Oh man, September is fast approaching. We're trying to get our last projects done and some adventures with friends in before the Summer freedom is over. Also, our oven and garage door broke. Fun times.

Jonathan was gone for work this week so Quinn, Shinobi, and I headed to Eugene. We spent some time with Jonathan's parents and my parents, and also my sister and her husband. It was a nice little getaway with many hands to help. Quinn went to her first baseball game. She enjoyed yelling at whoever was up to bat and laughing at the mascot. We were pretty close to the field and he spotted her and played peekaboo with her.

We went to a neighborhood potluck tonight. There are two other children close to Quinn's age in our neighborhood. At the dinner table she kept forcing out loud laughs while looking at them. I think that's how she tries to start friendships. 

Quinn has six teeth now, two more on the top. These teeth didn't bother her nearly as much as the other four. Just a little extra drool, extra cuddles, and a bit of whining for a few days. Easy peasy. I got a funnel for $1 at Target and she loves playing with it in the tub and out. A Silly Hat Song may have been invented for moments when Quinn or other family members wear the funnel on their head. She continues to amaze me with her fine motor precision and jabbering at people, animals, and toys. She tried falafel this week and liked it. She's eating three solid food meals a day and has reduced her nursing down to three times a day. She's getting more sturdy on her feet every day. I can't believe she is almost 11 months old!

Here she is laughing at her daddy and practicing standing. We sure missed him!

Picks of the Week 8.17.12

One Thing More Important than a Mentor - Simple Mom

Praying for Your Straying Soul - Desiring God

Real Food Salad Dressing Recipes - Keeper of the Home

Stay cool Oregonians!

Here's a cheap and easy baby toy anyone can make.

I got the idea from pinterest, but they used a shoe box. I didn't have a shoe box, so I used a yogurt bucket. I cut a slit in the top and outlined it in marker so it would be easier to see. I made a dozen or so coins by cutting circles out of a piece of cardboard. I drew pictures on them of shapes, numbers, the letters of Quinn's name, and animals. Even Shinobi made a cameo on a coin.

After many attempts, Quinn has put three coins through the slot. I'm pretty impressed actually, I thought it would take her a lot longer to figure out.

Go raid your recycle bin and make one!

I have some progress photos to share. Our bedroom started like this:

And now it looks like this:

I painted the brick and bottom half of the walls white. The firewood cabinet doors obviously need some more coats of white paint. We hope to add a matching bookshelf to the left side of the fireplace and a mantle on top at some point. A future painting project (I'm a bit burnt out at the moment) will be the upper half of the walls. It's a very pale blue that looks almost white. We are thinking something more saturated and bold would be nice, maybe a rich green? It's hard to decide. I'll share the updates when we change it though!

In the meantime, I'm glad I got that finished because someone is getting pretty good at this:

Quinn got to play with lots of other children this weekend: a nice long walk with a pal and her son, a picnic at the park with some dear friends and their little boys, and some swimming pool time with another family.

Well, I tried to finish painting our room, but I ran out of paint. And Lowe's ran out of it too! So our room is a bit disheveled at the moment, oh well. Based on the completed area, I can tell I'm really going to like the change though.

In the meantime, I'm seeking a bit of advice. Quinn is coming to the end of her hand-me-down stash of clothes. She's grown out of some of her size 9 month items and the size 12 month clothes are slim pickins. I'm excited to start picking out clothes for her myself, but I want to make sure I do it in a practical and long-lasting way. Here's what I've learned from our season of hand-me-downs:

1. No more bodysuit/snap crotch shirts. She grows out of them too fast!

2. No more footie pajamas. She grows out of those too fast too.

3. No more sets consisting of a top that only matches one bottom. I want every top to go with every bottom so that she has a collection of items that can mix and match. 

I'm thinking comfy cotton shortsleeve playdress types of outfits with leggings if it's cold, and a long sleeve shirt underneath or cardigan if it's really cold. My thought is that as she grows, the dress length can become shirt length making it still wearable.

Any thoughts? Mamas, please share any clothing tips that you have!

Also, what are the best leggings out there for women? I found leggings with skirts and dresses so comfy in the colder weather but definitely don't want to be sporting my maternity leggings this Fall :)

This past week I have seen some new elements of Quinn's communication start to blossom. She's always been a talker/giggler/shouter/announcer/singer.

She figured out how to clap and it makes her very happy. So now at meals I've seen her do a single clap-type motion when she wants more food which is very similar to the sign language for "more". She waves and wants us to wave back. She waves while nursing, while eating, while riding in her stroller, all the time. If I stick out my tongue she does too. She'll also stick out her tongue at me and expect me to do it back. She's started to hand me toys and then wants me to hand them back. She starts games of peekaboo non-stop. Anything can be used for peekaboo you know: books, blocks, water bottles, kale chips. She hides one eye and keeps the other eye on us to make sure we are playing. She also definitely knows the phrase "no biting" and obeys it. It's cute to watch the look on her face as she processes it.

We had a busy weekend in Eugene. It was good to see family and some old high school friends. I'm hoping to finish my painting projects in the master bedroom tonight. I'll have to post some before and afters. We've also begun scraping the paint bubbles on the outside of our house and hope to paint those this week. Otherwise, it should be a pretty mellow week with neighborhood playgroup, some friends coming over, a visit to some friends up North, and trying to keep cool.

She graduated!

Today was slide day at swim lessons and Quinn went down the slide with me. It's a big slide too. I'll miss swim lessons, Jonathan and I had as much fun as Quinn! It's funny how many parents at the pool had Olympics on the brain. Lots of 2028 Olympics comments, haha!

It was a pretty good week. My mom took Quinn to baby time at the library while I met with a client. We had some friends over for dinner. I think I have a secret Mexican ancestor because my homemade tortillas and carne asada (made with steak from our recent purchase of a portion of a steer) are pretty convincing if you ask me :). I finished painting the fireplace. We had some fun at the park. A blogger that I have respected for a while planned a meet-up for local readers and Quinn and I went. Mamas, check out her blog, it's full of wisdom.

I have my high school reunion tomorrow. Wow, ten years sure went by fast. I'm not terribly excited about going, but it should be interesting.

August is here! Let's make the most of our remaining Summer days!