Man, we've been loving this nice weather! We enjoyed the outdoors with some hikes/walks, barbecues, and frisbee. It was nice to spend time with friends as well as cross things off of our to-do list.

Our toilet has a new accessory. Handyman Jonathan installed a diaper sprayer for Quinn's cloth diapers so that we are prepared as she starts consuming more solid foods. Ok, moving on...

Our buddy Kyle finished our dining table and bench this weekend. We love it!! We feel so spoiled to have a gorgeous custom made table that is exactly what we wanted. It's made of Chilean Cherry which has gorgeous swirls and details. It's a lighter wood (the photos look a bit more orange than it is) with pinkish and greenish hues throughout. We keep it pushed toward the wall with the bench tucked under for daily use and then when company comes over, we pull it out and can slide three friends onto the bench. We highly recommend Kyle and would be happy to share his contact information with anyone dreaming of custom furniture. We've seen a butcher block and bed frame of his that were beautiful too. 

And since this post already has a bunch pf photos, here are a few more from our outdoor adventures.

We are still enjoying having meals as a family around here. Some meals, Quinn pushes everything off of her tray and then just practices singing her ya-yas. Other times she sucks on food for a good while and smiles at us like she is quite proud of herself. To the list of solid foods she has munched, we can add carrots, apples, cheese, and zucchini (her favorite). I went out for ice cream with a friend the other day and I could feel eyes staring at me from the Ergo carrier. As I licked my delicious double scoop in a waffle cone she was watching my every move making little licking motions with her tongue. I let her try a little but she didn't seem to understand what to do, haha.

Quinnie has been such a chatterbox lately, it is cracking us up. She's getting better at sitting up too which makes bath time even more fun. She loves splashing as hard as she can with her hands and feet. We just signed her up for swim lessons this Summer and I can't wait.

Here's to a beautiful weekend ahead!

It has come to my attention that I have peonies growing in my side yard. A ton of them! Peonies are my very favorite flower. Look at what a funny young thing I was.

Over a span of three weeks, the peonies started as dreary maroon vine-looking things popping out of the ground. Then, they began to uncoil and get tall. Now, they are starting to bud. I'm beyond excited to see them bloom! Each day I spy on them and am amazed that I can tell there is actual progress.

Also over the past three weeks Old Man Mossy, our tree that I see out the kitchen window, has changed dramatically. It used to be bare and is now completely covered in happy little green leaves and catkins. I stare at it while I do dishes and was amazed how it kept getting leafier and leafier.

I love having a baby in the Spring. God shows us each year the miracle of growth and renewal in nature, and I feel like watching Quinn change just underlines and bolds how amazing our Creator is. One of my favorite daily rituals is reading the Bible with Quinn. Each morning we lay side by side on the couch and I read a chapter aloud. Sometimes she chatters or stares at me or tries to grab a page. I used to be able to curl around her, but she's longer now and pushes off my legs with her fat little feet. I always stare at her sweet profile and try to memorize it to see if I can tell if it's changing. I wish I had time lapse photography of her pudgy cheeks and beak nose because I'm sure they're growing and changing everyday just like my flowers and trees. Oh, the precious moments of babyhood, I hope I can remember them all as time goes on.

We had quite a fun weekend! Shinobi got Quinn to laugh really hard. You've got to watch this:

We went to the Friday night Tenebrae service at church which was very inspiring. Then, Saturday, we had some friends over for lunch and playing at the park and Quinn swung solo in a swing for the first time (though I had to wrap her in my fleece for extra support). It was so great getting to play outside!

My sister and her husband, and Jonathan's sister stayed at our place overnight. We all went to the early service at church Sunday morning. Then, we tested out our little cottage's hosting capacity and managed to squeeze in 20ish people at an Easter Brunch Potluck. It helped that the weather was gorgeous so guests could venture outside. We felt so privileged to have such dear friends and family under our roof. It was such an enjoyable way to celebrate our Savior's resurrection. 

Quinn sucked on a piece of purple cabbage flavored with a garlicky vinaigrette dressing at the brunch. She seemed to really like it. She has also sucked on bell peppers and some beef (I made her a mini burger patty when we had burgers for dinner). She is not as interested in picking up soft foods at the moment.

I went to a church group for moms of babies under a year old yesterday. It was fun for both Quinn and me to be around so many babies.

Picks of the Week 4.8.12

Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal - Kitchen Stewardship (I made this for my overnight house guests this weekend and it was well-liked even with people not fond of oatmeal. You do all the work in advance and stick it in the oven when your alarm goes off. Perfect for a busy morning.)

Favorite Classic Children's Books - Passionate Homemaking

Bloom Where You're Planted - Small Notebook

Herb Gardening - Simple Homemade (I'm going to do this in the planters on our patio instead of committing to a full on garden this season.)

Some stats and a video for part two of Quinn's six month update. She had her doctor check-up today and got a good report. Thank you Lord for such a healthy little gal! She weighs 15 pounds, 6.5 ounces, she is 26 inches long, and her head is 17 inches around. And she barely cried for her shots, so brave! After I settled her she smiled at the nurse who gave her the shots. I don't envy that job, so I'm glad Quinn could show her "no hard feelings".

Back when Quinn turned three months, we combined all the footage we had of her up to that point into one video. Well, we did it again for months three through six. You can watch it here, I managed to keep it under 21 minutes this time, haha. Certainly more of a family time commitment. 

Anyone else loving this sunny afternoon? Our neighborhood has so many sweet flowers springing up, what a treat!

We are very excited to announce that Quinn has started down the road to eating solid food! After a lot of research, I have decided to skip purees altogether. The idea kept popping up in blogs that I follow. These two posts in particular put me over the edge. The book "Baby-Led Weaning" by Gill Rapley explains that this isn't a new concept, in fact it's very old. It's just that no one is talking about it these days. She gives some history, spells out practical details, and includes tons of stories and quotes from parents who are doing this. A lot of people are nervous about choking, but a six month old's gag reflex is really shallow so this method actual helps them learn what an appropriate sized bite is because they will just spit out pieces that are too big. 

The term "weaning" can be misleading, I'm not trying to get Quinn to give up milk anytime soon. The book is from the UK so the terminology is a little different from here. I'm going to keep offering her the same number of milk feedings as she's been having and as she is able to get food into her mouth and connect that to feeling full she'll request less milk. The first couple months are more about testing out different tastes and textures anyway since milk still provides all the nutrients she needs. I'm relieved to not be spending tons of time making purees just to have her spit it back out. The BLW approach is all about feeding your child the same food you are eating and having a fun social time at the dinner table. I'm sure this brings up many more questions and the book does a great job of answering all of them! You can check out the website or their forum for more information.

So, what does a six month old look like eating solid food? Well, I've got a video for you! We gave Quinn the options of broccoli, a scrambled egg yolk, and a sliced banana. Any guesses on which one she chose?

It was such a delight to have her at the table with us while we ate dinner. I'll try to keep posting updates, but I think this is going to work well for our family.

My baby is six months old! That went way too fast! She is such a delightful little lady to be around. She seems to like to make people laugh and smile with noises, dancing, and grins. This week she has been shouting and testing out new sounds, she looks very focused when she does it too. She's still working on that little tooth and it makes her a bit cranky at times, but then she'll be giggling a couple minutes later. She loves listening to stories, she prefers books for older children over baby books, I think because there is more narration. She also likes looking out the window with me and listening to me talk about what we see. We open the blinds together each morning and on the day it snowed, when I opened the blinds her jaw dropped. It was like she knew the white ground was different than normal. Sometimes she'll wake up early from her nap and just talk to herself in a cute little voice. Bathtimes are one of her other favorite activities, I think I'm going to get this girl signed up for swimming because she loves kicking in the water. Her hair is a pretty copper with some blond highlights and her eyes seem to have settled on a gray-ish brown. We'll be working on her 3-6 month video soon.

I was reminiscing last night about going into labor and imagining what our little girl would be like. I love all the ingredients God put together when He made Quinn. I'm honored to be her mama everyday.

This week Jonathan took Monday and Tuesday off to hang out with us. It was so nice for him to get to spend some time with Quinn during the daytime when she is most cheerful and without the busyness of the weekend. Quinn got to go on her first hike (outside of the womb) at Multnomah Falls. It was a gorgeous day too. 

On Wednesday, Jonathan headed to Canada for his annual ski trip with his friends and I went to Eugene to hang out with family. It was so great to see everyone and relax a little. Yesterday, Quinn went to her first wedding. Unfortunately, she wanted to practice her loud volume noises so she didn't get to see much of the ceremony :)  Here are some photos from the week, she was so pleased with herself sitting up and chatting at a coffee shop.