R&Q Make 8

In a throwback to my Louisiana friends, R&Q made 8 months old! When we moved to Louisiana, I heard that phrase all the time ---"Susie just made 30" or "Little Bobby just made 2." Never heard that before growing up in the 'burbs of Dallas. But I kinda like it --- so R&Q made 8.

Of course in true Meagan fashion, I am posting this ever so late. I guess my excuse this month is last week we were hit with an artic blast that must have ascended straight from hell. You would think being stuck at home in sub-freezing temperatures would have left me plenty of time to catch up on my blogging. But you would be wrong. All of the sitting around and lamenting about the weather turned my brain to mush. Plus, both kids came down with an "artic blast" cold, so I spent the majority of the days disinfecting, cleaning, re-disinfecting, wiping noses, rocking and soothing when I could, and trying to keep two kids separate who insist on being in each other's space no matter how much room I give them.

It should be noted that taking pictures in the rocking chair with their sign this month with two increasingly babies was near impossible. Next month I'm going to need an extra pair of hands as both kids each almost managed to topple off the chair while trying to crawl to some unseen object. Oh, and they like to eat the paper sign now.

See below for my best attempts:

There, enough excuses?

Ryan - What You Are Up To @ 8 Months Old

We have a new hat!

Sitting so well now

Rosy red cheeks and rosy red nose to go with our 3rd cold of the season.

Sweet boy. Love this face.



- Ry, I have no idea how much you weigh right now! I am guessing probably about 17.5lbs since you are typically about 2 1/2 more than your sissie. But you are getting heavy! You were going through a "growing out" phase last month, but this month I think you are starting to streamline longer now. You are fully in 6-12 month clothing from everywhere and only can wear 9 month sleepers. And 12 month ones are soon in your future.

- Big excitement this month on eating... you still take 5 bottles a day, usually around 6 or 7 ounces per. But now we  have added more solids. You still gag on rice cereal and oatmeal unless I mix it up with something. Not your fave. But you have made your way through all of the fruits and veggies. Your favorite veggie is probably sweet potatoes and your favorite fruit is a toss up with apples and pears. We also started giving your cheerios and while you don't understand that you can swallow it, you sure like to play with it in your new front teeth.

- So speaking of teeth... you now have SIX. Whoa. I kinda forgot that you had them the other day and let you grab my hand to put in your mouth and OUCH. Sharp little buggers.

- You are doing so many fun things now. You love to move around and while you aren't the most proficient army crawler yet, you are starting to get the hang of it. Your new move is hiking up your butt and just when I think you are going to lurch forward on all fours, you somehow crawl backwards. It's awesome. You also love to rock your butt in the air which makes us both laugh hysterically.

- You are still a babbling fool. You have definitely discovered your "yell" this month - not an unhappy yell, more of an exclamation of excitement. When both you and your sister get going at the same time, I am fairly sure the neighbors think we have a zoo over here.

- You remain a completely content and happy child. You are so good when we go out and about and love to smile at everyone! And when we go to someone's house, you are just in awe for the first 30 minutes just checking out your surroundings and taking it all in. We attended a Super Bowl party the other night and our friends couldn't believe how amazingly comfortable you were to just to be passed from one person to another and just settle all in. You are still the cuddler for sure!

- Ryan, I am so loving you at the this age! (Not that I didn't love you so much at other ages!) But you are discovering so many new things each day and it makes us so happy to see you grow and develop so healthfully & happy. Love you, Big Guy!

Quinn: What You Are Up To @ 8 Months Old



Showing off our cute sweater dress from Aunt Emily & our boots from Gigi



We L.O.V.E. to stand. All.the.time.

A rare picture of Quinn sitting. She can do it, she just has no interest in sitting still. Notice she is about to lurch forward to crawl after something.

Our purple day! For some reason, I didn't catch many smiles this month - I think it's because she is just too busy to sit and smile for mommy! But let me assure you, the child grins from ear to ear!

 - Quinn, you weigh 15lbs 2oz now! Big girl. I know this because you have been weighed 3 times in the past 2 weeks...once by the cardiologist, once by the dietician, and once by your doctor on Monday. Your weight & height are still perfectly proportional. We call your curve at the doctor's office the "Quinn Curve" -- meaning you are making your own way on that curve but everytime you are perfectly consistent. Thank you, baby.  And I constantly remind the doctors, heart condition or not, you were not going to be a big child anyway. Your Gigi is insistent that your Momma was not even on the growth chart when I was a baby :) It's in the genes, honey.

 - You are wearing 6 and 9 month sleepers - but the 6 monthers are getting tight. You are completely out of our 3 month Carter's and have moved onto 6 months, although those are getting tight as well. You wear 6-9 month or 6-12 month everything else and sometimes it's a little big but we are learning young to sacrifice for fashion :) Those clothes are SOOO much cuter, so keep growing baby girl. ha.

- You have been introduced to so many foods this past month. You love almost everything we put in your mouth. Your exception tonight was avocado - it made you gag but I think that was more of a texture thing than a taste. Your favorite veggie is either carrots or peas (gag!) and your favorite fruit is the same as Bubba's, apples or pears. We are adding a bunch of extra stuff to fatten you up even more and you are tolerting it so well (we'll go into more detail in a later post).

- NO teeth yet but I think you are working on it. You chew EVERYTHING.

 - You "army crawl" everywhere - and fast now. No longer are you content to stay on your back. You must be in everything at all times. I think you could be on a show called "Baby Hoarders". One or 2 toys is not sufficient and 3 barely passes muster. You typically like to get them all in a pile around you, lay on one and hold one between your legs and one in each hand. I think it's a protective mechanism so your brother doesn't have a chance :)

 - You babble all the time as well. Lots of syllables, dada is a constant. Even when dada isn't around. We are working on "mama". No one seems to want to say that one yet :)

- You still love your Exersaucer and go completely nuts in it. I love watching you play - you have such extreme joy and it makes me smile. You yell and laugh and just seem to love life. May you always have such enthusiasm, baby girl!

- More new things - you have learned to shake your head "NOOOOOO!". You shake it over and over and over if we are trying to feed you solids and you are done. Have no idea where you picked that up but you just started doing it one day. Now you just do it because you think it's funny and it makes us laugh. We finally caught it on video tonight and hopefully can post soon.

- You are such a happy child as well --- you are wonderful being out and about & like your brother, you are extremely social and happily offer up smiles to everyone. I wish we could be out more because I think you are a total social butterfly. And you love to show off. When we have babysitters come over, you totally have to show them your new trick and you always make sure they are looking and see how precious you are :)

- Baby Girl, you are my heart. You are an inspiration to me in so many ways ---- you deal with all of these darn doctors appointments so much better than Mommy and you are always willing to flash me the most darling smile even after I have been struggling for 20 minutes to feed you a bottle (yup, you are still STUBBORN in this area). But it doesn't faze you.. And you continue to prove everyone wrong about your stamina and energy --- you have more energy than your parents!! Love you, sweet girl.

We continue to thank God every day that He has chosen us to raise these blessings for the past 8 months. Through all of the challenges, exhaustion, and sometimes a little frustration, we have experienced the most immense joy and love possible. We love you, Ryan & Quinn - may you always know that.