Big Night Away

I realize that it is now Tuesday, and the shine of my big news has worn off a bit, but I'm still gonna write about it. This past Saturday night was my very first night away from my daughter. This was a momentous occasion for me - I think because the anticipation of it was what was the biggest hurdle to clear. Well let me tell you - I cleared it with flying colors... when can i raise the bar and do it again? HAHA!

No, truly, let me find the right words to say it - it really took more effort to psych myself up for this night than it did to follow through. I went to Stacy Perrus' house to scrapbook and was just exhausted so I had emailed her earlier in the day to see if it would be OK to just stay. When she said yes, I figured there was no turning back. I HAD to cut the cord sometime and better now than when she turns 12 and I'm still working on that first night away. I called Kirch at 9pm to see how bedtime went, then I called at 11:30 to "check" on her. She had gotten up once (which is about par for the course) and went back down with no problems. I figured, hell, that's the worst of it - the rest will be OK. And, it was! I went to bed at 12:30am and never looked back! I had to be up by 6:30am anyway to get myself home before Kirch had to leave for work, so it really made the night go by fast. And when I got home and walked through the door, she couldn't have cared less that I had "abandoned" her for the evening... clearly, Daddy was enough of a comfort for her (not that he isn't any other time!).

So I've done it. What's next? The "Where to babies come from" talk? Her first test drive? Baby steps, Roxanne... baby steps...

Don't worry about me, Mommy - I'll be fine!

Sheryl Crow's Influence

So I'm sitting here, listening to Sheryl Crow's new CD, posting this, wondering what the hell kind of world are we leaving for our children? Will this beautiful creature that Kirch and I have created life a good, safe life in the wake of our selfish mistakes? I know I can't change the world, but I try the best I know how to leave it as much in one piece for her and all of the other children that have to clean up our mess...

This is true innocence...

Sheryl's new CD, like a lot of her past music, is very "save the world" hippie music, which I absolutely love. But she once again gets me thinking... WTF? Poor Quinn, she's got a lot to face in this world. I just hope we can guide her as much as possible, because, she is going to need it. But I digress. This post doesn't need to be anymore negative than it already is.

You'll take care of me, right Daddy?

What a downer, huh? I just had to get it off my chest. I hope to look back on this post and feel the kick in the ass it takes to make me a better person for my daughter...

Chasing bubbles...

I Had to Deliver...

Mike put me on the spot - I had to come through! We spent last Sunday over at the Kline-Kirchers' abode (sans Aunt Rachel - she was in NJ visiting the fam) and Quinn had a blast. Uncle Mike found a way to go sledding without the snow! He used a boat seat cushion for the "sled" and boy, did that go over great. I'm wondering - was Mike sore the next day from how many times he went up on down that hill with his niece??? She adores her Uncle!!!

Here are some shots from the afternoon...

The New Favorite Hat

Kirch took care of Quinn all afternoon last Friday because daycare was closed. They spent the whole day together, going to Starbucks and to the canal in Potomac with Uncle Mike. From what I heard, they had a great time, and Uncle Mike has all those pictures (which I haven't seen, except one - and here it is!)

Fueling up before we head to the canal!

As Mike says, sometimes the cuteness hurts. Ain't that the truth?!? So anyway, during their outing, Kirch and Quinn ended up at Target and Kirch found Quinn this Detroit Tigers hat. In Target. In Maryland. I don't understand it either, but Kirch couldn't pass it up, and Quinn fell in love with it, so I'm thrilled to say that a little piece of home sits on my kiddo's head usually at least once a day for a while!

Other than that, the big news in the Kircher Household is that Quinn is potty training! We're still not full-on yet, but she is going several times a day at daycare and now in the evening when we come home, I put her in her Elmo underwear (which she adores) and she doesn't get into a diaper until bedtime. She's had accidents and she's had great no-drip days, but at least we're working on it! Yesterday we put her on the potty every 20 minutes or so and she did great. At one point, she even stopped dead in her tracks and said "poo poo," which means pee-pee (I don't know why, because she knows the difference) and we got her to the toilet on time, with a little dribble, but we were successful! Tonight, not so much - she peed thru 2 pairs of undies before we finally took a bath. Ah well, it'll come. It's great to at least be training - those no-diaper days are not far away!