RainFall

Well we officially survived our very first winter storm!

Mom successfully went through the storm without turning completely nutty! Rain is just about my favorite mother nature show, but with a new little one it is a little more inconvenient than usual. Loading the car, avoiding the puddles, covering the car seat and screaming at every idiot who can't drive in the rain - don't you KNOW I have a baby in the car-! All in all it was fabulous. One whole week of wind and rain, oh I love that sound. And the best part of all is that first burst of sunshine that makes everything glow and smell oh-so-delicious! As you can imagine things have been fairly uneventful. We did have a family dinner at Shannon's brothers house for his girlfriends birthday which was fun! Her brother cooked one fancy 3 course meal. I tried dairy for the first time in 3 months. Quinten seemed to be sensitive to it around 4 weeks old, so I eliminated it from my diet (oh not fun). We're still unsure if it was that, the tomato sauce, the tangerines or what but he was a little fussier. Cut it all back out and now we're a happy camper again. We will be re-introducing it all ONE at a time here soon.

**BIG NEWS ALERT** It was mid-afternoon one stormy stormy day. Mama placed Quinten on the much dreaded tummy time...and... BAM he rolled over! Just like that! No practice, no getting stuck, nothing, just woop we rolled over. And now one week later we have not done it sense! I know we will do it again... but daddy missed it and I feel horrible! I can't wait for him to do it again (and hopefully in front of dad!)

Quinten is also officially 100% in his very own crib!! Its been a week and a half and he loves it! Our packandplay is broken down and our room is back in order. So nice to have a night stand again. I do miss having him next to me, but I'm so proud and so relieved that he is transitioned. He wakes up in just the best mood. Shannon and I will lay in bed and just listen to him talking and cooing until we race in there to be the first to peak over the crib! Bliss I tell you, just bliss!

The Cowan household is enjoying the sunshine, and looking forward to this weekend. We have a date-night and a birthday party, and mommy is going to make a cake after a very long break! Super excited!!

Mommy also discovered a new baby off switch... the fish tank! We noticed him cranking his neck on his play gym trying to look at it, so I laid him on the bank of the chase lounge and wala! Baby off switch....

A little play time with daddy always makes us smile...

And then we relax with a good book :)

Growing Growing Growing

Mr Quinten had his 4 month doctors visit today! He is doing fabulous growing like a little weed! He is now 16lbs 5 1/2 oz (75th %) and 25" long (50th %). I am just loving our pediatrician. You can tell that she is doing her job because she loves kids, not for some form of status or financial gain. Shannon and I decided that we were going to steer from the CDC schedule of vaccines and she was more than happy to comply. Mommy and son will have to make more frequent visits to the doc to keep somewhat current but I am more than willing to do that so that he isn't getting 4 shots at one time!! So today we only had to get 1 and he was a strong little trooper! He hardly fussed at all. In other baby news, he has now spent the last 4 nights in his crib!! I can't believe it. It was for sure strange not having him next to us, daddy took it harder than mommy. The first night he got up several times to check on him (while mommy only got up once or twice) :). Shannon and I have stayed strong with our goal of keeping our bed our bed. We have felt that in keeping our marriage strong that our bed needs to be our escape. And we just know that would be one habit too hard to break and before we know it there would be a 3 year old in our bed :) haha! So far so good, he adjusted very well to sleeping on his own in the crib and continues to sleep through the night! Woohoo! He is really in his observant phase which makes feeding a little more tricky and time consuming. Daddy is the biggest distraction, he (Quinten) just loves to talk to him (daddy). It is more than adorable, but like I said before a 20 minute feeding quickly becomes 45 minutes when he wants to talk to dad every 2! He is getting his motor skills down well! Loves grabbing at all his toys and is starting to try and find his feet! The doc after watching him says he is for sure in the beginning stages of teething so we'll see when that first tooth decides to pop through! Our next investment is his high chair and around about 6 months we're going to try our first real food feeding. At his weight... no need to rush :)

Sleepy time with daddy

Waking up in a wonderful mood the first morning in his big boy crib!!

Bath, bottle, and out we go!

We have now discovered out tongue! And my how we love to play with it. He gets it from daddy's side of the family :)

When You're Having a Bad Day

Yesterday was what I like to call a "rougher day" Quinten we believe is in the early stages of teething. He has mastered the skill of fist munching and has attempted several times to fit both in his mouth (unsuccessfully)! He was much more clingy and fussy which means mom doesn't get a whole lot done. Really its no big deal and I love spending the time with him I know wont last forever. With how fast time is going before we know it he'll be asking for the car keys and telling me to butt out! With all that we are hearing of the devastation in Haiti, and the story I heard this morning its got me thinking about how lucky I really am. There really never is a day that goes by that I don't think I'm the luckiest girl. I have a loving, wonderful husband, and beautiful healthy baby boy, and wonderful family that- in fact- the biggest problem is that they don't get to see us enough! But as I sat in tears this morning reading this website I was once again reminded of how truly blessed we are, and how fast everything can change! I was checking up on Facebook and an old friend had a link to a site on his update prayforkate.com really I wouldn't read it unless you want a good cry! In short its about a little 5 year old girl who is sick. I couldn't even finish reading it without picking my little guy up and smothering him with love! We all have bad days, and it is our human nature to dwell in it for a moment. But its how long we dwell in it that says a lot about who we are. Learning to pick yourself up and be thankful for what is going right is a battle we'll all fight until the end I'm sure. But knowing that, at any moment SLO county could have 'the big one' or that our health is no guarantee really makes you appreciate what you have. So next time you're having a bad day, sulk for a moment (only a moment) take a deep breath, and look around at all you have, all the blessings you've been gifted. The more you do it the easier it will become. I'm going to work on it, I'll let you know how it all goes :)

The face that makes us smile every day!

The Cowan's First Road Trip...

Was a success!! What a joy it was to get out of town- with a happy baby! We ventured out to Bakersfield for our very first road trip to meet our good friends and their new baby boy. I have to admit mama was a little nervous, call it flashbacks to his first month of life when the second his little behind touched the car seat he would FLIP out, cry uncontrollably in the car until we A. reached our destination or B. He would conk out. So as you can imagine it was a complete relief to see this in our rear mirror... one sleepy little munchkin...

We arrived in Bako land around 10:30am, did I mention that Quinten slept the whole way!! Mommy was so happy you have no idea! Aedan was just adorable, healthy little guy. Now I use the words little loosely, he was born about as long as Quinten was when he was 2 months old, and was nearly 3lbs heavier! Healthy little man! It was so crazy to see Shannon holding him and realizing that it was only a few months ago that Quinten was a newborn... awwww memories...
The Chappells last saw Quinten when he was about 5 or 6 weeks old, so as you can imagine he has changed a bit!
Shannon and Josh have been friends for YEARS and have been through a lot together. Its so exciting to see them share in this crazy journey that is parenthood together. It was so fun to see the boys, with their boys...
Sleepy baby and dad :)
I wish I could have gotten a few more shots of the boys together, but little Aedan was ready to eat and Quinten wasn't so sure about another baby crying in his ear, we were ok here...
But within a matter of seconds we ended here... gotta laugh :)
Quinten did so good, was happy and talking and laughing and all. His little personality is really shinning through lately and I love it! The kids seemed to have similar schedules except little A slept a little more than Q. They ate at the same time and slept at the same time :)

The ride home went smooth. He slept the first 45 minutes or so and then woke up bored as could be. I think the lack of things to keep his attention was enough to tick him off. Mom ended up riding in the back to entertain him for the remainder of the trip. He's just lucky between the winding road, and wizzing lights that he didn't wear my dinner. I usually don't have much problems with motion sickness but something about riding in the backseat gets me a little queezy. All in all, it was a great day, so nice to get out of town and see friends we haven't seen in a while. And it was so nice to know that we can start doing more ventures with our little guy and he'll enjoy it! :)

Jumping into the 20-10!

Well the cootie bug has officially taken the entire Cowan household! Poor little Quinten got a mild case last weekend, but it seems to finally be leaving. Just in time for mama to feel like hers is coming back... dum dum dum! Please God NO! Mama can't take much more of this sickness stuff! Other than that we have had a wonderful start to the new decade! As I figured we were in bed by 10:45 new years eve. I wasn't too upset about not watching the ball drop at midnight, but awakening the following day sans hangover and feeling rested felt little like new years :) Honestly thought the lack of headache and greasy hangover cravings felt pretty darn good. Technically we did see the ball drop... at 10:00pm stupid MTV was looping their show once it was 2010 on the East Coast, but its just not the same!

Life as a parent in 2010 has been going grand! Quinten is now learning to grab and play and really interact. We're starting to see his personality and its fantastic. We can see little bits of ourself in him already (some good...some well... sorry kid)! Its so exciting to see all the new little things he does and says :) I just can't wait for this cold to be gone 100% so we get our little happy man back!

Grandma Carrie got me this cool driving toy! He loves it!

Reaching for my toys in my play gym

We have discovered that he may be getting a little small for his tub sling, but he loves it! Sits like a King while we bathe him. He has gotten to the point where about 10-15 minutes before our nightly routine (which begins @ 8:00) he starts to get cranky and stays that way till we plop him in the tub :) Bath, Bottle, Bed, night night!

And lastly we were playing in mom and dads comforter while the bedding was being washed and I guess when he's done, he lets you know it...

Son, we're going to have to talk about this...

Holiday Rap Up!

I cannot believe the holidays have come and gone! What a whirlwind that was! My cootie bug took over a week to heal... which meant my entire Christmas shopping spree took place in 2 whole days, 2 days before Christmas! I will never ever do that again. Besides the extreme exhaustion it threw my little guys schedule off completely! All in all though our Christmas was spectacular! A little crazy playing the family juggle between both fam's but as always we succeeded! Quinten was obviously so excited about Christmas and all that came with it that he didn't take a single nap all day!! And boy did he let us know when he was ready to go home! Easiest way to sum up our holiday is with a picture montage! Here we go...

Quintens First Christmas Eve...

Grandma came with us on Q's first Christmas light drive. We do this every year on Christmas eve. Its sad to see the toll the economy has taken. The amount of lights were down a lot from last year. But our favorite neighborhood was still all lit up. Now I know what you're thinking ' how can that kid see anything from his car seat' right? Well its never too early to start a tradition!

The night ended with one sleepy baby (waiting for Santa perhaps)? And mama's glass 'o champagne! Fab-u-lous!!

Christmas day began by being awakened by my husband whispering "lets go do our Christmas before he wakes up!" Yes folks thats right these new parents got up before their newborn and opened our gifts without disruption! Quinten woke up happy as could be around 7am, we then dressed him up and brought him out so he could start enjoying his first Christmas! (after being fed of course).

He was ohhhh so excited about all his gifts!

We then arrived at Uncle Chris and Aunty Alex's house for stop #1...

Chillin with Aunty A

The madness begins...

The super fun musical octopus from Grandma. Dad has been practicing Twinkle Twinkle and Mary Had A Little Lam daily :)

Cousin Sean ripping open his gifts!

I am quickly learning what my parents always told me growing up! Giving gifts is far more fun than getting gifts. I found myself sitting in a pile of unopened gifts watching everyone else tear into theirs with more joy than if I had all the gifts in the world! And now with all the kids in the family its becoming even more fun. To watch their little eyes light up with the true pure joy of Christmas is amazing. With the innocence of not knowing how hard everyone worked to make the day happen, and the mind numbing excitement in trying to figure out which gift to open next... bliss!

Putting the little guy into a milk coma... :)

We then ventured over to my parents house for Christmas festivities #2! It is always pretty hectic doing the family juggle on the holidays but really we are just so blessed to have the family to spend the holidays with. Knowing that some people don't even get to see family on Christmas makes the craziness all worth while!

My little niece Lauren is 5! She makes sure everyone knows it too! :) Unfortunately my sis-in-law and my other little niece Robyn had to stay home with a little bit of a stomach bug :(

Enjoying the day with my boys and my little girl :)

We surprised my folks with a night at Sycammore (a hotel near by). I always love the look of surprise on their faces! They were a little mad at first, stating we shouldn't have spent the money, but that quickly faded to excitement of the upcoming stay!

Does my brother know how to put a smile on my face or what?! Happy mama :)

Great-Grandma got Quinten his first sock monkey! I was so excited, I love these things! We have named him Fred as of now... if he wants to change it someday he can but as for now we call him Fred! He loves him!

I'm not quite sure what it is about the holidays, perhaps its the onset of a new year, but its made me really want to tidy things up. I am slowly going room by room, cleaning, organizing and throwing out anything we don't need! The hard part has been juggling cleaning, the kid and my sick hubby. Oh ya did I mention he ended up catching my bug :( I have gotten plenty of kuddos though... many " I don't know how you did it" (taking care of Quinten alone with the cold). At least I know I am appreciated. There are a lot of husbands who don't realize and especially don't express their gratitude. I'm a lucky girl :) As excited as I was for the holidays to come, I am a little relieved to see them go for another year. It was exhausting this year! Another learning experience of how different life is now with a child. Our new years will be something if not completely different! Who knows if we'll even make it until midnight, and this year I really don't think I care! Sleep is soooo special to me now that watching the clock strike 12 just doesn't sound all that exciting, especially knowing that Quinten doesn't sleep past 7... I am though excited for the new year. I love the thought of a fresh start. I'm not much for resolutions (they never work!) but I love setting goals... This year I hope that we can pay off Shannon's truck and start saving to move, and pay off my car. I want to tone up, and get as healthy as possible. I hope we can find some fun activities to start as family to get us out of the house, pretty much just enjoy life and cherish every moment that we have with each other. Looking back on this year I can't believe all that has happened. I swear we fit 3 years worth of events into one! Its hard to remember it all, having our son has really made the rest of the year fuzzy! Well I wish everyone a very safe and fun New Years and pray for a fabulous and wonderful 2010!! Onto all new and crazy adventures, I think for us next is teething... woohoo! xoxoxo

One Busy Weekend!

The Cowan weekend started out with a great big huge giggle fest! Quinten has really began to show some personality and we are loving it! He is showing true signs that he is his fathers son by being an adorably cute morning person! He usually awakes around 7am with some moans, groans, grunts, coo's, caa's and the occasional diaper explosion. :) He now recognizes us without hearing us! I pop my head over in his crib and he gets all excited. Those of you who know me, know that I'm not the biggest morning person... but he sure can plant a smile on my face in the early AM. Daddy captured some of the giggles on film... and here is one of my fav's!...

We then began to get ready for Quinten's cousin Sean's 1st birthday party. While waiting to leave we took our family Christmas photo...
And of course had to get some adorable shots of the little guy in his 2 Christmas outfits... Santa's helper..
And mini-Santa!
We then celebrated Sean's birthday in a house full of people! We had a fabulous rain storm last week that continued onto the weekend which meant the BBQ celebration was changed to an indoor pizza party. Just as fun, just a little more crowded! He seemed to enjoy himself as much as any 1 year old can... but the best (as always) was the cake! He was covered from head to toe in frosting and cake goodness! Always good to see the fam and friends. Saturday was followed by another fun filled day on Sunday as we celebrated cousin Lauren's 5th birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. That place was a serious mad house full of families, fun, and well I believe some icky germs... it was so fun to watch the kids burn off their sugar rushes on the endless supply of games and fun. Chuck-E came out for Laurens birthday song and no one ran... a record! They really doted on her, which she deserves... it was adorable! The best part of the day was her opening our gift. I got her an adorable outfit and a tinkerbell doll as she was pulling the clothes out she announced "Aunty Sheryl always gets me clothes..." She's observant! The weekend ended with a win for Daddies team...

YAY for the win!
My niner boys!
Looking good!
And mommy getting sick (hence the germ comment earlier) Monday afternoon I started to feel a little under the weather. And by Tuesday night I had a fever over 101 :( Taking care of a 3 month old is hard enough when you're well. But being sick and trying to tend to his every need is so hard! The hardest part though is that I feel guilty that I can't pour all my energy into him... since I have none left. Today is Thursday and I'm feeling a little better. Still wiped of energy and my throat is killing me but thanks to some IB profin and lots of water its getting better. To end here is a picture of our purdy sunset!