Christmas in Michigan

Wow, it's been a crazy week! Christmas has come and gone, and so has our trip to Michigan. On Thursday, December 20th, we celebrated our Christmas together as a family. Now I know why Christmas is celebrated in the morning - it's just too hard to get kids to settle down after a night of opening gifts from Santa! But Quinn was great, and she really got into opening the gifts this year. She tore into the paper and got so excited as each new gift was given to her. She is more in tune to what's under the paper this year, too. She got impatient more than once waiting for us to get the toys out of their boxes! Once we got her to bed, waaaay after her bedtime, Kirch and I exchanged our gifts and chilled out in front of our "Christmas Tree"... One more day until we headed for Michigan!

Friday night we picked Quinn up from daycare and took her to see the Winter Lights in Seneca Park. She loved the lights, saying "Yites! Yites!" just about every other second. When we got home, we finally got down to putting her to bed and packing for our trip. We got to bed around midnight and were up at 4am, heading for the airport. Quinn did great while we checked our bags and waited for take off. She did rather well on the plane, too. I have to say, the portable DVD player we bought a couple of years ago and have never used came in SO handy! It was the best money we've ever spent and ignored for so long! Let me tell you, that thing will get plenty of use on road trips from now on - and any flights we take in the future!!!

Michigan was fun, as always. It's exhausting going, but I'm always sad to leave when our time is up. But Quinn had tons of stuff to open between gifts from Pop and Laurie, Brenda, Carrie, Alex and Aric, Eric and Jessica, and Aunt Gail. We shipped 4 boxes of gifts home, that incidentally arrived today - so it's almost like a 2nd Christmas!

Quinn knows her Poppy and Grandma now. She really took to Pop in a big way. She'd point and say "Poppy!" It was so sweet to see her face light up when Pop would walk into her view. Grandma spent lots of time with her, too, feeding her and playing with her. It really was so nice to see them all interact, since we all don't get to spend a lot of time together.

We spent a couple of nights in the cabin - one with Aric and Alex, and one with Pop and Shane. I have some cool pictures of the new cabin. It feels like you're out West in some old one room shack - but it's the coolest shack ever!

I saw Chris Kowalski for the first time well over 10 years while I was out there. He picked us up and took us to his house in Marysville. He married Shelly Davenport and has 3 kids now. But it was like we never lost touch - it really was a great night.

On Saturday, Pop and Laurie took us to the airport and we headed home. Aside from a couple of minor meltdowns, Quinn was a great flyer once again. We made it home at about 6:30pm, dog tired. We got her into bed around 8, and then just started with our unpacking and laundry and all of that fun stuff. At about midnight, Quinn woke up with horrible croup and stridor. What a blast. She sounded like a barking seal, then every time she'd try to catch her breath, she'd gasp for air and cry some more. We called the emergency pediatric nurse and she walked us through steaming up the bathroom and sitting in there with her. Then we bundled her up and went outside for some cold, crisp air. After 2 rounds and 2 hours of this, Quinn was much better and was wanting to play at 2am! She did much better last night, just suffering lots of coughing. We took her to the doctor today just to have her checked out, and Dr. Potter says she is doing just fine. No fluid in her ears and now she just has a very nice cold :-) I'll take that over her having trouble breathing! So we avoided the ER once again - thankfully! I tell you what, our girl is tough. Through every cold and bump she has suffered, she has been a trooper. She just shakes it off, eats like a trucker and plays like.... well, a kid!

So here we are on New Year's Eve night - at home :-) Sponge and Natalie were supposed to come over, but we canceled on them, with Quinn's cold and all... So we're just hanging out at home tonight - probably watching some DVD's and going to bed early. This is the first NYE in forever that I haven't had plans! I guess this is what having a kid is all about, huh?

A Date with Elmo

I got the opportunity to take Quinn to see "Elmo Grows Up" at the Patriot Center on Saturday. It's a live show with all of the Sesame Street characters and it actually was a lot of fun. I lucked into these tickets - I chose not to buy them when the Scheleurs were going because I thought, "There is no way Quinn will sit through a show at this age - she barely watches TV!" Boy, was I wrong... she was enthralled by the characters singing and dancing on the stage! I was shocked - and pleasantly surprised at how much she enjoyed the show. She was happy to sit in the stadium style seat, and flip it up so her legs were just about at her chin. Luckily we had no one sitting around us, so she was able to get up and down from her seat without bothering anyone.

I'm not so sure about this "Elmo" guy yet...

The first act she pretty much sat and just stared at the stage. By the end of the first act, she was dancing to the music. Here is a video of just before the intermission - she was having a blast!



During the first half, Scott, Donna and the boys were sitting directly across from us. They joined us for the 2nd half and then we all went to Sweetwater Tavern for lunch. It was quite a morning, that stretched far into the afternoon! I missed that Kirch couldn't be with us - I definitely want to take her to something like this again soon!

This chair pretty much rocks, Mom........seriously, it ROCKS!

I have to say - Elmo is pretty cool!!!

First Snow, 2007

Yesterday we had our first (and probably last - ha!) snowfall of the season. Aside from the treacherous driving conditions, it really was a beautiful sight. Quinn doesn't remember last year's snow, so this was like watching it all for the first time again - but actually better, because this year I actually saw the wonder and awe in her sweet little face.

When I picked her up from daycare, we came home, ate real quick, and I actually bundled her up and we went outside for a while. Well, she was a tad apprehensive at first, but grew to love walking around in 3 inches of cold white stuff quickly. She'd put her little mittens into the snow, then lift up her hands to me, and say, "Uh Oh!" She didn't know how to get the snow off of her mittens - it was this great mystery to her, and it was just absolutely priceless.

We stayed outside for about a half hour until I was sure her little hands and feet were probably freezing. She didn't care - she did NOT want to come in! She's throwing more aggressive fits as she gets older and is starting to test her boundaries. This is not fun. But what can I do, right? Anyway, as I guessed, when I finally got her undressed and Kirch took her in to put on her PJ's, her hands and feet were so cold! Our daughter is very cold-blooded! It just doesn't bother her to be cold!

Who needs PJ's? Not me!!!

But she had a blast and here is proof...

Wow, this stuff is cool!

It Was Bound to Happen...

I take full responsibility - but it still came as a shock to me when Quinn uttered her very first curse word on Saturday morning! And it was the Mother of all curses - yep, the F word. My jaw dropped. Now like I said, I shouldn't be surprised. Kirch and I can swear like sailors, and it has finally caught up to us. Once again, I didn't give her enough credit for how smart and observant she really is.

Here I was, just changing her diaper in her bedroom on the changing pad. I can't even tell you what happened, but it made my angry, and I uttered the "word" just loud enough for her to hear it. The next thing I know, that little virgin mouth is spewing ugliness all over the place! But luckily, it sounded more like foot than f*%k. Either way, I stopped cold, looked at her and asked, "What did you just say?" Sure enough, she says "Fut! Fut!" You should have seen me, I was like, "Holy Sh..... oh crap! Oh crap! NO, QUINN, NO!!!" And her - "FUT! FUT!" So immediately I said, "Foot!" Well, she caught on to that, and then just started saying foot - so I slyly got myself out of a huge jam, but quickly told Kirch about it when he got home from work. So now we are both really, really watching our language around the Repeater nowadays :-)

Mom and Dad are on their best behavior from now on!

She Finally Knows Who She Is!

Last Tuesday morning, as I walked into her bedroom, Quinn looked at me, smiled, and said, "Dada (while pointing to the door - he had already left for work), Mama (and pointed to me), Kim (and pointed to herself)!" It's the first time she'd ever addressed herself as actually having a name, or being someone instead of "Me!" It's so great to hear her try to say her own name. She can't get the Q-U part down yet, but it's just music to my ears, no matter how she says it...

Today she has been quite the comedienne... At two different times today, she found Kirch's boxers and later his sweatpants, and proceeded to put them on for some hysterical photo opportunities. I also put out our Christmas decorations today, and found a Santa hat that she promptly asked to wear. I've got two plastic Santa Clause boots, one red and one green, that she also decided to try on. She's a real card for the camera, that girl is!

Knot What We Wanted for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving with Quinn this year was really... a lot of work! It was wonderful, but the girl is becoming a handful, that's for sure! Thursday afternoon at Paula's was really a fun time. Kudos to Paula for working her tail off all day (and probably days before to prepare) for a great meal. As she said, all that prep, and it's over in the matter of 45 minutes! But it was wonderful and Quinn helped me eat all of my turkey and veggies. We forgot her booster seat, so it made for a challenging meal, let me tell you! She sat on my lap and even though she can use her fork pretty well, she still likes to get her hands into her food, which subsequently was my food, too!

She was good company to the boys, and finally, finally gave Chris a little bit of attention! The whole week in NC, Chris continually got snubbed by his little cousin. She wouldn't give him a High-5, nothing. Well, he finally got the "fist pound" on Thanksgiving night, so I think she's back in his good graces now :-)

Friday morning we headed up to PA to spend an evening with the crazy Rudzik Family. We played a mean game of Charades, and Quinn was so enthralled in the action she absolutely refused to go to bed until a little before 10pm, when she finally just completely melted down. She slept wonderfully in her Pack & Play, which gives us hope that she will sleep well when we're in MI next month for a week for Christmas. Fingers crossed!

Saturday morning Quinn, Mike and I were on the landing of the stairs just chatting and playing when it happened. With Mike and I literally inches away from her, she took a tumble head-first into the stair rail. That girl developed a knot on her forehead the size of Kansas - well, at least the size of a Robin egg. It was huge! As soon as it happened, Mike grabbed her and started saying, "Shake it off!" But we both knew by the sound of that "thud" that it was gonna be a good one. And it was! Quinn cried (of course) as I brought her down the back stairs into the kitchen, and her head swelled up immediately. Well, I have to say - that girl is as tough as nails. She stopped crying after maybe 5 minutes and wanted to climb back up the stairs! Kirch and I, on the other hand, were trying to force a little cold compress to her head. Well... she wanted absolutely NONE of that! She cried harder and longer because her parents were just trying to ease the swelling! So we gave it up and after another 15 minutes, she was absolutely fine, playing like nothing ever happened. I'll admit right now if I were the one to smack my head like that, I'd be out for the rest of the day. My girl was right back at it within a half hour, totally oblivious to the emotional scar that spill left on Kirch and me!

Saturday afternoon, after the Rudziks headed out, the Kirchers and the Beavers came up for dinner. Quinn was a bit more difficult for this dinner. She was hours past her nap time and didn't want to go down. It proved to be a very trying meal, and finally we gave up and I took her upstairs and gave her her nap. She fought it a bit, but after about 5 minutes of crying, she was out like a light and I was finally able to eat some HOT food!

The rest of Saturday was great. Quinn was a joy to be around all day. She played and was not shy around anyone the whole weekend. She was a blast! She loved being outside, even though it was pretty damn cold up there! She's continually learning at a rate that is unreal. Her dexterity is getting very good. She's close to zipping up her own coat! She wants to so badly, but still gets a bit frustrated with trying to actually get the zipper together. She's a pro at UNZIPPING, though!

Quinn slept great Saturday night, and it gave me, Kirch, Rachel, Mike and Chris some time to hang out and chat. But the previous evening of Charades proved to be too exhausting for Rachel and me, so we left the group at about 9:30 to turn in. I never even heard Kirch come to bed, I was so out!

Sunday morning, we took another walk outside with Quinn and played in the leaves some more. The colors were beautiful - most of the leaves are off the trees now, but it was still pretty to see them all on the ground, with a bright blue sky up above.

Aside from the knot, the whole weekend was a great one. Holidays with the Kirchers are always memorable. I have a good family. I am lucky.

Thinking about my Grandma Swanson

From the time when Quinn was just days old, I have been singing a song to her that my grandma sang to me whenever I spent the night at her house. It was strange - I hadn't thought about that song in years - probably 20, at least - until I was struggling to think of lullabies to sing to my new baby girl. I was in the rocker one night, and some of the words came back... "and it stopped short, never to go again, when the old man died." What was that song? I remember Grandma singing it to me... what was it? Something about a grandfather clock... that's it! "My Grandfather's Clock!" Well, of course I couldn't remember any other words and even the melody was fuzzy. So I went online and voila - in no time at all, I found the lyrics and melody to the very same song that was sung to me so long ago. Two things happened - all of the words came back to me, and I realized that there were several verses that my grandma never sang - at all. So it took me forever to learn and remember all 4 verses because I'd always skim the paper when I was doing something else. When it was time to turn the light out and sing to my little munchkin, all of those words escaped me.

It's been almost 2 years now and I still sing that song to Quinn just about every night. I always get very nostalgic when I'm in there singing. It makes me feel much closer to a woman who helped raise me, and to whom I haven't talked to in almost 17 years. My grandma died 10 days after my 18th birthday, on February 18th, 1991. I can't believe it's been that long. So my daughter has brought my grandmother and I back together in the most precious way... through a song that I once loved as a child.

Earlier this week Quinn discovered my grandma's old rocking chair - the very same one she used to rock me in. I snapped this picture with a very warm heart. I don't know if anyone had that chair before my grandma, but at least 4 generations of the Swanson Family have sat in it now...

Me and my closest friends!

What She's Doing Nowadays...

It's true that every new stage Quinn goes through, I say is the best stage. So I'm saying it again - she's 20 months old now, and this definitely is the BEST stage so far! She's just so, so... smart. You can't get anything past her anymore. She catches everything. She remembers everything. She learns at a rate that is astonishing. It's truly something amazing to watch. She's growing up right before my eyes.

What do you mean, I can't play with the plastic wear???

Quinn is counting now. And saying her ABC's. In no particular order (I had you going, thinking she was some sort of prodigy, didn't I?). It's hysterical. "One, Two, Fee, Fi..." I think, what happened to four? She gets as far as five and then I help. As soon as I say, "Six" she says "Eight!" Then she starts to say, "Q, B, T..." They're all mixed up in Quinnspeak, and it totally cracks me up! But it's incredible to me that she "gets it." Daycare is truly paying off - Tiana and Chrissy really work with the children and it is obviously sinking in. I count to 10 and say (or sing) the ABC's everyday with Quinn. More than once... it's so much fun.

Her long term memory has really kicked in. I can't do the "bait and switch" so easy anymore. She realizes the comb she was just playing with is missing. She knows when I take the fork off her plate when she isn't looking. And she lets me know how much it pisses her off :-)

That's the downside of this stage - the "Terrible Two's" started in earnest tonight at Great Beginnings. We were shopping for some Christmas items and she was getting antsy, so I let her out to sit on the kiddie rocking chairs. She loved it! She smiled and giggled and rocked away. When it was time to go, the Quinn I know disappeared and this new Devil Child threw her 1st full fledged temper tantrum. She threw herself onto the floor. She kicked. She screamed. When I finally go a hold of my little Wiggle Worm to put her back into her stroller, she suddenly turned stiff as a board and would NOT let me buckle her in. I have to say, I laughed through this whole ordeal. I was a bit frustrated and embarrassed, but hey - I'm in a toy store with a 20-month-old. I'm not THAT out of place.

She cried all the way through the line, out to the car, and then pulled the straight-back gag again when I had to strap her into her car seat. She cried all the way home. It's amazing to see such a sweet-tempered girl turn into Satan's Spawn right in front of your eyes. That was the first one - the first one of many, many, MANY meltdowns to come.

But then she does the cutest damn things, like take her socks off her feet and put them over her hands, and THEN falls asleep that way! I mean, how can you not think that isn't adorable?

Her hands must have been colder than her feet!

She's very into hats and mittens right now. She loves putting them on and walking through the house with them. She's starting to "pretend" now, too. She pretends to take drinks from empty cups, or sip soup off a spoon. It's so much fun to play with her, she just takes it all in with a big old grin on her face!

Check out my rad ski hat!

I know I'm cute, but it doesn't hurt to tell me...

The Art of the Fart

No kidding - Quinn actually "gets" what farting is all about, and she thinks it's hilarious! Yesterday I was changing her diaper and I heard a little "toot" come out of her. Well, I made a comment and laughed a bit, thinking nothing of it... something to the effect of, "Quinn, did you just fart?" Well, she thought this was very comical, so the next thing I know, she is straining to fart some more! She must have squeaked out about 5 little toots before all was said and done. And I swore she was going to pop a blood vessel in her head her little face was so red!

Later on that afternoon, I hear a little fart again - well, it started all over. I thought she was trying to "go" but OH NO... she was trying to squeeze one out again! And this evening, sure enough on the changing table, she's smiling away, grunting her hardest to get a little sound out of that rear end of hers!

I know this post is a bit on the toilet humor side, but come ON. You have to admit, it is pretty hysterical when a 20-month-old is trying to rip one out!

Halloween Playdate at the Scheleurs'

Sunday was a lot of fun... we wrapped up our year-long playdate festivities at Scott and Donna's for a little Halloween party. There was a pot luck with lots of great food, tons of toys for the kids, and even a pumpkin decorating area. All of the kids were great sports, wearing their costumes for more than a couple of hours. It was so funny, Troy and Quinn were dressed in the same exact bumble bee costume! Mr. & Mrs. Bee... it was very cute.

Decorating a pumpkin with a 20-month-old is a challenge, but it was a lot of fun. Of course, Mommy did most of the decorating while Daddy took pictures, but Quinn was happy to sit on my lap and help me glue hair and eyes to her pumpkin.

We stuck around all day, well after the party broke up. Jim & Leen and their "kids" stayed, too, and we all watched football and NASCAR. I even got Quinn to take an hour nap in her Pack-n-Play, so she wouldn't be too overtired. It was really a great end to a great weekend. Now, we're looking forward to tomorrow night, and Quinn's first real Trick-or-Treating experience!

A New Mingo

On Friday, since Quinn's daycare was closed, she and I got to spend the day together. In spite of the torrential rains that came down, we had a really good day!

In the morning we went and got our grocery shopping out of the way. After I got the groceries put away, we headed down to Burdeshaw to see Buzz and Carol, and the rest of the crew. It was the first time any of them got to see Quinn. She was 5 months old when I started there. I can't believe that was over a year ago, and I've come and gone from Burdeshaw! Anyway, enough nostalgia, I'll just get teary-eyed thinking about how quickly my daughter is growing up on me... After scoping out the area and relaxing a bit, Quinn had a great time playing in the conference room with Carol and Buzz. She actually let Buzz pick her up after she warmed up to him! You could just tell from the interaction with Quinn that Buzz is a wonderful father. His kids range from 11 to 16, and he's very involved with their lives. He portrays how I hope Kirch and I will parent our daughter throughout her lifetime. He was really great with her, playing with her baby and talking to her. It was great to see Quinn warm up to him, and to see him come down to her "size!"

When we left BAL, we headed to Montgomery Mall and finally spent Quinn's birthday gift certificate from Kathy Kastberg at the Build-a-Bear store. What fun that was! I let Quinn pick out the bear, we had her stuffed, and then I bought her an outfit, shoes and a babushka. I found a kiddie stroller for Quinn to push her around in, paid for everything, and we were ready to go. The cashier told us that we could print out the bear's birth certificate, so we went over and finished that up... Well, we had to give the bear a name - so after careful consideration, I chose Mingo Manila (mon-eee-la) in honor of Kirch's stuffed rabbit he had when he was a boy. It only seemed appropriate, since Quinn wasn't old enough to name her herself. She'd just call her "Raaaahhrr!" We got home and Quinn wouldn't stop pushing Mingo around in the stroller! It was priceless! And Kirch has even gotten her to call her Mingo - although Quinn's version is "Mi-mo!"

All that picking out my bear and her clothes wore me right out!

I just love giving Mingo kisses!

Hugs - hugs are good, too...

Thanks, Kathy and Meredith, for my Mingo!

This is definitely an outing we'll do again when Quinn gets a bit older. I'll be bringing a camera, and Kirch will be coming along, too! It was so much fun, I know we'd all enjoy it as a family event.

Schmuck Mother of the Year

That's me. I locked Quinn in the car yesterday morning, getting ready to take her to daycare. Man, did I feel terrible! Here's what happened...

As I was strapping her into her car seat, she was playing with my keys. She hit the lock button, which just triggered the "ding" in my car because the back door was open and obviously, the car couldn't lock. Not thinking, I grabbed the keys from her and threw them into the front seat. After I finished strapping Quinn in, I got out and shut the back door. Little did I know that the lock system has a memory, and I heard the dreaded "click" of the locks locking :-( My heart sank... I just looked at her, at my keys, at my purse (which had my cell phone in it) and shook my head. Out loud, I'm saying "What am I gonna do?" This older woman was coming out of her apartment down a couple of doors and I asked to use her phone. Kathy. I'll never forget her name. She was a life saver! Well, I stayed calm, but my reasoning capabilities went right out the window. I called Kirch, who was down in Potomac by this point. I could tell he was on his phone, so I let it ring and ring. Of course, he didn't answer it because he didn't recognize the number. So I hung up and called again, leaving a message this time. I called a 3rd time and left another message. On the 4th try, he picked up. By this time, 10 minutes has gone by and Quinn is crying like crazy. Kirch is telling me he'll turn around, but why not call 911? Hmmm, never even considered that! So I get off the phone with him, call 911, they transfer me to the fire department and a huge fire truck with all the bells and whistles is at my place within 5 minutes. They pop the lock and by this time, even though Quinn's face is completely tear-streaked, she is in total amazement of all the fuss that's going on around her. I feel totally inept, and thank the fire people profusely. I'm calming Quinn down, calling Kirch and telling him everything is ok. This all took place in a span of 25 minutes, I'd say. Now I know if this ever happens again (which I am taking EVERY precaution for it NEVER to happen again!), I'll call 911 and the whole ordeal will be over in less than 15 minutes.

It's a terrible feeling, not being able to comfort your child when she is crying for you. I'm just happy that ALL that happened is that I locked her in the car. What a morning...

Busy, Busy

Wow, my first week of work at the new job has come and gone, and boy am I busy! It's been great so far, and I couldn't be happier with the move...

But with more responsibility, comes less time to blog. I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up! Things have been going at an insane pace, but we are all doing well in the Kircher household. Quinn has finally started calling Kirch and me Mommy and Daddy. Not just saying the words, but actually distinguishing between the two of us, and asking for us by "name". When we ask her what her name is, she usually says, "You!" She hasn't said her own name yet, but that day will come when she's ready...

Quinn is just getting over her first cold of the season. Nothing major, but it's a true testament that winter is coming. I'm just hoping she doesn't have as many as she did last year!

She is asking for lots of things now - "Peep" and "juice" being the most important things on her list right now. "Peep" is for "Peep and the Big Wide World," her favorite cartoon. Actually, she loves dancing to the opening song by Taj Mahal and then when the actual cartoon starts, she just askes for "Peep" again (the song).



Juice - I wish I would've never introduced juice. She runs around saying, "Jew! Jew!" So I have made her happy by filling up her sippy cup with 2 parts water, one part juice, and it makes me feel better that she's not drinking the juice at full octane :-)

Quinn is getting more and more headstrong by the day. She's testing her limits and beginning to understand that there are actually rules she must follow. It's a bit frustrating, but wonderful all at the same time!

How can you get frustrated at a face like this???

Octoberfest in the Kentlands

I know it's almost a week later, but last Sunday was a great day. Jenn and Josh invited us and the Hatleys to Octoberfest in their neighborhood. The weather was perfect and although it was insane busy, we really enjoyed ourselves. We had BBQ for lunch, Quinn and I split an ice cream cone, and all of the girls, especially Patricia, danced to the music! I have some great videos of the bopping going on, and I have to say, Patch really outdid herself with her new little boy crush!







Quinn loved petting the barn animals (I know, really dirty, but please... it's not like worse things haven't touched those curious hands!). I thought about a pony ride, but it just seems to make sense to wait one more summer before letting her do something like that :-)

She missed her nap and really did well all day. No meltdowns, but boy did she sack out Sunday night! It's so funny with her - she'll literally play up until the moment we turn off the light and read to her before we put her down. It doesn't matter how much "down time" we give her before bed - she uses every bit of energy and puts it toward playing. She was the same Sunday night - ran around her room until Kirch kissed her goodnight, I turned the light off, and rocked her for a few minutes. Well, that was it - normally bed time is 8pm - we put her to bed at 7:30 to make up for the nap she missed and she didn't make it 5 minutes with the light off before she was SOUND asleep! That time is some of the most precious time I spend with her - just holding her while she is sleeping. I selfishly rocked her for a little while longer until I finally placed her in her crib and quietly shut the bedroom door... Good night, sleep tight, sweet daughter.

Playdate with Lily (and TJ!)

Yes, the girls played on Thursday together... but it was a nice visit for TJ and myself, too! You could just tell who was in charge for the day - since Lily was comfortable in her own home, she definitely ran the show :-) She was much more talkative than Quinn was, being very vocal about her toys, and leading the way with all of the activities for the morning. I'm very confident that if the playdate would've been at our place, Quinn would've been much more at ease, and Lily probably would've played second fiddle! But it was great to see the girls hang out and play together (or play side by side, as it more-than-often was).

It's a shame that TJ and I live so far apart. I always enjoy spending time with her, but it's pretty difficult to get together when we live 50 minutes away from each other, and I work a full time job. All of my belly-aching aside, we really did enjoy ourselves on Thursday.

Ugh! The Work!

Well, my last day at Burdeshaw Associates was last Friday. I had planned to have a lot of down time this week... that is, until we decided to put the condo on the market. Now, this wasn't a split-second decision. I've even posted about it for the last month or so. But there were several things that still needed to be done that just canNOT be done with a child running around the house! So I knew I'd have to spend several days of my week off painting and packing, while Quinn was at day care. Needless to say, I have been out-of-my-mind busy. I have been painting the kitchen cabinets and closet doors like crazy. I've just put my last coat on the last few cabinet doors, and I have some detailing to do to the closet doors, but the end is finally in sight!

I have to admit, a coat of paint goes a loooooooong way! Our kitchen looks completely different, don't you think? We are putting the condo on the market tomorrow. So today is my last day of heavy, heavy work. The next 2 days are reserved for ME!

Tomorrow we are supposed to go visit TJ and Lily. Oh, I can't wait for the girls to play together! The camera will be working overtime and I'll have a ton of pictures to post :-) Friday, I'm heading downtown to sight see and have lunch with Rachel and Dorothy. Sometime in these last few days I have to work on my scrapbooks and projects I have going right now. Couldn't I just take another week off???

Quinn has been doing great... she's given us some serious protest when it comes to bed time for the past week or so, but we are managing. She doesn't want to be left alone. And it's sporadic - some nights she's fine and others, watch out - she'll put up a fight for 2 hours before she finally passes out from exhaustion! But the good thing is when she finally DOES go to sleep, she sleeps through the night. Oh well, just another phase from a 19-month-old!

My Kid Is So Smart...

Doesn't every mom say that? Every time her child does something new, it's as if NO other baby in the world has ever done it better! Well, that's how I feel every time Quinn accomplishes a new task - such as...

...eating with a fork. She's a pro! Well, not really, but in my eyes she is! I was feeding her lunch over the weekend and she just picked up the fork and actually made plate-to-mouth contact on more than one occasion! This definitely called for some impromptu video...



...going pee-pee on the potty - at 18 months! Now I'm not so naive as to actually think we are anywhere near potty training, but hey, if she wants to go on the potty, who am I to stop her? It has just clicked to her within the past week that "pee-pee" and "poo-poo" are things she does in her diaper. We have a potty seat for her, and she likes to sit on it, but Sunday evening she said "pee-pee", so I took her diaper off and put her on her seat. Well, she sat for a few minutes and did nothing, so I asked if she was done. She got up, and then said "pee-pee" again. I sat her back down and sure enough I heard the sweet, sweet sound of her tinkling in her very own potty! Kirch and I did the Happy Dance and we gave her all kinds of praise for her accomplishment! So, from now on, when she wants to sit on her potty, I'm going to do my best to take her diaper off so she may "go" from time to time.

...understanding the difference between yes and no. It was a big weekend, now that I reflect back. All of this stuff happened on either Saturday or Sunday! Usually, when you ask Quinn something - anything - she just nods her head yes. It tends to go something like this:

Quinn, do you want to go night-night? (Nods her head yes)
Do you want to go buh-bye? (Nods yes)
Do you want to go to the doctor and get a shot? (Still nods her head yes)

Well, Saturday night, while in the bathtub, I asked her if she was ready to get out. She looked right at me, said "no" and shook (not nodded) her head! I was shocked! I asked again - same response... "No". When it was time to get out, she was a bit peeved at Mommy because she was just not ready to get out! I was cracking up!

The month of September was big for our girl. She just keeps learning and thriving, and it's so satisfying to watch!

You better get a picture, because you KNOW I'm gonna pull this barrette out of my hair!

I look so good in red, don't you think? Even my cup matches!

Here are a couple of shots up at Dad & Dorothy's in PA on Sunday morning. Quinn loved playing with the pig and zebra oven mitts!

Dorothy, that pig is after me!

Ha! Now it's after Mommy!

Two Weeks Today!

Well, we are celebrating our 2 week anniversary of Quinn giving up her pacifier. Honestly, I think Kirch and I are celebrating more than Quinn is. I just can't get over how gratifying it feels for us to have cleared this hurdle! Quinn has been sleeping fantastic this week, not even waking up at all at night! I take that back - she woke up twice Wednesday night, cried literally for about 3 seconds, and by the time we got to her door to go in, she had settled back down and went to sleep. HUGE!

Last night it was Kirch's night to read books to Quinn and rock her before putting her down. She was not happy about it. She wanted her mom, so once he left and she screamed bloody murder, I went it, rocked her for about 5 minutes, and then she looked up at me and said, "night, night!" Well, that's our cue - when she says that, she's usually ready to go to bed. So, sure enough, I put her down and she rolled right over. What is it about a child only wanting one parent or the other? I tell ya, it's hard not to take that stuff personally!

Same Park, Different Days

This weekend was just so beautiful and we had no major plans, so Quinn visited the park down the road from us on Saturday and Sunday mornings!

On Saturday morning, when Kirch was at work, I walked Quinn in the stroller to the park so we could share some mommy-daughter time. It was pretty humid on Saturday, and after an hour we were both sweating up a storm! But Quinn had a blast - I pushed her on the swing for a bit, then she wanted to go to the jungle gym. She's so much more agile than she used to be - she climbed up the steps by herself and just loved going down the slides! And it's hard work chasing after an 18-month-old on those jungle gyms! She had me crawling through tunnels and sliding down slides with her. Whew! If only I had half the energy she has!

On Sunday morning, the weather had cooled down considerably. Kirch, Quinn and I walked to the park again and did the usual swinging, climbing, and running around. It was so much drier out, and when Quinn would slide down the slides, electricity would run through her, causing her hair to stand straight up! It was pretty hysterical - although she didn't care - all she cared about was sliding down those slides! Poor kid, every time we'd grab her, we'd all get shocked! She kept saying "Ow!", it was just too cute!

Later Sunday afternoon we took Quinn over to Jenn & Josh's so Kirch and I could have some time alone together. We just walked from Jenn's to Buca di Beppo for some pizza, and then walked back. But it was nice to be able to share a pizza alone at a restaurant... almost like a date! We don't get much time alone together, so it's very much appreciated when friends or family watch Quinn for a little while :-)

This is only 9 days late, but...

Welcome, Dylan Anthony Coppens!

I am the worst friend - I have been so consumed with my new job, weaning Quinn off the pacifier, and life in general, that I have completely forgotten to acknowledge the birth of Brenda & Chad's new son, Dylan! And most importantly, Abby is a big sister now!

This is my little brother, Dylan!

Dylan was born last Tuesday, September 11th. He came 3 weeks early, and he is doing just fine! The Coppens Family is home now, adjusting to an even busier schedule than ever. I've talked to Brenda several times and she says other than being extremely tired, trying to nurse a newborn and still find time for a 2 1/2 year old, everything is wonderful.

Congratulations Brenda, Chad and Abby!

The first of many kisses....

Proud Papa!

Victory on the Homefront!

I'm really trying not to get ahead of myself here, but this is huge...

It looks like we have put the pacifier to bed permanently at the Kircher residence! Last night was night #6 without it. In keeping up with the consistent inconsistency, I put Quinn down last Thursday night without it and she went to sleep. Now, this is nothing new. Every once in a while Quinn will just go to sleep without the assistance of the pacifier. But the next night she absolutely will NOT settle down unless she has it! So I figured, ok small victory, but there is always tomorrow night... Well, Friday night came and... no pacifier. Hmmm, do I detect a pattern starting?

Kirch and I talked about it, and we decided that I would work with her thru this adjustment period. Kirch realizes that Quinn knows that she's got Daddy wrapped around her finger, and she is more likely to wear him down than she would me :-) So Saturday afternoon she went down for her nap without it. She didn't sleep nearly as long as she normally does, but she got some rest and I chalked it up to a big step in the right direction. Saturday night - no pacifier. Sunday afternoon...

Quinn went down for her nap. She slept for an hour and woke up. Then all hell broke loose. She still wanted to sleep, but she wanted the pacifier to get her back to sleep. We didn't give it to her and she was, well, we'll just leave it at mad... She cried. And she cried. And cried some more. This is all while we were doing everything we could to distract her. We took her outside, gave her snacks, milk, whatever we could do. After about 20 minutes of this, she finally settled down and we headed over to Mike and Rachel's for Dad Kircher's 70th birthday party. She was fine for the rest of the afternoon - hell, she was great!

So Sunday night comes - still no pacifier. Monday, the same, and then last night. Well, I had a commitment Downtown last night, so it was Kirch's turn to put her to bed. He was nervous - here we were closing in on a week with no pacifier and now HE had to calm her and put her to bed? Well, he did a great job! He rocked her and when she got fidgety, he put her in her crib and she immediately stood up, pointed to where we used to keep the pacifiers, and cried. He just said "No, no - it's night night time" and walked out the door. Hearing Quinn cry is like torture for Kirch, but he was determined to try to wait it out before going back into her room and rocking her some more. Well, lo and behold, by the time he walked down the hall and turned on the monitor in the living room, Quinn had quieted down and that was that! SUCCESS!!!

Now, granted, if and when Quinn wakes up in the middle of the night, it takes a bit more consoling to get her back to sleep. Of course it does - we used to go in there, pop the pacifier in her mouth and she'd go right back to snoozing. Now, she wants to be picked up and rocked. Hey, I'll take that! It's only about 2-3 minutes of rocking before we can lay her back down and she puts herself right back to sleep. I think we have crossed this very long bridge. It feels so good! We have put all of the pacifiers away and are looking forward to this pattern stretching into a habit. A GOOD habit!!!

Mommy Got a Job!

Does anyone watch "Weeds"? Then you are the only ones that might get that reference :-)

Anyway, yes - I accepted a new position at a company called Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation. Yay! It's super close to home (about 7 miles), has great benefits, great hours, and gives me a lot more responsibility. I'll be a Senior Administrative Assistant *under the Executive Assistant* to the president of the company. I'll be learning grants proposal work, international travel planning, conference planning, and much more. I got a nice raise, I get the week between Christmas and New Year's off, plus 4 more weeks paid time off, and lots of other awesome little perks. I'm just so excited that I will be able to help provide for our family even more now, and I'll be learning a whole new field of work in the process.

Aeras is a non-profit foundation funded by the one-and-only Bill Gates Foundation. Their main goal is to create a successful TB vaccine over the next 10 years and distribute it to 3rd world countries (along with the USA). I may have the chance to travel internationally, too. I leave Burdeshaw Friday, October 5th, take a week off, then start at Aeras on Monday, October 15th. I'm looking forward to some serious Roxanne time!

In the meantime, Kirch has just submitted his resume to the Carderock Tennis Club for the Director of Tennis position. This is the 3rd time he's gone up for this, and although nothing is guaranteed, with this past track record there (they really like him), he's got a really great shot at it this time around. He'd be the top guy, running and building the tennis program there. We are both very excited for this opportunity for him.

SO... it looks like we are going to stay in Maryland for a while after all. We still have options, and North Carolina isn't out of the question, but we have to pursue these opportunities for ourselves and our family. We are both very excited!

Words, Words, Words!

Ok, let's see if I can get them all down. As of Quinn's 18 month well visit, here's what she is saying:

Buh bye
Hi
No
Up
Down
Outside (side)
Nose (no)
Shoe
Eye
Go
Mine
Pillow (po po)
Uh oh
Ball
Baby
Necklace (nya nya)
Mom
Da Da
Cheese (cheee)
Choo Choo (what sound does a train make?)
Hot
Pee pee
Nice (niiiii)

How adorable am I?

She just knows so much now. It's amazing how quickly she picks things up now, too. And her long term memory is good - almost too good...

Here's the story. Quinn has never had a problem with being in the water. She still doesn't, but she has been scarred by a recent incident. Two weeks ago I took her over to Stacy's while the guys did their football draft (I've blogged about this already). Anyway, we went outside and played in the pool. Well, the water was a bit too cold for Quinn, and she wasn't much enjoying it. She went down the slide and went completely under, that cold cold water really shocking her. She cried - HARD. Well, after calming her down, I didn't give it another thought. But since then, she's been less and less inclined to lean back in the tub when it's time to rinse her hair. We NEVER used to have a problem with this. Now, she absolutely refuses to lean back in the water. She cries and gets nervous the moment I mention, "Ok, lay back so we can rinse your hair!" She just won't do it. I feel so terrible! Thankfully she still loves taking a bath and playing in the water, but that frozen pool incident really did a number on my kiddo :-(

Hmmm... Daddy has to show me what to do with this.

I've also noticed lately that she's getting a bit whiny when we are somewhere new or overwhelming. Ever since we've been taking her to Tiana's, she whines or cries just about every time we drop her off or the minute we walk in to pick her up. And yesterday at her 18 month well visit with Dr. Potter, she really was not happy. She was just fine in the waiting room, but the minute we walked into the patient room and the nurse tried to measure her head, she just broke down into tears. And she cried and whined the WHOLE time we were in there! Plus, she had to get her 2nd Hepatitis booster, so she was absolutely not thrilled about that either. But on the plus side, Dr. Potter says this is all normal and most babies go through this separation anxiety thing right around this time. Other than being a bit clingy, she's a perfectly healthy normal little girl!

I'm a big girl, drinking from my juice box!

Now for her stats... she weighed in at 25 lbs, and measured 31 inches. She is a solid little girl! All is well in QuinnLand!

Me and all my stuffed pals!

Labor Day Weekend

What a riot!

We were so busy this past weekend, I don't even know where to begin. Friday after work, Sponge came over for a few hours to chug a couple of beers, preparing for Saturday's big 1st tailgate of the MD football season. Smartly, I chose not to participate in Friday night's chugging. I saved it all until Saturday. As you can see, I was in top form. I chugged my best time of 10.56 seconds. Yep, I'm not too humble to say I'm proud of that :-)

Perfect form!

The tailgate was a blast - great weather and lots of friends came out to celebrate the beginning of the "tailgate season." I went to the game with Sponge, Scott, Hammer, Gary and Larissa, and Jimbo and Leen. We sat in the student section (and got a few dirty looks from the young crowd surrounding us) and enjoyed watching MD stomp all over Villanova. I love football games - it's a sign that sweater weather is right around the corner.

Sunday afternoon we headed to Chesapeake Beach to the Scheleur's annual Luau Party. It was, as always, a great time. This time, though, the weather was absolutely perfect. Usually the party is spread out throughout the house and outside because it is just so hot outside that people can't take it for more than a 1/2 hour at a time. This year the whole party was outside! For hours! It was great, because the kids just loved being outside, getting rides in the wagon, jumping in the moon bounce, and running around in the yard. Here's proof!

Daddy, take Rylie and me for a ride again!

Mom, this moon bounce ROCKS!

We spent the night at Scott and Donna's as we always do. On Monday morning, we all got up, ate breakfast of quiche, fresh fruit, and bagels. Afterwards, we headed to Jim Perrus's for the afternoon. Stacy and I were designated babysitters for her 2 girls, Quinn, Patch and Natalie. It was hard work! I have so much respect for those who work in daycare for a living. But we had a great time, playing in the playroom and taking the kids outside on the swings and into the pool. The water from the hose was a bit too cold for Quinn's liking, so she was really torn between wanting to be in the pool with the others, but then crying when she felt the shock of cold water on her body. Poor kid, she didn't enjoy it as much as she usually enjoys the more tepid water of heated pools...

Thanks for sharing your Cheerios with me, Eleni!

We have spent the bulk of this week getting Quinn back on her schedule and fighting through teething. She's having a heck of a time with it, and she's just now coming around from it. I'm glad we're nearing the end of this wave of it - the girl can get really cranky!

Prepping to List

So, we've talked to our realtor and she made some suggestions as to what needs to be done to the condo before we can put it on the market:

1.) Paint the ceiling of my bathroom
2.) Paint the bedroom door and the hall bathroom door that we never got around to
3.) Paint the hallway
4.) Stretch the carpet
5.) Finish/paint the kitchen cabinets
6.) Hang closet doors in the spare room and on the linen closet in the hallway
7.) Paint the front door and foyer area

So, that's what we've been up to this week. Kirch is slow and his fall season doesn't start until Monday, so he's been home painting the hallway. I started on the doors and the bathroom ceiling the other night, and now we just have to finish those tasks up this weekend. Then we'll have the closet doors, the front foyer, the carpets, and the kitchen cabinets to do. The carpets are being taken care of by the front office (after 2005's plumbing issues). We can do the cabinets (which I'm SO not looking forward to), but we'll have to get someone in to hang closet doors. We're hoping to have this all done in another month to 6 weeks so we can list by late fall. Our next step will be apartment hunting...

Enough about us, on to our daughter! So, Tuesday night Quinn played out on our back deck for a while while Kirch and I hung out with her. She loves throwing balls around and is constantly saying, "Ball!" After a bath and before we headed into her bedroom for the evening, Kirch and she were playing on the living room floor. He was on his back with his knees propped up and Quinn was straddling his waist. She then proceeded to lift up his shirt, smack his belly and say "Ball!" We were cracking up! And of course, both of us were saying, "well yes, it's kind of a ball!" I wished we could've gotten it on video - it truly was priceless.

We have got a jam-packed weekend lined up - it's Labor Day already! And tomorrow is September! I'll have plenty of pictures to post when all is said and done.

As the Summer Winds Down...

I can't believe we're almost into September already. This weekend is Labor Day Weekend - how did that happen? It seems like just yesterday we were making preliminary plans to head to Atlantic Beach. Now, vacation is over and kids are heading back to school, and we are heading into football season and sweater weather. Where does time go? And it's so cliche, I know, but it's the truth that time does pass quicker as you get older.

My baby is almost 18 months old - that's twice as old as how long I was pregnant with her! There are some days when I really miss being pregnant - even with as crappy as I felt for almost 5 months. It was absolutely worth it, that's for sure, but there are some days when I yearn for the feel of her kicking me or just my big old belly with life growing inside of me. When you get right down to brass tacks, it's still a wonder how we can create life and nurture it and harvest it. Amazing.

Ok, nostalgia aside - here's what's been going on!

Quinn's first week at her new daycare was great. She started to warm up to Tiana, Chrissy and the children by around the end of the week. After the separation anxiety (pretty much after we closed the door), she'd jump right into playing with the other kids, eat like a horse (which is her speciality), and take naps with no problems. Yesterday when I dropped her off, she didn't cry at all. Just walked herself over to Chrissy and got ready for breakfast. Around lunchtime, I got a call from Tiana, confirming that Quinn is definitely getting very comfortable at her new daycare - she threw her first all out fit... squealing, throwing herself on the floor, spinning around - the works. All because she could see her lunch but they didn't get her to the table and feed her fast enough! Yes, yes, my daughter is such a scrawny little thing - waiting for 5 minutes while her lunch cools down might just cause her to whither away. And she has the patience of, well... her father. But after her mini-meltdown, she was fed and then was happy as a lark. Go figure.

On Sunday Kirch, Quinn and I met up with Scott and Eric, and Jeff and Natalie at the Renaissance Fair. Despite the oppressive humidity, we had a really good time. The kids played in the playground, we walked around, ate lunch, and took some pictures. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

Quinn is a sponge now. She's saying words faster than we can keep up with anymore. And now she's telling us what things are. For instance, now she points to my nose and says, "noooo!" Or to my eye and say, "eye!" Yesterday she was in my closet with me and pointed to a shoe and said, well - you know :-) It's so great, listening to her communicate with us (up, down, etc.) - granted the communication is limited. But still! And she's reading US stories now, in her own Quinn-language. It's priceless... take a look!



Before we know it, the girl will be speaking in sentences, then paragraphs. Slow down - no need to grow up so damn fast!