And Wacky Hyjinks Ensue

Raul has been up to more mischief as he explores our house, and gets his report ready for Santa. (We all know Quinn thinks she is now on the nice list, although last night as she was almost asleep she sat up and told me she was nice and naughty.) 

Here is what Raul has been up to this week, aka, THE RAUL REPORT:  

We caught him on the counter with Quinn's car up on blocks, and Raul under it, trying to fix it.

The next day, the car was next to the Christmas tree, and Raul was at the very top of our tree.  So, I guess he fixed his car, and drove it to the tree, so he could climb and get a good view of the entire living room.

Then this morning, we found him hanging on the clock, with a note reminding us that there is less than 24 hours until Christmas!  Quinn was amazed.  She kept looking between the tree and the clock, trying to figure out Raul and his tricks.

Quinn gets that Raul is tricky, and loves to try to find him and point out where he is that day in the house.  She knows his name, and she can usually tell you his location (car, tree, clock).  I bet next year, she'll better understand his job to report back to Santa about whether she is being naughty or nice.


Here are some other things we have been up to in the last twenty four hours.  There is never a dull moment.  And she never sits still, except when she is reading, which she actually does quite a bit of, but that is the only time.

Hodge Podge of Potpourri

We ask Quinn everyday if she thinks she is on Santa's nice ("ni ni", in Quinn speak, with hands to cheeks) or naughty ("naught naught", in Quinn speak while rubbing fingers together) list.  She used to pretty exclusively say the naughty list.  This week she has changed, and she always says the nice list.  Smart girl, she knows Santa is coming, and wants to make sure she is on the right list.

naughty

nice

Ali spent a picture of Ross, her nephew (well, technically he is McKay's nephew, but he is basically her nephew too) saying, "Hey!" to Quinn.

Quinn said, "Hey!" back to Ross.  And sent this picture.

She then signed "more" and "please" furiously for more interaction with Ross.  She loves him!

We also took a cute family photo to keep Quinn satisfied when she couldn't get new pictures of Ross every millisecond. 

Happy Festivus!

We took Quinn to see the lights on Christmas Street last night.  It was fun.  She is really enjoying all the Christmas traditions, like the music, the lights, the sweets, Raul (more on his tricks to come), and the presents.  I think she is going to love Christmas Day this year!

Quinn loves to play in the laundry, and put on the clean clothes.  She often can be found wearing one of my tank tops, like a cape.  She even wore one to my parents' house last Sunday.  She is nutty.  And therefore, a ton of fun! 

Winter Break

Today was my last day of work until January 3rd.  I always look forward to our winter break, because it is nice and long, and mostly relaxing.  This year, I needed the break.  I have tried hard to not complain too much about how tough teaching has been this year, but I am worn out, and have not really had an enjoyable day of work in about 7 months.  Whew!  Time to refresh and renew.

My plans for winter break, include:

1.  Quinn!  Quinn!  Quinn!  I miss that little wild toddler so badly everyday.  I can't wait to be a full time mommy again.  (Although, that can be exhausting too, at least she is a nice kid to be around.)

Clapping for Christmas!

What do you think?  Do they look alike?  Or am I just crazy for mixing up their names?

Quinn's new picture face. 

Somebody is totally wet from the dog dish, and is eating dog food.

Silly!

2. Christmas Cheer.....Baking!  Lights!  Family!  Music!  Santa!  Elves!  Presents!  I am so excited!  Let's hope my holiday spirit transfers to the Huz this year.  That would a total Christmas miracle. 

3.   Sleep Training.  Boo to this one, but it must be done.

Let me give you the history of co-sleeping with Quinn.  First, it wasn't possible.  She was hooked up to machines, and it was just easiest to leave her in her bed.  If she woke up, she was rocked and put back to bed.  Then over the summer, her nightly feeding would end around 6:00 am, the alarm on the machine would wake her up. I would unhook her and bring her to our bed.  It was lovely.  We would cuddle/sleep for a few hours, and then get up and start our day.  I loved it.  Then, she needed her machine less and less, which was a good thing as far as her eating goes, but bad as far as sleeping in her crib goes.  She started coming to our bed earlier and earlier, which meant less good sleep for me, and it wasn't really enjoyable cuddle/sleeping anymore.  It was a fight for space in the bed type of sleeping.  But I had to work in the morning, and knowing she would go to sleep right away in our bed made more sense than rocking her and hoping she was stay asleep in her crib.  (Which she never does.)


This break I am doing my own sleep training with her.  She and I just aren't made for crying it out. I have nothing against this method, it just isn't a good fit for us. So we are rocking it out.  She isn't going to be allowed to come sleep with us, even if it means rocking her repeatedly through the night.  I am going to struggle with this around 6:00 am, because I am going to want to cuddle-knowing she'll sleep in our bed until nine, but probably only to 7:30 am in her crib.  I will try to be strong, but the thought of cuddling with my sweet baby will be hard to resist.  I'll keep you updated, but expect to see me on Facebook and Pinterest at all hours of the day and night.

Speaking of Pinterest, I got this super cute idea for a photo off of there about a month ago.  A toddler, a red tutu, a jean jacket, and a Santa hat.  We already had the first three, so I bought a Santa hat from the Dollar Spot at Target, and we were good to go.  Except, I had a pretty uncooperative toddler.  She hates hats, and she hates sitting still.  I think we ended up getting so cute ones, including some with a Christmas deer! (Thanks, Hilary).  

My second favorite, I wish she was looking at the camera. 

My Favorite!

Cute girls!

Raul Strikes Again. And Again. And Again.

Raul (our elf) has struck three more times!

First, we found him hanging from one of the pictures on the wall.

 

Next, we found him hanging Mission Impossible style from our ceiling fan.

And then, we found him drinking out of Quinn's owl cup.





Quinn is really loving Raul and his craziness. She showed Ali and McKay where "Ra" was when they came over, and later pointed at him and told Dalan and me, "Ra cra-ee."  (Raul is crazy.)  She was in disbelief when we came home from Target and he had moved from the ceiling fan to the cup.  She covered her mouth with her hands, and was so excited.  She kept looking back from the fan to the cup and back again.

We hope that crazy Raul is reporting good things back to Santa, and that he has noticed what a nice girl Quinn is being this Christmas season.  Although, 90% of the time, she tells us she is on the naughty list.  :-)

A Photo Essay

A Photo Essay

The Range of Emotion of a 19 Month Old

Starring Quinn
(and her hair)

 First, she got hurt, and refused to brush it off.  Instead, she stayed mad!  Very mad.

Then, she saw herself in the camera, and was happy!

But then, she remembered she was mad and sad.

However, then she was feeling a little sassy, and stuck her tongue out for the camera.

And in the end, she was a happy and cheesy baby once again.

19 months

Dear Quinn,

Has it really already been another month?  Really?  Time is flying by, and you are are growing up right before our eyes.  You are such a fast learner, and a little wild child, I think you might be moving even faster than time, if that is possible.  Wow, what a month! 

* You are in major speech development mode right now.  You say a ton of words and mimic even more.

* You express and understand emotions.  You hug yourself in delight  when something is cute.  Or in fear when you are "scare."

* You know your body parts.

* You can follow simple directions.

*  You have made a standing reservation in mom and dad's bed. In fact, I am typing this at 10 at night with you in my arms due to your refusal to sleep in your crib. 

* You are difficult to clothe.  18 month tops and jammies, a six month waist, with longer legs.  Oy!  Keeping up with your reputation as a fashionita is hard these days.  Maybe mom needs to learn to tailor.  

*  You are a fast learner, with new tricks every day.

*  You are silly and mischievous.

* You love animals and kids, and can be a little on the rough side.

*  You love toys and books.

*  You are so tiny, yet mighty.

*  You are so cute.

* You are excited for Christmas, and you know that Santa says, "ho."  You also claim to be on Santa's naughty list most of the time, but rubbing your fingers and saying, "naught, naught."

*  You give great hugs and kisses, but can be a little stingy with them.  You are always up for a good pat though.  

* You love baths.

* You are eating better than ever.

Well, Little Miss Quinn, I would like to write more, but my arm is about to fall off.  We love you so very much!  Happy 19th month Birthday!

Loves!

Mama and Dada

She has two guy guys

This is her nice face, instead of naughty.

Brushing Teeth

***A lot of these photos were taken using the reverse option on my phone. Quinn loves to see herself and make faces, and then look through the photos.  Poor quality, but she loves it and the photos are fun!