Happy 11 Months, Miss Quinn!

Wow! Time is truly flying...I am in complete denial that our little bugaboo is turning a year old next month-can you believe it??? She is officially 'on the go' behind her walker-check out the clips below...
She still loves her best friend, Sophie, and looks for her every morning-Soph enjoys sleeping close-by on those rare occasions when Quinn naps during the day, I cannot get her to move off the area rug by Quinn's bedside! Quinn also loves to watch Soph thru the sliding door-showing her the tennis ball, which Sophie desperately drops for Quinn to throw-we're getting there, but haven't mastered that one just yet!

She still not a fan of diaper changes or eating her veggies, but pretty much has to try whatever mommy is putting in her mouth :) Salmon and veggie burgers top the list now too-certainly a well-rounded pallet for this little lady!

Although not a ton of 'words' just yet, she is clearly saying Mama, Dada and, I think, doggy, at least she knows all of these and who we are! Even without the verbal, she can clearly get her point across, especially at 4am most mornings when all she wants is out of her crib to snuggle in bed with us....ug!!! We finished up Kindermusik with pals, Mitchell and Gracie-Quinn LOVES to sing and bounce, she really had a great time with Miss Charlotte, our instructor, on Tuesday mornings. One trick we learned-using the laundry basket as our 'shopping cart'-Quinn cannot get enough 'rides' around the house now!

We're off on our next trip tomorrow-accompanying Daddy to Key West, FL for a few days, should be a great time! We've got our beach cruiser with kiddy seat lined up to hit Duval Street and the beach! Dining out should be interesting, since Quinn really cannot stand to be strapped to her highchair for very long these days...hoping to hit at least a few spots with her!

Looking forward to Grammie's visit when we return, she'll come down to celebrate Grammie Alford's 89th birthday over Labor Day weekend!!! Can't wait for summer to be over so we can brave the tunnel traffic for more visits over to Hampton since Grammie Alford just can't get enough of Miss Quinn and the weeks seem to get away from us between visits! She and Uncle John took us out to the cheesecake factory-Quinn slept thru the whole lunch- but woke up just in time to pick out her birthday outfit at the boutique next door!

Hard to believe summer is coming to a close...we'll need to fit in few more beach days-Quinn loves jumping the waves-no fear! We'll line up swimming lessons this Fall. Miss you all and would love visitors anytime!!!

Quinn meets Miss Mailee!

Yes, the long anticipated introduction of Mailee and Quinn finally took place last weekend! A HUGE THANK YOU to Caroline (and Mr. & Mrs. Rhynerson) for making the trek from Whidbey to NoVA and then braving the traffic to come South for a quick weekend in VA Beach!

Caroline is the reason behind this blog and when we found out we were both expecting after the infamous Costa Rica trip-we couldn't wait for little 'Don Pedro' and 'Manuel Antonio' to meet one day....I only wish we were all closer so we could do it more often! The one thing great about the Navy-you make some of your best friends for life, but you also constantly say good-bye and never know where you'll end up living next! I'm thankful that the distance hasn't come between such a strong friendship and it's so nice to see how quickly we can pick up where we left off!

So, yes, Mailee made it to town and although the youngest in the bunch, she is already showing up her pals, Gracie and Quinn, as she demonstrates the standing balance direct from sitting position....ahhh, as Kitty likes to comment it's the Asian in her :) Caroline will remind us that she's already started Calculus with her too!!!

We had lots of fun getting the girls together on the beach, Mailee wasn't too certain about the obnoxious matching hat from me though!


Caroline got a workout holding Quinn-yup, that's my girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISS GRACIE !!!! The first to turn 1 yr. old in the bunch -such a little sweetie and not at all camera shy either!


Yes, Quinn maxed out shortly before Mailee's arrival and caught her second wind, unfortunately, I'd already switched her into pjs-but we threw in the bow just the same!

The time certainly went by WAY too fast-can't wait for us all to get together again soon-I'm SO relieved we won't be sending you off to Japan anytime soon...perhaps a rendevous in Key West soon?