A trip to Dallas

Or I should say, a trip through hell, which was what it felt like at times! Last week we went to Dallas for a conference at which Jonathan was presenting his research. Were we ever thrown some curveballs! On the plus side, Quinn is an excellent traveler as long as he's not in a car seat and feels well.
Hope you find this amusing...

Getting there isn't just half the battle...
Got lost on our way to the airport (that we've been to a thousand times). Rush around to find out our flight has been delayed. Get to manage a fussy baby in a crowded airport while we wait. Decided to take the bus to the hotel. Riding along when some drunk dude behind us spills beer, which flows into our suitcases. Get out of the bus at the train station, realize we will have two trains to catch plus a walk from the station to hotel. Call the hotel at bus stop. "Can you please have a taxi come get us (explaining situation)?" Reply, "We don't really do that..." "Fine!" Get back on bus with hungry child and beer soaked luggage. Ride all the way back to airport. Take cab with slowest ever Nigerian driver. Get to hotel. Eight hours of travel just to get to Dallas!


The first full day was great. The weather was awesome (86 degrees), so Quinn and I went to the zoo where he saw lions and loved them. Actually, he fell asleep on the train (in the morning, which never happens), so I sat outside the zoo for over an hour waiting for him to wake up. Later that day, we went swimming in the rooftop pool, which was fun. Jonathan's presentation went well and he got to meet some neat people. This trip is turning around!

Wait, don't get ahead of yourself, Jayme. Next day, Quinn is teething. Of course, we forgot the teether that we paid $20 for on Amazon. Then Quinn gets sick (runny nose, crying, coughing, drooling, mess). Then an ice storm of record proportions hits Dallas. The Weather Channel dude is outside our hotel; I can actually see our hotel as he reports the storm that will hit. Sick, rowdy baby stuck in hotel for days with expensive food only option ($50 per meal).  Baby not nursing because he has a stuffy nose, mom gets mastitis. Mom doesn't eat breakfast to save money, then finds cheap cafe on last morning with $2.75 oatmeal. Murphy's Law, right?

Flights cancelled and delayed everywhere, but looks good for us as we get up Saturday and prepare to leave. Later, our flight is delayed, so we take our time packing for departure. Find out at last minute flight is moved back up. Rush downstairs to check out. Told taxi is waiting. Nope, just another crazy Nigerian shuttle driver who wants to charge us double to get to the airport. No car seat, baby on lap and dude drives like a bat out of hell on icy roads. But we actually make it to the airport. Hurray!

Get to airport, they swab my hands because I'm carrying Quinn. As Jonathan is going through security, they say my hands test positively for explosive material. WHAT?! They make me go into a side room for a pat down and test all of my stuff. Whew, that's done. All clear. We go to the bathroom, and I realize my ID and boarding pass are gone. We run back to security (flight leaves soon!), ask a half dozen people to get look for it in the side room, finally find it. Get on plane. Sick, teething baby fusses while we sit for over 30 min. on tarmack while they de-ice the wings. Yikes. We finally get to KC, drive to Jonathan's parents house, stay the night. Next day, snow, accidents on roads, drive white-knuckled while Quinn screams for a solid 45 minutes.

Then we are FINALLY home! Hurray!!!

Needless to say, we are getting an iPhone and won't be going back to Dallas any time soon...

Asleep outside the zoo

Ew, that giraffe almost licked me!

Daddy and Quinn at the very expensive and delicious hotel restaurant

Outside looking at a fountain on our nice weather day

Stuck in the hotel. At least we have a nice view of the ice from the 23rd floor!

Communication

This is Quinn's sign for "more"

 That's what's new in our house. This month Quinn has started signing. He signs for milk, more, potty, and bath. He understands signs for eat, drink, and help as well. Two nights ago we were looking at a picture book. He kept turning back to the picture of a loaf of bread and asking me to say the name. (He points at everything and says, "Dat.") Finally, he put his mouth on the bread and looked up at me. I asked if he was hungry and wanted bread to eat. He got so excited! He brought the book with him, following me into the kitchen. I gave him some of a roll from Thanksgiving, and he was so thrilled. He's done that a few times in the past couple of days - we've been so surprised by his innovation.

He is really into animals and making sounds. Now he can make the sound of a turkey, dog, cat, cow, bee, bear, eagle, and lion. He's constantly asking the name of various body parts and points to his own belly, belly button, hair, and ear. He also points to our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, and toes. This kid also has an insatiable appetite for books. We read a dozen just sitting on the potty! He will grab any book or piece of paper that has writing on it and "read" by running his fingers back and forth and babbling. He likes to have conversations, too, with us and with Siri on Jonathan's iPad.

Riding his "bike"

His gross motor skills have increased since I posted last. He is practically running now. He can walk sideways and backwards, too. He can get on and off the bed by himself and can ride his little bike, getting on and off with help.

Elimination communication is going great. Most of the time he tells us when he needs to go (either by signing or looking uncomfortable, then we ask). He goes, tries to take the potty bowl to the big potty, flushes, waves bye-bye, and takes the clean bowl back to the little potty. It is hilarious to watch.

Places to go, people to call. Pants optional.

Recently he has gotten more interested in independent play, making his trucks zoom across the floor, playing music, reading books, and playing blocks. It's great because it gives me a chance to get the house cleaned up. We still enjoy lots of nursing time, and I carry him while I vacuum and mop. Oh yeah, and he's still not even close to sleeping through the night, but his naps are better. He takes one 1-2 hour nap a day. He fights going down for me, but goes down easy for his dad and Mimi, as you will see.

Wearing his bear "backpack"; it's actually a kid leash. We're practicing.

We enjoyed having family come to us for Thanksgiving this year. We didn't get to see everyone, but stayed in touch with those who are far away. Love you all!

Quinn tells good jokes. And yes, we put our tree up weeks ago. :)

Asleep on Daddy

Asleep for my mom, the Quinn Whisperer.

Best buddies

Family together on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Family Reunion

4 generations

 The last weekend in October my aunt and grandma came to visit us. I haven't seen my grandmother since I graduated from college and my aunt since I graduated from high school. My aunt went to a great deal of trouble to make the visit - oh how much it meant to me! I have always felt especially close to her, which might seem odd given how little time we've spent together. I think we are kindred spirits, and I'm always proud and honored when people say I am like her.

 We had a great time. The weather was perfect, and Quinn warmed up to them pretty quickly (by Quinn standards). He is wearing the adorable outfit my aunt got for him for his birthday.

3 generations

I love my auntie

Laughing at Mommy being silly off-camera

Thank you so much for visiting! We loved seeing you and can't wait until the next one!

Training on Dagobah

Luke and Yoda, preparing for training

Beware of the Dark Side, Luke!

R2D2, ready assist!

In case you ever doubted how nerdy we are, here are the pictures to prove it. Before Quinn was even conceived, Jonathan knew he wanted to dress up the baby as Yoda and go as Luke training on Dagobah. We were invited to a costume party this year, so I had to dress up too. As R2 was the only other character on Dagobah, I knew I had to go as the droid (to stay true to the story of course!). I found Luke's shirt and pants at a thrift store and cut off the sleeves. Yoda's ensemble is composed of a brown shirt and pants with green socks. I sewed the hat and ears by hand and made the robe on the sewing machine (thanks for teaching me how it use it, mom!). For R2, I drew the design onto a white shirt and hat by hand with fabric markers. Good, hmmm? Hmhmhm, yes, very good. Heehee. (Yeah, that was Yoda.)

Big boy stuff!

Hey there, Quinn here. Today I said "No" for the first time. I've been shaking my head and saying "nnn" for about a week, but the full word came out today when Mommy asked if I had to go potty. I've also been nodding and saying "mm" or "yuh" for yes. If mom and dad aren't paying attention, I grab their hands and put things (usually books) in them. One of my favorite things is potty time, because my parents read me books over and over. I get to choose which ones I want, too. There's a potty in every room for me to use, but the big potty is the coolest because I like to flush and wave bye-bye. I point and vocalize when I want something, and the folks are getting better at figuring out what I want or need. I also signed "eat" this week - mom and I are learning more signs together so I won't be so frustrated. Oh, and I speared food on my fork this morning for the first time!

I'm still having a lot of trouble sleeping at night. Last night I was up to nurse and thrash around almost every hour. The best night of sleep I've had was two nights ago, when I slept from 9-12 and 1-4. Then I woke up to go potty and play at 4. I finally went back to sleep at 6 and slept until 7. Mom is a bit of a zombie lately. A bit of advice - don't tell her how great your kids sleep at night! She's so tired of hearing about babies who sleep 12 straight hours at night. (Not in a mean way, it just makes her want to cry a little bit.) She still hasn't had more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep in a year, and that's on a super good night.
On a more positive note,

Sorry this is blurry, but I'm fast! And it's the only picture that doesn't show my boy parts. :)

I'm walking a lot! I figured out that the fastest way to get anywhere is to push my bike around, but I'm walking across entire rooms all on my own too.
Today I put on big boy shoes and played outside. It's a gorgeous fall day. Okay, talk to you later. I'm on the move!

Our baby turned One!

My baby is a year-old. *Sniff Sniff*

One week ago Quinn turned a year old. As if to ensure that we took note of the time he was born, he woke up at 3:30 in the morning and didn't go back down for over an hour, then slept until 5:30. (He was born at 3:33am.)



We had a lovely day. My mom came to stay the night with us the night before. We stayed up wrapping presents and putting his bike together. I made Quinn peanut butter banana muffins for breakfast with Greek yogurt (Yum!). After Jonathan got home at lunchtime, we had lunch and birthday cake. Quinn's never had sweets, so this was a big surprise for him. I made a homemade carrot cake (apple juice as the sweetener) with cream cheese frosting. We put it in the middle of the floor and let him make a holy mess out of it. He loved it! He got to open some presents - a toy box (a family heirloom), a new truck and car from my mom, a big boy fork and spoon, etc. He got a ride-on toy from his Grandad and Oma, a stuffed dog from his great aunt, some clothes from Oshkosh from his great aunt on my side, a book from one of my friends, and some other gifts from my mom. It was plenty for such a little guy. He loves pushing his bike/walker around the house and playing with his trucks. He makes noise while he zooms them around and puts farm animals in them to take them for rides.

It was a day of contemplation for me. I am astounded that a year has passed. People always tell you it will fly by, but it's not possible to grasp just how fast until you experience it yourself. One year ago I was eagerly anticipating his birth - who would he be? What would he look like? What would his personality be like? In so many ways, Quinn has surprised me. Looking back, we had signs of his personality when he was in the womb (kicking all the time, very responsive to our voices, loved music, eager to get out, etc.). But the intensity of his little personality still catches me off-guard sometimes.

 Without a doubt this has been the most challenging and rewarding year of my entire life. I've grown a lot as a person and parent; Quinn has taught me many lessons already. Perhaps the greatest of these is to reserve judging other parents. Different things work with different kids. You can get loads of advice from other parents, but there's no guarantee it will work with your kid. The behavior of a child is not always a sign of parenting - personality also plays a big role. Maybe this is obvious to some, but it hit home for me this year.

 Quinn is also teaching me about myself. My loved ones have always told me that I'm too hard on myself. I always viewed this as okay, because it pushed me to work harder. Being a good mother is the most important thing to me - it is a calling and a responsibility. So of course I would hold myself to impossible standards. Over the past year, I've realized how destructive this can be, and I'm learning to let go (a little bit). Lifelong habits are hard to break! I'm trying to be confident in my choices and motivations, no matter what others may think or say. I'm doing the best I can and trying to accept that it's enough.

I love to make my cars go zoom!

Sharing cake with Mommy.

Daddy's turn!

My new toy box. Three generations of fun!

Yummy cake!

Overall, we are totally in love with Quinn. He is a super sweet cuddle-bug and very inquisitive. I pray we will have many more years to get to know this little person!

Look how far I've come!

9-27-2012

You will always be our baby!

30th birthday!

"Sugar" for Nonna

Jonathan turned 30 years old on Thursday! We celebrated by eating out at some of our favorite restaurants and spending the day at home together. I made him a homemade ice cream cake with Sparky's coffee ice cream that is sinfully delicious. My mom spent some time with us and watched Quinn so we could go out to dinner by ourselves. Jonathan's mom and siblings came to visit yesterday and we shared some awesome pizza.
This has been an amazing decade, and I'm excited to see where we are at the end of the next one. Happy birthday, dear!

Last weekend Jonathan and Ricky took a road trip from Portland to here in three days. They drove through Yosemite, stayed the night in Denver, and spent a total of 34+ hours in the car. We missed Daddy terribly, but we were lucky because my mom came to stay with us the entire holiday weekend. It was so nice to have her here that I've been missing her all week.

Quinn tried whipping cream for the first time when I made daddy's birthday cake. Yum!

Quinn's first birthday is quickly approaching, and we are in total disbelief. This time a year ago I was having contractions and expecting him to come any day. I look at him today and am so confused how this little person with opinions and thoughts magically appeared in our house. Really, this year has flown by. It's been one of the hardest and most wonderful of my life.

Quinn's had a major explosion in social behavior this past week. He is talking a lot and likes to mimic our behavior. He likes to brush my hair and turn out the lights. We've been working on picking up our toys and petting J.J. and Zoie gently. This week he figured out how to get the shape toys in the shape sorter - a pretty impressive feat of dexterity and matching! He loves to be outside - we swing, water the garden, pick tomatoes and strawberries and eat them outside, and he loves to sit in his wading pool and play with the garden hose. He's been sharing food and asking if it's "mmm, good?" when he puts something to our mouths. The potty pause is still going on a bit, but I think it will be over soon. He's been very excited to flush and watch things go down the potty. He's figured out the phone - he kisses it and tries to grab it from me when I'm talking to my mom. He is a super cuddle bug and very generous with kisses. He's also been singing a lot and likes to go pluck the strings on Jonathan's guitar. This kid loves music, singing, and dancing. He's been teething, but we aren't sure which tooth is coming in because he won't let us put our fingers in his mouth.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention his most recent toddler behavior - tantrums. I mean, real temper tantrums. If we redirect him from something he wants but shouldn't have or bring him inside because it's hot out, he will arch his back, throw his arms overhead, and cry. I set him on the floor and he actually kicks his heels on the floor. We try not to laugh, but it's so ridiculous!

Quinn loves to swing

This kid loves to dig in the dirt

Playing outside