girls. You just never know what kind of mood we will wake up in. HAHA!

• She thinks talking or doing FaceTime on the phone is hilarious. She loves seeing herself on the screen.

• Quinn has a second home at Nannie Mae and Papa D's. She stayed over there last Saturday night so Jeremy and I could re-live our babyless days by eating dinner after 6pm with some of our best friends. We even went to a different place for dessert and got home at 11:30. I know...we're getting crazy.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Time is flying and I can't seem to keep up. Quinn's infant teacher at school used to pick her up and hold her every time I dropped her off and she'd always say "Oh I love you preciosa...don't grow." I feel the same way. Stop growing so fast...don't grow!

East Texas Christmas

The weekend after Christmas, we packed up the car again to head to East Texas to see Jeremy's family for the holiday season. I hadn't quite gotten over a nasty cold from the week before and I finally went to the doctor to get meds for a sinus infection. So that's how our weekend started. Me, a miserable, snotty, coughing mess and Jeremy and Q on the verge. I honestly didn't get many photos because we all felt like crap the whole weekend. BOO!

Getting ready to go w/ her hat and purse.

We were really excited to visit Livingston this year because Jeremy's mom moved there about a month ago. She bought the cutest old house built in 1922 and it's just down the street from her family's bed and breakfast (seen here). Quinn loved looking out the window at Granny's onto the big front porch to see if any of the neighborhood cats were around.

We had a rough night Friday night. Quinn was in her pack and play in the same room as us and she had a hard time sleeping. She didn't want to go to sleep to begin with and she had developed more of a cough, so when she woke up and saw us in the room, she wanted out.

Saturday, we spent the day with Jeremy's mom, sister, her fiance and their kids. Quinn has a lot of cousins and another one on the way.  She had fun playing the piano w/ her Granny too. While we were there, Jeremy's mom pulled out his baby book and we found this awesome photo of Jeremy with a major "Quinn Face." It's scary how much they look alike.

 Is this a Quinn face or what?!

Saturday evening, we had dinner with Jeremy's aunt and her husband and Quinn started going downhill. She was a fussy mess and getting her to bed was not fun. Then Saturday night, we had a horrible night. It felt like she was an infant again. I think we might have gotten three hours of sleep while we were up and down with Quinn. Jeremy tried to sleep with her in the recliner at one point but none of us slept much at all. She was coughing a lot and my coughing probably didn't help the situation. By Sunday morning we had decided to cut the trip short and head back to Austin so we could get Q to the pediatrician. Boo!

Sunday afternoon, we spent some good time at the reservation with Jeremy's dad, step mom, sister and brother. His brother, Josh, has a new baby, Annaleigh, and Quinn kept pointing to her and making the sign for baby. It was really sweet. She got lots of new toys and a cute little car that she can ride while we push. Spoiled girl! We ate Indian Tacos and hung out until the early evening when we headed back to Livingston to eat dinner and head back to Austin. Poor Quinn was a snotty, coughing mess.

 

Quinn was officially done.

We were sad that illness got in the way of enjoying our time in Livingston. I think all the traveling and sharing germs was a lot for our family this year. Jeremy ended up with the same thing and we were all sickly over the weekend. Luckily, we will be back to visit soon! In the meantime, we might have to figure out how to stay home more during the holidays and spread our travels out a bit more.

Christmas 2012 - Our First at Home

I made a new rule when Quinn was born. We stay home for Christmas. I want Quinn to have Christmas morning at home after Santa has been to visit and for us to have a family Christmas in our pjs. I think I became even more of a homebody when I became a mom. I love being at home with Q and Jeremy and even little spastic Ella. Here's how we spent Christmas this year.

Christmas Eve

During the day we just hung out at home and played w/ Quinn's Craigslist Christmas gift.

This was our first time to ever go to the Riverbend Christmas Eve service. I have always wanted to go ever since I worked at the church, but never really got a chance. They make all three services family-friendly (short and sweet) so that the whole family can go (babies included). Quinn loved going to big church and did pretty well all things considered. She didn't try to grab the candles or catch anything on fire, and she never screamed or interrupted the pastor. We even got to see some old friends after the service! Matt and Kathy have moved back to the Austin area and we are really excited to hang out with them more so Q and Harper can be good friends! 

  

  

  

That night we hung out at home with my mom and Emily, ate tamales and queso, played with Quinn, read some books and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. I love the Jesus birthday cake tradition! My family always did that growing up and I want to make that a tradition for our family. It's funny how I've become so sentimental with traditions since having Q.

  

 

 

Quinn loves her tree! Her Granny (Jeremy's mom) gave us a white tree last year and said maybe we could use it for Quinn. It was absolutely perfect and I ended up calling it the diva tree because of all the bright colors, bows and sparkles. Quinn can see it from her crib just outside her room in the playroom, and every morning she looks for it and puts her hand out as if she's presenting her tree to the world.

 

 
Christmas Day

Christmas morning, we went downstairs and let Quinn open her gifts from Santa and played for a bit. Not surprisingly, the books were her favorite. She got a little Pride and Predjudice book and "B" is for Baylor. Jeremy got me some red corduroy Toms for our last day of 12 days of Christmas. Quinn enjoyed the book that came w/ the Toms...apparently she's going to learn how to start her own business.

 


 

After having some family time at home, we headed over to Nannie Mae's for brunch and hanging out for the day. Quinn was the only one to get dressed for the day since she had the most precious dress to wear. Jeremy and I didn't even shower...awesome! Nannie Mae made an awesome breakfast of waffles, sausage balls and fruit and we were all stuffed!

After we ate, we opened presents and Quinn got an awesome new swing for us to hang outside w/ her new climbing toys! Auntie Em made her some felt Baylor clips and a cute headband. Of course, she found a box and that was her favorite thing!

 



 











 

The rest of the day we hung out at Nannie Mae's and played piano with Auntie Em, watched cheesy movies on ABC Family (one of the things I miss about having cable) and played Yahtzee. Little Miss Independent Q wanted her own dice, so we found some for her to play with until she started putting them in her mouth. Mother of the Year award for giving my child something to choke on.

It was such a relaxing Christmas Day. I love our new tradition of staying in Austin, being at home for our Christmas morning and hanging out all day with nothing to do. I have a feeling Christmas will get better and better as Q gets older. Seeing the sparkle in her eye when she sees Santa, the excitement in her face when she sees Christmas trees and telling her the story of Baby Jesus has been such a joy!