Christmas Extravaganza

Goin' strong since the 19th...

Christmas lights in the city

5 Christmas celebrations

30th Birthday celebration and surprise

New Year's Eve Wedding

Now we are home and trying to unpack and put our house back together before I go back to work.The flu bug hit us all within the past week, too. Needing a vacation to recover from the festivities. Here are a few snapshots of Quinn enjoying the fun:

Chicago Lights

We went downtown this past weekend to see the lights with my family and my mom's friends from college. This has been a tradition in our family since I was little, so I was so glad Quinn could experience it. She didn't see much because she was so sleepy after a long day. I actually woke her up so she could see one of the windows and experience the tree. Quinn was so excited to see everyone and did pretty well considering she barely napped.

Matt holding Quinn. Think she needs a haircut?

She will never keep her bow nicely in her hair.

Getting ready for the windows after yummy ribs at Carson's.
The kids in front of the tree.
Quinn admiring the snowfall back at home.

Such a precious little thing. Maybe I am biased...

Temper Tantrums...Already?

Yesterday, Quinn officially had her first temper tantrum. I was trying to get her ready in the morning and she clearly was not interested in putting her clothes on. Instead, she yelled at me and started arching herself backwards and twisting away from me. She crawled away before I could get the diaper on her. I warned daycare that she had a bit of an attitude and to beware. When I picked her up in the afternoon, they said that she had yelled at another boy when he had a toy she wanted. Then tonight Andy was trying to put her PJs on and she did the same thing. She is one loud and strong chick. Let's hope that this is not going to be the norm.

Early Christmas Celebration

We found out a couple days ago that Andy's CT scans were clear. What a relief and just in time for the holidays.
Quinn is happy for her daddy too. She is also happy that she will have her two front teeth for Christmas. The new teeth have made her a whiny little thing at daycare, but she has been a fun girl at home. She loves dancing to all the Christmas music. She also loves to pull ornaments off the tree. She holds on to the branches and pulls herself into the standing position. I am just waiting for her to tip the tree over.

Ho Ho Ho

Quinn's 1st visit with Santa. She gave him the stare down and thought his beard looked appetizing. She was a big girl and didn't cry at all. We can't wait to celebrate her 1st Christmas.

Teething Biscuit=Lifesaver

Quinn's teeth have been bothering her the past few days. Nothing seemed to be soothing her, so I thought I would try a teething biscuit for the first time. She couldn't get enough of it. She was so content afterwards.Wish I would have thought of it sooner.

Quinn's ninth month came and went. She had a busy month and enjoyed visiting with family for Thanksgiving.

Quinn weighs about 20lbs and is around 29 inches long. She is a great eater and loves to drink from her sippy cup. She still loves her cheerios and if we don't put the food down fast enough she starts rolling her wrists and ankles yelling, not screaming, just a demanding yell. Is she impatient like her mommy or what?

Her new words are: uh-oh,wow, ow, and eye. "Haaaa" is her word for Hayley.
She points to eyes, noses, and mouths and her belly button too.She will bang her fists against her mouth to make noises. She gives us hugs and open mouth kisses.She loves playing peek-a-boo and crawling after us. She had her third tooth pop through on top this past Sunday, so she likes to chew and bites things.

Quinn is hard to keep track of these days. She is constantly moving. She crawls over anything that is in her way and will try to stand up on anything, including Hayley. She is able to stand for a few seconds on her own. We are wondering if she will be walking by Christmas.

She is still very sneaky. She likes to pick up pieces of fur on the ground and I have stopped her from eating dog food and dog toys too. A couple weeks ago she found a penny in Andy's closet. Fortunately, I spotted her before she got it in her mouth. When we tell her no, she just turns around and laughs at us. We try to use a firm tone of voice and not crack a smile, but it just hasn't been effective yet. Seasoned parents, we may need some pointers!

Quinn saw lots of family members over the holiday. She visited with both sets of grandparents, and went to her Great Grandma's house. We ate way too much and Quinn enjoyed her first Thanksgiving feast. She just couldn't shove the turkey in fast enough. We also helped with Christmas decorating and did some of our own decorating when we returned on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy, but great. Decorating Mema and Papa's tree with Mommy.
Mmmm.I love turkey.
Can I have more Mommy?
Helping Granny with ornaments.

Granny can you teach me how to play the piano?

Helping Auntie Ali at Granny's.
Busy walking with her monkey at Nana and Grandpa's.

I will help you clean the floor, Nana.

This dog food looks awfully good.
Decorating at my house. My favorite are the glittery ornaments.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Extreme Makeover

Andy's hometown, Lena, will be on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition tomorrow at 8/7c. Many people we know got to help with the makeover. We are excited to see if any of them made it on television.

9 Months

Quinn is 9 months old. Boy, it is hard to believe. The nine months out of the womb have gone a lot faster.

We went to the Dr. today for her 9 month well visit and she had lots to say to the Dr. Boy, she is loud! She also made things entertaining by peeing all over daddy after they weighed her.Mommy was in charge of getting the new diaper on and she clearly didn't work fast enough.
Weight: 19lbs 10 oz (50%ile)

Height: 27 3/4 inches (50%ile)Head: 44cm (50%ile)
Shots: Dr. checked her for anemia and the first test her Hemoglobin came out low. The second more in-depth test was fine. They will check her again at her 12 month exam. She got her last Hep B shot and the regular flu shot today. The H1N1 wasn't available.

The past month Quinn has been quite exciting. She is very active these days. She has mastered crawling and is constantly trying to get into everything she shouldn't. Just this past week she started standing in her crib and pulling herself up onto furniture. Bumps and bruises have begun.She thinks that if something is in her way she could just ram her head into it over and over. After a few minutes she starts to get agitated and wants our help. She will walk, if we hold her hands, and is so proud of herself. Hayley is now her buddy. They finally interact with each other. Quinn loves to pull clumps of fur out of Hayley's tail. I am just waiting for her to eat it. She crawls after her and screams in excitement.We have started to introduce finger foods. Her new favorites are: noodles, green beans, and Cheerios She will eat and eat and eat, until we stop her. She is trying to mimic us when we say, "ALL DONE" Her version is: ah da. Da da, ma ma and ba ba are still her favorite sounds.She is still an amazing sleeper and she has been in a great mood. We are just crossing our fingers that when the next tooth is coming, it won't be as rough as the others. The sounds of laughter are so much more pleasant.

9 months old

Reading a book to mommy
Checking out herself in the mirror.

Look Dad, I am sooo BIG. You can finally see my two teeth.

HA-BEE HALLOWEEN!

What a weekend! Quinn enjoyed celebrating Ali's 27th birthday, Halloween with her boyfriend, Henry, and then some more Halloween with her favorite cousin, Claire.

I made a card for Auntie Ali.
Ha-Bee 27th Birthday!
I am so glad to see you.

Uncle Michael you have a lot of fuzzy stuff on your face.

Mommy and Auntie fell asleep on the couch.

I am getting bundled up for Trick-Or-Treating. Like my candy corn sock/gloves? Mommy had to improvise.

Henry....is that really you???

The things our parents put us through.

Bee sting!

We meet again.
Thank you for bringing me to Claire's. She is my favorite cousin.

Claire and I met a fairy princess.

These leaves are so yummy.

I love Halloween.

Happy Halloween! Daddy gave me a Hawkeye pacifier to wear too. Go Hawks!