A Quick Catch UP

Growing up sure can be exhausting!! Nap times are crucial in the life of a 7 month old... but man o man what if I miss out on something?? The acute awareness of my surroundings have made naps, eating, and diapering a whole new challenge :)

We gave the sippy cup a try and might I say we did very well for Take 1! At first he thought it was a toy, shook it as hard as he could (thank God for one way spouts), got frustrated because it didn't rattle, then once he discovered it had milk in it... it was on!

Big smiles are something we are very used to around the Cowan household... especially when we bust out the camera. He is quickly turning into a camera ham :) As soon as that flash pops up the smiles come on!

One of my best friends Caitlin came into town for Easter and got to spend some time with the family. As I have said a million times before it is always amazing to see friends. There really is no substitution for some good quality girl time!

We played with dad (another usual around the Cowan household). He just loves his daddy, and within the last few days has started to say da-da. It makes it that much harder for Shannon to leave when Quinten is laughing and playing and saying his name! What a great daddy he is!
We then celebrated Quinten's first Easter! Our little bunny boy :)
He absolutely LOVED his basket! I don't think we had even put it down before he was grabbing at it and pulling things out! He got a new car seat toy from mom and dad, a new pair of shoes, and some tub toys! Grandma Carrie got him a Toy Story lunch box (sooo cute!) an outfit, and his first cell phone :) which he loves! Unfortunately Grandma was recovering from a stomach bug and couldn't join in the festivities, but... we'll make up for it! We'll do something equally fun for her!
Ohhh the fun!
Our little man all decked out for the special day (and playin with his new phone)
Love that hat (thanks Grandma Joy)
Our family at my parents house.
His new Toy Story book from Grandma and Grandpa.
The cousins
What a beautiful and blessed day it was. God showed us some beauty on the way home with a beautiful rainbow! Thanks for your gifts big and small!

The Toy Story!

For a while now Shannon and I have wanted to change Quinten's room... terrible I know considering he's hardly 7 months old! But the room just never really pleased us. It started as one thing and then slowly changed into something else. It ended up kinda miss-matched and annoying :) So this is how it was...

So after many weeks of thinking, and googling, we decided to do the ultimate little boy's room... Toy Story!! Shannon and I are huge fans of Pixar movies and what better for our first little boy than the first Pixar movie! First I repainted the letters of his name...

And then painted some boards for some photo collages.

Then we painted the red block and and clouds. We made our own stencils from the Toy Story website and Shannon MADE sure we followed their pattern as well :)

Thats our little guy!

We placed the army men all around the doors and inside the circles :)

Then Grandma Carrie helped out and ordered some FatHead stickers. Shannon awaited anxiously for them to arrive and the minute he walked in the door, they were up!

The finished product!!

Tada!!

Life Life Life

My oh my how life can get away from you. There has been so much going on lately, but really nothing interesting enough to blog about. My creative juices just haven't been flowing as all my energy has been devoted to getting my anxiety under control and taking care of my wonderful little boy. He is doing amazing. In the past couple of days he has been making all new kinds of sounds and the biggest one is da-da! I know most people would look at him and think "how could you ever have a bad day!" and honestly if it weren't for him I'd be in a lot worse shape :) The overachiever in me has really taken a toll but I finally feel like my feet are planted firmly back on the ground and life is as it should be. I am thankful every day that God has given me a wonderful, loving and understanding husband and the most happy little man ever! How did I get so lucky? We may not have everything that society says makes you a winner i.e a big fancy house and all the material possessions but in my opinion we are far wealthier than Bill Gates for what we have, money cannot buy!

So since the last post we have celebrated a few things... first was Quinten's first St Patty's Day! Mommy and Daddy both have Irish in their blood so of course we decked our little man up in green and we enjoyed some frothy delicious Guiness with dinner!

"Mommy Thinks I'm Charming" (even with all the drool!)

Happy St Patty's Day!!

Then mommy had her first real outing to a good friends Bridal Shower on Saturday. It was so so so fun to get to giggle it out with all my girlfriends who were in town for the festivities. It felt strange to not have to worry about anyone but myself if for even a few hours. Daddy did well with his longest stretch alone. Quinten was semi-fussy for him. I think a combination of teething and mom withdrawals. We are going to try and do that more often so that he doesn't get too attached (is that possible :)). It was surreal to stand back and realize it was just shy of 2 years ago that I was going through what Melissa (the bride) is going through. The planning, prepping and parties! It is also a strange feeling to know that that was the only time in my life that I will go through that, I'm glad that I took it all in and enjoyed it all. It is so fun and exciting to see my friends getting to enjoy the excitement that is wedding prep!

The following week was a busy, crazy, fun week. I started going to a new Chiropractor, she is the same one Shannon uses. I got new X-Rays which explained SO much. My neck no longer has a curve to it, so we have to work on that, and my spine is a little tweaked side-ways, sooo we have to work on that too. I started adjustments Monday twice and then Wednesday twice. And by then I started to feel better!! Wednesday I also got to see my cousin I haven't seen in nearly 7 years! She along with her husband and 3 boys came to my parents house to visit. My brothers family also joined in so we had a houseful, which seems impossible to do at my parents!

Cousins!

The Madness!

We ended the week off with a BBQ to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was probably the most beautiful day the central coast has seen in MONTHS! Several of his friends dropped by to celebrate and of course the family was there! Quinten did SO well, such a happy kid who loves the outdoors (just like his folks!) we laid out a blanket under the tree and spent most of the time enjoying the fresh air and sunshine! My dad BBQ'd up a Thanksgiving style feast Turkey and all! It was oh so delicious! Gotta love family get-togethers!

The Birthday Boy

My niece Lauren absolutely adores Quinten so I took advantage of it and got some amazingly adorable pictures of the 2 of them!...

Then he played with Aunty Becca...
Me and all the kids :)

All in all we have been having a great month. We are busy re-decorating Quinten's room. A separate post will follow with all that. I am not allowed to show any pictures until it is complete! :) We have ended the month with one more tooth to add to the list. His top right has popped through! We went to the doctor Monday for his "6 month visit" he is 27" long and 19.5 lbs and doing wonderfully!! Can you see my teeth??

5:15 Comes So Fast...

When you go to bed at 11:00. It always seems that the nights Shannon and I decide to stay up later than usual that Quinten wakes up earlier than usual! I love our dogs, but lately 2 dogs in this little house with alllll these kids toys is a little overwhelming. Add in the annoying flea problem we're battling and its just a recipe for a headache. There are those times when I hear the whimpers from the other room, look at the clock and see sunrise is still 45 minutes away and think about the days when waking up at 9:00 seemed early. Those days are long gone I know, but ohhh to dream :) At least Quinten is a happy adorable little guy who, with one smile, makes the earliest morning super easy to tolerate. It looks to be another beautiful weekend here on the Coast so hopefully we can get outdoors and have some fun!

What else has the Cowan household been up to?

Last weekend Aunty Liz and Gregg stopped by on their way through town!

You never really realize how much you miss a person until you hang out! I've been realizing the lack of female interaction besides the moms! (mine and Shannon's). Most of my girlfriends have moved out of town over the past few years. I get so busy sometimes I forget how important it is to keep in touch with friends, not only for the sake of friendships, but the sake of sanity. Sometimes you need to talk to someone who is 100% not related to the situation at hand for a complete unbiassed sympathy and opinion :) Being a stay at home mom is an amazing blessing, and what I really have always wanted. But it does come with some social and phycological sacrifices. I need to start being honest with myself that sometimes I just can't do it all! So with that said these past two weeks I've tried to relax about some of the house stuff that CAN get done tomorrow, and do somethings that I enjoy i.e scrapbooking and baking! Suzy homemaker aint got nothing on me!! First I made some Chocolate cupcakes...

...and the hubby thanked me!!

And then I made some chocolate chip cookies...

...and again the hubby thanked me :)

Thankfully with the nursing I'm still able to enjoy these treats, they will probably be changing to 'No Pudge Fudge Brownies' once the nursing is over :)

And then our little guy turned 6 months!! A few days prior he started to sit up on his own for a bit :)

He was like a Weeble Wobble (but he fell down) :) he last a couple of minutes before slowly teetering over!

Then Wednesday he turned 6 months old! We had a semi rough day with teething. We have successfully popped to bottom 2 through, but now we are working on the top teeth. Those ones really seem to be bothering him more than the bottom did. I tried doing a photo shoot at the park with his cousins but that was 100% unsuccessful. So back to my parents house we went. After a meal and a nap we were happy enough to get a few shots for his 1/2 birthday!

We ended the night with a nice chew on our wonderfully cold teething ring!

**WARNING** We're about to get sappy for a minute :) So I've been having a hard time getting my stress/anxiety under control lately. Its something I have a very hard time admitting and accepting. It runs in the family so I know I have people who know what I'm going through. And although Shannon doesn't always understand he is 100% supportive and loving. I know sometimes its as hard on his as it is on me because he feels helpless, unfortunately though, so do I. I had driven up to my mom and dad's place on Wednesday (which I usually do as my weekly get out of the house day). We drove separate that day and I ended up getting home later than Shannon. When I walked in the door sitting in my seat was a new Kitchen Fairy (its the one thing I collect) and an I Love You balloon. Shannon said "because it will last longer than flowers" :) What a wonderful surprise! He sure does know how to put a smile on face, a tear in my eye, and a warm spot in my heart :) I am so lucky to have a man like him. I only hope that we can raise our son with the same warmth and care that he has :)

Oh and Quinten loved the balloon as well :)

So I guess thats all the Cow's have been up to lately. And more good stuff to come.. birthdays, bridal showers, and Easter! Oh mY! They say a picture is worth a thousand words... this one sums up our life in just two... wonderfully exhausting!