Weed

Does this look like an almost-4 month-old to you? Those pants are hiding some mean rolls!

Coping

~ 5:00pm in our backyard today ~

~ A few ice cubes ~

~ One half deflated kiddie pool ~

~ With room for two ~

~ At least one of us doesn't seem to mind the heat! ~

Video Update

Here are a couple videos of Quinn's latest tricks:

This is the tail-end of Quinn's workout. She was doing sit-ups for a few minutes, and every time Greg pushed her back, she sat forward again. But then, she got distracted by the pillows...



Quinn's fist is the big favorite these days. She spends most of her awake time either looking at her fist, or chewing on it. She also likes to get her first two fingers in there, but that is a bit tricky to achieve.

Oregon Zoo

We went to the Zoo this morning. Perfectly overcast so I could carry Quinn in the Moby for a nap, and the animals were pretty active. Ella had been asking to ride the train after seeing it while we drove through Washington Park, and after playing at the Elephant Playground. So we did~ Bunny and her Zoo Key accompanied her on the ride.

Bunny waving bye-bye to the flowers

Quinn chillin after her nap



Here is my only proof of our animal viewing. This was Ella's first time seeing a polar bear, and she was really active. First she walked to the back of the enclosure, and danced side-to-side back to the water a few times. Then, she found her ball and jumped in the water for a swim. She swam back and forth, throwing and catching her ball several times. Exciting stuff!

Happy Girl, Humid Hair

i LOVE broccoli

Check it out:

Right here,


...and again here...


Two whole nibbles off of the Little Trees I served at lunch! Yesterday at TJ's, she ripped the broccoli off the shelf, proclaimed she "Looooves broccoli," and tossed it in the cart. So, today I decided to put her up to it and steam some for lunch. I tried not to watch as she brought them to her mouth for a taste, but caught a couple glimpses of her grimacing as she tried to choke it down. Then she said, "Yucky. I don't like it. Please can I be excused?" Atleast it is progress!

Granny and Grandpa Visit Portland

Here is a link to Grandpa's pictures from their visit last weekend. We had such a nice visit with them, only wished they could have stayed longer! Grandpa and Granny even babysat both kids on Saturday evening so we could go to an Anesthesia BBQ~ It was an experience!

Pictures HERE

Random Musings

~ It stays light way too late here. Ella's sleeping schedule has gone to hell, and all gentle efforts have failed to keep her in her room at bedtime. Her pleas for changing her diaper, going potty, putting Bee on her cheek and finding Panda/Ernie are being ignored, and the old baby gate has gone up again. During the initial freak-out after she realized the gate was up, and not coming down, she stripped off her diaper, figuring we'd definitely come up to put it back on. Clever, no? But we resisted, listened to her circling footsteps from downstairs, tried to block out the screams. A mere couple minutes later, she was quiet, and a peek in her room revealed a quiet resting girl, covers pulled up, book in hand from the bookshelf. I put her diaper back on without making eye contact or talking to her and she said, "I love you Mommy, I love you Mommy. I stole a book to look at." Master manipulator! But sweet, nonetheless. She is still awake as I type, checking her door every once and a while to see if the gate is still up. But, then she prances back to her bed to do whatever it is that she does. Fingers crossed she's getting the message!
~ We had such a great day today! Quinn went to sleep with minimal crying each time she went down, I got my book at the library for Book Club, we went to Jamison Square with friends to play in the water, BOTH kids took a 2+ hour nap at the same time (!), we power grocery shopped at TJ's before Dad got home and had a super easy BBQ for dinner. And, we're all happy!
~ It's official, Greg's a Resident. First day in the OR's on Monday! It is kind of crazy to think about how we got here. Looking back to moving to KC in 2004 for Med. School seems like so long ago, but the years have blown by. And now we're (I say we because, in my humble opinion, it is a group effort) 5/8 done! Unless Greg chooses to do a Fellowship...
~ It is already the 15th of the month, but I finally changed my picture of the month. And the header. We sit and stare out across the yard, and marvel at how different it is here. Our neighbors have a HUGE Douglas Fir in their yard which we see, too. The moving truck driver said our house is like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, house tucked away in the woods. We're not really in the woods, but it feels like it, and it is great! If only we could get the inside all set up! Hopefully this weekend!
~ I just heard snoring, and looked over to Hailey's bed, but she's not there. It was Greg, on the couch, passed out while reading his Anesthesia text. :)

(Almost) 3 Months

At 3 months, Quinn is:
Smiling, cooing, and even laughing (well, only once so far).
Getting up once a night to eat, usually around 3am.
Sleeping a bit more regularly, taking 3 naps a day.
Getting to sleep remains a challenge, involving lots of crying. The girl will not nurse down, and has a hard time being settled in our arms. I think she is trying to stay up and party.
Holding her head up really well.
Looking across a room.
A chunk.
Super cute.

4th of July Weekend

Eva came with us to check out our new neighborhood park.

We spent the 4th at the Moehl family home in Turner. Such a beautiful setting, and an even more beautiful family. The boys played a game of croquet while the babies all slept. Ike (the dog) wanted to play too.

Grandpa and Grandma Moehl showed the little girls how to feed the Baas. Huge hit, obviously. When we got in the car, Ella said she wanted to come back to the farm tomorrow to see the barn kitty.

Our little giant and her friend Eva. I think Madeline was already inside having a bath a winding down when we took this picture. :(

First Bath in the Tub

Atleast, in our new house

Between unpacking, visiting with friends, and taking care of the kids, there hasn't been much time for photos. Quinn was super happy in the tub this evening, and the camera happened to be within arms reach, and voila~ new pics, finally.