I had no idea what I was getting myself in for when I suggested to Quinn that we make Christmas cookies. It was a HUGE undertaking! I made the dough (from a bag, of course - do you seriously think I'd take the time to make it from scratch?) and then set Quinn up at the table to do the cutouts. Oh My Gosh, it was a LOT of work! I rolled the dough, and she cut the cookies, but at first the dough was not cooperating. It was so soft, I couldn't lift the cookies onto the pan. Very frustrating... So I just put in more (and more) flour until the dough was thicker and then we went to town.
I put Quinn down for a nap (which, of course, she didn't sleep), cleaned up the first disaster, and then when she got up, we took to frosting and decorating the cookies. Well, I thought the cookie cutting part was a chore! Quinn's idea of "light shaking" of the candies was practically dumping on the sugary substance! Needless to say, our cookies are not the prettiest by far, but I got some great pictures and some memories out of the ordeal!
At the end of the excursion, I gave Quinn a cookie to test (I have not had the courage yet). She licked off all the frosting and candy and threw the cookie away... Hmmmm - I wonder if Santa will enjoy these cookies this year?
This is Quinn's 3rd Christmas, but last night was our first tree decorating experience as a family. She has really gotten into the Christmas spirit this year, seeing Santa Clause twice and each time telling him she wanted the same 2 gifts - a purple tutu and an Ariel dolly. The girl is obsessed with purple! Everything she wants now is purple - it's quite sweet, actually!
Here are some shots from our evening together. Quinn was quite the little helper, hanging bulbs at our knee cap level, sometimes 2 bulbs to one branch! Safe to say, after we put her to bed, Mommy rearranged a few of the ornaments to even out the tree a bit :-)
I love this tree and these lights...
...and I am just SO ESSCITED about Christmas!!!
Try not to disturb my concentration, I want to hang this bulb just right...
She had us laughing like crazy just the other morning - we brought her into our room about 6:30am to sleep with us for a bit (she'd had a bad dream). We had gotten her back to sleep and then had started to get ready for our day while she was still snoozing away. Both Kirch and I were whispering to each other, looking at how stinking cute she was laying there so peaceful, when all of the sudden, with her eyes still closed, this HUGE smile came across her face! The little turd knew we were talking about her! Then, she sits up, opens her eyes, and... wait for it... looks right at Kirch and me and says, "It's almost Christmastime!!!" We about fell over laughing! She never ever ceases to completely crack us up!
Quinn has taken to some funny habits during nap time - mostly at nap time, but sometimes at night time, too. I think she gets into more trouble at nap time because she isn't always cooperative for an actual nap, so she just plays and she can see better and isn't fumbling around in the pitch dark like she would at night time.
Just as of last week, we've eliminated pull-ups at nap time, so now we keep her bedroom door cracked open in case she needs to use the bathroom. But up until then, she's been "sleeping" behind closed doors. And this is what I mean by "sleeping"...
All tuckered out after playing dress-up with her shoes!
Ok, the above picture was actually at night time, and I blogged about it back in October. She found those shoes in the dark, put them on, then fell asleep with all of her babies :-) I figured it was worth an encore.
The next two are nap time pictures...
See the white opaque tights with the little red hears OVER her pj's???
Tights AND shoes for this nap! Look at how her pants are all bunched up past her knees!
This one is at night time...
You don't learn how to read through osmosis, Q-Bug!
Just Saturday, I put her down for a nap and left the door cracked open. I went into my bedroom right across the hall to watch a movie. I heard a bunch of clatter, so I got up to check and see what she was up to. I caught her red-handed with an armful of toys from the living room AND one of her baby's pacifiers in her mouth. She gave me that deer-in-the-headlights look and then scrambled back into her bedroom - if only I had a camera for that sight!
I had my first-ever business trip last week. I went to San Diego with some other co-workers to have our last Board of Directors meeting of the year. I think I've mentioned I'm the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of a TB vaccine foundation in Rockville (the name of which I can't mention because it will show up if you Google it and I've already been down that road)...
So anyway, I run all the logistics of our board meetings and one of our members invited us out to his company in La Jolla, so voila! I got to go - and boy, what a beautiful place to see. Check out just a few pictures I took on my very little free time.
Sunset in Del Mar, off the Pacific Coast Highway
At the Hang Gliding Park in La Jolla
Seals at La Jolla Cove
I was away 4 days from my Q-Bug and although it was nice to have the break and be an adult free of any responsibility, I missed the hell out of her! She spent lots of time with Uncle Mike, who took this picture and emailed it to me while I was 3000 miles away - she loves being a cheerleader!
Check out my sweet moves, Uncle Mike!
I spoke with Kirch and Quinn several times while I was away. Quinn would tell me how much fun she was having with Uncle Mike, or Suzanne, or Jenn, depending on which day it was (we had the schedule all set up). And when I asked her if she wanted me to bring her back a present, she'd pipe up, "Yeah, I want a PURPLE present!" So that is what she got! Let me tell you, she actually really put me on the spot! I didn't have much time to shop, so when I finally found time, it really took some effort to find things purple. In the end, I found a purple flower barrette, a purple 20's style headband with a purple Gerber daisy on it, and a soft purple scarf. Here she is, modeling them off, the night I came home and gave them to her!
I look like a movie star, Mommy!
As I said, I really enjoyed my time out West, but it's even better to be back home with my Bug!
It's not very often I get up on my high horse and spout political opinions to... well, anyone (except Kirch, with whom I've gotten into some very good conversations with - and learned a ton from!). But I figure what the hell - this is MY blog, so I'm entitled. But I warn you - I lean WAAAY left!
Last night was one of the most inspiring nights of my life. I saw history in the making. And for once, it was GOOD history. My memories of life-changing events all seem to be tragedies - 9/11, the Oklahoma Bombing, even the stupid OJ Trial (which wasn't really a tragedy, but it was negative, so it counts in my book). Last night it was so great to see a black man become our 44th President of the United States. And to think that what, 50 years ago black people couldn't even sit at the same table in a restaurant with white people... And 200 years ago black people were bought and sold by white people! I'm not a very eloquent speaker (never claimed to be), but my heart was so full of hope last night when Barack Obama and his family took that podium in Illinois with Joe Biden and his family! It was very encouraging to think that we had a record turnout to vote and people put their race issues aside to put who they believed was the best candidate for the job (CLEARLY) in office - well, in January...
I sometimes wonder why was I so selfish to want to bring a child into this crazy, damaged world? It just isn't fair to her that she has to clean up our messes - and boy, are they big messes. But last night, after they called the election, tears ran down my face and I went in and kissed my beautiful little sleeping girl, thinking, we're going to be OK. Obama has a very long, ugly road to travel to get this nation back on it's feet (how our current president let us get here over the past 8 years is something I'll never wrap my head around), but I truly believe he has the smarts and support to do it. I guess time will tell, and maybe I'll eat my words someday (but I don't believe that). Either way - I'm proud that my daughter, even though she won't understand this for many years, is here to be a part of this amazing journey.
She is what it's all about. And HELL YES WE CAN!!!
I love Autumn... It's my favorite time of year. It's our wedding anniversary (we celebrated 8 years on October 6!), it's football tailgates, it's days like yesterday - out on the farm, drinking cider, going on hay rides, picking out pumpkins. I love the oranges and browns that Fall brings to the trees. It's beautiful.
Quinn had a couple of firsts yesterday. She went on her first hay ride and she ran me ragged in her first hay maze. It was the perfect day. Larriland Farm is definitely a place we'd return to for future fall activities!
We still use the monitor for Quinn during naps and overnights. I know she's pushing 3, but her bedroom door sticks and I sleep with a fan on, so it's just easier to have it on so she can call us if she needs to. So every night after we tuck her in, shut off the light and close the door, we can hear Little Miss Chatter Box talking away in the dark - having conversations with her babies, reciting poems she's memorized, and talking to no one in particular. Then we sometimes hear her drawers open and close - great, what is she getting into? Well, we have later found her asleep with a pair of tights pulled up over her pajama bottoms. SO FUNNY. But Thursday night was the "kicker" so to speak. She had gotten into her shoe bin and this is what we witnessed!
Of course I'll never remember all of Quinn's "special" words to describe normal everyday things, but tonight's bedtime story cracked me up so I thought I'd blog it before I forgot. I've forgotten so many of her little Quinn-isms over the past 2 1/2 years, but I couldn't let this one get away!
Kirch and I were both in her room doing the usual routine for bedtime - 1 book with both of us, then one book with either myself or Kirch, whomever's night it may be. It was Kirch's night, so while I was still in there, we were reading her Colors pop-up book. It has different animals drawn in beautiful colors with all sorts of pop-ups and flaps for the little one's eye. We got to the picture/pop-up of the peacock and I asked her what that animal was and she immediately said, "Heecopper!" What a crack up!
One of Mommy's favorite faces - the "mad" face! Painting done at daycare...
We also listen to a lot of adult music in the car - I figure she gets enough kid nursery rhymes at daycare... and one of her favorite songs is, "Pe-ah Pe-upon Us" (better known as "Peace Be Upon Us") by Sheryl Crow. She sings it too! And of course I can't do it justice on the blog, so I guess at some point I'll have to video it and put it up for everyone's viewing pleasure :)
Seriously, who doesn't love bare legs and cowboy boots???
Just last week Poppy and Manka sent her new dress up outfits and one was of her favorite princess, Ariel. Well, she wears that outfit with her little earrings and stands in front of her castle and she just thinks she is "so pwetty, Mommy!"
Why is it that 2-year-olds insist on shoving things up their noses? Kirch sent me a text this morning saying nothing more than, "all is ok, but Chrissy just pulled a sticker out of Quinn's nose." WHY? Why would she do that???
Let me tell you, my daycare has nose picking down to a science. They keep those kids' noses as clear as possible by using a flashlight and tweezers. So you can imagine Chrissy's surprise when she looked up Quinn's nasal canal and found a nice shiny little Spider Man sticker! GROSS!!! Now, this is the first time that Quinn has succeeded in getting something up there without anyone knowing about it while she is in the process. But she's been caught in the act several times with peas, corn kernels and just her plain 'ole finger. What is the fascination? Well, now we can say she's had a bug up her nose... I guess it's better than up her - well, you know.
Kirch got the call from Tiana at daycare on Wednesday that Quinn fell and smacked her cheekbone against the toy box. Boy, what a good one. She's had so many knocks her her poor head and face in her 2-and-a-half short years that I have lost count.
Here is the progression of the nice trophy she has on her face from that fateful spill...
Wednesday - Look what I did, Mommy!
Today - Nice and Purple!
This is the conversation I had with her, asking how she fell and got her boo-boo...
Rox - "Honey, what happened to your cheek?"
Q - "Because, because.... I fell down on the toybox and hit my eye..."
Rox - "How did you fall?" Q - "Because, because... and I tripped and fall..." Rox - "But how did you fall? What were you doing?" Q - "Because, because... I stepped on a dinosaur and I was... with Jaden... and.. and..."
You get the picture - she is speaking in these lengthy sentences with so much passion and excitement, it just breaks my heart it is so cute!!! And "because" is one of her favorite words right now, along with the phrase, "I don't have to." But that one is not said in a malicious or sassy tone, she is using that as sort of an "I don't want to."
Then, to top it all off, after I got her out of the bathtub Wednesday night I was drying her off and... what the heck? There was a tick on her neck! Poor baby! Luckily it was an extremely tiny one that I was able to remove with tweezers and she was soooo good. She just sat there so still and let me take care of it. "Mommy, you have to get the tick?" I can't brag enough on how tough this child is.
Let's hope she has a better weekend than she did this past week, huh?
Well, 2 years have passed and we headed down to Florida for our bi-annual Rudzik Reunion. It was a different dynamic from the last time, as 2 years in a 2-and-a-half-year-old's life makes a HUGE difference! Quinn had a blast going from the pool to the beach, and it certainly kept Kirch and me on our toes!
Wake me up when we start boarding the plane, will ya?
We have had better weather in the past, but it really was pretty good. Hell, we've had much worse weather, too (Hurricane Charley, '04). It was split about half and half. The first 3 days of the trip were really good, then about 2 1/2 days were rainy and overcast, then it ended up on a pretty good note. It seemed that the last night the bugs really came out and made up for the week prior. All three of us ended up with no-see-'em and mosquito bites all over our legs!
A picture from Rachel
Kirch and I had a date on Thursday night, which was so great. Paula watched Quinn (which went swimmingly for both parties involved) so we got the chance to try out a fantastic restaurant called the Garlic. We sat outside in the "jungle." It was awesome, with an indoor/outdoor complete bar attached. The food was wonderful and Kirch and I really got the chance to reconnect as husband and wife. It's always wonderful when we can get alone together and we take advantage of every second that comes our way!
Quinn learned about dragon flies, rainbows, sand crabs, starfish, sand dollars, jellyfish, and much more on her week-long adventure. She was a good traveler on the plane down and back. We had the same flight as Mike, Rachel, Dad and Dorothy, so she had extra attention on the flights!
Aunt Paula, can I have those shells?
It seems now that we have a little one to put to bed early in the evening, our place has become the "hangout." We got lots of Beaver company, along with Matt Dean, Bill & Suzie and the kids, and the list goes on. It makes it easier for us to be able to socialize while Quinn gets the much needed sleep to prepare for the next day of sand, water and sun!
Me and my boy Kevy Joe
Kirch's awesome picture of the dolphin in the sound!
It's amazing how fast 2 years goes by. The last time we headed for Florida Quinn was 5 months old. Here we are, heading down tomorrow morning for the bi-annual (is that right? every other year?) Rudzik Family Reunion in New Smyrna Beach. Quinn is so excited to "go on a pwane to Fworida!" Yes, you heard it - we're going on a plane this time. For the first time, since MY first time down with Kirch in '99, we are flying. The last time around took a toll on all of us - we drove down, drove back, then had to drive to MI 2 days later to take care of my mom's place after she died (while we were in FL). Obviously, the sting of that month of August still smarts. So I mentioned to Kirch that I really wanted to fly this year. SOLD. Kirch hates to drive but has always made the sacrifice for the sake of saving money. Well, with gas prices the way they are this year, I'm figuring we're somewhere around breaking even.
ANYWAY, not that I post a bunch nowadays, but I will make sure to blog when we return home safe and sound next Saturday. Here is to a wonderful week-long vacation!
So I want to at least make mention of my trip to Michigan with Quinn - over 4th of July weekend. I'm only about a month late. It has just gotten so crazy with trying to live life and keep a blog current!
Our trip home was a great one. We really enjoyed ourselves and Poppy and Manka Swanson had lots of fun with Quinn this time around! We spent lots of time riding bikes, riding rides at the Pickerel Tournament, playing in the kiddie pool, and eating lots of good grilled food! We spent a day with the Coppenses and the Koltzes, hung out with Uncle Swany and Aunt Jessica, and just did lots of nothing (but it was SO great) in Algonac. AND, who knew Trouble could draw such a crowd!
Seriously, this game will PISS YOU OFF!!!
Uncle Alex and Aunt Sara are keeping me company!
I'm on the ride all by myself!
Uncle Swany, Poppy, Manka and Aunt Jessica at the Pickerel Tournament
Me and Soapy eating lunch!
Uncle Pat, thanks for letting me help you fix the door!
I LOVE playing in puddles!
I actually got a couple of hours out with Shane and Brad to watch the fireworks and sit in the hot tub, and had dinner with Grace and her boyfriend (yep, I said it - BOYfriend!) Cameron. Who knew Grace would fall in love with a guy after being a lesbian her whole life! Go figure :-)
My new boyfriend, Brad
Me & Grace!
So, it's not a long post, but you get the gist of it - we really had a great time!
I have several events to catch up on... our trip to MI and my girls trip to New York, most importantly. But not tonight - I finally just caught up on sorting and putting away pictures from the past 3 months.
I will blog soon - I promise! Until then, here are a couple pictures of my cutie...
I am not one to carry a big purse at all. I mean ever.
Well, I finally broke down today and bought a "mom purse" at Target (for $13.95, thank you very much!). It was time - Quinn is in that transition between pull-ups and undies, so I needed a purse big enough to carry one or 2 pull-ups and wipes so I could finally lose the diaper bag. Here it is... sort of makes me sad to carry this:
Is it that bad? Girls (guys, too, I guess), please leave your comments - I need to know how uncool I just became...
No, that's not a radio station - that was my daughter's temperature late Saturday night! Another narrow escape from the emergency room - but we've finally visited urgent care... Ugh!
Anyway, Saturday was great all day - I took Quinn to the National Zoo in the morning, where we met some of the group for our June playdate. We strolled along in the sweltering heat, and the highlight of the trip was getting to see a panda bear ba-dump ba-dumping through the grass and water right in front of us! Here is the video I was fortunate enough to get...
Saturday afternoon we dropped Quinn off at Jenn and Josh's and headed over to Rosella's for her 30th birthday party. What a great time! Jeannine and Mark were there, and it ended up with several of us couples in the living room talking about everything from our weddings to comics to whatever was the hot topic of the moment. Oh, sweet adult time. I forget how much it is needed every now and then...
When we got to Jenn's at about 7:30, Quinn looked beat, but happy. They had gone to the pool for a few hours and she had the chlorine blurry-eyed look. But we could tell she'd had a great time. Jenn said she was so good all day - she told her every time she had to go potty and then at the end of the evening she was standing with their 2 dogs near the couch and peed in her pants. When Jenn asked Quinn why she was standing in a puddle, Quinn swiftly replied, "The doggy did it!" I have NO idea where that came from, but Kirch and I about died when Jenn told us that story! She blamed it on the dog - how original!!!
Well, we headed home, and then it all began - in the 10 minutes it takes to get to our house, Quinn broke out with a raging fever. She was burning up when I got her out of the car seat! We got her inside and took her temp, which was 103.7. Oh my gosh! What the heck? Well, Kirch and I knew it was another ear infection - we could just feel it in our bones. So Kirch called the on-call nurse and she just told us as long as Quinn was acting ok, to give her some Tylenol and keep an eye on her overnight. No need for ER or urgent care just yet, but to definitely have her seen by an urgent care doctor within 24 hours. Let me tell you how thankful I was that we had put her in her big girl bed earlier that week! I slept with her and we both woke up about midnight, where I checked her temp again -and.... 104.1? Woah! But we remembered the nurse saying we didn't have to worry about taking her to the ER until it was over 105. But I don't care what anyone says, it's stressful when your kiddo has a fever that high! I had a 106 fever when I was about 2ish, and my parents had to take me to the ER because I was hallucinating!
Well, Kirch jumped in bed with us and Quinn stayed up for over an hour - not complaining, not asking to get up, just restless - like she couldn't get comfortable. Never ONCE did she complain that her ear hurt! Tough cookie, that girl... Well after 1am her fever finally broke and she fell asleep until 8am Sunday morning. We called Urgent Care and got in at 11am when, viola - the doctor said she had an ear infection in her left ear. Shocker. That's 3 in 6 weeks! The doctor says 6 ear infections in 1 year or standing fluid for 6 months constitutes tubes... I think we're pretty much on our way.
Quinn is still her normal self. She's taking her medicine, and fighting a fever on and off (apparently it can take up to 2 days for the medicine to really grab hold and squeeze out the fever), but going to daycare at the doctor's orders and we are still allowed to fly home tomorrow night - thankfully!!! So it's been a crazy couple of days, backed up by the past 6 weeks or so. We have to go see Dr. Potter as soon as we get back to get a recommendation of what to do next. I dread tubes, but if it keeps Quinn from getting infection after infection, I know in my heart of hearts it is the right thing to do.
We did it - Wednesday night Kirch took apart Quinn's crib and we introduced her to her "big girl bed," which is a double bed mattress on the floor. No box spring, no frame. We figured we'd start small - if she rolls off, she's only got 6 inches to fall. Hell, she could sleep through it - half on, half off!
I was SO excited to get her into a big bed. But I have to admit, as the crib came apart and we got her new bed made and were getting ready for her first night in it, i was a little bit sad. It was the end of the "baby" era. She is never going to sleep in a crib again! How is it that my child is 2 years old already?
She really has done a great job in her own bed these past 2 nights. On Wednesday night, Kirch and I both put her to bed. Usually we switch off every other night. But we both laid on her new bed with her and read her a couple of stories to get her comfortable. She was so excited all day about it, but when the moment of truth came, I could hear the anxiousness in her little voice. After story #2, Kirch did step out so I could turn out the light and lay with her to make her comfortable. Once I left, it didn't take long for her to stand at her closed bedroom door and cry, "Mommy! Mommyeeeeeee!" She doesn't try to open her door, which surprises me, because she always tries to open my closet doors and the bathroom doors all the time. Anyway, after about 5 rounds of this, the last time I tucked her in, that was it. She'd fallen alseep, and it didn't take me laying in there with her! All told, the whole process took about an hour. Not bad for Night #1.
Me and all my favorite things!
Last night I had my last work softball game, so Kirch had the duty all to himself. He said it took about 4 or 5 tries, but only a total of about 45 minutes for her to fall asleep. She did wake up at about 3am, so I went in to lay with her. Less than 10 minutes later, she was back out and I headed back to bed until I heard her calling for me at 20-to-7 this morning. We're gonna be fine...
A bunch of doll babies!
So she's potty trained (save a couple of accidents here and there) and in a big girl bed. We are heading home to MI next week, and Poppy and Manka are going to see a whole different side of their granddaughter!!!
