Daycare Dilemma SOLVED!

Yay! Tianna worked out for us last night! So Quinn will start in her daycare on Monday, August 20th, after we get back from vacation. We put the deposit down, now I just have to fill out the forms and have Quinn's pediatrician fill out the medical forms. Kirch and I both feel very good about our choice. There are a couple of drawbacks - Tianna lives in Germantown, so dropping Quinn off won't be quite as convenient as it was before. She's also in a small townhouse, so it's a bit cramped, but she has it so clean and welcoming that it was easy to overlook. There is a playground just out her front door and a big yard out her back door, so there is lots of room for the kids to get their energy out :-) And Tianna's idea of a "snack" is a bit more than we'd give Quinn, so we may have to adjust that so when she comes home in the evening, she'll be hungry for dinner! But it was so apparent that Tianna really takes her work and the children she cares for seriously. She does a daily journal for each kid, she has a breakfast/lunch/snack schedule for each day of the week - all the food of which SHE supplies (along with milk, too!), she runs a preschool program when the kids turn 2... the list goes on and on. We were just thrilled with her energy and compassion last night. We spent over an hour there and Tianna fed Quinn a snack of crackers, apples and raisins. It was a great feeling knowing that Quinn will be cared for by a woman like her.

Now we can go on vacation with that weight off our shoulders!

Catching Up From Last Week...

Well, it's been Potter-mania for the past 2 weeks since the final installment of the Harry Potter series came out. I accidentally had my book sent to Pop's house in MI, so Sponge was kind enough to lend me his copy (since he read it in like 2 days!)... I've been trying to read it every chance I get, on top of keeping a semi-clean house, grocery shopping, daycare hunting, preparing for vacation next week... you get the drift. So I'm about 200 pages into it, and already sad that this will be the last book I read about my beloved Harry!

Quinn had company yesterday! Natalie and Sponge came over to watch the Brickyard race (Tony Stewart won, by the way) and have dinner. We made spaghetti and I watched Kirch and Sponge do several beer/pop chugs. I refrained this time - my 16:24 last weekend with Kirch and Sponge will have to hold for a while :-) Anyway, Natalie and Quinn were so cute - they shared Quinn's new couch/futon bed and were pretty cozy all evening. Quinn was definitely a bit much for Natalie to handle... it's the first time I've seen my child be a bit smothering to another child! We were constantly saying, "Quinn, no... Quinn, back off a bit... Quinn, be nice..." But Natalie took it in stride and was a very patient little girl!

Hmmm, Natalie - it's usually ME under the sleeping bag!

I've noticed more and more that Quinn is becoming a Chatty Cathy nowadays. She mimicks us a LOT now. Kirch has taught her "nice".... (Niiiiiiiiiiiiii....!), and she says Ma Ma, Da Da, Hi, Buh Bye, Wow, Woah, Mine and she signs "eat". So she is coming along nicely! She also went to bed last night without her pacifier for the first time since just before we left for MI at the beginning of the month... I'd REALLY like to get her off of it before we go on vacation next week, or before she starts her new daycare. We've got 8 days to pull that off - fingers crossed! I don't have the utmost confidence it is going to happen, but we're going to try again tonight when it's time for bed. We'll see!

I just love catching these bubbles, Mom!

We head over to visit a woman by the name of Tianna Fogle after work this evening. She runs a daycare out of her townhouse in Germantown and I just loved talking to her over the phone. We're hoping she is "The One" and we can put a deposit down for a spot for Quinn tonight. I'm not going to go into all of the things I love about her until it is official - I don't wanna get my hopes up until after our meeting with her tonight! HOPEFULLY I'll be able to post some good news tomorrow :-)

What a Shock!

Get this - Quinn got fired from her daycare on Monday! Rubina gave me the excuse that it's Quinn's age and she's just so much work, doesn't have help, is worried that D.J. is going bite her again, etc... but Kirch and I truly think that she is MOSTLY terrified that D.J. will bite her again and then she'll have a mess on her hands. So WHY is Quinn the one to get penalized for D.J.'s bad behavior??? Because Rubina is making this personal and she can't get rid of D.J. because he's been there longer and "his grandmother relies on me." Well, WE rely on you too, Rubina! But what's done is done and I'm already looking for other daycare providers that will love Quinn for who she is - a curious, active, GOOD little girl! We will have her out of Rubina's on the 8th - the day we leave for North Carolina - if all goes well. She'll start a new place on the 20th, when we're back to work. I just look at my sweet daughter and think, how could anyone NOT want her???

Last Saturday Quinn and I did some serious running around. We headed to Grandma Kircher's for a while, then headed out to WalMart to pick up some stuff. Poor kid, she was such a good sport, but it was way WAY past her nap time. By the time we got home it was 1:30 and i still had to feed her lunch before I put her down for her nap. She was one pooped little girl...

I just need to close my eyes for a second...

Our home has officially turned into a toy tornado. I don't even bother to try to keep up anymore. There are toys covering our bedroom floor, Quinn's bedroom floor and the living room floor. She plays with any and all things. She especially likes boxes (well, what kid doesn't?). She and Tiki had some fun with a box that my new pair of boots came in this weekend. Check them out!

Hi Tiki! That looks like fun, can I try?

See? I fit just as good as Tiki did in here!

Stay Cool, Baby...

I don't know why, but since I've become a mom, I've not been one to let Quinn run around in just a diaper. It's not for any decided reason, I just always dress her, even if it's just in a onesie. Maybe it's because she has so many clothes, I don't want to not take the opportunity to dress her up in all of her cute outfits! Whatever the reason, that's how it's been since Quinn has been around. The other day I gave her a bath and actually opted NOT to put her in clothes for a little while. She was just all belly and diaper. And I gotta admit, she wears it well!

Uncanny, isn't it? My belly looks like Mommy's used to!

February, 06 - 34 weeks pregnant

I bought Quinn her very own pair of sunglasses the other day while out and about, running errands. She just loves playing with our shades, so I figured we'd get her her own to play with. Well, she's getting very good at actually wearing them for long periods at a time... and when I say "long" periods, I mean for more than the time it takes for us to pull our hands away from having just placed them on her face! We need to invest in a play cell phone next because she's getting very chatty on our real phones and she's bound to either really call someone by accident (our luck it will be 911) or she's going to break our phones!

Mom finally got wise enough to buy me my OWN shades...

I went to Kirch's End-of-Summer Tennis Banquet last night (as I do every year). Jenn & Josh watched Quinn and had a great time with her. Jenn says she got some cute pictures of Quinn sitting in her collapsible cooler and on a little decorative bench, so I'm anxious to get those shots and post them on here. Hopefully soon!

Those Hazy Days of Summer...

Saturday afternoon is what summer is all about in my book. Jim & Stacy Perrus had a big BBQ at their house and nearly the whole state of Maryland showed up. It was the perfect summer day, too. Not too hot or humid, with just the right amount of breeze to keep the bugs away. Everyone brought a dish, just about everyone brought a kid (or 2 or 3), and it was so much fun catching up with all of our friends. It was even more fun watching the kids interact with each other. I got some great pictures and I'm enjoying everyone else's shots, also. Here are just a couple:

Quinn and Troy chumming it up together

Higher Uncle Jimbo, HIGHER!!!

After the BBQ, we headed to Kenny & Jessica's for the evening. Quinn went down without a hitch and we stayed up to visit for several hours. Jim and Leen showed up and we were all up until 1:30ish. JUST TOO LATE for me anymore - it's too hard to get up with a child the next morning and actually function! So when Quinn went down for her marathon nap yesterday, so did Kirch and I. I swear, I need another day to catch up! I'm just too old for this anymore...

In other news, I cut all of my hair off after about 4 years of growing it out and having it long. I was due. It is a fantastic cut (in my opinion) and I've had lots of compliments on it. I think even Kirch is telling the truth when he says he likes it!

Hmmm, I know Mommy likes it this way, but I miss playing with her long hair...

More Words...

They're coming hard and fast now - the words in Quinn's vocabulary, get your mind out of the gutter! She is saying "hi" now and "hi kitty," although to the untrained ear, "kitty" is pretty inaudible. But to my mommy ears, it's the cutest thing ever! Kirch and I are pretty sure she's saying "mine" now, too. And we're also quite sure that that word has come directly from daycare!

Forget the diapers, Mom, I'm good with the box!

Speaking of daycare, there was an incident this week - Wednesday to be exact. Quinn got bit by one of the boys there! She's got a nice black-and-blue mark on her forearm to prove it. Apparently they were playing with the same toy, which D.J. didn't much care for, so he decided to bite her. My poor kid! Eh, she's a tough cookie. And unfortunately, I'm sure she will do the hurting one of these days... D.J., you'd better look out!

Coasting Through July

Happy 16-Month Birthday, Quinn!

Although we're not obnoxious about Quinn's monthly "birthdays," I did sing Happy Birthday to her this morning in the car on the way to Rubina's. She LOVES that song! Whenever she hears it, she smiles and rocks back and forth to the music. Too cute.

I can't be sure, but I think she's trying to say "kitty" now. It's inaudible to anyone else, but I've been picking up on her sounds lately and sure enough, the sound that comes out of her mouth when the cats are around is the same sound every time. I think she's on the cusp of language explosion. Carrie gives it 2 weeks before we can't shut her up! She's a bit of a babbler, so I'm guessing it will be very soon, also.

Saturday night Quinn went over to her Aunt Paula's for the evening so Kirch and I could attend a party thrown by the Barrons and the Downeys. It was very nice to relax and act like adults without having to constantly keep the parent radar at code red. Quinn was great for Paula - kept her busy, but behaved wonderfully and went down for bed without a problem. We got back to pick her up past 1am and didn't get home and to bed ourselves until about 2:30am. Let me tell you, even though Quinn "slept in" until 7:30, it was still WAY TOO EARLY for Kirch and me! But we both took advantage of her marathon nap later in the day to catch up on some sleep ourselves. We even got to be early last night (just after 9pm), but I'm still wiped out. It takes me 2 days to catch up anymore! It's not fair, this getting old thing. I definitely don't bounce back the way I used to.

And She's Only 16 Months Old!

Big, big news in Quinn's world - she finally said her first official word this morning! We were on the road, going to day care, and she looked at me, waved her little hand and said "Buh Bye!" I just about wrecked the car, I was so proud. Tears sprung to my eyes and as I was fervently praising her, she understood that talking is a good thing and continued to say "Buh Bye" over and over again. She had the biggest smile on her face, and that little hand of her was just a-waving! I called Kirch and put him on speaker-phone to see if he could hear her at all. Of course, he couldn't, and if I put the phone too close to Quinn, she'd stop and try to take the phone out of my hand. So he has yet to hear her, but I was a very, very proud mother this morning. I proceeded to call my dad and Kirch's mom to tell them the huge news - then I called Brenda. Then, when I got to work, I had to email Carrie. You'd think a baby has never uttered a word on this earth, ever. As a mother, there is no greater pride than seeing your child accomplish even the simplest tasks. She took her sweet time to talk, but now it won't ever stop. I'm sure there will be times when I wish for some peace and quiet!

We just got back from Michigan on the 4th of July. We drove out for 4 days and had just the best time. The drives to and from were tough, with accidents, detours, traffic and anything else that could possibly keep us from hitting our destinations. But the time spent in Algonac was some of the best time I've ever spent with my friends and family.

Saturday we went to Al Nugent's fish fry and I ran into Jay Tuttle. I haven't seen him in at least 9 years. It was nice to catch up with him and meet his wife. After we left there, we headed to Shane's. Eric and Jessica showed up, along with some of Shane & Brad's friends, and we proceeded to party it up pretty good. Quinn was such a good girl, I put her in her Pack & Play and she went right to sleep. Even though she is using her pacifier again (she went 2 nights in a row without it before we left for MI), she went right to sleep and stayed asleep through the Saturday night fireworks and our laughing and yelling. She woke up once and once I went in to calm her down, she went right back to sleep. We had a great time, drinking, taking pictures and catching up with Shane and his friends.

Yeah, you SHOULD be excited to be taking a picture with your granddaughter!

Sunday morning Kirch and I both felt rough! But after breakfast back at Pop & Laurie's, we pulled ourselves together and headed over to Pat's parents' house to catch up with Pat & Carrie, and Chad & Brenda. Some of Pat's family was there, and we all headed into town with our kids for the parade. We met up with Jessica, her kids, Amy, and Carol & Wally. After the parade, we headed into the Pickerel Tournament (aka "Dirt Fest") for several hours, catching up with Pop & Laurie, and Eric & Jessica. Laurie offered to take Quinn for the evening, so Kirch and I headed back to Pat's place to hang out with them for a couple of hours before we both came crashing down hard. We were exhausted!

Me, Mommy, Leah and Auntie Jessica at the Pickeral Tournament Parade

Monday we didn't do much of anything, which was soooo nice. We never left Pop's place - Eric & Jess came back out and we had dinner and opened up all of Gail's Christmas presents. Talk about Christmas in July! That night we watched "Pirates of the Caribbean," which I really enjoyed.

Tuesday during the day was another quiet one. Then at 4pm we headed to Jason Taylor's house in Marine City to catch up with him and his family. Chris Kowalski was supposed to show up, but he had to work too late. So it was just Jason, Donna, and their 2 girls and us. We really had a nice evening, eating burgers and dogs on the grill, and trading stories. When we got home, Laurie had bought Quinn and Elmo chair that vibrates and laughs. She loves it! It's sitting in her bedroom now.

It's hard to believe I can just get cuter and cuter!

That was it. Wednesday morning we went to Coney Island for a quick breakfast and then got on the road to come home. It was such a great time, now I can't wait to get home for Christmas!