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!

iPhone Update

You know it's time for a blog update when your iPhone has run out of space because of all the pictures taken!  We have had such a fun month since Tony has been back.  The weather has been great and we are getting out as much as we can before it turns to the crazy Okinawa summer of heat and humidity.   Fortunately, we will miss most of the summer since we are COMING HOME!!  We bought our tickets a couple weeks ago and are very excited for May 23rd to come :)  Tony will leave mid June and Quinn and I are staying until early August as Tony will be in Australia for work.

Enjoy a few pics!!

This is our new friend and neighbor, Liza.  Liza is 4 months younger than Quinn and is as sweet as can be.  I've never met a 5 month old that sleeps as well as this girl does.  She will fall asleep playing on the floor, sleeps through the night, and I have yet to witness a "cranky pants" Liza!  (Quinn should take a few pointers!) Liza's mom and I go on many walks with these two cuties and "schedule" plenty of happy hours...oooooh the advantages of having a neighbor that lives across the street :) It will be fun to watch these two grow and become little playmates together!

Okinawa has some pretty awesome parks.  Tony and I have always said how much our nieces and nephews would love all the crazy slides and fun swings they all have.  Quinn hasn't developed too much of an appreciation for them yet, but I think by this fall/winter she will love them :)

I hope i'm not jinxing anything, but Quinn has been awesome sitting in the stroller at the courts while Tony and I play tennis.  I hope this is the case for a little while longer!  Once she can walk, she will have a racquet in hand anyway.

John Deere sweatshirt in support of our favorite farmers - Uncle Geoff & Uncle Andy - and Chris Soules (The Bachelor from Arlington, Iowa)

That's dad getting a small handful of sand out of Quinn's mouth. Nom nom.

Quinn loves watching all the kids run around on the playground!  Soon enough she will join in on all that fun!

We had a playdate this week and I let Quinn crawl around in the garage and outside.. She was very, very dirty!

This would be the face she makes when she can't get down ;)

Working out at the park with the group.  I haven't been able to go to many lately because the timing just doesn't work all that great. 

"Um, hey - dad....that's MY iPad"

In love with this plant... it was $300.  Crazy, huh!  If I were back in the states you can bet your bottom dollar this would have gotten a home that day... my home.

We've been having some sleeping "issues" with Quinn lately.  When she wakes up she immediately stands up in her crib and assumes she can't get back down - or just simply doesn't.  A couple days ago I brought my makeup bag into her room (she loves that thing) and practiced with her getting down from a standing position by laying the bag on her mattress.  It took some time and hesitation on her part, but eventually she did it.  I need to do it again.  Who knows if it's actually helping - but I can't think of a reason why it would hurt...so why not!

little gymnast who thinks she's pretty hot stuff.

Helping mom at JA (our farmer's market down the road)

You can see how large the produce is!  for $16 I got a huge thing of celery, head of broccoli, 4 humungo carrots, 5 potatoes, 2 bunches of flowers, 4 onions, a carton of baby tomatoes, and 3 green peppers.  That would have been close to $30 at the good ol' commissary on base.

Stay tuned for the 9 month post on Wednesday!

8 Months Old

Another month down for this girl!  When I asked Tony a couple days ago how he would explain Quinn to someone if they asked, he responded with, "she's a monster".  He's not far off :)  Although, she's the sweetest monster we know!

This past week we have had some pretty intense teething going on.  I see the swollen gums on the front teeth and it doesn't look all that comfortable.  I'm crossing my fingers that she just gets as many teeth as possible all in one shot so we don't have months and months of this.  For her sake and mine ;).

She is talking a lot these days and is trying her hardest to imitate our voices and words.  She loves to stand and play with her toys or crawl over them.  She loves to grab diapers out of the basket I have on the floor and throw them everywhere or grab toys out of the chest and take one by one by one out :)  In a matter of seconds my house can go from clean to a mess.  Many years of that ahead!  My sister sent us a "play" table that she is really enjoying right now.  Just yesterday I saw her scoot/walk sideways so she could get to the other side.  She still likes playing with all things other than her toys and I don't see that ever changing. When she decides to be "cranky miss crank" I usually go upstairs and pour out her shoes and that keeps her busy for a few minutes.  She loves laces and cords, as well.

Eating is hit or miss these days.  She still loves her orange foods, but also does pretty well with everything else.  Dinner time is our best bet to get her to eat well, but as far as any other time of day - she has little to no interest and would rather nurse.  We also tried puffs/yogurt puffs a couple of times and she gagged on those...we'll try again in a week or two.

Before this whole teething stuff, sleeping was going so well!  Most nights I was able to put her down wide awake at night and she would find her comfortable spot in her crib and fall asleep for 4-5 hours. This was heavenly!  We are back to every 1-3 hours of waking at night.  Hopefully that ends very, very soon.

Quinn absolutely hates the vacuum.  A few days ago I brought it out and was just going to quickly go over the living room rug and she was scared out of her mind.  She was shaking more than she ever had and kept looking at the evil thing and tucking her head in my arms.  We also need to take her outside if we use the ninja mixer!  She also continues to hate getting dressed after her bath, although Tony is having better luck with that right now - and also is starting to get pretty mad when we take away a super fun toy (like the iPad) from her.  Of course it takes .2 seconds to switch gears into something else...but man that look we get is priceless!  She has quite the fake cough going on right now, too.  and the fake "crylaugh"(I meant for that to be one word).  It's pretty cute I have to admit.

There are many, many dogs (or "puppies" as we call them) around here and Quinn isn't too sure about any of them.  She loves to watch and hopes they will come closer to her, but then once they do she gets a little uneasy.  I'm not sure if now is a good time to tell her that we'll probably never have a dog?

Here are some 8 month pictures of this little monkey.  Tony thinks we should start calling her by her actual name... I still think sugars, monkeys, and doodles fit just fine :)