The Q babe is 7 Months Old!!!

 

It seems like just yesterday I wrote a very similar post- but it was a MONTH ago already!  Today, Quinn turned 7 months old.  Yup, time is cruisin'.  I wish somehow I could record an entire day with this girl so everyone could see what a joy she is.  We rarely have a "bad" day, but we have those tough moments of course!   The toughest time with Quinn is right after her bath when i'm getting her into pajamas. Seriously, where are the Grandpa's when I need them!!!  My routine every night is this: start the water to let it warm up, go into Quinn's room and crank the heat, set out her onesie, pajamas, diaper, and lotion on the floor, go back to the bathroom and fill the tub.  She loves her bath a ton right now, but never gets upset when I take her out - but it's a whole 'nuther story when we are getting dressed!  Luckily playing "itsy bitsy spider" can keep her sidetracked a little while I torture her into putting the pjs on.  So besides those 2 minutes of the day?  This girl is a keeper ;)

Quinn's favorite things these days are KIDS KIDS KIDS.  No matter where we go or what we're doing, she gets the biggest smile when she sees someone her own size.  She is shy and somewhat cold towards adults we are out 'n about right now (pretty funny actually) but soon enough I'm sure she'll warm up to that generation..  She also loves to play with water bottles that have lids, coasters, blocks, and remotes.  Similar to all the things she loved last month. She is starting to enjoy books a little bit more now which is a lot of fun.  She will sit still for the first 30 seconds :)  She's mastered the crawling and can get anywhere at about any speed whenever she wants.  I have a feeling that walking will be on the back burner because of how good she is at crawling!  Why walk when you've mastered the art of crawling, right?  We'll see!

She is eating very well these days.  Sweet potatoes still remain her favorite food.  I might as well get her a straw for the jar so she can just suck it down faster because right now i'm not sure she's even breathing while she eats it!  She's doing very well with pears, mangoes, bananas, apples, carrots, beets, and peas.  I introduced avocado to her last night, but that didn't go over so well ;)  Maybe next week.  Atleast it didn't go to waste :) I ate that up as fast as she eats her potatoes!

For the past month or so we have been fighting fighting and fighting with her late afternoon 3rd nap.  It would only happen if I put her in the car and drove around for 20 minutes or so.  I don't want to do that every night so i've decided she might be ready to start the 3-2 nap transition.  The first day I tried it I thought it was too good to be true (it was) as she slept 2 hours in the morning and nearly 2 hours in the afternoon and went to bed fully awake, no crying... perfect.  It hasn't gone that well again, but we have had about 4 days a week with a successful 2 naps/day routine.  I'm in no rush - so i'll just continue to follow her lead I guess!

Random facts: she is in size 3 diapers and she is just about done with her 9 month sleepers. :( sad.  Wearing clothes that range anywhere from 6-12 months.

I know I speak for Tony as well when I say this has been the best 7 months of our lives.  Thanks for being such a great peanut, Quinn.  We love you a whole lot.

Keepin' busy

Quinn and I have been busy bees here on Oki.  I told Tony the other night that I was looking forward to an entire day with nothing planned!  We always make it a point to get out of the house even if it's to roam the aisles at the Bx.  Last weekend was beautiful with a perfect 70 degree day back to back.  We haven't been so lucky this week, but we've managed to get out as much as we can!  

We joined a group called "Stroller Warriors" here on island.  We went last Friday and it was a lot of fun.  Stroller Warriors is a huge group here on Okinawa and they are spread out amongst the entire military in multiple countries!  It was great meeting some other moms, but the best part was afterwards when all the kids played at the park!  If only Quinn could walk she would have had an absolute blast.  Not too much longer :-/  This girl LOVES kids.  Her arms were all over the place, kicking nonstop in my arms, and talking up a storm.  I'm looking forward to more of these "events" however, they all seem to be right when Quinn goes down for her morning nap.  Darn!  Well, we'll get to as many as we can ;)

Even though I'm a little bit of a germ freak, this has been so nice to put Quinn in the cart while I shop.  I put things around her so she's extra cozy in there....she loves it and thinks she is pretty hot stuff :)  I'm not sure I want to get the insert pad you put into the carts - but maybe I will. 

Her newest thing is trying to pull socks off her feet.  She is very determined and sticks with it for quite some time.  Being as competitive as I am in some things, I secretly love that she is this determined. :)

We stroll to the park near our house almost every evening before dinner.  There's always something going on whether it's kids in the sand, soccer, skateboarding, basketball, or kids playing on the jungle gym.  Quinn loves to watch and I decided to let her try to sit with the "big" girls and play in the sand.  I watched her like a hawk and made sure she didn't put the sand in her mouth.  We have plenty of those days ahead of us, but not sure I'm ready for that quite yet ;)  

If I can't find something these days - it's always under the couch!

Our fun FaceTime with Daddy this week!  He couldn't believe how big she was getting and all the things she is starting to do now!  I guess I didn't realize ALL the changes until he said it.

Lovin' bath!

Hangin' out with mom at the Bx

24 more days until we see daddy-o!!!!!

6 month pictures and stats

I meant to post these pictures awhile ago but never got around to it!  I decided to just snap some of Quinn on her 6 month birthday and a few turned out ok!  I also forgot to mention her stats in the last post.  She weighed 17.53 lbs (79%), 26.77 inches (which isn't accurate unless she shrunk from 4 months) - 85% and head circumference of 55cm - 99%.  Sorry about the big head there, Quinn ;)

10 Days Down (not that i'm counting)

Today marks the 10th day that Tony has been back in the states at his exercise in 29 Palms.  Quinn and I are sticking to our word and partying each day that he's gone.  It's been going very well here and although I would MUCH rather have Tony home each night and on the weekends, we are keeping busy!  I have been cooking quite a bit.  It's been something I've always wanted to do more of and expand my horizons on so I thought what better timing.  We have been able to get out for some good walks/runs, but I was hoping the weather would be a bit better than it has been!  Hopefully in the next few weeks it will turn around.  I shouldn't complain to all you midwesterners that 60 and cloudy is not ok with me. :)
Here are a few things we've been doing! 

Quinn has this thing with covers over her face and playing with pillows right now. Each morning when she wakes up I bring her into bed with me (partly because I just don't want to get up yet!) and we get a little playing in :)

This girl has moved to her high chair and ever since, she has been eating very well.  Not sure if it's a coincidence or not - but whatever the reason...it's fine with me :)  Last night we had chicken and rice and she did very well.  I was hoping she would!

This picture isn't that great, but the jungle is on our running route.  Don't be too fooled because as there might be a jungle on our right there is also traffic on our left.  Wish there was a path through the jungle we could go on... I think I wish that :-/

My great neighbor, Neng took Quinn and I out to eat last Friday.  It was SO good.  I can't wait to take Tony there.  I was sure to take a picture of what I ate so when we do go I can just show the waitress because I can't read the menu nor can I speak Japanese.

There's a market just down the street from us that I went to for the first time last week.  Not sure why it was my first time - but it was awesome!  So many great flowers, so cheap - and local vegetables that are also very cheap.  The produce at the commissary is ridiculously expensive so it's nice to have this so close!

My favorite treats from the Family Mart (convenient store) down the road.  Lets just say I don't mind going for a walk with Quinn in the afternoons ;)

WE CAN'T WAIT FOR DAD TO BE HOME!!! few more weeks.

Ayden Walter Lenninger

We have some big news!  Quinn has another cousin that we can't wait to meet and play with!  Tony's sister brought this cutie into the world on Friday, January 16th.  He weighed 8lbs 15oz and full of cuteness.  We are excited to FaceTime with him more in the months to come :) Here are a few pictures of the little fella and his big brother, Collin (almost 2) and big sis, Kate (5)

Pictures are worth a thousand words....

My "trip" home

This has been a blog I've been putting off the last few days and definitely not one that I've been looking forward to writing either!  It'll be interesting (not necessarily fun) to look back on someday.  So here it goes.

Tony is currently at an exercise in 29 Palms back stateside.  Initially he was supposed to be gone for about 4-5 weeks, but when last month we learned that it would be close to 7 weeks, Quinn and I decided we would go back to the states for a month to help pass the time and see all our friends and family!  I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, but I wasn't looking forward to the trip for 2 reasons.  1 - the flight and 2 - jet lag.  But beyond those two things, I was SO excited to go home and guess what?? MEET OUR NEW COUSIN (who will be here any day).  Even though the weather was frigid I told my mom I have always wanted to live somewhere that I could have 1 month of winter.  Doesn't that sound perfect?

I had spent the whole week packing and planning.  I had everything very organized and in line for all the "what if's" along the way.  Friday morning before Tony took us to the airport we let Quinn keep sleeping as long as she possibly could.  I was so happy she had a great 2 hour nap as it would have made for a more enjoyable flight I'm sure.  When Tony dropped us off, we said our good-byes, gave some tight hugs, and off we went.  Quinn and I went to check in to our domestic flight on JetStar and when he asked to see the passports I saw that I accidentally grabbed Tony's.  My heart sunk.  My tears streamed.  SUCH AN AWFUL FEELING!  I immediately called Tony only to realize later that his phone had died just minutes after dropping us off at the airport.  It was too late to call someone to grab Quinn's passport and return Tony's as he was leaving for the states the next day.  I FaceTime'd my parents and Tony's, devastated.  The airlines were going to work with me (at some expense) so I was able to take the same flights the next day.  So Tony picked us back up and we spent about 5 hours that afternoon looking for Quinn's passport.  I'm still looking for it 5 days later.

So here we are in Okinawa anxiously waiting for Tony to get back on Feb. 24th.  The great news is that we didn't have to make the flight after all, our bodies are not in the jet lag shock, the weather is beautiful right now, and we can get outside everyday.  I have 2 great girlfriends that also are riding solo until the end of February when their husbands get back.  I have a Super Bowl party to go to which will be fun, the house needs some organizing (I love projects) and Quinn continues to have a pretty good napping schedule which I never had to give up.  We will be going home with Tony in July for a few weeks which will be here before we know it!  Quinn will have a new cousin any day now so we look forward to seeing many pictures and introducing that little one to FaceTime when he or she is probably just hours old.  I can't complain.  Life is good.

Thanks to all of you for your support and emails with all of this!  Means so much and has helped both Tony and I have confidence that it all happened for a reason.

Well - better sign off.  I need to call the US Consulate to get a new passport for Quinn :)

The kind ladies at Jetstar (my domestic flight to Tokyo) were kind enough to take Quinn off my hands so I could make my phone calls!  She had a great time and so did they.  I need to note that when I looked over there after this picture all 3 of them were sniffing her backside like she had just dirtied her diaper (which she didn't). When they gave her back to me they faced her outwards like she was some ridiculously stinky child ;)  So funny.

We have a 6 month old in the house

Happy New Year to all of you!  It was a special day around here celebrating Quinn's half birthday.  "Celebrating" meant staying in all day and and doing absolutely nothing.  The weather wasn't all that great so Tony and I decided to watch football, eat whatever we felt like eating, and play with Quinn all day long.  It was great.  Later in the evening we went to the bx with the intentions to get the 1/2 year old a birthday gift, but as we strolled the aisles we just looked at each other and said that all she wants are the remotes, iPhones, iPads, water bottles, boxes, and bags anyway.  So we decided to pocket the $10 we would have spent ;)
Things are getting pretty crazy around here with this girl.  She has been bringing her knees up and scooting forward ever so slightly.  I'm guessing it won't be too long until we have a mover on our hands.  Quinn has many favorites these days.  She loves being outside (although she is completely mute when she is), baths, babies, spitting (literally... spitting), toys that are not intended to be toys, and being held.  Thankfully she is pretty good (so far) entertaining herself for 10-20 minutes unless she is hungry or tired of course.  This definitely helps me throughout the days when I need to get stuff done!  She is sitting up now, but doesn't always prefer it.  We are finally on a pretty good sleeping schedule which is awesome.  We still need our 3 naps a day although I think she's close to just having two.  Right now she sleeps for 90 minutes around 8:00 and another 60-90 minutes around 12:00 and then a cat nap at 3:00...bed around 6:30.  Of course all these times differ daily, but it's finally somewhat predictable so I can start making some plans/appointments around her schedule.  She has yet to go over the 90 minute nap time, but i'll take what I can get :)  Night time we go in 3-4 hour stretches.  It's not hard to put her back to sleep unless it's within the 4am-5am range.  Then... I just cross my fingers.  She is wearing 6-9 month pants and 6-9 month shirts and size 3 diapers.  Her favorite solids right now are pears and sweet potatoes and could do without the sweet peas or prunes!  Sorry, Quinn - those will never be pulled from your diet.  My favorite thing with Quinn is how big she continues to smile when she sees her daddy come home from work or first thing in the morning on the weekends.  She has been more cuddly (and cranky) with her two bottom teeth breaking through, but we enjoy the cuddles for as long as they last :).  She has started to react more to friends and family on FaceTime which has been so fun to see!
Her latest nicknames from me: sugars (this one might stick), nutters, and nutter butter.

Here's to another exciting year!
(6 month photos coming soon)

Christmas 2014

This was definitely the best Christmas yet.  Although we always wish we could celebrate with our families back home, it was one we'll never forget here in Okinawa.  Waking up Christmas morning with Quinn was such a joy.  Even though it was at 5am, I decided to be thankful that we got an extra couple of hours to enjoy the day!

Tony worked the morning of Christmas Eve and of course had the next 4 days off.  I never take these consecutive days for granted anymore because I know they don't come all that often!  I even get another round of him home for 4.5 days for New Years!  Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Dare's (my friend, Natalie and her family).  We had our 2nd annual gingerbread house competition which fell short this year as we had two new babies in the house to take care of.  Ella, soon to be 6, was the judge and gave the 2 houses a tie.  I think she was just being nice, but you be the judge.

Gabriel and Ella playing with Quinn.  Quinn had a rash on her head if you're wondering what the gauze pad is all about.

Gabriel enjoyed eating the gingerbread house more than making it.  I think I did, too.

Watching "HOME ALONE" :)

Brown's house

Dare's house

That night we put the little one to bed asap so Tony and I could enjoy a couple of drinks and do some gift opening.  We. Were. Spoiled.  I couldn't believe all the gifts we had from our parents and siblings.  They sure made us feel special and sent the perfect items that fit in flat rate boxes.

Christmas day was a beautiful day.  We had a lazy morning and opened up Quinn's gifts from everyone.   We were able to FaceTime with both families to share in on their Christmas Eve for a bit and watch them open a few gifts.  I've said it a million times, but thank goodness for technology.

Later on in the day we decided to grab the margaritas and snacks and head to the beach.  It was sunny, warm, and very pleasant.  Quinn hasn't been to the beach yet so it was fun to let her play with a few toys on her towel and dip her feet in the water.  She loved it :)  Many more beach days ahead for this girl!

Margaritas in a plastic wine glass.  Why not?

Feeling very blessed to have had such a great Christmas weekend.  We will always cherish these memories, but I am so excited to share the Christmas spirit with everyone back home.  We are planning to go to Tokyo next year at this time with the Dare's, which will be a whole lot of fun.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah :)

....so that's what you meant

Ever since Quinn was born I have thought to myself many times "ooooooh, that's what she meant!" For the past 8 years I have seen and admired my 3 sisters and their parenting skills.  I think I planned it all out just right because now that I am just starting to raise my own, I get to learn from all their "mistakes" or benefit from all of the tricks they have learned along the way.  So back to the "oooooh, that's what she meant".. Here are a few things that have stuck out the most in my mind from Beth, Amanda, & Erin.

1.  It makes my day when she/he has a dirty diaper.  Yup, I get it.  It doesn't happen all that often around this house with Quinn, which hopefully that changes soon - but when it does happen?  I'm a happy mama.

2.  The more sleep they get, the more they will sleep.  Of course, I believed them at the time before I had Quinn, but I didn't really understand it.  I definitely do now.  I've been recording the hours Quinn sleeps and times of night she is up, trying to be the master mind behind this child's sleeping schedule (ha, ya right)...but sure enough, my sisters were right.  The more she sleeps, the more she sleeps.  :)

3.  Your life will be put on hold for awhile.  Ok, this is a major one.  I never thought for 29 years that I would be a mom who would forego the concert, the dinner out, the birthday party, or whatever social event was going on...because I thrive on that action.  However, it is no longer a priority and to be very honest, I don't even feel like I'm missing out.  Maybe it's because I know my time will come again - or maybe it's because I am happy with this "new" life and this little peanut.  It's both.  My time will come...and one of these nights Tony and I will get a babysitter and go out on a date!  I'm sure that'll be a blog in itself.

4.  It's hard leaving the kids.  I understood this one 100% just this past weekend.  Saturday Tony stayed home most of the day with Quinn.  Although I was here for her nap times, that's about it.  I went to play tennis, went out for lunch with some girls, and before dinner I went and got a haircut.  Tony was MORE than happy that I got a day to myself, but I couldn't help but to feel guilty.  Without explaining that guilt, I'm sure you (the reader) can understand.  But boy was that day needed and so fun. ;)

5.  Don't spend too much money on the cute clothes.  I don't get it.  Never will.

6.  Just kidding on #5.  What I have learned is that you think your kid is so darn cute - in ANYTHING she/he wears.  :)

7.  Allow Quinn to be flexible with your schedule.  This one I haven't learned yet.  I'm trying though. Once she is on a schedule (which is why now she "should" be flexible with mine, bc her schedule is so unpredictable) I will be so happy to make more appointments, plans, etc.  But during the whole sleep training... it's tough!  But I think of this advice almost daily - and it's helped a lot.

8.  You can't spoil a baby under 4 months.  I took full advantage of this every single day that I could.  Things have changed a little now in this department, but it's been good for both of us :)

I'm sure there are many more - but I will exit this blog post at #8 and with a picture of these 3 sisters doing what they do best.  Beth & Amanda have 3 kids and Erin will have 3 very soon! (due mid January)

Beth 

Amanda

Erin