Half a year....

This week Tanner hit his 6 month milestone!! (As you could probably tell from the pictures below) I just can't believe it. They (that illusive group of whoever "they" are) say that time flies when you are having fun. Well I must be having the time of my life being his mom because it honestly seems like just yesterday Paul and I were in the hospital getting ready to have him. He is my sweet, funny boy and I love him more that I could ever imagine possible. I feel so lucky to be his Mom and that Paul and I have the opportunity to raise him, teach him, comfort him, discipline him and love him unconditionally! I feel like if I blink it will be his first birthday before I know it.

Also this week, Bonny had her sweet, perfect baby girl. Her labor started on Wednesday the 22nd and Annella Liane Cunz made her world debut @ 2:03 am and Sept 23rd, 2010. She is 8 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long. Here is a picture of the little angel h=just 10 hours old!

Comparing these to Tanner's 6 month photos below- I am just BAFFLED at what a difference half a year makes. It makes me step back and take a deep breath and completely appreciate the wonderment of life. AMAZING!!

Sweet Potato Boy

 

Here he is trying to get the spoon in his mouth….

 

oops too far over

getting closer…

 

and closer…

almost in…

IN!!!!  SWEET POTATO SUCCESS!!!

What a life

Tanner was playing with his Tigger toy this morning and right in the middle of wrestling him down, decided a nap was in order. Oh the life of a baby.....

Hey Mom-Look what I can do

A couple weeks ago, Tanner learned how to screech and squeal. He now continues to screech at toys, people, himself in the mirror and just about anything and everything. It consumes a majority of his awake/playtime. (The only time he gets REAL quiet is usually when I bust out the camera) Today I caught him in action (barely). This is a little taste of my screaming/giggling baby. He thinks he's pretty darn cool. I just think he's pretty darn cute and funny!

mmmm...

Cute Baby....Messy face...'nough said!!

Bouncing Baby Boy

Tanner LOVES his Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo. I got it from my BFF Bonny who used one with her son and swore by it- Thanks Bonny! Tanner likes to play in there and is really getting the hang of bouncing. I HIGHLY reccomend this product to anyone who has or is expecting a little one. It rocks!!

4 month Stats

I just can’t believe 4 months has flown by since having Tanner.  Today we went up to see Dr Voegel (Tanner’s pediatrician) and get his 4 month shots.  Everything is checking out just fine.  Tanner is a healthy happy little boy.  What more can a mommy ask for right?

Here are Tanner’s 4 month stats-

Height: 25 inches

Weight: 16 lbs 1 oz

Overall he is right in the 75th percentile for height and weight, same as he was @ his 2 month.  Next check up isn’t until Sept for his 6 month…YES 6 MONTHS as is 1/2 a year!!  I can’t believe it!

We might have to think about expanding the “Quist Club” sooner rather than later…They just grow up too darn fast!

My little swimmer- 3 months old !!

Look who's 3 Months old today!!!

Tanner had his first dip in the pool today and seemed to have a really good time. (Don't let the pictures fool you- As soon as I put down my camera and jumped in with him he was smiling and cooing) After we got out I undressed him and let him lay naked on his towel in the shade. He LOVED that and was smiling and laughing. Looks like he is quite a little exhibitionist already :)

3 month pictures

PS....I am in NO WAY a professional photagrapher but I do think these turned out pretty well :) Little Life Photography is my made up professional photography name. Who knows...I might delve into this idea of family and child photography soon. Right now, it just makes me feel fancy!

Sleepy Boy....

I feel very grateful that I have a baby that likes to sleep!! He went to sleep last night at 10:30 or so and slept until 5:30 this morning. After a quick changing and feeding he fell right back asleep and is still sleeping...it's now 9:30 am. He has been doing this more and more lately which is just fine by me! He's just getting so big and saying bye-bye to that middle of the night feeding which I actually didn't even mind too much. He is just growing way too fast.

Busy being a mom

I think this is the longest I have gone without a post for quite a while. I guess I have just been busy with...well...life. Had a great Memorial Day weekend at the lake. The hot, sunny weather definitely helped. Saturday was one of those days where I just put my lawn chair in the lake and RELAXED!! Paul was sunburned from picking rocks the week before so he and Tanner sat in the shade. This week it was back to the grind and routine that Tanner is getting more and more accustomed too. He is such a mellow guy and is sleeps a good 5-7 hour chunk every night for us.

I think Tanner is becoming quite the Mama's boy though. He will fuss for others (even Paul) then smile and be perfectly calm the moment I pick him up. I don't mind though, because before long I know he will be following Paul and trying to emulate all the "manly" stuff Daddy does. He can stay my little mama's boy as long as he wants. Here's a picture I took of him in the bath the other day. He LOVES it. We plop him in the tub even when he's crabby and even a frown turns to this in no time!!

2 month stats

I know I keep saying this but I seriously can't believe that Tanner is 2 months old already. I am just in awe every day by the new things he is doing and how is changing right before my eyes. We had his 2 month check up at the doctor yesterday which meant poor little guy got his shots too. Not going to lie, I teared up when then stuck him and he let out a scream along with TEARS. I have only seen him produce tears on very rare crying occasions. He was fine though and with a little Tylenol and some wincing last night, he seems to be back to his smiley self this morning. So here's his 2 month stats:

Length: 22 1/2 inches 46 percentile
Weight: 12lbs 9 oz 75 percentile
Head: 41 cm 75 percentile

Overall Tanner is a very healthy and happy little boy and I feel very grateful for that!!

Baby in a Basket

Springtime Weekend Stuff

First things first....LOOK how beautiful my lilacs are :) They smell even better. I picked two GIANT bouquets and have one in my entry and another on my dining room table.

Now on to the "Quist Club's" fun filled weekend. After 2+ weeks of junky weather, we were so excited to finally plant our vegetable garden. Just LOOK how excited Tanner is...He can barely contain himself.

OK, so maybe he wasn't too excited but he was a good little boy and napped the whole time that Paul and I worked away.

Here's Farmer Paul using our neighbor's seeder. Talk about EASY!!! We are so lucky to have nice neighbors who let us borrow their gadgets. In our garden we have quite the variety of produce which includes: garlic, chives, cilantro, dill, basil, parsley, tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, green beans, lettuce, peas, carrots, radishes, onions, and beets. I can't wait for it all to be ready for me to use in my kitchen!!

Sunday, Paul, Tanner and I had a day out and about. But before you go anywhere you HAVE to get ready. Tanner takes this VERY seriously. He can't leave home without a good looking outfit and some styling shades!!

Tanner's ready for a little disc golf in Hutchinson :) He can't throw yet but Paul likes to set a baby sized disc next to him and take pictures.

I only threw a few times before picking up my little guy and carrying him along to watch daddy.

Here's Paul in action and doing one of his MOST favorite activities. He was a happy camper!!

Before heading to Paul's parent's house in Litchfield, Tanner need to stop for a little snack on the swings with Daddy. I LOVE my guys!!!

We had such a fun weekend full of fun activities. Tanner must have been wiped out from all of the activity because he slept a full 8 hours last night!! I can't believe that my little man is already 8 weeks old. He's getting sooooo big.

Tanner's First "Playdate"

On Friday, Tanner had some friends over for the first time. Well, it was maybe more for us Moms to get together and chat than it was for the babies. I mean just look how excited they are to "play"

Here's Easton and Tanner.

Easton born March 28th

Tanner born March 22nd

Evangelin born April 2nd

Can't wait unitl they are actually big enough to play rather than just sleep for most of the time they are together!!

It's true what they say

It's true when they say they grow so fast. I can't believe how Tanner is changing before my very eyes. The logical side of me knows that babies grow and change daily but the emotional side wants to hang on to that little 8 lb newborn nugget. Just 7 short weeks after making his world debut, my big baby boy is outgrowing a good number of his 0-3 month clothes already and it is affecting me more than I would have thought. I keep thinking that crawling, and walking, and talking aren't too far off. OH NO!! I better not get ahead of myself, I'll cause myself to have an emotional break down. Here's my big boy enjoying his bath yesterday. He's such a good little guy.

Cuddle Bug

Tanner is 6 weeks old today and is starting to develop quite the routine for himself. Since he is still little we feed him on demand and it averages about every 3 hours during the day-evening. Then he falls asleep between 9 and 10pm and goes till about 3-3:30am. He eats then fall back asleep. He is ready for more at about 6-6:30am so we feed him but Paul and I usually aren't quite ready to get up for the day so we'll bring him to bed to cuddle up, which Tanner LOVES (I don't think Paul minds either). This morning I hopped in the shower since he seemed perfectly content. I came into our room and saw this and my heart melted. My two favorite guys cuddled up. It's the moments like this that make me feel like the paths I have chosen in my life have led me to exactly where I am supposed to be.

My Mom's a Fox

I feel like people could perceive this as being conceited by dressing a baby in this onsie but to my own credit I did shower and do my hair and make-up today! Plus he's just SOOOO darn cute he obviously has to have a good looking mom right???

Thanks for the sweet shirt Bonny!!!

Cloth Diapering

I know many people have asked me how cloth diapering has been going so I decided to devote a post to it and how I do it. I figured it might help answer questions and hopefully inspire other moms to try it. I can't emphasize enough the amount of $$ I will save by using cloth diapers. Disposables cost on average $0.15-$0.20 PER diaper. If you diaper for 2 1/2 years you are spending $1500-$2000 just on diapers. YIKES!!! Another factor is the amount of trash I will save on. Yeah, those dirty diapers leave every week from your garbage can, but where do they go??? Out of sight out of mind? Not really, they are in someone else's back yard. I am not a TOTAL eco-freak but do think that every little bit helps, like using my reusable grocery bags, refusing to buy bottled water, recycling, using fluorescent bulb in our lights and now cloth diapering. Just food for thought and reasons to consider going cloth.

Now onto the diapering process I use...I first started by doing LOTS of research. Looking at the different options for cloth diapering, the process involved and the cost of supplies. Two GREAT websites I found are:

Pin Stripes and Polka Dots

Green Mountain Diapers

I ordered all of my diapers from Green Mountain. These are the supplies I started with:

24 Prefold Clotheez diapers Size Small

Snappi to fasten the pre-folds -NO PINS REQUIRED!!

6 fitted Cloth fitted diapers (for at night or for on the go-they are just faster to put on and have an extra elastic edge to hold stuff in)

6 diaper covers (in a variety of colors and patterns-there is some cute stuff out there)

And I just ordered a diaper sprayer to hook up to my toilet- It has YET to arrive but I can't WAIT. I have been swishing the poopy diapers in the toilet. This makes getting those semi-solids out much easier.

I also bought a roll of flushable liners to put in the diapers when they start to get more solid waste. Then I can just take the liner out and flush it down the toilet with anything it has gathered.

You will also need a diaper pail. I just use an old diaper genie knock off that my cousin got me at a garage sale. i have it right next to my toilet so that I can put the diapers in there after cleaning them out. You can use any standard trash can with a lid as a diaper pale.

Total I spent $230.00 on EVERYTHING!!! I will most likely need to spend another $175 - $200 for the next size up but that will get me through the diapering years. For a grand total of $450-$500 tops! What a difference from the $2000 huh???

Now for the process-

1-remove dirty diaper and cover and set aside.

2-wipe bottom clean. (I still use disposable wipes but there are washable wipes too. I just have a little trash next to my changing table to throw the wipes in)

3-Put on new cloth diaper and fasten with the snappi

4-cover with water-proof diaper cover

(I then take Tanner into the bathroom with me while I finish the rest- he sits on his bouncy chair while I clean or put the diapers in the pail)

5-if it is a poopy diaper I swish it in the toilet and remove what I can. (I can't wait to use the sprayer instead) Wet ones just go right in the pail.

6-If the diaper cover is not soiled I will let it sit out to use for the next diaper change. If it has gotten wet or soiled I put it in the pail too.

7-Wash and dry my hands

8-Pick up Tanner and continue with our day!

WASHING diapers

I wash diapers and covers every other day. I haul the whole pail down stairs and dump them in the washer. I pre-rinse them once on cold. Then wash them on hot using All free and clear detergent and Oxy-Clean. I either hang them on the line to dry whenever possible or tumble dry them on high. I line dry ALL of the covers just because the velcro can attract lint and gunk them up a little. When they are all washed and dried I bring them up to Tanner's room and put them back on the changing table :)

It is really pretty easy and takes very little extra effort on my part. Plus Tanner's bottom has not been red at all like it had been getting with disposables. Here are some pictures of our diapering system!!

Cloth pre-fold diaper with snappi fastener

With diaper cover on

Diaper pail next to toilet

Tanner chilling while I clean his poopy diapers! This is also where he hangs out when I shower.

I hope this helps explain the process and gives parents inspiration to try it for themselves! It is really a great fit for our family and something I feel very good about! If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me @ heidi_lynnc@hotmail.com. I am happy to help anyone thinking about making the switch or using cloth for their little one on the way!!

***Side note: I did receive a bunch of disposables for gifts and they have not gone to waste. I still take them when lugging around cloth on an outing isn't feasible.