Ticks and Shiners

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?

It Looks Almost Professional!

I could say, "Yeah, I meant to do that..." but it wouldn't quite be true. A little luck with lighting and voila! A beautiful picture of my daughter!!!

I'm not going to hold this pose forever - hurry up and snap the picture!

The Florida Trip

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!

Is It That Time Already?

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!