Fun Friday: The New Baby Laughs

She did it!! Hooray for Quinn!

What did she do, you ask? Well, in my head, I had a blog post written about some of the Bug's latest antics. And tonight, Quinn upstaged the big sister and got her post slotted in ahead. This happens in reverse quite a bit (where Bug-like antics must be posted at once), so I'm so glad that Q has marked her place in the family sun!

But even better are the great giggles that we got tonight. I don't even know what started them. I had picked her up from her swing to join Fiona and me at the table while Fiona finished her dinner. And she just started giggling. A lot! Mike came out to see what the commotion was and wisely grabbed a nearby phone to record the fun.

So thank you to Mike for recording the giggles - and for figuring out how to get the video off of my new phone. Technology, man - I'm not good at it!

You Should See the Other Guy ...

At the hospital

Last night saw round 1 (and hopefully the only round) of Fiona vs. the toddler bed. It was about 6:30 pm. I was putting Quinn in her pajamas, Mike was juggling (per Fiona's request), and Bugs was running around her room. As usual, she was not watching where she was going ... and she tripped over my legs at full speed and went face first into the toddler bed frame. Or more accurately - nose first!

Her face immediately started swelling up, so we turned Q over to Gma and Gpa and headed off to urgent care. By the time we got in, the swelling was already much better. But they confirmed that her nose was not broken (apparently it is virtually impossible for them to break it at that age ... good to know!) and that she did not have a concussion. Thank goodness!

She does have quite a scrape and bruise on her nose and it looks like her left eye may end up with a shiner. But even today, it didn't seem to be bothering her at all. And she is as fearless as ever! Now if Mike and I can only get back those years she shaved off our lives ...

24 hours later

Beyond the end of the rope ...

Oy! We arrived at the Target Photo Studio yesterday morning - bathed, combed, shined, goober free (ish), armed with kleenex for any stray goobers (stupid colds), and dressed to the nines. And early!

We pulled in to a full lobby (gulp!) and were informed that they were running "a bit" behind. A bit turned into FIFTY (5-0) minutes behind. Dear heavens!!! We brought happy, smiling, accommodating children. We lost accommodating at about 20 minutes in so we dug out the crackers from the diaper bag. We lost smiling about 30 minutes in when Quinn decided this was clearly not a good use of her time. And we lost happy about 40 minutes in when Bugs got sick of the 8 foot radius we gave her to play.

By the time it was our turn, the "stand on this red dot" request for a 2-year-old was laughable. And Quinn was happy as could be ... as long as Mike or I were holding her and she was not sitting anywhere near her sister. To say they were at the end of their ropes would have been generous. Sigh ...

The good news is that we got a handful of decent pictures. And since there were very few good ones, the selection process was fairly simple! To be fair, the girls were very good through this whole process - they were just simply done. And their parents were too, so we can't blame them. So enjoy the pictures . . .  because I think it will be a while until we all muster the stamina to go back!

Not Quite Winter

I wanted to share this picture of Fiona styling in her new vest on this balmy November weekend.

Q - 3 Months

Our Quinn is 3 months old today! Wow - it is just going so fast. In 3 months (or less), she will likely be sitting on her own ... and enjoying a bit of variety in her diet. But even at 3 months, she is so fun. We all simply adore her and enjoy spending time together as a family.

In the last month, she's added many skills to her repertoire:

• Rolling over! She's gone from tummy to back a few times (still not consistently) and is working hard to go from back to tummy.
• Sucking on her hands. They are SO cool! And she's started to try to hold on to toys.
• Smiling. Okay, she's been doing this for quite a while, but she just lights up when people engage with her. She loves to make eye contact, smile and chat. And she always has a smile for Fiona! She adores her sister (and the adoration is mutual). Yogi is also becoming more interested in her. And she tolerates his sniffing quite well.
• Standing. Not on her own, of course, but she loves when we hold her up standing on our laps. It almost always gets a huge grin.
• Sitting in the Bumbo. This used to frustrate her, but she's gained a lot of head control in the last week and she's starting to love it.
• Listening to books with her sister. She likes to reach for the pictures.
• Sleeping in the big crib. Last Friday, she moved to their room (imagine Fiona's voice saying "MY room" ... she doesn't mind sharing. just let the record show it is her room). 
• Wearing 3-6 month clothes. There are a few 0-3 month pieces that still fit, but we're mostly switched over. She is so long!

Teaser: Both Girls

We are headed to Target for professional pictures this weekend. Fingers crossed that the girls will feel smiley and good-humored!

So I thought I'd get a shot of the two of them together to hold you over until I can [hopefully] share great ones from the photoshoot. And stay tuned for a 3 month post on Quinn later this week.

Pride at the Pumpkin Patch

We love the pumpkin patch! In fact, due to requests from Fiona (and mom), we went several times to admire the abundance of orange gourds and carefully choose companions for our Halloween celebration. Prior to one of the trips, Fiona and I watched a short movie on the Disney Channel ... Spookley the Square Pumpkin. Spookley, as you may guess, is square and the other pumpkins make fun of him because he is not round. Then, when a big storm comes up and the wind blows them around, Spookley saves the day.

Fiona took the lesson of the movie to heart much more than I expected a two-year-old would! When we got to the patch, she promptly found the pile of "special" pumpkins, told me they were "crying" and they "need me" and spent the next 15 minutes hugging them! When we met up with Daddy and Quinn, I showed Mike the pumpkin that she had chosen. I got an eyebrow raise and a "seriously?!?" But we bought her that pumpkin and Daddy creatively balanced it on the other pumpkins and the house so that it could participate in the holiday display on the doorstep.

We then had a great family afternoon supervising Daddy's carving activities. Fiona picked all the shapes for her and Quinn's pumpkins. With her artistic eye and Daddy's skill, they turned out great! Mike has, however, banned the Charlie Brown Christmas movie this year - as he is afraid Fiona will then need the saddest Christmas tree ever!

Chasing after Big Sister

This post is brought to you courtesy of Daylight Savings Time. As a parent of small children, I have some choice words about this program. Let's just say that it's shortly after 7:00 am and I've already been up for more than 2 hours. If we have to continue with this madness, I vote that DST does not occur on hunting opener so that Daddy will get to share in the fun. [Okay, fine ... we're up, but the baby is happily playing and smiling at me. Dirty Dancing is on the TV. And the toddler, while awake, is still in her bed. It could (and has) been worse.]

But back to the main focus ... Quinn rolled over! Last weekend, we were prepping the crib that Buggy has vacated in their room for Miss Q's imminent arrival. The girls were playing on the floor. And with intent, Q threw that head to the side and muscled her way over to her back. What a look of pride! She's not doing it consistently, but has done it a couple times since. And yesterday when she, Fiona, Emmy, and I were playing, she got quite far on her side - trying to roll from back to belly.

Fiona is Quinn's biggest fan. She is quick with the encouragement (and congratulatory hugs and kisses). She is so proud of all Quinn's accomplishments. They are a great pair. We took this fun video a couple weeks ago of Q scooting across the room and her "coach" helping her on. Way to go, girls!