Grandpa Rog.

Where to even start writing about all that has happened the last couple weeks!  It's been way too long since I wrote my last blog post.  this one is dedicated to my dad.  He is the most easy-going, best dad I could ever ask for.  He never complains and never has anything negative to say.  I was so glad to have him with us on the way out to Okinawa and for an entire week.  We are going to miss him so much!

Working backwards...

Today (actually just an hour ago) my dad left from Okinawa.  He was here for a week and we had such a nice time with him.  He had an abundance of fresh fish, he went on many, many walks (I calculated a total of 35-40 miles this week), played cards, drank wine, drank beer, a little shopping, and just simply enjoyed every minute of his company.  Our flight over to Okinawa was interesting.  Not sure what else to say about it.  What I do know is that I am very excited to not be doing that flight ever again.  Mom and Mary dropped us all off at the airport on Tuesday morning Aug 4 and that was the start of a loooooong 22 hours.  All the logistics went without a headache for the first time in awhile, but we were all very exhausted.  It was about 2am our body time when we got to Tokyo and we still had to grab our luggage, get through immigration, shuttle to the other terminal, and wait for our domestic flight on JetStar.  That all took about 5 hours... with no sleep.  Quinn was on her 78th wind at that point and acting crazy, but very happy. She crashed hard right before we left for Okinawa and was in and out of sleep for the 2.5 hour flight back.  It is so much worse coming to Okinawa than it is leaving.  There's something about getting off that long flight knowing you have 5 hour layover only to get on another flight - short or not - that stinks.  So my dad is heading home now - but I think he'll be just fine.  No kids to worry about, all the beer/wine he wants (Delta is awesome) and as many movies he wants to watch!  Lucky guy :)  Here are a few pictures of our 24 hour travel day and time in Okinawa.  We sure miss him already!!!!

Unfortunately, we were not able to get an extra seat for Quinn.  The next best thing was the aisle with more leg room so she was able to lay down and sleep and play with her toys.  She did pretty well with all of it.  For about 2 hours she kept wanting to get into the aisles, but I needed to get the blood flowing again anyway!

This was in the Tokyo airport waiting for our domestic flight to Okinawa.  At this point Quinn had slept 2 hours in about 20 hour span of time.  She was running all over the place!  Oh, if you look closely that's her with no pants on.  She had 4 messy diapers on the long flight and went through a pair of pjs - and spilt water all over her other pair.  Lesson learned - you can never bring enough pjs on a flight!

DADDY!!!!!! 

Of course we need to have a beer after no sleep and 24 hours of travel with a small 13 month old toddler.

First day back home.  Her jet lag (which means my jet lag, as well) took about 4-5 days.  I think we are snapped back into our routine now!!

First morning at home having breakfast with Grampy.

Now on to our fun time here in Okinawa!  I'll let the pictures tell the story about how much fun we had!!!

Sushi on the floor!

Great helper at the commissary :)

Hi Quinn!

Dad's tennis lesson :)  He has a new backhand!

Happy hour friends.  Missing in photo: Liza and Roger

Morning that Grandpa left.  He had 2 carry-ons and that's it!! 

WE LOVE YOU GRANDPA!!!!

Lake Life @ Lenningers

I always think the 4th of July should be spent on a lake somewhere so that's exactly what we did at Lenningers this weekend!  When we got to the house Quinn was still napping in the car so I stayed in there for a bit longer and was appropriately offered a cold brew by Dave (my brother-in-law) as I waited.  I was in the driveway for about 30 seconds before the 1st beer was open.  I'd say that's a good start to the weekend!  We went for dinner that night by boat and all the kids did so great!  Friday we spent some time at the pool, had a fantastic lunch that Erin and Dave put together, and played a lot of ball outside.  Quinn was exhausted!  We ended up leaving Friday afternoon as Erin and Dave had a double date planned and Kylie and Andrew had their own date up in Wisconsin Dells, as well.  When we left Friday afternoon, Quinn was out cold in about 15 seconds.  Sun, water, and cousins can sure wipe a little girl out!  :)  Such a great couple of days.  Thanks Lenningers!

 

Quinn, Ayden, Kate, & Collin.  I'm sure Erin will post much better pictures of these 4 so be sure to check her post!!! 

 

Quinn & Kylie

 

She loved it!

 

Grandpa & Quinn, Erin (Tony's sister) & Ayden (5 1/2 months)

 

Grandma Brown & her girls

Happy 1st Birthday, Quinn

Dear Quinn,

Well, I decided to follow my sisters lead and start writing you letters on your special day.  Today was your golden birthday and we had such a fun time celebrating.  I'll write a separate blog about your party we had tonight another time...but for now, I want to write about all you are doing these days!

Dad actually wasn't able to be here for your birthday this year.  He's in Australia on an exercise and we are back home at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a few weeks before returning to Okinawa.  I know you are missing him as much as I am...but we will have to celebrate extra hard when we are all together again!  Every time I talk to him he always tells me how much he loves and misses you.  We are 2 very lucky ladies to have that guy, aren't we!!!??

For the past month you have been taking steps, but you decided just 2 days ago that you were ready to walk everywhere with no help!  You still like to hold fingers so you can get to where you need to go faster, but for the most part you are one independent girl on a mission.  Speaking of independent girl, you know exactly what you want, when you want it - and for the most part you know how to get it, too.  You love watching kids (especially your cousins) and have already started acting like one of the "big kids".  It's pretty cute, but please just wait on that part!  I'm not ready for you to grow up too fast!

You have 7 words right now "ice" (eyes), "ah duh" (all done), "ma ma", "da da", "hahhhhh" (hot), and "ssssss" (shoes).  You are taking two naps a day for about 60-90 minutes each.  I can't remember the last time you ever reached that 2 hour mark!  Hopefully it's in our cards someday :).  You are doing SO much better with people you don't see on a daily basis.  You've been surrounded by a whole lot of people back in Decorah that love you to pieces and I think it's "broken" you in a bit.  You play pretty well by yourself, which makes me really happy, however, you also put just about everything in your mouth so I get worried when I don't watch you every second!  We've had to take small pine cones, wood chips, rocks, and tape out of your mouth numerous of times.  You love your bath and have really been into your babies lately.   Grandma Huinker just bought you some play bottles and you love to feed your babies. It warms my heart.  You are still getting up once or twice a night, taking whole milk before naps and bed, and nursing once a day.  I have no complaints about your sleep these days because we've come so far BUT I am so excited to have you sleep through the night sometime!! :)

I could go on and on about you, Quinn.  You have brightened every single day of ours (even the rough ones) and we wouldn't change a thing about you.  Love you.

Mama & Dada.

Picture Post Past Due

We are having a ton of fun back home!  I can't believe I haven't written a blog yet about all of our happenings...but the days are sure flying by.  Tony left about 2 weeks ago and we are definitely missing him.  We were able to FaceTime a few times when he was back in Okinawa, but now he is in Australia for 21-28 days with no cell phone.  We're hoping he can somehow find internet to check his email, but he'll be in the field the whole time.  We are definitely excited to see him when we go back on Aug 4th!  Not that we're ready to leave though ;)  Instead of explaining everything we've been doing - I'll let you see for yourself!

Quinn is 11 months.

My baby is no longer much of a baby!!! We have one happy, outgoing, clingy, crazy, mocking, sweet girl on our hands these days.  For the past week, Quinn has been taking a few steps on her own.  I still don't think walking will be in our very near future because she is such a fast and great crawler, but I'm sure I'll be surprised when she decides to give it more of a go! 
She is currently in size 3 diapers and size 4 at night.  12-18 month tops, bottoms ranging from 6-12 months.  Last time she was weighed about 2-3 weeks ago she was just over 20 lbs.  Here is a small list of some of her favorite things right now :)

Favorite foods:  green beans, peas, noodles & red sauce, blueberries, raspberries, & many things off of mom and dad's plate. 

Favorite show:  Well, we haven't really gotten into shows yet, but I will fully admit that having "Barney Dance" or "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" on while I make dinner or need to get a couple things done sure is nice!

Favorite outdoor activity: walking with her ladybug cart and pushing anything she possibly can! 

Favorite toy: babies, balls, some books, and her play table.

Favorite "not-a-toy": silverware, wooden spoons, remotes, iPhones, iPads, magazines, pillows, shoe strings,  and the list goes on and on.

Favorite sounds to make: dadadadadadada, mumumumumum, ahhh (for "eyes") screeches and squeels and has many different laughs that get dad and I really laughing!!!

Mom's favorite things right now:  The way she mocks everyone that sneezes or coughs and all of her hugs and kisses.  THEY'RE AMAZING!!!!

Dad's favorite things right now: "everything about her"

Our Trip Home

     We are 10 days into our stay back home and loving it!  We had a pretty good trip back the great U.S.A, but it  also came with some frustration, tears, and a few swear words.
   
     We were set to depart from Okinawa on Saturday, May 23rd at 12:10pm. We checked in, boarded, and had a great first 2 hour flight with Quinn.  I had a good feeling about the next leg of our trip so things were looking good! When we got to Tokyo it was an absolute nightmare.  Not only because we had 2 big suitcases, a pack 'n play, golf clubs, 2 shoulder bags, a big BOB jogging stroller, and a baby (I forgot my baby bjorn) but we also had to go to a different terminal pressed on time!  We couldn't find anyone that spoke english or helpful signs in our native language..so we walked around for a few minutes (that we didn't have) hoping to find something or someone to tell us what to do or where to go.  We eventually came across an "information" desk and the kind gentleman showed us the way.  We had to take a shuttle (with ALL our luggage) to a different terminal and that bus didn't come for about 20 minutes.  Our flight departed at 4:40pm and when we got on the bus it was 4:07pm.  Do-able, but unlikely we'd make it.  When we checked into Delta the ladies at the counter were super nice.  They quickly took our bags, escorted us to the front of security line and then to the front of immigration.  To be honest, I didn't think we would actually miss the flight because there's no way I could have 2 awful experiences in a row going home. Well, that I did.  Turns out when I came back to the states last September they stamped my passport  as if I was a 90 day visitor to Japan and not actually living there.  That was their fault.  So while we are sweating at the counter of immigration wondering what the heck was taking so long (with the Delta lady waiting for us so she could lead the way) - it turns out we had to go to the information desk and sit here for 2 hours - obviously missing our flight - trying to convince them I was on Tony's military orders without actually having them in our hands.  Luckily my friend and neighbor, Jayne was able to go into our house and scan them for us so they could see I am not a 90 day visitor and that I do live there.  What a nightmare! I cried instantly, but there was nothing I could do at that point.  So we got a hotel, stayed for a night, and flew out the next day at the same time.       
     Quinn did amazing on the 10.5 hour flight. I gave her an A+!!!!! She slept 6.5 hours on her own seat that we were fortunate to get and Tony stayed up the whole time playing a golf game on the mini screen of his and was able to even catch a movie.  I tried to sleep, but I couldnt.  I also couldn't watch a movie - just was focused on Quinn and making sure she was ok!  When we got to Minneapolis, we were greeted by our parents with open arms and man did that feel good. Quinn was very attached to me and wouldn't let go of my neck that her arms were so tightly hugging. Poor girl hasn't really met her awesome grammy and grampys so she wasn't too sure who these people with big happy smiles were!

     Quinn and I got into my parents car and within 15-25 seconds, Quinn was out.  It was 4am her body time...
    We are still thrilled to be home and will write a blog soon about all we are doing here!! You can bet it's a lot of eating, drinking, golfing, playing tennis, running, biking, and playing :)

 

Going through the security line :)

 

Thank goodness for "Mr. Peabody & Sherman"  She watched it for a long time!!!

 

This is how it looked when we got off the plane.  She was NOT letting go!

 When we got in my parents car, Quinn was crying like crazy because she was so tired and probably a little scared.  She reached for me and hugged while she was in the car seat and she fell asleep doing so.  It was pretty cute.  Sweet girl was just exhausted.  So was I!!!

Quinn is 10 months old

Happy 10 month birthday to our sweet girl!  Things around here are getting busier and busier everyday with this little tyke.  Here's a little wrap up about what she's doing these days.

Size  She may be tall with a big head, but this girl has one small waist.  She is currently in 12-18 month tops/dresses and a size or 2 smaller in pants.  Size 3 diapers during the day (until my pack is gone) and size 4 diapers at night.  My guess is that her weight is between 18.5-19.5 lbs.

Sleeping Had I written about this about 2-3 weeks ago, it wouldn't have been pretty.  However, Quinn has been doing much better with her naps and throughout the night.  She has started sleeping until 6:30-7:00am which has been amazing.  One day this past week I was even up before she was and enjoyed some Yahoo news and a cup of coffee!  Oh, the small things.  She naps for 60-90 minutes in the morning and around 90+/- minutes in the afternoon.  It's nice to finally be able to count on an hour plus to get some things done around the house!  Quinn doesn't like to be alone before she falls asleep, but has no problem laying in her crib with our hands on her back until she does.  Sometimes it takes a few minutes during the day with her, but luckily we don't have to do it at all right before bed.  She gets up twice (sometimes 3 times) a night, but now that Tony has taken 1 of those times things are much better for mom :)

Eating I can't quite tell if she's a good eater, a picky eater, or just simply a bad one.  She likes what she likes and will throw whatever she doesn't straight to the floor.  Her favorite food by far right now are blueberries. She can't pile them in fast enough.  She also likes sweet peas, toast with butter, whatever mom is eating (she'll try it), bananas, yogurt, and smoothies where I can hide some important ingredients :).  She is still nursing, but we have actually tried straight formula and she took it like a champ.  It's not everyday, but in case I need to be gone or when we go home this summer - depending on the pumping situation....we know that formula can work!  I plan on trying whole milk shortly after 11 months.

Playing  Toys that are not toys still remain our favorites around here.  She loves to empty out a drawer, laundry basket, tries to pull out all the baby wipes, baggies out of the ziplock box, diapers out of the box, shoes out of the bin...you get my point.  She also loves water bottles, chapstick, keys, credit cards, and anything I have at that moment.  She does play with her actual toys, too :)  She's usually crawling around with one of her babies or stuffed animals and gives them great big hugs.  Tony has been bringing out a few tennis balls and rolling them around with her.  Hopefully her excitement doing this is an indicator of the next 18+ years on the tennis court.  Quinn has officially found her feet.  We go in the jogger everyday and often times when I look down at her she's got her feet in her mouth.  Tony initially thought it was pretty gross, but when I told him her feet are probably cleaner than her hands, he quickly agreed.  There hasn't been a whole lot of interest in standing alone or walking yet.  I'm getting a little anxious because so many times she wants out of my hands and on the ground - which I can't always do!  She is constantly moving, loves to hug, loves to bury herself in as many pillows as she can on the couch, and crawls as fast as humanly possible to the door when dad comes home from work.  Gosh, we sure love this girl!

A Great Weekend

This past weekend was definitely one for the books!  I told Tony on Sunday night that it was the best weekend yet in Okinawa and we've had some good ones :)

Saturday morning I got to sleep in a little bit and after Quinn went down for her morning nap, I went to the grand opening at the new mall!  It only took about 10 minutes to get there, but once I did it took another 30 minutes to find a parking spot.  It was worth it.  I only went to a couple of stores because the lines were so long other places!  Not to worry, I did some damage at these two stores.  It's been awhile since I've been in a "real" mall.  Tony and Quinn had a nice afternoon together!  I texted him just once and requested a picture of the two of them.  I missed them, but not tooooo much ;)

Saturday night Tony and I went on our first date since being back home last summer.  My friend/neighbor Jayne came over at 6:00pm after we put Quinn to bed.  We went back to mall and shopped a little bit and ate at the Orion Beer Terrace.  The food was delicious!  Oh how I've missed a good piece of steak.  The beer was average, but that's ok.  It was such a fun evening.  I wasn't too worried leaving Quinn and luckily she slept the whole time we were gone.  Regardless, I knew she was in good hands and this date was so needed!  I even decided to dress up a little and put on some heels.  Yes, I wore heels to the mall.  First and maybe last time I'll ever do that.  We could have gone to the Family Mart (similar to Casey's back home) and I would have worn heels.  

Not the best picture, but this is the entrance to the mall.

My favorite place to shop there.  It's pretty awesome. I guess you could call it the "hippie" store, which I will refer to it as the rest of the time living here.

That's a clutch in my hand.  Not a diaper bag - YAY!!!!

Sunday was yet another perfect day.  The weather was more than I could have asked for.  75, sunny, low humidity. We packed our beach bag while Quinn took her morning nap and left right when she woke.  We drove out towards Yomitan where we used to live and went to "our" spot which we love to go to.  Quinn did awesome and actually enjoyed the water this time.  Of course, she still is confused a little with the sand.  As Tony said, it's like a giant beach of "puffs" for her....

To top off the weekend, Tony was able to golf 18 holes after we got back from the beach.  :)

SUCH A GREAT WEEKEND!

About Mom & Dad

I think it's time I write a post about Tony & I and not just Quinn!  She is the queen of this house and center of our world right now, but here's how her parents are doing!

Truth is, we are counting down the months until we PCS (permanent change of station) from Okinawa.  We have roughly 14 months left!  Time has flown these last 10 months...hmmm...wonder why :)  Although we are definitely looking forward to being back in the states, things here are better than ever for me.  I feel like I've got my routine down and know more about this island than ever before.  And that's not a whole lot.  I owe a lot of it to my friend, Jayne who has shown me the "fun" stuff around here.  I grocery shop off base more often than I ever have (and saving a lot more money by doing so!) and know my way around a bit more, too.  Life is pretty simple here and I've chosen to enjoy it and embrace it for the time being.  On Saturday there is a new mall opening in Okinawa just 10 minutes from my house.  You can bet your bottom dollar I will be there this weekend.  There is no way I would EVER go to a mall on opening weekend...other than now.  Tony is looking forward to a full day with Quinn while I am away!  Of course, this won't be just a short trip ;)  

Tony has been busy at work - which is nothing new.  This unit has been pretty crazy for him and I couldn't be more proud of all his hard work.  There really isn't enough time in a day to do all he is doing.  Not sure how he does it and on top of it all - puts on his "dad" hat every time he comes in the front door.  He just got back from Sendai, Japan which he really enjoyed.  He was there for just a couple of days and got to relax a little, do some work, shop a bit, and I guess get over the awful cold he's had.  He leaves for Australia towards the end of June for 3-4 weeks... I'll get him to do a post here soon.  It's time :)

That's all for now!

Happy SPRING

at the zoo

they look nothing alike. ;)

visiting daddy-o at work

walking to the park

9 Months Old

Well, we've made it to 9 months.  I'm happy to report Quinn is one happy girl loved by two very grateful and blessed parents.  She is always keeping us on our toes and showing us new things each week.  Sometimes I wonder how things can get any more fun than they already are ... think again!  Every month since July 1st I have told people that "this is my favorite stage."  I've said that 9 times.  Because this is my favorite stage NOW!!!!

Quinn is pulling herself up on everything and anything these days.  She started pulling up on most things in Feb/March, but now it's standing up and bracing herself on the refrigerator, cupboards, my legs, and many other things that could result in a bang of the head.  I have to say, she has a pretty good fall.  It's as graceful as you can expect a 9 month old to have when he/she falls, but that doesn't mean I'm not a bit worried when I see her across the room standing up against the fridge!  She's started to roll onto her stomach and slide down the couch to a standing position, as well.  She's learning :)

Our doctor was happy with Quinn's progress.  She weighs 18.74lbs (50th percentile) and is 29.53 inches in length (99th percentile - no surprise there!) with a head circumference of 47cm (99%).
She is in size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night.  Depending on the brand of course, she is wearing mostly 12 month tops and still 6-9/9 month pants.

Sleeping is getting better - or at least it has become more predictable which is all I can ask for!  She apparently loves to wake up at 5:50am, which is a little inconsiderate since I would looooove to just get up around 6:30am!  She is up twice a night usually around 10pm and 3am.  We had one night that she got up once and it was heavenly!  I woke up that night and ran in to her room to be sure she was still breathing!  That tells you how foreign one awakening per night is to this family :).  We'll get there.

Quinn is quite the faker lately.  She has a fake cough and a fake laugh.  It's hilarious.  Her facial expressions are also pretty cute I have to admit.  When she is done eating her dinner she squints her eyes and puckers her lips.  When there's something we feed her that doesn't sit well on her palate (she's so spoiled) she makes a face as if we were feeding her lutefisk.  She gags, shivers her body, gets goosebumps, and makes a "gross" sound.  I have to get this on video!

We are in full effect of what you call "stranger danger."  It depends on the situation, but most of the time she won't let me or Tony out of sight and doesn't willingly go to many adults.  Give her some time to warm up and she's much better :)

She walks (on the floor) from one end of the couch to the other with no problem and can walk forward pushing our laundry basket once in awhile.  She can't stand alone yet, but sure that will be our next milestone coming one of these weeks/months!

This girl is in to eeeeeeverything.  Currently her favorite things to do is "help" me with laundry, play with tupperware, pick up tiny crumbs that Tony drops in the kitchen (ha!), the play table that Beth gave her, cell phones, remotes, cords, throwing diapers out of the basket, and pulling my hair.  And we wouldn't change any of it.  Love you, monkey!