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!