Hey hey! I hope all my USA friends had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend with friends and family. I am writing this blog as we drive to see family about an hour and a half away (on July 3rd). Girlfriend is conked out in her car seat at the moment, just hoping she stays that way for a bit!
So weeks 7 & 8 were really good weeks overall! We had some breakthroughs with Quinn, which I’ll get into now.
First one- on June 18th Quinn took a bottle for the first time!! This was a big deal because I was a bit nervous she’d refuse a bottle up until I returned to work, but nope- she did great! We try to offer a bottle once a day to keep her used to it.
That day I did my first run on the treadmill since I delivered her. It felt AMAZING! I have a long way until I’m running marathons again, but I’m happy to do any running at this point.
June 19th was Father’s Day. It was bittersweet- missing my Dad and knowing how absolutely incredible he would be as a grandpa, but then also it was awesome to celebrate DJ’s first Father’s Day ❤️. We went over my father-in-law’s around noon for a yummy lunch & to celebrate the amazing Dad he is too! We then returned home, DJ opened gifts, and we had a chill evening of watching Yellowstone.
June 20th DJ and I took Moose to Beach Bow Wow. Our girl was a little fussy that day, so I stayed with her in the car until she calmed down. Then I put her in the stroller and walked her around the park until the guys were ready to go.
That was another wonderfully chill day just caring for our children- one furrier than the other.
Side note (the pic below made me think of this)- anyone else watch TV/movies at home with subtitles?
Moose sits on this pouf like it’s a chair, and it cracks me up.
June 21st was a pretty relaxing day too! Something I’ve been really grateful for this summer is the electric fence. Moose has been loving just going out and exploring/sunbathing in the yard.
Whenever I am playing with Quinn, Moose wants in on the fun.
Quinn is fascinated by her big brother!
We’ve been so impressed with her head control. This day also marked the third time she rolled over since three weeks old. She rolled a fourth when Gigi was here later in the week! She is one strong girl!
June 22nd we had CoreLife! Oh now I’m craving some juicy steak again 😋.
June 23rd I started the day with Kite Hill Almond Yogurt, cashews, collagen powder, peanut butter, berries and honey.
That morning we had an ultrasound for Quinn to rule out tethered cord, thankfully all was good!! Quinn handled it so well too. Gigi came with us which helped so much.
She played with Quinn while I zipped around emptying diaper pales, vacuumed, unloaded the dishwasher, etc. It’s amazing how much you can get done with a couple free hands in a short amount of time!
We had Piada for lunch. Safe to say I’m obsessed with that place.
Gigi also took this candid- I love she captured this because much of our day usually looks like this!
Mr. Moose developed a little cough that week, and we feared it was kennel cough. Gigi graciously took him to the vet while I stayed with Quinn. What would we do without her?! Sure enough, he did have kennel cough, which meant 14 days no daycare for him- and a rambunctious Moose for me!
June 24th we started the day with a walk. I had my usual for lunch with a sandwich. I’ve also been on a kick of watermelon after walks lately. So refreshing. It’s funny because I usually eat an early lunch around 10/1030 with how hungry I’ve been. Who am I kidding I have another lunch at noon too. I’m definitely hungrier breastfeeding than when I was pregnant!
Lately Moose has become more protective of Quinn. It’s so sweet.
That evening, I made air fryer salmon- wow, so easy & goood!!
June 25th my good friend, Melissa, and her boyfriend, Michael, stopped by to meet Quinn. It was so much fun chatting with them, having lunch from Piada and introducing them to her. It’s pretty special because Melissa and I have been friends since we were in diapers ourselves!
Week 7 was extra special because we got our first social smiles from Quinn. She made us work for them though 😅. I’ll never forget the moment when she gave me that first smile back. Best. Thing. Ever. Ok I guess there are a lot of “bests” with her 🥰.
One of her favorite toys lately is this butterfly Rachel got her. The opposite side is all black and white contrast. It rattles/crinkles/squeaks, and she just loves it! I use it a lot when she gets fussy on car rides, and it tends to be a pretty good distraction most of the time ;).
A HUGE breakthrough from week 8 is Quinn now loves a pacifier! It was a lot of persistence and trying daily to get her to take one, and finally she accepted it. We now can’t go anywhere without it!! It is a game changer! We tried multiple different kinds, and this is the one that stuck.

Random, but her absolute favorite position post feeds is up on the shoulder. It makes sense with her reflux. DJ sometimes will do this little helicopter tour with her around the house, and she loves that too, ha!
This pic above is now my phone background 🥰.
My coworkers got this sweet outfit for her that she sported on Thursday June 30th 🥕.
Since Quinn loves being in the carrier so much, DJ got one too this week! She just loves being all snuggled up in it.
To help expend a little extra energy, we hired a dog walker a couple times to get Moose an extra walk a few days through his kennel cough quarantine. The walker sent the sweetest photos and Moose seemed to love exploring the new trails!!
Friday July 1st, Quinn had her vaccines first thing in the morning. This picture below is her saying “I did it!”. She just slept most of the day and was only a touch fussy in between naps.
Since she wasn’t feeling 100% after, I just had her nap on me while laying on the couch much of the day. Moose had a ton of pent up energy in the afternoon, so I gave him a card board box to gnaw on. Well, inside said box was a bunch of styrofoam which he proceeded to destroy to pieces. Since Quinn was fussing a bit as Moose created what resembled a winter wonderland on our floor, I was just focused on trying to calm her and figured I’d deal with the mess later. I decided c’est la vie, laughed at the situation and of course, documented it.
That brings us to the end of week 8!
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend ahead 😊.
<3,
Mackenzie