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.