Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi!!!

Quinn has really started to talk up a storm! Whenever we go to the grocery store or anywhere in public, and she sees another person, she'll say "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi...." until the other person acknowledges her. It is really cute to hear since she has a really high pitched (and sometimes squeaky) voice. She's like a little parrot in our home. She tries to mimick everything we say- and sometimes she sounds pretty darn close to it! Here are some of the other things she's been saying lately:

-No: She loves to grab some food off of her plate and look at me right before she's about to drop it on to the floor and say "No, no, no, no."
-Dog- sounds like d-d-dog
-Cheese- sounds like sheese
-Baby
-Bird- sounds like bud
-Mommy
-Daddy
-Watermelon- sounds like ma-ma-me-men
-Outside- shide
-Ball- sounds like baa
-Elmo- sounds like memo

She's almost fluent in sign language-jk! She can sign:

-more
-all done
-water
-eat
-milk

I guess this all means that Jaime and I [mostly Jaime ;)] need to really watch what we're saying when we're around the little parrot. I just know she'll be that little girl in Kindergarten that always says "My mommy said.....".

This beautiful picture (and the one at the top of the blog) was taken by a good friend of mine at a Luau birthday party last weekend. Visit www.gigglesandbliss.com to see more!

One Year of Fun

Okay, so I know that I already posted on Quinn's birthday celebration but today is her REAL birthday. Today has been a day of many different emotions- mostly for Jaime and I. For Quinn, today is just any other day (maybe a little more fun than most). Jamie and I looked at the video clips that we've taken up until now and just cannot believe how much out little princess has grown and changed in just one year. Amazing! I did get a little teary eyed knowing how fast time goes by and how she is not a little bitty baby any more. On the other hand I am so excited for Quinn to enter the toddler years and wonder what this year will bring. Lots of action is my guess!

So on Quinn's real birthday, we wanted to do all of the things that Quinn loves doing. This morning she ate pancakes and oatmeal- she is a lover of mama's pancakes! After breakfast, we got ready and headed to a friend's house for a play date. I was so sad that my camera was out of batteries when we arrived- no pictures of the play date. :( We came home and had a really long nap then played with some musical instruments that Q got for her birthday party. Jaime came home early and we turned her carseat around (FINALLY) so she now faces forward. It was so cute watching Quinn look around at everything from a different vantage point. Then we came home and had pizza for dinner, another one of Q's favorite cuisines. We gave her our birthday gift after dinner, a water table. She loved it! To end our day of fun, Quinn had a giant cupcake and some milk. Okay, maybe just a sip- but its a start, right? Here are some pics:
I realize that I should probably cut Quinn's bangs now that I'm looking at this picture. And I also realize that I was never meant to be a baker. The mess in front of Quinn is supposed to be a giant cupcake. Guess I'll stick to sewing. Oh well, it still tasted good!

One Year Old!

We celebrated Quinn's birthday this weekend and had a great time! We feel so blessed to have shared such a special moment with so many great friends and family members. We truly cannot believe it has already been one year! Looking back at all of Quinn's pictures from the past year has made me realize how quickly time goes by and how much a child changes in just a short amount of time. I remember when I was pregnant and thought that we would have this little bitty baby around for so long--it seems like I blinked and now I'm looking at a toddler! Quinn is on the brink of walking and I know she'll be going full force any time now. She loves pushing around her little baby stroller that she got for her birthday and every once in a while will let go. She's babbling and mimicking us so much now too. Wow.

We have had the best year of our lives with Quinn and cannot wait to see what the future holds. Many, many memories to be made!!!

We had a caricature artist at the party and this is how she depicted Quinn, I think it is darling!

Easter Fun!

We had the best first Easter with Quinn today! It was so fun watching her go through her gifts that were left from the Easter Bunny. She took her time and pulled the goodies and toys out one by one. She especially loved her sunglasses and would put them on and look around to make sure all eyes were on her then smile and take them off. She had a great time crawling around gathering eggs for her basket too. We had her Papa James and Mama Rose over for a honey baked ham and lots of other great food. Quinn was so tired by all of the action that she nearly fell asleep in the bath before bedtime! Here are some pics:

Quinn wasn't too impressed with her chocolate covered peep.

Genious Idea!

Wow! I came across this website while surfing Facebook and think it could be the key to any Mom's weekly dilemma: What to I make for dinner this week and what do I buy at the grocery store? I make a weekly menu like the creators of this blog, but have THE hardest time trying to think of things to make each week. This little system gives you recipe ideas for the entire month and even gives you the ingredients that you'll need to buy at the grocery store each week. That way you'll only buy what you really need. The creators came up with a very cute way to organize their weekly menu's- the most posh little pockets. Check it out!

http://perfectpocketmealplanning.blogspot.com/

Wild About this Chair!

Okay, I've realized that basically every single post on this blog is about Quinn. Hmm...seems to be a pattern in my life. It's all about Q! And there is nothing wrong with that at all. But sometimes I might need to post something that only applies to myself or Jaime. That brings me to the picture below. Don't you love this chair? This is going to be the chair that I'll use at my sewing table. Too cool! I came across this cool local company called Gussied Up. The owner finds vintage and antique furniture and "gussies" it up. Love it!

http://www.gussiedupfurnishings.com/index.html

Egg Hunt at Play Date

Quinn had her first ever egg hunt at our play date this week. It was so funny when a couple of girls and I went upstairs to hide the eggs for the kids, I took Quinn with me thinking "I'll just let her play with a couple of toys as I hide the egss." Yeah right! I looked over after a few seconds of hiding eggs to find that she had opened about six or seven on her own! I said "What are you doing?!?!" and she looked at me as if thinking "What? Is there a problem?". Anyway, once the egg hunt got started I was surprised again when I saw Quinn actually putting eggs in her basket! Don't know where she learned this from? It was too funny! Here are some pictures of that play date.

Quinn's first experience with Play-Doh and she didn't even try to eat it!

This one is a little blurry- I wanted to capture the sweetness and took the picture in a rush. So sweet!


When we got home we took her eggs out of the basket and played with them for a bit. With every egg she opened, she would gasp with excitement- even the ones that were empty! We're really looking forward to the Easter Bunny's visit on Sunday!