Our boy is a genius (+ some unrelated things).

Clearly. His latest trick is quite impressive, no? I mean, look at the control of his lips & tongue. It's amazing. Or at least cute, except when he practices this new trick when also trying to eat his dinner.

Let's talk about some random things.

Funny thing: I was in the elevator the other day & a woman asked me if Q was a few weeks old. Um. 6 months! She explained that she'd never seen a baby before (?!). As if that wasn't already obvious. 

Also - The day before, I was at our concierge picking up some packages. Quinn was a little sad (it was dinner time + bed time) & so I was bouncing him in the Ergo saying It's okay in a soothing voice - as mothers do. The woman standing next to me - with a straight face - suggested Maybe it's not. Well then.

Mike & I went out to dinner Monday night with friends Dave & Maran, who also happen to be cousins. It's nice when you like the people that you're related to. We went to Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village. Considering we had to book our reservation a month out, we had high expectations. They weren't quite met (& it was irritating when the waitress scoffed at Mike for asking if they could serve cheese on his burger - no), but it was nice to be out of the apartment past 7pm & to talk about adult things while wearing clothing that didn't have banana spit up on them. It was also nice that our babysitter (in the form of reliable + trusty friend Suzi) showed up.

Speaking of bananas. Quinn is eating them. Kind of. We even have a song about eating bananas. It goes like this: Ba-nanas, ba-nanas, we're going to eat ba-nanas! Baaaaa-nanas! We're obviously gifted songwriters, & since he really loves the word banana he gets approximately 27 dimples from his massive smile every time we sing it. Sadly, he doesn't actually like bananas, just the song. I mean, he's tolerating them, & every so often maybe even swallowing them, but he's still not quite sure what to think about food that doesn't come from his mama - especially the part where it has to come out after his body is done with it. The poor boy has been lucky to have only had to deal with poo once every week or so (thanks to the efficiency of breast milk), & it has never required more effort than a slight grimace. Bananas make things a bit more complicated for him & his screams have let us know that it's not comfortable.

Unrelated: Quinn is obsessed with Kelsey. He laughs & laughs when he's with her. One time during Relief Society, she took him out in the hall to play. I could hear his laughter through the door & finally went out to see what on earth was going on (nothing except him having so. much. fun. for no apparent reason other than just loving her to bits!). There is nothing better than a giggling baby, so even though I should be seething with jealousy, I'll take it. Quinn loves all of my favorite people as much as I do. No surprise.

Speaking of my favorites, we're headed to Texas next week to see Erin, Indie & Fox (+ Matt for a few days). I cannot even express how excited I am to go. So excited (except for the flying alone with a 6 month old baby part). I've never been to Texas, & I haven't seen Erin or her littles in more months than I'd like to count (7). Added perk: Texas seems to have figured out that it's spring & not winter anymore (unlike NYC), with weather right now requiring that I break out my summer clothes. This makes me a little nervous because last summer, everything I wore had a nice stretchy waistband to accommodate my 6-month pregnant body. The summer before that, I had not suffered the effects of childbearing. I feel like I don't know how to get properly dressed anymore, but some last minute shopping has been helpful, as was a trip to the nice tailor across the street who hemmed a few pairs of jeans that I had hacked off after being so frustrated to not find any shorts that were long enough this season. I took a pair of terribly flared 7 for All Mankind Jeans that I'm wearing in my engagement photos with Mike (6 years ago!), my first pair of designer jeans that I got my sophomore year in college & a really soft pair of jeans that I thought would be much cuter as skinny shorts (I was right). Also: I don't care if they're saying that flared jeans are back in. I'm not wearing them.

Also: We have a Chipotle on the Upper East Side finally - a 5 minute walk from our apartment! This is revolutionary. They have the best Coke & the yummiest tacos & burritos,  which means that I ate there no less than three times last week.

Also! My mom bought a ticket to come visit us this spring. Not soon enough, but soon! Quinn needs to see his Grandma & the weather is going to be so very perfect for lots of time in the park. I cannot wait, I cannot wait, I cannot wait. Also visiting this spring / early summer: Brother Andrew + wife Paige from Washington, Sister Elizabeth + husband Ryan from Utah, BFF Jill + husband Sean from Idaho, Friends Jamie + Meg from down south, & friend Noelle from Mexico. Hooray! Not only am I happy to get to see so many friends, but I'm also pleased as punch that come May, almost every single one of my siblings will have come to New York to see us + meet Baby Q. Six out of seven! Amazing. This makes my heart feel warm, as does getting to see good friends. Happy!

Lastly: BYU basketball fever, hello! My sweet husband was THISCLOSE to flying to New Orleans this morning. A hotel was booked, flights were chosen & then things didn't quite work out. So, he won't be there tonight, but we'll be watching, & I've been promised that if they win, he'll be getting on an airplane.