Quinn's Letter 2015

Dear Quinn,

Wow!  You turned five this week.  FIVE!  That is a pretty big deal.  I mean you are now old enough to go to Kindergarten and your age takes up one whole hand.  Official big kid status around here these days.  I have to admit, while I do sometimes miss having a sweet squishy baby around, I really love this stage in our lives.  You are pretty agreeable and we can basically do anything we want at anytime with little notice.  It is pretty awesome.  You are pretty awesome!

Here is a snapshot of FIVE year old Quinn.

- You are super smart.  You can basically read anything with little effort. Example- at Costco, you read a sign that says, "Get cash back" while eating your hotdog, and instantly want to know how you can get cash back! I think you were just born with the code for reading in your brain.  It is amazing. You are also working on your number sense and are doing a great job with adding and subtracting numbers, as well as, counting in different ways (by tens, fives, twos, etc.)  You can write your name like a champ and you are branching out to other words as well.

- You love babies.  We added two new babies to our family over the last year, and you are totally smitten with both of them.  You love to tickle them and play peak-a-boo.  And you love to try to comfort Olive and breast feed her.  You will probably be really embarrassed about that one day, but you shouldn't be.  It's sweet and natural and so loving.

- You have never met a stranger.  You make friends everywhere we go.  I can send you into any new situation and you will come out with a friend, and possibly trying to arrange a play date.  You are the queen of hugs!

- You are creative and imaginative.  You have an imaginary friend named Megamort, and he is pregnant/has a baby named Susan.  And while, Megamort drives me a little nuts, I love to see you using your imagination.  You asked for and received an Animal costume and a set of drums for your birthday!  That is pretty cool.

- You love preschool and you are a big helper to your teacher and classmates.  You have grown and learned so much this year in school.  We are really going to miss your preschool teachers, but we are so excited for you to start Kindergarten.

- You love to draw rainbows and suns. I truly don't think you have one favorite color (and that is why it changes all the time), but rather you love the rainbow of colors.  And you almost always put it in ROYGBIV order.  I told you- you are smart!

- You weigh 30 lbs and are 40 inches tall.

- You love all things Disney.  You love princesses.  You love villains more. I think The Little Mermaid is still your ultimate favorite, but it changes from time to time.   \

- You love Legos.  You especially love building The Simpson Legos with Dad.

- You are still a picky eater.  You do LOVE tuna though.  It is your lunch of choice.

- You love your dance class, and we are excited to see you preform at your recital in a couple of weeks.

- You are funny.  You are kind,  You are bossy.  You are caring.  You are nurturing.  You are silly.  . You are easy going.  You are smart.  You are hilarious.  You are friendly.  You are helpful. You are beautiful inside and out!

love you!

-

Blinked

So, I swear I blinked and this happened. 

Sniff, sniff! Quinn went from a baby to a kid seemingly overnight. 

Gardner Village, 2011

2012

2013 

2014 

And all four side by side. 

And we won't even bring up that by 2011, she was probably technically a toddler and not a baby. 

Here is Quinn during her first Halloween season when she was too fragile to even go see the witches. I swear this was not that long ago. 

Feeling Nostalgic

The first 12 months- 

 

The first four years- 

We love this little monkey! (And I love photo collages.) (And comparisons.) (Clearly.) 

Quinn-isms

Some of my favorite Quinn stories- 

#1

Me- Quinn, you're my little bug. 

Q- I am not a bug. I don't get caught in a spider web. Bugs don't eat crackers. 

#2

Me- Quinn don't drink you bath water. It's yucky. 

Q- It's yummy. 

Me- yucky

Q- Mama, you got to try new foods, because they might taste good. 

(Thanks yet again Daniel Tiger.)

#3

After Piper, our 11 year old dog, chewed up her beloved Candyland piece, Marlin. 

Q- Piper chewed Marlin. Marlin is at the doctor getting a check up and new batteries. 

(A new Marlin is on his way.)

#4

I walked into the bathroom to get Q out of the tub after putting away some laundry. 

Q- Mama, mama. Box. Box. 

Me- What? 

Q- What does this spell? 

And she had written BOX in her foam letters on the side of the tub. 

The next night she laid out the letters A-S in the right order, except she did it right to left. 

Then tonight, she spelled BOX on the phone for my mom, and then spelled FOX. And told her, "what the fox say?" RINGNGNGNG....

#5

Quinn took a long nap today after fighting a cough and cold for two weeks now. (Thanks preschool....) 

Q- I am so sick. 

She did look pretty miserable. 

Thanksgiving Comparisons

These comparisons include,

Quinn in her high chair the last three Thanksgiving. She clearly was not into this year.

Quinn and Dalan, 2010 vs 2012.

And Quinn and Dalan as she has doubled in weight (give or take). The first picture is around 2 pounds, then around 4.5, then almost 10, and finally over 20 pounds.

Quinn 2.5

Dear Quinn,

Happy Half Birthday!  We have hit the half way mark for two, and now will start inching closer to three years old!  I cannot believe I can start telling people I have a two and a half year old.  That makes me happy and sad all at the same time.  I am happy that you are a sweet, sassy, smart, silly, and stubborn two and a half year old.  I am sad that you are in no way, shape, or form a baby anymore.

At 2.5 years old, you....

* are longish and lean.
* wear size 2 T tops, jammies, and dresses, 18-24 month bottoms, and size 5 shoes.
* have dark blonde hair that is curly/wavy and goes past your shoulders.
* have "husky" blue eyes

* love letters, and know all of them.
* know your colors and shapes.
* are a master of technology, especially apple products.
* love to color and draw.
* use your imagination more and more.
* like cars, kitchens, babies, and bikes.
* love to read.  It is the only time you sit still. 

* watch PBS, and Disney, your favorites are Superwhy, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Curious George 
* also like the movies Cars, and Finding Nemo.
* listen to The Muppet Movie soundtrack non stop

* have a huge vocabulary
* will put together sentences, but not all the time.
* love to go to tumbling, and your favorite is the bars.
* are always running, jumping, or moving in some way. 
* swing and climb on everything!

* are a great cousin to Alice, and are mostly gentle and kind to her.
* love your family, and are very generous with the hugs and kisses.
* are still a daddy's girl.
* love all animals, especially kitties.
* are Piper's best friend and worst enemy, you love to hug and tease her.

*  are an ok eater.  Your favorite foods are meats, cheese, beans, yogurt, chocolate milk, and of course, candy.
* have been sleeping like a newborn, and don't like bedtime.
* don't like to get up in the morning, either.  
* love to take a bath, and would stay in there forever.
* have decided pants and diapers are for suckers, and won't keep them on.
* hate to have your hair brushed most of the time.
* sometimes have to go to the corner for timeout.

* always ask if we are going to grandma's when we get in the car.  If the answer is no, you then ask if we are going to "Kay's, Cout's and Alla's?"
* like to tell the temperature.  It is either "hot" or "BEERRRR!  Cold!"
* told us the other night, "Bed.  I go." Just like a little Yoda.
* exclaimed the other morning, "Mama! (s)Nowin'."
* got a bad case of the giggles at bedtime, and couldn't stop laughing.
* will count, "two, two, two" when you are on timeout. 


We love you so much!  And we are so very lucky to be your parents!

Loves,
Mama and Dada

Color & B/W

2 yrs

1 yr

"Newborn"  (4.5 months)

Newborn (25 weeks gestation)

2 yrs

1 yr

"Newborn" (4.5 months)

Month By Month 2012

13 months old

14 months old

15 months old/12 months adjusted

16 months old

17 months old

18 months old

19 months old

20 months old

21 months old

22 months old

23 months old

24 months old

Click here to see last year's month by month. 

Brought to You by the Letter Q and the Number 2

Quinn celebrated her second birthday in the style of Sesame Street.  It was so much fun to plan from the invitations to the decorations and food.  It think everything was a big hit, and that kids (11 kids under the age of 6 were all here) and adults had a really nice evening. Thanks to everyone who came, and helped with the festivities!
And now for total photo overload! 

C is for Cookie-  Cookies, Cookie Cupcakes, and Elmo cake. 

Elmo napkins

Counting with the Count was a big hit.  The kids consumed large amounts of M&M's!

The favors- Elmo loves his goldfish and his crayon too!

The awesome birthday banner Ali and McKay made, expect to see it for the rest of Quinn's life on her birthday, because I love it!

This party was brought to you by the letter Q and the number 2. 

Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie left their foot prints outside. 

Close up of the cake. 

Hillary and Isaac with his "good blue juice"

The Long Cousins- Morgan, Teagan, and Keaton.

Issac on the slide. 

Opening gifts- Ellie was a big helper!

Opening gifts

Some help from Grandma and Daddy

Look at all these books!

Issac V doing some art. 

I get by with a little help from my friends!

Odessa loves to garden!

Snacks!

Natalie with the kids at the messy cupcake table!

Cupcakes!

Mimi Alice, VaRonica, Ali, and McKay

Issac and Quinn still enjoying dessert.

Odessa loved her cupcake!

Genuine cupcake face!