A Week of Firsts

Dear Quinn,
Now that you are six months old, it seems like you have grown up overnight. You are 17 pounds, 6 ounces and 27 inches tall.  The doctor says you are "incredibly strong."  You showed her how long you can hold an abdominal crunch and made her wrestle you for her stethoscope.  You got four shots, but only cried for about five seconds.  You are overall very healthy, but the vaccinations resulted in your very first fever. 

As usual, you weathered it like a champ - and I got to spend the day at home with you just like old times.  We took lots of naps, and a nice walk to the grocery store to get some baby-food supplies.  That night, you had another first - your first taste of real food: organic peas! 

You have been so busy learning new things.  It took you exactly one week to master balancing yourself while sitting up.  Way to go, Quinn!

Sitting up has opened a whole new world to you.  You discovered how much fun it is to splash while you are getting your bath.  It's a total mess!

You also took your first walk in the stroller without the car seat.  You loved it!  You giggled the whole time.  You sure do turn our neighborhood into a friendly place - every single person we passed smiled and stopped to say hello to you. 

Let's lose the sweater, Mom - it's nice out!

Sitting up like a big girl!

I'm free!  No more car seat!

We had such a great weekend with you, Quinn.  The weather was gorgeous, we took family photos, and you got to see all your grandparents.  It is just overwhelming to see how much they love you.  You bring so much joy to everyone around you with your beautiful smile. 

Here are some photos from the last couples of weeks:

Doing my crunches- tryin' to sit up!

Why does Daddy call me "Tony Montana" when he puts my powder on?

Aunt Lauren's bridal shower! - had to change into my jammies...

Do you like my pretty dress, Mom Mom?

Oooo!  I LOVE your necklace, Aunt 'Lena!

Me and my Mommy

Video Roundup

A long video of you doing crunches and playing with your squeaky triangle (2:12): 

A short video of you playing with your Daddy (11 seconds): 

 A long video of you eating peas for the first time (1:58):

A short video of  you being tickled (25 seconds):

Six Months!

Dear Quinn,
Happy half-birthday, baby girl! Your Daddy and I have so many reasons to celebrate.  You are happy and thriving, and we have survived the first six months of parenthood.

Being a mother is both easier and harder than I ever thought it would be.

It is easier because the hard work we anticipated doesn't really feel like work at all.   It is such a pleasure to take care of you.  I may groan when I have to get up in the middle of the night, but then you greet me with your gummy smile and hold onto my finger while I'm feeding you.

At the same time, it is harder because everything is so bittersweet.  I rock you back to sleep at 4 a.m. knowing that any day now you may begin sleeping through the night.  It's difficult because you have made us so vulnerable.  You don't understand the capacity you have to break our hearts.  We struggle between our desire to keep you safe and our wish for you to be independent.  I suspect we will feel this way for the rest of our lives.  So many mixed emotions - and this is only the beginning!

Quinn, you are such a wonderful baby.  We have yet to experience so many of the things people warned us about. You have never once been up all night crying.  We have yet to take you on a car ride where you haven't played quietly until you fell asleep. You are so well-behaved at parties and restaurants that we never hesitate to take you anywhere. (Knocking on wood as I type this). You are the happiest, sweetest baby in the whole wide world! 

You will never know how much we love you, baby girl.  I can't wait for the next six months!

And now I'm going to turn up my speakers, grab a box of tissues and cry into your daddy's shoulder while I watch this slideshow:

Make your own picture slideshow

A Great Weekend

Dear Quinn,
We just finished a lovely family weekend together.  We started it early on Friday because I left work before noon.  It was pouring rain, so I put you in a taxi.  I can still remember taking your Aunt Elena on her first cab ride when I moved to the city.  (2005? 2006?  Remind me to tell you the funny story about it someday).  You have already taken three cab rides in your lifetime - my little cosmopolitan lady!

$1.25 fuel surcharge??  Outrageous!

Twilight Turtle!

It was so dreary outside that you and I decided to take an afternoon nap.  Before you fell asleep we were playing in bed and I was showing you how to make a tent. You, me and "Twilight Turtle" were all under the covers. Every time I turned him on you started laughing hysterically at all the stars and lights.

These aren't the greatest pictures, but I don't ever want to forget that sweet moment.  

 

It's so much fun to watch you play with your toys, Quinn!  Everyday you become more adept at holding them and figuring out how they work. You only get your binky at bed time now, but we have observed you taking it out of your mouth, inspecting it, and then putting it back in - genius!  

 

For the rest of the weekend, we stayed close to home and took lots of walks around the neighborhood.  On both Saturday and Sunday, you allowed your Daddy and I to enjoy lunch at local restaurants while you sat quietly playing in your chair.  Whenever we go out the servers always comment about how cute and well-behaved you are.  They're right!  You are awesome!

I love kisses!

Celebrating Aunt 'Lena's birthday

 

Your Aunt Elena turned 22 on Sunday.  I remember so clearly when she looked like this:

Elena Jeanne, circa 1991

Time goes by so quickly, baby girl.  Thank you for helping us remember to make the most of every moment.

Here is the picture collage you sent to your aunt to wish her a happy birthday:

 

 

Oil pastels: probably not the best choice...

And here is the last picture from our lazy Sunday: 

Watching the Masters with Daddy

Monday is the hardest day of the week.  I wish we could hang out with you every single day.  Still, we are looking forward to more and more playtime as the days get longer.  Summer is on its way - and it's going to be the best one yet!

We love you so much, Baby Quinn!

Springtime!

Dear Quinn,
Welcome to spring!  I'm am so excited to introduce you to the pleasant weather you have yet to experience in your little lifetime.  Already the sunshine has allowed you to stay up a little bit later than usual, allowing all three of us to have some playtime after work.  It's the best part of the day! 

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks or so:

Outside with your Sophie giraffe, waiting for Daddy to pick us up from daycare

I love playtime!

Quinn and Daddy, all dressed up for a Christening

Quinn and Nathan - our daddies are best friends!

Jumperoo!

Pop Daddy and Quinn in her cherry suit

Visiting Mommy at work

Your office looks familiar, Mommy...have I been here before?

Lunch at White Dog

Three generations of Smiths

Let me hold your finger, Pop pop!

Uncle Mike!

Our family on Easter Sunday

Hangin' out with my 2nd cousins, Marie and Elizabeth!

Quinn's Crib

The very last picture is my favorite one.  Every night one of us sits in the chair at the top of your bed until you fall asleep.  Every once in a while you look up to make sure we are still there.  

No need to worry, Quinn. We will always be there for you. 

Video Roundup

Dear Quinn,

Here are some videos of you performing your latest tricks - talking and rolling over.  You babble constantly as you experiment with your vocal cords to see what new sounds you can make.  You have reached the point where you roll over onto your belly every time you are placed down on your back.  It's tummy time all the time!

Telling stories...

Rolling around...

Crawling practice: playing with your pink basketball

I love you, baby!

Baby's First Easter

Dear Quinn,
Happy Easter, baby!  We have had such a fun whirlwind of a weekend celebrating with you. 

The Easter Bunny (ahem...your grandparents) was very good to you, Quinn.  You got all kinds of good stuff - books, teething toys, a fancy bib, baby food, two cases of diapers, a stuffed bunny, and tons of clothes - a whole new wardrobe for spring. You are so very lucky.  

We had dinner with Daddy's family yesterday and my family today.  You made us very proud by showing everyone your beautiful smile and sweet little personality all day long.

My dear baby, you are too little to meet the Easter bunny or go hunting for eggs, but I was anxious to begin some traditions with you anyway.

Here we are dyeing eggs - you loved it!

This is fun!

mad scientist

Let's learn about colors while we wait...

Green!

A yellow one!

You like the purple one the best -
it's the only one your Daddy hasn't eaten yet

Look at all my eggs!

You also helped me bake some carrot cookies and put together an Easter basket for Daddy!

We had so much fun on our girls day!

I also wanted to share one of the Easter pictures I took for your little Christmas calendar.  This photo was taken on December 5, 2012, when you were a little over a month old. 

So tiny, Quinn!  Look at you now with the same bunny:

I can't believe how much you have grown.  We love you so much, baby girl!