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!