Lagoon

Yesterday was Harmon's Day at Lagoon, so my mom, Ali, Quinn, and I headed up to enjoy a deeply discounted day at Utah's amusement park. McKay joined us after work. It was a very hot, but a very fun day.



Quinn was a champion again. I seriously have one of the most mellow babies on the planet. The original plan was for Quinn, my mom, and me to leave after the prize drawing (Ali won a popcorn maker!) in the evening, but as the temperatures cooled down and Quinn was still as happy as ever, we all decided to stay until we were all done. Quinn did not cry once all day. She rode the Merry-Go-Round three times, and loved watching all the other rides. She was so excited by The Rocket, and I think she would have loved to go on the one in kiddie land if she had been tall enough. Speaking of which, she has a long way to go before she is tall enough to ride any of the rides. We might need to buy her some platform shoes so she can ride some rides before she is ten.



I rode some rides, but was disappointed to discover that having a baby not only robbed me of some of my brain power, but my guts as well. I got very nervous on the white roller coaster, which is my favorite, and had to work up the nerve to go on it twice. The second time was better, but I skipped out on all the other roller coasters.



It was hot. And humid. At one point, I was so hot I thought I could pass out, and Quinn was taking a hot, sweaty nap. I was ready to leave, but a cool drink made me feel better, and when Quinn woke up she cooled down by sharing a popsicle with my mom and McKay. She refused to take one from me. And then it cooled down, and was quite pleasant. It was a very fun day at Lagoon!




Quinn fell asleep without a meltdown on the way home from the park, and I tried to carefully sneak her the house, with the help of my mom and sister. However, she woke up, and was a wild child. She was literally bouncing off the walls. She was laughing, squealing in happiness, and hamming it up. She was being silly, and knew it. It was hilarious. Luckily, she fell right back to sleep once I took her upstairs and rocked her.

Speaking of sleep, Quinn was so tuckered from two late nights this week, she fell asleep at 7:45 pm tonight, and stayed asleep! It totally caught me off guard, and made for an interesting night when I had to hook her tubing up to a sleeping child, but I made it work. I hope this doesn't mean she is going to wake up super early, because we have been sleeping in until 9:30 am most mornings, and it is nice.

She also sprouted her third tooth sometime this weekend/early this week. I ran to the store on Tuesday night, and while we were there, Quinn grabbed my thumb and bit it. I was totally confused when I felt teeth on top and bottom, but sure enough, there is a tooth off to the side on the top left side of her mouth. Told you she was a champion, she totally was teething without us even knowing this time.

Samesies

Quinn often reminds me of Ali. I don't know what it is, but sometimes, I even call her Ali. This morning, Quinn crawled at her super sonic speed toward the entertainment center where Dalan had emptied his pockets last night. She quickly grabbed his pocket knife, and started chewing on it*. I got a quick picture, and quickly took it away. It reminded me of another little girl chewing on a knife 20 years earlier.



*Don't worry, no little girls were injured in the taking of these pictures.

4th of July

I love the 4th of July. I love the parade, the barbeques, the fireworks, and hanging out with family. It is like the summer version of Christmas for me.

We started out with a bbq at my parents' house on the evening of July 3rd. We had delicious food, discussed the site of my future rabbit hutches (ha!), and played our annual game of croquet. Patti won. Of course. She and my dad have a natural (?) aptitude for the game. They are unbeatable.

(Quinn showing off one of her skills. If you say, Happy 4th of July to her, she often will make a four with her fingers.)

This morning we went to the parade with Red, Ali, McKay, VaRonica, Nathan, and Sam (Nathan and VaRonica's nephew). (Patti had to work....sad!) We had a blast. Quinn was a champion. She loved the parade, and quickly was yelling, cheering, and waving with the rest of us. She loved her flag. The weather was nearly perfect. It was overcast and in the low 80's. We did get slightly rained on, but it was better than melting in the heat.








Later in the day, I was running to get some food, and totally saw a deer crossing the street from the Rec Center by our house into a neighborhood. Random, but cool.



In the evening, we went with Patti, Ali, McKay, VaRonica, Nathan, and Sam (and Griffin too. He is seriously the best dog ever.) to see the fireworks. Quinn was so good. She played, and never melted down despite it being her normal bedtime. She loved the fireworks, and watched them long beyond her 13 month attention span. She did cry the whole way home, but went right to sleep after we got home.

(Quinn eating a red vine rope. She looks like a vampire who got caught in the act.)

Another fun and successful 4th of July!

The Girls of Summer

Quinn and me, summer of 2010


Quinn and me, summer 2011

Esquestrian

Yesterday, we went to the 4th of July carnival at the park by our house. Quinn rode two horses, a pony named Thunder, and a plastic one on the Merry Go Round. The first time Quinn rode on a Merry Go Round it was at the zoo, and she threw a mini-tantrum when I took her off the sea lion she was riding, only to be ok with it after we patted it, and told it, "thanks for the ride." We successfully avoided tantrums this time by thanking our horses as soon as the ride was over. The real ponies were whinnying the whole time. Quinn had never heard a horse make a noise before, and was quite fascinated.






We also watched some pole vaulters and listened to some guy play guitar. It was a fun, but way too hot afternoon. We only lasted like an hour, plus we spent nearly ten dollars for our one year old to ride two horses. We opted out of food at the carnival, and got snow cones from our favorite snow shack instead.

Recipe for Disaster

Tonight, we whipped up a recipe (for disaster) that I am sure that most other parents have made, or at least made a similar version. At least I hope they have, in order to make myself feel better.

Ingredients:

2 hungry parents
1 Chili's gift card
1 strong-willed and spirited 13 month old.
A dash of embarrassment
A dash of amusement

Steps:

1. Put the 13 month old into the high chair. She should insisted on licking the table. The more the you move her away or put your hand in the way, she should get louder and more upset.

2. Move the 13 month old so far away from the table, that she can't lick it at all. She should then start to escape from the high chair. This will include leaning over, and using all 16 pounds of herself to propel up and out of the chair.

3. Take the 13 month old out of the highchair for her safety. Whisper in her ear that she needs to be calm, and have positive behavior. She will scream in rebellion every time. This will make the mom giggle. She can't help herself.

4. The dad will take the 13 month old for a walk, and to get some puffs from the car. The 13 month old will return in a calm mood. The dad should keep giving the baby puffs. She loves them. She is quiet. The parents start to eat their food.

5. The 13 month old should now gag on a puff. The 13 month old should ideally have a very sensitive gag reflex. Because of her said reflex, the 13 month old will now spit up all over herself, her dad's leg, and most importantly, Chili's floor.

6. The mom will rush over and try to clean up the dad and the 13 month old with baby wipes. The spit up will be dripping down the dad's leg.

7. Dad will take the 13 month old back to the car.

8. Mom will clean up spit up from the Chili's floor. Best to not attract too much attention to yourself.

9. Get two to go boxes, and pay the bill as quickly as possible.

10. Finish dinner at home after the 13 month old and dad have had a chance to clean up. Eat outside. Noise and other bodily fluids don't hurt anything when you are outside. The finished product will look something like this....



Important to note: The recipe really won't work without this key ingredient. No substitutions!

Trouble in Tube Town

Quinn has woken up three nights in a row soaking wet. And it wasn't a diaper problem. We have had Trouble with a capital T and that stands for TUBING!

Night 1:

Problem: Baby is wet in the middle of the night.

Reason: Her tubing somehow became detached from her button, therefore her machine was pumping formula all over Quinn, instead of into her belly.

Solution: Reattached the tubing. Change sheets and jammies, put baby back to bed.

Night 2:

Problem: Baby is wet in the middle of the night.

Reason: Her tubing is shaped like a fork. It has one opening for medicine, and one for her machine hook up or a bigger syringe. The part for the medicine had accidentally become opened, and therefore her machine was pumping formula all over Quinn, instead of staying in the tubing and going into her belly.

Solution: Close the opening for the medicine. Change sheets and jammies, put baby back to bed.

Night 3:

Problem: Baby is wet in the middle of the night.

Reason: This one was harder to figure out. Quinn woke up around 2:30 am, and was a little wet around her button. Her tubing was still attached, and the part for the medicine was closed. I figured her button was leaking a little bit, (they can do that) but figured it would be easier to fix in the morning. Quinn continued to wake up every twenty minutes, and was wetter and wetter each time. We finally checked her button's balloon (this is what keeps the button in her belly) around 4:00 am, and it was a 3 cc's, instead of 5. We filled it back up, and I started to rock Quinn back to sleep. At this point she had seen Dalan and thought it was time to party. So, I had to get her to calm back down. My shirt was quickly damp. We then figured out it was the tubing that a leak in it. Quinn really thought it was time to party now. Crazy baby.

Solution: Turn off her machine, change her jammies, and just put her to bed without getting her full feeding. The sheets were fine. (It was a slow leak, and had not gotten anywhere, but on Quinn and me.) I was worried, because I thought we only got two tubing attachments for her machines, and they had to last for at least nine months, because that was all the insurance would pay for, and the other one had already broken. Dalan googled them, and they only cost $15. So, we planned on calling the home/health people in the morning, and if the insurance wouldn't pay, we would just order our own. I called in the morning, and apparently, the insurance will pay for three a month. I had misunderstood. They will only pay for a new button every nine months, but since it all came in the same kit, I thought the tubing had to last too. So, we were using and reusing these semi-nasty tubes for the last three months, and we could have had new ones! Grrrr!

Here's to a dry night, so this poor girl (who is ok with her crib again) can get a good night sleep. Oh, and her mama and dad would like one too!