You may recall this post where I shared about my plan to go through the e-book "One Bite at a Time". It's $5 for 52 small ideas to help simplify life. I started it before Quinn was born and haven't had time to continue it until recently. I'm going to get back in my routine of picking a new "bite" each week in 2012. Care to join me? With the code HAPPYNEWYEAR, you can save a dollar. So it's $4 total through January10. Just click on the elephant on the right side of my blog to purchase it. It could be a fun New Year's resolution since there are 52 weeks in a year.

Wow, Christmas is so much simpler when you don't have to drive nine hours each way to be with family!


Quinn had a nice first Christmas. She skyped for the second time with two great grandparents and met four other great grandparents in person. So she has now met all seven! She met a lot of other relatives and friends too. And she was a great sport while she was passed around. 


We sure feel blessed to have so many great people in our lives!

There's frost on the ground this morning, so Christmas-y!

I forgot to mention that on Tuesday afternoon Quinn was cleared to be done wearing her harness! Her hips are looking good. She has been extra wiggly and is kicking and punching a lot now. She has also begun eating her hands and enjoying tummy time more. 

The main inspections on the house went well and we are waiting on the results of a few more. Then we will make our decision.

Now back to baking I go!

Quinn has experienced a lot of firsts lately. She met Santa Claus (a.k.a. Dave Kennedy)

She didn't make a peep, just sat there with wide eyes. It was hilarious! He said she won the littlest prize :)

She also encountered her first Christmas tree.

She wore her cloth diapers for the first time. They're way easier to manage than I thought. Hopefully it stays that way. 

She also had her first babysitting experience. Josh and Amber were kind enough to give us a date night this weekend and we sure enjoyed it!

We made an offer on a house on Saturday! It is in SW Portland by a great school and some nice parks and a cute little downtown-type area. We are so excited and think it will be a great fit for us. It definitely happened quicker than we expected though. Here are a few photos:

Such a sweet little cottage! The master bedroom has a fireplace and sunroom. The living room has coved ceiling and there are arches throughout the house.

In other news, we moved into our second temporary dwelling on Sunday. It's nice to not be living out of a suitcase anymore! We've been unpacking the essentials and repacking what we don't need until we are in the house. We must be nuts to have a baby, start a new job, and move three times between October and January! But we've had lots of help and support from great friends and family.

Also, Quinn went to the nursery for the first time at church and did great. The gals in the nursery at the church we've been going to are so sweet, we knew she was in good hands. My Mom also came up to visit Wednesday and took over Quinn duty so I could get some things done. Quinn didn't seem to mind :)

Picks of the Week 12.9.11

I didn't have time to read blogs this week, but I did last week! These three were my top picks. Hopefully I can get back in the groove soon. Enjoy!

Take Courage, Young Mother - Desiring God

Treasured Christmas Books to Read with Little Ones - Passionate Homemaking

The economics of Christmas lights - Seth Godin

This week has been so cold! No rain, just clear skies and low temperatures. It is fun to eat hearty foods and bundle up again. Even when it has rained I haven't minded it as much (yet) because I have more freedom to go outside and walk the dog when there are sunbreaks these days.
Stay snug and warm!

My baby is two months old today! When she woke me up at 5am this morning to eat, I couldn't help but reminisce about what was going on two months ago at that same time. I was even wearing the same tank top this morning that I wore when she was born, random. I feel like I have learned so much about my little gal in these two months and it is a privilege to be her Mom. And, oh wow, the power and magic that God weaves into baby smiles astounds me. 


So what's been going on since the last time I blogged? We have been staying with our fabulous friends in their beautiful home in NE Portland. Quinn and Shinobi love hanging out with their Auntie Amber and Uncle Josh. We visited Eugene and Corvallis for a few days where Quinn was able to meet some Azalea ladies and their offspring. Jonathan started his new job and it is going well. We've shared some meals with friends in the area. Both my parents and Jonathan's parents, plus his sister, came to Portland for Thanksgiving, Quinn and Shinobi are very lucky to be surrounded by so many people that love them. Her Auntie Boo and Uncle Dennis came up for a visit too. Quinn and I went to breakfast with her Great Grandpa. Quinn was cleared for more time out of her harness after her ultrasound revealed great improvement in her hips. And besides that I've been looking at house listings and starting to get in the Christmas spirit. I started reading Luke to Quinn this morning so she knows what Christmas is all about.


It's been a busy couple of weeks! Quinn also had her two month check-up the other day. She showed off her talking, smiling, and tummy time for the doctor. She even pushed her chest up off the ground which the doctor said is a four month milestone (brag, brag). We're just thrilled that she is healthy and happy. She loves to smile and say "Hi", "Ah-gee", and "Gwa". She can see pretty far and her eyes follow me all around the room. 

Sixth Week


This was our last week in the Bay Area. We had to say lots of goodbyes, it was really sad. I hope Quinn will get to see these friends again. It was particularly cute to see Quinn interacting with the Littaus. She laid on each of their laps and stayed awake a long time just staring at their faces. She loves faces these days. 


I put about an ounce of milk in a bottle this week and let Jonathan feed her and she slurped it down fast. We are glad to know she will take a bottle. Her neck has been getting pretty strong too. And she loves to smile at everybody.

Fifth Week


This week went by quickly. The packing process began. I put Quinn in the Ergo Carrier, and managed a couple hours of packing each day.


She also had her one month appointment. She weighed in at exactly 9 pounds and the doctor said she was looking great. 


Due to being busy with packing, I didn't take many pictures this week. Here is one of her swaddled up and sleeping in her Moses basket. She grunts so much in her sleep that we haven't had her in our room for a while now. She's a good little sleeper, she'll go 6 hours between feedings these days. In the other photo, I think she looks like a little girl instead of a baby. She's growing up quick!

Fourth Week

This week was exciting for us because the orthopedist said that Quinn can have up to an hour of harness-free time each day. I have to confess, I was ecstatic to see her little body again. So now we can give her baths and have some wiggle and snuggle time with her legs free, but we are still very cautious. She had an ultrasound on her hip that revealed it was fully stabilized in the socket, it just has a bit more growing to do. Her next ultrasound will be at the six week mark when we are in Oregon.

Her Auntie Boo and Uncle Dennis came for a visit this week too. It was so fun to watch them play with her. She has a lot more awake time now and was pretty interactive with them. 

Four years ago today we moved to the Bay Area. We were ready for a change and excited to leave Corvallis. We set our expectations low and said, "it will only be for two years." We quickly discovered that our new home was not scary at all and we met some great people through a church that we found. The weather was gorgeous, there was a lot to do, and we were enjoying our little adventure as newlyweds.

The years flew by. Our group of friends became a revolving door for Stanford grad students and young professionals. We started saying goodbye to great people and welcoming new ones. There were many shared meals, holidays, milestones, trials, and celebrations.

Now there are eleven days left before we leave it all behind and move to Portland. As I am packing up our apartment while Jonathan is at work, I'm getting very sentimental. I'm realizing that we will be having our last Posh Bagel Saturday soon. Our last neighborhood walk with the dog, our last Sunday morning at church, our last home group night, our last dinner with the Littaus. All these babies we have known since birth will grow up and we won't see them again. We knew this time would come, but I hope we don't forget our time here. I know it will soon feel like a distant memory. I'm glad we have our little Quinnie as a souvenir of sorts of our time here. Our little California girl. I also hope that we return for visits frequently.

When I went on a ten-day backpacking trip in Canada in high school, there was a quote that our guide shared with us that I like to recall when an important season in life comes to a close. Here it is:

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”
― René Daumal

We will miss you Bay Area. The people and the place.

Third Week

The third week was the beginning of a more normal routine. Jonathan went back to work and we didn't have out of town visitors. Friends from church started bringing meals, which has been a HUGE help. 

On Friday of that week, Jonathan had a job interview in Portland. He flew up and back in the same day. And, he got the job!! We are moving back to Oregon in two weeks! I can't believe it.

I got a "Mom Haircut". Well, actually, it's just a bob that can still go into a ponytail. Not too mom-ish. It's so much easier to manage, I just had to get rid of all that hair I had. We also went for a family coffee date.

Second Week

My parents were still here for part of Quinn's second week and Jonathan's parents and sister arrived at the end of the week. During the second week, Quinn had her first bath and listened to her Dad speak at youth group.

She also had her harness put on. She has hip dysplasia in her left hip. The harness keeps the ball in the socket while her bones grow. She doesn't seem to mind, but it was sad for us. She has to wear it 24/7 the first two weeks and then as things progress, her daily time in it will decrease. But we are thankful to God that the pediatrician caught it the day she was born so that we could act quickly. We are also thankful it is something so treatable. God's been merciful to our little gal.

First Week

Our little gal's first week was a fun one. We had lots of visitors and outings and events. My parents came to help out when Quinn was a couple days old and stayed for almost a week. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, bagel shop, and burger place. She also watched her first Duck game, went to home group, and went to our friends' baby dedication at church. Sure, she mostly slept through all of these activities, but it was a treat to have her along.

I have a spare couple of minutes so it's time for the birth story. 

On Friday, September 30 at 3pm I woke up from a nice nap. I felt like baking some zucchini bread and cranking up some music. My due date had passed and I hadn't had any signs that labor was on the way. At 3:24, I felt what I thought could be a contraction so I glanced at the clock and decided if I felt something like that again I would write it down. Eleven minutes later I felt the same thing so I started keeping track. They kept happening 10-12 minutes apart and about 30 seconds long. I thought Jonathan would get home early from work at 4pm since it was a Friday so I didn't call him because I didn't want to make him panic. I figured he would be preparing his out-of-office information anyway in case I went into labor over the weekend. Well, he got home at 5pm and I showed him the times I had written down and he was in shock. I still wasn't convinced it was the real thing somehow. We called our doula, Tara, and she said to have dinner, take a walk, and if they stopped to not be discouraged.  Around 9pm while we were walking Shinobi they started increasing until they were 2-3 minutes apart but still only about 30 seconds long. I would stop and do a side-to-side lunge move that really helped me relax and then keep walking when it stopped. They slowed down a bit once we were done walking, but we called Tara again. She said to try and get some rest and keep updating her if things changed. It was 10pm by now and we laid down to rest. We definitely weren't able to rest though. At this point I think I pretty much had my eyes shut to focus until the moment she was born. Jonathan helped me relax and breathe in low tones and gave me tons of encouragement while lying in bed and getting up to go to the bathroom. There is absolutely no way I could have made it through this without him. This phase lasted until 2:30am and continued to build in intensity the whole time. There were many moments I wanted to quit. Jonathan called Tara and she came over. She massaged me a lot and had me try different positions. When I started to scream out "my spine!" she suggested we go to the hospital because that meant the baby was starting to get pretty low. We made the quick drive and I was checked in at 3:20am. Unfortunately, my doctor was sick so he couldn't be there as planned, but at that point I didn't care if a veterinarian showed up :). The nurse checked how dilated I was. I was so afraid it would be a low number because I didn't think I could go on much longer. When the nurse said I was 8cm it was just the boost I needed. My water broke and started to leak a little and Tara and Jonathan helped me change positions every few minutes. A little before 5am I was feeling like pushing so they got the squatting bar set up. At 5:16am my beautiful girl joined the world and everything else faded away. The doctor put her right in my hands and I put her immediately on my chest. After that, it was the usual "tidying up" procedures and we haven't looked back. 

It's amazing how instantly we just loved her and can't remember anything else. I feel so blessed to have had Jonathan and Tara praying for me and supporting me. It was definitely a team effort. After this experience, I am amazed at God's creativity in designing the birth process and creating our little girl.

She is here! We are so in love!

Quinn Lily Gowins, born October 1, 2011 at 5:16am, 7 pounds 7 ounces, 19 inches. The sweetest little lady I have ever met.

I read somewhere about choosing a life hymn for your child to sing to them as a lullaby. I prayed about it and God put Great Is Thy Faithfulness on my heart. The lyrics pretty much sum up the past few days:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As thou has been, thou forever will be.

Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

(Refrain)

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own great presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

(Refrain)

This post is dedicated to my sweet little companion Shinobi. I caught a bug from Jonathan and was sick Monday through Wednesday this week and Shinobi was a very cheery friend. It was nasty hot around here and he kept my spirits up during the day and took naps with me. Here he is snuggling his sister and (I think) listening to her heartbeat. He also does a good job supervising laundry drying from his beloved sunbeam. We just love him so much!

The little lady was merciful to me this week by not coming on her due date. I had such a bad sinus headache and sore throat, it would have been rough trying to do labor at the same time. But now I'm back to feeling good and the weather is back in the mid-70's so I can use the oven. I'm trying to entice her out with fresh baked zucchini bread, we'll see if it works...

Picks of the Week 9.23.11

Eat Well, Spend Less: Five Ways With Lentils - Simple Bites

Peach and Raspberry Crumble - Joy the Baker (this was from June, but I'm making it to bring to a friend's house tonight)

This week was way too hot to do much cooking. Too hot to do much of anything really. So I napped and swam. I met up with a friend and went to my first Moms' Group at church too. Jonathan's co-worker let us borrow her air conditioner unit this week. I seriously don't know what I would do without it.

My One Bite at a Time task this week was to create an evening routine. Last week was to create a morning routine. I'm thinking these routines are going to change drastically soon, but I think it's a great idea. Doing a handful of things each night before I get into relaxation mode that set me up for a good morning the next day will probably be very helpful when I have a baby.

We're ready for her! We have some fun plans this weekend to distract us, but we're ready!

Picks of the Week 9.16.11

Pleasure is the Measure of Your Treasure - Desiring God

I didn't have much of an attention span for the computer this week. I did have energy for fun projects though!

This week I got together with Stacey and her mum for some sewing fun. I made a tummy time blanket out of Jonathan and my old t-shirts that have fun memories associated with them. It turned out great and is very soft. All credit goes to Stacey's mum, the sewing queen. Shinobi is modeling it for you.

I also cranked out a dozen of these nursing pads with the leftover flannel. Maybe some of you don't want to know that, but I was glad to cross it off my list. I also made granola bars and chocolate peanut butter "Larabars" from this cookbook to take to the hospital and snack on after baby is born. Actually, they were so good we ate the first batch so I had to make more. And I had to make zucchini bread too since it's zucchini season. 

I spent Tuesday with a college friend and her sweet 5 month old baby girl. She moved to San Francisco with her husband a couple weeks ago, it was great to reconnect. I had my 38 week check-up and all is well, and we met with our fabulous doula again. And can I just say, grocery shopping on week days is so much better than weekends! I also made sure to rest, have phone dates with great people, and enjoy some walks with my little doggie buddy. He's a nice companion to have around.

We have some fun social plans for the weekend ahead. I'm still feeling pretty comfortable and well, so it's been good to have distractions. I can't believe she could show up any day now!

Picks of the Week 9.9.11

DIY: Stir-Fry Vegetable Freezer Packages - Simple Bites

What's More Important: Keeping Things Organized, or Getting Things Done? - What's Best Next

The Chemical Composition of Your House - Daily Infographic (I've shared before about how we have kicked some chemicals out of our home. This infographic has some compelling reasons if you're on the fence about making the change.)

Starting at 8 weeks, Jonathan has taken a picture of my bump every four weeks. Last night he made a progress collage (is there a better term for it?) for me in photoshop that I could put in the baby book I'm working on. I thought it was so funny that I had to share it here.

That last one is from a week ago, ay carumba! Tomorrow is my weekly check-up and lunch with my mama friends, woohoo!

I found a great way to save some money on produce that also happens to be handy for a soon-to-be-mom. Right now, so many veggies are fresh and in-season which means they can be bought for a low price. Simple Bites just posted about how to create stir-fry vegetable freezer packages in detail, so I had to include it in my to-do list for the day.

When I went grocery shopping yesterday, I loaded up on our favorite stir-fry veggies: bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Then today I chopped and blanched them according to the times listed on Simple Bites, let them cool, and packed them into freezer bags. I even "vacuum-packed" them by sucking out the air with a straw. I think we'll be set for a handful of stir-fry dinners now!

I've been enjoying my days at home so far, I have a nice little schedule I've set up for myself. My first day at home I overdid it a bit, so the schedule encourages me to relax and paces out the things I want to get done before the little lady arrives. I'm getting all the crucial things done first, but leaving some activities to keep me entertained if she goes past her due date. Today my big task was packing the hospital bag, fun stuff!

And, here are a few photos someone took at the baby shower Jonathan's co-workers threw for him. Please forgive the iPhone quality :).

Picks of the Week 9.2.11

Fill Your Mouth With Life, Not Death - Desiring God

Giving Up on Formulas and Labels - Steady Mom

Looks like a fun weekend ahead: Beach trip with home group, college football season starting, dinner/doggie playdate with the Littaus, and chilling in the pool.

Today is my first day as a stay-at-home Mom! It started with some celebration time with the dog, quick egg sandwiches for breakfast and Bible time with the husband, and creating a To Do List for the day. I really want my time managing the household to be purposeful. That doesn't mean always productive; I don't want to base my view of myself on how much I accomplish. But I do want to have a general aim for each day.

That's why I was thrilled when one of my favorite bloggers, Simple Mom, came out with an ebook last week called One Bite at a Time. Perfect timing! It's only $5 and it gives you 52 little projects that will help you simplify routines around the home. I have read her blog for years and she always provides such great content. Some of what is found in the book are ideas she's already shared on the blog, but I pushed them to the back of my mind as tasks I would take on "someday". It's also nice to have all of these ideas in one tidy location.

With their being 52 projects, my plan is to take on one project a week (52 weeks in a year, right?). Of course, there will be some weeks in the very near future in which the only thing I'll probably be able to get done is take a shower and take care of the baby. But, maybe there will be some weeks where I can tackle two projects because they are easier ones. Again, for me it's more about having a direction than being strict. I love the idea of kicking off my first year as a stay-at-home Mom by laying a good foundation though!

Today I am starting with Project 1: Eat Your Frog. It's about doing the thing on your list that you most dislike first instead of putting it off. Then, that task is done and you can get on with the tasks that you don't mind as much. Looks like I'll be vacuuming after I post this...

Anyone else want to join the challenge? As a fun little way for me to make some money, if you buy it from this link or the one above or by clicking on the cute elephant picture on the right side of my blog I earn 30% of the $5 price. Woohoo!

Picks of the Week 8.26.11


The Blessings of a Small Home - Passionate Homemaking
Eat Well, Spend Less: Back to School Breakfast - Simple Bites
What Man Can Relate to a Stay-at-Home Mom? - Passionate Homemaking
An Experiment: Just How Many Clothes Do Kids Need, Anyway? - Keeper of the Home


Jonathan's office threw us a baby shower today. I think we pretty much have everything off of our registries, booyah! My office is throwing me a shower next week. People are so generous, I can't believe it! 


We have our baby care class this weekend and then we are done. Officially prepared to be parents (yeah, right). Two people with due dates within a week of mine went into labor and had their babies this past week. Five weeks early! It made me begin to realize that the little lady really could be here any day. Jonathan was a champ and installed the car seat in our car to ease my mind :).

The freezer mayhem has begun! I'm stockpiling food so that I won't have to think about cooking once our little one arrives. I made double batches of a couple dinners so that I could freeze half and I've been freezing half of everything I bake. So, we currently have homemade chili, lasagna, four can-sized portions of refried beans, ice cube-sized portions of chicken stock, oatmeal blueberry muffins, zucchini bread, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.


I'm going to make even more dinners when I am done with work. Oh yeah, and I have exactly five days left! My last day was pushed forward by two weeks for reasons that I won't mention so I will have four weeks of nesting time if the little lady is born on her due date. I plan to sleep, swim, hang out with stay-at-home-mom friends, cook, read, and sleep some more. 


Does anyone out there have recipes they would like to share that freeze well? I would love some inspiration.

Picks of the Week 8.17.11


Eight Unique Recipes With Zucchini - Keeper of the Home
Put Down That Soda, Dangit! - Herban Homestead
Wrestling With Poverty in the US, Part Two - Sit a Spell

Time to share our maternity photos! Jonathan's parents treated us to a little photoshoot at Hendricks Park when we were in Oregon in June. Here are some of our favorites that Jonathan's Mom shot, she does maternity, baby, and family photography.

Picks of the Week 8.12.11

There's Staggering Glory in Your Story - Desiring God
Eliza Spurgeon: Legacy of an Apt and Godly Helper - Keeper of the Home
The Sun Has Risen Today, Again - Desiring God
Has Jesus Been Worth It? - Desiring God

My great friends Stacey and Charissa threw me a Baby Shower on Saturday. I was lucky enough to have my Mom fly down for a long weekend and attend this shower too. You can see I'm showing a lot more at this one than at my last one. It was a very fun event, I'm so thankful for the friends we have here in the bay area. 

Here I am with the lovely hostesses and little Annie.

Laurice made me an adorable three tier cake complete with fancy fondant details. She has been taking cake decorating classes.

Baby Annie was at the party, and Baby Noah made it too. He seemed to enjoy being surrounded by ladies.

My Mom and I got lots of errands completed, spent time at the pool, and even painted the dresser! It was so great having her here to just hang out.

Jonathan and I met with our doula for the second time on Monday night. It's a complicated story, but the midwives I adore are starting their own practice and it won't be ready by my due date. Heartbreak! So I have transferred my care to a very kind doctor that is known as a "midwife in disguise" around the area. We will also have our doula before, during, and after birth to help us out. She is a real gem and we've bonded with her pretty well already. Even Shinobi really likes her. She is also a Christian which is a huge blessing.