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 :)

Copy Cat Post.

My sister just posted a blog that was pretty cool.  Thanks sis for the idea, don't mind if I do:

What I'm reading: Well, my New Year's resolution this year was to read 1 book a month.  The goal seemed attainable at the time, but now I'm not too sure.  Maybe it's because Tony has been gone and I go to bed very early now.  We were getting into a good habit of reading together before bed, but that's not always the best time for me because 2 pages in, my eyes start to close!  Last month I did read "Wild" and I give it 2.5 stars.  Apparently the movie is going to come out soon so hopefully that's better!

What I'm reminiscing about: My Minneapolis days.  I have a friend who is moving to Linden Hills very soon and that has sparked many memories of my days in that incredible neighborhood.  I loved walking to the coop and running out my door around Lake Harriet.  I can't wait to go back there... to visit - and hopefully one day TO LIVE!

What I'm looking forward to: Gosh, many things.  Today, I am looking forward to planting a few new flowers in my pots.  On Tuesday I will have my 2nd half home with us which we are SO excited about!  April a new (and only one like it) mall is opening up in Okinawa.  It's about 10 minutes from our house :).  Looks like we will probably be going home end of May now, too.  Fun things!

What I'm loving: I've started working out with a small group of ladies across the street from me.  I ran into my neighbor at the park last week and she said she has a 4 stall garage that has a playroom and a workout gym!  I thought I was dreaming!  I have been there twice now this week and I've never been so sore in my life.  I love it.

Sorry about the black line through the picture.  Quinn had my phone..

This is the playroom in the back of the garage where I workout.  Pretty awesome, huh!

What we've been up to: Running errands, cleaning, playing, walking, running, and I think teething ;)

If I could have treated this girl to ice cream for her good behavior that day, I would have.  I would have ordered her an extra large sundae if she wanted.  She sat like this for about 20 minutes while we waited.  So sweet.

What I'm dreading: Today I'm dreading walking down the stairs, sitting down, or getting on the floor to play with Quinn.  I'm that sore.  Otherwise I guess I'm half dreading the flight home and half dreading the extreme hotness on island in August/September when Quinn and I return home.  Oh, and I also hate emptying the dishwasher.  Is Tony home yet?

What I'm excited about: I'm very excited to see my nieces and nephews back home.  There's a lot of people I'm excited to see - but I miss those kids aaaaaa lot. I've got 9 of them.  Luckiest Aunt ever :)

What I'm watching: This is embarrassing.  I am currently watching Scandal, The Bachelor, and Revenge.  I've kinda started Parenthood, but haven't gotten into it a whole lot yet.  I've never liked TV as much as I do right now.  I'm looking forward to October when season 5 of The Walking Dead comes on Netflix.

What I'm listening to: Milky Chance, Hozier, and Gregory Alan.  I've also been listening to more country music lately, which is not quite my personality.  Maybe it's because I'm missing Tony or maybe it's because Chris Soules (the bachelor from Iowa) likes it.  ;)

What I'm annoyed by: All the dog "doo doo" on the sidewalks in Okinawa.  I feel like I'm always swerving the jogger around piles of them.  It's very, very annoying.

What I am hoping for: My brother and his wife and my sister's family are all going to Mexico (not at the same time) and I hope they have safe travels, a whole lot of fun, and soak up that sun.  They all deserve it.  I also hope Quinn's skin won't take a beating in the summer months of Okinawa.  The sun is different here - so I gotta get in the habit of sunscreen ALL the time!

Mid Month Picture Overload

When your phone tells you that your "storage is full" when trying to take a picture you know it's time for an update on the blog.  Here are a few (or a dozen!) pictures from the last couple of weeks.  8 month blog will be coming soon so I won't bore you twice with all she's been doing these days! 

Box full of FUN.

We're teaching her great manners ;)

One of the best times of my day is when I go get Q from her crib after a nap or in the morning....especially when she's full of smiles like this :)  When she's not wanting to be in her crib or needs a little more cuddle from mom, she will go right to this spot and look through the bars (the door  is right there).  it's pretty cute.

On our way up to Camp Hansen to get the mail we couldn't help but to pull over and enjoy the beautiful flower fields!

A running path on Kadena (biggest base (Air Force) on Okinawa)

Super Bowl MONDAY.  Mimosas, bloody mary bar, muffins, and mini pancakes.  That's how we do the Super Bowl over here :)

On our way to lunch we saw a man walking his dog cow!

Morning Breakfast from this side of the world!  :)

I've pampered myself with many, many flowers since Tony has been gone.  I'm afraid it's become a habit, but when you get a huge bouquet for 200 Yen (about $1.80) how can you pass it up?  These white roses were "expensive" at $2 :)

Our sweet friend, Ella had a lemonade stand today on Camp Shields.  Isn't it cute!  I suppose these are in my future, huh.  I better start practicing :)

Aunt Jackie made this ADORABLE sweater for Quinn.  Quinn wasn't upset that I took the remote from her in the upper left picture.  

Hangin' out on Mom's bed - with her favorite toy, a water bottle.

It was a rainy day and I wanted to get a short run in so I decided to try out this pack 'n play that we haven't even used yet.  She liked it for 20 minutes!  I'll take it.