13 months

Dear Quinn,
Where has my baby gone? Who is this little kid who toddles around the apartment like an over-caffeinated drunken penguin?  It seems like "walking" was nothing more than a brief interlude between crawling and running.  You are so fast, Quinn!  Especially when you wear your sneakers.  Grammy recently introduced you to the great feminine tradition of shoe shopping, and we replaced all the baby booties in your shoe organizer with sneakers, slippers, maryjanes and fluffy boots. Thanks for the shoes Grammy!

Quinn, now that you are 13 months old, you are extremely communicative.  Whether you are using your hands, your words, or even just your extra-expressive eyebrows, you are able to tell us exactly what you want - and how you feel when you don't get exactly what you want. 

You are becoming very particular about your routine. During bath time, you pick up your rubber ducky and grunt, which is your way of asking me to sing the Rubber Ducky song.  Last week when Mom-Mom babysat, you stood up in your crib and pointed to the window so that she would pull down the shade.

She also watched you on Saturday night so that your Daddy and I could go to a Christmas party.  You stayed up late playing with her, and she taught you the letter W.  You wouldn't say it for her, but the next day you pointed right to the W magnet on the fridge and said, "double u!" in your adorable little voice. Thank you, Mom-Mom!

Right now you are really into magnets, Elmo, and your farm puzzle.  You have also recently started paying attention to your stuffed animals and giving them hugs.  You like my jewelry as well.  We take turns putting on pretty bracelets and you admire them by saying, "Ooooo!" 

And one more thing - you sneezed this morning and I made a big deal of saying, "Oh my goodness, God bless you!"  You laughed, and then you said, "aaa-choo!"  It was a fake sneeze!  I couldn't believe it. I have also noticed lately that when you cry, you will often stop and look up to make sure we are watching you before continuing the performance.  You aren't fooling us, little girl - but we love you!

Sesame Street!

Daddy's breakfast = Quinn's 2nd breakfast

Here are some pictures from your friends' birthday party a few weeks ago!

Happy Birthday Thomas, Grace and Henry!

There's a doggie out there!

You're my new friend

Owen and Quinn

So many toys!

Hey guys...whatcha eatin'?

It's my boyfriend, Evan!

I'll just ignore him all day long...

Here is my favorite video of the moment - you singing and dancing along to The Sound of Music Live!

Snow Baby

Surprise snow storm in Philadelphia - December 8, 2013

Look Mommy - it's snowing!

I love snow!

Thanksgiving

Dear Quinn,
Last week we celebrated our second Thanksgiving with you - and we were lucky enough to do it twice. We had turkey at Grammy and Pop-Pop's house on Thursday and Mom-Mom and Pop-Daddy's on Friday. The food was delicious and you ate it all!  You love sweet potatoes, cranberries, baked apples, and ice cream! 

This year was extra special because we are more grateful than ever that you are happy, healthy, and surrounded by a wonderful family who loves you.  It was a pleasure having you sitting at the table like a big girl this year. 

Here are some pictures from Grammy's house:

A little blurry, but a rare shot of all three of us

Haha! Don't tickle me, Daddy!

C'mon, Pop-Pop, let's take a walk around the house!

So many stuffed animals!

Relaxation - jammies, dessert and a shoulder rub!

Watch the doorway, Daddy!

Thanks for reading to me, Julie and Uncle Mikeyface

Cool Ipad App, Pop-Pop!

And here are some from Friday:

I love you, Aunt 'Lena!

Look Mom-Mom! Ceiling fan!

Ice cream, round 2

Another Uncle Mike!

 And some videos!

Quinn and Riley the dog:

Tablecloth peekaboo:

 You're the best, Quinn! We love you!

Down on the Farm

Dear Quinn,
If I did a survey of all your books and toys, I'm willing to bet that half of them are about farms.  You love looking at pictures of the different animals and learning their names and the sounds they make. So when my good friend, "Aunt" Kelly, gave you a farm-themed birthday present with an invitation to see the real deal, I knew we had to take you. 

Yesterday morning we got up early and drove an hour into New Jersey to see the farm at Rutgers University, where Kelly and her boyfriend Anthony live and work. Your friend Benny and his Mommy and Daddy came too, and we all had a wonderful time. 

Note: I had picked out the perfect farm-appropriate outfit for you (pink osh-kosh's with a long-sleeved shirt and furry boots), but you got a little carsick, so you toured the farm in your pajamas.  

Here are some photos from our day: 

First we went into the house, where Kelly and Anthony gave you each a farm puzzle - and you ate all their blueberries. 

Thank you for the awesome farm puzzle, Kelly and Anthony!

Quinn and Benny!

 Then we bundled up and went across the street to see the horses: 

Kelly and Anthony with one of the 30 horses

Mommy, Daddy and Quinn

The Cruz family

After the horses, we moved on to the goats:

Look at this little guy...

...and this little guy!

 Then we got to Benny (and Daddy's) favorite part - the heifer barn!  Benny ran up and down the building saying, "Mooo!" and Daddy couldn't stop petting them. You just stared the entire time - totally fascinated by the cows!

Quinn in the cow barn

 

 

Next we checked out where the piggies live - they were huge!
 

After that, we moved on to your favorite part, the sheep!  For weeks you have been telling us that the sheep says, "Baa!"  It was amazing to watch you connect the dots when you heard the big sheep and the little lambs saying it over and over.  You said "baaa!" the whole time we were in there, except of course when the video camera was rolling. 

The sheep says, "baa!"

Anthony picked up a lamb so that you could pet him. You reached right out with your little mitten and did it very gently without any fear at all.  We were so proud of you, Quinn!

Nice, nice, lamb

It's so much fun to take you to new places and watch you learn, Quinn!  You were so well-behaved and interested. Thank you for giving your Daddy and I a great memory that we will hold onto forever.  

And thank you, Kelly and Anthony, for an unforgettable day on the farm!

I had so much fun!